CAD Mini ITX workstation: CM Elite 130 vs Sharkoon C10 vs Node 202

[DenvilX]

Greetings!

 

I have to create a Mini ITX workstation for CAD (Revit mostly) and have most of the build figured out however I'd like to hear your opinion/suggestions. The PC will be on 24/7 while real workload will happen for around 12h for 5 days a week (max load time per week).

Quote

RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR4 16GB x 2 @2666Mhz

MoBo: Asus Prime H310i Plus R2.0

Drive: Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe 250GB

Cooler: Standart which comes with CPU.

GPU-2060; CPU-8700 - favourites.

CASE 

My options: Coolermaster Elite 130 / Sharkoon Shark Zone C10 / Fractal Design Node 202. All of them have 120mm case fan included and below I summarized differences.

Elite 130: additional USB ports in front; 80mm case fan.

C10: Looks better for maintenance process; has dust mesh.

Fractal: Best looks/slim design; 80mm case fan; forced with Fractal Design Integra SFX 450W PSU; dust mesh.

That on case side. Fractal looks great and rises only 2 questions: ventilation & it's built-in PSU. Elite 130 has some bonuses, but comparing it to C10 I feel that it's not as polished, as Sharkoon case (dust mesh in particular). Questionable moment is airflow.

PSU

My options are: Corsair VS series 350-650W / Corsair TXm series 550-750W / Fractal Design Integra SFX 450W.

I used different calculators and in most "equipped" build would run on around 505W with maximal load. However, some of them also show me that I'd be safe with 350W PSU. With that in mind I'd like some assistance from more experienced people on this calculation.

CASE+PSU

I'm personally looking at C10 + TXm 550W as of being safest option, while Node 202 + forced Integra SFX 450W kills it with design. Price is exactly the same for them.

 

 

Thank you all a lot in advance!

 

P.S.

I've submitted original post on Reddit, there you can read the whole story.

Sister posts: GPU question; CPU question.

[Fasauceome]

Well, my signature speaks for itself in terms of case suggestion.

 

As for your other ideas:

21 minutes ago, DenvilX said:

PSU

My options are: Corsair VS series 350-650W / Corsair TXm series 550-750W / Fractal Design Integra SFX 450W.

Pretty big gulf in all of these, and stay the hell away from VS for any semi decent build. SFX makes building in ITX more convenient, but the Sugo can accept a full size ATX as well.

21 minutes ago, DenvilX said:

I used different calculators and in most "equipped" build would run on around 505W with maximal load. However, some of them also show me that I'd be safe with 350W PSU. With that in mind I'd like some assistance from more experienced people on this calculation.

calculators just aren't trustworthy, If you're looking at a 6 core i7 and a 2060 ish graphics card, you will likely draw close to 300 watts at most, so a 450 watt PSU would do quite nicely, as this is the lowest wattage you'll find a good PSU at.

 

These little silverstone PSUs are also good to consider:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/vrH48d/silverstone-power-supply-sstsx500lg

since the Sugo doesn't come with a front fan, I recommend a single 120mm fan of your choice LED color for style.

[Vejnemojnen]

I'd opt for a better mobo as well. Ie. B360-h370 chipset or b365.

 

Rtx 2060 would be optimal with 450 -500 w units. Bitfenix whisper m, corsair rmx/txm, seasonic pr1me or pr1me ultra , be quiet straight power for instance. I guess most itx cases take regular psu without issues 

[DenvilX]

3 minutes ago, fasauceome said:

Well, my signature speaks for itself in terms of case suggestion.

Sadly I don't have an option to get that case as my supplies are restricted to the mentioned ones.

[Fasauceome]

4 minutes ago, DenvilX said:

Sadly I don't have an option to get that case as my supplies are restricted to the mentioned ones.

Are your options restricted to a specific shop only? If you're building this rig for someone else, you should notify them that it hurts their value proposition.

 

Otherwise, I suppose the Node 202 is a great option, if you're an experienced builder. 

[DenvilX]

6 minutes ago, fasauceome said:

Are your options restricted to a specific shop only? If you're building this rig for someone else, you should notify them that it hurts their value proposition.

 

Otherwise, I suppose the Node 202 is a great option, if you're an experienced builder. 

Yes, that's is exactly the reason, I have to order from one specific shop due to B2B values.

 

Side: from CPU post I received information, that preferred MoBo was plain bad and therefore I will up the level to Asus Strix B360-I. CPU will be i7-8700 and GPU to be updated. 

However, even if I opt into 2070 - Node 202 with it's 450W PSU will provide enough? As well as what's about reliability, since I can find a lot of information regarding Corsair, but barely any about that unit.

 

PLUS: Do you have any knowledge about Elite 130 and C10 cases?

[Fasauceome]

4 minutes ago, DenvilX said:

Yes, that's is exactly the reason, I have to order from one specific shop due to B2B values.

 

Side: from CPU post I received information, that preferred MoBo was plain bad and therefore I will up the level to Asus Strix B360-I. CPU will be i7-8700 and GPU to be updated. 

However, even if I opt into 2070 - Node 202 with it's 450W PSU will provide enough? As well as what's about reliability, since I can find a lot of information regarding Corsair, but barely any about that unit.

 

PLUS: Do you have any knowledge about Elite 130 and C10 cases?

the 450 watt PSU will still be enough (I have my own rig posted in my signature and its power draw, for reference)

what good does the 2070 serve in a CAD machine that's not doing renders? I think it might be more than you need.

 

The Elite 130 is rather ugly, and the layout of the C10 has much to be desired, but it's more workable.

[DenvilX]

1 minute ago, fasauceome said:

the 450 watt PSU will still be enough (I have my own rig posted in my signature and its power draw, for reference)

what good does the 2070 serve in a CAD machine that's not doing renders? I think it might be more than you need.

 

The Elite 130 is rather ugly, and the layout of the C10 has much to be desired, but it's more workable.

Thanks a lot!

[TVwazhere]

On 4/12/2019 at 1:37 PM, fasauceome said:

what good does the 2070 serve in a CAD machine that's not doing renders? I think it might be more than you need.

^^^

 

Considering you or your client is using Revit, the majority of the heavy lifting will be done by the CPU. 

Quote

Video Card (GPU)

When working with models in Revit, the video card is solely used to display the model on the screen. While a more powerful video card may allow the model to be drawn at a higher FPS (frames per second) when rotating, zooming, or panning around the model, the video card requirements for Revit are relatively low. For most users, a mid-range card (such as a Quadro P2000 or P4000) will be more than powerful enough.

https://www.pugetsystems.com/recommended/Recommended-Systems-for-Autodesk-Revit-171/Hardware-Recommendations

the locked i7-8700 is a good choice for an mITX system like this, as it has good single core speed but also great multi core speed (used for renders only)