What is the appeal of Itx?

[Gdourado]

Hello, how are you? 

 

So, I was researching a bit on itx builds.

At first I saw the rvz01. 

Very cool looking case and very different from the normal everyday computer towers. 

But at a limited height for cpu coolers and difficult AIO compatibility, the cpu cooling and thus the overclock can be seriously compromised. 

Then I looked at the Nano S. 

A tower case, but small and sleek. 

Can take large air coolers and 240mm AIO. 

But then the GPU stays against the psu, so open air cooled cards will choke. 

The node 202 is also very cool, but difficult to cool both the cpu and GPU... 

After all this, I keep getting back to what is the appeal of itx?

Besides being small, why would somebody choose itx over atx if the computer is supposed to stay on the same place and space on the desk or room is not an issue? 

 

I just feel there are too many compromises. 

And also, boards are expensive and usually have less robust VRM than equivalent atx boards. 

 

Cheers. 

[pelark]

1 minute ago, Gdourado said:

Hello, how are you? 

 

So, I was researching a bit on itx builds.

At first I saw the rvz01. 

Very cool looking case and very different from the normal everyday computer towers. 

But at a limited height for cpu coolers and difficult AIO compatibility, the cpu cooling and thus the overclock can be seriously compromised. 

Then I looked at the Nano S. 

A tower case, but small and sleek. 

Can take large air coolers and 240mm AIO. 

But then the GPU stays against the psu, so open air cooled cards will choke. 

The node 202 is also very cool, but difficult to cool both the cpu and GPU... 

After all this, I keep getting back to what is the appeal of itx?

Besides being small, why would somebody choose itx over atx if the computer is supposed to stay on the same place and space on the desk or room is not an issue? 

 

I just feel there are too many compromises. 

And also, boards are expensive and usually have less robust VRM than equivalent atx boards. 

 

Cheers. 

Usually if you buy a high end ITX system youre fully aware of the compromises and you have usually come to the conclusion that it is the right thing for you. It's a very personal thing, and just comes down to needs and personal preferences. Hope this helped in some way

[TheGhzGuy]

1 minute ago, pelark said:

Usually if you buy a high end ITX system youre fully aware of the compromises and you have usually come to the conclusion that it is the right thing for you. It's a very personal thing, and just comes down to needs and personal preferences. Hope this helped in some way

 

I second this

[rjfaber91]

Some people like a challenge.  

[dizmo]

You've only picked a few of the cases available, and lower end ones. Look at cases like the Ncase M1, Caselabs Bullet, etc and there are much, much nicer options.

You keep hitting on overclocking...not every PC user overclocks.

If space isn't an issue, then yeah, you'd likely go for a larger case. However if you want something small, you go ITX.

I'm going ITX with my next build, but something tiny, like the Firewolfy MI6. It's about the size of half a sheet of paper.

 

[STRMfrmXMN]

Overclocking is pretty much negated when you use lacking cooling, everyone is aware. That said, what percent of people building a PC actually have overclockable CPUs? Of that percentage, how many people do you think actually overclock their CPUs?

 

I don't think anyone is going to complain about the capabilites of a non-K i7 7700 and if they are then they probably need a more powerful CPU than can really be crammed in a Node 202.

 

As for GPUs, any blower-style cooler can easily stay cool in a Node 202 or similar.

[Aleks NE]

27 minutes ago, Gdourado said:

Hello, how are you? 

 

So, I was researching a bit on itx builds.

At first I saw the rvz01. 

Very cool looking case and very different from the normal everyday computer towers. 

But at a limited height for cpu coolers and difficult AIO compatibility, the cpu cooling and thus the overclock can be seriously compromised. 

Then I looked at the Nano S. 

A tower case, but small and sleek. 

Can take large air coolers and 240mm AIO. 

But then the GPU stays against the psu, so open air cooled cards will choke. 

The node 202 is also very cool, but difficult to cool both the cpu and GPU... 

After all this, I keep getting back to what is the appeal of itx?

Besides being small, why would somebody choose itx over atx if the computer is supposed to stay on the same place and space on the desk or room is not an issue? 

 

I just feel there are too many compromises. 

And also, boards are expensive and usually have less robust VRM than equivalent atx boards. 

 

Cheers. 

Just like all things it's all personal preference. 

[Mira Yurizaki]

What prompted me to go Mini-ITX was after my last ATX build. I started to think that while I picked a good case, it was too cumbersome to lug around and it took too much space when I went places with it. Plus I don't really make full use of the I/O on an ATX sized motheboard. The most expansions I ever had was technically four: two video cards, a sound card, and a thing for the case lighting. But after doing some research and figuring out what I really needed, I figured mini-ITX is suitable for me, because:

• I've found I have no real need for more than one expansion slot:
  • On-board audio has finally gotten to a point where its able to push out the quality of a dedicated sound card, before any other factors are taken into account.
    • And nobody really uses any one's sound technology any more, so getting a Creative card immediately has no appeal to me (and in fact, their features were rarely useful or made the sound quality "improve")
  • I needed Wi-Fi at the time, but a lot of mini-ITX motherboards come with Wi-Fi anyway (I'd also use a USB adapter for this anyway)
  • After running with SLI, I found that it's not really worth it any more.
  • Showing off the computer's guts is fine and all, but it lost its appeal to me now, so I don't look for cases with a window and so there would be no point in getting an LED strip for the interior.
• I almost never add RAM to my system. I've populated four slots on a board in only one build.
• I have two storage drives in my computer most of the time, so I don't need a lot of SATA ports.

The first mini-ITX build I had I settled on a BitFenix Prodigy, but then moved to a Corsair 250D. It had a i5-4670K and a Corsair H80i, so I could overclock it and it was pretty nice. But my current build I settled on the smaller Silverstone FTZ-01 and a non overclocking processor because processors are plenty fast for most games anyway and I'm not expecting the requirement for processors to increase dramatically any time in the next few generations of hardware. Cooling isn't a problem with my current set up. I can keep the CPU at turbo constantly and the GPU is always hitting well above the advertised boost clock.

 

My current computer pretty damn small. I can fit it in a carry on with room to spare. I bought a portable monitor as well so I can take the computer with me to some places, if I wanted to. And sure, while the components on it were pricey for the size, I like to justify at least for the motherboard, that I'm using it more than if I bought an ATX board and left all the slots and ports unused.

 

Anyway, the primary reason I went mini-ITX is because I wanted a smaller system on the principle I find it silly having a system where most of the inside is empty space. Heat isn't really much of an issue as long as there's airflow.

[flibberdipper]

ITX is tiny, which has major appeal to people like me that don't really want a massive tower cough Enthoo Pro cough sitting on their desk.

[Bleedingyamato]

49 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

Overclocking is pretty much negated when you use lacking cooling, everyone is aware. That said, what percent of people building a PC actually have overclockable CPUs? Of that percentage, how many people do you think actually overclock their CPUs?

 

I don't think anyone is going to complain about the capabilites of a non-K i7 7700 and if they are then they probably need a more powerful CPU than can really be crammed in a Node 202.

 

As for GPUs, any blower-style cooler can easily stay cool in a Node 202 or similar.

Most GPUs don't use blower coolers though so far as I know.  ?

[Bleedingyamato]

Just now, tmcclelland455 said:

ITX is tiny, which has major appeal to people like me that don't really want a massive tower cough Enthoo Pro cough sitting on their desk.

Someday I'd like to use a full tower.    I feel like building in one would be super easy without feeling cramped in the slightest.  Plus there'd be tons of room for some insanely large air CPU cooler and crazy large case fans that would likely be nice and quiet simply by the virtues of their large size.  

 

Not very practical to use a full tower but I suspect it could be fun.  ?

 

I'd never use a full tower for my main desktop though.  In case I'd want to move it around easily I'd want a mid-tower at most.  

[Davehaslanded]

It depends on the case. My Coolermaster elite 130 has an i7 4790k water-cooled with a Corsair h80i and dual Noctua fans, and a GTX 1080. I also have 16GB of Ram and the whole system runs off Samsung 840 SSD. The motherboard has built in Wifi. What more would I need from a larger case? I have space for more HDDs if i really needed it and I've used multi GPU before and found it very hit and miss.

[STRMfrmXMN]

5 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

Most GPUs don't use blower coolers though so far as I know.  ?

Every Founder's Edition or AMD stock cooling solution on any GPU has always been a blower-style. You can also get editions of cards like the Asus Turbo and MSI Aero that are blower-style. They're often cheaper too due to the loudness associated with them.

[Ithanul]

1 hour ago, rjfaber91 said:

Some people like a challenge.  

That too.  Some want a small computer that don't eat up space while others like the challenge small builds bring.

 

Myself, I have two ITX water cool builds down the pipe line I plan to do.  Since I got two Compact Splash cases sitting here (one with I/O delete so full length card can fit).

[Mr.Meerkat]

As an owner of a 5820K+RX470 ATX system and a i5 6400+1060 6GB ITX system, IMO I like my ITX system more. Yes, it's louder and hotter running than my ATX system but when you can slap it in a bag and take it anywhere, I'd happily take the compromise  

 

And yes, if I were to build the equivalent mATX system back in the summer (cheaper than ATX generally), it would have costed only 5 quid more so..............

[flibberdipper]

5 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

Someday I'd like to use a full tower.    I feel like building in one would be super easy without feeling cramped in the slightest.  Plus there'd be tons of room for some insanely large air CPU cooler and crazy large case fans that would likely be nice and quiet simply by the virtues of their large size.  

 

Not very practical to use a full tower but I suspect it could be fun.  ?

 

I'd never use a full tower for my main desktop though.  In case I'd want to move it around easily I'd want a mid-tower at most.  

The Enthoo Pro honestly isn't all that bad when it comes to being too large, but I just have a thing for smaller PCs. Like I still love my Enthoo Pro and the retardmode cooling I can squeeze out of it, but I'd be willing to trade it in for a Node 202 if I absolutely had to.

[Aaron Duce]

1 hour ago, Gdourado said:

Hello, how are you? 

 

So, I was researching a bit on itx builds.

At first I saw the rvz01. 

Very cool looking case and very different from the normal everyday computer towers. 

But at a limited height for cpu coolers and difficult AIO compatibility, the cpu cooling and thus the overclock can be seriously compromised. 

Then I looked at the Nano S. 

A tower case, but small and sleek. 

Can take large air coolers and 240mm AIO. 

But then the GPU stays against the psu, so open air cooled cards will choke. 

The node 202 is also very cool, but difficult to cool both the cpu and GPU... 

After all this, I keep getting back to what is the appeal of itx?

Besides being small, why would somebody choose itx over atx if the computer is supposed to stay on the same place and space on the desk or room is not an issue? 

 

I just feel there are too many compromises. 

And also, boards are expensive and usually have less robust VRM than equivalent atx boards. 

 

Cheers. 

i would say that the appeal would be to people with very little room for their pc. This includes HTPCs so that they can fit in the tv unit, and just generally people with little space for their pc. Also it gives you extra legroom?

[rodrosenberg]

1 hour ago, Gdourado said:

Hello, how are you? 

So, I was researching a bit on itx builds.

At first I saw the rvz01. 

Very cool looking case and very different from the normal everyday computer towers. 

But at a limited height for cpu coolers and difficult AIO compatibility, the cpu cooling and thus the overclock can be seriously compromised. 

Then I looked at the Nano S. 

A tower case, but small and sleek. 

Can take large air coolers and 240mm AIO. 

But then the GPU stays against the psu, so open air cooled cards will choke. 

The node 202 is also very cool, but difficult to cool both the cpu and GPU... 

After all this, I keep getting back to what is the appeal of itx?

Besides being small, why would somebody choose itx over atx if the computer is supposed to stay on the same place and space on the desk or room is not an issue? 

 

I just feel there are too many compromises. 

And also, boards are expensive and usually have less robust VRM than equivalent atx boards. 

 

Cheers. 

I think for  me I see so many ATX systems that use less then ITX has to offer. Most systems that I see have: Fewer then 4 drives, one video card, stock CPU clocks. So when you can make something smaller why not even if it isn't moving. I love my ITX rig but I also take it to several LAN Parties a year.

[Bleedingyamato]

1 hour ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

Every Founder's Edition or AMD stock cooling solution on any GPU has always been a blower-style. You can also get editions of cards like the Asus Turbo and MSI Aero that are blower-style. They're often cheaper too due to the loudness associated with them.

Yes you can get blower coolers but I mean the majority of cards don't use blower coolers.  

 

What are the non-blower coolers called?

 

1 hour ago, Ithanul said:

That too.  Some want a small computer that don't eat up space while others like the challenge small builds bring.

 

Myself, I have two ITX water cool builds down the pipe line I plan to do.  Since I got two Compact Splash cases sitting here (one with I/O delete so full length card can fit).

What's "I/O delete"?

 

1 hour ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

As an owner of a 5820K+RX470 ATX system and a i5 6400+1060 6GB ITX system, IMO I like my ITX system more. Yes, it's louder and hotter running than my ATX system but when you can slap it in a bag and take it anywhere, I'd happily take the compromise  

 

And yes, if I were to build the equivalent mATX system back in the summer (cheaper than ATX generally), it would have costed only 5 quid more so..............

Wouldn't it make more sense to switch those GPUs?

 

To better match CPU and GPU performance.  

 

I want to do an ITX build eventually.  I just don't feel like spending the money on it atm.

 

1 hour ago, tmcclelland455 said:

The Enthoo Pro honestly isn't all that bad when it comes to being too large, but I just have a thing for smaller PCs. Like I still love my Enthoo Pro and the retardmode cooling I can squeeze out of it, but I'd be willing to trade it in for a Node 202 if I absolutely had to.

Retardmode cooling?  lol

[Mr.Meerkat]

1 minute ago, Bleedingyamato said:

Wouldn't it make more sense to switch those GPUs?

 

To better match CPU and GPU performance.

One is a mITX card, one is a "full sized" card  

 

It's not like my Lian Li PC-Q21 only has enough room for a card that's like upto 18.5CM long or something...

[flibberdipper]

20 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

Retardmode cooling?  lol

Oh yeah. Look up how many fans and radiators you can cram into the Enthoo Pro (not the Enthoo Pro M). It's freaking nutso for a "cheaper" enthusiast case.

[Bleedingyamato]

23 minutes ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

One is a mITX card, one is a "full sized" card  

 

It's not like my Lian Li PC-Q21 only has enough room for a card that's like upto 18.5CM long or something...

Oh.  The 1060 is one of those single fan versions?

 

5 minutes ago, tmcclelland455 said:

Oh yeah. Look up how many fans and radiators you can cram into the Enthoo Pro (not the Enthoo Pro M). It's freaking nutso for a "cheaper" enthusiast case.

I feel like a bad person to say this but the front of that case looks fugly...

 

But holy crap that's a lot of fan mounts!    A few can use a 200mm fan that's cool.  

 

Though I'd think finding 200mm fans is tricky since most mounts use 120 or 140mm. 

 

Where are the HDD cage mounts?    I can't picture where those would be.

[schaden81]

I love my mITX PC. I built mine primarily as a HTPC, and light gaming rig. I was in a small condo at the time, so space was prudent, and going mitx filled all the needs perfectly. I was using the built in wifi for the first year or so, which was fine, and now that Ive moved somewhere larger, the pc sits inside my tv stand and Im using ethernet.

I have since upgraded the GPU to handle 1080p60 in most titles (CPU being the limiting factor)

Mine is a Fractal Design Node 304, so I have room for a full length GPU (MSI rx 470 Gaming X) and room for a full height cpu cooler. I can have up to 6 HDDs, or remove cages down tomy current 2 (1 HDD, 1 SSD)

 

Core i3 4150 (stock cooler,because its an i3)

rx 470 4GB

8GB RAM

2 TB HDD, 120GB SSD

450W semi modular PSU

[flibberdipper]

17 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

Oh.  The 1060 is one of those single fan versions?

 

I feel like a bad person to say this but the front of that case looks fugly...

 

But holy crap that's a lot of fan mounts!    A few can use a 200mm fan that's cool.  

 

Though I'd think finding 200mm fans is tricky since most mounts use 120 or 140mm. 

 

Where are the HDD cage mounts?    I can't picture where those would be.

Front of it looks better in person IMO. As for drives, all the 3.5" drives sit behind the front two fan slots, with the possibility of mounting 3 behind the tray (two spots, but you can get one of the dual-drive brackets for the lower portion where there's more room).

[Ithanul]

1 hour ago, Bleedingyamato said:

What's "I/O delete"?

I/O delete is having the front USB, audio, etc. ports removed from the case.

 

Here the two Splashes I own.  One with the front ports (gray) and one without (satin black).