Building mini ITX for architecture and low spec gaming (1000$ or less)

[Elkhose]

So as the title suggests I am building a PC for architecture work and other things:

1- Autocad

2- Revit

3- Photoshop 

4- 3Ds Max

Bonus- Maybe some games since it might have an ok GPU for medium setting on 1080 or 720

 

So I went with ITX since space is an issue and having a 24" monitor I might be able to move the build with not much issue, a laptop would be a much more friendly option but specs vs price...

 

If you can tell me a similarly priced laptop might have a good core count and ok GPU i could consider that

 

Why I chose these specs:

• CPU: I went with an i5 but it has 6 cores with good clock speed and is just 215$ (I know Ryzen 3 is awesome but didn't find a comparable one unless I go to Ryzen 2) since I am also used to intel and their quirks 
• GPU: For the GPU I felt a 1660TI give a good value for money with a 200$  unless my research is way off and a 1050TI is better or something, I know Autocad and 3Ds max uses GPU but if this is way overkill I may consider something else. 
• RAM: Memory is not an issue especially that I can get 1 16GB stick run in single channel a while then upgrade later but for 80$ I'll just directly go to 32GB since getting 2x8GB I will have to discard both sticks to upgrade later on
• Case: Node202 was chosen since it has a fairly small footprint can hold all the above with low hassle and is quite acceptably priced.
• Cooler: I don't think I can ever go wrong with Noctua (Also I don't really like water like AIO since the machine will be moved from time to time to clear the dining room table so I guess air cooling requires less maintenance especially that I won't be using this machine personally)

Everything is up for debate (I did mention I might go to laptop if logical).....

Here is the parts list

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Elkhose/saved/#view=KNTx6h

 

(Background on  my builds:

Started my journey with a 286 yes you read right,

Pentium 2, Pentium 4 GeForce 5600, Core2Duo upgraded GPU down the line to 9600GT, Core2Quad carried the GPU with me 9600GT. All Core builds were upgrades instead of full build and they were always 2years behind the market...

Finally built a full PC after started working (current build):

Corei7 7700k, Rog Z270, GTX1070  (bought a couple of month before the bitcoin price hike), case changed with time current: Cougar PANZER MAX...

All Parts were bought with time and upgraded gradually except the last machine upgrade CPU/MOBO/RAM)

[5x5]

That's quite unbalanced. You can get a Ryzen 7 3700X for that kind of money with a 2060. Give me 10 mins

[5x5]

Vastly superior in every way possible. If you insist on 32GB out of the gate - just grab a 1660 Ti

You also don't need 650W  - the 3700X uses 100W and the 2060 only about 180W

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($329.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 33.84 CFM CPU Cooler  ($39.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B450I GAMING PLUS AC Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  ($128.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (1 x 16 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($64.56 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB TUF OC Video Card  ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair SF 450 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  ($83.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1094.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-17 06:55 EDT-0400

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($329.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 33.84 CFM CPU Cooler  ($39.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B450I GAMING PLUS AC Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  ($128.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($64.56 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB DUAL OC Video Card  ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair SF 450 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  ($83.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1106.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-17 06:58 EDT-0400

[Elkhose]

21 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

Vastly superior in every way possible. If you insist on 32GB out of the gate - just grab a 1660 Ti

You also don't need 650W  - the 3700X uses 100W and the 2060 only about 180W

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($329.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 33.84 CFM CPU Cooler  ($39.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B450I GAMING PLUS AC Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  ($128.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (1 x 16 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($64.56 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB TUF OC Video Card  ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair SF 450 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  ($83.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1094.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-17 06:55 EDT-0400

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($329.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 33.84 CFM CPU Cooler  ($39.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B450I GAMING PLUS AC Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  ($128.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($64.56 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB DUAL OC Video Card  ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair SF 450 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  ($83.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1106.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-17 06:58 EDT-0400

Wow this is what I was looking for but I thought a 330$ CPU is more expensive than 215$ one but you seem to have re-balanced everything so nicely, I thought RTX and 8Cores are way out of budget, will surely go for the RTX2060 and will see if I squeeze in the dual channel ram budget or go with 1 stick.

Thank you so much for taking the time, 10$/20$ here and there surely makes a difference 

[5x5]

Just now, Elkhose said:

Wow this is what I was looking for but I thought a 330$ CPU is more expensive than 215$ one but you seem to have re-balanced everything so nicely, I thought RTX and 8Cores are way out of budget, will surely go for the RTX2060 and will see if I squeeze in the dual channel ram budget or go with 1 stick.

Thank you so much for taking the time, 10$/20$ here and there surely makes a difference 

No problem. I'd strongly suggest going with dual channel ram I'd you can since that greatly improves performance in modern CPUs. 

 

Also, bit of advice, ask the store you buy from to update the motherboard BIOs and save yourself the time. It's quite easy but when you can have someone else do it, why not

[GoldenLag]

51 minutes ago, Elkhose said:

3- Photoshop 

Which suite?

 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($194.79 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 I AORUS PRO WIFI Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  ($219.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($65.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB ARMOR OC Video Card  ($219.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair SF 600 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  ($119.95 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1010.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-17 07:30 EDT-0400

 

The 10$ over can be removed by having slightly less headroom on the PSU for top of the line hardware in terms of GPU.

[Elkhose]

5 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

Which suite?

 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($194.79 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 I AORUS PRO WIFI Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  ($219.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($65.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB ARMOR OC Video Card  ($219.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair SF 600 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  ($119.95 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1010.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-17 07:30 EDT-0400

 

The 10$ over can be removed by having slightly less headroom on the PSU for top of the line hardware in terms of GPU.

Mostly CS6 but when needed I sub to adobe and use the CC for a month

As for the list looks great if, I want to see if it is possible upping the budget for the 2060... otherwise will combine some components between these 2 builds to get an even cheaper one.

[GoldenLag]

Just now, Elkhose said:

Mostly CS6 but when needed I sub to adobe and use the CC for a month

As for the list looks great if, I want to see if it is possible upping the budget for the 2060... otherwise will combine some components between these 2 builds to get an even cheaper one.

If you are investing and staying with adobe. Ryzen is not what you should look at. 

[Elkhose]

12 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

No problem. I'd strongly suggest going with dual channel ram I'd you can since that greatly improves performance in modern CPUs. 

 

Also, bit of advice, ask the store you buy from to update the motherboard BIOs and save yourself the time. It's quite easy but when you can have someone else do it, why not

Yea, I read the Bios thing, definitely need the store todo it as I don't have another AMD CPU, I can do it with Intel using mine but I have no access to anything AMD

I do want the dual channel will see once i pull the trigger how to do it

[5x5]

Just now, GoldenLag said:

If you are investing and staying with adobe. Ryzen is not what you should look at. 

Only really aplies to some Adobe products. As reviews showed, half of Adobe products work great on Zen2

[Elkhose]

1 minute ago, GoldenLag said:

If you are investing and staying with adobe. Ryzen is not what you should look at. 

First time a hear that... Whats that about? any link to educate myself? 

Also to note that its not pro Photoshop work most of the pro work is on Autocad but photoshop for some pretty renders for the clients

[5x5]

Just now, Elkhose said:

Yea, I read the Bios thing, definitely need the store todo it as I don't have another AMD CPU, I can do it with Intel using mine but I have no access to anything AMD

I do want the dual channel will see once i pull the trigger how to do it

Some boards also have BIOS flashback but I'm not sure ITX ones do. Also, if you are using Adobe Priemier, you may want to consider a 9700 since the iGPU can be usednthere

[5x5]

1 minute ago, Elkhose said:

First time a hear that... Whats that about? any link to educate myself? 

Also to note that its not pro Photoshop work most of the pro work is on Autocad but photoshop for some pretty renders for the clients

Adobe Premier can use the intel iGPU for quick sync and speed up the process. Bit that's about it for the most part. Photoshop isn't as picky

[GoldenLag]

2 minutes ago, Elkhose said:

First time a hear that... Whats that about? any link to educate myself? 

Also to note that its not pro Photoshop work most of the pro work is on Autocad but photoshop for some pretty renders for the clients

Its if you use most heavier parts of adobe. Photoshop would be fine.

 

The big difference comes from the iGPU which turns a 8700k into essentially a 7980xe in adobe. 

 

For other software its not very significant usually. 

 

Sadly dont have any links. 

 

4 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

Adobe Premier can use the intel iGPU for quick sync and speed up the process. Bit that's about it for the most part. Photoshop isn't as picky

Well it speeds up rendering. Helps with timeline scrubbing and in geberal the low latency ringbus is king

[5x5]

1 minute ago, GoldenLag said:

Its if you use most heavier parts of adobe. Photoshop would be fine.

 

The big difference comes from the iGPU which turns a 8700k into essentially a 7980xe in adobe. 

 

For other software its not very significant usually. 

 

Sadly dont have any links. 

 

Well it speeds up rendering. Helps with timeline scrubbing and in geberal the low latency ringbus is king

For Premier sure. But other Adobe products don't really care. I think Aftereffects liked lower latency but Photoshop literally only cares about a dGPU for CUDA or OpenCL

[GoldenLag]

13 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

For Premier sure. But other Adobe products don't really care. I think Aftereffects liked lower latency but Photoshop literally only cares about a dGPU for CUDA or OpenCL

i havent doublechecked photoshop, but im pretty certain the trend followes through on lower latency and higher clockspeed preference. 

[5x5]

Just now, GoldenLag said:

i havent doublechecked photoshop, but im pretty certain the trend followes through on lower latency and higher clockspeed preference. 

Nope - not really. Same story with Illustrator

[5x5]

Basically all CS6 visual and audio applications don't really care about the iGPU. The exceptions rather than the rule are Premier and Aftereffects - if you have a dGPU - you're golden. If you don't - why even try for the rest

[GoldenLag]

14 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

17 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

i havent doublechecked photoshop, but im pretty certain the trend followes through on lower latency and higher clockspeed preference. 

Nope - not really. Same story with Illustrator

this is a rendering workload. not actual experience. and seemingly singlecore rendering at that. 

[5x5]

3 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

this is a rendering workload. not actual experience. and seemingly singlecore rendering at that. 

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Photoshop-CPU-Roundup-AMD-Ryzen-3-AMD-Threadripper-2-Intel-9th-Gen-Intel-X-series-1529/

 

Read the whole review but it's more of the same. Here's their summary

 

1. AMD Threadripper CPUs are not good for Photoshop.
2. Intel X-series CPUs are OK for Photoshop, but not an ideal choice for heavy Photoshop workflows since you can get more performance for less money with other CPU options.
3. Intel 9th Gen CPUs are great for Photoshop.
4. The new Ryzen 3rd generation CPUs are terrific for Photoshop.

[5x5]

5 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

this is a rendering workload. not actual experience. and seemingly singlecore rendering at that. 

It also seems Premier Pro got updated

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Premiere-Pro-CPU-Roundup-AMD-Ryzen-3-AMD-Threadripper-2-Intel-9th-Gen-Intel-X-series-1535/

 

Intel now only leads in H.264 and H.265 and falls behind in RED and Neat

 

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/DaVinci-Resolve-Studio-CPU-Roundup-AMD-Ryzen-3-AMD-Threadripper-2-Intel-9th-Gen-Intel-X-series-1538/

 

DaVinchi resolve is more of the same - Ryzen 3000 leading 9th gen

 

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/SOLIDWORKS-2019-SP3-AMD-Ryzen-3-vs-Intel-9th-Gen-Core-1555/

 

Solidworks is rather even

[GoldenLag]

3 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Photoshop-CPU-Roundup-AMD-Ryzen-3-AMD-Threadripper-2-Intel-9th-Gen-Intel-X-series-1529/

 

Read the whole review but it's more of the same. Here's their summary

 

1. AMD Threadripper CPUs are not good for Photoshop.
2. Intel X-series CPUs are OK for Photoshop, but not an ideal choice for heavy Photoshop workflows since you can get more performance for less money with other CPU options.
3. Intel 9th Gen CPUs are great for Photoshop.
4. The new Ryzen 3rd generation CPUs are terrific for Photoshop.

Neat tho my comment was more in relation to deeper investment into adobe than just photoshop. 

[GoldenLag]

5 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

It also seems Premier Pro got updated

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Premiere-Pro-CPU-Roundup-AMD-Ryzen-3-AMD-Threadripper-2-Intel-9th-Gen-Intel-X-series-1535/

still shows the importance of the intel iGPU. and h264 and h265 usually the more common formats. unlike especially Red which you see mostly in professional space. 

6 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

DaVinchi resolve is more of the same - Ryzen 3000 leading 9th gen

most other doesnt benefit from the iGPU. and its the iGPU that is the dealbreaker with intel, usually. there is some low latency ringbus and clockspeed that doesnt show well in benchmarks. 

[5x5]

1 minute ago, GoldenLag said:

still shows the importance of the intel iGPU. and h264 and h265 usually the more common formats. unlike especially Red which you see mostly in professional space. 

most other doesnt benefit from the iGPU. and its the iGPU that is the dealbreaker with intel, usually. there is some low latency ringbus and clockspeed that doesnt show well in benchmarks. 

Exactly - Premier Pro and After effects are the only ones that really benefit from Intel's latency

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/After-Effects-CPU-Roundup-AMD-Ryzen-3-AMD-Threadripper-2-Intel-9th-Gen-Intel-X-series-1533/

 

The rest of the Adobe Cloud doesn't care

 

8 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

Neat tho my comment was more in relation to deeper investment into adobe than just photoshop. 

feel free to check - it's more of the same. Aftereffects and Premier are the only things that use Quick Sync or benefit from Intel's uarch

[brob]

At this budget point the Intel choices are not very good. Going with an F cpu takes away the advantage Intel has with H.264/H.265.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($238.90 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($152.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($94.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB VENTUS XS OC Video Card  ($279.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Silverstone SG05BB-450-USB3.0 (Black) Mini ITX Desktop Case  ($49.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: Silverstone SFX 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply  ($72.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $989.84
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-17 10:05 EDT-0400