Shrinking my PC

greenlotad · October 17, 2020

I'm considering moving my PC into a smaller case, so this isn't a full build. I just need a case, motherboard, and psu.

The inspiration for this is just that my current pc is kinda ugly. When I built my pc several years ago I bought a Corsair Carbide Air 240 because I wanted a clean, white look, I thought microATX would be a happy medium in terms of size, and I didn't budget much for the case so my options were limited. Nowadays however, I care less for the white color, microATX feels more like an awkward in-between size, I didn't realize until after I bought it that the window is plastic rather than glass, and my specific case looks like an accordion.

Here's what I currently have:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gMHpgt

And here's what I'm looking at:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BYm3F8

The parts I found add up to a bit under $300 (US) so I guess that's my budget. My reasoning for the parts I chose is as follows:

I'm not sure if the Lian Li TU150 is small enough to count as small form factor, but all the smaller cases I saw are either ugly, a pain to build in, or 2-3x the price. Hardware Canucks reviewed it well. The only other case that seemed comparable in price, quality, and aesthetics is the Cooler Master MasterCase NR200P, but that doesn't have a handle, which I don't have a specific need for but seems like a nice feature, and I can't find the version with a glass side panel anywhere for a reasonable price. I guess I also saw a similarly-priced and good-looking Raijintek Ophion model that would also allow me to keep my current psu, but it looked like it lacked cable management space and Gamers Nexus' review said it had questionable thermals.
For the motherboard, I've narrowed it down to the Gigabyte B450 I Aorus Pro Wifi and the ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac. Other boards are either expensive, don't have wifi, or there's a poorly-reviewed msi. I'm leaning towards the ASRock because a Microcenter nearby has an open box one for a bit cheaper. Not a huge fan of Gigabyte anyway due to previous experience.
The Silverstone SFX 300W is just the cheapest sfx psu I could find. It has an 80+ Bronze rating, Silverstone seems reputable, my wattage is low according to pcpartpicker, and I don't anticipate needing more headroom.

I have one specific question. The case has a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C port, but both motherboards only have a USB 3.1 Gen 2 header. Is is possible to plug it in anyway and just have lower speeds or are they completely incompatible?

I'd also appreciate any general feedback, reassurance, different opinions on parts, or maybe you just think that's too much to spend for no performance difference. Thanks.

MarvintheParrot · October 17, 2020

39 minutes ago, greenlotad said:

I'm considering moving my PC into a smaller case, so this isn't a full build. I just need a case, motherboard, and psu.

The inspiration for this is just that my current pc is kinda ugly. When I built my pc several years ago I bought a Corsair Carbide Air 240 because I wanted a clean, white look, I thought microATX would be a happy medium in terms of size, and I didn't budget much for the case so my options were limited. Nowadays however, I care less for the white color, microATX feels more like an awkward in-between size, I didn't realize until after I bought it that the window is plastic rather than glass, and my specific case looks like an accordion.

Here's what I currently have:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gMHpgt

And here's what I'm looking at:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BYm3F8

The parts I found add up to a bit under $300 (US) so I guess that's my budget. My reasoning for the parts I chose is as follows:

I'm not sure if the Lian Li TU150 is small enough to count as small form factor, but all the smaller cases I saw are either ugly, a pain to build in, or 2-3x the price. Hardware Canucks reviewed it well. The only other case that seemed comparable in price, quality, and aesthetics is the Cooler Master MasterCase NR200P, but that doesn't have a handle, which I don't have a specific need for but seems like a nice feature, and I can't find the version with a glass side panel anywhere for a reasonable price. I guess I also saw a similarly-priced and good-looking Raijintek Ophion model that would also allow me to keep my current psu, but it looked like it lacked cable management space and Gamers Nexus' review said it had questionable thermals.

For the motherboard, I've narrowed it down to the Gigabyte B450 I Aorus Pro Wifi and the ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac. Other boards are either expensive, don't have wifi, or there's a poorly-reviewed msi. I'm leaning towards the ASRock because a Microcenter nearby has an open box one for a bit cheaper. Not a huge fan of Gigabyte anyway due to previous experience.

The Silverstone SFX 300W is just the cheapest sfx psu I could find. It has an 80+ Bronze rating, Silverstone seems reputable, my wattage is low according to pcpartpicker, and I don't anticipate needing more headroom.

I have one specific question. The case has a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C port, but both motherboards only have a USB 3.1 Gen 2 header. Is is possible to plug it in anyway and just have lower speeds or are they completely incompatible?

I'd also appreciate any general feedback, reassurance, different opinions on parts, or maybe you just think that's too much to spend for no performance difference. Thanks.

Higher wattage PSU. Your new system will run about 250W according to PcPartPicker. I always add about 50W-75W on top of that I would recommend at least 350W. Otherwise I think your system looks good, but I would consult others as I am not an expert in small form factors.

Random_Person1234 · October 17, 2020

Definitely a higher wattage PSU. As stated above you should always add at least 50w on top of the calculated requirement. I would go for this PSU: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1296093-REG/silverstone_st45sf_v3_450w_80_plus_bronze.html.