Dumb question (new builder)

[sqcazeef]

If i were to get an itx case for traveling over an tower would it not perform as well, just wondering about cooling and stuff 

[Radium_Angel]

1 minute ago, sqcazeef said:

If i were to get an itx case for traveling over an tower would it not perform as well, just wondering about cooling and stuff 

You'll have to be a tad more attentive to how you cool things, and airflow and whatnot, but it's fine.

[PastorMilk]

It should perform very similarly depending on your specs, thermals are worse in smaller cases with restricted airflow.

[manikyath]

a smaller system doesnt perform worse "by default", but building in a compact case can be very difficult (in terms of making things fit), and getting your cooling all figured out. the reason why a smaller pc may end up performing worse, is because with modern components, they will ramp up clocks when temps are lower. but then on the flip side.. most smaller pc cases are designed around that cooling 'issue', so they may as well end up cooling better than the bigger 'covered in glass' showcase pc cases.

[DonBaldy]

What type of traveling? What's the intended use? 

[TopKitty]

People game on laptops so I’d say you’re fine

[NineEyeRon]

For weekly moves a gaming laptop is best (ie going home at weekends), you can invest in an external GPU for one location and do light gaming the other time.

 

For less frequent moves, (term breaks/summer holidays) an ITX rig is fine. I use a Fractal Nano S as a compromise but true ITX rigs are smaller. Yes cooling is more of an issue but just chose more moderate parts and you will be done. Don’t expect a 4K 120hz gaming rig with cool idle temps. Aim for 1080p, 144hz and just keep temps under control.

[Moonzy]

If you do build in itx, make sure your components are well secured and try to avoid hard disk drives and go solid state

 

I would recommend getting a laptop if you do want to travel a lot, you don't have to bring a screen with you too

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to New Builds and Planning

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Cooling only starts to effect performance after long periods of use (this has been talked in couple LTT videos recently with M1 Macs cooling). So being in smaller case doesn't automatically mean it will perform worse. It does mean that expecting same performance, or cooling, that you would in bigger case is already wrong move. Also that some things like overclocking might not be as easy to do. And as said, you need to actually think about cooling bit more than what you would with big ATX case.