Small form factor uni desktop pc

[The Torrent]

Budget (including currency): 1k GBP maybe.

Country: uk

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: uni work and gaming (rainbow 6 siege)

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

 

I have my desktop which is a ryzen 3600, gtx 1060 6gb, ultrawide monitor, 2nd monitor, bunch of storage etc etc.

 

i need a 2nd small form factor pc for uni i think. As i think my desktop will be too big to take backwards and fowards. I was gonna get a laptop but screw laptop.

 

So if i get a 2nd pc, i think ill get a decent gpu for it, like 3070 or above, and then when i come home from uni ill just bring the 3070 home in its box and put it in my main rig, cuz my 1060 has seen better days by far.

 

So it needs to be small enough to put in a suitcase. Smaller the better. I am fine with used market, and i know absolutely nothing about small form factor pc's. Is it worth looking at used prebuilds? What are some good cases, motherboards for those cases? etc

 

Also im not sure what monitor im gonna use for it yet. maybe recommend a monitor? im gonna leave my ultrawide at home but i dont particularly wanna take my 2nd monitor which is 60hz. 

 

Thanks

[Hybris5112]

It seems to me that once you throw in the cost of a monitor you might as well get a mid range laptop and then get a external GPU enclosure to keep your 3070 in and hook that up while you are at university.

[The Torrent]

12 minutes ago, Hybris5112 said:

It seems to me that once you throw in the cost of a monitor you might as well get a mid range laptop and then get a external GPU enclosure to keep your 3070 in and hook that up while you are at university.

if i buy a laptop i'd want another monitor anyway.

[dizmo]

Laptop makes far more sense. Especially if you have any kind of group project that you want to do at a library etc. Don't be that guy.

 

SFF prebuilts aren't really good investments. I'd take a look at the LianLi A4H20 if you want a small case, or perhaps a used DanCase if you can find it.

 

[The King of the Undead]

as others have mentioned a laptop would better fill your need. However if you insist on a desktop why not just buy the necessary components to turn your current build into an sff?

[The Torrent]

3 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Laptop makes far more sense. Especially if you have any kind of group project that you want to do at a library etc. Don't be that guy.

 

 

Yh i thought this but i spoke to some people and they where all like a laptop aint that important/useful. still something to think about tho ig...

the lian li looks interesting ill check it out thanks

[The Torrent]

Just now, The King of the Undead said:

as others have mentioned a laptop would better fill your need. However if you insist on a desktop why not just buy the necessary components to turn your current build into an sff?

its got a normal atx mobo in there rn. im not entirely sure cuz i dont know much about sff but dont smaller cases need matx mobos or something?

[The King of the Undead]

4 minutes ago, The Torrent said:

its got a normal atx mobo in there rn. im not entirely sure cuz i dont know much about sff but dont smaller cases need matx mobos or something?

I beleive mitx. but you could get a new MB for way cheaper than a new PC.

[brob]

In ancient times, I spent as little time as possible in my rooms. Had they been less than 15kg a notebook would have been my choice. 

 

These days a decent tablet or phone probably provides all the portable computing power needed for school stuff.

 

SFF is not less expensive than larger formats. In fact it can often be more expensive.

 

[dizmo]

9 minutes ago, The Torrent said:

Yh i thought this but i spoke to some people and they where all like a laptop aint that important/useful. still something to think about tho ig...

the lian li looks interesting ill check it out thanks

I kind of doubt that. Every single person I know who went to uni had one. It's also nice in case you have to go to the library, or just want a change of scenery so you don't go mad.

8 minutes ago, The Torrent said:

its got a normal atx mobo in there rn. im not entirely sure cuz i dont know much about sff but dont smaller cases need matx mobos or something?

You'd just need an ITX motherboard.

26 minutes ago, brob said:

In ancient times, I spent as little time as possible in my rooms. Had they been less than 15kg a notebook would have been my choice. 

 

These days a decent tablet or phone probably provides all the portable computing power needed for school stuff.

 

SFF is not less expensive than larger formats. In fact it can often be more expensive.

 

Uhhh....no.

[brob]

20 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Uhhh....no

 

What computing power that must be portable is not provided by a decent tablet or phone? Note I'm talking about computing power that one must carry around, not total computing power required.

[The King of the Undead]

8 hours ago, brob said:

 

What computing power that must be portable is not provided by a decent tablet or phone? Note I'm talking about computing power that one must carry around, not total computing power required.

This specific use case all the computing power is required.

[brob]

11 minutes ago, The King of the Undead said:

This specific use case all the computing power is required.

 

I was not suggesting anything different. I was simply pointing out that a laptop was not necessarily the best option. That an SFF would be fine because there are other options to meet on campus portable needs. The original comment was intended to counter those suggesting that a laptop made the most sense.