Help With Small Footprint PC Build

[XxthemonkeyxX]

Budget (including currency): I’d like to try and keep it under $2500 USD. 

Country: USA 

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: honestly would be used for web browsing and any random gaming with friends and possible streaming to discord here and there. Friends jump around games like fifa 23, civ 6, phasmaphobia, LoL, smite. For me personally, I’d probably try out Starfield, CP2077, Halo, and other triple As.  
 

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): attached a picture of a rough start on parts I want to go with. Using a dual 27”monitor setup at 1080p, 60hz. Might upgrade to 1440p down the line. Might need a new gaming mouse, have a razer basilisk X that looks like it’s starting to get double click syndrome. Keyboard is a Mountain Everest Max so I’m good there. 

One thing I would really like is for the system to have a pretty small (?) footprint. I’m thinking case dimensions would ideally fit between 16” L x 12” W x 20” H. I think going mini ITX is the way to go, but if micro ATX can do the job, then I don’t see why not. Another thing Id really like to use is thunderbolt. I actually have a work setup using a WD19TB docking station and I’m thinking that if I just switch the dock between systems and keep peripherals where they are currently at, that would be perfect. I know they’ve done a few videos on LTT using thunderbolt docks but I don’t think gaming was well documented in them. If I would need to get another type of thunderbolt dock, I’m cool with that. Essentially yes, I would be using my work setup as the gaming setup, don’t have a lot of space in my room. The 3080 I’m thinking of getting probably would be overkill for most games and especially the displays but I’d consider it future proofing. I think the most help I would need is finding a good build that can fit the case dimensions I listed earlier. Anything helps, thanks! 
 

Edit: recreated the list I previously posted with part links. 

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PnLvxs

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($298.89 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: *Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($99.95 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX Z690-I GAMING WIFI Mini ITX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($389.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory  ($158.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Asus TUF GAMING GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12 GB Video Card  ($1585.00 @ Amazon) 
Case: Thermaltake The Tower 100 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair SF750 750 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  ($184.71 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home Retail - Download 64-bit  ($139.00 @ Adorama) 
Total: $3146.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-01-29 11:35 EST-0500

 

Total is $3100 as is but 3080s are going for about $750 on eBay so that would bring it down to about $2400. 
 

[Dr0idGh0sT]

I don't know why wouldn't you link PCPartPicker or hide prices, That makes it very hard to help.

But I can tell this list is garbage if it costs anywhere close to 2500$.

 

This would be what I recommend, Because this case would not fir any bigger GPU.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7900 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($429.00 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool AK620 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler  ($64.98 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI MPG B650I EDGE WIFI Mini ITX AM5 Motherboard  ($239.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($174.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Asus TUF GAMING GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12 GB Video Card  ($799.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Thermaltake The Tower 100 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($159.99 @ B&H) 
Custom: Windows 11 Pro ($30.00)
Total: $2188.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-01-28 12:55 EST-0500

 

But u can go for this, This should also fit right?

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7900 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($429.00 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool AK620 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler  ($64.98 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING B650M-PLUS WIFI Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($204.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($174.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Asus TUF GAMING GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB Video Card  ($1199.00 @ Newegg) 
Case: Thermaltake Divider 170 TG ARGB MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.98 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($159.99 @ B&H) 
Custom: Windows 11 Pro ($30.00)
Total: $2522.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-01-28 13:00 EST-0500

 

[Maxxtraxx]

My own personal thoughts for you:

My Personal Build for you: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/

1:  Z790 and 13600k are likely a better choice for most of what you're describing as a use case, the higher clock speeds and comparably high thread counts will work better than the 12700k IMO.

2: Monitors: if possible go 144hz refresh rate with Freesync compatability, HIGH refresh with Freesync is FANTASTIC, the BEST user experience upgrade I've had recently.

3:I'm a big fan of the Very small form factor Lian Li A4, worth checking out, may not be your thing.

4: with DDR5 currently, 6000+ speeds are great for Intel platforms, a little technical here BUT, finding memory with CL30 or CL32 is your best choice while refraining from CL36-36-36. REASON: the 30 and 32 are likely SK Hynix M or A die (likely M) while the 36's are Samsung memory, CURRENTLY the SKhynix memory is the best available, for much information and rambling SEE Buildzoid from Actually Hardcore Overclocking and his video HERE: 

[brob]

Take pity on those using small screen devices, post the permalink.

[Lurking]

The very smallest ATX case I found (and own) is this Rosewill case. it seems to be out of stock (and not $39 anymore like I paid). Anything smaller, and you look into ITX MB or even SFX PSU. Obviously smaller in this case cost much more $ for less stuff and worse cooling. 

[XxthemonkeyxX]

20 hours ago, brob said:

Take pity on those using small screen devices, post the permalink.

My bad, I took a picture of the parts the day before posting the thread. Didn’t save the parts or any links from part picker. 

[RevGAM]

FYI, @XxthemonkeyxX the $30 Windows key may work,  but it would not be legal unless you get a pre-built computer (either from a company that does that like HP, or a company that specializes in custom builds). It might be stolen,  but more likely it is an OEM or other bulk key... where did you see it?

[XxthemonkeyxX]

19 minutes ago, RevGAM said:

FYI, @XxthemonkeyxX the $30 Windows key may work,  but it would not be legal unless you get a pre-built computer (either from a company that does that like HP, or a company that specializes in custom builds). It might be stolen,  but more likely it is an OEM or other bulk key... where did you see it?

It’s not a $30 key. It’s a full priced download key. It’s $139 directly from MS

 

[RevGAM]

22 hours ago, XxthemonkeyxX said:

It’s not a $30 key. It’s a full priced download key. It’s $139 directly from MS

 

Sorry, I was looking at the answers from others... a lot of peeps promote the illegal keys