[Planning] Mini-ATX Portable Build

[Mushious]

Heyoo,

 

Planning on building a second PC I can easily take to LAN events and stuff (plus I want a second PC in the house for friends), my R4 is a bit too bulky/heavy (especially with the glass window I added...) to transport comfortably.

 

Thinking of going with a Bitfenix Prodigy, beautiful little case imo, just trying to hammer out specs. Don't think I'll overclock it but might put a K series in it if I ever feel like doing so (the R4 build runs at 4.6, don't expect the same from this thing).

 

Chances are I'll be pulling the 780Ti out of my main build whenever I happen to travel (hopefully it fits, I haven't checked, may cause me to change the case... D:)

 

The rig I had in mind was something like:

 

CPU: i5-4960K (Possibly the one from my R4 if I upgrade that to an i7)

RAM: 8GB DDR3-1666 (probably Mushkin? idk it's cheap and looks nice/works well)

Cooler: Unsure, help!

Mobo: Mini ATX Z97 of some kind, Asus maybe, not fussed

PSU: 550W (I think that'll be enough? 600 if not)

M.2 boot SSD

2TB Barracuda for storage

Video: GTX 950/960 (Open to suggestions, when used around the house it'll have this, 780Ti when traveling)

 

So uh, ideas yesh?

[007agentHP]

mini itx or micro atx?

[Chugle]

mini itx or micro atx?

The title clearly says Mini-ITX

[sabot]

Check out the corsair 250D that is small and fits a micro board. It also has ample room for video cards... Linus has a video about it! I have a 500w psu and a 980 ti with no issues... you should be fine. For cooler, if you are up to it, you could do a corsair h50 -80 in the 250d

[007agentHP]

The title clearly says Mini-ITX

it says Mini ATX (CHECK THE TITLE) so its confusing, and i want to make sure i have my facts straight before giving advice

[Mug]

• go for a h board
• go for a 4460
• go for a 970
• cheapest ram
• stock cooler

reasoning

• you're going to get at best 10% from an overclock so not worth it especially for a computer you're taking aroud and need it to work although yuou lose that overclocking kudos
• really not that much worse
• better graphics card plus you're saving on the processor and motherboard so yeah
• cheap ram still means no slacker
• stock cooler not bad trust me

[Mushious]

Check out the corsair 250D that is small and fits a micro board. It also has ample room for video cards... Linus has a video about it! I have a 500w psu and a 980 ti with no issues... you should be fine. For cooler, if you are up to it, you could do a corsair h50 -80 in the 250d

 

780Ti is a bit of a power hog compared to the 980Ti I believe. Really prefer the looks of the Prodigy over the 250D, I'm a bit of a showoff so I like pretty things.

[Mug]

Check out the corsair 250D that is small and fits a micro board. It also has ample room for video cards... Linus has a video about it! I have a 500w psu and a 980 ti with no issues... you should be fine. For cooler, if you are up to it, you could do a corsair h50 -80 in the 250d

250d does not fit micro boards you mug

 

and it looks like shit

[Mushious]

mini itx or micro atx?

 

The title clearly says Mini-ITX

 

I don't usually do small... mini and micro are both small right? ATX is what I'm after.

 

 

 

• go for a h board
• go for a 4460
• go for a 970
• cheapest ram
• stock cooler

reasoning

• you're going to get at best 10% from an overclock so not worth it especially for a computer you're taking aroud and need it to work although yuou lose that overclocking kudos
• really not that much worse
• better graphics card plus you're saving on the processor and motherboard so yeah
• cheap ram still means no slacker
• stock cooler not bad trust me

 

 

I need mah kudos tho...

 

Not sure on the 4460, would rather a non-K 4690 tbh. H series motherboard isn't a terrible idea if I did.

Mushkin is pretty cheap for RAM, still works great.

Stock cooler in a toaster... uhhh okay. I don't mind paying for a bit better cooling.

[Mug]

Not sure on the 4460, would rather a non-K 4690 tbh. H series motherboard isn't a terrible idea if I did.

Mushkin is pretty cheap for RAM, still works great.

Stock cooler in a toaster... uhhh okay. I don't mind paying for a bit better cooling.

a 4690 is also a good choice

 

And stock coolers are not bad. If I was you, try it out and if you're unsatisfied get something else no biggie.

[Mushious]

a 4690 is also a good choice

And stock coolers are not bad. If I was you, try it out and if you're unsatisfied get something else no biggie.

Can always try and see how it goes.

[GDRRiley]

I don't usually do small... mini and micro are both small right? ATX is what I'm after.

 

No mini ITX is different from micro ATX

[dizmo]

If you're traveling do you really want a spinning drive? I'd almost look at a laptop drive, at least they're made to take the bumps and jolts that the case will encounter.

Personally, I'd just go all out SSD. 500GB drives are getting quite cheap, and if it's a secondary/LAN rig, do you really need a ton of mass storage? I'd think your main rig would take care of that.

 

I'd also go for a locked CPU, a cheaper one (honestly I doubt you'll notice the 100 or so mhz drop), and you can even drop down to a B series board as long as it supports what you want.

I'd probably go with a regular SATA SSD, since honestly you won't see a difference except in price and motherboard selection.

 

LAN rig? Get a case with handles. The Prodigy is nice, but it's...not the most stable case. The handles are very flimsy/flexy, as they're made out of a rubber. You can push the case almost a full inch, if not more, side to side when it's sitting on a solid surface.

I might look at the 380T if it's within the budget (no idea what they cost).

 

I'd also go mini ITX. Main difference between mini ITX and micro ATX is expansion. ITX has one 16x slot, ATX has 2 (usually) and a couple/few 4x/1x slots.

 

I would not get a 950..

[Mushious]

No mini ITX is different from micro ATX

I'm aware the title was a typo, it was going to say "Mini-ITX/Micro-ATX" but deleted part of it.

[Mushious]

If you're traveling do you really want a spinning drive? I'd almost look at a laptop drive, at least they're made to take the bumps and jolts that the case will encounter.

Personally, I'd just go all out SSD. 500GB drives are getting quite cheap, and if it's a secondary/LAN rig, do you really need a ton of mass storage? I'd think your main rig would take care of that.

I'd also go for a locked CPU, a cheaper one (honestly I doubt you'll notice the 100 or so mhz drop), and you can even drop down to a B series board as long as it supports what you want.

I'd probably go with a regular SATA SSD, since honestly you won't see a difference except in price and motherboard selection.

LAN rig? Get a case with handles. The Prodigy is nice, but it's...not the most stable case. The handles are very flimsy/flexy, as they're made out of a rubber. You can push the case almost a full inch, if not more, side to side when it's sitting on a solid surface.

I might look at the 380T if it's within the budget (no idea what they cost).

I'd also go mini ITX. Main difference between mini ITX and micro ATX is expansion. ITX has one 16x slot, ATX has 2 (usually) and a couple/few 4x/1x slots.

I would not get a 950..

Not too worried about a spinning platter, computer won't be on while moving.

With ITX do you not need a different PSU? Or will an ATX psu be fine?

380T is rather nice, will add it to my list of considerations.

[dizmo]

Not too worried about a spinning platter, computer won't be on while moving.

With ITX do you not need a different PSU? Or will an ATX psu be fine?

380T is rather nice, will add it to my list of considerations.

Nope, the PSU is entirely dependent on the case.

It's just a much more compact form factor.

Have you looked at something like the SG13? Much smaller. No handles, but at that size, I don't think it really matters a great deal.

[Mushious]

Nope, the PSU is entirely dependent on the case.

It's just a much more compact form factor.

Have you looked at something like the SG13? Much smaller. No handles, but at that size, I don't think it really matters a great deal.

That's almost bite size. 380T is much more appealing. I do want a bit of flair, just needs to be portable, not necessarily small enough to fit in my wallet.

[Thunder Down Under]

If it was me I would do something like this http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/p/2Z72CJ

[Mushious]

If it was me I would do something like this http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/p/2Z72CJ

 

I... actually like that.

[sabot]

250d does not fit micro boards you mug

 

and it looks like shit

I meant air 240 holy cow my bad

 

780Ti is a bit of a power hog compared to the 980Ti I believe. Really prefer the looks of the Prodigy over the 250D, I'm a bit of a showoff so I like pretty things.

Yeah I meant air 240 and I was not aware of the 780ti being all that bad (I had dual r9 290s so I have had power hogs...)