Debating ITX VR build

porina · June 26, 2016

I gave in and should have a Vive arriving tomorrow. My main rig will power that (980Ti) but I'm debating making a 2nd smaller unit to allow me to take it elsewhere, or just give more flexibility in where to run it other than next to my main rig as space is limited.

Going mini-ITX seems to be a logical choice. I can reuse components from existing systems, but will need some new ones such as:

Skylake mini-ITX mobo
mini-ITX case
VR ready GPU

I will likely reuse the i5-6600k. Given the small form factor, I'm not sure I want to overclock it, but will I regret not getting an OC capable mobo later on? That's my worry. This ties in with the case choice. I want something small and solid, but with decent cooling potential. I would say looks are also a "nice to have" feature. I don't even know where to start looking for a decent case with suitable power supply.

The GPU is another area to consider. I'm not moving the 980Ti into this box... that would be insane due to size and power requirements. I think the choice will be down to 1070 or 480X, pending more data on the AMD solution as right now as far as I'm concerned price and performance are unknowns. I'm not in a rush to build this box so I can afford to wait and see how the 480X benchmarks go. I know the 1070 will be a safe performance choice, but it is relatively expensive and not exactly a compact card. 480X sounds like a better value solution, if it lives up to its claims of delivering a good VR experience.

porina · June 26, 2016

Done some random looking at ITX cases. Note I listed both dimensions and approximate volume. I'm not buying by volume, but it does give a better indication of their relative size than pictures might show.

Corsair 250D is a non-starter. It is actually bigger than micro-ATX cases I have. 351x277x290mm (28.2L)

AvP Hyperion EV33. This is the micro-ATX case I already have for comparison. 225x300x354mm (23.9L)

Antec ISK 600 is interesting. A bit longer than most but interesting PSU arrangement gives room above the CPU for a half decent cooler. 260x195x369mm (18.7L)

Silverstone Sugo is tiny, but I'm not sure about the compromises required on CPU cooling. 222x181x285mm (11.5L)