5 ms·

that was really cool. I like the idea of repurposing old office stock. Does anyone else actually prefer the smaller form factor desktop cases? I went for a Frac

by spats1990 6y ago

that was really cool. I like the idea of repurposing old office stock. Does anyone else actually prefer the smaller form factor desktop cases? I went for a Fractal Node 202 for current PC build and since then I've taken it in my checked luggage (well-packed and padded) on two international flights. If you move every few months/every year or two, or expect to, it's really nice to have a case that isn't a massive tower and not rely on using your laptop for a desktop PC. You can just sell your monitor when you move and buy the same one or a better one when you get set up in your new place.

the_pwner224 6y ago
I just assembled a mini-ITX computer recently. It's amazing having the entire system on a 6x6 inch motherboard. A few inches deep for the CPU cooler. The NVMe SSD is inside the motherboard. I do have a gigantic external GPU which almost doubles the size of the entire system, and because of that I also need a decently big power supply. But the entire system is literally just incredictlmotherboard + attached GPU + power supply. Being able to fit it all into a NZXT H210 (still relatively big compared many other SFF cases) is great, especially for transporting it between college and home. It was about 50% cheaper than buying an equivalently specced laptop. And any laptop with this performance would need to be really big and heavy to accommodate the cooling requirements (45 watt CPU, 220 watt GPU).
- tabulatouch 6y ago
  Very interested in knowing the specs of your setup and how you saved.
  - the_pwner224 6y ago
    AMD 3800x processor (8c/16t @ around 4.5 GHz), $330 AMD 5700xt GPU, $450 for the better versions 512 GB Corsair Force MP600 (5gbit/s NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD), around $115 iirc 32 GB DDR4-3200 RAM for around $90 iirc ASUS mini-itx X570 motherboard, around $200-250 - X570 is the highest tier of AMD chipsets but is needed for PCIe 4.0. Could save $100 here with a lower SSD. This one also has the latest Intel WiFi 6 chipset. $100 for power supply, $100 for case, $30 for quieter fans. Including tax and everything the total came out to around $1600. After deciding the specs I spent some time looking for comparable laptops and they were all much more expensive. I didn't do anything special to save. You could get this exact same build for a bit cheaper today I think; I did this in November. I just purchased a second one of the same GPU this week and it was $20 cheaper. The other components have probably also had some drops in price.
jdboyd 6y ago
I like sff machines like the Dell Optiplex. The problem with them though is the lack of compatible graphics cards.
- timClicks 6y ago
  sff?
  - ThrowawayR2 6y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_form_factor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_form_factor
- numpad0 6y ago
  Dell and HP use same name for MT/DT/SFF/USFF(in Dell nomenclature) within a same product line, e.g. “OptiPlex 5070 DT” and “OptiPlex 5070 USFF”
centimeter 6y ago
Same here. Built a Node 202 VR PC. By far the densest PC I've ever built - barely a few cubic inches of free space in there. Very happy with it - much easier to transport than my last setup. I bought a surplus military case that fits it perfectly.
GhostVII 6y ago
I love small form factor PC's. Recently finished a Silverstone SG13 build, looks just like a toaster oven sitting on my desk it's awesome. Super cheap too, although build quality is meh.
toast0 6y ago
Small computers are pretty handy, but after one mini-itx experience, I either get a regular atx tower or a tiny prebuilt system built from laptop parts, where the only things to change are ram and storage. It's just too messy cramming stuff into small format expandable pcs. But I don't play many games that need GPUs and I don't mind low settings and terrible framerates.
runawaybottle 6y ago
I’ve had a few fractal cases. The Xbox series x is basically a nice small form factor pc, here’s a lookalike case: https://www.nzxt.com/products/h1-matte-white https://www.nzxt.com/products/h1-matte-white
- monkeywork 6y ago
  That case alone costs basically what an XBSX is going to cost.
  - runawaybottle 6y ago
    Yeah, seems like it. It looks good, most gaming cases look somewhat childish.

the_pwner224 6y ago

I just assembled a mini-ITX computer recently. It's amazing having the entire system on a 6x6 inch motherboard. A few inches deep for the CPU cooler. The NVMe SSD is inside the motherboard. I do have a gigantic external GPU which almost doubles the size of the entire system, and because of that I also need a decently big power supply. But the entire system is literally just incredictlmotherboard + attached GPU + power supply. Being able to fit it all into a NZXT H210 (still relatively big compared many other SFF cases) is great, especially for transporting it between college and home. It was about 50% cheaper than buying an equivalently specced laptop. And any laptop with this performance would need to be really big and heavy to accommodate the cooling requirements (45 watt CPU, 220 watt GPU).

tabulatouch 6y ago
Very interested in knowing the specs of your setup and how you saved.
- the_pwner224 6y ago
  AMD 3800x processor (8c/16t @ around 4.5 GHz), $330 AMD 5700xt GPU, $450 for the better versions 512 GB Corsair Force MP600 (5gbit/s NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD), around $115 iirc 32 GB DDR4-3200 RAM for around $90 iirc ASUS mini-itx X570 motherboard, around $200-250 - X570 is the highest tier of AMD chipsets but is needed for PCIe 4.0. Could save $100 here with a lower SSD. This one also has the latest Intel WiFi 6 chipset. $100 for power supply, $100 for case, $30 for quieter fans. Including tax and everything the total came out to around $1600. After deciding the specs I spent some time looking for comparable laptops and they were all much more expensive. I didn't do anything special to save. You could get this exact same build for a bit cheaper today I think; I did this in November. I just purchased a second one of the same GPU this week and it was $20 cheaper. The other components have probably also had some drops in price.

jdboyd 6y ago

I like sff machines like the Dell Optiplex. The problem with them though is the lack of compatible graphics cards.

timClicks 6y ago
sff?
- ThrowawayR2 6y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_form_factor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_form_factor
numpad0 6y ago
Dell and HP use same name for MT/DT/SFF/USFF(in Dell nomenclature) within a same product line, e.g. “OptiPlex 5070 DT” and “OptiPlex 5070 USFF”

centimeter 6y ago

Same here. Built a Node 202 VR PC. By far the densest PC I've ever built - barely a few cubic inches of free space in there. Very happy with it - much easier to transport than my last setup. I bought a surplus military case that fits it perfectly.

GhostVII 6y ago

I love small form factor PC's. Recently finished a Silverstone SG13 build, looks just like a toaster oven sitting on my desk it's awesome. Super cheap too, although build quality is meh.

toast0 6y ago

Small computers are pretty handy, but after one mini-itx experience, I either get a regular atx tower or a tiny prebuilt system built from laptop parts, where the only things to change are ram and storage. It's just too messy cramming stuff into small format expandable pcs. But I don't play many games that need GPUs and I don't mind low settings and terrible framerates.

runawaybottle 6y ago

I’ve had a few fractal cases. The Xbox series x is basically a nice small form factor pc, here’s a lookalike case: https://www.nzxt.com/products/h1-matte-white https://www.nzxt.com/products/h1-matte-white

monkeywork 6y ago
That case alone costs basically what an XBSX is going to cost.
- runawaybottle 6y ago
  Yeah, seems like it. It looks good, most gaming cases look somewhat childish.