Computer Build Recommendations

[NAdamV423]

So, my computers are getting on in years, but nothing on the market appeals. As such, I want to make my own. Thing is, all I know is that want a Mini-ITX form factor. Anybody have brand recommendations for where to start?

[Balmas]

So, my computers are getting on in years, but nothing on the market appeals. As such, I want to make my own. Thing is, all I know is that want a Mini-ITX form factor. Anybody have brand recommendations for where to start?

Some more information on what you want this computer to do would be useful. Do you game? If so, what settings are desired? What's your budget for this build? Do you need it to do any workstation tasks like rendering and video editing?

[halfeye]

Why Mini ITX? They are pretty cramped and overheating can be a problem in this weather.

I personally like to go for a mini-ITX mobo in a micro ATX (which despite the names is bigger) case, plenty of room for airflow.

[factotum]

Yeah, I would question the mini-ITX requirement as well. In my experience, mini-ITX boards usually come with mobile-class CPUs and are thus very poor performers compared to proper desktop ones, and since a micro-ATX board is only 2.6 inches bigger than mini-ITX, it's not like you can't build very small PCs using that form factor.

[thracian]

There are mini ITX HEDT motherboards, and there are more than a couple SFF cases that support an AIO cooler for the CPU with a grill for intake directly over the graphics card, leading to excellent temperatures. ITX needs slightly more thought than a full tower, but seriously? Linus had 22 cores and GTX 1080 in a shoebox. ITX is fine.

[NAdamV423]

Some more information on what you want this computer to do would be useful. Do you game? If so, what settings are desired? What's your budget for this build? Do you need it to do any workstation tasks like rendering and video editing?

It's going to be used for some basic gaming, but nothing too intense. The most intense task I'd be using it for would be code compiling, or maybe making Blender models.

Why Mini ITX? They are pretty cramped and overheating can be a problem in this weather.

I personally like to go for a mini-ITX mobo in a micro ATX (which despite the names is bigger) case, plenty of room for airflow.

I find that I don't need all the expansion slots or large amounts of RAM that larger form factors have.

Yeah, I would question the mini-ITX requirement as well. In my experience, mini-ITX boards usually come with mobile-class CPUs and are thus very poor performers compared to proper desktop ones, and since a micro-ATX board is only 2.6 inches bigger than mini-ITX, it's not like you can't build very small PCs using that form factor.

I would be getting the processor separate. Haven't decided upon Intel or AMD, though.

There are mini ITX HEDT motherboards, and there are more than a couple SFF cases that support an AIO cooler for the CPU with a grill for intake directly over the graphics card, leading to excellent temperatures. ITX needs slightly more thought than a full tower, but seriously? Linus had 22 cores and GTX 1080 in a shoebox. ITX is fine.

Thanks for the input, everyone, but I think I should probably be more explicit in what question I wanted answered.

Which motherboard brands would say are your favorites?

[thracian]

AMD's Ryzen architecture performs extremely well in heavily threaded tasks like Blender, and is generally the going recommendation for workstations in the last year or so. The 2000-series Ryzen chips especially are what you're looking for, the advancement over the 1000 series is formidable.

In general ASUS tends to be considered top dog among motherboards. They're the premium brand, but carry a price to match. I've had excellent experiences with ASRock, who tend to be the mad scientists of the motherboard world. They tend to try to push the limits on what features they can put at a given price point or form factor. They're the ones who made a mini-ITX server motherboard, after all.

[Excession]

I find that I don't need all the expansion slots or large amounts of RAM that larger form factors have.

Which motherboard brands would say are your favorites?

Looking at prices locally, I would pay more for a Mini-ITX board than the equivalent M-ATX board. On top of that you get the "fun" of assembling a computer in a small fiddly case. If you ever find yourself thinking "I need more RAM", "this motherboard sound is really bad", or "I wish I could connect using the new wifi standard" you're kind of stuck. Yes, USB can add wifi or sound, but it has it's own limitations. That's why people were questioning the M-ITX decision.

For Motherboard brands, ASUS would be my preferred choice, though Gigabyte and MSI are fine too. I might avoid the "ROG" gaming sub-brand though, as they're quite a bit more expensive without adding much for the workloads you're talking about. Don't assume you need to buy a "gaming" motherboard to play games. Judge them on their features rather than the marketing fluff.

[factotum]

Asus, Gigabyte and MSI are my choices for motherboard as well. ASRock I find to be rather too variable in quality to recommend--while they do tend to do quirky stuff other manufacturers don't (I had a board from them that supported both DDR and DDR2 RAM, albeit not both at the same time), they're not generally worth going for unless you actually *need* whatever quirk they've implemented.

[Balmas]

I've gone thr.ough PcPartPicker and made a starting point for you to jump off from. Keep in mind, this is just how I'd probably build a PC for 1080P gaming and some workstation productivity. Cost can be shaved off in a couple places.

• If you don't tend to do heavy gaming or workstation stuff, or if you don't like having a dozen tabs open at once, you could cut that memory to a single 8GB stick of memory.
• If you don't intend to overclock, or if noise from a CPU Fan doesn't bother you, you can skip the aftermarket CPU cooler
• I've put in a GTX 1060 for the graphics card, but if you're willing to buy used GPUs, I've found that high-end 900 series GPUS are almost as effective as 10-series, and give that performance at almost half the cost. This also assumes that you are gaming at 1080p. Keep in mind, any GPU you select will have to be under 310mm to fit in the case.
• Speaking of, the case I chose is about the size of a shoebox. If you aren't prepared to build in cramped conditions, you might want to select something else.
• Finally, this build assumes that you're starting from scratch. If you have old parts like an older GPU or a nice hard drive, you can probably slot them in. However, I've gone through and selected each component because I know they'll fit and give a good result.

[thracian]

Go for Ryzen 2 over Ryzen 1. Significantly better memory compatibility, XFR is a beast.