Building new ITX PC

[troycastor123]

For the past 13 years I have been using a 2011 Mac mini with i5 2.3Ghz 2415M processor however its time for an upgrade.
I want to get away from apple so looking to building a system thats small in size for my everyday use with a budget of around £600.

So far am looking at a i5 12600 processor and a Kolink Satellite case. I like the cube shape and its compact in size of around 30cm x 30cm x 30cm. I have no interest in RGB lights inside so want a minimalist look.

Am not sure which ITX motherboard to get or the cooler or PSU. I want 1TB M.2 SSD with 32GB Ram.

My usage will mainly be browsing, downloading, playing movies/music and some 4K video editing. I don't need a graphics card as am not into games although I might add one later on.

Does anyone have recommendations on the motherboard and parts.

 

[mickyflinn]

Hi and welcome.

Itx motherboards are expensive unless you go low end , the Gigabyte H610I DDR4 is around £110 but has no WiFi.

The kolink satalite can take a full atx PSU so that's a bonus.

CPU cooler the Thermalright assasin king 120 se is around £17 and will be fine .

Rest of the build.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Kolink Satellite Micro-ATX Cube Case - Black (SKU: CA-005-KK) = £44.99
• 1 x Intel Core i5-12600K 3.70GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-69X-IN) = £239.99
• 1 x Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (SKU: MY-0AJ-TG) = £59.98
• 1 x KIOXIA EXCERIA PLUS G3 1TB SSD NVME M.2 2280 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TSH-01120) = £56.99
• 1 x be quiet! System Power 9 600W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply **OEM NO BOX** (SKU: CA-13V-BQ) = £38.40

Total: £452.34 (includes delivery: £11.98)[/​

INDENT]​

 

[bimbleuk]

I've been playing with a Kolink Satellite case from the B Grade section as I knew it would take some customisation to work with my components. Nothing wrong with the case it's the boxes that get abused I think. I've bought 3 anyway and they were all fine.

First limitation is the 220 x 180 micro-ATX size but not a problem with ITX. Fan fitment is limited to the rear 120mm with no other mounts. The front is blocked by the PSU basically. Such an old design.

That brings me to the PSU. If you fit an ATX PSU it puts the power cables right where the end of a GPU would be. I got round this by using a ITX to ATX mounting plate for an ITX PSU.

Finally after playing with a 3070FE GPU I found the front of the case gets hot and then that heat flows through the CPU cooler and out the single rear 120mm fan. Very limiting for power and boost clock. My solution was to Dremel a new fan fitment in the case cover. Works well and gets rid of the hot spot.

This was a lot of messing to fit over powered components but I liked the challenge

Final spec was
Intel i7-12700K
Noctua CPU cooler
Asrock Z790 ITX motherboard
32 GB DDR5 Corsair 5600 RAM
RTX 3070 FE GPU
700W ITX PSU

After a lot of refining I managed to get the CPU @ 60C & GPU @ 70C while gaming and the system runs quietly too. Some undervolting on the GPU helps. Involved air guides too!

Spoiler: Kolink Satellite

 

[troycastor123]

Hi and welcome.

Itx motherboards are expensive unless you go low end , the Gigabyte H610I DDR4 is around £110 but has no WiFi.

The kolink satalite can take a full atx PSU so that's a bonus.

CPU cooler the Thermalright assasin king 120 se is around £17 and will be fine .

Rest of the build.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Kolink Satellite Micro-ATX Cube Case - Black (SKU: CA-005-KK) = £44.99
• 1 x Intel Core i5-12600K 3.70GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-69X-IN) = £239.99
• 1 x Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (SKU: MY-0AJ-TG) = £59.98
• 1 x KIOXIA EXCERIA PLUS G3 1TB SSD NVME M.2 2280 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TSH-01120) = £56.99
• 1 x be quiet! System Power 9 600W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply **OEM NO BOX** (SKU: CA-13V-BQ) = £38.40

Total: £452.34 (includes delivery: £11.98)[/​

INDENT]​

I'd go for a mATX motherboard but I can't find a case thats similar to the Kolink Satellite in size and under £100.

 

[mickyflinn]

I'd go for a mATX motherboard but I can't find a case thats similar to the Kolink Satellite in size and under £100.

Jonsbo V4 Black Micro-ATX Case fits a 24.5 x 24.5 cm micro ATX motherboard with a atx PSU but please check.

Jonsbo V4 Black Micro-ATX Case

Order Jonsbo V4 Black Micro-ATX Case now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

 

[Removed User 345456]

Consider a Silverstone Sugo SG-13, they made many variations and can be had for around £50-65 if you look elsewhere... Mine can fit both a ATX or SFX PSU, and a 260-280mm long GPU depending on how tall it is and easily a 2 slot or wider GPU, at worst you just run a 120mm chassis intake instead of a 140mm if you want a longer GPU
Obviously get the version that supports ATX/SFX, so you have options
Oh and a 120MM AIO will fit in the front too

For reference the PSU mounting plate options at the rear