Hardware Advice & Project: Toaster

[TechnicalGeezer]

Good day,

I am not at all new to PC gaming, however, I wasn't entirely sure if I should post this in the General Hardware section. Please move if I am mistaken.

Basically, my brothers have been wanting a decent computer for a long time now. Unfortunately, they only have small amounts of pocket money, however, I want to make them something that will play most games on medium/high settings.

I need hardware advice for the project that I am starting.

Project: Toaster

Ignoring the ridiculous name that I have come up with, the reason behind it is to make the cheapest, smallest and most reliable gaming computer that is possible. Like a toaster, without the gaming part.

The advice I am looking for is:

• What is the cheapest, best-looking ITX case? Preferably with a side window.
• Should I go for AMD or go for an Intel I5? I don't know very much about the AMD series.
• I don't know much about ITX motherboards. Any differences from standard ATX?
• 1050TI or 1060 6GB? Which would be better for the computer that I am trying to build?
• Any more tips that you would like to suggest? Or even ideas?

 

[Emphacy]

I've been building a Mini-ITX system so maybe I can help you out with this.

1. Unfortunately there aren't a lot of attractive Mini-ITX cases (when comparing them with their ATX equivalents). They're usually Micro-ATX as well and rarely have windows (Mini-ITX users are more concerned with saving space than making it look good). The Corsair Carbide Air 240, NZXT Manta and Phanteks Enthoo Evolv are fairly cheap and have windows (though the Carbide and Evolv are also for Micro-ATX). These cases also support ATX power supplies which will save you buying an SFX PSU.

2. The new AMD Ryzen series of processors are getting good but there are seldom any Mini-ITX motherboards available for Ryzen last time I checked.

3. There are many things you should consider when going Mini-ITX. There is only one PCI-E x16 port on the motherboard so you only have room for a GPU. That means no sound card. The only Mini-ITX motherboard with good on-board audio is the Asus ROG Strix Z270i which again limits you to Intel (and it isn't cheap!).

4. According to UserBenchmark, a 1060 (even 3GB version) is far superior to a 1050Ti. The nice thing about these cards though is they come in SFF suitable for very small Mini-ITX systems.

 

[Emphacy]

Also add the InWin 301 to that list (again this is Micro-ATX as well). This one comes with a glass side panel though, which is impressive considering the price. If it were up to me this is the one I'd go for.