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Planning my next pc purchase - Again!


Schot

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It's that time again!  About 4 years ago I began the process of picking, purchasing and then building the awesome pc I have now:

 

It is now time to return to the great adventure of...  Going broke spending loads of money buying pc treats!  ...  Thankfully I'm not in a hurry.  My system is still great but it left me just a bit wanting in one area.  The case size could have been more compact.  At the time there weren't many options in mini itx cases but now...  Oh have I found some goodies.  So!  I'm really looking to shrink-ray my system though I'm sure I'm just gonna end up buying all new parts along the way.  For now it's all about the case and I'm wondering what others have found or are looking at.

The cases, 2 in particular, that I've been eyeing for a week or so now are appropriately referred to as;  Console Killers.  Love that!  The cases are comparative in size to a typical console.  Very portable.  But the potential power, as we know, goes well beyond It would be pretty cool to have a power pc that was very easy to travel with.  So that's pretty much the mission right now.  Pick up the best designed and best priced ultra compact mini itx case.  I'm curious to see what others have seen.  As for what I've been eyeing?  Here they are:

The Fractal Design Node 202 (My first Choice)  $109 Canadian

 

 

 

The SilverStone RAVEN RVZ02B  $99 Canadian

 

 

If you've got other ideas for a super compact system I'm all ears!  :D

 

 

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Im thinking though... why keep thinking massive (okay mini massive :P ) desktop tower.  Wouldnt a better idea be to think out the games you'll be playing in nest few years and spec a gaming llaptop for that? Great portability for use for your IT with customers and you can always attach to jumbo monitors when yer home

 

:)

 

gogo

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I don't have any need for portability any more, so a desktop is the only thing I will get in the future unless my needs change.

Something to think about, no matter what system you get, is backup. Are you going to backup a 4 TB HD to 3 1/4" floppies? I find the external docking stations I have to be very convenient. The only problem I have with them is that sometimes, when I've powered off my system, it tries to boot from the USB3 external HD plugged into the cradle when I power up. Not a big deal, I turn off the docking station or go into boot order and select the proper drive.

It would work for a desktop or a laptop.

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@gogoblender

Weeeell...  Yeah, that would be really cool!  But I'm not looking to go quite that broke all at once.  Yet.  :D  I've already got the mITX board so all I really need to get is the case, an SFX PSU which the cases only accommodate and.  A shiny new GPU!  :drool:   But maybe not too $hiny.  ^^

@Spock

Yes!  Backup is definitely a priority.  Most of my work goes to and stays in my backups.  I sometimes pull the plug on my backup drives too for similar reasons.  I just don't want my system even having to think about other drives when it's starting up.  I guess I'm a little superstitious that way.  :dntknw:

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Probably not much help as I like to "Go big or go home" But if you're just looking for a case at this point, have you looked at Newegg's website? Figured you already have but throwing it out there just in case. Last time I was pc building they had a huge selection of cases

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Small form factor sure looks great when it set up nicely - I love the Intel NUC's for that very reason, shame you can't put a graphics card in one of those though.

Only suggestion from me is whichever you end up picking, make sure you look into what GPU you want at the same time so you are certain it will fit into your case. Would hate to get something too big!

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@gogoblender Laptop wise I love the Razer Blades. I wish they sold them here. But this is one I'm eyeballing over here even though my PC is fairly similarly specced: https://ca.msi.com/Laptop/GS43VR-7RE-072CA-Phantom-Pro.html

@Schot Buuut since you are going desktop and already have the mobo: GPU prices are weird now if you're going top spec. We can't get most higher end GPU's anymore because the miners are buying them all... Maybe hold off from buying a top of the line GPU until you've found a new game you want to play? The standard GTX750 did fine in my rig until I wanted to play PUBG. That game made me switch to my current GTX1050ti.

Going mITX is a drawback when buying GPU's, though. It will severely limit your choices if you are going for a SFF PC as well, and not a more regular looking case like for instance the Fractal Design Define Nano S (comes with a windowed version as well). http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/define-series/define-nano-s

PS: have you looked into barebones like the Zotac Zbox Magnus? Small footprint, big specs :)

Edited by Timotheus
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@Knuckles Oh yes.  I remember my first case that went big and came home.  Huge side window with enough blinking lights to give any passersby my window a seizure!   :D  But I'm really loving this minify everything trend.  Plus I'm hoping I'll find a nice way to be able to cart my next system between my room and the tv room for couch gaming.  :drool:  Been all over sites like newegg you mentioned lately.  Cheers Knuckles!  I'll never forget that amazing insight you gave to me about PSU's in my last topic.  Very important info

@gogoblender Haha, yes gogo.  It's all about the XPS.  I must refrain!

@Dragon Brother I thought about nuc's for a long time.  I really love being able to get in under the hood though.  Can't shake off ALL of my old ways just yet.  :D  Good point about choosing the right size GPU.  The mini itx cases that I'm liking are particularly challenging in that respect.  As well as the PSU.  The two cases I chose in my first post both require SFX PSU's.  Guess I can't keep my ATX PSU...  Another size challenge in mini ITX cases is what fan sizes it allows.  A lot only accommodate 80mm fans.  I'd really prefer 120mm since they are more quiet.  It's what I use now and I never hear a fan.

@Timotheus Nice MSI!  

Funny you mention weird CPU prices.  I noticed that too...  Thought for sure I could improve on my 4th Gen Intel i7 CPU but nope.  Nothing out there right now to tempt me which is why I'm keeping the parts mentioned.  Still running very strong.  Ooops, you said GPU, haha.  GPU is even worse for me.  Yes.  GPU prices are really weird...  I was expecting to be able to find some great stuff at under $300 Canadian but there really isn't.  What's worse is that my Radeon HD 7850 is holding out very well.  I can't run top line new games at highest quality but I did run at highest on the game Ori and The Blind Forest.  Beautiful game though not a demanding one like say Battlefield...  The only card that seemed reasonable in price is the one you have, the 1050 ti.  But it's not a substantial enough performance boost over my 7850 to make me want to buy it.  Maybe after the holidays things will be better?  Or the coming Black Friday sales?  For cases I think my Bitfenix Prodigy is more or less the same as the Nano S you mention.  It's a very practical shape and size but I really want that ultra compact design I'm seeing around lately.  Tiny footprint and great portability.  I even saw recently a case like what I posted in my first post that has a handle built into the top.  Sooooo drool worthy.  Silverstone Milo ML08B.  Barebones like the one you mentioned, Zotac Zbox Magnus, are initially an attractive option but...  No.  I just can't.  Haha.  Something like that absolutely has a great deal of longevity in terms of graphics power.  It could easily last 8 years.  But the rest of the components are a question mark with regards to how technology will change over a long period of time.  Plus...  How do I tinker with that?!  :3lmao:

Thanks for the thoughts guys!  Lot's to think about.  I'm still not even sure which case I want.  Leaning towards the Node 202.  I'll no doubt be picking up some parts when the super sales arrive.  Mwahaha.

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1 hour ago, Schot said:

 

@Dragon Brother I thought about nuc's for a long time.  I really love being able to get in under the hood though.  Can't shake off ALL of my old ways just yet. Good point about choosing the right size GPU.  The mini itx cases that I'm liking are particularly challenging in that respect.  As well as the PSU.  The two cases I chose in my first post both require SFX PSU's.  Guess I can't keep my ATX PSU...  Another size challenge in mini ITX cases is what fan sizes it allows.  A lot only accommodate 80mm fans.  I'd really prefer 120mm since they are more quiet.  It's what I use now and I never hear a fan.

 

Yeah, for sure, I recently downsized my comp to something much smaller (used this case) and had to make sure that my existing GPU would fit in it. Fortunately finding the SFX PSU wasn't too difficult and I was able to find a low profile CPU cooler that provides better cooling, plus the case comes with 120mm fans. However, it is also a bit larger than the case you're looking at (14L vs. 10L) so does have the extra room for a few more bells and whistles.

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Massive sale on Alien Ware this last week...my friend got a completely decked out Desktop for 1400 CAD... AlienWare Aurora from Dell... he's a high end combat gamer (most resource intensive?) Schot did you catch that?

 

:)

 

gogo

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