# Compact and Lightweight Desktop Build



## AbhiGupta (Mar 12, 2021)

Hi Guys,

I'm planning to build a desktop which will be extensively used for music production. I currently use a Dell XPS 13 and the CPU bottlenecks very easily while using virtual instruments.

My preference is for solid, stable and small components that would make it easier to move my setup. These are the specs (revised) I'm looking at -

*CPU: *Intel i7 10700K
*CPU Cooler: *Arctic Freezer II 280
*Motherboard: *MSI MPG B460 Gaming Edge Wifi
*Chassis: *Cooler Master NR200
*Power Supply: *Silverstone 500 W 80+ Gold Modular SFX
*RAM: *Corsair Dominator Platinum 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3000 CL15
*Storage: *Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB
*OS:* Win 10 Home 64-bit

I'd be happy if I can wrap this up under 1200$, but I can spend a few hundred more if necessary.

Please hit me with suggests. Thanks in advance!


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## Jeremy Spencer (Mar 12, 2021)

I'm always an advocate for bigger power supplies, I'd personally go with at least a 650W. Plus, don't forget you'll need space for extra SSD's/HDD (to host sample libraries and audio projects). If you do any type of work that involves video (scoring to pic, etc), I'd also leave room for a video card in case you need one down the road.


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## strojo (Mar 12, 2021)

I guess the questions I have are:

- Where do you plan on moving it to/from?
- How often will you be moving it?

Small builds generally suck on a number of fronts, including noise, easy of the build and ability to expand storage, memory and add-on cards. They definitely have their place, but all things being equal, I'd always suggest shying away from a small build unless absolutely necessary (thus my questions above).


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## PaulieDC (Mar 12, 2021)

I'm building a similar tower for someone right now that is exactly what you are asking about. After building countless PCs for the last 12 years (including my $7,000 65lb insane monolith), there are certain brands that you come to know as reliable.

For reference I'll put the link to the build list from Newegg that I just put together. Not telling you this list _must _be purchased but it would give you a killer reliable build.

Couple suggestions: you want compact, but with higher end CPUs and NVMe SSDs, they need room to breathe because of heat, so your case will have to accommodate either a good air-cooled unit or water cooling. That means wide-enough but doesn't have to be super tall. I run an i9 14-core on air and idle in the 30's C which is fine and a lot less hassle than water cooling. I also highly suggest a 500GB C drive for Windows and all of your apps (NO personal files or libraries), and a second 1TB drive (to start) for all libraries and projects. If you have to reinstall windows and apps, your projects are untouched and the system overall will run and load faster. And absolutely an MSI motherboards, them and Gigabyte are the only two that I've never had a failure with. MSI also reinforces the PCIe slots with metal should you ever decide to add expansion. ANNNND, this MSI mobo in the list mounts both NVMe drives with cooling plates that go over them, so you won't even be mounting drives in the case slots. Nice!

This list includes the i9-10900, 10-core/20-thread processor and the huge Noctua cooler, same one I use. If you want to have a stress-free MIDI environment, this is the horsepower you'll want. The CPU in the K version which includes integrated graphic support, but down the road you should consider a decent non-gaming graphics card to take all redraw and refresh duty off of the CPU. Not mandatory but highly suggested:

https://secure.newegg.com/wishlist/sd/m___bsDLfGYvm9Rep990mfbw==

You'll also need to buy a copy of OEM Win 10 Home of course. Home is fine unless you want to remote into your PC from another machine with Remote Desktop. Then you'd need Pro.

Have fun!


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## LynxUK (Mar 12, 2021)

32GB RAM might also be a tight squeeze depending on how big your projects get.

2nd on the PSU, I always go at least 25% larger in wattage, than reccomended for PSU/Graphics card requirements. "Just enough juice" screams blue screen or random reboots/shut downs to me


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## PaulieDC (Mar 12, 2021)

LynxUK said:


> 32GB RAM might also be a tight squeeze depending on how big your projects get.
> 
> 2nd on the PSU, I always go at least 25% larger in wattage, than reccomended for PSU/Graphics card requirements. "Just enough juice" screams blue screen or random reboots/shut downs to me


Oh, good point! The list I posted is for a church for streaming. Hey Abhi! DEFINITELY bump that to at least 64GB!


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## AbhiGupta (Mar 13, 2021)

Thanks for the input guys. All the information has been very helpful.

There has been an impulsive buy from my side. I just picked up an i9 10850K at a huge discount, basically at the price of an i7 10700K. Now even thought I don't intend to overclock my PC, I figured that the extra horsepower of the 4 added threads will definitely make a difference in the long run.

I understand with this decision, other components will have to be reconsidered. Firstly, given the power hungry nature of this CPU, I definitely want to invest in a decent single or dual fan liquid cooling solution. I was looking at the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 120 since it is available at a good price. But I would consider the Freezer II 240 if needed, please let me know.

Also, I've been reading that just a good cooling solution (along with power limits disabled), pushes the turbo boost on these i9 chips to around 4.8/4.7ghz on all cores, all stable. I think that should be enough for me and overclocking this CPU to gain a marginal added performance of 200mhz, at the cost of significantly more heat, power consumption and instability is not something that interests me.

All that being said, do you think this particular motherboard would be good enough for my needs?
MSI MPG B460I Mini-ITX

Over here, the cost of a Z490 ITX board is pretty much the twice of that MSI board and I don't see the point in investing so much money on a motherboard.
BUT
If you think that MSI MPG B460I might actually bottleneck the performance of this CPU even at stock settings, or would run too hot, or unstable, I would rather consider moving the the Z490 Micro-ATX platform since it is available at a similar price point.

Also the main reason for sticking to the ITX platform is that a compact setup will definitely help me and I really doubt I'm ever gonna need more than one PCIe slot, which is provided on the motherboard, and there's enough storage and RAM.

Once the cooling solution and motherboard is finalized, I'll be on my way to getting this build ready.


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## AbhiGupta (Mar 13, 2021)

strojo said:


> I guess the questions I have are:
> 
> - Where do you plan on moving it to/from?
> - How often will you be moving it?
> ...


It makes complete sense to ask those questions.

I've moved thrice in the past two years, and it has been hassle free so far thanks to the laptop. But I do think I'm going to say put for at least a year or two, and most likely move again because of work.

I won't be moving within a city, but to a different one, and the only means of travel is by air.


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## Pictus (Mar 13, 2021)

One of the best reviews for ITX cases is Optimum Tech.


This one can fit a 360mm radiator



This one will fit a 280mm radiator



For a top strong CPU, I recommend a motherboard with strong VRM, for ITX 
it is the 8 phase VRM models.
The Gigabyte Z490I Aorus Ultra wins for VRM temperature, the Asus RoG Strix Z490-I Gaming
and MSI MEG Z490I Unify are also interesting, but both have pesky small chipset fan.








24 Intel Z490 moederborden review: van koorts tot kookpunt


In deze review vergelijken we 24 Intel Z490-moederborden. We stellen ze op de proef met een Core i9 10900K, de meest luxe 10de generatie Core-processor...




nl.hardware.info












Gigabyte Z490I AORUS Ultra Review


The Gigabyte Z490I AORUS Ultra comes with a lot of hardware packed into a small form factor. Among the features are 2.5 Gb/s Ethernet, WiFi 6, dual M.2 slots, and top-tier 90 A power stages. Let's see just how good this SFF Z490 entry from Gigabyte really is!




www.techpowerup.com





But if you want Thunderbolt, not much choices...








MSI MEG Z490I Unify Review


MSI has stuffed a lot of power into a small package with the MSI MEG Z490I Unify. Featuring a stealthy black aesthetic and a VRM configuration with 90 A power stages, the MSI MEG Z490I Unify could be a top choice for overclockers. Just how much can MSI pack into the Mini-ITX footprint?




www.techpowerup.com




or








ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3 Review


ASRock is back once again with another successor to their Phantom Gaming line. The ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3 features Thunderbolt 3, dual M.2 slots, 90 A power stages, and a finned heatsink design in a tiny ITX form factor package.




www.techpowerup.com


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## AbhiGupta (Apr 14, 2021)

Hi Guys,

I decided to put things on hold until the 11th gen would the stores, and now, after considering the price and performance difference, I finally went on and got the 10700K, running on a Z590M board. The mATX board (as opposed to ITX) gives me an option to upgrade ram, nvme storage and will stay cooler, so it made more sense practically.

The system is running great and I'm happy with the performance and temperatures (idle and under full load).

Here are the specs-
*CPU: *Intel i7 10700K
*Motherboard: *Asus Prime Z590M Plus
*CPU Cooler: *Corsair H100x
*Power Supply: *Corsair RM650
*RAM: *Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600
*Storage: *Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500GB + WD SN550 2TB
*Chassis: *Cooler Master Q311L
*OS:* Win 10 Home 64-bit






Thanks for all the advice!


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## Jeremy Spencer (Apr 14, 2021)

Nice! You can't go wrong with the 10700K.


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## gzapper (Apr 14, 2021)

This sounds similar in power to the intel NUC I build from the threads here.
That's an option if you're looking portable, fans go but the box is small enough to hide and travel with.


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## jazzman7 (May 23, 2021)

PaulieDC said:


> I'm building a similar tower for someone right now that is exactly what you are asking about. After building countless PCs for the last 12 years (including my $7,000 65lb insane monolith), there are certain brands that you come to know as reliable.
> 
> For reference I'll put the link to the build list from Newegg that I just put together. Not telling you this list _must _be purchased but it would give you a killer reliable build.
> 
> ...


With the current state of affairs, demand has been high and the list at Newegg has already been sold out of some items.
It's been 10 years since my last build and I find the new array of choices, pricing, and supply pretty tough. Should I hold off? My Win 7 machine limps by...for now!


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## jazzman7 (May 23, 2021)

Pictus said:


> One of the best reviews for ITX cases is Optimum Tech.
> 
> 
> This one can fit a 360mm radiator
> ...



Your posts have been interesting! I'm looking to build, but finding the environment and array of choices pretty tough. I pulled up a parts list you had posted...of course all the RAM was sold out!


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## PaulieDC (May 24, 2021)

jazzman7 said:


> With the current state of affairs, demand has been high and the list at Newegg has already been sold out of some items.
> It's been 10 years since my last build and I find the new array of choices, pricing, and supply pretty tough. Should I hold off? My Win 7 machine limps by...for now!


Right now is a good time to build for ram, bad time for video cards. Ram is really low right now, it fluctuates. My 64gb Ballistix ram cost me $600 for the first set, $440 for the second set several months later and now it sells for $239, lol. 10th gen Intels have come down because AMD finally came of age, so you could go either way there. I know zero about motherboards that support AMD processors but they’ve been getting rave reviews so in the current cpu war, we win as consumers.

Coolermaster and others are having rebates right now, their Silencio 600 case has a $30 MIR. I used that case in the last two streaming PCs I built for churches, it is SO quiet, I need a case like that for myself because I hear my fans when I want to record acoustic guitar.

NVMe drives are wayyy down in price also, so I would say it’s a great time to build. The only gotcha is graphics. Decent Video cards are unobtainable because everyone has bought them to mine bloody BitCoin processes. 🙄 So I hopped on eBay for the one PC that needed a video card and bought an EVGA GTX 550 Ti for 30 bucks used. That older workhorse of a card will provide enough redraw power for a midi workstation as long as you aren’t a gamer. i had to use a dedicated card, the gaming mobo I currently use with the Intel i9-10900K process doesn’t support built-in graphics, which is fine with me.

if you go for it, remember that it’s perfectly legal for you to buy Windows 10 Home or Pro, the OEM System builder’s version for your own PC, don’t buy retail. Home OEM is often on sale for $99 on Newegg. The one thing you give up with that version: you can’t call Microsoft for support, YOU are the support. When was the last time you called Microsoft and asked to open a heat ticket for a support issue?? 😂


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## jazzman7 (May 24, 2021)

PaulieDC said:


> Right now is a good time to build for ram, bad time for video cards. Ram is really low right now, it fluctuates. My 64gb Ballistix ram cost me $600 for the first set, $440 for the second set several months later and now it sells for $239, lol. 10th gen Intels have come down because AMD finally came of age, so you could go either way there. I know zero about motherboards that support AMD processors but they’ve been getting rave reviews so in the current cpu war, we win as consumers.
> 
> Coolermaster and others are having rebates right now, their Silencio 600 case has a $30 MIR. I used that case in the last two streaming PCs I built for churches, it is SO quiet, I need a case like that for myself because I hear my fans when I want to record acoustic guitar.
> 
> ...


Wow, many thanks! Def have the work cut out for me. My old computer has 2 Nvidia GeForce Gt 630 2 gig cards, tho I had hoped not to cannibalize it. Maybe I'd take one for now for the new build. 

I'm used to a 4 monitor setup approx 30" away, but thinking of some type of TV set a bit farther back this time around. The "proper" setup I have now has been an eye fatigue nightmare with my particular glasses for this distance, yet I can watch TV for hours farther back with my normal range glasses no problem. Saw someone on Youtube with that setup...looked interesting. 

My old box still has plenty of horsepower for Regular audio recording...even huge projects, but load up an instance or 2 of Abbey rd and similar Vi's and it starts falling apart. Plus it's Win 7, and support from DAW providers, Plug-in, and VI producers, has mostly run out. It's just had its day.


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