# Scoping an ITX DAW build



## wayne_rowley (Jan 17, 2019)

Like many others I am considering jumping off of the Apple bandwagon. I love Mac OS and Logic, but all of the new Macs with T2 chips have broken USB audio good and proper! As I sit here thinking about purchasing a Mac Pro 5.1 - a 10 year old computer of all things, it occurs to me that perhaps it's time to move on to a PC DAW where I can get more modern components for the same money, or cheaper).

Besides, I don't really have space for the 5.1. So I'd need a small PC DAW - an ITX build! You don't see many ITX DAWs. Scan do one, based on the Fractal Design Node 304 and the Asrock Z390 ac/itx. I don't know why they use that board - it gets the worst reviews of all Z390 ITX boards especially for VRM performance.

My current thinking is as follows:

MB: Asrock Z390 Phantom Gaming ac/itx. It has much better cooling built in, and also a Thunderbolt 3 port, which may come in useful at some point.

Processor: Either an 9600K with all cores set at Turbo - which seems good value for money, or possibly either 8700 or 9700K. It depends on which case I go for.

Memory: 32GB - the limit of ITX motherboards, but should be enough for me.

Cooler: Either Be Quiet Shadow Rock Slim, or Noctua LH9i (depending the case - see below)

Case: This is where I am stuck! I like the idea of a small system - the PC equivalent of a Mac Mini, and space is limited for me. I was looking at the Silverstone ML series such as the ML05 or ML06. They are slim. But I would be limited to the 8700 (or another 65w processor). My other thought is for the Fractal Design Node 304, which does look quite good. In that I could go with the 9600K or 9700K and the bigger cooler. I could also add a graphics card in future if needed.

Storage: Torn between one large 2GB NVME for everything or a 500GB NVME boot driven and a 1TB SATA SSD. Thoughts?

Graphics: On-board for now

Power supply: Suitable modular supply depending on the case

OS: Windows 10 Pro

DAW: I'd cross grade to Cubase 10

I would be interested to hear feedback - especially from other ITX DAW builders/users.

Thanks,
Wayne


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## Pictus (Jan 17, 2019)

For ITX my choice would be the Asrock Z390 Phantom Gaming ac/itx too.
https://be.hardware.info/reviews/88...rd-is-echt-8-core-waardig-benchmarks-vrm-test

With the Fractal Design Node 304 you can fit a Noctua NH-D15
https://pcpartpicker.com/b/9C6scf

The NVMe is very fast, you can go perfect fine with just one 2TB NVME. 
I highly recommend Samsung, can be the 970 EVO for speed/endurance.
Here for backup and management reasons I prefer a separate SSD for the OS.

https://3dnews.ru/938764/page-3.html


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## wuubb (Mar 2, 2019)

I've been thinking over similar designs for VEP computers.

For cases, I would have a look at the Silverstone SG13 and the CoolerMaster 110/110A. Both will allow you to use a 120/140mm watercooling system on the CPU, support ATX psu, and have a suitable # of 2.5in SSD slots. Size wise they're basically the same footprint as the Mac Mini, but taller (if you rotate them). Think of a stack of Minis about 4 or 5 high. 

Those are pretty much the smallest ITX cases I've found, and they're not $200+ like a lot of other ones since SFF PC cases seem to be some kind of high-end luxury market for some reason...


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## woodslanding (Mar 10, 2019)

I love my ITX build. Beats the pants off my 2U 7700K build, runs much higher cpu before dropouts, and is low power enough to run with a tiny noctua cooler in a space I designed for a mac mini.

Pics Here:
https://vi-control.net/community/threads/pc-diy-guys.55629/#post-3990301

This cpu is still selling for what I bought it for 3 years ago, and so is the motherboard. Lowest dcp latency in history as far as I can tell. (It's done nothing but go up in the generations since then.)

I just did a build around a 8700, I'll see if I finally have a faster rig, but I had to put a much larger fan on it, hence a bigger case.


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