Budget 51-70k ITX build needed for light dev work and casual gaming.

R

roadrash99

Disciple
Hi guys I'm looking to stop using my laptop plugged in all the time as it's destroyed the battery and also would like to get into some casual gaming. My current Ryzen 5 4500u laptop is almost sufficient for my daily needs but it makes a lot of noise and heat in the summers. Also right now I have to game using geforce now/xbox cloud which contrary to my expectations have not improved in latency over the last few years. I really want a power efficient sleek ITX rig but last resort would be M-ATX like Galax Rev03 but nothing bigger than that. I need to comfortably keep this on my 3x2ft desk.

Questions
  1. What is your budget?
    • 70k
  2. What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)
    • Don't have a PC, using a Ryzen 5 4500u laptop
  3. Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)
    • Monitor - Basic IPS 60Hz monitor
  4. Which hardware component are you looking to buy (component name). If you have already decided on a configuration then please mention the (component brand and model) as well, this will help us in fine tuning your requirement.
    • CPU - Any latest gen CPU
    • Motherboard - any latest gen motherboard
    • GPU - Any
    • PSU - Would prefer more energy efficient PSUs, willing to pay extra
    • Case - In order of preference - Fractal Terra > Lian Li A4 H2O > NZXT H1 V2 > Galax Rev 03/Zeb Woodan with M-ATX mobo
    • (please mention the rest in above format)
  5. Is this going to be your final configuration or you would be adding/upgrading a component in near future. If yes then please mention when and which component
    • GPU - might upgrade to a more hardcore GPU later if I spend a lot of time gaming
  6. Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)
    • Prefer online
    • Delhi
    • Gurgaon
  7. What is your intended use for this PC/hardware
    • WFH (Citrix)
    • Experimenting with new software technologies/tools for my own learning
    • Running a Linux VM almost all the time
    • Casual gaming,
    • Small chance I might get serious about simracing/flight sim
  8. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.
    • I've heard bad things about cheapest GPUs - usually Inno3d, Galax, Colorful, etc. Would like to avoid if true.
  9. If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?
    • Forza, Witcher 3, Valo/CS
    • Aspirational - MS Flight Simulator, Cities Skylines 2 (I'd like to be able to check these out while not designing my PC around these)
  10. What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage
    1. Gaming - 2560x1440
    2. Desktop - 2560x1440
  11. Are you looking to overclock?
    • No - I'm looking to undervolt and would like to reduce power consumption even at the cost of ~10% performance loss. Don't know if PSU selection needs to take into account this requirement.
  12. Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?
    • Windows 11
After posting this I realised "latest gen" CPU is pretty much impossible, so I'd prefer to relax that rather than increase the budget.
 
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IMO your budget is a bit low to consider an ITX build.

A gaming laptop might be a better option. Acer Nitro V with i5 13420H + 4050 is under 75k. Basically you get GPU performance bit inferior to desktop 3060 with CPU buit inferior to i5 12400/R5 5600. Sure there's no future upgradeability on CPU & GPU side, but it is very portable as it is a laptop.

If you aren't travelling much, mATX build without monitor & GPU should be possible at 70k.

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Consider this a detailed user review:
 
Last year I was also thinking of an ITX build. Eventually I realised two things
  • It limits your choice of components
  • It increases cost by 15-20k compared to an equivalent mATX build
Look at small cabinets which support up to mATX motherboards. Those are not too big for a desk. I have Fara H1M and it's pretty small while having enough space for mid-range components. It can fit a 240mm AIO and dual fan 4070 or 7800XT, triple fan cards don't fit. There are quite a few similar cabinets of around 30L volume.
 
Laptop 4060 also is good option if you are getting under 1 lac, I was considering the itx build with 4060, it would roughly come close to 90 95k depending on which platform you choose. At that price point the laptop is much more better as its more useful if you travel for work.Laptop 4060 is almost equivalent to desktop,just running with lower power limit.
 
roadrash99 said:
Hi guys I'm looking to stop using my laptop plugged in all the time as it's destroyed the battery and also would like to get into some casual gaming. My current Ryzen 5 4500u laptop is almost sufficient for my daily needs but it makes a lot of noise and heat in the summers. Also right now I have to game using geforce now/xbox cloud which contrary to my expectations have not improved in latency over the last few years. I really want a power efficient sleek ITX rig but last resort would be M-ATX like Galax Rev03 but nothing bigger than that. I need to comfortably keep this on my 3x2ft desk.

Questions
  1. What is your budget?
    • 70k
  2. What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)
    • Don't have a PC, using a Ryzen 5 4500u laptop
  3. Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)
    • Monitor - Basic IPS 60Hz monitor
  4. Which hardware component are you looking to buy (component name). If you have already decided on a configuration then please mention the (component brand and model) as well, this will help us in fine tuning your requirement.
    • CPU - Any latest gen CPU
    • Motherboard - any latest gen motherboard
    • GPU - Any
    • PSU - Would prefer more energy efficient PSUs, willing to pay extra
    • Case - In order of preference - Fractal Terra > Lian Li A4 H2O > NZXT H1 V2 > Galax Rev 03/Zeb Woodan with M-ATX mobo
    • (please mention the rest in above format)
  5. Is this going to be your final configuration or you would be adding/upgrading a component in near future. If yes then please mention when and which component
    • GPU - might upgrade to a more hardcore GPU later if I spend a lot of time gaming
  6. Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)
    • Prefer online
    • Delhi
    • Gurgaon
  7. What is your intended use for this PC/hardware
    • WFH (Citrix)
    • Experimenting with new software technologies/tools for my own learning
    • Running a Linux VM almost all the time
    • Casual gaming,
    • Small chance I might get serious about simracing/flight sim
  8. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.
    • I've heard bad things about cheapest GPUs - usually Inno3d, Galax, Colorful, etc. Would like to avoid if true.
  9. If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?
    • Forza, Witcher 3, Valo/CS
    • Aspirational - MS Flight Simulator, Cities Skylines 2 (I'd like to be able to check these out while not designing my PC around these)
  10. What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage
    1. Gaming - 2560x1440
    2. Desktop - 2560x1440
  11. Are you looking to overclock?
    • No - I'm looking to undervolt and would like to reduce power consumption even at the cost of ~10% performance loss. Don't know if PSU selection needs to take into account this requirement.
  12. Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?
    • Windows 11
After posting this I realised "latest gen" CPU is pretty much impossible, so I'd prefer to relax that rather than increase the budget.
Click to expand...
your budget won't get you ITX build, components are 20-30% expensive than it's mATX counterpart. I would suggest mATX build with something like Jonsbo D31, sama cases, if you can somehow source it. or a bit bigger ap201. GL
 
Thanks guys, I've dropped the ITX dream for now. I'll be slowly collecting parts for an mATX build as I find good deals. TBH I don't mind paying the ITX tax once for the case and PSU, then I only have to pay extra for the mobo upgrades. But there seem to be almost no mobo choices.
 
roadrash99 said:
Thanks guys, I've dropped the ITX dream for now. I'll be slowly collecting parts for an mATX build as I find good deals. TBH I don't mind paying the ITX tax once for the case and PSU, then I only have to pay extra for the mobo upgrades. But there seem to be almost no mobo choices.
Click to expand...
There are some 12-13k AsRock choices for B660I & B550I, but your case expectations were expensive.

Here's an mATX build with GPU under 100k for productivity & 1440p gaming (within your 70k budget if you add the 34k GPU later):
https://pcpricetracker.in/b/s/973ff11b-e69c-46d7-bacc-b64bad5c5703

Chose the i5 13500 for productivity & 6750XT for gaming, overall should be a good balance, even though R5 7600 is a better CPU for pure gaming & 3060 12GB is likely better for productivity usage. A 1440p gaming monitor will cost 20-25k (like Acer XV272U V3 is under 20k if you find it in stock, else LG 27GN800 is 22k or so).

From the earlier graphs, expect RTX 3070 like gaming performance, with Cinebench R23 score over 20k.

Keep the cabinet on floor over a small stand maybe, if the table is small, that's what I am doing. Cabinet with parts inside will be heavy, I don't keep it on cheap light tables, I will keep it on the table if I have a wooden table, else there will be weight distribution issues IMO. I got the cabinet stand made locally for like 500 or so.
 
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