So recently I've seen a lot of posts/videos talking about mini-PC builds. My last blog post included a couple of options for that too, and since there's more interesting developments in the area, I thought I'd make another blog entry to get my thoughts in one place. This is partially to act as a place for self-reference when I eventually do decide to build my next PC (my last one is from 2015), and partially to allow other like-minded people to get a little insight. Note that I'm not considering anything less than a Core i7 as Atom/Pentium equivalent CPUs just won't be able to handle my needs (gaming/video editing).
So Intel NUCs are currently the king of the SFF (Small Form Factor) PC market with their current entries:
Bean Canyon NUC8i7BEH3, a 4x4" mini-PC packing a Core i7-8559U (enhanced laptop CPU) with Iris 655 graphics.
Hades Canyon NUC8i7HVK, a 6x8" mini-PC pairing a Core i7-8809G (gaming laptop CPU) with Vega M GH graphics (about equivalent to GTX 1060).
There's also been news of AMD attempting to build their own 4x4" NUC, and Intel completely changing their approach with their Ghost Canyon/Element system coming out (dubbed NUC 9 Extreme), which closer resembles a mini-ITX system able to fit a dual-slot graphics card inside.
This got me thinking which would be the direction I would want to go for my next system. Hades Canyon NUC has dropped to £800 recently and may drop even more as the next generation of NUCs come out. It's advantage is that it has a decent 6-core CPU and mid-tier graphics and fits in your hand, but compared to mini-ITX desktops, it's decidedly "mid-tier". You can expand them with TB3 eGPUs at a fair price premium, but that gets pricey very quickly and you'll never get more than 80% of the performance from any GPU you use. You also have to put up with the external power brick.
So what if you go for a more traditional mini-ITX build? You can get a whole range of cases to hold them in, some including RGB if you're into that (not for me), and some are about the size of your average game console. They are also capable of using full power CPUs and GPUs making some mini monster builds, however you also come across two major constraints. They can be a pain to build in, and thermals will always be an issue. Here's just a handful I've seen and my thoughts on them.
Velkase Velka 3 - recently featured in an LTT video. This thing can be picked up with one hand and it's impressive how it's been designed to either allow bigger coolers for CPU-centric builds or fit a graphics card in the back. It may be very basic in the looks department, and the LTT video demonstrates how difficult it is to build in it... but I don't see how you can get a desktop system any smaller than this 4L case without giving up the graphics card. Of course this also limits which you can put inside as there's simply no space for longer GPUs or bigger CPU coolers needed for monster components.
InWin Chopin - an example of a case that has managed to get even smaller at 3.3L... by sacrificing any chance of a graphics card. This would be a good choice if you're on a budget as an AMD APU would be a good fit for it, although the 150W PSU might hold it back from more powerful CPUs.
Phantek Enthoo Evolv Shift Air - ignoring the string of random words in the name, it looks good, has decent cooling, and has a really small footprint (27x17cm), although it is much taller than others at 47cm (making it around 21L). It's a mini-tower which gives it better options for cooling - up to 3x 120/140mm fans, or 2x 120x27mm AIO liquid coolers, and some expansion options (for longer graphics up to 35cm or 2-3 2.5" drives). It would also be able to handle more powerful CPUs like the Ryzen 9 3900X or 3950X when it comes out.
The last question would be whether to go with AMD for their high core count, or Intel for their higher clock speed. For general use and gaming, AMD 3900X is crushing it, but becoming a victim of their own success as supply constraints are inflating the prices. On the other hand, there are still many who swear by the Intel i9-9900K as the king for video editing. Then again, if I go for max performance, the mini-ITX form factor will hold it back as it runs into thermal constraints.
There's always the other option from my last blog entry - replace my existing system with a dual-system case such as the Phantek P600S. That way I keep my i7-4790K and 980 Ti as the full-size ATX build, and get a high performance ITX system squeezed in the top as a dedicated video editing system. But at around 63L, it's of course much bigger than the other cases above - and it would have to be to fit two whole systems inside.
For now, I'm not in a rush to upgrade my current system and mainly wish for the new system to be dedicated to video editing, so the smaller the better. I'll keep an eye on the market however, especially as Black Friday is just around the corner and may be the perfect time to snap up deals.
Edit: added links.
So Intel NUCs are currently the king of the SFF (Small Form Factor) PC market with their current entries:
Bean Canyon NUC8i7BEH3, a 4x4" mini-PC packing a Core i7-8559U (enhanced laptop CPU) with Iris 655 graphics.
Hades Canyon NUC8i7HVK, a 6x8" mini-PC pairing a Core i7-8809G (gaming laptop CPU) with Vega M GH graphics (about equivalent to GTX 1060).
There's also been news of AMD attempting to build their own 4x4" NUC, and Intel completely changing their approach with their Ghost Canyon/Element system coming out (dubbed NUC 9 Extreme), which closer resembles a mini-ITX system able to fit a dual-slot graphics card inside.
This got me thinking which would be the direction I would want to go for my next system. Hades Canyon NUC has dropped to £800 recently and may drop even more as the next generation of NUCs come out. It's advantage is that it has a decent 6-core CPU and mid-tier graphics and fits in your hand, but compared to mini-ITX desktops, it's decidedly "mid-tier". You can expand them with TB3 eGPUs at a fair price premium, but that gets pricey very quickly and you'll never get more than 80% of the performance from any GPU you use. You also have to put up with the external power brick.
So what if you go for a more traditional mini-ITX build? You can get a whole range of cases to hold them in, some including RGB if you're into that (not for me), and some are about the size of your average game console. They are also capable of using full power CPUs and GPUs making some mini monster builds, however you also come across two major constraints. They can be a pain to build in, and thermals will always be an issue. Here's just a handful I've seen and my thoughts on them.
Velkase Velka 3 - recently featured in an LTT video. This thing can be picked up with one hand and it's impressive how it's been designed to either allow bigger coolers for CPU-centric builds or fit a graphics card in the back. It may be very basic in the looks department, and the LTT video demonstrates how difficult it is to build in it... but I don't see how you can get a desktop system any smaller than this 4L case without giving up the graphics card. Of course this also limits which you can put inside as there's simply no space for longer GPUs or bigger CPU coolers needed for monster components.
InWin Chopin - an example of a case that has managed to get even smaller at 3.3L... by sacrificing any chance of a graphics card. This would be a good choice if you're on a budget as an AMD APU would be a good fit for it, although the 150W PSU might hold it back from more powerful CPUs.
Phantek Enthoo Evolv Shift Air - ignoring the string of random words in the name, it looks good, has decent cooling, and has a really small footprint (27x17cm), although it is much taller than others at 47cm (making it around 21L). It's a mini-tower which gives it better options for cooling - up to 3x 120/140mm fans, or 2x 120x27mm AIO liquid coolers, and some expansion options (for longer graphics up to 35cm or 2-3 2.5" drives). It would also be able to handle more powerful CPUs like the Ryzen 9 3900X or 3950X when it comes out.
The last question would be whether to go with AMD for their high core count, or Intel for their higher clock speed. For general use and gaming, AMD 3900X is crushing it, but becoming a victim of their own success as supply constraints are inflating the prices. On the other hand, there are still many who swear by the Intel i9-9900K as the king for video editing. Then again, if I go for max performance, the mini-ITX form factor will hold it back as it runs into thermal constraints.
There's always the other option from my last blog entry - replace my existing system with a dual-system case such as the Phantek P600S. That way I keep my i7-4790K and 980 Ti as the full-size ATX build, and get a high performance ITX system squeezed in the top as a dedicated video editing system. But at around 63L, it's of course much bigger than the other cases above - and it would have to be to fit two whole systems inside.
For now, I'm not in a rush to upgrade my current system and mainly wish for the new system to be dedicated to video editing, so the smaller the better. I'll keep an eye on the market however, especially as Black Friday is just around the corner and may be the perfect time to snap up deals.
Edit: added links.
