Help me build a smol PC
Help me build a smol PC
My current PC is a month from being a decade old at this point, and I feel it's time for an upgrade: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/VKWLQ7
I want to build a smaller PC. I'm way over the tower form factor, and I want to build a smaller form factor. Ideally, it should be able to fit inside this box: https://store.usps.com/store/product/shipping-supplies/priority-mail-medium-flat-rate-box-1-P_O_FRB1
Here's a sketch of what I have planned so far:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
- Motherboard: ?????
- Memory: 16GB
- Storage 250GB SATA SSD
- Video Card: Basically reusing my ancient GPU
- Case: ?????
- Power Supply: ?????
- Wireless Network Adapter: Some random USB wireless adapter that I'm using now since the wireless adapter I originally had no longer works
I'm hitting a few roadblocks:
I don't really know what type of mobo to look for other than its form factor (mini-ITX) and that it should have a video port. And it should be able to accept 2.5'' SSDs since some of them apparently don't?
The case is a massive headache for me. It seems like for smaller form factor builds, you have to build your PC completely around the case. The open cases like these two are pretty cool:
They're also fucking $150+. The tower case I'm using now was 40 bucks in 2013 money, so around $50 in today's money. Those cases also require smaller PSUs, so I can't reuse my current PSU. And I don't think those cases or most smaller form factor cases like HDDs, which isn't a deal breaker for me, but it's more things to plan out and buy if I can't just reuse a 1TB HDD.
I'm honestly thinking about just buying paper stationaries like these:
and just stacking the parts on top. I would also need to get a riser cable, but the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G has integrated graphics, so I wouldn't even need to bother with the ancient graphics card or the riser cable? Plus, they're not going to fit inside the USPS box.
If I have to get a smaller PSU, I have no idea about wattage requirements. Honestly, I just winged it a decade ago, and everything seemed to have worked out. I guess I could always fall back on "whatever the wattage of the current PSU is."
I think that should do it. I just have a whole bunch of questions and what-ifs because I don't have a complete picture of what the PC should look like.
A modern Ryzen chip's integrated graphics will outperform your old gtx 650.
This is a tall order, if you want a real graphics card inside, but something like This (please don't just pick the exact linked one lol) would be an overall upgrade. There are a lot of "compact" "small form factor" PCs out there that companies have already built around a tiny case.
I also don't know what your budget is, but I assume you aren't looking for just a beefy laptop.
The power supply requirements is pretty easy, PC part picker actually has that info on it, where it will estimate the power consumption of a list of parts.
It sounds like you're kind of trying to get away with reusing parts while also going down in form factor. And like, really down in form factor. It's really not going to work as you expect. As old as your build is, not even your RAM will still work in a modern mobo. It would be better if you just thought of this as a completely new build, tbh.
If you want to keep using an HDD I would just recommend getting an enclosure for it and using it as a removable drive. 3.5" drives don't mix with small form-factor PCs. Honestly, I'd do the same for the SSD as well. Most modern builds use m.2 drives, which are about the size of a stick of RAM and slot directly onto the mobo.
Also, please please please do not ship a PC squeezed into a USPS flat rate box. That shit is going to get broken and you are going to be sad.
Also, please please please do not ship a PC squeezed into a USPS flat rate box. That shit is going to get broken and you are going to be sad.
I think they used that as a size guide and didn't mean they were actually going to shove into a box, lol
If you want to keep using an HDD I would just recommend getting an enclosure for it and using it as a removable drive. 3.5" drives don't mix with small form-factor PCs. Honestly, I'd do the same for the SSD as well. Most modern builds use m.2 drives, which are about the size of a stick of RAM and slot directly onto the mobo.
This seems to be a common thread in most of the replies I'm getting. I really need to get an enclosure for the HDD.
Also, please please please do not ship a PC squeezed into a USPS flat rate box. That shit is going to get broken and you are going to be sad.
That's just a guide for how small I want the PC to be lol
This isn't as useful if you game, but I find used 1L PCs like Lenovo Thinkcentres to be excellent non-gaming desktops. You can pick them up used on ebay pretty damn cheap, mine is a few years old and I stuck 32GB of RAM, a 1TB NVME drive, and a 2TB 2.5" platter drive in. Some models you can even cram a video card into, using a PCIE riser.
Oh yeah, you can find "workstation" Dell or Lenovo PCs on Craigslist and eBay for pretty cheap because they upgraded a whole office at a time. They often have solid processors and ram inside already, but no GPU.
I actually had the idea of just getting a Thinkcentre Micro, but I wasn't sure how its graphical performance would stack up relative to my ancient video card.
How did you fit both an NVME drive and a 2.5" drive inside one of these: https://www.servethehome.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Lenovo-ThinkCentre-M900-Tiny-Internal-Overview.jpg Or did you use a larger form factor?
The NVME goes on the underside of the motherboard, there's a little hatch on the bottom of the case. The 2.5" SATA drive goes in the caddy in that picture.
Are you planning to do gaming? If you're wanting to do modern big resource games, a Thinkcentre isn't gonna cut it, but if you just dabble in retro gaming a recentish Thinkcentre should be plenty. I usually have a fuck-ton of tabs open in browsers and watch media on my M75q gen 2 and it's overkill for that.
If you're wanting the challenge of reusing as many of the old parts as possible, you'd probably need to start with looking for a mini motherboard that can take your old CPU. That should help figure out what your case needs to be. I'm like 70% confident that a motherboard has a maximum amount of power it can actually make use of so the max amount of watts that your motherboard can use combined with the case will give you an idea of what wattage and form factor of PSU to look for. Probably going to have to give up on reusing the old GPU if it was for a larger form factor. RAM isn't that expensive to get a few 8Gig sticks to max out any newer board.
But I'd also like to second, Maoo, when they recommended looking for a refurbished office PC. Many years ago I bought a Dell Optiplex 6-something-something (it was a huge chunk of metal) but it was a solid base to make a Franken-PC with. I think it ran me about 150 US after shipping and the only real work I did was dig around for some more RAM and plug in a few more drives I had sitting in a drawer. It did everything I needed it to do and I only recently replaced it with a Franken-PC made from parts that are 15 years old instead of 20.
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A 5600G built in graphics will probably outdo the gpu you have in your linked PC part picker build.
As for mobo, I'm not sure what model names are for sff mobo. Just make sure it has an AM4 CPU slot (or whatever matches the CPU you decide on). As well as at least one PCIe slot, ideally PCIe 4.0 for future proofing. An optional feature that is convenient to have is at least one M.2 slot as well.
In regards to the CPU, as long as it outperforms the GPU I have right now, it should be good. I don't really play videogames anymore, and when I did, my current GPU was good enough. A couple of people floated around the idea of getting a Thinkcentre, but the Thinkcentre micro form factor doesn't seem to be able to hold more than one storage drive. Maybe I just need to buy some HDD docking station like one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Lay-Flat-Docking-EC-DFLT/dp/B00LS5NFQ2.
I'm starting to realize my reliance on my 1TB HDD is another roadblock.
If gaming isn't a goal then I would just buy one of the many mini PCs on the market with integrated graphics rather than fighting the uphill battle that is making a small form factor PC. Pretty much just go to newegg or a similar site and start narrowing down the tags on the left side.
I can try and find one for you if you answer a few questions:
- What is your budget?
- What tasks/programs will you use your PC for?
- Would you consider using a refurbished PC or would you prefer new?
As for the drive, an easy solution is an external drive bay like this (amazon link).
Consider buying a used enterprise SFF PC if you don't need to do long-term upgrades of parts. You can get a Dell, Lenovo, or HP SFF PC on eBay with nearly everything you've listed for about $150. At that price point you'll get:
- A nice form factor with high-quality parts.
- 8th gen Intel or comparable Ryzen.
- 8 G RAM.
- At least one nvme slot, at least two 2.5" bays, and at least one 3.5" bay.
- Low-profile PCIe expansion options, including GPUs.
- Depending on the model, a M.2 slot for a wifi card (it might even be included).
This is an extremely good deal. Getting up to 16 G RAM and a wifi card will probably run you $20 or so.
The main downsides are that you'd need a low-profile GPU and some of the components, like the power supply, will be proprietary and not particularly flexible - upgrading individual components over time probably won't be worth the trouble. You'll want to pick your GPU carefully to make sure it's the right dimensions and it can be used and powered by the single PCIe slot that has enough lanes. But also it's $150 base. By the time you really need or want a new computer it'll probably be 5-10 years later and you can just drop another $150 for a 5-10 years newer SFF PC.
I dont think you can get such small cases with a gpu, but check out silverstone cases, they've small ones (and cheap!) outside of completely boutique brands
You didn't specify a budget or whether or not you're going to do
stuff, but your old GPU isn't worth keeping around anymore. Only good thing about it is the low TDP, but even that is wasted power when the integrated GPU will do better and be more efficient. If you want to play games, even a low profile GTX 1650 will be a massive upgrade, and even your APU alone is enough to run plenty of games these days, hell, the Steam Deck is based around an AMD APU.
