A Gaming PC I Can Fit in a Backpack?

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Splatoon

Splatoon

Honorable
May 3, 2012
16
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10,510
UPDATED:

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, it's just about that time and I've decided that aside from a few potential Black Friday based substitutions, this will be the final build:

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Splatoon/saved/jqZWGX


PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/q3TJTW
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/q3TJTW/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.99 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: Asus Z97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($141.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($82.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($348.99 @ Directron)
Case: Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case ($79.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($82.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($86.43 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($23.95 @ Amazon)
Total: $1281.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-26 12:09 EST-0500

I went with that particular motherboard because I wanted something with onboard WiFi (the internet situation here can be a little weird), and I figured that since this primarily a gaming rig, I wanted a SSD with enough space to drop several large games without the need to constantly re-download and shuffle given the sometimes lethargic Chinese internet speeds. I figure I can always drop in a cheap HD later if I feel I need one or if this ends up pulling double duty as a media center.
 
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Well, you're sort of in luck. I wouldn't go with a prebuilt, regardless of how small they can be, since you really would screw yourself out of good parts. However, some very small ITX PC cases released this year, and more will release as people try to build their own Steamboxes. MSI and Asus have already started making short ITX versions of the GTX 760, and considering the GTX 900 series is supposed to run cooler on far less power, there will no doubt be short ITX versions of even higher end GTX 900 cards.

Potential cases right now might be the EVGA Hadron Air and the Thermaltake Core V1. They're small mITX cases and fit full length video cards.
However, if you wait a bit I suspect we're going to start seeing even smaller cases for the new half-length video cards.

This is an excellent foundation of parts. The case is up to time or preference, and the PSU depends on the case. But I'm posting this just as a general idea of what will work.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($198.94 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB ITX Video Card ($232.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $641.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-17 14:48 EDT-0400
 
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price is similar only difference is itx motherboard and itx case and maby itx power supply so maby 100 extra at the most
 
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Thanks for the feedback everyone, and Rationale I'm definitely going to investigate the Hadron Air, it seems like that might get the job done. Appreciate the starting point, and any other advice would of course be welcome.
 
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Even though the Hadron Air is small, it's still too big to transport every day . I am definitely agreeing with the general consensus here. I'm discovering that such a build can be done since with the introduction of the Steam Box, manufacturers are releasing their own various SFF cases, motherboards and GPUs, and it's becoming more of a thing.

Here's an example of a build that I have been toying with:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.74 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: EVGA 111-HR-E972-KR Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($155.38 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 285 2GB ITX COMPACT OC Video Card ($275.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: EVGA 100-OD-S101-BR DVD/CD Writer ($44.21 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1243.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-18 02:35 EDT-0400
 
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Epic build.
 
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Just to clarify, this isn't something that would be moving around regularly, it would be sitting at home 99.9% of the time. I just want something I can fly with twice a year (once to the States, once to wherever my next gig is). I basically just don't want to build a new desktop every time I (potentially) switch countries.
 
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Oh, and g-unit that is indeed a sweet looking setup. You guys are definitely helping me out here. I'm probably not going to move on anything until November (see if I can scoop up some Black Friday deals), but I want to start planning now so I know what to keep an eye on. Both those cases seem to fit the bill at just a touch bigger than an X-Box.
 
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I'm mostly posting this to see it get picked apart by experienced forum posters, I'm also interested to see what solution you finally find.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.99 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($97.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($219.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Lian-Li PC-TU200B Mini ITX Tower Case ($154.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1119.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-18 04:33 EDT-0400
 
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Been messing around in PCPartPicker and this definitely seems like a perfect foundation for what I'm looking for. I just had a few questions:

1. The video card seems solid, but since (if I understand correctly) the build supports it, would there be an appreciable benefit to moving up to a Radeon 290, or would that be power/size restrictive for this machine?

2. Looking at the compatibility notes, the G.Skill memory brings up this "The G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory operating voltage of 1.65V exceeds the Intel Haswell Refresh CPU recommended maximum of 1.5V+5% (1.575V). This memory module may run at a reduced clock rate to meet the 1.5V voltage recommendation, or may require running at a voltage greater than the Intel recommended maximum." I have to admit, that's pretty much Greek to me, is it a problem?

3. I was hoping to replace the optical drive with a Blu-Ray unit, but since that doesn't seem to be an option, do I even need a DVD drive at this point or can I just use USB?
 
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1. I'm not sure an R9-290 would fit given the dimensions of the case. I chose the R9-285 because it's low profile. MSI and Asus also market low profile versions of the GTX 760 if you want to go the NVIDIA route.

2. Sometimes PC Part Picker puts restrictions on parts based on what the manufacturer says. I have that exact same RAM in my Dark Knight rig which runs Haswell and Z97 and I've been able to run it fine at full speed with full XMP unlocked.

3. You don't even really need an optical drive anymore. But yeah the smaller you go on your case, the more your options are limited by the form factor. I'm pretty sure there's SFF Blu Ray drives out there if you look for them.
 
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You can fit more or less any graphics card in a RVZ01, even the 2.5 slot width ones as it has some extra room for fans.
There will be a few graphics cards which end up being too tall or too long, but 95%+ will be absolutely fine.
Running an R9 290 or similar, along with an overclockable CPU, on a 450W PSU is probably getting to be pushing things a bit. You can run any Nvidia card fine and there's nothing to say you can't use a Hawaii card, you'll find enough people doing similar things, but it's definitely getting marginal especially when you start fiddling with overclocking components.
There is a 600W SFX PSU to rectify this concern, but it isn't cheap.

If you do go with the RVZ01, be very careful with CPU cooler selection. The LH-9i is a pretty weak choice imo, especially for the price. Noctua don't even recommend using it at stock speeds (which is probably just them being picky to a point) so for an overclocking build it's not likely to be a good choice. You can fit the likes of a H60 in there, exhausting out. It's a decent choice and relatively well priced though having a cooler attached to a panel is going to be super awkward to fit.
As there is basically no airflow through the chassis, any heat you can get out is always going to help. For this reason, something like a Noctua L-12 might be a good option. Again Noctua don't recommend it for this purpose, as you'd have to remove the top fan, but I have seen similar builds where people have replaced the top fan with a slimmer one to get it to fit. Downside to a cooler like this is that it'll cover up a lot of the motherboard and potentially make routing SATA (and other) cables tricky. This will be motherboard specific.

This is also specific to the RVZ01 but you need a slim, slot loading ODD to fit. Off the top of my head only Silverstone do a Blu-Ray drive in this exact format, though it's likely there are others. You can always use an external drive if it's a limited use item.


If you are open to different cases then all will have similar issues to the ones I've mentioned above, it's a side effect of looking at increasingly smaller cases. There's always going to be a discussion about balancing elements or finding an appropriate cooling solution. Changing the case may require changing a significant number of the components.
 
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The problem with running high voltage RAM is not incompatibility. Rather, high voltage RAM will wear on the CPU's memory controller more, and if that burns out your CPU is useless. Like with all overclocked parts (which that RAM is, factory overclocked), you trade quicker immediate speed for shorter lifespans. Whether the lifespan is shortened enough to matter, however, is unclear and depends partially on luck.
 
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Honestly I hadn't even really considered the overclocking angle, but that's a good point. The 285 seems like a solid card, but given the decent reviews, I think I might wait and see what options I have with the Nvidia GTX 970/980 since they seem to be pretty efficient. As for the cooler, that's the kind of stuff I was dreading with this build. I've got a little PC building experience, but always with a full-size tower so it was basically plug and play with whatever parts I wanted. I'm going to keep checking out builds using that case, see if there seems to be some kind of consensus on the best option. As for the Blu-Ray drive, it would be nice but if I can't find one that isn't prohibitively expensive I won't be heartbroken.

EDIT: It looks like the NH-L9i and Watercooling seem to be the two most popular options. Right now I'm leaning NH, then once I have a better feel for the case/layout I can start tinkering/overclocking down the road.
 
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Just wanted to provide a quick update, I really appreciate everyone's input and this upcoming month I'll be putting together my preliminary parts list and gauging my budget. I'll definitely check back in once I've got my final build list prepared.
 
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