Need advice on new Motherboard Micro-ATX/Mini-ITX?

[Diablo2K]

I am going to start buying parts for a computer build. I am either going to buy the Thermaltake Tower 100 or 200 depending on which motherboard I am going to get.
I am open for Ryzen 5 7xxx series or Intel i5 13th or 14th gen CPU. I would like to go with a Mini ITX build but the only motherboard I have found that meets my needs is almost $400 (ASUS ROG Strix Z790-I Gaming WiFi 6E LGA1700 motherboard).
What I am looking for:
DDR5 Memory
Gen5 M.2
PCIe 5.0 (kind of flexible on this sense there's nothing out there yet that uses it yet)

Even though this is a "Budget" build I want to be able to upgrade in the future. This is why I am looking for a higher in M.B. I have found a Micro ATX M.B. That checks all the boxes at $200 The ASUS Prime Z790M-Plus LGA 1700 microATX motherboard, I would really like to find a suitable Mini ITX board for about $200.


So, I don't have to start another thread I will ask this off-topic question here:
I currently have an Intel Arc 770 video card selected but I am wondering if I should get a RTX4060 for like $30 more or if there is an ATI card for $300 I should get instead. I am worried that sense the Intel Arc is so new about compatibility with newer games and the drivers not being mature enough yet.
I will only be running at 1080p.

Here is a list of what I am thinking about getting, just wish I could get a cheaper motherboard otherwise I am pretty happy with the prices.

 

[pitingres]

There are plenty of other Z690i and Z790i boards; in what way don't they suit your needs?

and I wouldn't worry about upgrading later, particularly if you're going Intel, because there aren't really any CPU upgrades that make sense. It's generally assumed that 14th gen is the end of the line for the socket and/or chipsets, and 13th to 14th gen is a step sideways.

 

[fprish]

I have the Asus B760i and it's great. Got it during black friday at like $200 flat, more or less.

 

[chameleoneel]

I am going to start buying parts for a computer build. I am either going to buy the Thermaltake Tower 100 or 200 depending on which motherboard I am going to get.
I am open for Ryzen 5 7xxx series or Intel i5 13th or 14th gen CPU. I would like to go with a Mini ITX build but the only motherboard I have found that meets my needs is almost $400 (ASUS ROG Strix Z790-I Gaming WiFi 6E LGA1700 motherboard).
What I am looking for:
DDR5 Memory
Gen5 M.2
PCIe 5.0 (kind of flexible on this sense there's nothing out there yet that uses it yet)

Even though this is a "Budget" build I want to be able to upgrade in the future. This is why I am looking for a higher in M.B. I have found a Micro ATX M.B. That checks all the boxes at $200 The ASUS Prime Z790M-Plus LGA 1700 microATX motherboard, I would really like to find a suitable Mini ITX board for about $200.


So, I don't have to start another thread I will ask this off-topic question here:
I currently have an Intel Arc 770 video card selected but I am wondering if I should get a RTX4060 for like $30 more or if there is an ATI card for $300 I should get instead. I am worried that sense the Intel Arc is so new about compatibility with newer games and the drivers not being mature enough yet.
I will only be running at 1080p.

Here is a list of what I am thinking about getting, just wish I could get a cheaper motherboard otherwise I am pretty happy with the prices.

Gen 5 SSD support + PCIe X16 5.0 slot, is going to be a more expensive board. And it doesn't even exist in MATX, for AM5 (Asus used to make the very expensive GENE board. But its been discontinued for awhile.

I don't think PCIe 5.0 will make a difference for graphics cards, for probably 3-4 years. And personally, I think that 5.0 SSD are pointless, in their current state. They run very hot and need huge passive cooling or an active cooler, which almost always have really whiney, noisey fans. And you only get better read/write speeds (and duration of sustained writes are not improved. So the higher write speed is only for a minute or two, depending upon the drive). Every other performance metric is largely the same as the better 4.0 drives.

For a budget build, I would caution the thermaltake towers, on 2 points:

1. That case begs for lighting, decals, nice looking components, etc. Which is going to tempt you to spend money.

2. The majority of GPUs suffer a 15+ degree heat increase, when placed vertically. Because their heatpipes simply run horizontally along the length of the card. Vertical orientation goes against the physics of how they work.
Cards suited for vertical mounting, are ones with vapor chamber cooling (AMD reference cards (but not the 7800 XT) and a couple of higher end models from other brands). Or cards where the heatpipes criss-cross through the heatsink fins (often seen in smaller cards with 2 fans. Such as the Ventus 4070 2x, etc.)

 

[Diablo2K]

Gen 5 SSD support + PCIe X16 5.0 slot, is going to be a more expensive board. And it doesn't even exist in MATX, for AM5 (Asus used to make the very expensive GENE board. But its been discontinued for awhile.

I don't think PCIe 5.0 will make a difference for graphics cards, for probably 3-4 years. And personally, I think that 5.0 SSD are pointless, in their current state. They run very hot and need huge passive cooling or an active cooler, which almost always have really whiney, noisey fans. And you only get better read/write speeds (and duration of sustained writes are not improved. So the higher write speed is only for a minute or two, depending upon the drive). Every other performance metric is largely the same as the better 4.0 drives.

For a budget build, I would caution the thermaltake towers, on 2 points:

1. That case begs for lighting, decals, nice looking components, etc. Which is going to tempt you to spend money.

2. The majority of GPUs suffer a 15+ degree heat increase, when placed vertically. Because their heatpipes simply run horizontally along the length of the card. Vertical orientation goes against the physics of how they work.
Cards suited for vertical mounting, are ones with vapor chamber cooling (AMD reference cards (but not the 7800 XT) and a couple of higher end models from other brands). Or cards where the heatpipes criss-cross through the heatsink fins (often seen in smaller cards with 2 fans. Such as the Ventus 4070 2x, etc.)

I agree PCIe 5 is not a something I should be considering. I don't think we will see anything that will benefit from it for a while. As for the Gen5 SSD, I don't plan to start out with a Gen5 as currently there too expensive and yes, they do run very hot. I was thinking/hoping that in the next year or so they would cool down and get cheaper so I would like to be able to upgrade to one in the future. For now, I was thinking something like a WD Black SN850x 2tb would suffice.

As for the case choice I need something with a small footprint, and this means getting a tower style case. Either the TT Tower 100 or the Corsair ITX Tower case (Can't remember the name of it). I like the look of the Tower 100 better and yes; the window will mean I will need to consider the aesthetics of the build as well as functionality. I will keep the RGB to a single solid color as I don't want a disco in a box. As for the mounting orientation of the video card that is about my only option unless I go with a case that has a much larger footprint. I really don't want to have to move the PC to the floor, you should see the dust bunnies that are there just now, and I sweep weekly as it is. And I do want it to be a center of focus on my tiny little desk.

I will rethink my motherboard of choice to remove the PCIe 5.0 requirement in order to hopefully save some money. I will start buying stuff the first of February, the case will be first followed by the Power Supply and the other stuff. I suck at saving up money so this will be how I have to do it. I will let you know what motherboard I choose when I finally decide on one.

 

[learners permit]

The A 770 should be fine @1080P I have the sparkle A770 and I've had no issues running DX11 or 12 titles so far. Gonna try some older DX11 games this weekend but so far the performance @ 1080 has been quite good. Starfield did need XESS quality to get over 60fps with ultra settings but still looked surprisingly good for using up scaling at 1080p.