Mini-ITX on the desk or ATX on the floor?

iroc409

[H]ard|Gawd
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I am building a new workstation finally I think. My existing rig is in a Corsair 400Q case. It's a nice case, but it's sitting on the floor and I know it's full of dust. My desktop has been down there for years now, but before I moved here I had a wire shelf riser so it wasn't directly on the floor and that seemed OK.

With the new system, I'm debating between building a mini-ITX system and putting it on top of the desk (looking at something somewhat showy like the Phanteks Evolv Shift Mini), or to just build an ATX system and continue to use my existing case. I like this case, it's quiet, not flashy but looks nice, etc.

Eventually I would like a motorized sit/stand desk, but not sure when I'm going to do that. I thought the smaller system might be better for that.

This is a Linux system, probably end up a Ryzen 3700X with a Radeon WX 3200 video card or something similar.
 
Well I have and used atx on the floor and mitx on the desk and I can say with complete honesty the little Ncase M1 (mitx) that sits on the desk stays much more dust free than my main gaming atx rig on the floor and we have a dog and a cat but the house is kept reasonably clean. No carpet in the house either. All wood floors and tile. Each size platform has its pros and cons and it really comes down to personal preference. Usually I go as small as possible depending on what I'm trying to build and accomplish. I like to get things off the floor if possible but that's just me.
 
I don't think the sit/stand desk would be an issue either way....you could always get longer cords. I think the dust and mobility will push you to the ITX.

Personally I prefer not having it in my face (fan noise).....although I'm sure you can go fairly quiet with the planned usage of the rig.
 
All good points, thanks. The sit-stand desk usually has a CPU hanging underneath it. The bigger cases can be a little more difficult to get something that isn't flimsy. Noise is definitely the number one concern followed by too much desk space. Cable length will definitely be an issue when the desk is raised, so I think it needs to either be on the desk or mounted underneath.

Micro-ATX is another possibility, and there is are a couple cases that might work. It might be easier to hang a micro ATX desktop type case, and since I still use an optical drive on occasion it gets it off the desk (currently on an external USB).
 
All good points, thanks. The sit-stand desk usually has a CPU hanging underneath it. The bigger cases can be a little more difficult to get something that isn't flimsy. Noise is definitely the number one concern followed by too much desk space. Cable length will definitely be an issue when the desk is raised, so I think it needs to either be on the desk or mounted underneath.

Micro-ATX is another possibility, and there is are a couple cases that might work. It might be easier to hang a micro ATX desktop type case, and since I still use an optical drive on occasion it gets it off the desk (currently on an external USB).

If noise is you're #1 concern, I don't see a mITX case on your desk being the best option. It is much easier to keep a full size ATX system quiet as you can have more fans at lower RPMs, and it being on the floor, it is further away from your hearing. I vote ATX on the floor since noise is #1 concern.
 
ATX on the desk. stopped letting my PCs be on the floor years ago, just because I have animals. I also like looking at my WC loop.
 
MATX case, and quieter fans. you can get a quiet 90mm or 120mm fan you can barely hear.
 
If noise is you're #1 concern, I don't see a mITX case on your desk being the best option. It is much easier to keep a full size ATX system quiet as you can have more fans at lower RPMs, and it being on the floor, it is further away from your hearing. I vote ATX on the floor since noise is #1 concern.

I've always been pretty careful to design for pretty quiet systems. When my servers, pretty quiet Dell towers, used to me in my office it drove me nuts. I have an old laptop, an early quad, that I don't even use as it's too loud. My current machine is very quiet, even if you're on the floor next to it, and it has stock case fans. I just think it would annoy me if it were noisy under light use.

ATX on the desk. stopped letting my PCs be on the floor years ago, just because I have animals. I also like looking at my WC loop.

My animals haven't given me a problem but that's a pretty good reason. :D

MATX case, and quieter fans. you can get a quiet 90mm or 120mm fan you can barely hear.

I guess I already have a Silverstone mATX sitting here, and I'm not sure it's small enough I want it on my desk. I do like the idea of having a nice looking system on display, hence the Phanteks (though not a huge fan of too many lights).

The other issue is that I'd really like to have optical out on the audio. Small point I suppose, but I've been using that with my DAC and it works. I don't know if it will with USB in Linux (I suppose I need to research that). None of the mITX or mATX boards I've looked at have optical output on the audio. Not sure why, I wouldn't think you'd need any more chips and some of them aren't really saving any real estate by omitting it. Probably since mATX is generally cheaper.
 
Moved my system into an NCASE four years ago. It sits on my desk next to the monitor. It's full of eight Noctua fans, and I can only hear it when running a stress test. It's nice and quiet while gaming. Much prefer the smaller form factor. It's more work to build, but worth it in my opinion.

I've got a 3900X and 2080 in it.
 
Moved my system into an NCASE four years ago. It sits on my desk next to the monitor. It's full of eight Noctua fans, and I can only hear it when running a stress test. It's nice and quiet while gaming. Much prefer the smaller form factor. It's more work to build, but worth it in my opinion.

I've got a 3900X and 2080 in it.

May I ask, what motherboard and CPU cooler are you using in your system? The NCASE looks like a pretty nice case. I've had issues finding quite what I want out of the motherboard.
 
May I ask, what motherboard and CPU cooler are you using in your system? The NCASE looks like a pretty nice case. I've had issues finding quite what I want out of the motherboard.

I'm using the Gigabyte X570 I Aurus Pro WiFi. I was tempted by the Thunderbolt on the ASRock board, but in the end went for the extra M.2 slot on the Gigabyte. There's also the Asus DTX board which will fit in the NCASE, and I think they have an ITX board out soon.

I'm using a Noctua C14 for the CPU cooler.
 
I have a Ncase M1 v1 sitting on my desk as well. They are very nice mitx cases if you can afford them. I cant recommend them enough. Optimum Tech just put a 3950x cpu into a Ncase M1 if you are curious.

 
The Dan Case and NCASE M1 both look pretty great. Those are both high on my list, but seem to be hard to find--as in yes expensive but it looks like they only sell in batches so harder to get your hands on. I suppose that just means patience, and it's probably worth it. :)

Still hung up on the not quite having what I want on an ITX motherboard. I might see if I can find one of those cases.
 
Yeah I know the Ncase M1 runs in batches. Never owned a Dan case so couldn't say but I'm guessing its the same situation. Go to the Small Form Factor Systems section and check their main threads there and they'll be saying when the next pre order sale starts.
 
To me, ITX is far too limiting. mATX or ATX is better. Not sure why the latter isn't allowed on a desk. Maybe if you're deploying really really really tiny monitors? Otherwise, the monitor(s) more than cover the larger unit (IMHO).

With regards to "floor"... no. Just no. If you put something underneath, always put it on top of something (even simple riser bricks) or hang it under the desk. Never "on the floor". Even a couple of inches of riser makes a huge difference.

Ideally, I want at least a mid-tower so that you're not limited expansion wise and you'll have reasonable air flow, ease of maintenance, etc. I own some specific purpose SFF boxes... but for my desktop, "I want it all".
 
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