Small case for Lightroom workstation

knight427

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 10, 2011
Messages
183
I’m considering building a workstation mostly for photo editing (Lightroom mostly, occasionally Photoshop, rarely do time lapse videos). I’m currently considering a build around i5-12600k due to price to performance balance based on this review. note that I’d be open to suggestions on other CPUs too. I don’t intend to add a video card, but having the option in the future might be enough to get me to buy something a little bigger.

I’m looking for a case that is either very small (like Mac mini or HP Z2 mini G5) or it could be thin and tall in which case I’d mount it to my standing desk leg. This would be my first build, so talk me like I’m an idiot.
 
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Thanks, both cases look nice for my needs. I’m just realizing that AMD mother boards and power supply are much cheaper and might alter my $/performance ratio.
 
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Thanks, both cases look nice for my needs. I’m just realizing that AMD mother boards and power supply are much cheaper and might alter my $/performance ratio.
Umm...Intel and AMD CPU based systems use the same power supplies and power supply standards.
 
Umm...Intel and AMD CPU based systems use the same power supplies and power supply standards.
I should specify I’m comparing AMD 5600x to Intel 12600k with the 12% performance difference in mind. The AMD is 65W while I tel is 125W. Shouldn’t I get away with a cheaper PSU?
 
I should specify I’m comparing AMD 5600x to Intel 12600k with the 12% performance difference in mind. The AMD is 65W while I tel is 125W. Shouldn’t I get away with a cheaper PSU?
dont beleive those numbers. my 5600x pulls 150w under load and the intel will pull like 200+. either way though youll want a 500w without a gpu, if you plan on adding one later, buy a 850w now instead of having to upgrade it for a gpu.
 
I’ve been looking at build videos and trying to narrow down what I want. I like the Milo 10 but it seems like it can’t handle either processor due to power limitations.

The slim fractal node 202 is a great option if I want to keep a GPU upgrade possible. But I’m wondering how small I could go and still fit the recommended 500 W psu.
 
get a regular shaped itx case and a desk sling. that will give you good flexibility in the future.
 
Cooler Master NR200 is a popular case. Allows a full size GPU should you want it in the future. That and a desk sling like pendragon1 says would be a pretty good combination.

Quite a few of these mini-itx cases will require the use of an SFX psu, which I think get up in to the 850w range now. Getting something bigger than you need now will allow an upgrade to a GPU later without having to do both. 750w should do you just fine, since it doesn't sounds like you game and you're not going to stick a 3090 in there.
 
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