Mini itx for portable gaming

[bthizle1]

I`ve been considering purchasing a laptop for some time now, however they just have no upgradability and are quite a bit more expensive. The thing is I do need portablity because I myself do not have a home and am travelling internationally quite a bit. So, I`m wondering if I could make a good mini itx build for say around $700, and then spend the extra $300 or so on a decent laptop for most things other than gaming (perhaps a bit of gaming, older games that is) Also, I suppose I could always carry a mini itx in a small backpack (apart from my big backpack) in a plane etc...I`d just buy a new monitor wherever I am, as monitors are generally cheap.

Anyways, I`d need the desktop to be at least on par or betterr than this laptop
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8230-...m1-p-5840.html


I`m looking to build it say in another month or two. It`d be mostly for gaming, especially the Total War series and other strategies, and RPG`s...the ocassional FPS.
Any recomendations?

PS. I´m not too interested in overclocking, especially with a mini case.

 

[Skott]

Got an idea of what case you want? Smallest right now would be a SG05/06. Itx cases come in all sizes and styles these days.

 

[sgjackson]

The GTX 770m in that particular Sager is basically an underclocked GTX 660, and will probably perform pretty closely to a GTX 650 Ti. Given the situation you're proposing, I'd probably stick with a laptop. Having to buy a new monitor at every new location sounds like a pain.

 

[Throckmorton]

This is a pretty lame idea. The cheap monitors are the worst, and you're going to waste a bunch of money on them so you don't have to shell out for a gaming capable laptop? What upgrades are you going to do to this SFF PC? Your options are limited on upgrades. I just bought the ONE low profile card that fits in my Dell SFF, restricted by the 230W power supply.

 

[Torn Mind]

This is a pretty lame idea. The cheap monitors are the worst, and you're going to waste a bunch of money on them so you don't have to shell out for a gaming capable laptop? What upgrades are you going to do to this SFF PC? Your options are limited on upgrades. I just bought the ONE low profile card that fits in my Dell SFF, restricted by the 230W power supply.

Mini-ITX cases sold to the DIYer crowd usually can accommodate somewhat larger video cards and not just low profile ones; the SilverStone SG05 can accommodate a card up to 10 inches. Its the thermals that you have to worry about.

But the 770M is quite capable as sgjackson said and a GTX 660 or 7870 will be needed at the very least to outclass it.

 

[Throckmorton]

Mini-ITX cases sold to the DIYer crowd usually can accommodate somewhat larger video cards and not just low profile ones; the SilverStone SG05 can accommodate a card up to 10 inches. Its the thermals that you have to worry about.

But the 770M is quite capable as sgjackson said and a GTX 660 or 7870 will be needed at the very least to outclass it.

That's a HUGE case which isn't going to fit in his backpack. It's no smaller than a normal miniATX case. He's talking about a real ITX case that would fit in a backpack, which would have (at best) a TFX power supply which would be 350W at most, and a low profile video card.

 

[bthizle1]

What about this laptop....it´s the sager np7370. It´s a 17inch, so it´s a bit bigger than the np8230, however it weighs a bit less. (Would still probably be much more portable than a mini itx I assume)

Only difference really is that this one has the GTX 765m GPU and the 8230 has the GTX 770m...which I´m told is some %20-%30 better....is it really worth it to pay another $200 USD for the np 8230 with the 770m?

Here´s the two I´m looking at:

np7370
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np7370-clevo-w370st-p-5841.html

np8230
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8230-...m1-p-5840.html

Do you think the 7370 could hangle most games on high? Also do you think it could run games fairly well for the next say 2 years or so...maybe 3?

EDIT:

Also I assume I could hook up any laptop fairly easily to a monitor, so a 15 inch laptop would be fine if I wanted to hook it up to a bigger monitor and play as such?

 

[Torn Mind]

That's a HUGE case which isn't going to fit in his backpack. It's no smaller than a normal miniATX case. He's talking about a real ITX case that would fit in a backpack, which would have (at best) a TFX power supply which would be 350W at most, and a low profile video card.

"Not thin enough" is the description you are after, as that case has a smaller footprint than an 8"x11" sheet of printer paper.

That doesn't make it any less of a "real" ITX case, a phrase that has little meaning since "real" is hard to define in this context. "Real" ITX cases can be best defined any case designed to accommodate an ITX mobo and no other larger board. Otherwise, there are no other definitive standard as to what makes an ITX a "real" one.

Mini-ATX is a distinct mobo form factor from Mini-ITX and the mini-ATX mobo size is even smaller.

Thin computers often accomodate "Thin Mini-ITX" cases.

 

[Skott]

Yeah, the SG05 can fit and run a reference GTX680 with its 450w psu. Considering how much you travel and its a different place each time a desktop doesn't really fit your style. I'd say get a laptop and splurge getting a gtx680m optioned/added into it. Expensive but should get you by for two years. Just get a good extended warranty on it as well. 2-3 years. Not cheap but no more expensive and probably cheaper than buying a new monitor all the time.

 

[bthizle1]

I´m really considering that sager np8230, or the np7370....what do you think?

(Read last post I made)

 

[Torn Mind]

The 765M has less shader cores(768) than the 770M(900), a memory bus with a lower amount of bits(128 bit bus vs 192 bit bus). It is a substantial downgrade.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/In-Review-Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-780M-GTX-770M-GTX-765M.93277.0.html

 

[bthizle1]

SO I should probably pay the extra $200 for the np8230. Plus the downsize in the screen size is alright, I can always hook the laptop up to a monitor pretty easily right?

 

[HeXen]

How about an Alienware X51?. Not much bigger than an Xbox 360, you can upgrade the card and they start at around $699. Maybe you can find just the case itself somewhere and put your own stuff in it but as far as a rig you can put in your backpack, this is it.
It's affordable, it's small, it's made for gaming, no reason to always go DIY plus you get 1 year support, alienware keyboard..etc and Windows OS disk for no additional cost.
http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-x51-r2/pd.aspx

 

[bthizle1]

Those aren´t really upgradable are they...

The laptop makes more sense in comparison to that, for $1,000 I´m still getting more than evn that $900 one.

 

[HeXen]

well then get the laptop then. Just trying to fing help with options. geez

 

[bthizle1]

No, don´t get me wrong, I appreciate it...it´s just that if I do go the mini itx or similar route it needs to be at least somewhat upgradable, and a fair amount cheaper than one of those laptops, with at the very least the same performance.

 

[mfenn]

I agree that buying a cheap-ass monitor at every stop seems kind of lame. Whether it makes financial sense or not depends on how much you move around. What's your average length of stay?

 

[greenhawk]

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/motherboards/desktop-motherboards/nuc.html


intel NUC units might be suitable in the small and portable area. Output to a monitor or TV depending on where you are. Keyboards can either be a cheap one at your destination or get a fold up one.

not the greatest for high end gaming, but the onboard video of the cpu is good enough to do gaming with.

and all in a 4"x4" size, nearly fit in oversized pockets.