NUC / SFF with a discrete card?

[Yuriman]

The performance of AMD's APUs / Iris Pro doesn't meet my needs. Which micro PCs come with discrete cards?

I'm aware of Gigabyte's Brix with the 760, which would be decent, but was wondering if there might be something a bit cheaper and/or with a quad core. I'm alright with something a bit larger but I want to go a bit smaller than ITX with a full-size power supply.

EDIT: I'm open to things coming out in the next 4-6 months too.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Honestly, the Brix is probably your best bet. Yeah, okay, the i5's a dualie, but it's a damn fast dualie.

Otherwise, you're looking at something bigger, like a mini-ITX build.

 

[Blue_Max]

Honestly, the Brix is probably your best bet. Yeah, okay, the i5's a dualie, but it's a damn fast dualie.

Otherwise, you're looking at something bigger, like a mini-ITX build.

Yeah. Something like this wins for size: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147217&cm_re=itx_case-_-11-147-217-_-Product

But this has a very sturdy handle for regular transport (heck, I want that!)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112348&cm_re=itx_case-_-11-112-348-_-Product

And there's great video cards made purposely shorter to fit in them.
eg: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127794&cm_re=itx_video-_-14-127-794-_-Product

 

[Yuriman]

Thanks Blue_Max.

Checking Rosewill's site, I see the following:

NOTICE:
- Please make sure your motherboard equipped with on-board USB 3.0 socket before purchasing.
- CPU Cooler: Not Higher than 65mm
- Display Card: Not Longer than 200mm Ideal for Intel & AMD Systems

Support Standard ATX PSII PSU
Ventilations for Display Card (within 260mm).
Sturdy Construction

Support up to 4 Fans
Drive Bays:
- Base Plate: You can install 4 x 3.5" HDD (3 of them support 2.5" HDD)

I'm currently running a Coolermaster 212 Evo, which I suppose I could sell and recoup some of the cost. I can probably maintain a fair overclock (4.0-4.2?) with the stock cooler, considering how well ventilated that case looks to be, and with my chip having been delidded.

Any suggestions/recommendations on a socket 1155 ITX board? There seem to be plenty of reasonably priced H61 boards, but Newegg and Amazon don't seem to be stocking Z77 ITX boards anymore.

My current power supply is 3.4"(H) x 6" (W)x 6.4"(L), while PSII spec seems to be 3.4 x 5.9 x 5.5. Looking at pics of the case, I suspect it'll fit, though I probably won't know until I have it ordered and in front of me.

My video card is 241mm long, as per Gigabyte's specs.

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4155#ov

Not sure if it'll fit:

"Ventilations for Display Card (within 260mm)."
"- Display Card: Not Longer than 200mm Ideal for Intel & AMD Systems"

Perhaps if I trim the fan shroud? Looks like it will probably work.

 

[Blue_Max]

The card I linked is 170mm, safely under the 200mm limit. 😉

 

[Yuriman]

The card I linked is 170mm, safely under the 200mm limit. 😉

Aye, aye. Just trying to save some money. My 7850 is very close to 270X performance, and I think I'll try to make it work before spending $230 to get similar performance from a card that's worth <$100.

My goal is to make my current desktop (and my wife's) more portable, so we can take them with us when we go abroad. I plan to sell the components that won't easily transfer over to partially cover the cost of going small.

 

[Yuriman]

Ended up going with the following:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261740964836
Zotac Z77ITX-A-E , comes with tiny case and power supply - $60

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811353044
DIYPC HTPC-Cube-BK - should take my video card, 10.00"H x 7.50"W x 11.25"D, including feet

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157526
ASRock H97M-ITX/ac to put in the tiny case and pair with my wife's i3.

My wife expressed interest in keeping her video card too, so I may nab a second of those DIYPC cases for her if it works out well.