Small Footprint ITX for Office Use

[martian_aphid]

Good tidings all!

I'm looking for a decent spec build for an office pc based around an ITX form factor. No need for dedicated graphics, integrated should suffice and if I can get away with an SFX psu instead of ATX then that's an extra step towards keeping the whole unit down the smallest possible size, although will probably be bringing across a 3.5" drive. Not really sure about which case to go with as there seem to be more options out there than ever before in this section, so any advice is much appreciated.

I'm UK-based so will be looking to buy from the main etailers over here, eg.:
overclockers uk
ubuyer
scan

Thanks for your help and advice and feel free to ask any questions.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

If you don't need a GPU, this one is kind of "the one."

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ante...su-2-x-usb3.0-and-e-sata-0.8mm-ca-209-an.html

 

[DaveSimmons]

Acer makes some nice prebuilt SFF mini-ITX systems. I've been using an i3 model with 1 TB HD as my music jukebox and backup office computer for several years now. It's quiet and only a little bigger than 2 DVD drives.

 

[you2]

If you don't need pci slots I would go with a nuc. MSI, intel and gigabyte makes them. You can obtain an i3 for around $350 (that includes memory and storage).
-
Three things to be aware of:
Some of the nuc are slightly taller and will take two drives (one 2 1/2 sata and one pci).
Some of the nuc take m.2 drives other msata (slightly different form factors).
All of the ones I've seen will require that you install memory and the disk drive and a few require that you install the wifi card (which can be a pain due to the ant wires.
-
These are tiny about 1/2 the size of an itx box.
--
There is also a thin-itx system you can buy:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015U272MQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3MW8HACMA578J
-
These are interesting but I have no experience with them. One negative is that they do not have a display port so the output is limited to hdmi 1.4 specification. No clue if yuo can get them in the UK but probably you can.
-
Last but least the skylake nuc (not available yet) will include sd slots and some other pluses.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

If you don't need pci slots I would go with a nuc. MSI, intel and gigabyte makes them. You can obtain an i3 for around $350 (that includes memory and storage).
-
Three things to be aware of:
Some of the nuc are slightly taller and will take two drives (one 2 1/2 sata and one pci).
Some of the nuc take m.2 drives other msata (slightly different form factors).
All of the ones I've seen will require that you install memory and the disk drive and a few require that you install the wifi card (which can be a pain due to the ant wires.
-
These are tiny about 1/2 the size of an itx box.
--
There is also a thin-itx system you can buy:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015U272MQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3MW8HACMA578J
-
These are interesting but I have no experience with them. One negative is that they do not have a display port so the output is limited to hdmi 1.4 specification. No clue if yuo can get them in the UK but probably you can.
-
Last but least the skylake nuc (not available yet) will include sd slots and some other pluses.

The advantages of an ITX rig over a NUC are:

1) Desktop CPUs (not ULV) with higher turbo speeds and more cores.
2) Relatively large number of internal HDD bays, optical drives, etc.
3) Overclocking possibilities via #1.

For an office PC it probably doesn't matter much, but for a home user who's not a gamer, but might want to encode DVDs and store 2-3 TB of videos, photos, drum loops, etc., a NUC isn't really a good choice as a primary (only) system.

For folks who can only afford one system, compromises must be made.

 

[martian_aphid]

Hi guys, appreciate all the responses, thanks very much.

I've been thinking long and hard about it and whilst I like the idea of NUC and think they are a great idea in a lot of circumstances, there are just a couple of areas where they are lacking for this particular scenario - as mentioned by dave_the_nerd.

I hadn't initially thought about it but a optical drive is probably going to be needed and whilst I don't need the expansion slots I envisage at least 1 HDD and likely a second in the form of an SSD.

I also realise that the pre-built systems are very economical but there is one thing about self-builds that they can't really beat and that's the future adaptability. There are many parts that I've got over the years that have had 5-10 years use because I've been able to switch and swap and retain parts. The reason I'd prefer to build it myself is so I have that freedom down the line - I'd be loathed to just get rid of the whole unit sometime in the future, instead of just being able to swap out a few components.

With that in mind and potentially a 300W PSU I'd love to hear your recommendations for the components.

 

[TeknoBug]

Yeah most NUCs does the job for "office" use, my i3 Intel NUC is sufficient enough and has an mSATA slot an a 2.5" drive slot.

 

[you2]

fyi even ifyou get an itx case; you can acquire an external optical dvd drive (usb) for $17. I can't speak for yourself but I rarely use the ones I have. I would guess I burn a disk every couple of years (pictures for the parents and similar). Just easier to use USB most of the time these days (er usb sticks). After all it is easier to deal with 1 usb stick than a lot of dvds.