Building the ITX gaming build and what I found out.

 

    

    To get further insight into hopping on the ITX gaming rig bandwagon. I hopped on the bandwagon anyway. The best course of getting into it was to essentially fuck around and find out. So that was the route I felt I needed to get into. Well, I also needed a build that would replace my gaming laptop that was severely outdated. That out of the way, what was it like for me to even attempt the ITX build and what did I found out? A great question to be asked.

    First off, lets discuss my build. I was hoping for a more portable RTX 4060TI 16GB build but the tune changed for a few reasons. One, that GPU was panned hard and given barely any support to the point where you wouldn't find much of that card. Things improved now in terms of the 4060TI 16GB but nice going there, Nvidia. Second, the situation with the outdated laptop and the 4070 being the only thing I was able to access. This lead to me to go for a dual fan RTX 4070 GPU from Zotac Gaming. Also, I was expecting a more portable case to build in but the only thing on sale on Prime day was the Cooler Master NR200. I was also expecting to have the build done by a later date but that deadline had to be cut short after a shitshow that kicked off. I had to make the power play of getting the build put together and also getting a hold of the Arzopa monitor. This while also having to hastily go overboard with the EVGA PSU. Putting together the build went well when I got the hang of building in the case. I though the PC wouldn't post after something I thought happened to the motherboard but the good new was......I didn't plug the PSU cord all the way in. Everything went well except for the goofy driver thing where I had to plug in a WIFI adapter to fix. Please figure the drivers out really well, GIGABYTE. Putting the parts together was ironically not the tough part of putting together the build. That award goes to finding the parts.

    Finding the parts was also the reason why the smaller form factor RTX 4060TI 16GB rig was beyond reach. Taking advantage of sales events such as Amazon Prime Day and Newegg Fantastech sales. You would also consider Black Friday (but I already mine earlier when it came to the monitor, keyboard, and mouse). Speaking of these sales not much ITX components didn't came on sale. Not even compared to M-ATX and ATX components. Also, finding the case was more difficult and when it came to the sales, the only thing I found on sale was that Cooler Master case. Speaking of sales, the RAM and Storage selections during the Prime Day sale was underwhelming. I was stuck with picking the Crucial RAM and 2TB SSD Storage. Finding the motherboard was not easy either. The selection of ITX motherboards that were available at all were more than underwhelming. For the affordable I was able to find was an ASRock board or the Gigabyte one I picked. Oh, now that we are talking about the GPUs now, I figure I will go ahead and mention our selection for 16GB 4060TI was either two fan or three fan length. What about the ITX size ones such as the Colorful iGAME Mini? It is the only one I can find and you have to end up importing from Asia region. This was something I warned about attempting your own Windows 11 Mac Mini clone build. Manufacturers are at most, either refusing or barely able to shrink down the length of GPUs. We might see improved results when the RTX 50 series come out but that might be a maybe. ITX cases are increasing in size to compromise with two fan and three fan length. This result is making the ITX form factor become less of smaller form factor. That said, the ITX scene was beginning to take off more than ever. However, the ITX scene still needs to take off more than ever.

    This leads into the conclusion. The ITX form factor build needs more momentum. One thing, you have a selection of parts that exist are underwhelming. The other, ITX components barely get good discounts compared to M-ATX and ATX. The last thing to worry about is the size of GPUs in today's times. Smaller form factors means you can pick up and move around more easily. However, I would give things more time. ITX form factor cases are willing to evolve to make room for the GPUs that won't shrink in length. Also, not much motherboard manufacturers are yet to touch on more to the ITX idea. That said, it is nice to have small sized computer that you can easily carry around but finding the parts ain't really easy.