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Mini-ITX work computer very easy build but costly.
I just put together a mini-ITX work computer and it was probably the easiest PC I have assembled and installed to date. Here is a quick run down of the parts:
Gigabyte B450 mobo $120
AMD Athlon 200 $50
2x4GB DDR4 2667mhz $40
Intel 660P 512GB nVME $60
InWin Chopin case $100
Windows 10 Home $130
With the nVME drive there was very little cable management since everything was attached to the mobo. The Chopin case comes with a PSU so you don't need to fuss around finding another PSU with a brick. The cable lengths had about 1" of wiggle room allowing most of the cables to be well hidden along the outer part of the case. If I had an HDD the SATA power cable was the perfect length. The only issue with the case are mobos with nVMEs on the back as there isn't enough cooling. It took maybe 20 minutes to assemble, and most of that was taking things out of packages and reading the F-Panel Pin layout. Then I plopped in the Windows USB dongle, installed windows with an existing user account and bam everything installed and synced to my OneDrive backup.
When it comes to costs there are three things that pop out. With such a small budget, the Windows License becomes a major hurdle if you are not going OEM. Due to the small form factor being the focus of the build, some costs are attributed to this. The mini-ITX mobos run about double a comparable micro-ATX. The case and power supply run at about $75 regardless of if you source the power supply separately. I also went for the $25 premium on the inWin Case purely for the black interior and nice aesthetic.
Gigabyte B450 mobo $120
AMD Athlon 200 $50
2x4GB DDR4 2667mhz $40
Intel 660P 512GB nVME $60
InWin Chopin case $100
Windows 10 Home $130
With the nVME drive there was very little cable management since everything was attached to the mobo. The Chopin case comes with a PSU so you don't need to fuss around finding another PSU with a brick. The cable lengths had about 1" of wiggle room allowing most of the cables to be well hidden along the outer part of the case. If I had an HDD the SATA power cable was the perfect length. The only issue with the case are mobos with nVMEs on the back as there isn't enough cooling. It took maybe 20 minutes to assemble, and most of that was taking things out of packages and reading the F-Panel Pin layout. Then I plopped in the Windows USB dongle, installed windows with an existing user account and bam everything installed and synced to my OneDrive backup.
When it comes to costs there are three things that pop out. With such a small budget, the Windows License becomes a major hurdle if you are not going OEM. Due to the small form factor being the focus of the build, some costs are attributed to this. The mini-ITX mobos run about double a comparable micro-ATX. The case and power supply run at about $75 regardless of if you source the power supply separately. I also went for the $25 premium on the inWin Case purely for the black interior and nice aesthetic.
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