1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,360 Big PCs might look impressive, but there are plenty of arguments for building a tiny PC. 2 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:08,960 Aside from being portable, lightweight, and taking up less space on your desk, 3 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:14,960 many people simply don't have a use for all the expandability a mid or full tower offers. 4 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:21,200 So how do you go about building the tiniest PC that still gives you all the power you need? 5 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,800 It all starts with having a small enough motherboard. The smallest commonly used 6 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:28,320 motherboard form factor is called Mini ITX, and although they're small, 7 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:33,440 they typically pack a pair of RAM slots and one full-size PCI Express slot, 8 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:37,200 which is enough for a high-end gaming rig or a mid-tier editing rig, 9 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:40,720 especially considering dual GPU setups aren't that common anymore. 10 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:47,200 If you want to go even smaller than that, there is also a variant called Thin Mini ITX 11 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:51,920 that uses Sodims that lay flat. Those are the kind of RAM modules you find in laptops. 12 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:56,080 Keep in mind, though, that these Thin Mini ITX boards are mostly meant for those ultra-thin 13 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:01,440 computers that look like big coasters. It can be hard to get models that support current-gen CPUs, 14 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:06,240 and some of them don't even have PCI Express slots at all, so you might want to stick with plain 15 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,480 Mini ITX unless you're fine with integrated graphics. Once you've got your Mini ITX board 16 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:14,800 in your hot little hands, you can start picking out other components, and the safest starting 17 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:20,880 point is the case. Mini ITX cases come in a good number of sizes, and while the biggest ones support 18 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:26,160 as many upgrades as larger form factors, most are more space limited, so you'll have to think 19 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:32,160 carefully about how much room you have for a CPU cooler, a graphics card, and any additional storage 20 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:38,320 drives, as well as what kind of power supply it supports. So it turns out that ATX isn't the only 21 00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:43,120 kind of power supply out there, as you can buy an SFX power supply, which is significantly smaller. 22 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:48,720 Many of the smallest cases only support SFX power supplies, but it's actually quite easy to find 23 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:53,840 SFX models up to around 850 watts, so don't worry too much about not having enough power. 24 00:01:54,480 --> 00:02:00,240 But do keep in mind that, like ATX, there can be variation among SFX power supplies 25 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:06,480 as to their exact size, so be sure not to get one that's too big for your specific case. That's 26 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:12,080 something that's more important the smaller the case you get. Or maybe you just won't need one. 27 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:19,520 Some very tiny cases might have a built-in PSU, or even an external laptop style power brick, 28 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:23,840 more common in machines without dedicated graphics, though some small cases actually 29 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:31,040 do power discrete GPUs in this manner. Who knew? Of course, powerful PCs, even tiny ones, 30 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:36,960 produce lots of heat, so we'd be remiss if we didn't discuss CPU cooling. This is another area 31 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:42,480 you'll want to be careful of. Smaller cases, unsurprisingly, have limited clearance for CPU 32 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:47,600 coolers, and may not even have enough space for an all-in-one water cooler. The good news, though, 33 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:52,080 is that there are plenty of low-profile coolers out there that offer better performance than stock 34 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:58,240 coolers, and if you want water, low-profile closed-loop solutions do exist. As far as cooling 35 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:02,400 your other components, which could be packed in rather tightly, don't overthink it too much. 36 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:08,320 Well-built, modern ITX cases should provide adequate enough airflow to avoid throttling your system, 37 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:14,240 unless you're really pushing it. Or it's Alder Lake. Just joking. And with M.2 now, 38 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:17,840 are you very common standard? You don't even have to cram a 2.5-inch SSD into your computer 39 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:22,560 anymore, though most small cases will still let you do it without any problems. Once you've made 40 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:27,360 a decision on the storage front, add your favorite RAM, and you're more or less done. Just don't pair 41 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:32,640 your new small PC with that giant combo printer you got on Black Friday. Kind of defeats the purpose. 42 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:36,560 So thanks for watching, guys. If you liked this video, hit like, hit subscribe, and hit us up in 43 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,640 the comments section for your suggestions for topics that we should cover in the future.