Portable mATX Build

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byzrk
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Portable mATX Build

This build was put together as a follow up to my $85 Lan Party Sleeper Build. The idea is to build a mATX computer using the cheapest parts possible, while still being able to average 60 FPS at 1080p in games like CS:GO and Fortnite. While I knew this build would not match the price-to-performance of my $85 build, I wanted to see how quickly I could flip this build for a profit. Here's the breakdown of the build.

CPU / Motherboard

I found this combo on Facebook marketplace and talked the guy down from his original $80 asking price. Honestly I didn't haggle enough on these parts since they are available on eBay for around his asking price. I still saved about $20 but I think I could've got this combo for even cheaper if I had been more frugal. For the price, this combo should do the job, but the motherboard only supports a maximum of 8GB ram. Still, I think this is the cheaper m-ITX motherboard/CPU combo you can buy online. I may have to re-visit this combo for future super budget m-ITX builds.

CPU Cooler

I finally found a suitable home for this cooler I got from a separate used PC pickup. This cooler does a great job even in this craptacular case I built in. Pairing a decent cooler with a cheap case actually worked out pretty well in this situation for me and helped balance out my temperatures.

Ram

I threw in the last of my DDR3-1333 ram I had lying around. Going to need to pick up some more sticks in bulk for my budget builds.

SSD This SSD came for free in a separate used PC pickup. Not even sure this has 3D NAND but works fine and it cost me nothing so I'll consider it a $5 value.

Video Card Picked up this card on /r/hardwareswap for cheap. First time getting a GTX 960 4GB model, pretty good deal for $60.

Power Supply

Picked this up in March 2019 for $20 after rebate. Still haven't got my rebate yet...

Case

This went on sale for $22 shipped on Newegg. The acrylic panel is cheap and tinted. The temps are horrible. The case is very lightweight and cheap feeling. Nonetheless for $20, it looked good enough in pictures with LED strips and LED fans. If I can get the Cooler Master Q300L for $36 again, I'll stock up on those. I would avoid this case if possible.

Conclusion

I really enjoy making these little mATX builds as they are really cheap and don't take up a lot of space or require a lot of investment. Most of the parts are really easy to find online or even locally. Overall I was able to flip this PC for my asking price of $350. The guy who bought it was buying it for CS:GO so I was really happy the computer went to a good home. Thanks for reading and see you in the next one!
Color(s): Black
RGB Lighting? No
Theme: none
Cooling: Air Cooling
Size: Micro-ATX
Type: General Build

Hardware

CPU
$ 339.00
Intel - Core i7 860
Socket: LGA 1156
Cores: 4
Motherboard
$ 69.95
Intel - DQ77MK
Chipset: Q77
CPU Socket: LGA 1155
Size: Micro-ATX
Graphics
$ 209.11
EVGA - FTW GAMING ACX 2.0+
Chip Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip: GTX 960
Storage
$ 197.00
PNY - CS1111
Form Factor: 2.5 Inch
Interface: SATA 6 Gb/s
Capacity: 240 GB
PSU
$ 58.52
Corsair - CX450 (2017)
Wattage: 450
Form Factor: ATX
Efficiency: 80+ Bronze
Case
HEC - HX210
Type: Mini-Tower
Side Panel: Tempered Glass
Cooling
$ 247.02
Noctua - NH-U9B SE2
Type: Air Cooler
580
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