Small Form factor light gaming pcs

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arthman

29 posts

Geek

#248377 23-Mar-2019 18:22

Hi, I'm thinking of replacing my alienware 13 r3 with 1050 ti (which sits on desk w/ monitor etc.) for a hades canyon nuc (slower of the two) with vega m gl graphics or a mini itx build with ryzen 5 2400g + vega 11 graphics in in win chopin case.

The mini itx would be my first pc build ever and is the cheapest of the three options.

I was looking for some advice on the gaming performance of the nuc vs 2400g vega 11 vs 1050 ti.

I'll be playing divinity original sin 2 and other similarly recent games.

Laptop was 1700 nzd Vs 1000 for the nuc kit (no ram ssd or os) Vs 1000 for components of mini itx (no os)

I just can't decide what will be best for price/ performance and quality/ longevity

Thanks

SpartanVXL

1306 posts

Uber Geek

#2204158 24-Mar-2019 11:17

Okay so you have a few things to weigh up here in terms of performance and cost

The nuc with the i7 8705G and vega GL is power limited to 65W which will hinder overall performance if you try to push both cpu and gpu. CPU performance is same as a 7700hq and it doesnt seem to boost much past 4GHz on single core thanks to the 40W cpu limit.

It has pretty much the same performance as the Ryzen 2400 at 4GHz. The i7 8809G has a 100W overall limit and can be tuned for better overclock, maybe 4.3GHz so about 10% faster.

The vega GL gpu is about on par with a 1050-1050ti which is nice. The vega 11 in the 2400G is pretty slow, around a gtx 760 performance which is not really worth it. You pretty much have to get a discrete card if you want to keep up with recent games.

If I was building a rig I would go for the mini-itx but not bother with the 2400g unless I was going to replace it later with zen 2 when it comes out. Instead buy a regular ryzen 2400 with a discrete card (a gtx 1060 or rx580 is better than everything listed here) to get better performance and also leave you with a upgrade path.

The NUC looks nice but just like most laptop chips is far too locked down in my opinion.

arthman

29 posts

Geek

#2204166 24-Mar-2019 11:28

Hi, thanks for your reply. I am looking at something like this also: https://trademe.nz/marketplace/computers/desktops/no-monitor/listing/1997361576

I actually priced it up as parts out of interest and the parts would be only 50 cheaper than the listing. This was based on PriceSpy. The business must be able to buy the components at good prices.

SpartanVXL

1306 posts

Uber Geek

#2204181 24-Mar-2019 12:00

If you’re fine with 8100 performance for gaming I suppose so.

Its a 4 core 4 thread locked to 3.6GHz on a H chipset motherboard. Frankly I would buy a unlocked kaby lake i5 secondhand and overclock it. The RX560 is also about 5% slower than a gtx1050. To be honest I wouldn’t go lower than a RX570 which can usually go for sale at $200 on event days like easter.

If you’re wanting a upgrade in performance over your r3 then the NUC still is worthwhile. If your wanting more desktop level performance then go for mid-range unlocked hardware which you can piece together and part out when you need a upgrade.

arthman

29 posts

Geek

#2204372 24-Mar-2019 18:59

What about something like this

https://www.pricespy.co.nz/list.php?l=292012

SpartanVXL

1306 posts

Uber Geek

#2205629 27-Mar-2019 13:13

That seems alright. You can switch the PSU to the more recent model the SX500-G ( not the LG model which is from 2015) or go for the Corsair SF450.

You can also install windows 10 with a generic key (or skip) to get you started and let you grab a key from somewhere cheaper later. $150 for home edition just seems a bit painful to start out with. Unlike previous Windows, 10 doesn't really have any limitations from not activating.

If you are still open to the longevity thought, a Ryzen 2400/2600 paired with any of these mini-itx AM4 motherboards (MSI B450I Gaming Plus AC, Aorus B450I Pro Wifi or Asus ROG Strix B450-I Gaming) will give you an upgrade path to next generation Ryzen that's due sometime this year. The 8400 will be limited to cpus of its generation if you're wanting to upgrade.

Can also use the spare cash from the Windows key to up your ram to 16GB 3000/3200MHz CL16