Ever wondered what you need to create the gaming PC of your dreams? Then look no further!
We’ve created this series focusing on what goes into different gaming systems. Designed to showcase what components meet the different form factors, along with the benefits and drawbacks of each. In this blog post, we’ll be focusing specifically on Mini-ITX gaming PCs.
What is a Mini-ITX Gaming PC?
A Mini-ITX gaming PC will typically utilise small form factor hardware, including Mini-ITX motherboards and SFX PSUs.
The case itself will usually be relatively compact. However, most larger cases will also support for the Mini-ITX standard, so you aren’t limited to building a super tiny gaming PC if you don’t need to.
Advantages:
- Lightweight
- Small form factor (SFF)
- Often not as expensive
- Low power consumption
- Don’t have to compromise on features such as RGB or tempered glass panels
Disadvantages:
- Limited space can restrict airflow (depending on the size of the case)
- Less options for custom water cooling
What Hardware Do I Need For a Mini-ITX Gaming PC?
To ensure you have the correct size of hardware that is compatible with a Mini-ITX PC, we’ve included some of our top product recommendations.
We recommend a motherboard that has a Mini-ITX form factor, an SFX PSU, and a 240mm AiO CPU cooler. However, to guarantee full compatibility with your Mini-ITX case, it’s important that you also check the case specifications or the manufacturer’s website.
Case:
Kolink Rocket Heavy Mini-ITX PC Case:
- Mini-ITX case
- Constructed from gunmetal grey aluminium
- Small form factor
- 3mm tempered glass panel
- Stylish honeycomb etched design
- Boasts incredible airflow and ventilation
SSUPD Meshlicious Full Mesh White Mini-ITX PC Case:
- Mini-ITX case
- Small form factor
- Four mesh panels
- Included PCIe 4.0 riser cable
- Supports up to 315mm long GPUs
- All white design
Motherboard:
ASUS ROG Strix B650E-I Gaming Mini-ITX Motherboard:
- Mini-ITX motherboard
- Socket AM5
- Compatible with DDR5 RAM
- PCIe 4.0
MSI MPG Z790I Edge DDR5 Mini-ITX Motherboard:
- Mini-ITX motherboard
- LGA 1700 socket
- Compatible with DDR5 RAM
- PCIe 5.0
Power Supply:
be quiet! SFX-L 600W Modular Power Supply:
- SFX-L form factor
- Modular
- 600W
- 80 Plus Gold rating
- Integrated 120mm cooling fan
CPU Cooling:
Corsair Hydro H100i 240mm AiO CPU Cooler:
- White all in one CPU cooler
- 240mm radiator
- Dual 120mm cooling fans
- aRGB lighting
- Intel and AMD compatible
Aercool Mirage L240 ARGB CPU Cooler:
- Black all in one CPU cooler
- 240mm radiator
- Two 120mm cooling fans
- Customisable RGB lighting
- Compatible with Intel and AMD
Finishing Touches:
To achieve peak performance and complete your gaming PC, you will also need some reliable memory, a powerful processor, dedicated graphics card, and plenty of storage for all your files, downloads, and favourite games.
RAM:
Lexar Hades RGB 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 RAM Kit:
- 2 x 16GB DDR4 RAM modules
- 3600MHz RAM speed
- RGB light strip
- Dual/Quad-channel configuration
Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 RAM Kit:
- 2 x 16GB DDR5 RAM modules
- 5600MHz RAM speed
- Dual-channel configuration
CPU:
Intel Core i7 14700K Processor:
- Intel 14th Generation CPU
- 20 Cores
- 28 Threads
- Intelligent P and E core architecture
- 5.6GHz boosted clock speed
- 61MB onboard cache
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X Processor:
- AMD Ryzen 7000 series CPU
- 8 Cores
- 16 Threads
- 32MB onboard L3 cache
Graphics Card:
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super 16GB GDDR6X Graphics Card:
- NVIDIA Ada Lovelace architecture
- 16GB of video memory
- Boost clock speeds of up to 2655MHz
- 7650 CUDA cores
ASUS Radeon RX 7900 XTX TUF OC 24GB GDDR6 Graphics Card:
- AMD RDNA 3 architecture
- 24GB integrated video memory
- Boost clock speeds up to 2615MHz
- DirectX 12 and FreeSync compatible
Storage:
Lexar 1TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD:
- 1TB M.2 SSD
- PCIe Gen 4.0
- 7400MB/s read speed
- 6500MB/s write speed
WD Blue SA510 1TB 2.5’’ SATA SSD:
- 1TB SATA SSD
- 3D NAND technology
- 560MB/s read speed
- 520 MB/s write speed
Building your own gaming PC can be a daunting task. That’s why we’ve put together the Overclockers UK Ultimate PC Building Guide.
Overclockers UK Top Mini-ITX Gaming PCs:
For a Mini-ITX PC that really packs a punch and comes fully equipped with everything you need to experience incredible gaming performance, take a look at bespoke 8Pack Mini-ITX PCs, the Meteoroid and Asteroid.
8Pack Meteoroid Extreme Gaming PC
- Elite tier powerhouse gaming PC
- Designed by legendary overclocker, Ian ‘8Pack’ Parry
- Custom Mini-ITX case
- Includes an AMD Ryzen 9 5900X CPU and Palit GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. Both with pre-installed overclocks
- Completely custom water-cooled
8Pack Asteroid MK2 Extreme Gaming PC
- Powerhouse gaming PC
- Designed by 8Pack
- Custom Mini-ITX PC case
- Overclocked Intel i9 14900K CPU and NVIDIA RTX 4090 GPU
- 32GB DDR5 RAM
- Custom water-cooling
Do You Have a Mini-ITX Gaming PC?
Did you opt for a Mini-ITX gaming PC? Let us know why you chose this form factor and what you love about it in the comments below.
*Prices correct at time of writing and PC specs are subject to change.
- 5 min read
Ruth Rowley
Author
Ruth has been with Overclockers UK for over a year and has gone on to write about everything ranging from in-depth hardware guides to monthly game releases.
Outside of writing blog posts, she can be found wrapped in a blanket with her black cat, engrossed in a book or playing life-simulation games such as The Sims, Stardew Valley, and Animal Crossing.
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