Building an PC fitting to Mintlodica
When my 2015 MacBook Pro from my tech jobs of yesteryears stopped being able to hold a video call and a note taking app, I looked into a computer upgrade. Custom PCs intrigued me.
When considering options, I wrote a list of non-goals and goals. My friends who were experts in building PCs helped source parts. I fell in love with the Mini ITX form factor (shocker!) and the idea I could custom powder coat the case to my desired color.
It is especially important for SFFPCs (Small Form Factor PCs) that all the parts fit in the case. No space left unaccounted for.
Parts list for "Smol Minty ITX PC Build"
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CPU Cooler. Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM SE 63 CFM Liquid
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Motherboard. Asus ROG STRIX B550-I GAMING Mini ITX AM4
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Memory. Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16
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Storage. Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME
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Storage. Samsung 860 QVO 1 TB 2.5"
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Video Card. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB Founders Edition
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Power Supply. Silverstone 700 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular
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Custom Finish. Seafoam Pearl Powder Coat
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Custom Cables. White, Mint, & Pink Cables with Brass combs
Please note. This is a parts list from 2020. You'll probably have better and newer components options. Hope this can be a reference for which components may fit snugly together in a similar Mini ITX PC case.
Helpful tools for building
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Thermal Paste. For SFFPC builds, you may find yourself taking things apart to get it to fit perfectly. Extra paste brings peace of mind.
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iFixit Mako Driver Kit. Helpful to have on hand, for PC builds as well as mechanical keyboard builds.
- Stripped Screw Extractor. Very easy in haste to strip one of the many screws in the process. Big oofs.
extra flair
The PC is purposefully themed. The extras in my case, aside from the Magic Girl matched custom cables, is a Saiko Soda Leafeon, a gashapon win from my 2019 Japan trip. (You can probably find these on eBay.) Then, there are two crystals from Paxton Gate.
Happy PC building!