Thoughts on first-time SFF builder - wanting a mobile productivity workstation (music, UI design) that's still good to sit in the living room for gaming. Easily transfer between rooms and places. Would love to hear thoughts on solutions!

Hello all, I've put some thought into a PC, but wasn't even glanced at in the /r/Buildapc sub. I didn't know /r/sffpc existed until yesterday, and you guys seem like some really helpful guys.

I am a musician, artist and designer that works through all three mediums frequently. I currently have a full NSXT H440 I built 5 years ago with an i5-4590 and AMD r9 390 built in. I originally built if for music production and gaming, but have found that my use-case simply DOES NOT revolve around sitting in a “computer room” anymore. Since moving in with my fiancé, getting a dog, etc, I find it much easier to stay in the living area where I have a corner desk to do artwork, do design work on my laptop. I don’t play games on my PC anymore, and have switched to a PS4 for the living room TV, that I used way more than I ever did my PC.

My laptop’s touchscreen is broken, I get input lag in my design tools (Figma, Photoshop, After Effects) and can’t run a full music project in it. Lenovo Yoga 720, w/ Intel i7 7700HQ, 8GB RAM, SSD. I now do most of my artwork on an iPad, which is now THE BEST solution for artwork going forward. My computer no longer needs to be capable of artwork. And I would eventually like to upgrade to an iPad Pro.

My desktop still runs like a baby, handling all my projects as well as I could want them to.

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My thoughts:

Buy a workstation laptop that could handle the projects I want/need. This way, I can move between rooms freely and do anything. When I want, I could go back to my music room and set it up as a workstation to monitors/keyboard. Would ideally still have a discrete GPU to handle graphics/the occasional PC exclusive.

Scrap my current desktop for parts, and move in to a mini-ITX build, with wireless peripherals.

I could currently use the following parts from my existing PC:

GPU: AMD R9 390

512 GB SSD, 1 TB Hard drive

8 GB RAM

And buy whatever new parts I need.

Ideally, this would make my desktop setup MUCH more mobile. I would imagine setting up a monitor in my living room corner desk, and simply swap my PC between the two whenever the need presents itself, and even finally as a console for my living room TV. This way I could enjoy desktop performance, with some mobility, but no ability to bring outside/use on a lap. But that’s what the iPad / eventual iPad Pro is for now.

\*If gaming, what kind of performance are you looking for? (Screen resolution, framerate, game settings)***

If I were to do a desktop, I’d like it to be a next-gen Xbox replacement EVENTUALLY. I’m fine sticking with my R9 390 for now, but I want to make sure when the next Xbox releases, I could rely on my desktop for Xbox exclusives instead of buying one directly. Then stick with PS5 for a single console.

I own a 4K Samsung NU-8000 65” TV. The upscaling on it is quite good so I imagine just handling 1440p well, at next-gen settings would be great.

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What is your budget (ballpark is okay)?

In TOTAL, probably $1,500 spent on my entire tech solution:

So, $500-600 spent on a Mini ITX build, plus $1000 on an iPad Pro.

Or

$1,500 on a workstation laptop

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[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/792t7T)

Type|Item|Price

:----|:----|:----

**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9nm323/amd-ryzen-5-3600-36-thz-6-core-processor-100-100000031box) | $189.99 @ Best Buy

**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte X570 I AORUS PRO WIFI Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/NQ7p99/gigabyte-x570-i-aorus-pro-wifi-mini-itx-am4-motherboard-x570-i-aorus-pro-wifi) | $218.79 @ SuperBiiz

**Memory** | [GeIL EVO POTENZA 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/GmrYcf/geil-evo-potenza-16-gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3200-memory-gapb416gb3200c16adc) | $64.99 @ Newegg

**Video Card** | [Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB GAMING OC Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6kdrxr/gigabyte-radeon-rx-5700-xt-8-gb-gaming-oc-video-card-gv-r57xtgaming-oc-8gd) | $389.99 @ Newegg

**Case** | [In Win A1 Plus Mini ITX Tower Case w/650 W Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/DLtQzy/inwin-a1-plus-white-mini-itx-tower-case-w650-w-power-supply-iw-a1plus-white) | $197.98 @ SuperBiiz

| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |

| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1091.74

| Mail-in rebates | -$30.00

| **Total** | **$1061.74**

| Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2019-12-13 16:47 EST-0500 |

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The above includes the main things I’m looking at buying:Motherboard, CPU, Case and PSU. The case in question, an In Win A1, includes a 650 watt Gold-rated PSU internally, but the price is sort of sky-high at $200. I’ve only ever built one PC, and it was 5 years ago, with help. I don’t have a lot of recent knowledge of the PC landscape or how to best go about building a Mini ITX setup. Or even if this idea makes sense.

Alternatively, a cheaper mini ITX case (around $60), and buying my own Corsair 650 watt SFX PSU would cost a little less than the InWin A1, so I'm open to case options like that.

I have a semi-modular bronze-rated PSU in my current mid-tower that I wouldn't mind continuing to use if possible, but I'd wonder about fit with storage drives, etc.

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I have some concern about what processor to get. An AMD Ryzen 5, or Ryzen 7. I’d like it to last a long time and handle the workload for increasingly complex art and design projects as I get more established in my new career field (UI design, AFter effects, Photoshop and Illustrator). And with that, the whole thing about AM4 X570 motherboards being more “future-proof” vs older boards. I don’t have access to anyone with an AMD CPU, so I’d need to get a motherboard that can be USB-flashed with an update to a Ryzen 3rd-gen, or just get the newest support mobo.

After looking through /r/AMD's search history, I see some say that AMD's processors often don't agree with Focusrite external audio units. I use a Focusrite Solo and record in to Ableton while my music plays. Looping and playing along with virtual amps is a big part of how I do music.

Not sure what processor would best suit a long-lasting build:

Ryzen 5 3600

Ryzen 7 3700x

Intel i5 series

Intel i7 series

I'd prefer to not spend $300 on a processor. I'm still relatively pleased with how my i5 4590 in my desktop performs, so I don't know that an i7 or the AMD equivalent is really that necessary for me.

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I appreciate any insight people might have on this whole situation.

Thank you!

Submitted by RadioRunner | #Specialdealer Special Offer Online Shopping Store 2016