Upgrade the build
Upgrade the build
Hey there, what up? I’m thinking about your next upgrade. Right now you’re running a mid-range setup for light to medium gaming, media, movies, web browsing, and some CAD work—primarily using the Asus Z97 MAXIMUS VII HERO with an i7 4790k, 4GB RAM, GTX 1080 G1, and a 1440p display. You’re considering moving from an ATX tower to something smaller like ITX or E-ATX, but you want to know if that would hurt performance or if it’s worth it.
You mentioned looking at the Z790 ITX board, but there are some concerns about power limits—especially with AMD CPUs. If the motherboard only supports around 150W long-term or 250W short-term, you might end up wasting money on a powerful CPU that won’t fit. So, it’s smart to stick with mATX or E-ATX if you want better airflow and stability.
For the GPU, you’re planning to keep the GTX 1080 but aim for something like RTX 4080/4090 or maybe even RTX 4060 in the future. Your RAM is set at 32GB with DDR5 up to 6000MHz, which should handle most tasks. The case is your main focus—smaller size is key here.
Overall, aim for a compact build that can fit an RTX model comfortably, keep the CPU power within limits, and ensure good cooling for both CPU and GPU. Let me know if you want more details on specific boards or configurations!
Budget considerations show ITX builds tend to cost more and are trickier to assemble. The 4080/90 size is comparable to some ITX models, making it tough to fit the first into the second. If I were using ITX, I'd likely choose a NZXT H1 v2, which comes with a 750W power supply and an AIO pre-installed. It usually exceeds $400.
I didn't set a budget since I'm from Europe and prices fluctuate a lot there... but for general info around 2000 dollars or euros.