Hey everyone! I'm about to embark on building my first PC after hanging onto my 2060 laptop for six years. I'm really fond of small form factor (SFF) builds, and while I want a more powerful setup, I want to steer clear of bulky towers. Right now, I'm eyeing the ASUS Prime AP201 case, but I'm curious if there's an option to go even smaller without compromising my needs.
Here's what I'm planning for the build: an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, a 5070 Ti GPU, either an iTX or mATX motherboard, and 128-256GB of RAM. For storage, I'm thinking about 4+ TB SSDs with good thermal performance.
Key concerns for me include thermals, cable management, and the ability to upgrade components like the GPU, RAM, and storage, with GPU upgrades being the highest priority. I wouldn't mind including RGB components but it's not essential. I also prefer liquid cooling, although that's not a must-have. On the flip side, I'm not bothered about upgrading the CPU (I'll swap the motherboard when that time comes) or having HDD storage.
Ultimately, I'd like this PC to handle VR gaming in the future, so any other suggestions or considerations would be appreciated! My parts list is linked below if you want to have a look!
[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/DfNggn)
4 Answers
A lot of people might not realize that the AP201 isn't technically a compact SFF case at 33L. If you're looking for something more compact like an 11L A4H20, you'd have to consider your RAM options—ITX motherboards only take two sticks, which limits your ability to reach 256GB without using four sticks or larger cases.
Check this out: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6vjsGJ. I basically built a version of your PC! I opted for an ID cooling 280mm AIO, which is solid and quiet. I downgraded to 64GB of faster RAM since I wasn’t clear on the need for 128GB. I also went with a 4TB 990 pro SSD, which saved a good amount of cash. The NR200P V2 is a compact case that provides plenty of room for GPU upgrades and is smaller than the AP201 you’re considering!
Hey! The reason for needing that much RAM? Just curious if you really need all that capacity and if you have specific requirements for Gen 5.0 SSDs? You might find that 64GB is enough for hosting games like Minecraft or Palworld, which requires significant RAM, but you might not need to max out at 128GB unless you’re running a ton of servers!
I’m up for reducing the RAM slots if that gets it down to a more manageable size. Sometimes less is more with upgrades, after all!
Yeah, I think 64GB would actually suffice for most game servers. Just keep in mind that building servers can be RAM intensive, so having a bit of headroom is great!