Mini ITX vs Laptop - Traveling Abroad

I may be moving to Korea for a number of years for work. I am wondering, given your druthers, would you prefer a laptop, or a SFF build, and why? I was considering Bitfenix Prodigy (well-packed and/or shipped) with high-end components. Then I would get a Yamakasi, Achieve, etc from Korea directly, and not have to pay for that extra import fees, taxes, etc.

The obvious alternative would be a high-end gaming laptop. Not sure what the advantages / disadvantages would be. I would just rather not end up only playing a PS4 or 3DS for a few years.

Thoughts on MiniITX vs Laptop as a long-term, yet easy to transport, solution?

If you're not planning to carry it around much once you're there, mITX.

mITX for sure. I just got the Bitfenix Prodigy and I really like it. Good thing about the mitx is you can always upgrade and with a laptop you really cant.

Try an even smaller build than the bitfenix, if you have the $$$$. Something like the volt2, tiki, etc. Way easier to carry (can fit in your backpack) since you can in theory take your "xbox" on a plane.

So, if I were to go MiniITX and not spend a grand on parts, would I be better off with an FM2+ 7850K build, or an 1150 i3-4370? I'm not trying to spend like $500 on the CPU / motherboard, but I am thinking a Mini ITX with a decent CPU and GPU (like a 760) would work perfectly.

Go for an Athlon 760K if you're going to have a dedicated GPU.

That was my consideration, but wasn't sure how the CPU performed in comparison. That is definitely my #1 choice though. Thanks.

Tyerker said:

That was my consideration, but wasn't sure how the CPU performed in its comparison. That is definitely my #1 choice though. Thanks.

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It's a 6800K without the GPU portion and 300MHz slower.
OC that 300MHz and it's the same performance.

Tyerker said:

So, if I were to go MiniITX and not spend a grand on parts, would I be better off with an FM2+ 7850K build, or an 1150 i3-4370? I'm not trying to spend like $500 on the CPU / motherboard, but I am thinking a Mini ITX with a decent CPU and GPU (like a 760) would work perfectly.

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I heard that the intel pentium anniversary edition (g3258). I believe. Its a great in expensive cpu. If you are into over clocking since it can go to 4.0+ ghz on air.

I was recommended this pentium over i3.

If your going for amd matx. I might have a fx 4130 soon I can post it in classifieds if you are interested.

Btw I think evga has a sale on its evga hardon air that includes a 500 watt gold + that weird mouse. Might be out of budget tho.

I am currently considering mainly the Corsair 250D or the BitFenix. That way i can still use my current PSU.

I heard that the intel pentium anniversary edition (g3258). I believe. Its a great in expensive cpu. If you are into over clocking since it can go to 4.0+ ghz on air.

I was recommended this pentium over i3.

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I think that's worth looking into also. The single threaded performance with Intel is pretty solid, and you can get a lot out of budget Intel builds (especially if you OC).

Consider the gtx 750 Ti paired with the intel pentium edition in a Silverstone sg05 case with 450w psu. Tiny and decent for its size. Small form factor builds are the bomb. Haha.

Tyerker said:

I am currently considering mainly the Corsair 250D or the BitFenix. That way i can still use my current PSU.

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Elite 130 also suits a full size psu

I have the prodigy, g3258, and a 7970 (check my sig). I overclocked the cpu to 4.2 on the stock cooler and played bf4 @ 1080 p multiplayer 64 player map it it handled it like a champ. That cpu is good but if you are planning on keeping that cpu for a few years i think it will eventually start to struggle in games, but at least you can always upgrade.

You said you will playing at 1440p right? I would go at the minimum with a gtx 770 or 7970/280x to play at that res. 290x/gtx780 or above will be ideal.

Also dont know how that cpu will be gaming @1440p

I might be going 1440p since I'll be in Korea already. I was considering an R9 280 or a GTX 760 as a good balanced GPU for this build without paying a ton. And honestly, my 560ti is still meeting my needs a majority of the time, so either GPU will still be a significant upgrade. In that case, I'd probably stick with 1080p or even a 1600x900 just to save some money.

Here's what I pieced together as a mock-up:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard ($92.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 760 2GB AMP! Edition Video Card ($218.40 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $523.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-22 14:47 EDT-0400

I would be using my Seasonic PSU, my old SSD and HDD (in addition to the new SSD) and half of my RAM for this station. Then I have an extra PSU to keep my old rig running.

Looks solid to me

looks good. If you need storage theres a 4tb Hitachi in woot.

Slightly different opinion, but I'd either go with a used i5 2000k/3000k series (k only if OCing) and a used mobo.

Intel is just stronger for almost everything and with an i5, it'll be strong enough 2-3 years from now to where the only thing you need to upgrade is the GPU and it still won't bottleneck the CPU.

Also, depending on your usage scenario (which you havn't gotten into), you may find you want a laptop so you have something mobile (you won't know until you talk to your peers where you work). I'd honestly lean toward a laptop because you can always turn down graphics and such (I know, I know sacrilegious!). But the laptop can constrain productivity...so again we need to know usage scenario and budget!

For a laptop though, I wouldn't recommend a purely gaming laptop, because when they're 17" and massive, you're not going to want to carry it unless you HAVE to. So you'd be looking at mid-range thinner 15" models. I've gone back and forth between desktops and laptops since I'm constantly deploying to fun places.

I've had a desktop, I've had a mid-range laptop, and I've had a full blown gaming laptop...When you have to move around and go without your desktop it sucks. When you have to move around with a gaming laptop...it sucks(worried about breaking it, fitting it, carry it). When you have to play games on a mid-range laptop...it really doesn't suck, when you play a game it's a reprieve and you don't notice you're not at 1920x1080 with 16X AA etc. Just make sure it has an SSD.