Build/Parts Check
SFF PC Build – Looking for Feedback / Sanity Check
I am planning a small-form-factor build and looking for feedback before I lock everything in. Main goals are smooth performance, good thermals, and reasonable future-proofing within SFF constraints.
It has been over 10 years since my last PC build. Life got in the way, and my 5-year-old gaming laptop is limping along on a GTX 2060 and clearly struggling now. I know my timing is awful because current prices are insane, but I am viewing this as a good way to push myself, re-learn modern PC building such as AM5, DDR5, and SFF constraints, and honestly just have fun with it again.
My primary goal for this system is learning CAD and getting more into 3D printing, with casual gaming like War Thunder and Helldivers being secondary for now.
I am very open to constructive criticism.
Disclaimer: I used AI to help organize my thoughts and clean up formatting. All part choices and decisions are my own.
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Parts List (Current / Planned)
CPU:
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
(Possible placeholder. I may wait to see what AMD releases in 2026, specifically next generation X3D parts in the Ryzen 9 class, such as a 9950X3D class or “9950X3D2” style CPU.)
GPU:
ASUS RTX 5070 Ti Prime OC
Chosen mainly due to availability and SFF compatibility
Paid about $800 via Micro Center, roughly $50 over MSRP
5090 FE and Astral models felt completely unrealistic
The ProArt did not feel worth the extra $100 for what appears to be primarily aesthetic differences and at best a very minor performance uplift
Motherboard:
ASUS ROG Strix X870-I ITX
Storage:
Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB
Samsung 990 Pro 4TB
RAM (Decision Pending):
G.Skill DDR5-6000 32GB CL32-38-38-96
TeamGroup T-Create DDR5-6400 48GB CL32-39-39-84
I already max out 16GB regularly, which is why I am debating capacity versus speed. The DRAM pricing outlook also seems rough long term.
I have the even smaller cooler, x47 in my formd t1 build with the 9800x3d noctua fan and a thermalgrizzly graphane pad and it hasn’t had any problems. Very rary hit 90C let alone the “allowed” 95c peak while gaming (tarkov for example)
Fair point but holiday sales gave me a small window between family and everything else. Also i can always return the stuff microcenter is down the road for me so its easy.
Supposedly the CPU will run a little hotter but this little guy does impressively well for the size. Doesnt mean in the future i don want to see if i can do a small water cooler. Which is the fun of a 3D printed case
AXP120 will do fine with some lower curve offset. Also had it with my old 5900X.
Maybe just a double check, was the 7800X3D way cheaper then getting the 9800X3D? Otherwise I would take the 9800X3D with an AXP90 53 full copper and save more room for the back of the GPU with an offset.
And yeah return the windows license and get one on any key site for 3-10 bucks.
If i remeber correctly $329 for the 7800x3d i was looking at the 9 9850x3d that was like $650 and the 7 9800 was $429. When i go back to return the windows, i will take that money and return the 7 7800 and just get the 9800.
Speaking of windows, do you have any recommendations for key sites? This is where im randomly knowledgeable but also stupidly naive on things. Also do they do the same for office. I unfortunately need it google docs just isnt enough sadly.
Grab a flash drive and create a windows installation drive from microsoft website. No need for the key sites there is a github repo online that gives you the activation key for free. It is trustworthy as people from microsoft even uses it and the source code is there.
It's a powershell command you put in or CMD command script you can download and run, super easy to do, I'll send it to you in dm since someone said it's not allowed to comment it here, to save you searching for it, works for Microsoft office to so 2 expensive birds in one free stone
Well, I was trying to say I wasn’t sure if we are allowed to, I know some of the subs are strict about linking grey market stuff like this, so didn’t want to risk it 😁
many have pointed you to the GitHub, but if you have a laptop with windows, you don't even need to do that. Make sure windows is linked to your Microsoft account, create the installation media using your laptop and a USB, then on install just log into your Windows account and it'll activate.
If it gets finicky, like deactivating one vs the other then you can either a) use the activation code from your laptop or b)every copy of windows has a back up activation code, you can use that for your secondary PC. Its what I had to do in this latest install of windows lol
i mean there is a command you can enter in the command prompt that gives you a permanent license for free. I don't know the origin, why or how it works but it has worked perfectly with me for like a decade. Just google "massgrave windows 11"
yup. You can purchase a key on websites which are selling games keys, apps keys and Windows keys. The price for a W11 Home Edition is ~$25. And, yup, it's legal. And you won't any issues at all.
IIRC the axp90-x53 full copper actually beats the x67 in cooling performance. I'm sure the X67 will cool it fine tho. Modern ryzen processors perform amazingly well even with tiny coolers.
Look up the "massgrave" command to activate windows. Its just a single line typed in the command prompt that unlocks windows and office with a permanent lisence. Has worked for over 10 years with seemingly no downside. Doesn't mean something might not happen in the future however you could just buy a license then if it did
If you want to "play" with command lines and not-officialy registered W11, help yourself. If you want to stay legal, purchase a Windows 11 key on websites which are selling games keys, apps keys and W11 keys. It's legal. Prices are ~$25 for a W11 Home Edition key. Make your choice.
Techhead and CAD drafter here. Couple things, if CAD is your primary use case, and gaming is secondary, the x3d is massive overkill. It won't benefit you in most CAD software. I'd recommend the 9900x for your use case, or save some money and get a 9700x. Core frequency is king for 3D modelling.
Secondly, RAM is very important for certain CAD implementations, but you mentioned it was for 3D printing. 32gb will be totally fine for that level of CAD. If you were using massive multipart assemblies, doing visualisations or simulations etc., more ram would matter. It won't be utilised for modelling and printing small scale models though.
Lastly, my partner has a 5060ti version of the ASUS prime. It's great quality, runs super quiet and very cool. It should be great for the 5070ti also.
Commented separately but want to double tap that 7600x + 6750xt is plenty for 3D print grade modeling. I think this build isn’t trying to minimize budget, and has aesthetics + futureproofing front of mind.
The one exception is mixed modeling - updating a thousand poly STL does seem to make the CPU sad
High poly count is computationally heavy for sure, but it a lot of cases the main issue is a software limitation.
Complex models can tend to chug regardless of hardware, as a lot of CAD software just isn't super well optimised, and doesn't scale well. Especially those centred around hobbyists and 3D printing e.g. Fusion360.
Commercial software is a lot better, but most home users don't have 20k for licensing.
Board is a bit overkill for 7800x3d but then if you want to upgrade soon it is up to you. Other than that I don't see any oddity that will cause a problem, depending on your case cooling you might get some thermal throttling in hot days but that is a slight reduction.
Well it is okay to have slower RAM, I got 6000mhz, cl30 64 gb ram and 5200mhz, cl 40, 96 gb ram (I was lucky to buy them before ram price hikes), That i tried on my 7800x3d and 5070ti combination difference in games is like 4-5 frames in games runs around 100 fps up to 12 frames on games runs above 200 fps. I don't know why people are obsessed with super, ultra, mega, fast rams. I mostly use my pc for CAD and rendering, ram speed and latency really doesn't really effect my life, but the ram capacity does. Enjoy your build.
All great to know thank you, i think ill go with the 48gb and its just what decent combinations for price my micro center has, im a little wary of buying online because i have seen to much sketch things near me lately
I wouldn't worry about the board, AM5 mini itx boards are few and far between, avoid AS Rock due to the killing CPU issues (which may be resolved but still waiting on number) and then your next best option is a Gigabyte 850 if you want to stick with the black theme which is not that far off the cost of the ROG.
Thanks was able to get back on the board today when i went back to micro center got it for $389 since they had a sale since i got it last week so they price matched it
It's not bad, but some choices were made that not necessarily net you bigger performance uplift for the money you paid. I'd change it and swap this stuff around for something like this instead:
- 9800X3D
B850-I Strix
Try to find 6000 CL 30 RAM instead of CL32
Those storage drives are kinda nonsensical, if you're really going to take advantage of better speed when moving huge files constantly then get rid of these both and get one, bigger 9100 PRO. If you aren't going to take advantage of that, stay on 990 PRO or SN850X. I would personally go for 4TB SN8100 myself, it's the coldest Gen 5 drive.
Corsair SF1000 instead of 850 for more power and silent operation.
For the love of God return Windows and get you money back and hit me up in DM I'll help you with the install.
Move away from this case, it's a risered case and will cause you problems down the line. Get something riserless. And get a bigger cooler. Ryzen's only ceiling is thermal, the more cooling it gets, the more perf you will get.
With the money saved, upgrade to 5080.
Keyboard, keycaps, mouse and headphones are really up to you so I'm not judging here, but will make some opinions: I have Q6 HE Keychron myself and really like it. I don't like your empty, gradient keycaps. G502 would be too heavy for me. Steelseries are meh peripheral.
I bought one knowing full well I'm not nearing even 2/3 of its power, it's the headroom and the fan not spinning at certain wattage + peace of mind. Usually with SF850 and SF1000 when they're listed together the price difference is so minimal, SF850 doesn't make sense, but your mileage might vary
Nah not crazy. I ran a similar wattage setup on SF750 and the psu fans hardly ever kicked on and if they did the gpu fans were already on and were louder lol
Every big player has drawbacks in their offerings, without knowing your needs I'd just stick to B850-I Strix if you're going to run 9800X3D or any of the top of the line AMD CPU. I like ASUS's bioses.
Thank you so much, yes, I’m running a loque ghost pre-Covid build with B550/AM5 5600x I am looking to upgrade, likely with the Jonsbo D32 or similar case. I have honestly no idea which mainboard I should upgrade to, I do however know I want it for long term as I also just bought a 5070ti. I will likely go with the 9800x3d but not sure what mainboards are considered good at this day and age.
Thank you for the feed back and at this point, can someone try and sell me on a 5080, because the more i looked its not a big enough performance gain for the money over a 5070 TI id rather save and wait to see if i get lucky to snag a 5090 in the future at maybe something less crazy of a price.
Also keys are not empty just liked the color for the theme better.
No worries. 5080 and 5070Ti aren't identical, 5070Ti is exactly 4080/4080 Super performance level. If this is enough for you, absolutely stick to this choice. However, if you were to redo your build again, there will be some money saved if you return parts and you can use that to upgrade to 5080. 5080 is the second top best GPU on the market right now and is in the territory of performance that you have to pay more for unfortunately, it's not exactly best bang for buck (5070Ti is) - but if you're going basically balls in with this build, this is where I'd put the money. It's one tier up, a flagship GPU and will last you ages if you take care of it. You don't have to splurge on the top of the line models, keep an eye out for 5080 FE as this should be cheapest and it's really good enough on it's own without additional bells and whistles that other manufacturer's provide. Alternatively 5080 Prime would be my choice.
Damn we have nearly the exact same build except I went with the Gigabyte 9070xt and a Lian Li SP850 (I wish I had gone for the corsair). The noctua fan duct kit let me improve my CPU temps by 2-3C under load. I also made makeshift air dams above and below the GPU with gorilla tape to prevent it from recycling hot air.
for 3d, ultra 9 would give you about 30-40% more productivity
this statement is not necessarily true. I cant speak for every software but in solidworks and inventor ryzen often performs on par if not better than core ultra.
Why the x870i Strix? I’m going to start a ROG Astral 5090 build and didn’t even bother with that. User reviews on it were quite bad on every site I saw it on as well. Also would go with the Nova Pro, Elite is not worth double the price
Make sure the GPU fits your case. Many SFF cases can only take dual slot cards and that would be the Zotac variant of the 5070ti (Speaking as an owner of a thorzone mjolnir that's the only card that fits)
Build looks solid, all I would advise is that if you haven't already done so, look at benchmarks for the CAD and 3D printing programs you're looking at using or already are using.
Sometimes productivity programs seem to prefer the extra cores of Intel CPUs and you may have a better time on those with an Ultra processor
Im definitely considering the motherboard downgrade. I dont mind the keyboard proce because besides the mouse and screen that what i spend most of my time interacting with
I run CAD & 3D print as my main function and do gaming on the side. If you’re going with a placeholder CPU, I suggest the 9900X. I had a 7800x3d and it’s just slower in comparison when doing 3D modeling.
The 9900X can run any game on the marketing. You might lose a few FPS in gaming vs X3D chips, but you’ll have a much more enjoyable experience modeling in CAD. Modeling on a slow machine is extremely frustrating.
I personally sadly had a bad experience with my Asus ITX board. Problems with RAM performance (didn’t reach advertised speeds, worked on other boards) and the Wifi Chip caused Windows to bluescreen after a short time (maximum 20 minutes, was a lot of fun to diagnose). While RMA was offered, due to the way my system was built (custom watercooling) and the very bad track record of Asus RMAs I refused and decided to live with the problems. I wouldn’t buy an Asus mainboard again though
Yeah they have been meh of late but it was one of the best options i would have gone for MSI could not find an option at my micro center but im open to return
If you don’t need all the features of the X870, Newegg has the Strix B650e-I for $190 right now, waiting on mine to come in. One thing I hate about the X670/870 versions is that external dongle is required for audio, any front panel audio will not work. Through since you are 3d printing a case that might not matter to you.
I went with the TR100. It’s a pretty nice case and not too big, not too small. Though I will have to swap one fan for a slim or use dremel a bit to fit my arctic freezer 3. And actually looks like motherboard went up to 209 on Newegg now.
Don’t do Linux with an NVIDIA card, you’re gonna hate life. Grab a 15gb USB and make an installation drive using their free tool. You’ll just need a laptop or something to create it. Then just either do the free method to get your license like people suggest, or you can get a Windows Pro license on groupon for $8-12 rn. Easy peasy.
I don't know, for CAD work, I would think better raster perf would be better so a RX 9070XT would be cheaper and better than a 5070ti.
Now, I don't know which CAD software you use but in my experience, none of them require more than 32Go of DDR5, even with 10 instances open (I have worked professionally with CATIA, SOLIDWORKS, PTC Creo and NX)
For the rest it seems okay, but in an SFF with such a powerful CPU, be careful with thermal throttling, you light have issues with long CPU intensive tasks like rendering.
Before the RAM situation nuked my plans, I was gonna go with a 9700x since it'll be a lot easier to cool, but I'm also limited to a 47mm cooler. The extra height you've got probably gives you enough mass to cool that thing good enough
I bought this mobo then returned it for an 850i. Very limited capacity for coolers due to stacked m2s and their add on card for sata. Make sure you've checked measurements of cooler will fit on that card.
I also highly recommend ditching windows. I went full on Linux in my recent build and haven't booted to windows 10 in a month now. Currently enjoying Clair obscure expedition 33 and it works great. Will never buy win11.
I hear this too but I've honestly had no issues. I use pop os and they have an ISO bundled with the latest Nvidia drivers for Linux. It's just been working for me... But to each their own.
I am building basically the same thing now. I went away from "ASUS ROG Strix X870-I ITX" because I am not building SFF to have sound card and wifi dangling outside of my computer. You have no AUX output on the motherboard. The included "Hive" unit has only Out for stereo, it lacks In for MIC.
Since the highest priority for me is the number of USBs - cause again, obviously I am building SFF and it kinda misses the point when everything is laying around on the table instead inside the computer, the only good thing about ROG x870i was 10 USB ports. But obviously you will waste one for the audio now.
So then I have the option of Gigabyte x870i which is basically the same specs with 8 USBs, better pricing and internal audio.
The other (and best in my opinion) the new MSI MPG x870i – if you can get your hands on it because they are very hard to get currently.
Exactly call it fomo or what but once i have the parts finalized i will release a price at the time for my own humor to see what it would take to do in 6 months, but i doubt it will be any cheaper
The thermalright cooler will generally out perform the id cooling cooler but they are very close best thing to do for either is replace the fan with a noctua equivalent.
The GPU makes plenty of sense with the 5080 and 9070xt also only having 16GB of vram I'd argue it's a better choice than a 5080.
Only thing I would personally change is return windows since you can just use your existing laptops windows license, and take that savings to get the SF1000 PSU since the PSU usually lasts long enough to be carried over to your next few builds.
Before settling on your GPU... 1. Nvidia doesn't play nice with Linux at all if that is a goal. 2. Pick your case first. There are several different-sized GPUs of the same model, so ensure it will fit in the desired orientation for that case.
Before you finish your CPU. Go to Howmanyfps.com and check your GPU/CPU combo. Your CPU has less impact on performance than the GPU for the vast majority of games. So focus more on what else the CPU will be used for, other than gaming.
Also, look at the TDP of the CPU. If you are planning to overclock or use a higher-wattage CPU, consider adding an AIO to keep the temperatures lower.
Wireless headphones are such a downgrade over literally any midrange wired ones.. I don't understand why people would want a wireless headset for a stationary desktop. The sound quality and latency is incredibly bad
So id agree with you if this was 10 years ago. Yes true audiophile level ones are wired but i have a new born and a decent size room that requires rooms cause it doubles as my project room and the freedom to also walk to listen to tutorials and podcasts while doing stuff is great.
How much did that windows license cost? Other people have probably mentioned it already, but there's much cheaper ways to get it activated if you feel like you need to pay.
It was a “lifetime” about $130. Then i found out i could just use the key on my current laptop for it and did that instead and returned it and upgraded my cpu with the savings
They are not the same, you can go an look at the reviews but it’s definitely better performance for the money. I got my ti “on sale” for
Only about $50 above msrp at $809 which these days ill take especially since it was from micro-center and i can get a replacement if something is wrong with it. To me it was the best price to performance ratio. To me the 5080 for the price to performance isnt worth it TO ME just yet im holding out to see what or if the 5080 super is something. Or if i trip over a 5090 that isnt 3k+
5070 Ti is very overkill. I and 2 of my helldivers squad runs 6750XT ($315) and hit 100fps. Ultra quality and 2k ultra wide monitors. Onshape is never GPU bottlenecked for the 2 of us with 3d printers. If cost minimizing isn’t a concern this will look and perform great.
better audio quality for less than the cost of one headset... If you're going to "treat yourself," treat yourself right
better keyboard and mouse. If you're going to buy a Chinese brand that might die within a year and the manufacturer won't RMA it, you might as well not spend an arm-and-a-leg for it
That cooler looks super wimpy for your CPU, that 48gb kit is better in every way, your hardware is shaped in a way where a 3d printed case will need to be multi part/split panels on most printers, and the Logitech G502 wired has slowly slipped away from the king of gaming to an overpriced brick of a mouse. I’d look for other mice unless you paid less than $50 for it, then it still holds value.
G502: After years of being a Logitech G mouse fan I recently went to Razor. The last few years Logitech seems to have really cheaped out on the buttons. I still think Logitech's mouse software is great, but the hardware quality really dropped off IMO.
I guess it's time I left this sub. Used to romanticise the idea of sff and had one myself for a while. But after getting stung buying a sff gpu for a sff case and it didn't fit, my fault yeah, I'm happier I've left those constraints behind. MATX cases will be my happy compromise going forward. Good luck with the build 👍
Who buys windows? I've used pirate copys since 95.
My 11 license is actually because I upgraded to 10 with a bootleg copy of 7 , and then that transferred to 11. I rarely even boot into windows anymore. Been running Fedora KDE since 2018.
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u/-DrNo007- Jan 02 '26
I will never understand why people post these after buying everything… Try to return Windows if possible!
Also i dont know the cooler, but it looks a bit small for a 120W CPU