Budget APU Build - Case?

[Deleted member 19309]

Hello everyone,
a friend of mine asked me for some advice. He runs a small buisness and wants to replace a old notebook with a small desktop PC. The PC is only supposed to be used for light office work (Word, Excel and a few specialized applications), but should be powerful enough to last a while. But it should be pretty compact build since space is relatively limited (small corner desk, ideally the PC can be placed behind the Monitor in the corner).
At first we were looking into thin clients, but they are too low-powered for our usecase. Small desktops like the HP ProDesk look fairly nice, but I feel like they are to expensive for the kind of power they offer. So I was thinking about building a custom PC. I'm aware that building a small form-factor PC is quite challenging, but thats why I signed up here
We'd like to use the following combination, the budget for the build is around 450€ (excl. Windows License; Located in Germany).

• Ryzen 3 3200G APU (we don't need a dedicated GPU for our usecase)
• 8GB 3200 RAM (2x4GB Kit)
• Samsung 860 Evo SSD - 240 GB (most of the files are stored on a NAS, so its just necessary for Windows + a few Applications)

The problem I have right now is the Mobo + Case + PSU combo. I initially thought about getting the MSI B450 Pro M2 Micro ATX board, but when researching cases I found that the Micro ATX cases are still farily big. Especially considering that we don't use a dedicated GPU and we have no intention of upgrading, it'd be a waste of space to use a case that fits a large GPU.

I found the ASrock DeskMini A300, but it does seem like it doesn't support 3rd Gen Ryzen CPUs.

Do you have any recommendation for cases that are very compact, maybe without support for the GPU? Should I choose micro ATX or rahter miniITX (Recommendations for both?)

I really appreciate your help!

 

[jhautz]

The answer to your question is simple IMO. The Asrock Deskmini A300. Perfect for Ryzen APU builds.

And yes it does support the 3000 series APUs with the most recent Bios. However, Im not sure if they come out of the box with that most recent bios or not. Here is a lin to the supported CPU list. 3200G is on there.

ASRock DeskMini A300 Series

AMD AM4 Socket CPU, - Picasso, Raven Ridge, Bristol Ridge, up to 65W, - Support MAX Height ≦ 46mm CPU Cooler<br />High-Speed DDR4 Memory, - DDR4-2933MHz (Ryzen), - DDR4-2400MHz (A-series)<br />Dual Ultra M.2 (NVMe), - M2_1 M.2 (2280) – PCIe Gen3 x4, - M2_2 M.2 (2280) – PCIe Gen3 x2/x4<br />2 x...

www.asrock.com

$150 USD for case, PSU and the Motherboard all in one package. Just drop in your RAM (Laptop DDR4), SSD (2.5 or M.2) and CPU and you are off the to races. The only add that you may need is a CPU heatsink/fan because I don't think the stock AMD cooler fits. I did read somewhere that if you disassemble the shroud on the stock cooler you can make it just barely fit but Ive never tried that or verified personally. The case actually comes with a fan and heatsink, but I didnt love the sound of the 80mm fan it included so I put a NH-L9a in mine.

I have a one of these little Asrock machines running splendidly on a 2400G. The simplest and smallest footprint you can get for a off the shelf low cost solution. Love mine.

ASRock DESKMINI A300W AMD A300 Barebone System - Newegg.com

Buy ASRock DESKMINI A300W AMD Socket AM4 AMD A300 1 x HDMI Barebone System with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

Or if you want to build it yourself with an ITX board, get the InWin Chopin. It comes with at PSU as well, and supports any ITX board.

 

[Deleted member 19309]

Thank you so much, I'll calculate the price for both options with similar specs and ask which one my friend prefers, but in this case I think the A300 is the more cost-effective solution ?
For the A300 I read that the included cooler is pretty loud, can you confirm that? Should I use that or use an alternative cooler like a Noctua L9a?

 

[outtatheblue]

You can use the included box cooler for the 3200G in the A300. The ring on the fan shroud (the part that has the "AMD" branding on it) can be removed, giving just enough clearance to fit into the A300. That way your friend can save on budget by not having to go with an aftermarket cooler.

I personally didn't bother with the cooler that came with the A300 since the Wraith Stealth was better overall, and already came with the CPU.

 

[akisu]

The price is hard to top. You will get a case, PSU and board for a price with is a bit higher then a normal AM4 M-ITX board.
But keep in mind that you may have to take care about the bios update. If don't have a matching APU try to buy the DeskMini from a supplier that offers it directly with bios version 3.5 or 3.6.

 

[jhautz]

Thank you so much, I'll calculate the price for both options with similar specs and ask which one my friend prefers, but in this case I think the A300 is the more cost-effective solution ?
For the A300 I read that the included cooler is pretty loud, can you confirm that? Should I use that or use an alternative cooler like a Noctua L9a?

I did personally go with the NH-L9A. But I'm probably a bit more of a fan snob than the average person... The fan that comes with the Asrock A300 wasn't necessarily "loud", but it was an annoying whiny pitch.

Like someone above suggested, if the stock AMD cooler can fit with the fan shroud removed then do that. The stock cooler is more than good enough on a budget.

 

[jhautz]

Thank you so much, I'll calculate the price for both options with similar specs and ask which one my friend prefers, but in this case I think the A300 is the more cost-effective solution ?
For the A300 I read that the included cooler is pretty loud, can you confirm that? Should I use that or use an alternative cooler like a Noctua L9a?

I did personally go with the NH-L9A. But I'm probably a bit more of a fan snob than the average person... The fan that comes with the Asrock A300 wasn't necessarily "loud", but it was an annoying whiny pitch.

Like someone above suggested, if the stock AMD cooler can fit with the fan shroud removed then do that. The stock cooler is more than good enough on a budget.