Portable Desktop? Odd question

[scdogg44]

Alright. So my work requires us to spend 2 nights a month overnight at work. Spilt between all the workers.

We just got cable installed in the room we stay in.

My question is this. Is there a cheap, portable, desktop. I would just need a very small unit powerful enough to play games like diablo 3 and wow. The room I stay in has a monitor already with a mouse and keyboard.

I would like to bring it in on the days I have to stay there. Any suggestions?

[Deleted]

I can't tell you exactly what to buy, but they do exist.

You're looking at a small case (not sure of measurements) with a wee micro ATX mobo or something. You should be able to fit all you components in the thing but everything would have to be watercooled since there won't be any decent airflow .

Again, apologies that I can't give you any more info, but they do exist and are very, very good and would suit your situation perfectly!

[Wrestler10307]

Since you don't want a laptop, I'd suggest taking a look at building a micro atx based pc to carry around. Check these out and you can coordinate motherboard/cpu accordingly.

[Lemmiwink]

Silverstone Sugo SG08, mini ITX case. It comes with a 600W PSU and supports full length GPU's so in reality you can build a gaming monster as big as a BoxEE. Zotac has a very good z77 card, a card that benchmarks very good compared to the Maximus V Formula.

That means, you can have a setup like this:

Sugo SG08
Zotac z77 mini-ITX
Core i5 3450
8GB DDR3 RAM
Samsung 830 128GB SSD
1TB green disk
Radeon HD7850

That baby will run all modern games on maximum settings while still being petite and sexy and will not shame your living room if you want to use it as a media center. Only backdraw is you have to install a slim-line BlueRay/DvD which tends to cost a little more than your average OEM DVD writer

[vesseblah]

Silverstone Sugo SG08, mini ITX case.

That baby will run all modern games on maximum settings while still being petite and sexy and will not shame your living room if you want to use it as a media center. Only backdraw is you have to install a slim-line BlueRay/DvD which tends to cost a little more than your average OEM DVD writer

Bitfenix Prodigy looks better, costs less, can use any PSU you like and supports standard DVD drive (if anybody even uses those anymore). Will probably build my next computer into one of these.

[inux94]

Bitfenix Prodigy looks better, costs less, can use any PSU you like and supports standard DVD drive (if anybody even uses those anymore). Will probably build my next computer into one of these.

The look is subjective, the Sugo is smaller.

[Lollis]

If you want something portable and weird looking.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200..._isotope_sli/2
(Ignore the price, I was just suggesting the case)

You can get carry bags to go with it.

[Zanetrex]

Lemmiwink has the right idea. The Sugo cases can be found at a good number of retailers, will fit a full sized video card
and all the components he mentions should make a nice affordable gaming rig.

I just built a non-gaming machine with that case. Keep in mind the PSU is located above and close to the CPU so airflow could be a bit of an issue.
It's not ideal for a for a heavy duty overclocked gaming rig.

[noteworthynerd]

Bitfenix Prodigy looks better, costs less, can use any PSU you like and supports standard DVD drive (if anybody even uses those anymore). Will probably build my next computer into one of these.

Like Inux said, looks can be subjective, but still, I agree, if you're looking for an ITX case I'd probably recommend the BitFenix Prodigy or the new Fractal Design Node 304.

[vesseblah]

Forgot one more thing from the list yesterday which was the most important one. Bitfenix Prodigy comes with built-in carry handles, and portability is what the OP asked for.

[noteworthynerd]

Psh, you could just add one of these on the Node 304! http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g31/...ess-Page1.html

[Biernot]

Indeed, the Mini ITX way is probably the best solution. There are a lot of cases out there, and some of them support full length video cards if you desire to use them.

Bitfenix Prodigy http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/pr...assis/prodigy/
This is probably the best case if you want to build a powerful mini itx system. It has the best cooling / air flow that i know of and supports big tower heatsinks.
The disadvantage is, that this case isn't really small anymore... it is bigger than some µATX cases. And the feet / handlebars are a bit wobbly and have sharp edges (painful if you want to carry it around with bare hands)

Fractal Design Node 304 http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&prod=94
Great case for a home server (can house 6x 3.5" hdds) but you can also put powerful gpus in it. Lacks an 5.25" bay, so no dvd drive possible.

Cooler Master Elite 120 http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6852
Good budget case with enough airflow for mid-range systems. It's also small enough to carry easily around. If you compare it to the Prodigy (with the feet / handlebars), its about half the size. The only thing you might want/need is a low profile cpu heatsink that can invert airflow (bottom -> top), e.g. Scythe Shuriken / Big Shuriken, because the psu intake is directly above the cpu.

Lian Li PC-Q18 http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product...25&ss_index=64
I don't know this exact case, but i have worked with the predecessor (PC-Q08). It was a bit cramped, but ok to work with. I expect this case to be a little bit better than the PC-Q08.


If you want a small low-mid gaming system, i think i would chose the Cooler Master Elite 120 with something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.88 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($47.96 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($40.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $544.78

If you want a bit more power, change the gpu to a Radeon 7850. (no change in psu required)


P.S.
On a not so serious note, get this case:

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

If I had known about that case, it would be on my desk. That is amazing (although I'd ask if they can make a Mallard or Flying Scotsman model (prettiest train engines ever built IMO).

Edit: the "premium" version of that case includes a motor so you can drive the case around *squeee*