2 SELECTING THE PARTS
What went in, and why.
KEY COMPONENTS
1 Before we cover the completed build, let’s check out some of the jaw-dropping hardware used. As mentioned early, I wanted to create a small system that was also relatively quiet when running.
But that wasn’t all, I also wanted the system to pack a punch. So, inside it has Intel’s latest 9th-gen i5 9600K processor, a Zotac RTX 2070 video card, a top of the line Asrock ITX motherboard and of course the WD Black 1TB SN750 NVMe SSD all has us off to a good start for a PC that can play any modern game as well as be a highly capable general-purpose machine. The star of the show and the whole reason for this build is the beautiful WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD. Not only does it look great, but temps are kept down with a stylish heatsink and you can really see now how the build came to life.
MOTHERBOARD
2 The Asrock Z390 Phantom Gaming ITX/AC is a mini powerhouse. There were three main reasons for choosing this motherboard. I was after a featurepacked board to make it a real delight for whoever won this system. Full AC wireless, Thunderbolt 3 Type-C and decent audio makes this one of the top Z390 ITX boards out there.
Secondly was how the board looked. For all my builds I focus very heavily on matching parts. If done right, it can really give that wow factor. You’re probably starting to notice that everything in this build is either black or silver – which is exactly the look I was after. Lastly, I needed a motherboard with a rear M.2 slot. I’ll cover more on this later, but it played a key role in modding the WD Black SN750 SSD externally to the rear side of the chassis.
GRAPHICS CARD
3 The Zotac RTX 2070 Mini was a perfect fit for the build. If you’re not familiar with Zotac, it’s known for small yet powerfully video cards – and the RTX 2070 Mini is a beast that compliments the WD Black SN750 SSD as a top performance part. The aesthetics of the card goes perfectly with the rest of the hardware and the single static white LED logo at the front compliments the CPU cooler and memory nicely. The card is also small, which ties in with everything else in the build. Going with the Mini, I knew I would have no issues fitting a powerful RTX 2070 in this build.
CASE AND COOLER
4 There were really two main components that made this build possible (apart from the WD Black SSD of course) and that was the motherboard I mentioned earlier, and the chassis. To pull my idea off, I needed a case that was 100% flat on the front and right side, with the front intake taking air from the sides. I also needed this in an ITX form factor and with current up to date internals. The Nzxt H200i was a perfect choice and couldn’t be happier with how it all came together. With the case being Nzxt, I then decided to go with an Nzxt Kraken X52 All in One cooler. These coolers perform very nicely and I love that gorgeous infinity mirror cooler design. Also sticking with Nzxt, I threw in one of its new E500 power supplies.
“The star of the show and the whole reason for this build is the beautiful WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD. ”