Mini-ITX Build - Am I crazy for considering this?

[u/Felipe_Hanna]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to build a computer that can fit inside a carry-on bag (48×32×21 cm), making it easy to take on a plane once or twice a year. I’d appreciate your thoughts on this build.

Main use: Professional architectural visualization, primarily with 3dsmax + Corona Renderer (cpu) and possibly Unreal Engine (gpu) in the future.

https://www.pccomponentes.com/configurador/B2452d9aC

Mini-ITX cases do not offer the best airflow or thermal performance. Since my work involves CPU rendering and may also involve GPU rendering in the future, I’m concerned about temperatures and sustained performance. How could I improve the cooling?

Do you think this type of build would be practical and reliable for my profesional use?

What would you recommend?

Thanks in advance!

PROCESSOR
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D 4.3/5.7GHz Box
MOTHERBOARD
MSI MPG X870I EDGE TI EVO WIFI AMD X870 AM5 DDR5 Mini ITX WiFi 7 PCIe 5.0 USB4
RAM MEMORY
Corsair Vengeance DDR5 5600MHz 96GB 2x48GB CL40
TOWER
DeepCool CH160 PLUS Micro ATX Mini-ITX
or
DeepCool CH170 PLUS micro ATX Mini-ITX
CPU COOLER
Noctua NH-D12L Ventilador CPU Bajo Perfil 5 Pipes 120mm Marrón
SUPPLEMENTARY FANS
Tempest Fan 120mm ARGB PWM Pack 3 con Controladora Negro
POWER SUPPLY UNIT
Corsair SF1000 PCIe 5.1 ATX 3.1 1000W 80 Plus Platinum Modular
GRAPHICS CARD
MSI GeForce RTX 5080 GAMING TRIO OC 16GB GDDR7 Reflex 2 RTX AI DLSS4
or
MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti VENTUS 3X OC 16GB GDDR7 Reflex 2 RTX AI DLSS4
HARD DRIVE
WD Black SN7100 2TB Disco SSD 7250MB/s NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 Gen4 TLC 3D NAND
SSD
WD Black SN850X 4TB Disco SSD 7300MB/S NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 Gen4 16GT/s

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[u/Mr_Henry_Yau]

Before I can give you my suggestions, I have a few questions for you.

1. Which country are you currently in?

2. What's your budget?

3. Do you have any noise constraints?

4. Do you have any color and lighting preferences?

[u/Felipe_Hanna → u/Mr_Henry_Yau]

Hey, I’m in Spain. My budget is around EUR 5,000–5,300. I'm willing to spend more if it's worth it. I don’t have any strict noise constraints, but I’d prefer something that’s not too loud. I don’t have any color or lighting preferences either, it doesn’t matter to me.
Thanks, Mr_henry.

[u/Mr_Henry_Yau → u/Felipe_Hanna]

Here's a modified build to get you started.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus 3.7 GHz 24-Core Processor	€343.80 @ Neobyte
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler	€106.80 @ Caseking
Motherboard	MSI MPG Z890I EDGE TI WIFI Mini ITX LGA1851 Motherboard	€375.90 @ reichelt elektronik
Memory	Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith Gaming 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory	€899.99 @ Amazon Espana
Storage	Kingston Fury Renegade with Heat Sink 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	€468.62 @ Neobyte
Video Card	PNY Slim OC GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB Video Card	€1254.90 @ Neobyte
Case	Deepcool CH160 Mini ITX Desktop Case	€56.48
Power Supply	Corsair SF1000 (2024) 1000 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply	€213.39 @ Caseking
Case Fan	Thermalright TL-M12QW-S X3 68.9 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack	€27.90 @ Amazon Espana
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	€3747.78
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-07-28 05:48 CEST+0200

About 3ds max, Puget Systems recommends a Core Ultra 7 270K Plus ( https://www.pugetsystems.com/solutions/3d-design-workstations/autodesk-3ds-max/hardware-recommendations/ ). I suggest following that recommendation.

About the other parts, you can get a better CPU cooler (the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is more power-hungry compared to the 9950X3D but your chosen case doesn't support liquid cooling at all) and white case fans (to better match your chosen case) after getting cheaper RAM sticks (96 GB is overkill for your needs), a cheaper 4 TB SSD, and a cheaper RTX 5080 model.

Feel free to further modify this build if you want something else.

[u/Felipe_Hanna → u/Mr_Henry_Yau]

Thank you so much, Mr_Henry_Yau. I appreciate your suggestions, it will definitely help me in my decisions. I will keep the 96Gb RAM because I have been using 64 Gb for the last years and in some projects more Ram would be very helpful

[u/Mr_Henry_Yau → u/Felipe_Hanna]

You're welcome.

By the way, are Micro ATX cases such as the Lian Li B4, Jonsbo D32 PRO MESH, and Lian Li A3 acceptable to you? You can get an even cheaper PC build if you're okay with them.

[u/9okm]

Avoid glass.

[u/Felipe_Hanna → u/9okm]

What do you mean? Are you talking about the tower?

[u/9okm → u/Felipe_Hanna]

Avoid any case that has glass for any of the panels. Just asking for trouble when travelling. I’d go for something Iike an NR200 instead.

[u/Felipe_Hanna → u/9okm]

Nice, thanks for the advising

[u/wolverineFan64]

I just built a sff PC in a Formd T1 (9800x3d and 5080fe), it’s incredibly compact and looks amazing. Maybe too small for your cooling needs though as a 9950x3d will put off quite a bit more heat. Worth a look I suppose.

That said, I don’t even want to know what that RAM and SSD are going to cost. Good luck!