The Best $600 Home Office Mini-ITX PC Build – March 2023
Build It Small, Build it Fast!
If you want to build the best ultra-compact small office or work-from-home PC possible for just $600, this is the guide for you! Based on the mini-ITX form factor, this system offers plenty of configuration options without the bulk. This ensures that your new PC Build can be tucked away anywhere or put on display as a conversation starter!
This Month’s Build, Powered by AMD
For March 2023, the $600 Home Office Mini-ITX PC Build gets a massive upgrade, moving to AMD’s power-packed Ryzen 5 5600G, a six-core, 12-thread processor that easily beats the quad-core competition from Intel. It also has powerful Vega graphics, which means you can easily run any monitor on this system and even do some light gaming.
To ensure that you have a flawless computing experience, this system features 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, rather than the 8GB of slower RAM used in most pre-built systems. The build also features a 1TB PCIe-based solid-state drive for amazing performance and plenty of capacity. It uses the M.2 form factor, which slips right into the motherboard, eliminating cable clutter and simplifying the build experience.
The system is housed in a stylish and compact InWin B1 Mesh case. Despite its slim dimensions, the case can fit dual 2TB hard drives, listed in the optional upgrades section at the end of this guide, allowing you to turn this system into a great low-cost media server! The case also includes a 200W power supply, which provides plenty of headroom for component upgrades down the line.
Parting Thoughts
To set up a complete home office system, don’t miss our recommendations for a keyboard, mouse, monitor and other accessories at the end of this guide. Throughout our guides, we provide Amazon links for our US readers, which will auto-convert for our readers in Canada, the UK, and parts of the EU. As always, please keep in mind that your use of the links we provide below helps support further development of these guides.
Required Components
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CPU –
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G w/ Vega Graphics
$129AMD’s Ryzen 5 5600G combines the best of all worlds, with its speedy 6-core/12-thread CPU powered by AMD’s Zen 3 architecture, along with the incredibly-fast integrated graphics powered by AMD’s Vega design. It’s the ideal one-stop-shop if you want great CPU performance and don’t want or need a separate video card!This CPU comes with a 54mm-tall cooler, which will fit perfectly in this build!
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Motherboard –
ASRock A520M-ITX/AC
$105This A520-based mini-ITX board packs in a ton of features for the price. That includes AM4 compatibility, six USB ports (including a Type-C port), built-in 802.11ac wireless networking plus Bluetooth, and an M.2 SSD slot with integrated heatsink.The HDMI 2.1 port on this board can handle resolutions up to 4K, and the Displayport 1.4 output can support resolutions up to 8K!
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Memory –
Teamgroup 2x8GB Vulcan Z DDR4-3200
$42You can now squeeze a whole lot of performance and capacity into your system by going with this budget-priced 16GB DDR4-3200 kit. It will help you make the most of your snazzy new system!This is the perfect speed to get the best performance out of both the CPU and integrated GPU!
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Solid-State Drive –
Silicon Power 1TB NVMe
$49You simply can’t do better for the price than this value-packed SSD, which uses the speedy PCIe 3.0 interface and TLC NAND to vastly outperform all the SATA drives that sell for around the same amount! Note that to install this drive, you’ll affix it in an M.2 slot on your motherboard using a jeweler’s-type screwdriver.Competing in price with 500GB-class drives, this one is an easy pick!
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Case –
In Win B1 Mesh w/ 200W Gold Power Supply
$119This stylish and low-cost mini-ITX case is the ideal ultra-compact pick! It features a built-in 200W power supply with impressive Gold-rated efficiency, a mesh panel to provide tremendous airflow, an 80mm case fan, plus space for dual 2.5″ drives and a CPU cooler up to 60mm tall. Another nice feature is that it has all required wire harnesses built in, so you don’t need to worry about adapters or cables getting lost!This case can be placed either horizontally or vertically, and includes feet for either orientation.
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Operating System –
Windows 11 Home (Download)
$140Windows 11 take everything people loved about Windows 10, and then takes it to 11! It adds significant under-the-hood changes to make it faster and more secure, and of course, the interface is sleek too! Make the best use of this downloadable version of Windows by loading it onto this 128GB USB 3.1 thumb drive, which you can re-purpose after OS installation as an ultra-fast backup drive.Originally released only as an update for existing Win10 users, Windows 11 hit retail in April 2022 and is definitely the best OS to use in a modern system.
Optional Products
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The 24-inch Small Office Monitor –
Sceptre E248W-19203R
$100 The Guru’s TipWe recommend connecting this monitor to your PC with an HDMI cable, which will provide both display and sound.
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Hard Drive –
WD Blue 2TB 2.5″
$65 The Guru’s TipYou can of course also use this system's 2.5" bays for SSDs, but we figure that most people adding extra storage to this system will need it for photos, music, and data, rather than for apps, and hard drives are still far cheaper than SSDs.
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The Basic Wireless Keyboard/Mouse Combo –
Logitech MK270 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Combo
$28 The Guru’s TipThis combo uses a single tiny USB receiver, ensuring you'll still have plenty of USB ports left over for other devices.
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Webcam –
Logitech C920x Pro HD Webcam
$64 The Guru’s TipYou'll also need speakers for video conferencing, so if you don't have a monitor with built-in speakers (like the one above), make sure to add the speakers below.
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The Basic PC Speakers –
Creative Pebble 2.0
$19 The Guru’s TipDespite the name, these are far larger than a pebble!