The Tech Buyer's Guru

The Best $750 Small Office Mini-ITX PC Build – May 2022

The Best $750 Small Office Mini-ITX PC Build – May 2022

By Ari Altman | Published May 2, 2022 | Updated May 17, 2022

SilverStone ML09The Perfect Small Office PC!

Want to build the best home or small office PC possible with a budget of around $750? Then this is the guide for you! Our Small Office Mini-ITX PC Build is sleek, compact, powerful, quiet, and expandable, and of course, affordable!

This Month’s Build, Featuring Intel!

For May 2022, this system features Intel’s potent Core i5-12400 processor, which has become even more compelling given a steep price cut since launch. It was already the best processor you could buy at the $200 pricepoint, and now it’s way under that! Featuring the cutting-edge Alder Lake architecture, this six-core, 12-thread processor is 15% faster than the 11400 it replaces. Plus, it has very capable Intel UHD 730 Graphics built in, so you don’t need to worry about adding a video card! Also onboard are 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and a fast 1TB NVMe solid-state drive. Giving this system its sleek profile is the ultra-compact SilverStone ML09 case, our favorite slim case of all time. Providing the power is a quiet 300W Bronze-rated power supply.

Despite this system’s tiny size (just 7 liters!), it can fit plenty of upgrades, including a low-profile video card (which we’ve listed in the optional products section), and up to four 2TB hard drives, bringing the total capacity to over 8TB including the SSD! Learn more about this build, which is truly one of our favorites, in our YouTube overview, and feel free to post any questions in the YT comments section.

Parting Thoughts

Any PC needs a good set of peripherals to get the most out of it, so definitely scroll down to the end of this guide to see our favorite accessories, or check out our dedicated Monitor Buyer’s Guide, Keyboard & Mouse Buyer’s Guide, and Headset & Speakers Buyer’s Guide. Throughout all of our guides, we provide direct links to Amazon or Newegg, and our Amazon links will auto-convert for our readers in the UK, Canada, and the EU, with regional substitutions made automatically as necessary. If you decide to purchase any of the products listed below, please use the links provided, which helps support continued development of this guide.

Required Components

  • Intel Core i5
    Click to Buy
    CPU –

    Intel Core i5-12400

    $194

    The 12th-Gen “Alder Lake” CPUs are Intel’s most impressive release in a decade, and the Core i5-12400 offers the best value not only among Alder Lake CPUs, but among any CPU ever released! Packing in 6 performance cores and 6 additional threads, it can easily beat any CPU at its pricepoint, and competes with AMD (and older Intel) CPUs that cost 25-50% more.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This CPU comes with a cooler, and it will work well in this build. If you'd like lower noise levels, go for the optional cooler we recommend later in this guide.
  • ASRock B660M
    Click to Buy
    Motherboard –

    ASRock B660M-ITX/AC @Newegg

    $120

    This low-cost mini-ITX board is the perfect option for a compact PC build. It uses socket 1700, which provides compatibility with the latest Intel CPUs, and includes a PCIe Gen 4 M.2 slot for solid-state drives, dual RAM slots, four USB ports, WiFi and Bluetooth. Make sure that you don’t pick an alternative model with a different CPU socket (or a larger micro-ATX board)! Frankly, this board is practically one-of-a-kind, so you probably won’t find a substitute!

    The Guru’s Tip

    You'll be able to use this board's Displayport and HDMI 2.1 outputs to drive dual monitors with resolutions up to 4K, thanks to the advanced graphics built into the Intel CPU!
  • Viper Steel
    Click to Buy
    Memory –

    Patriot 2x8GB Viper Steel DDR4-3200

    $64
    Because games and other applications can take serious advantage of RAM speed on the latest CPUs, we’re spec’ing a fast DDR4-3200 kit for this build. The Viper Steel kit looks awesome and comes in at a lower price than all of its competition!
    The Guru’s Tip

    One of the advantages of Intel's 12th-Gen platform is support for much higher RAM speeds, which is why we go with this fast RAM kit in this build.
  • WD Blue SN570
    Click to Buy
    Solid-State Drive –

    WD Blue SN570 1TB NVMe

    $90

    WD knocked it out of the park with its high-performance yet bargain-priced SN570. Optimized for excellent real-world performance thanks to WD’s years of SSD development, it easily keeps up with much more expensive drives. This 1TB model can provide sequential read speeds of 3500MB/s and write speeds of 3500MB/s. Note that you’ll need a jeweler’s-type screwdriver to affix it.

    The Guru’s Tip

    With 1TB of capacity, this small office system will have a huge amount of space for apps and data!
  • Click to Buy
    Case –

    SilverStone ML09B

    $86
    Silverstone has done some serious engineering work here, and there’s simply nothing else like it on the market today. Despite its compact dimensions, the ML09 can fit a mini-ITX motherboard, a low-profile dual-slot video card, four 2.5″ drives, and an SFX power supply. It’s amazing!
    The Guru’s Tip

    To learn more about this case, don't miss our hands-on build video at the top of this page!
  • Click to Buy
    Power Supply –

    SilverStone SX300

    $68
    This ultra-compact, Bronze-rated SFX PSU is a perfect fit for this build, offering just the right amount of output for an efficient build like this one.
    The Guru’s Tip

    SilverStone actually recommends the use of power supplies with fixed cables, rather than removable cables, in the ML09 case, as the single cable output is easier to route around the case's 2.5" drive cage.
  • Microsoft Windows 11
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    Operating System –

    Windows 11 Home USB

    $139

    Windows 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!

    The Guru’s Tip

    While Windows 11 was launched in late-2021, the retail version didn't appear until April 2022, but now that it's here, it's what you want!

Optional Products

  • Click to Buy
    CPU Cooler –

    Scythe Big Shuriken 3 Rev. B

    $50
    The excellent low-profile cooler will fit easily in this system while providing a huge upgrade in terms of noise and temperatures versus most other low-profile coolers. It’s also one of the very few high-performance low-profile coolers that can be mounted so it does not obstruct the RAM slots. The Rev. B version of this cooler uses the enhanced Kaze Flex II fan, spinning at up to 1800RPM, plus a socket 1700 bracket in the box for Intel systems.
    The Guru’s Tip

    This cooler measures 67mm tall, which means it will fit perfectly in the case, which has 70mm of clearance. You'll need to remove the pre-installed fan that comes mounted in the case, but the resulting cooling and noise levels will be far superior.
  • Click to Buy
    Hard Drive –

    WD Blue 2TB 2.5″

    $68
    Want to add a bunch of storage to your system at low cost, and without taking up much space? No problem – just add this high-capacity 2TB hard drive to your build! Not only is it a good value, but it’s also very quiet and energy efficient.
    The Guru’s Tip

    This is only necessary if you will be storing a lot of media on your PC, like photos, music, or video, as the build already has a high-capacity SSD.
  • Sapphire RX 6400
    Click to Buy
    Video Card –

    Sapphire Radeon RX 6400 Pulse 4GB LP

    $160

    Far and away the fastest GPU ever released in the single-slot, low-profile form factor, this is the perfect upgrade for an ultra-compact PC. It provides true gaming-grade performance at resolutions up to 1920 x 1080 on systems that otherwise wouldn’t be able to run modern games. It features both an HDMI and a DisplayPort output, each capable of supporting monitors up to 8K!

     The Guru’s Tip

    This card offers performance on par with the GeForce GT 1650 Low-Profile, which is currently marked up to well over double the price of the RX 6400!
  • Click to Buy
    The Basic Wireless Keyboard/Mouse Combo –

    Logitech MK270 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Combo

    $20
    While you may have an old keyboard and mouse sitting in your desk, treat yourself to a new wireless setup from Logitech, the MK270!
    The Guru’s Tip

    This combo uses a single USB receiver to communicate with both devices, meaning you have plenty more USB ports left over!
  • Click to Buy
    Webcam –

    Logitech C920x Pro HD Webcam

    $70
    Need to use your PC for video conferencing? No problem! Just add this high-quality 1080p webcam from Logitech, which includes a built-in microphone. Just remember that if your monitor doesn’t have built-in speakers, you’ll also need stand-alone speakers for web conferencing to work. We’re amazed at the number of people who use headphones for video conferencing when it’s so much more professional to use gear attached to your PC, rather than your head!
    The Guru’s Tip

    If you don't have speakers already, you'll need to buy the ones below to use for video conferencing.
  • Click to Buy
    The Basic PC Speakers –

    Creative Pebble 2.0

    $19
    Because desktop PCs, unlike laptops, don’t have internal speakers, we recommend you pick up Creative’s Pebble kit. Whether it’s music, You Tube videos, TV, or movies, Pebble will sound great.
    The Guru’s Tip

    Despite their name, these are definitely larger than a pebble!
  • Click to Buy
    The 24-inch Small Office Monitor –

    Sceptre E248W-19203R

    $132

    This monitor offers a 24″ 1920 x 1080 panel, a 75Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling, a slim bezel for sleek looks, as well as dual HDMI inputs and a VGA input. It even has built-in speakers!

     The Guru’s Tip

    We recommend connecting this monitor to your PC with an HDMI cable, which will provide both display and sound.

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