The Best $900 Small Office Mini-ITX PC Build – May 2023
The 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 2023, this system features Intel’s new Core i5-13400 processor, which features 6 Hyperthreaded performance cores and 4 additional efficiency, for a total of 16 threads in total. The math is complicated, but the result is clear: this CPU is a productivity powerhouse! Plus, it has the capable Intel graphics built in, so you don’t need to worry about adding a video card.
Supporting the Intel CPU are 32GB of DDR5-6000 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. Despite its 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.
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 US, which 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
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CPU –Intel Core i5-13400
$200The Guru’s TipThe 13th-Gen “Raptor Lake” CPUs build upon the breakout success of the 12th-Gen models, Intel’s most impressive release in a decade. The Core i5-13400 is an absolutely productivity powerhouse, thanks to packing in 6 performance cores and an additional 4 efficiency cores, for 10 in total. It can easily beat any AMD CPU anywhere near its pricepoint in productivity and content creation.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.
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Motherboard –Asus ROG Strix B760-I
$220The Guru’s TipThis high-end B760-based ITX board is packed with features at a great price. Using the latest 1700 socket, it features 8+1 power stages to support multi-core processors, a PCIe Gen 5 video card slot, dual PCIe M.2 slots (one being Gen 5), and on-board Intel WiFi 6E (802.11ax) plus 2.5Gbps LAN. And take note: it uses next-gen DDR5 RAM for enhanced performance, so make sure not to pair it with older DDR4 memory!You'll be able to drive dual UHD monitors using the built-in HDMI and Displayport outputs on this board, combined with the Vega graphics on the AMD CPU.
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Memory –G.Skill 2x16GB Ripjaws S5 DDR5-6000 CL30
$120The Guru’s TipFor the ultimate in speed, you must go with DDR5 RAM, but not just any DDR5 RAM, because you need high-frequency DDR5 to blow past DDR4 RAM performance. And that’s what you get with G.Skill’s Ripjaws S5 kit, running at DDR5-6000 with timings of 30-40-40-96 at 1.35V. This is the real deal when it comes to DDR5 performance!The extreme speed of this RAM will accelerate not just the CPU, but the built-in GPU as well, which uses system RAM for texture storage.
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Solid-State Drive –WD Blue SN570 1TB NVMe
$46The Guru’s TipWD 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.With 1TB of capacity, this small office system will have a huge amount of space for apps and data!
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Case –SilverStone ML09B
$89The Guru’s TipSilverstone 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 – learn more in our hands-on review!This case can fit a slim optical drive, but that space is better used by either the included case fan, or a taller CPU cooler, which we list in our optional parts section later in this guide.
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Power Supply –SilverStone SX300
$72The Guru’s TipThis 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.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.
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Operating System –Windows 11 Home (USB)
$136The Guru’s TipWindows 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! This version ships on a convenient USB stick, allowing it to be easily installed by just plugging it in.Windows 11 is the OS you want on a modern PC!
Optional Products
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CPU Cooler –Thermalright AXP120-X67 White
$32 The Guru’s TipThis 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.
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Video Card –Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1650 D6 OC 4GB Low Profile
$239 The Guru’s TipWhile the built-in graphics in this build are fine for office work, this GPU will allow the system to be used for gaming. And being 6.8" long, it's a perfect fit in the case, which has a 6.9" limit.
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Hard Drive –WD Blue 2TB 2.5″
$65 The Guru’s TipThis 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.
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The Basic Wireless Keyboard/Mouse Combo –Logitech MK270 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Combo
$23 The Guru’s TipThis combo uses a single USB receiver to communicate with both devices, meaning you have plenty more USB ports left over!
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The Basic PC Speakers –Creative Pebble 2.0
$19 The Guru’s TipDespite their name, these are definitely larger than a pebble!
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The 24-inch Small Office Monitor –Sceptre E248W-19203R
$109 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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Webcam –Logitech C920x Pro HD Webcam
$70 The Guru’s TipIf you don't have speakers already, you'll need to buy the ones below to use for video conferencing.
Total Cost: $893
Required Components
Optional Products
- CPU Cooler – Thermalright AXP120-X67 White ($32)
- Video Card – Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1650 D6 OC 4GB Low Profile ($239)
- Hard Drive – WD Blue 2TB 2.5″ ($65)
- The Basic Wireless Keyboard/Mouse Combo – Logitech MK270 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Combo ($23)
- The Basic PC Speakers – Creative Pebble 2.0 ($19)
- The 24-inch Small Office Monitor – Sceptre E248W-19203R ($109)
- Webcam – Logitech C920x Pro HD Webcam ($70)
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The TBG DIY PC Build Guides
View all of TBG’s DIY PC Build Guides! This is where you’ll find all the best PC builds on the ‘net, from ultra-compact home office PCs to massive gaming towers.
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The Monitor Buyer's Guide
Upgrade the view for your PC with a new monitor - we list the best in our buyer's guide!
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The Wireless Networking Buyer's Guide
Upgrading your PC? Don't forget to upgrade your router to get the most out of it!
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The Headsets/Speaker Buyer's Guide
Upgrade your audio experience with one of our recommended speaker kits or headsets!