Here’s to help anyone considering. I’ll say this, don’t be scared of the lack of fans. And this applies to those who don’t mind integrated graphics. Because this build will not not support a third party GPU.That being said if you want Thunderbolt on a PC. Here’s how. I’ve done a lot of research and I came up with the smallest coolest build I could find.
AsRock z270 gaming itx fatal1ty
I7 7700k
512gb nvme m.2 (for samples)
240gb ssd (for Windows and sperate partition for my cubase projects)
I could have gone bigger on SSD drive but I saved money
Noctua nhl-9i heatsink
Inwin Chopin case (with PSU)
16gb DDR 4 vengeance
This build cost me 900 by shopping around.
I’ll get my thunderbolt cable tomorrow and try it out with my Motu 828x
So far my CPU is running at 38-60 Celsius sans problems
If you wanted AsRock has a z370 gaming itx fatal1ty
Paired with an i7 8700 should be more than sufficient.
I almost went that route but I decided to save money.
This all fits in a backpack with my Motu, mic, desktop mic stand, keyboard and mouse. Pretty amazing.
For a truly mobile experience one could also get a USB monitor and take this rig anywhere. I needed out for the last two months and studied way too much.
If you’re in the market for Motherboard with Thunderbolt
I suggest AsRock, they have an easy site to navigate
Just have to be careful because some motherboards
You have to buy the Thunderbolt card as well which runs 100.00.
The itx version has it onboard already.