4-pin CPU Power Enough for 4th gen i5?

[MceraWV]

Hello,

I've recently been looking into making a very basic server computer for various server-related things, such as a dedicated server for a variety of games I play with my friends.

For the CPU choice, I was looking at either a high-end or mid-range 4000 series Intel i5 Processor, so the LGA 1150 socket. However, I have encountered a problem in the area of powering it. I've noticed that while nearly all LGA 1150 normal sized ATX motherboards have 8-pin CPU power connectors, a significant portion of Mini-ITX form factor motherboards have only a 4-pin CPU power connector (such as this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135374&cm_re=Mini_ITX-_-13-135-374-_-Product).

Obviously these boards should support the i5, as they have LGA 1150 sockets, but my question is whether or not the 4-pin CPU connector can deliver enough power to run the i5 stably? I won't be overclocking it much, if at all, but I would still like to verify that the 4-pin can run it before making any purchases.

On a side note, I was also looking at purchasing a Pico Power supply (such as this: http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-160-XT). I will not have a discrete GPU, so 160W should be plenty to run the i5 and the low-capacity SSD that I will be putting in it as well. However, the Pico states that it is rated for low-power dual-core CPUs only, which raises concern for me as the i5 is a Quad-core processor. I understand that price-wise the Pico is far from the best option, but in my scenario it will allow me to purchase a much smaller case for the build, which is something I would very much prefer to do in this instance.

Thanks in advance for any help!
-MC

 

[popatim]

IMO, Do yourself a favor and save some money at the same time. Get a mATX case and motherbd. You're building a server and in the long run you will want to begin streaming from it when your not playing games, and backing up important files to it so that if the main pc drive crashes you sill have your photo's, videos, etc on the server.

Itx is great for a simple build that you wont ever upgrade much beyond more ram of a bigger drive (like an htpc) but they are very limiting once you start taking advantage of all that having your own server/nas can do for you.

 

[MceraWV]

IMO, Do yourself a favor and save some money at the same time. Get a mATX case and motherbd. You're building a server and in the long run you will want to begin streaming from it when your not playing games, and backing up important files to it so that if the main pc drive crashes you sill have your photo's, videos, etc on the server.

Itx is great for a simple build that you wont ever upgrade much beyond more ram of a bigger drive (like an htpc) but they are very limiting once you start taking advantage of all that having your own server/nas can do for you.

Hello,

That's actually a really great point! After some poking around, I actually found that Micro ATX boards are cheaper than ITX boards! (Which I never would've seen coming). Seeing as I'm saving nearly $20 on average by going from ITX to mATX, I might do just that. It isn't like mATX boards are *huge* anyway, and there are some pretty neat case options available as well.

Obviously, if I were to go mATX then there's no reason for getting a Pico, since all the cases have room for a normal PSU, but out of curiosity at this point, what's your take on using a Pico for an i5?