Help with choosing processor for mini ITX build

[Gabriel_33]

What is better for an mini itx build, skylake I5k or I7 (non k) ?

 

[rv3392]

What are you looking to use it for?

 

[13thmonkey]

I doubt you'll be OCing so no need for k.

 

[Jan_26]

I've recently built "mom's computer"
i3-6100T + 8GB DDR4 ... paired it reliable, but entry level SSD and based on usage I doubt more horses would ever be needed. It's paired with 1080p screen... plays 1080p video, check, is fast enough for browsing web, mails, office, check. Doubt mom would ever be ripping blu-rays, cut 4k video or play games

But, you need to point out two things if you want relevant help... use case and budget... ie. what do you expect to do with the machine and how much are you ready to spend... Either way i7 in mITX sounds like a weird combination... i7 is pretty much heavy duty chip, that frankly in most common scenarios won't have any use compared to i5.

 

[Gabriel_33]

What are you looking to use it for?

I will be using it for 1080p gaming, I chose the mITX format factor because of mobility.

 

[Jan_26]

In that case I'd personally go for I5-6400, 6500 tops, accompanied with GTX-1060ish graphics max

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

An i5-6500 would be the best choice.

 

[Gabriel_33]

In that case I'd personally go for I5-6400, 6500 tops, accompanied with GTX-1060ish graphics max

Is it to much the 6600k and an rx 480 (with changing it in maybe 2 years in mind) or an 1070 (for future proofing) ?

 

[Jan_26]

Personally I think you'd invest more than is needed. With 1080p there is hardly any need for higher tier graphic cards (there is none now and if the benchmarks prove GTX 1060 to be what it claims to be it should be fine for 2 years). What might be of some use could be stronger CPU if you are in games that can actually use it (in general, MMOs can come with some more stuff for cpu to do compared to normal games, or, in case you are up for super high end chess or go simulators you might get faster opponent, but that is beyond niche). You won't do anything bad with better component - faster cpu is faster cpu and faster graphics is faster graphics, I just can't see the gain for more $$$ spent. I'd better focus on getting good SSD and PSU. In 2 years time you can just ebay cpu and graphics and put in new ones.

One thing you need to consider though... if you plan to move your rig(ling), invest in good solid case that won't be twisting in your hand as you move it, ideally with additional holder for graphic card (esp. if you go for heavier one), hits and shakes it unavoidably gets during the movements could be an issue for heavier components (some big cpu coolers are for example definitively in "don't dare to move me mounted" cathegory). And drop old school HDD for case of _frequent_ moving, just SSD it.

As for RX480 if you decide for it I'd strongly recommend picking non-reference card with 8pin power adaptor due to their non-conformity with specifications (reference card has 6pin; even after last driver power management fix it still seems to me like reving you engine at the beginning of red zone - it won't kill, but it's a stress).

 

[Gabriel_33]

Personally I think you'd invest more than is needed. With 1080p there is hardly any need for higher tier graphic cards (there is none now and if the benchmarks prove GTX 1060 to be what it claims to be it should be fine for 2 years). What might be of some use could be stronger CPU if you are in games that can actually use it (in general, MMOs can come with some more stuff for cpu to do compared to normal games, or, in case you are up for super high end chess or go simulators you might get faster opponent, but that is beyond niche). You won't do anything bad with better component - faster cpu is faster cpu and faster graphics is faster graphics, I just can't see the gain for more $$$ spent. I'd better focus on getting good SSD and PSU. In 2 years time you can just ebay cpu and graphics and put in new ones.

One thing you need to consider though... if you plan to move your rig(ling), invest in good solid case that won't be twisting in your hand as you move it, ideally with additional holder for graphic card (esp. if you go for heavier one), hits and shakes it unavoidably gets during the movements could be an issue for heavier components (some big cpu coolers are for example definitively in "don't dare to move me mounted" cathegory). And drop old school HDD for case of _frequent_ moving, just SSD it.

As for RX480 if you decide for it I'd strongly recommend picking non-reference card with 8pin power adaptor due to their non-conformity with specifications (reference card has 6pin; even after last driver power management fix it still seems to me like reving you engine at the beginning of red zone - it won't kill, but it's a stress).

If I pick an i5 6500, what chipset motherboard should I get for it ? And would a 450w PSU be enough to power it all ? In terms of future proofing, won't a non k procesor bottleneck my pc în a few years, by upgrading the gpu to what's new then and keeping all the rest ?

 

[Jan_26]

With non-K version of cpu you are most likely after H170 chipset. Something along the line of Asus H170I Pro or similar (DDR4+for your mobile usage wifi could come handy). 450W PSU unless it's some junk would suffice, but I'd suggest 550W (PSUs usualy have the best effectivity at about 50% load) and given it will have to sit in small case, MODULAR. You definitely want to avoid big cable pile blocking air inside.
As for non-K and future proofing... With new low level APIs the cpu load should be less than it is now, but hard to tell. Years back I bought i5-2500K when it was fresh and new and still have no need to overclock it (your 6500 would run circles around it). If I switched my ancient GTX-580 for GTX-1070 then maybe I could get a bit more juice by OCing the cpu, but given how outdated whole platform is when I switch it will likely be whole new mobo+ram+cpu+gpu. Unless some cpu performance revolution comes, i5-6500 should be good for 4-5 years, if you stay with 1080p maybe more. Though bear in mind all the prognoses here are educated guess, there is no guarantee next gen cpu/s graphics won't have 8 times performance of current top but I wouldn't consider it likely... at all.

 

[Gabriel_33]

With non-K version of cpu you are most likely after H170 chipset. Something along the line of Asus H170I Pro or similar (DDR4+for your mobile usage wifi could come handy). 450W PSU unless it's some junk would suffice, but I'd suggest 550W (PSUs usualy have the best effectivity at about 50% load) and given it will have to sit in small case, MODULAR. You definitely want to avoid big cable pile blocking air inside.
As for non-K and future proofing... With new low level APIs the cpu load should be less than it is now, but hard to tell. Years back I bought i5-2500K when it was fresh and new and still have no need to overclock it (your 6500 would run circles around it). If I switched my ancient GTX-580 for GTX-1070 then maybe I could get a bit more juice by OCing the cpu, but given how outdated whole platform is when I switch it will likely be whole new mobo+ram+cpu+gpu. Unless some cpu performance revolution comes, i5-6500 should be good for 4-5 years, if you stay with 1080p maybe more. Though bear in mind all the prognoses here are educated guess, there is no guarantee next gen cpu/s graphics won't have 8 times performance of current top but I wouldn't consider it likely... at all.

Thank you very much, and if it is not to much to ask, what do you think of the build I put up:
Case: Silverstone Raven Z RVZ02B USB 3.0 Black or Fractal Design Node 202
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-B150N Phoenix WIFI or GIGABYTE GA-Z170N-WIFI
CPU: Intel 6500
GPU: RX 480 or GTX 970/1060
RAM: Crucial 16GB DDR4 2133MHz CL15 Dual Channel Kit
Storage: one 250GB SSD + one 750GB 2,5 inch hard drive notebook size
PSU: Corsair SF Series SF450 450W OR SilverStone SFX Series Gold 600W
It's around buget limit, but if you have any good tips feel free to change it up a bit, I might just wait then a bit to have more cash

 

[Jan_26]

From what I see... RAM's good, if you have a spare coin, get 2400MHz module, might be more futureproof.
Graphics... Unless you get real bargain for GTX970 skip it, it's not bad, but it's been overcome. 1060 is a bit lottery ticket as long as there are no reviews available yet, but according to specs it should be both faster than RX480 & GTX970 while having less power draw. Watch for new stuff price fluctuations though - will apply both for RX480 and GTX1060.
Storage... imho get M.2 Samsung, they seem to give pretty good performance and their reliability is good. Notebook secondary HDD is a good idea due to moving the chasis. If you can, for SSD pick model with NVMe, it's faster, if you can't, no worry as normal one is still more than fast enough for your needs and I am not sure how much you can notice NVMe speed boost given your use case.
PSU... I have good experience with Corsair and quite bad with SilverStone, but that's likely a rather a "bug in the matrix"... SilverStones in general should be on par with good Corsairs, maybe even a bit better.
Motherboard... premium for Z170 chipset would be worth it only with "K" processor... Either go for H170N or B150N... I can't see a reason though why B150 chipset would do you any less service then H170 so it should be fine take that one.
As for those two cases they both look good so take which one you like more. But, check max dimensions of graphic card: Fractal has 310x145x47mm, Silverstone has limit of 13" long x 4.78" height (330x121x?).

Hope it helps, have fun building new toy

 

[Gabriel_33]

With non-K version of cpu you are most likely after H170 chipset. Something along the line of Asus H170I Pro or similar (DDR4+for your mobile usage wifi could come handy). 450W PSU unless it's some junk would suffice, but I'd suggest 550W (PSUs usualy have the best effectivity at about 50% load) and given it will have to sit in small case, MODULAR. You definitely want to avoid big cable pile blocking air inside.
As for non-K and future proofing... With new low level APIs the cpu load should be less than it is now, but hard to tell. Years back I bought i5-2500K when it was fresh and new and still have no need to overclock it (your 6500 would run circles around it). If I switched my ancient GTX-580 for GTX-1070 then maybe I could get a bit more juice by OCing the cpu, but given how outdated whole platform is when I switch it will likely be whole new mobo+ram+cpu+gpu. Unless some cpu performance revolution comes, i5-6500 should be good for 4-5 years, if you stay with 1080p maybe more. Though bear in mind all the prognoses here are educated guess, there is no guarantee next gen cpu/s graphics won't have 8 times performance of current top but I wouldn't consider it likely... at all.

From what I see... RAM's good, if you have a spare coin, get 2400MHz module, might be more futureproof.
Graphics... Unless you get real bargain for GTX970 skip it, it's not bad, but it's been overcome. 1060 is a bit lottery ticket as long as there are no reviews available yet, but according to specs it should be both faster than RX480 & GTX970 while having less power draw. Watch for new stuff price fluctuations though - will apply both for RX480 and GTX1060.
Storage... imho get M.2 Samsung, they seem to give pretty good performance and their reliability is good. Notebook secondary HDD is a good idea due to moving the chasis. If you can, for SSD pick model with NVMe, it's faster, if you can't, no worry as normal one is still more than fast enough for your needs and I am not sure how much you can notice NVMe speed boost given your use case.
PSU... I have good experience with Corsair and quite bad with SilverStone, but that's likely a rather a "bug in the matrix"... SilverStones in general should be on par with good Corsairs, maybe even a bit better.
Motherboard... premium for Z170 chipset would be worth it only with "K" processor... Either go for H170N or B150N... I can't see a reason though why B150 chipset would do you any less service then H170 so it should be fine take that one.
As for those two cases they both look good so take which one you like more. But, check max dimensions of graphic card: Fractal has 310x145x47mm, Silverstone has limit of 13" long x 4.78" height (330x121x?).

Hope it helps, have fun building new toy

Thank you very much man, you have been most helpful !

 

[Gabriel_33]

From what I see... RAM's good, if you have a spare coin, get 2400MHz module, might be more futureproof.
Graphics... Unless you get real bargain for GTX970 skip it, it's not bad, but it's been overcome. 1060 is a bit lottery ticket as long as there are no reviews available yet, but according to specs it should be both faster than RX480 & GTX970 while having less power draw. Watch for new stuff price fluctuations though - will apply both for RX480 and GTX1060.
Storage... imho get M.2 Samsung, they seem to give pretty good performance and their reliability is good. Notebook secondary HDD is a good idea due to moving the chasis. If you can, for SSD pick model with NVMe, it's faster, if you can't, no worry as normal one is still more than fast enough for your needs and I am not sure how much you can notice NVMe speed boost given your use case.
PSU... I have good experience with Corsair and quite bad with SilverStone, but that's likely a rather a "bug in the matrix"... SilverStones in general should be on par with good Corsairs, maybe even a bit better.
Motherboard... premium for Z170 chipset would be worth it only with "K" processor... Either go for H170N or B150N... I can't see a reason though why B150 chipset would do you any less service then H170 so it should be fine take that one.
As for those two cases they both look good so take which one you like more. But, check max dimensions of graphic card: Fractal has 310x145x47mm, Silverstone has limit of 13" long x 4.78" height (330x121x?).

Hope it helps, have fun building new toy

One more thing, is it okay to stick with the stock Intel cooler? Size is good and if I am not overclocking could it be ok, or do I need to invest in an custom one ?

 

[Jan_26]

It's more than capable of handling the chip it is sitting on, no worry there, it has quite a bit of headroom.