2700x mini-itx build - thoughts

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Looking to upgrade from an ageing laptop, i7-3270qm + 16gb, no gfx, to a more capably work machine.

Mostly software dev (current builds takes approx 1hr), with the usual office stuff thrown in. Not planning to overclock, except will push the memory to the 3200 sweetspot. Will be likely to upgrade to a later version of Ryzen when they come out, so baring that in mind, hence to x470.

Small case is because a move from one office to another occasionally, so a small box makes that easy. Needs to accommodate one other 3.5 drive, and probably 2 other 2.5 ones.

Wont be gaming at all, but do plan to have 2 4K displays. Quality of text image (ie 2d) is the important thing here. I'm assuming the p400 is a pretty good choice on that front, but not 100% sure.

So what do you think?

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,342.54 (includes shipping: £11.70)​
 
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so baring that in mind, hence to x470.
not sure why you'd think that. that asus x470 strix itx board doesn't have vrms that are as good as some of the msi b450 boards.

Quality of text image (ie 2d) is the important thing here. I'm assuming the p400 is a pretty good choice on that front, but not 100% sure.
also not quite sure what you mean by "quality" of text image. all gpus can provide that, no?
https://www.velocitymicro.com/blog/geforce-vs-quadro-whats-the-difference/
unless quadro is essential, a normal gpu will be sufficient.
that gp400 is basically a gt1050 2gb card...

for the same money, i'd rather get this:
1) better board
2) smaller case
3) better gpu
4) larger ssd

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,343.63 (includes shipping: £11.70)
 
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Ha, shows how little I know. More homework needed.

GFX: When I last upgraded a desktop pc, about 10 (or more) years ago, the gfx cards that were sold as "business" focused produced noticeably better 2d/text images. Those sold as "gaming" cards, while obviously fast in games, produced poorer static images. I just assumed the same would be true now. But so much has changed since then.

MB: I assumed that x470 would always outrank lower chipsets. So you think the main thing to aim for, re future proofing, is the VRM quality? Interesting. One of the things I like about the asus is the 2nd fast m.2 slot, as again that brings some future proofing. Will take the question to the MB section.

Thanks for the input, really appreciated. Need to read up some more.
 
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@btph

Strix X470 and B450 have SAME VRM set up

6 x IR3553 (IR phases are on the higher end of the market due to Low and high side mosfets being on the pack package , cheaper boards and chipsets have them separate- normally 2 low and 2 high make one Phase) , which is rated at 40A - so potentially 240amps across the VCore

MSI Gaming ITX uses the same Brand but the model is IR3555 which are 60A units, so potentially 360 amps across the VCore

Aorus ITX is 4x IR3556 (across the VCore 100%) rated at 50A. So 200amps across the VCore

IR 3553 & 3555 are second generation Products, 3556 is 2nd gen . 3556 runs cooler, but older 3555 can handle more juice.

All comes in swings and round abouts.

Gigabyte/Aorus are the only ones to have UK rma and support. Aorus also Has TWO M.2 slots running at either PCIe 3.0 x4/x2 or x2 speed. So you can have dual m.2 nvme runing at x2 speed
Aorus and ASUS have best Audio with asus just edging out on top with ALC1220-VB codec
Aorus has the faster BT Wifi module- will google the unit in a bit

MSI has the better VRM set up BUT one m.2 slot runs at PCIe 3.0 x4 speed. MSI bios is also better then aorus and same as asus
has the worst audio ALC887 Codec
Wifi module >Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168 module

asus is just overpriced , has nice bios, does have dual m.2 slots. Audi is ALC1220

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My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £426.67 (includes shipping: £11.70)

on paper, the aorus is the better all round board for storage , support
 
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@OW, nice one. Thats actually really interesting, and given me the push to actually understand some of the other technical threads. If feel educated. Though the decision is not getting any easier ;)
 
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One thing to bear in mind if you like your hearing, the stock 2700x is awful, because in my experience the 2700x runs HOT!

It seems to check for temp every second or two and the fan ramps up and spins down every couple of seconds so it drove me insane.

I changed to an AIO cooler (A challenge for you in mITX) and temps came down 20 degrees and now the only thing I can hear is the pump on my AIO.

Theres plenty of ITX cases which support AIO coolers though :)
 
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@Mhz400, Yep, I had considered power dissipation from the cpu. The case (unlike many mini-itx ones) will take a large after market heatsink, which I was planning to get if the noise was an issue. Most of the time, it will be at idle, with the occasional full out burst of activity. Was just waiting to see how it panned out.

I've considered AIO, but its something I've no experience of. I do have fish tanks though, and the water pump noises they make is awful. How loud is your AIO?
 
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@Mhz400, Yep, I had considered power dissipation from the cpu. The case (unlike many mini-itx ones) will take a large after market heatsink, which I was planning to get if the noise was an issue. Most of the time, it will be at idle, with the occasional full out burst of activity. Was just waiting to see how it panned out.

I've considered AIO, but its something I've no experience of. I do have fish tanks though, and the water pump noises they make is awful. How loud is your AIO?

AIO coolers are as simple as fitting an air cooler, even easier in my eyes and you haven't got to get your hands around a massive heatsink to fit it to mobo. Simply mount fans to radiator, mount rad (Top/Front of case usually), attach the block like you would any heatsink and you're done.

The pump makes effectively no noise at all, I only hear it when in at my desk in total silence. But the only reason I hear it above case fans is that I have Corsair ML140's which are completely silent. As soon as GPU fans start spinning you can't hear the pump.
 
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@OW, nice one. Thats actually really interesting, and given me the push to actually understand some of the other technical threads. If feel educated. Though the decision is not getting any easier ;)

:)

pushing the pony a little ... 9900k 8 core 16 threads. nice all core boost at stock being 4.7ghz compared to 2700x 3.9/4ghz if kept cool enough
case that is itx as well as usb c port at the front to plug into mobo header and then house a silent 240 AIO .
Intel has onboard iGPU and mobo has both HDMI and DP that can both handle 4k
Intel IMC is also better as handling two 16gb sticks at 3000hz or higher is easier
Intel IPC is also stronger - might find your programs favour intel

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,442.41 (includes shipping: £12.60)​

ryzen based - GPU added since no iGPU, and card with either dual HDMI/DP or both to allow two 4k screen to work

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,348.40 (includes shipping: £12.60)​
 
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Looking to upgrade from an ageing laptop, i7-3270qm + 16gb, no gfx, to a more capably work machine.

Mostly software dev (current builds takes approx 1hr), with the usual office stuff thrown in. Not planning to overclock, except will push the memory to the 3200 sweetspot. Will be likely to upgrade to a later version of Ryzen when they come out, so baring that in mind, hence to x470.

Small case is because a move from one office to another occasionally, so a small box makes that easy. Needs to accommodate one other 3.5 drive, and probably 2 other 2.5 ones.

Wont be gaming at all, but do plan to have 2 4K displays. Quality of text image (ie 2d) is the important thing here. I'm assuming the p400 is a pretty good choice on that front, but not 100% sure.

So what do you think?

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,342.54 (includes shipping: £11.70)

Looks and is very good. Go for it!
 
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Ah, so now we have a number of graphics card suggestion. so who's going to tell me the 'best'?

P400
RX570
GTX1050
WX3100

Looks like the 1st and last both have the lowest power consumption. This is good in my book, as its a small case. I wont be gaming at all, but will be looking at connect 2 x 4k's.

So which should I pick?
 
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Ah, so now we have a number of graphics card suggestion. so who's going to tell me the 'best'?

P400
RX570
GTX1050
WX3100

Looks like the 1st and last both have the lowest power consumption. This is good in my book, as its a small case. I wont be gaming at all, but will be looking at connect 2 x 4k's.

So which should I pick?

you go with the cheapest !

intel- dont need GPU as iGPU and good board have the output port.

ryzen, you go with the cheapest that can display what you need, gtx 1050 or P400

quality of the images will be effect by your screen. Workstation GPU like P400/WX3100 support 10bit monitors. but they also come with a big price tag.

4k monitor, you'd be looking at 32" min ! to smaller screen and the pixel size and per inch will be to small. you'd have to upscale the image size which i find defeats the purpose half the time .
 
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The 1st monitor is going to be 43inch, the ET430K. The second one, as it stands is the U2412M.
Definitely staying with the Ryzen line, will be looking to upgrade to more cores with a 3xxx or 4xxx.
Presumably 10bit not really useful day to day, unless doing something that needs it. Would it improve watching videos etc?
 
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4k monitor, you'd be looking at 32" min ! to smaller screen and the pixel size and per inch will be to small. you'd have to upscale the image size which i find defeats the purpose half the time .

You couldn't be more wrong. I'm writing this on a 4K 24" monitor and the increased DPI makes the text much nicer to read and to write.

GFX: When I last upgraded a desktop pc, about 10 (or more) years ago, the gfx cards that were sold as "business" focused produced noticeably better 2d/text images.

Yes, that was true then but Matrox haven't produced anything new and worthwhile in a long while.
 
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It might be worth looking at MATX boards as well, you can save quite a bit of money on the board, and there will be more room for future expansion, especially with regards to RAM as you will likely get 2 more free slots.

There's some super compact MATX cases around as well so total system size wouldn't change much at all.
 
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You couldn't be more wrong. I'm writing this on a 4K 24" monitor and the increased DPI makes the text much nicer to read and to write.



Yes, that was true then but Matrox haven't produced anything new and worthwhile in a long while.

are you running 100% native scale , I.E have not edited UI or text font scaling at all?

if you have touched any of these , then your moving away from correct 4k scale on a 24" screen . cheaper to grab 1440p on 24" :D
 
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Ah, one thing that I've not mentioned so far, and probably should have, is that I'll be running Linux. Does that change the landscape regarding graphics cards, from a driver point of view?

@BongoHunter, agree regarding your thoughts on matx, but really after keeping it smaller than even the smallest matx case. Ram wise I'm gambling on 32gb being enough to see me through for a good few years.
 
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