Which of these processors for a slim mITX case ?

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mascip

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Hello,
I'm thinking of getting this case : Jou Jye NU-0568i-B-CR, with a 250W PSU
http://www.jj-computer.com/Products/Cases/Mini_pc/Nu0568ibcr/

It's a slim mITX case (88mm (W) x 254mm (H) x 218.8mm(D)),
with a 250W PSU, and only a 60mm fan.

I never had a case like this, so i'm a bit scared of overheating my processor.
Which one of these would be ok, temperature-wise ?
* i5-3570K (77W TDP)
http://ark.intel.com/products/65520/Intel-Core-i5-3570K-Processor-(6M-Cache-up-to-3_80-GHz)
* i5-3570S (65W TDP)
http://ark.intel.com/products/65701/Intel-Core-i5-3570S-Processor-(6M-Cache-up-to-3_80-GHz)
* i5-3570T (35W TDP)
http://ark.intel.com/products/65521/Intel-Core-i5-3570T-Processor-(6M-Cache-up-to-3_30-GHz)

Thank you :)

PS : If you needed to know, i don't plan to play games with it, but i will be working with "simple things", spreadsheets and internet browsing.
Probably on Debian with lightweight desktop environment, maybe with Windows XP.
And i will be running 3 or 4 Virtual Machines simultaneously, to do the same kind of work. In these two environment.
 
Will the motherboard this processor goes into have overclocking/underclocking capability? What are the complete specs of the system? Any aftermarket CPU cooling?

If you can underclock/undervolt the processor, there is no real reason to pay the premium for the lower-tdp chips :)
 
Hi Machupo :)

Whatever the way i get the underclocking, which TDP ("wattage") should i choose, to not overheat my processor in this small, poorly ventilated case ?

~ ~ ~
To answer your question,
for the motherboard i've been considering these two, so far :
Asus P8H77-I Intel H77
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-523-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2265
Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-530-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2071
The Z77 Deluxe is the overclocking choice, but i'm not sure i need it. And it's almost twice the price (£160 instead of £83). Now I have to read their specs properly, to see if it would give me anything else.

I've always heard that a build should be balanced, but i'm not sure what "balanced" means, in terms of motherboard-processor. If it was about the price, i would go for the Deluxe mobo. Is there any other indicator that i should look for, to find whether a CPU-mobo couple is balanced?

The rest of my build would be :
* SSD : Vertex 3 - 60GB
http://www.amazon.co.uk/OCZ-VTX3-25SAT3-60G-60GB-Vertex-Internal/dp/B00566FETA
I don't need more than 60GB.
* RAM : Corsair 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1333MHz or 1600MHz Dual Channel (depending on what the motherboard allows)
 
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That case actually doesn't look too bad in terms of ventilation as long as you don't block the side square opening (the inlet) or the top openings (the outlet) with power/SATA wires or other items. If you can get the model with the optional ventilation fan (just make sure it points the right way, so into the case if it's on the side or out of the case if it's on the top), that would be even better.

I think you'll be fine with any of those parts, just go for whatever deal is the best, and if you're not overclocking, don't bother with the deluxe board (it actually looks like the VRM board on the deluxe motherboard would ruin the top ventilation on this case). If you find that your processor is getting very hot, you could try an aftermarket cooler like the Prolimatech Samuel 17.
 
Thank you :)

The case description doesn't say the maximal size for a heatsink to fit in, so i assumed none would fit in. But the one you indicate is very thin (45mm).

In terms of power i'm thinking : i also don't know what's the quality of this PSU (i should look for the specs, 12V rails, etc), so maybe i should stay on the safe side, and go for the i5-3570S (65W).
Or, maybe i should get an external PSU.
 
PS : Is there any way to be sure that the heatsink will fit ? I guess, by asking the case manufacturer.
 
Found this on mini-itx.com (it says that the 568i is the exact same internally as the 528i). Looks like it might be a bit tight depending on if you are using the optical drive or not.

If you are not planning on using the optical drive, it looks like a 2.5" drive can be double-sided-taped to the front of the case vertically, and you can remove the optical drive support piece, this will give you plenty of space to mount whatever heatsink you want (well, still low profile, lol)
 
Thanks a lot Machupo ! You've helped me a lot.
I won't use an optical drive :D

What i will use is a wifi card. Hopefully the heatsink will leave enough space over one PCIe slot. If it didn't, i would just use an external wifi antenna. I'll figure it out when the computer is at home and mounted.
 
i fit an i7 in there, that held the heat well. It the sound of the PSU fan that will kill ya. >_<

Also i got rid of the CD tray, so you can leave everything above the motherboard open. I end up selling the setup because I end up turning my server into my Main PC.
 
Aw, i was a bit scared of taking a case with a PSU. I'm thinking of choosing another Case now (^c^), or at least to buy my own PSU. I want a fairly silent build.
 
mascip said:
Aw, i was a bit scared of taking a case with a PSU. I'm thinking of choosing another Case now (^c^), or at least to buy my own PSU. I want a fairly silent build.
Click to expand...

you can always go M350 and pico psu :p (that's what my media center / living room computer is)
 
Wow, this M350 case does seem interesting indeed !
They say that it's ok for CPUs up to 65W, with a CPU cooler.
Which would enable me to use the i5-3570S processor, in this very very small case, which needs less cooling thanks to passive cooling by convection, and thus makes less noise. Perfect.

What about dust? Did you feel like you got more/less dust with this case ?

But, according to this power supply calculator
http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/Power
with my processor, RAM, CPU cooler, wifi card in the PCIe1.0 slot, USB devices, i would need a PSU around 200W to be safe for more than a year.
But there is no PicoPSU over 160W.
There are PSU for slim mITX cases, for example these ones :
http://www.outletpc.com/power-supplies-mini-itx---flex-power-supply.html
but the Manual of the M350 case (here : http://www.mini-box.com/M350S-universal-mini-itx-enclosure, click "Manual") doesn't say what is the space that a PSU can take in the case. Is there no space at all for any PSU ?
If there wasn't, i think i would go for another case.
But thanks ! I will probably use a M350 for my next home computer =)
 
I've run a i3-2100 (65w), ram, cooler, wifi mpcie card, msata ssd, 3.5" hdd, and a couple usb devices on a 120w pico psu (and 102w power brick, so ~100w max deliverable) with absolutely no issues for over the past year. Granted, it wasn't running prime 95 for the full year, but I did test it at max system tdp for a couple days straight before I decided it was o.k. -- i'd take those "psu calculators" with a grain of salt ;)

Oh, and yes, there is no room for a psu in the M350, only pico-psu and a power brick, so if you want an internal AC-DC unit, you'll have to go with something a bit bigger.
 
I would definitely stick with the 65W or 35W part. They look like basically the same architecture, just different clock speeds. (Graphics components are both 2500s). Based on what you've said about usage, probably the 65W part would be better. If this were more of just a media center/email/simple box, the 35W would be fine.
 
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