I7-3930K build in micro-ATX anyone?

[Tagny Daggart]

Hi All. I'm pretty interested in using the i7-3930K, although, I'm not entirely interested in OC'ing it. With 6 cores, 12 threads, it seems like it would be plenty fast for me and I would prefer my box to run cool, quiet and wtih low(-ish) power consumption. In fact, I may play with the BIOS settings to see if I can get it to run more efficiently at idle (any pointers appreciated).

Given all that, I was thinking about running this on a ASUS P8Z77-M mobo, or perhaps the PRO variant. Do either of these boards raise any concerns for anyone? They're both running RealTek audio and ethernet, so I'm hoping this will be close to a plain vanilla install. Also, considering the small form-factor, there just isn't a lot of room for dedicated audio and Ethernet solutions.

I wanted[\i] to use Gigabyte since tonymac, et al, appear to have put in so much time and effort supporting them, but they're just not using compatible audio and ethernet chips, so why fight it? And, this very thread is evidence of the great support that ASUS enjoys.

I realize that full support for the Z77 chipset would benefit from 10.8, which isn't really around yet, but it seems silly for me to not[/] build for the state-of-the-art. I'm not afraid to put the time in to get it working properly, if possible. It will be nice to use USB 3.0, amoungst other things.

Does anyone suspect I'll run into issues with a µ-ATX case/mobo, especially when considering this CPU? I wonder if I'll have trouble keeping it cool enough. Anyone have suggestions for cooling this chip? Remember, I'll be running it at stock speeds.

Finally, can anyone recommend a decent video card that will work nicely with this setup and fit into a µATX case in the $200-250 range?

Anyway, thanks for reading! =)

 

[Jamesbond007]

Hi All. I'm pretty interested in using the i7-3930K, although, I'm not entirely interested in OC'ing it. With 6 cores, 12 threads, it seems like it would be plenty fast for me and I would prefer my box to run cool, quiet and wtih low(-ish) power consumption. In fact, I may play with the BIOS settings to see if I can get it to run more efficiently at idle (any pointers appreciated).

Given all that, I was thinking about running this on a ASUS P8Z77-M mobo, or perhaps the PRO variant. Do either of these boards raise any concerns for anyone? They're both running RealTek audio and ethernet, so I'm hoping this will be close to a plain vanilla install. Also, considering the small form-factor, there just isn't a lot of room for dedicated audio and Ethernet solutions.

I wanted[\i] to use Gigabyte since tonymac, et al, appear to have put in so much time and effort supporting them, but they're just not using compatible audio and ethernet chips, so why fight it? And, this very thread is evidence of the great support that ASUS enjoys.

I realize that full support for the Z77 chipset would benefit from 10.8, which isn't really around yet, but it seems silly for me to not[/] build for the state-of-the-art. I'm not afraid to put the time in to get it working properly, if possible. It will be nice to use USB 3.0, amoungst other things.

Does anyone suspect I'll run into issues with a µ-ATX case/mobo, especially when considering this CPU? I wonder if I'll have trouble keeping it cool enough. Anyone have suggestions for cooling this chip? Remember, I'll be running it at stock speeds.

Finally, can anyone recommend a decent video card that will work nicely with this setup and fit into a µATX case in the $200-250 range?

Anyway, thanks for reading! =)

The 3930K needs a socket 2011 X79 motherboard and is not compatible with a Z77 motherboard.

 

[Tagny Daggart]

The 3930K needs a socket 2011 X79 motherboard and is not compatible with a Z77 motherboard.

Crap, you're totally right. Hmmm, re-evaluating mobos...

 

[Tagny Daggart]

Re: I7-3770 build in micro-ATX anyone?

OK, after looking at the available motherboards for the Z79 chipset in the
-ATX form factor––which there are very few––I've decided instead to build something like this:

i7-3770
ASUS P8Z77-M

I'll see a substantial performance loss vs. the hexa-core, but the fact is, my supplier only has the ASUS Rampage IV GENE and the ASRock Extreme IV-M. Both are relatively expensive compared to the ASUS P8Z77-M, which uses RealTek for both audio and ethernet. (I'd really like this build to be as vanilla as possible.)

Besides, the i7-3770 is quite efficient at loads, which is what I was actually aiming for in my µ-ATX build. Great review found here: http://www.hardcoreware.net/core-i7-377 ... dge-cpu/1/, be sure to look at the final page where they discuss power consumption.

 

[Going Bald]

The one problem with the ASUS boards is that MSR is locked in the BIOS and native power management is not possible at this time.
Better to go with the MSI Z77A-G45 ATX or the Z77MA-G45 mATX, both of which are fully supported and you can use a modified BIOS to get native power management.

For GPU, either of these will work fine.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 02415&SID=

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 02415&SID=

 

[Tagny Daggart]

The one problem with the ASUS boards is that MSR is locked in the BIOS and native power management is not possible at this time.
Better to go with the MSI Z77A-G45 ATX or the Z77MA-G45 mATX, both of which are fully supported and you can use a modified BIOS to get native power management.

Thank you for this. Sadly, NEITHER of my suppliers carry MSI boards

Perhaps I can mail-order one in? I'll have a look, I would love native power-management!

Thanks again.

Also, regarding the GPUs, I'm going to go with the integrated HD4000, which I'm hoping will have full support when 10.8 comes up in July. Any opinion on that?