Mini ITX or Thin Mini ITX Mobo w/ Displayport? (Need 4k from internal)

[Aphex]

Hi all,

Currently running a very stable sierra Gigabyte H77N-Wifi / i5 3570k / GTX 950 combo that i've had for years (only upgraded the graphics over time). I've run into a situation in which I need to shrink my computer to fit into a small space, 4" high max, to avoid my two lovely children poking and prodding at the PC.

As i have a Dell 34" Curved Ultrawide monitor (3440x1440 res.), I'm looking to upgrade to a Skylake CPU that can support Intel HD 530, and therefore 4k at 60hz (little breathing room) without the need of a dedicated GPU.

I was about to go for the Gigabyte H170N-Wifi board until i realized it (and almost all Mini ITX gigabyte boards) lacks Displayport and/or HDMI 2.0, which would be needed for this resolution @ 60hz. That led me down the path of finding Thin Mini ITX boards which nearly universally support Displayport and 4k @ 60hz.

Open to suggestions, looking for something fast and stable as the wife will be using it from time to time, but size and 4k @ 60hz is the limiting factor here.

Which of the following boards would you recommend?

Thin Mini ITX Options

Gigabyte GA-H170TN - $115
- Supports Skylake
- 16gb of DDR3 Max
- DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 2.0
- Likely easier / more support to run OSX given it's an H170?

Gigabyte GA-H110TN - $90
- Supports Skylake & Kaby Lake
- 32gb of DDR4 max
- DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4

Asus H110T/CSM - $80
- Supports Skylake
- 32gb of DDR4 max
- DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4

CASE:
Luna Design DNK-H (2015 Model) - $76 (incl 150w PS)

Mini ITX Options

ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/AC - $155
- Supports Skylake & Kaby Lake
- 32gb of DDR4 Max
- DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 2.0

Asus H170i-Pro - $125
- Supports Skylake
- 32gb of DDR4 max
- DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4​

CASE:
Streacom F1C - Already own ($35), Just need Pico PS (~$50)

 

[tyeh]

Hi all,

Currently running a very stable sierra Gigabyte H77N-Wifi / i5 3570k / GTX 950 combo that i've had for years (only upgraded the graphics over time). I've run into a situation in which I need to shrink my computer to fit into a small space, 4" high max, to avoid my two lovely children poking and prodding at the PC.

As i have a Dell 34" Curved Ultrawide monitor (3440x1440 res.), I'm looking to upgrade to a Skylake CPU that can support Intel HD 530, and therefore 4k at 60hz (little breathing room) without the need of a dedicated GPU.

I was about to go for the Gigabyte H170N-Wifi board until i realized it (and almost all Mini ITX gigabyte boards) lacks Displayport and/or HDMI 2.0, which would be needed for this resolution @ 60hz. That led me down the path of finding Thin Mini ITX boards which nearly universally support Displayport and 4k @ 60hz.

Open to suggestions, looking for something fast and stable as the wife will be using it from time to time, but size and 4k @ 60hz is the limiting factor here.

Which of the following boards would you recommend?

Thin Mini ITX Options

Gigabyte GA-H170TN - $115
- Supports Skylake
- 16gb of DDR3 Max
- DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 2.0
- Likely easier / more support to run OSX given it's an H170?

Gigabyte GA-H110TN - $90
- Supports Skylake & Kaby Lake
- 32gb of DDR4 max
- DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4

Asus H110T/CSM - $80
- Supports Skylake
- 32gb of DDR4 max
- DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4

CASE:
Luna Design DNK-H (2015 Model) - $76 (incl 150w PS)

Mini ITX Options

ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/AC - $155
- Supports Skylake & Kaby Lake
- 32gb of DDR4 Max
- DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 2.0

Asus H170i-Pro - $125
- Supports Skylake
- 32gb of DDR4 max
- DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4​

CASE:
Streacom F1C - Already own ($35), Just need Pico PS (~$50)

If you buy ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/AC for HDMI 2.0, then you will be disappointed. OS X won't support HDMI 2.0 yet (as I knew but not 100% sure). It has some sleep issues in Windows and even won't stay in 4K@60Hz in my HTPC. I added a Nvidia GTX 1050 in order to make my system more useful in the living room (not to force me to unplug and plug in HDMI cable or turn off/on TV). I had Installed Sierra on it and that is quite easy. Now I have an Asus H170I-Pro/CSM that is cheaper and working well with a GT 710 Low Profile (Wifi card is NGFF and need to be replaced). With Intel HD 530, system won't be able to wake up from sleep (or will crash). At the same time, your monitor might lose signal once you turn off and on your monitor. You can search the discussions about HD 530 before you make the decision. By the way, you will need a kext patch (or DSDT) to fix black screen issue if you want to use Skylake based SMBIOS like iMac17.1. Performance wise, the path is worthy.

 

[aztlan78]

The Asus Z170I-Pro Gaming Mini-ITX has DisplayPort I believe. And according to Asus can handle 4k at 60Hz.

 

[tyeh]

The Asus Z170I-Pro Gaming Mini-ITX has DisplayPort I believe. And according to Asus can handle 4k at 60Hz.

Asus H170I-Pro/CSM also has a displayport that can also support 4K@60Hz. If sleep isn't a must-have feature, then Asus H170I-Pro/CSM ($119) will be good enough (The Wifi NGFF card should be replaced).