Z690M/i5-12600/RX6600 ITX box: how should it work? [it does!]

[Celeri]

Hi all,

Already having a quite great little hackintosh based on a Gigabyte Z370N+i5-8600+RX580, I would like to make a new one to push back the obligation to migrate to Apple Silicon by 3 or 4 more years, since I oftenly use Windows & Linux VMs, and also like to boot Windows for games occasionally. My current box runs well, but its performance is quite decent, so to achieve a real speed bump, it seems that the 12th generation is the only way to go, despite the fact it is not officially supported by Apple.

The main objectives for this build are:

• ITX format for nice performance in a small box
• Silence in low and moderate CPU/GPU load
• Reasonably low power consumption

After several days of research here and on other hackintosh sites, here is a shopping list I made:

• CPU : Intel Core i5-12600 → only 65W and I like the fact that only P-cores exist, so no need to disable the E-cores or HyperThreading
• MB : ASRock Z690M Z690M-ITX/AX → there is also the Asus ROG STRIX but it is way more expensive
• GPU : Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 6600 8GB → Nice experience with my current Sapphire PULSE RX580
• RAM : G.Skill RipJaws 5 3200MHz 32GB x2 → Nice experience with the same model in my current build (2400 MHz)
• SSD : SAMSUNG SSD 980 PRO 2 TB WD Black SN750 2 TB → Nice experience with the same model in my current build (1 TB)
• Cooler : Noctua NH-L9x65 → should be OK in the small box thanks to the SFX power unit
• Power : Corsair SF600 80 PLUS Platinum
• Box : Silverstone SUGO 16 Black → with Noctua fans for air intake exhaust

Can anyone confirm that this build *should* work (no guarantee, of course)? My research has already highlighted the following caveats:

• Only Monterey 12.1 and newer will be able to run because of the RX 6600 support
• iGPU will not work and no hardware acceleration for Sidecar or encoding in Videoproc
• WiFi should work but not Bluetooth → BCM94360NG module recommended
• Thunderbolt should work but be tricky to use, especially with hotplug → not a problem for me, I do not use it

Are there other things I am missing?

Thanks very much in advance!

 

[etorix]

Small, silent and low power all point to Apple Silicon…

Regarding the CPU, note that Both P and E cores can now be used without disabling anything and, more critically, that "TDP" is now an essentially meaningless metric from Intel: The CPU may draw A LOT more under load.
I doubt that a NH-L9x65 would do: It managed a Core i3-8100T but not a Xeon E-2278G (half-way between i9-9900K and non-K) in my mini-ITX build.
Thunderbolt 4 is indeed problematic. The safe choice is still Titan Ridge… but that requires a larger board, with more PCIe slots.
SN 750/850 derives are recommended over Samsung 980.

 

[Celeri]

Of course small/silent/low power is what Apple Silicon is all about, and I will come to it eventually with a Mac Mini in 3-4 years, but for now I still need my VMs

Thanks for the info regarding the cores and TDP, I was not aware of that. Do you think 600W will be enough for the whole package? In the Intel specs, I see the max power in turbo mode would be 117W, so I guess it should be OK, right?

Regarding the cooler, my current i5-8600 is well managed by a Noctua NH-L9I, which is much smaller, so I am a bit surprised here. Noctua officially states that the NH-L9x65 it is compatible even with the 12600K model. By the way, I chose a non-K CPU also because they seem to be known for drawing less power and get less hot: has this become an obsolete idea also?

Thunderbolt is definitely not a problem for me: my devices are all USB3/USB-C, and I can perfectly go on this way.

I was not aware of problems with Samsung 980, but OK, I think I will turn to a WD Black SN750, since I have one in my current box and it works flawlessly (shopping list edited accordingly).

 

[etorix]

Thanks for the info regarding the cores and TDP, I was not aware of that. Do you think 600W will be enough for the whole package? In the Intel specs, I see the max power in turbo mode would be 117W, so I guess it should be OK, right?

The PSU should be fine.

Regarding the cooler, my current i5-8600 is well managed by a Noctua NH-L9I, which is much smaller, so I am a bit surprised here. Noctua officially states that the NH-L9x65 it is compatible even with the 12600K model. By the way, I chose a non-K CPU also because they seem to be known for drawing less power and get less hot: has this become an obsolete idea also?

No, the non-K will draw less power than the K, but it can still draw a lot more than the now-useless TDP figure would suggest, and more than the "65 W" i5-8600. Then, maximum power would have been guesstimated at 1.5*TDP, now it can be 2*TDP (and even close to 3*TDP for the "low-power" parts).

I realise I actually used a NH-L9i as well. But the NH-L9x65 is not much more powerful, according to Noctua's NSPR rating (whatever it means…). Noctua states the NH-L9x65 is compatible with the i5-12600… with no overhead. Whatever CPU temperature you achieve may depend on the overall case setting. It may do, or you may be happy with a hot CPU. Or it may not do, and you'll end up looking for a more powerful cooler which still fit in the case and/or painfully installing an AIO in a very tight space.

 

[dehjomz]

Raptor lake is coming soon (by sometime in October) so if you can wait a few more weeks, z690 and alder lake will get a price drop or for the same cash, you could get a Raptor lake z790 motherboard and cpu. Up to you.

 

[Celeri]

Coming back on the cooler front: it seems that in the SUGO 16 case with a SFX power supply, you can use a Noctua NH-D12L. A bit tight, but it works well. Pretty interesting!

 

[Celeri]

Raptor lake is coming soon (by sometime in October) so if you can wait a few more weeks, z690 and alder lake will get a price drop or for the same cash, you could get a Raptor lake z790 motherboard and cpu. Up to you.

Good to know... It would also leave time to see if new M2 Pro Mac Minis are announced!

 

[dehjomz]

Good to know... It would also leave time to see if new M2 Pro Mac Minis are announced!

I'm eyeing an M2 Pro Mac Mini... patiently waiting. I already a kvm switch to slot it into along side my other PC/Hack, to share the same keyboard, mouse, and monitors...

 

[Celeri]

This is a scenario I have been considering : since my current build is still running good, it could easily become a Windows machine with my VMs and games on it, and I would be switching with a KVM. But I am not really convinced by the M2 Mac Mini rumors: I sincerely doubt that Apple created a whole new Mac Studio only to have its sales canibalized by a Mac Mini that would be nearly as powerful but far cheaper.

 

[Celeri]

For the heads-up, I ordered my parts today, I should get them by next Tuesday. I will let you know how it goes in this thread, and if the machine works, I will create a topic in the "Build" section.

Fingers crossed!