3770 T, S or K. For an SG05 mITX build.

[hero9989]

I'm going to be starting a new build at some point in the next month. It's going to be a mITX build in a silverstone SG05 case. I'm going to have a pretty hefty GPU in it (probably a GTX 660ti or GTX670). So the more I can avoid heat in other components (namely the CPU) - the better.

I was wondering what CPU I should use. I definitely want to go for an ivybridge i7 but it's just a question of which one.
Most of the power in the PC will be in the GPU so I just want a CPU that's versatile (thus wanting the 8 threads available in i7)

How much extra performance would I get for the 32w (1Ghz) between the 3770T and 3770/K?

I currently have a 2500k and haven't noticed it giving too much of a bottleneck so surely the 3770T would be enough? (providing the apps are multithreaded of course).

[kompukare]

No personal experience of this but if your motherboards is up to it, surely an undervolted or downclocked (or both) 3770K should be equal or almost equal to 3770T in power usage. Guess it all depends on how much binning Intel actually do. And atm people are crazy for Intel K processors so the resale value will be far higher.

[hero9989]

No personal experience of this but if your motherboards is up to it, surely an undervolted or downclocked (or both) 3770K should be equal or almost equal to 3770T in power usage. Guess it all depends on how much binning Intel actually do. And atm people are crazy for Intel K processors so the resale value will be far higher.

I have wondered about this. I can't find anyone that has actually tried underclocking/undervolting a 3770k. Is there any reason why it wouldn't be stable? This would be the ideal solution as long as I could be sure it would work...

[kompukare]

Yes not much info out there and it's certainly nothing any mainstream hardware sites cover. Bragging rights for the fastest possible K overclock yes, the most frugal power usage? Not really. Here is a bit of discussion about this though but nothing conclusive:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2248609
http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums...p?f=28&t=64250

Also, over at AT one of the mods (IDC) has some informative posts about the effects of power, clock and temps:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost...86&postcount=3

Certainly seems that hitting the 45W TDP of the 3770T is possible if you go no higher than 2.7GHz or so.

[hero9989]

Yes not much info out there and it's certainly nothing any mainstream hardware sites cover. Bragging rights for the fastest possible K overclock yes, the most frugal power usage? Not really. Here is a bit of discussion about this though but nothing conclusive:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2248609
http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums...p?f=28&t=64250

Also, over at AT one of the mods (IDC) has some informative posts about the effects of power, clock and temps:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost...86&postcount=3

Certainly seems that hitting the 45W TDP of the 3770T is possible if you go no higher than 2.7GHz or so.

I just remembered I have a 2500k lol. I actually tried doing this. with my 2500k. I put the default clock down by 1Ghz from stock. (I also had to disable the turbo for this since it didn't seem to want to come out of turbo at these low clock speeds)

http://imgur.com/a/020au
The top image is at 2.4Ghz and turbo disabled
The bottom image is everything at default - 3.4Ghz with 3.7Ghz turbo
In both cases prime95 is running. Massive 45w difference with 1.3Ghz

So yeah - I think I have my answer. If I set the default clock at the same as the 3770T (2.5Ghz) with the turbo at stock for the 3770k (maybe more like 3Ghz but I'll do some tests when I get the PC) Heat output should never go very high!

3770k it is! Thanks for the help

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would get the Xeon E3 1230 V2.

I have the Xeon E3 1220 in a SFF PC using a modified Shuttle G5 case.

[hero9989]

I would get the Xeon E3 1230 V2.

I have the Xeon E3 1220 in a SFF PC using a modified Shuttle G5 case.

What's the difference between this and the 3770k? It appears to have the GPU chopped out (which Does save power so that could be good). It seems rather cheap too... What's the catch? lol

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

What's the difference between this and the 3770k? It appears to have the GPU chopped out (which Does save power so that could be good). It seems rather cheap too... What's the catch? lol

It has a slightly lower clockspeed and a partially locked multiplier like the Core i7 3770.

It used to be around £170 to £175 but Scan has bumped the price up:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel...oogle+shopping

However,if you don't mind a shorter warranty,and no stock cooler these OEM CPUs are cheaper than the retail versions:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...i73770oem.html

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...73770koem.html

[hero9989]

It has a slightly lower clockspeed and a partially locked multiplier like the Core i7 3770.

It used to be around £170 to £175 but Scan has bumped the price up:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel...oogle+shopping

However,if you don't mind a shorter warranty,and no stock cooler these OEM CPUs are cheaper than the retail versions:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...i73770oem.html

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...73770koem.html

Hmm, that does seem like a decent CPU but I think that's for a different build. For gaming, I can't see me needing the extra performance of a fully clocked i7/xeon e3. I think my needs will be suited by a lower clocked i7 but the k allows me to have the extra performance should I need it in the future. Thanks for the introduction though, pretty sure I know somebody that will appeal to...

Also - the full 3770k is only £6 more at amazon.co.uk compared to the OEM at novatech http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Genera...productDetails so I'll probably be going there for the CPU. Thanks anyway.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Hmm, that does seem like a decent CPU but I think that's for a different build. For gaming, I can't see me needing the extra performance of a fully clocked i7/xeon e3. I think my needs will be suited by a lower clocked i7 but the k allows me to have the extra performance should I need it in the future. Thanks for the introduction though, pretty sure I know somebody that will appeal to...

Also - the full 3770k is only £6 more at amazon.co.uk compared to the OEM at novatech http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Genera...productDetails so I'll probably be going there for the CPU. Thanks anyway.

You will also need to spend extra on a mini-ITX Z77 based motherboard and one with a decent VRM.

Ultimately,I would buy the Xeon E3 1230 V2,and put the extra money into a better graphics card.

Edit!!

This Z77 motherboard only has a 3+1 phase VRM with no cooling:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...-hdmi-mini-itx

I am not sure if I would really want to run a Core i7 3770K overclocked,for years on it.

You are still looking at £125 to £150 anyway for a reasonable Z77 based mini-ITX motherboard.

The problem is that means it is not that cheap. The SG05 450W version is around £100. You can get a SZ77R5 and probably have a better overall system:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007UZO3F...hvptwo=&hvqmt=

The case is far better quality than a SG05,you have 4 RAM slots,and a better cooler than the stock heatsink and a 500W PSU.

If you are not that bothered overclocking,a B75 or H77 based mini-ITX motherboard and a Xeon E3 1230 V2 will save you a decent a mount of money.

[-Nub-]

Doesn't the K stand for unlocked overclocking? I could be wrong.