Q6600 overclock on mini itx?

[Stylis10]

A couple days ago i posted about how my mums computer was running very slow, and the general consensus was to upgrade the ram.
Now she wants to trade pcs with me as she loves the speed of mine now and the look of it (kind of a good thing, as my pc i find is a bit too big)[core i5 2500K, 4gb ram, 1TB HDD, Lian Li V-351 case]

The current salvageable parts to this pc are:
Q6600,
2x1GB RAM,
NVIDIA Geforce 8400GS GPU,
Optical Drive (although i would prefer a slot loader)

Now i want to overclock the CPU to around 3.6GHz (i have no idea about overclocking and so am currently reading up on it). The PC will also be traveling around with me a fair amount, and next year will come with me to Africa. Hence i want it to be as small it can possibly be.

Parts needed:
CPU cooler
case (or i can try and build my own, i have 3 weeks spare coming up at the end of September to do this, i have never done it before though)
Mini Itx mobo or smaller if possible
PSU

the pc will be used for video and sound editing, photoshop, slight gaming(counter strike and minecraft).

i would like to try and keep the budget under £400, at a stretch £450.

IS THIS VIABLE?

Any help or advice it greatly appreciated

[shaithis]

Q6600 @ 3.6 GHz stable, in Africa, in as small a form-factor as possible?

Something needs to give....

[Stylis10]

Q6600 @ 3.6 GHz stable, in Africa, in as small a form-factor as possible?

Something needs to give....

yeah, i know, but i dont know what.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

No.

Firstly,when overclocked the Q6600 consumes a decent amount of power. The main issue on mini-ITX motherboards will the relatively few phases and more importantly in most cases the lack of cooling. You have the real chance of burning out the VRMs on a mini-ITX motherboard.

Secondly,unless you are in an air-conditioned room the ambient temperature in Africa probably will be higher than in the UK. This further compounds the issues with the VRMs.

A Shuttle will probably be the best choice if you want to overclock the Q6600 in an SFF PC but even then a Q6600 at 3.6GHZ will be pushing it.

[Stylis10]

No.

Firstly,when overclocked the Q6600 consumes a decent amount of power. The main issue on mini-ITX motherboards will the relatively few phases and more importantly in most cases the lack of cooling. You have the real chance of burning out the VRMs on a mini-ITX motherboard.

Secondly,unless you are in an air-conditioned room the ambient temperature in Africa probably will be higher than in the UK. This further compounds the issues with the VRMs.

A Shuttle will probably be the best choice if you want to overclock the Q6600 in an SFF PC but even then a Q6600 at 3.6GHZ will be pushing it.

Thank you, so i guess i should forget about doing this then. or would lowering it to 3.4GHz make a difference, if not then, i shall just have to forget about this and maybe just build a new pc all together.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

One of these Shuttles would be worth looking at IMHO:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/shutt...-300-sata-raid

http://www.expansys.com/shuttle-sx48...=base&ito=1701

I am not sure if the last one uses DDR2 or DDR3 RAM though.

I have an SD37P2 which is an earlier version of the cases and it lasted me well over four years of constant use before any issues appeared.

[shaithis]

I would either take the sandy bridge PC, or if you can afford it, build a new one to take with you.

Messing with older PC parts and then travelling with them, then taking them somewhere hot.....I wouldn't feel that confident TBH. I would prefer to build something new, rock solid and with a lower power-draw.

Might be better to spend the money now, rather then when your in Africa......I am guessing PC parts will cost significantly more over there!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You can build a Sandy Bridge SFF PC also.

However,you have a 95W TDP processor so this will be at the limits of many mini-ITX motherboards. I would make sure the case has decent cooling.

OTH,if you can get a 45W or 65W Intel Core i5 it would the motherboard will be relatively unstressed.

The smallest build with space for a dedicated graphics card will be a Shuttle H3 followed by a Sugo SG05 or SG06.

From my experience Shuttles are quite reliable but they use proprietary parts which can be a pain in the posterior.

[Stylis10]

I would either take the sandy bridge PC, or if you can afford it, build a new one to take with you.

Messing with older PC parts and then travelling with them, then taking them somewhere hot.....I wouldn't feel that confident TBH. I would prefer to build something new, rock solid and with a lower power-draw.

Might be better to spend the money now, rather then when your in Africa......I am guessing PC parts will cost significantly more over there!

I think your probably right, this thread was just to see if it was viable to overclock the Q6600 in a SFF

One of these Shuttles would be worth looking at IMHO:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/shutt...-300-sata-raid

http://www.expansys.com/shuttle-sx48...=base&ito=1701

I am not sure if the last one uses DDR2 or DDR3 RAM though.

I have an SD37P2 which is an earlier version of the cases and it lasted me well over four years of constant use before any issues appeared.

I had a look at this case before too, but i think what i am trying to achieve is a bit much with what i have.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

What graphics card do you have??

This Shuttle should do the job with your current Core i5 2500K:

http://www.ebuyer.com/261440-shuttle-sh67h3-sh67h3

The VRMs seem to be cooled too:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/pcs...s-its-sh67h3/2

There is also a Zotac Z68 mini-ITX motherboard with cooled VRMs too. However,it does have some teething problems IIRC.

[Stylis10]

What graphics card do you have??

This Shuttle should do the job with your current Core i5 2500K:

http://www.ebuyer.com/261440-shuttle-sh67h3-sh67h3

The VRMs seem to be cooled too:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/pcs...s-its-sh67h3/2

There is also a Zotac Z68 mini-ITX motherboard with cooled VRMs too. However,it does have some teething problems IIRC.

with the i5 build, there is currently no graphics card. the idea was to not change that pc and give to my mother and brother whilst i tray and do something with their old one. if thats not possible then they only option i have it to try and sell the lian li v-351 case and the matx mobo and go for a mini itx mobo and case. but that may prove to be a bit too much hassle as i have never actually sold anything like this.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

with the i5 build, there is currently no graphics card. the idea was to not change that pc and give to my mother and brother whilst i tray and do something with their old one. if thats not possible then they only option i have it to try and sell the lian li v-351 case and the matx mobo and go for a mini itx mobo and case. but that may prove to be a bit too much hassle as i have never actually sold anything like this.

Buy your mum a Core i3 2100 or a Pentium G840. For normal tasks they are quite fast anyway.

You can then re-purpose the Core i5 for your build.

What graphics card do you have??

If you are intending to use an 8400GS in the newer build I would just use the Intel IGP. The Core i5 2500K has the HD3000 which is around the same speed as an HD5450 IIRC.

[Stylis10]

Buy your mum a Core i3 2100 or a Pentium G840. For normal tasks they are quite fast anyway.

You can then re-purpose the Core i5 for your build.

What graphics card do you have??

If you are intending to use an 8400GS in the newer build I would just use the Intel IGP. The Core i5 2500K has the HD3000 which is around the same speed as an HD5450 IIRC.

The old pc has a NVIDIA Geforce 8400GS 128MB

but i have this given to me buy my uncle(it is used though, but still working)
NVIDIA Geforce 8400GS 1GB

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The old pc has a NVIDIA Geforce 8400GS 128MB

but i have this given to me buy my uncle(it is used though, but still working)
NVIDIA Geforce 8400GS 1GB

The HD3000 IGP which the Core i5 2500K has is faster. I suspect the HD2000 might be faster or around the same speed.

Of course,if you don't want to faff around with your new PC a Core i3 2100 will be fast for general usage. I have one myself in a SFF PC build.

[Stylis10]

The HD3000 IGP which the Core i5 2500K has is faster. I suspect the HD2000 might be faster or around the same speed.

Of course,if you don't want to faff around with your new PC a Core i3 2100 will be fast for general usage. I have one myself in a SFF PC build.

i think your recommendation of buying the shuttle and core i3 is quite a good idea. and probably what i will go for. the only thing that im concerned about is the 300W PSU in the Shuttle SH67H3. will that be sufficient, considering my current pc has a 520W PSU

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

i think your recommendation of buying the shuttle and core i3 is quite a good idea. and probably what i will go for. the only thing that im concerned about is the 300W PSU in the Shuttle SH67H3. will that be sufficient, considering my current pc has a 520W PSU

A Core i3 2100 and an 8400GS will run fine on the Shuttle 300W PSU. Even an HD6850 1GB or HD5770 1GB would run fine off the PSU.