NUC vs STX. What am I missing?

J

jjsyht

Weaksauce
Joined
May 29, 2016
Messages
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I see a lot of interest on stx, or even itx without gfx. But if we are going small with almost no upgrades, why not the nuc? I think it has a i5 version too, maybe also i7?

So you have fast cpu, fast storage, ram speed isn't that different. Why something bigger?
 
GPU's. DIY. Because this is [H] and we want to stuff a watercooled Titan XP and 7700K in a lunchbox. Reasons!
 
Hi!
I can't talk for the other users, but I can try to show you my thoughts why going for STX-build
First of all: Price.
For that build I've spent around 430€. But to compare my build to a NUC, we have to subtract 80€ for SSD and 80€ for RAM, 'cause you have to buy it for a NUC too.
So in total 270€. For this price the best thing you can get (in EU) seems to be a Intel Core i3-6100U (the "U" is important) if you compare my g4600 to the Intel Core i3-6100U it's pretty much a performance difference of 75%.
Or you change the g4600 for a i7-7700k (just a example) for 530€ (+RAM +SSD) and compare this to a (about the same Price tag NUC) Intel Core i7-6700HQ. its still +60% in Benchmarks.
But even if you are not interested in Benchmarks, there are other reasons, like:
-noise level
-up to 3 SSDs in a STX
-interchangeable CPU
-better iGPU

There might be much more reasons for both systems, and maybe I'm not right in every point, but thats my personal experience.
And to be honest.... If i would have brought me a NUC, what the hell should I mod/work on it?! Its pretty much a perfect as it is. =)
 
NUCs generally use low-wattage (15W) dual-core U parts. There are some exceptions, but usually those are even lower-wattage parts. Intel does make a quad-core 45W nuc, but it is extremely expensive. STX can use any socketed parts including unlocked K parts. STX can use custom cooling so you can make it as quiet as you want (opposed to NUCs, which are generally very loud with blower coolers).

ITX without graphics could be desirable when you want a small NAS. ITX will have plenty of SATA ports and you can use the extra PCIe slot for more SATA ports if you need them.
 
You all make very good points, especially about the power of the processor available and noise level - did not think about this before.

andgo said:
Problem is it won't ever be a thing because the average gamer is perfectly content with a 40L windowed LED lightshow.
Click to expand...
Average gamer, yes. But there's still a growing community of ssf enthusiasts gamers, look at the success of n-case and Dan a4. So hopefully stx and mxm motherboard will come soon.

And if we get full-blown mxm gfx, I would then ask, why itx:)
 
As I said elsewhere, the perfect motherboard would be an STX with the MXM on the back. Now this is 5x5 right? Make it 5x5x5 and fill the space with heatsinks and put two 120mm fans in a push-pull over these heatsinks like servers do. You'd have one fan on the bottom, the PCB sandwich vertical in the middle another fan on the top.

Heat, noise, space wise all would be absolute winner. In fact, it would provide significantly more cooling capacity than a traditional video card. The fin area of the 5" x 5" x 3" video heatsink should be comparable to a 10" x 5" x 1.5" heatsink which is Accelero Xtreme III territory except we have much better airflow. The CPU side heatsink could be a standard 2U cooler or perhaps a custom one using more of the available space.

Do not even know why Asrock went with the side-by-side instead of this "copper cube" concept, would be 3L and have enough cooling capacity for... anything.

On the other hand, I am wondering what it would take to make a case plus custom cooling blocks in a 180mm cube with 180mm fans and ITX board and the relevant video card on the back much like many cases on this forum just with custom cooling sinks or perhaps a CPU tower cooler attached to the GPU

But use the Scythe Ninja 4 or somesuch. Would be absolutely brutal!
 
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