El_Capitan
Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2012
- Messages
- 806
It was time to upgrade my outdated 4670K mini-iTX build. I only re-used my Corsair Obsidian 250D case, and my Corsair AX 750 PSU, but accumulated some free items (and re-used some old fans).
Total Build Cost = $254.56 | $292.15
CPU: i5-13600T (used from eBay for $110.49) | i5-13600K (used from eBay for $147.00)
Motherboard: Huananzhi B660M-ITX (new from Amazon for $77.38, was actually $87.39 with a $4.60 coupon, but I used a $8.55 Gift Card and $1.46 in Rewards Points)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX, CMK32GX4M2B3200C16 (White) 2x16GB (used from H member for $36.71)
NVMe: KIOXIA KXG80ZNV512G (new from eBay for $29.95)
CPU Cooler: Jonsbo CR1400 EVO Black 92mm (Black) RGB (free, but is $21.99 on Amazon) | GAMDIAS CHIONE M4-240 AIO using two Scythe Slip Stream Slim SY1212SL12H 120mm Case Fans (free, and fans were re-used)
I was a little hesitant using a relatively unknown m-iTX Chinese motherboard, it didn't even have a CR2023 battery when it arrived, but I had plenty of those. However, when I saw the BIOS screen load up, I was like, oh no... but luckily it lands on the "Language" section of the BIOS, and I was able to change it to "English" pretty easily.
While there are some overclock settings, and decent VRM's for an iTX motherboard for overclocking (it has a 10 phase power supply), this was actually supposed to be a low power build. There's also a BIOS update I could flash to, but since I didn't figure out how to, I just left it at the current BIOS. The only settings I changed was the memory's XMP Profile, so the memory's running at 3200MT/s at CL16 timings. The MB also has a single PCIE 5.0 x16 slot, a m.2 2280 NVMe PCIE 4.0 x4 slot, and a WiFi socket (but I don't think it has a WiFi module included). However, it does have a 2.5Gbps Realtek RTL8125BG LAN card.
I installed Windows 10 and ran Prime95. I did see the watts get up to 243W from the wall using a Kill-a-Watt meter. I was thinking it would be less than an i5-14400F, but it wasn't the case. My i5-14400F only got up to 146W's. However, temps never got higher than 78C, but, it's also pretty cold in my basement.
Some benchmarks in Windows 10 Pro:
Kioxia XG8 512GB
(UPDATE on 1/12/2025) However, I found that when I used the M.2 NVMe extender, my benchmark results were faster? I have no clue why.
CPU-Z:
Geekbench 6:
I spent some time tidying it up with zip-ties, but it still looks messy because I plan on putting two SATA III SSD's in for game drives, and a graphics card. I was hoping to find a RTX 4060 for cheap, but I'll probably just end up using a GTX 1080 8GB I still have. It's also missing a 5.25" bay, but I just need to find a decent looking digital fan controller on the cheap, or a storage bay.
The plastic panel is also not in the best condition (mostly due to a move about 6 and a half years ago), and there's some cosmetic scratches on the outside of the case. I'll have to work on that in the Spring/Summer.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with the performance. Finding a cheap m-iTX motherboard with top-of-the-line features isn't cheap, but I highly recommend this motherboard if you plan on doing the same thing I am. I'll probably fine-tune the 13600T and see if I can lower the power consumption during full load, or just put a 13600K in there and overclock the sucker. I was debating about putting a 240mm AIO on the CPU, but the 92mm Air Cooler is doing a good enough job for me.
However, there's anywhere from a -14.39% to -26.07% performance difference to my overclocked i5-13600K, and that was my older benchmark. I'm running 5.7, 5.7, 5.7, 5.6, 5.6, 5.5 at ~1.35V's. I've hit 6.0GHz at around 1.45V's.
Geekbench 6 benchmark comparison to an overclocked 13600K
CPU-Z benchmark comparison to an overclocked 13600K
I'll update with some gaming benchmarks and full load watts measurement when I put a graphics card in.
01/12/2025 Update:
I put in a M.2 NVMe extension cable in it, so I can easily open up the case and replace the NVMe SSD to swap out different operating systems. From Windows 10 Pro to some Linux Distro (I haven't decided, yet). I also attached an old NZXT Sentry 2 fan controller, way before they became corrupt. I only have 3 case fans, but since I can't undervolt, I may just put a K-series CPU in there and a 240mm AIO with the radiator and 2 fans mounted on the side
I also drilled 2 holes to put on a handle. It's sturdy, and doesn't bulge when lifted, so I'm lucky I didn't have to figure out having to put in a support bracket. The two rear fans are now at around 5V (#2 and #3 on the fan controller), and the front 140mm fan is silent even at 12V (#1 on the fan controller). Definitely will need to air brush the front and side panels once the weather is nice. Still haven't figure out what I want to replace the acrylic window with. I was thinking tempered glass, but it'll add weight to it, and not sure how I'd install it.
2/3/2025 Update:
Ok, I got a used 15-13600K from eBay and used an AIO with it. The i5-13600T is paired with an ASrock Z760M-HDV/M.2 D4 for my new test bench. It now has a 35W TDP with that motherboard and stays really cool with that 80mm CPU cooler.
However, for the mini-iTX build, I switched a lot of things up. I put in a used i5-13600K in there, as well as a 240mm AIO. However, due to the constraints of the case, motherboard, and 240mm radiator, I had to use two slim Scythe Slip Stream Slim 120mm fans in pull, and removed one of the 80mm rear fans while reversing the other one to pull air in, and replaced the 140mm front fan with a Prolimatech Ultra Sleek 140mm that I never got to use. Since it's easier to get in there to replace the NVMe SSD, I removed the NVMe Extension cable.
When the case is totally closed, the heat doesn't output as easily due to the side mesh. If I need to run benchmarks or play games, I may need to adjust the fan speed higher and/or remove the side panel. I'm tempted to remove that side panel mesh filter, and cut 120mm holes on it if temps become a problem. So far, it doesn't seem I can overclock on the mini-iTX motherboard despite the higher VRM's, so I may not have to worry about it. I have noticed that it's a lot snappier than the 13600T I was using, though.
2/4/2025 Update:
I finally decided to install the WiFi on the motherboard (it didn't come with one). I had an Intel BE200, so decided to install it. An hour later, I also attached two antennas (will take pictures of the antennas later).
Using the 2.5G Ethernet port with a 1GB Cat 7 cable:
Using the Intel BE200 with two antennas:
I'm ISP bandwidth limited at 600MBps, but it's interesting that the Download and Upload speeds are faster on the WiFi, but of course the Ping will always be lower.
I went ahead and bit the bullet to buy two SilverStone Air Slimmer 120mm Slim Fans (SST-AS120B). It has definitely helped with temperatures, but I had to re-arrange a lot of the internals, and it's not the best mounting as I'll need to find the proper sized radiator fan screws.
Total Build Cost = $254.56 | $292.15
CPU: i5-13600T (used from eBay for $110.49) | i5-13600K (used from eBay for $147.00)
Motherboard: Huananzhi B660M-ITX (new from Amazon for $77.38, was actually $87.39 with a $4.60 coupon, but I used a $8.55 Gift Card and $1.46 in Rewards Points)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX, CMK32GX4M2B3200C16 (White) 2x16GB (used from H member for $36.71)
NVMe: KIOXIA KXG80ZNV512G (new from eBay for $29.95)
CPU Cooler: Jonsbo CR1400 EVO Black 92mm (Black) RGB (free, but is $21.99 on Amazon) | GAMDIAS CHIONE M4-240 AIO using two Scythe Slip Stream Slim SY1212SL12H 120mm Case Fans (free, and fans were re-used)
I was a little hesitant using a relatively unknown m-iTX Chinese motherboard, it didn't even have a CR2023 battery when it arrived, but I had plenty of those. However, when I saw the BIOS screen load up, I was like, oh no... but luckily it lands on the "Language" section of the BIOS, and I was able to change it to "English" pretty easily.


While there are some overclock settings, and decent VRM's for an iTX motherboard for overclocking (it has a 10 phase power supply), this was actually supposed to be a low power build. There's also a BIOS update I could flash to, but since I didn't figure out how to, I just left it at the current BIOS. The only settings I changed was the memory's XMP Profile, so the memory's running at 3200MT/s at CL16 timings. The MB also has a single PCIE 5.0 x16 slot, a m.2 2280 NVMe PCIE 4.0 x4 slot, and a WiFi socket (but I don't think it has a WiFi module included). However, it does have a 2.5Gbps Realtek RTL8125BG LAN card.
I installed Windows 10 and ran Prime95. I did see the watts get up to 243W from the wall using a Kill-a-Watt meter. I was thinking it would be less than an i5-14400F, but it wasn't the case. My i5-14400F only got up to 146W's. However, temps never got higher than 78C, but, it's also pretty cold in my basement.

Some benchmarks in Windows 10 Pro:
Kioxia XG8 512GB

(UPDATE on 1/12/2025) However, I found that when I used the M.2 NVMe extender, my benchmark results were faster? I have no clue why.

CPU-Z:

Geekbench 6:

I spent some time tidying it up with zip-ties, but it still looks messy because I plan on putting two SATA III SSD's in for game drives, and a graphics card. I was hoping to find a RTX 4060 for cheap, but I'll probably just end up using a GTX 1080 8GB I still have. It's also missing a 5.25" bay, but I just need to find a decent looking digital fan controller on the cheap, or a storage bay.

The plastic panel is also not in the best condition (mostly due to a move about 6 and a half years ago), and there's some cosmetic scratches on the outside of the case. I'll have to work on that in the Spring/Summer.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the performance. Finding a cheap m-iTX motherboard with top-of-the-line features isn't cheap, but I highly recommend this motherboard if you plan on doing the same thing I am. I'll probably fine-tune the 13600T and see if I can lower the power consumption during full load, or just put a 13600K in there and overclock the sucker. I was debating about putting a 240mm AIO on the CPU, but the 92mm Air Cooler is doing a good enough job for me.
However, there's anywhere from a -14.39% to -26.07% performance difference to my overclocked i5-13600K, and that was my older benchmark. I'm running 5.7, 5.7, 5.7, 5.6, 5.6, 5.5 at ~1.35V's. I've hit 6.0GHz at around 1.45V's.
Geekbench 6 benchmark comparison to an overclocked 13600K

CPU-Z benchmark comparison to an overclocked 13600K

I'll update with some gaming benchmarks and full load watts measurement when I put a graphics card in.
01/12/2025 Update:
I put in a M.2 NVMe extension cable in it, so I can easily open up the case and replace the NVMe SSD to swap out different operating systems. From Windows 10 Pro to some Linux Distro (I haven't decided, yet). I also attached an old NZXT Sentry 2 fan controller, way before they became corrupt. I only have 3 case fans, but since I can't undervolt, I may just put a K-series CPU in there and a 240mm AIO with the radiator and 2 fans mounted on the side

I also drilled 2 holes to put on a handle. It's sturdy, and doesn't bulge when lifted, so I'm lucky I didn't have to figure out having to put in a support bracket. The two rear fans are now at around 5V (#2 and #3 on the fan controller), and the front 140mm fan is silent even at 12V (#1 on the fan controller). Definitely will need to air brush the front and side panels once the weather is nice. Still haven't figure out what I want to replace the acrylic window with. I was thinking tempered glass, but it'll add weight to it, and not sure how I'd install it.

2/3/2025 Update:
Ok, I got a used 15-13600K from eBay and used an AIO with it. The i5-13600T is paired with an ASrock Z760M-HDV/M.2 D4 for my new test bench. It now has a 35W TDP with that motherboard and stays really cool with that 80mm CPU cooler.


However, for the mini-iTX build, I switched a lot of things up. I put in a used i5-13600K in there, as well as a 240mm AIO. However, due to the constraints of the case, motherboard, and 240mm radiator, I had to use two slim Scythe Slip Stream Slim 120mm fans in pull, and removed one of the 80mm rear fans while reversing the other one to pull air in, and replaced the 140mm front fan with a Prolimatech Ultra Sleek 140mm that I never got to use. Since it's easier to get in there to replace the NVMe SSD, I removed the NVMe Extension cable.



When the case is totally closed, the heat doesn't output as easily due to the side mesh. If I need to run benchmarks or play games, I may need to adjust the fan speed higher and/or remove the side panel. I'm tempted to remove that side panel mesh filter, and cut 120mm holes on it if temps become a problem. So far, it doesn't seem I can overclock on the mini-iTX motherboard despite the higher VRM's, so I may not have to worry about it. I have noticed that it's a lot snappier than the 13600T I was using, though.
2/4/2025 Update:
I finally decided to install the WiFi on the motherboard (it didn't come with one). I had an Intel BE200, so decided to install it. An hour later, I also attached two antennas (will take pictures of the antennas later).


Using the 2.5G Ethernet port with a 1GB Cat 7 cable:

Using the Intel BE200 with two antennas:

I'm ISP bandwidth limited at 600MBps, but it's interesting that the Download and Upload speeds are faster on the WiFi, but of course the Ping will always be lower.
I went ahead and bit the bullet to buy two SilverStone Air Slimmer 120mm Slim Fans (SST-AS120B). It has definitely helped with temperatures, but I had to re-arrange a lot of the internals, and it's not the best mounting as I'll need to find the proper sized radiator fan screws.

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