Dilemma going Sandy Bridge: mini-ITX or mATX... ot ATX... or E-ATX... yeah

sabregen

sabregen

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Jun 6, 2005
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So I've sold off a crapload of stuff because I'm going for an i7 2600k based build. I have the following chassis / components at my disposal:

Silver Sugo SG-02
Rocketfish Full Tower
LanGear Da Box 100
Lan Gear mini-ITX (what are we calling this thing now..? Infinity?)
Silverstone ST85F + PP05 set
Silverstone ST1000-P + PP05 set
Enlight 470W
Antec TruePower Trio 650W

The only two chassis that will be free after I rip my stuff out is the LanGear mini-ITX and the Silverstone Sugo SG02. The LanGear DaBox 100 is my encoding machine, but that COULD be moved to the Silverstone SG02 if need be.

The problem isn't really a function of what chassis to use... it's WHAT BOARD! The H67's don't allow OC'ing (from what I've been able to gather), and I must have a board with 2x DDR3 DIMM slots, HDMI output, and Optical TOSlink output. The rest is superfluos, really. But, given that the difference between the 2600 and the 2600k is $30, I'm getting the K so that I can OC on it at some point (even if it's not immediately, should I decide to go mini-ITX there are no P67 boards that I can find).

So... the questions are:

1.) Is there a P67 based mini-ITX board out at all (I can't find one)?
2.) Is there an H67 board where I can change the multipliers?
3.) Is there any H67 board other than the Intel one with digital TOSlink output?
4.) Given all the options for form factor, above, and that I CAN move systems to new housings if I need to, what would you do in my shoes? mini-ITX (love it) for gaming and skip the OC features (because you probably won't need them for gaming on the new beast of a CPU), or take advantage of the CPU that I'm getting and go back to the older and larger DaBox or Sugo SG02?

I'm all ears! Please help!
 
1 as far i see there is no p67 out yet in mini itx
2 there is no h67 i seen so far that allows overclocking


if i could i would go ahead and go with mini itx and wait for a better board to arrive . but thats just me as i cant see useing a larger case on my desktop . in the end its your decision as to what you want to do


rose.gif


Jen
 
sabregen said:
The problem isn't really a function of what chassis to use... it's WHAT BOARD! The H67's don't allow OC'ing (from what I've been able to gather), and I must have a board with 2x DDR3 DIMM slots, HDMI output, and Optical TOSlink output. The rest is superfluos, really. But, given that the difference between the 2600 and the 2600k is $30, I'm getting the K so that I can OC on it at some point (even if it's not immediately, should I decide to go mini-ITX there are no P67 boards that I can find).
Click to expand...

Overclock = p67
HDMI = h67
2600k = p67 or wasted money (non "k" cpu otherwise)

Basically your going to have to weigh your wants/needs & decide whats most important. Also are you not using a Graphics Card? If your not then it MUST be h67 as p67 does not support the integrated graphics.
 
card will be existing eVGA GTX470 or possible upgrade toe GTX570. and yeah, you're both echoing what I've found out, or am finding out. there's no superboard out there, and DFI is gone...



WHHHHHHHHHHHHY did I just sell my MI P55-T36!? :D
 
sabregen said:
card will be existing eVGA GTX470 or possible upgrade toe GTX570.
Click to expand...

In that cause HDMI on the mobo is pointless because you can't use the onboard video and discreet graphics at the same time.

Might as well go P67 board and K series CPU

If you go m-ATX there is the ASUS P8P67M-Pro http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=iT2FJPCMOGBHClu4

Haven't seen any other m-ATX boards with P67 yet, but I am sure they are coming (probably some M-ITX ones further down the track)
 
hdmi requirement is a fallback in case i decide to later reuse the board as an htpc. Thanks for the ASUS suggestion! My eyes are starting to get blurry from the list of spec sheets I've looked at today.
 
That asus board would be my pick if I was doing a matx sb build
 
If you're not looking to overclock right away (which it sounds like from your first post), grab an H67 for the backup option of onboard video. I've heard good things about the P8H67-M EVO (matx) which is a little cheaper than the P8P67-M PRO. Then later down the road, look into the Z68's which are supposed to support both onboard video and overclocking. Also, in case you weren't aware, the K cpus have better onboard graphics performance, so don't feel like you're wasting the K on a non-P67 board.
 
CrimsonFury said:
In that cause HDMI on the mobo is pointless because you can't use the onboard video and discreet graphics at the same time.

Might as well go P67 board and K series CPU

If you go m-ATX there is the ASUS P8P67M-Pro http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=iT2FJPCMOGBHClu4

Haven't seen any other m-ATX boards with P67 yet, but I am sure they are coming (probably some M-ITX ones further down the track)
Click to expand...

Windows 7 allows you to use onboard video and discrete graphics at the same time. The only thing that would keep you from doing this is if the BIOS automatically disables the onboard video once a discrete graphics card is inserted into a slot.
 
WiLLiSTER said:
. Also, in case you weren't aware, the K cpus have better onboard graphics performance,
Click to expand...

Links? I haven't seen that in any of the few reviews I have read & googling turns up only that they are equal other then overclocking features.
 
Also, the non-K's have the hardware virtualization extensions (VT-d, VT-x, etc.), but the K's do not.
 
SG02 is a pain to keep cool, though that's with us LGA1366 SG02 owners think :p Maybe the 95W sandys are nicer in this case :D
 
IsLNdbOi said:
Also, the non-K's have the hardware virtualization extensions (VT-d, VT-x, etc.), but the K's do not.
Click to expand...

anyone confirm this? Newegg lists the 2600k features as having Intel Virtualization Support... as does the 2600
 
IsLNdbOi said:
Windows 7 allows you to use onboard video and discrete graphics at the same time. The only thing that would keep you from doing this is if the BIOS automatically disables the onboard video once a discrete graphics card is inserted into a slot.
Click to expand...

The BIOS does disable the onboard when discrete card is installed. Its a limitation on the H67 chipset.
 
WiLLiSTER said:
Here's one. As I understand it, the K's are using HD3000 whereas the non-K's are using HD2000.

Edit: Here's another with more detail.
Click to expand...

Interesting.. Sounds like a real bonehead move on intel's part.. I could have seen it if the 2x i7's had the better graphics, but to make it exclusive to the overclockers that wont be using it is just retarded.
 
sabregen said:
RETARDED move. So If I want directed I/O (giving a PCI-E card directly to a VM through supporting Type 1 or Type 2 Hypervisor) I'll have to go with the non-K... that's about as dumb as anything I've ever seen before. Pay more... get less. Way to go!
Click to expand...

Pretty much, honestly I'd just wait for the 1366 successor, 1155 isn't for the power user, you're down on PCIe lanes as well. Not that it usually matters for a mITX build, but if you intend on using directed i/o, you could limit youself.
 
I've already sold off my rig at this point, so a replacement is required... as I sit here typing this from my G73 laptop :D
 
Heh. I was going to shoot for a m17x R3, but it was dissapointing beyond belief, so I kinda lost faith in power laptops, lol.... Alumi body/silver + RGBLED is extremely beautiful, especially in person :) Too bad it died with the m17xR2.

Now, all I have is a m11xR2 and several mITX builds (one still under construction :D). mITX is where it's at, IMO. If you can... go for it. Corssfire always gave me flack (HD5770 sc2 beta bug, HD5870 scaling issues and both sometimes wanted CF disabled to work better) SLI didn't give me much better (9800GX2, 8800gt SLI massive stuttering issues at 1080p, little in 1600x900, though...). So mATX's dual card setups don't impress me anymore. PCIe soundcards are overpriced and get crushed by decent USB audio DAC/amps like the NuForce uDAC2 or the HUD-MX1 (which is only sold by it's maker, Audinst, on ebay) both are superior to any PCI/PCIe soundcard on the market, today. And they aren't even the best USB audio DAC/amps out there... uDAC2 is below entry, HUD-MX1 is entry level. I've given myself a bit on thinking on this, and that's why I ended up moving from a SG02, upto a HAF932, and straght to a SG05+SG06 (both, two seperate systems :p to replace my SG02 [which moved to a P180mini] and HAF932 builds).
 
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nice SG02 ya got there! I hate the 80MM fans in it, though. I with they were 120s
 
sabregen said:
nice SG02 ya got there! I hate the 80MM fans in it, though. I with they were 120s
Click to expand...

Try watching twin HD5870s in there.... it's serious business, lol. I had a SG02 i7 930/ R2GENE / twin HD5770-->twin HD5870 for a while before I went crazy and got a P180mini, :p
 
well, the new build is on. just ordered mah schtuff. wonder when we're gonna get final retail chassis from LanGear (watch my shit not fit when I do get it).
 
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