Help building a powerful small factor computer for heavy programming

[Habitats]

I need a work computer, and I don't really know where to begin as I haven't been updated in the hardware field for a while. I've copy/pasted the relevant questions from the sticky blow:

1. What will you be doing with this PC?
Programming, compiling code, lots of stuff running at all times.

3. What's your budget?
5k USD

4. Where do you live?
Norway, internet is key.

5. What exact parts do you need for that budget?
- CPU (i7 Kaby)
- Motherboard
- RAM (preferably 64GB)
- 512GB SSD (or similar)
- ... and a simplistic (preferably small) case.

6. If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
No reuse.

7. What specific features do you need in a motherboard?
require: USB3, DisplayPort, support for 3x4K monitors.

8. What resolution output do you need?
3x4K monitors.

9. Does this system need to fit into a particular space and do you need an optical drive?
No particular limits.

10. How comfortable are you with custom case design/modification and electrical wiring?
I can do whatever.

11. How important is the noise/silence of this sytem?
Should not make more sound than a laptop -- it's an "open workspace" computer.

12. How mobile does this system need to be?
It must be quite movable, but not portable.

 

[St1X]

for programming I'd recommend you to go with AMD R7 1700 instead of i7. Of course you can try to get yourself 6+ core Skylake-X, but I am not sure they have any ITX MoBos yet.

 

[rfarmer]

for programming I'd recommend you to go with AMD R7 1700 instead of i7. Of course you can try to get yourself 6+ core Skylake-X, but I am not sure they have any ITX MoBos yet.

 

[Boil]

for programming I'd recommend you to go with AMD R7 1700 instead of i7. Of course you can try to get yourself 6+ core Skylake-X, but I am not sure they have any ITX MoBos yet.

Not out yet (no idea when it will drop?), too hot (possibility of VRM issues?), more expensive than a X370 / R7 1700 solution...

 

[rfarmer]

Not out yet (no idea when it will drop?), too hot (possibility of VRM issues?), more expensive than a X370 / R7 1700 solution...

Oh yeah I have to agree, I think Ryzen would be a much better choice. Definitely a better deal and there are some mitx AM4 boards to choose from now.

 

[Findecanor]

* mITX motherboards have only two DIMM slots, which would limit you to 32GB (2×16). You would need at least a mATX for 4×16GB.
Edit: Yes there is one X99 board and one announced X299 board with four SODIMM slots, but.. that's not much choice.

* Three high-resolution monitors would require a discrete graphics card.
Integrated graphics on motherboard is often limited to one HDMI and one DVI, where only the latest HDMI standards will support Ultra-HD resolution (3840×2160). You won't find more than one DisplayPort either and only on some of the highest-end motherboards unfortunately.
Only socket 1151 supports integrated graphics. 6+ core Intel does not, Ryzen does not (at the moment, low-end Ryzen will in the future).

* A Intel Skylake or Kaby Lake i7 runs quite hot. You will need a tower cooler or an all-in-one water cooler.
AMD Ryzen CPUs run cooler with more cores, only with slightly less performance per core than Intel - but it would be better for many applications at once. However, there are no really good mITX or mATX form-factor motherboards for other than low-end AMD Ryzen. You would have to go up to ATX size for the X370 chip set and good power delivery.
The X299 platform is much less mature and does not look good on the power front either.
The socket 1151 and X99 platforms do have several good motherboards in mATX form factor though.

So, I am afraid that you would have to give up on SFF.

For ATX, I suggest that you look at Fractal Design Define C and Corsair 400Q. Neither is anywhere near SFF but both come with sound dampening and good options for cable management and dust filters.

 

[kyjol]

* A Intel Skylake or Kaby Lake i7 runs quite hot. You will need a tower cooler or an all-in-one water cooler.
AMD Ryzen CPUs run cooler with more cores, only with slightly less performance per core than Intel - but it would be better for many applications at once. However, there are no really good mITX or mATX form-factor motherboards for other than low-end AMD Ryzen. You would have to go up to ATX size for the X370 chip set and good power delivery.

Can you explain what a 'low-end AMD Ryzen' is compared to a high-end one, and why the released mITX boards (including the X370 based ASRock one) are not suited for those?

 

[Habitats]

Thanks for great answers so far. I guess a true SFF is the lightest of my requirements. I could definitely go up a notch. Disregarding size, would Ryzen still be preferable? I just kind of always went for Intel, and I've never been disappointed. AMD GPU's on the other hand ...

 

[greyhound]

*
* A Intel Skylake or Kaby Lake i7 runs quite hot. You will need a tower cooler or an all-in-one water cooler.
AMD Ryzen CPUs run cooler with more cores, only with slightly less performance per core than Intel - but it would be better for many applications at once. However, there are no really good mITX or mATX form-factor motherboards for other than low-end AMD Ryzen. You would have to go up to ATX size for the X370 chip set and good power delivery.

the 370 chipset adds nothing over the 350 in mitx motherboards.
any itx motherboard with at least a 350 can close to max any ryzen oc..you just have to be careful with rams.

ps: going for a x299 is madness as the threadripper cpu are about to release and are able to offer the same performances at HALF the price

 

[St1X]

Disregarding size, would Ryzen still be preferable?

If you want maximum performance regardless the price - than no, it's not preferable. Otherwise you'll get more bang for a buck for productivity software with Ryzen

 

[Findecanor]

any itx motherboard with at least a 350 can close to max any ryzen oc..you just have to be careful with rams.

From what I have read, they tend to struggle and get hot, which is bad for longevity of the board. If you do get a B350 motherboard then do at least get one with heat sinks for both CPU and SoC power. Many B350 cards out there don't have any heat sinks on the VRM at all.
There is a X370 board in mITX and one in mATX but both are really B350 designs and not taking advantage of the better chipset.
I also think that the mITX and mATX boards for AM4 that I have seen have not had as many interesting features as boards for Intel 1151.
I get the impression that motherboard manufacturers still think of AMD as the "budget" alternative, so they tend to produce mostly budget boards for the platform.

 

[Hermit2001]

Just pitching in... The X99-ITX can take 32GB sticks, 64GB sticks and 128GB sticks. So: 256GB max. But needs Xeon, there should be some cheaper options on eBay these days.
Also you could benefit from ECC.

 

[whatevs]

Some bad information in here. Of course your mileage may vary...

ASRock Deskmini 110W mini-STX(not ITX) + i7-7700 + 2x16GB DDR4 + 500GB 960 EVO + 2x2.5" HDD
delided i7-7700 with Grizzly Conductonaut(liquid metal)
plain Noctua NH-l9i with stock fan and stock NT-H1 thermal paste

Compiling userdebug Android 7 AOSP build for Nexus 5X takes one hour 9 minutes 48 seconds, with "make -j16" (16 parallel tasks) pegs the CPU at 100% for 95% of time and creates 40GB+ of data on disk.
CPU peaks at 60C/61C, got a little higher to 65C with web browsing,... but goes back to 60/61 if i leave alone.
Clarify: Win 10 Pro host, ubuntu 16.04 hyper-v VM with 16GB RAM and 8 threads was doing the compile.

It gets a hotter during artificial CPU torture tests, but in REAL workloads...

This is in inside a good mini-STX case but VESA mounted behind hot monitor. Neither the 960 EVO were VM VHD sits nor the HDDs nor PCH go too hot. All cores running 4Ghz when pushed. 52C PCH, 44C HDDs(basically soaking heat, not active), 46C 960 EVO. My AC is set to 72F/22C but room is warmer. Those numbers all go down a lot during normal idle/web browsing usage.

It idles around 31C after extended usage.

(power is monitor and PC only) look at average, started at compile and picture is from one minute after. FYI, 2600 rpm on Noctua is just loud wind, not bothersome at all.

Anyway, point is, temps are just fine with smaller builds.
edit: system idles/browses at cant hear RPM levels, i just have aggressive fan profile and fan logic takes into account PCH temps somehow, not solely based on CPU like other boards ive used. Just wanted to make clear, i like quiet more than most, and i find this very usable.

 

[STR]

ps: going for a x299 is madness as the threadripper cpu are about to release and are able to offer the same performances at HALF the price

Except there is roughly zero chance anyone (even ASRock) is going to be able to fit a TR4 socket on a ITX board. I haven't even seen anyone announce a mATX TR4 board. Most announced X399 products are E-ATX.

If you want power, and you want small, you do not get cheap. As always, pick 2 of 3.

 

[phantommaggot]

http://www.asrockrack.com/general/products.asp#Server
Dig around in there...