Tiny PC 2021

  • After much thought, I decided that I want Lenovo ThinkCentre Tiny Gen 2 instead of a NUC 11. It is similar to HP and Dell 1L PCs, but I’ll stick with Lenovo I think. I want:
    • maybe i7-11700 (without the T) processor
    • maybe even i9
    • maybe additional USB-C port (although looks like it’s Gen 1)
    • maybe the smallest RAM/SDD and no keyboars/mouse - I supply my own…
    • maybe stand
    • maybe filter
  • but the thing is not yet configurable…
  • NUC11
    • I would prefer NUC 11 Performance to the Pro, but it is not available in US, and I do not want SimpleNuc’s home brew - which is not in stock either…
  • SAMSUNG 980 PRO 2TB PCIe NVMe Gen4 $350

    Desktop 2022

    Requirements

    • Intel Alder Lake, socket LGA1700
    • DDR5
    • PCI 4 SSD sockets
    • potential for overclocking (thus, Z690 chipset)
    • WiFi/BlueTooth: optional
    • grpahics card: not needed
    • cooling: air; I am not ready for liquid all-in-ones
    • thermal paste: non-conductive; no liquid metal
  • Questions
    • how are premium motherboards different from the non-premium ones and what do I need from those differences?
    • is there something I need in motherboard that forces ATX/mid-tower format over mini-ITX?
    • how to cool, how many case fans, where, do I want mesh case and/or mid-tower for cooling?
    • does the PSU I choose require mid-tower or is mini-ITX ok?
    • what are those x-1-1 power thingies and what do I need?
  • CPU: i9-12900K $589 BH / $520 NE; now $617
    • I know that i7-12700K is almost half price, but… $383 BH / $375 NE; now $375
  • Thermal paste: Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
  • Cooler
    • Noctua NH-U14S $90
    • Noctua NH-D15 $100
    • additional fan for the cooler
    • bracket for the Alder Lake socket
    • check compatibility with case, RAM, motherboard
  • Fans
    • https://www.pcgamer.com/best-pc-fans/
    • https://www.ign.com/articles/best-pc-fans
    • https://www.quietpc.com/casefans
  • https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/upgrading-to-intel-12th-gen-alder-lake-everything-you-need/
  • PSU
    • review
    • another review
    • calculator
    • Corsair RM550x (2021)
    • Cooler Master V750 Gold V2
    • Corsair RMx Series RM750x
    • Corsair RM850x (2021)
    • XPG Core Reactor 650Watt
    • Enermax Revolution DF 750W
  • Motherboard
  • RAM
  • Case
    • https://www.pcgamer.com/best-pc-case/
    • review
    • mini-ITX review
    • Antec P82 Silent
    • Fractal Design Define 7
    • Cooler Master Silencio S600
    • be quiet! Dark Base 700/900
    • Lian Li O11 Air Mini
  • The Build
    • CPU: i9-12900K NE $617 BH $618
    • Motherboard: MSI PRO Z690-A WiFi AM $230 NE $250 BH $250 BH bundled with i9-12900K $840
      • DOESN’T seem to support alt-mode DisplayPort over USB-C! Buy Asus…
    • CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 BH $100 NE $92 AM $100
    • Case: Fractal Design Define 7 solid BH: special order NE $195
    • RAM: CORSAIR 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 5600 (PC5 44800) CMK32GX5M2B5600C36 NE $410
    • PSU: CORSAIR RMx Series (2021) RM750x CP-9020199-NA 750W NE $120
    • SSD: Kingston KC3000 2048GB SKC3000D/2048G NE $389

      Desktop 2024

      https://pcpartpicker.com/ https://caseend.com/ https://www.quietpcusa.com/ https://hackaday.com/2021/05/25/getting-started-with-aluminum-extrusions/

Chipset: Z890. I do not need all of its power, and do not really want to pay $300+ for the motherboard, but I also do not want to discover that something I want is missing from a budget motherboard (which are not yet available anyway).

Form Factor: Mini-ITX (170 mm × 170 mm) - let’s try something small this time :)

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 285K $630 from BandH; sales tax refunded

Motherboard: Mini-ITX (170 mm × 170 mm) (2xCUDIMM, 128) - Asus ROG Strix Z890-I Gaming WiFI Amazon $450 - Asrock PHANTOM GAMING Z890I Nova WiFi NewEgg $300 (got!; $319 with tax) - RAM: 9866+; 2xTB4, front USB-C - MSI MPG Z890I EDGE TI WIFI NewEgg $370 - RAM: 8600; 2xTB4, front and rear USB-C - Gigabyte Z890I AORUS ULTRA $350 NewEgg $560 - RAM: 9200; 1xTB4, front USB-C MicroATX (244 mm × 244 mm) (4xCUDIMM, 256) - Asus: none - Asrock PHANTOM GAMING Z890M Riptide WiFi NewEgg $260 - RAM 9466MHz+; 2xTB4, front USB-C - MSI: none - Gigabyte: 1xUSB-4

CPU Cooler: NH-D15 G2 $150 at Amazon AIO probably makes more noise, and Noctua passive cooler with one fan is probably not enough…

Case: aluminum extrusions: Yoqanr or egowz; see also BeamCase - and https://www.framingtech.com/ since:

  • DeepCool CH160/CH170 with mesh side panel - company is under sanctions
  • Jonsbo C6-ITX Black (PSU/cooler clash? does not really fit D15 cooler, although its specs list 168mm and the cases’s 170
  • LianLi O11 AIR MINI - does not fit the cooler

Got egowz for $53 at Amazon. Instructions: https://www.zwzdiy.cc/M/Product/24LHST/, more specifically: https://www.zwzdiy.cc/M/Product/3875925916.html.

SSD: Samsung 990 Pro 4TB $320 - preferably without the heatsink, so I can use the one on the motherboard (although model with heatsink is cheaper at $300). - got for $322 at Amazon

RAM: CUDIMMS 2x64 are not yet available; I can give up on CUDIMMS or buy something for the new build that I will stick into the previous desktop when CUDIMMS become available…

RAM in the 2022 desktop with the MSI PRO Z690-A WiFi motherboard: max 128/192, 5600 JDEC 6400+ OC; currently, 4x16 Corsair CMK32GX5M2B5600C36 DDR5 5600 MT/s 1.1 V $ sudo dmidecode -t memory 2x48GB:

  • CORSAIR Dominator Titanium 6800 (54400) MP96GX5M2B6800C40 (Z890 also) $360 Amazon
  • CORSAIR Vengeance RGB 7200 (PC5 57600) CMH96GX5M2B7200C40 $380 (Z890 also) OOS NewEgg; $419 Amazon
  • CORSAIR Vengeance 7000 (56000) CMK96GX5M2B7000C40 $350 OOS NewEgg; $385 Amazon - got from Amazon!

around $1,855 without PSU

PSU Wattage:136-250-275-370 for CPU; 30 for motherboard; 27-37 for RAM; 9 for SSD; so, around 450.

PSU sizes:

  • ATX PS/3 150mm (W) x 86mm (H) x 140mm (D)
  • SFX 125mm (W) x 63.5mm (H) x 100mm (D); deeper for SFX-L
  • Flex ATX 81.5mm (W) x 40.5mm (H) x 150mm (D)
  • TFX12V 85 64 175

Flex/TFX are too loud with their 40mm fans, even Enhance ENP-8345L 450W Modular Platinum Flex ATX $140 at Amazon; 81.5mm (W) x 40.5mm (H) x 165mm (D).

So, SFX/SFX-L.

SilverStone SST-SX700-LPT $160 at Amazon (passive under 200W) Platinum SilverStone SST-SX800-LTI $206 at Amazon (passiwe under 160W) Titanium SeaSonic FOCUS SPX (2021) SeaSonic FOCUS SGX (2021) CoolerMaster Corsair SF750 Platinum: $180 at Amazon; ordered this one.