Recommend Mini ITX combo.

[motherboard1]

I've got a GTX 970 acx2.0 that I'd rather plant in a system and loan to a friend than try to sell. So I'm thinking of jamming it into something like a
Raijintek Metis case. I have the PSU and GPU so I need to look at CPU/Mini Mobo combos. I'm fine with my FX-8350 performance in games, but for peace of mind I'll say I'd like the performance to exceed the FX-8350.

I'm not against butchering the Raijintek Metis case for better cooling (haven't bought this yet, but think that's where I'm going with it) so I'm not too worried about heat. If anybody is into Mini builds, Recommendations appreciated.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

A Skylake i5 with 8GB of DDR4 would be plenty.

Not sure what your budget is...

 

[motherboard1]

Budget is not an issue. Just trying to be sensible with the build. (Irony, considering the space : hardware ratio)

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Budget is not an issue. Just trying to be sensible with the build. (Irony, considering the space : hardware ratio)

Take a look in my sig, Little Power is mITX based.

If it'll be used for anything like Photoshop or CAD then I would suggest getting either an i7 or hyperthreaded Xeon.
If not, an i5 or Xeon without hyperthreading will be plenty.

Of course, if overclocking is a need here then you need to stick to a Z chipset and a K CPU.

 

[Woomack]

I'm using MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC, 6600K, GTX960 ITX Gigabyte in Metis and it works good. I was trying to fit there water cooling which is possible but all was really tight with radiator outside. Right now I'm testing something so all is outside the case but will put all together soon and probably on air cooling just because of costs. Making all as I wish using water would cost me $200+ while I got cryorig coolers for tests which I can use in this case.

here is link to last photo -> http://www.overclockers.com/forums/...rdware-abuse?p=7866786&viewfull=1#post7866786

One thing is that this MSI ITX board is supporting only 2242/2262 M.2 SSD ( on back of the board ) but except that it's probably the best Z170 ITX board on the market. Memory is overclocking great. Right now I have there 2x8GB Trident Z @3600 17-18-18.

If you want to compare i5 6600K to i7 6700K then count about 3-5*C more under full load on i7. Still even average cooler can keep them at about 4.5GHz 1.25-1.30V.

 

[BugFreak]

The intel setup in my sig is a mini-itx in a Bitfenix Prodigy. There is plenty of room in there and the performance is great. Its no Skylake but will save you a little on the build. The case would need no modifications for watercooling either.

 

[Woomack]

I'm using Prodigy for NAS as it has a lot of space for HDD - using 6xHDD+1xSSD right now. However it's a big case comparing to Raijintek Mantis and has additional restrictions regarding PSU size. Mantis is supporting longer PSUs but is problem to make something with all the cables.

 

[motherboard1]

Ok, so I've been juggling the idea for a while, but recent revelations that my FX - 8350/1600mhz RAM main system is choking my GTX 980Ti to a good degree in some of the newest titles means that I'm now looking to replace it with a Top End Intel Core. So that kind of swayed me away from a super small build, and my FX build will now instead become the secondary.

I've already decided on a Bitfenix Prodigy M and I've gone ahead and bought one.

So I've decided on going with a Skylake 6600 or 6700k. Now comes probably the most exhausting part of system shopping. The motherboard.

I'd like to be able to run high speed RAM, like 2666mhz, and I definitely don't need Wifi on board, since I already have a USB plugin adapter. USB ports are great because a tend to plug in a lot of stuff.

I Would Prefer Mini, all things being equal, because it keeps the door open for future down sizing of the system Profile, and I have no interest in stacking GPU's. But realistically I understand I'd probably be better off going Micro ITX.

So if anybody has been in this game recently and has opinions or preferences on Skylake motherboards, I'd appreciate any guidance you might want to offer up.

 

[Woomack]

High speed ram is 3600+ already ... every Z170 motherboard supports 3200+.
The best ITX mobo for Z170 which I had a chance to test and is not really overpriced is MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC. It has everything you may need and overclocks great.
If you don't want to spend much and micro ATX format is good then MSI Z170 Mortar seems a nice board. I got one for my gaming PC and it works without issues, stable etc. Right now with 3200 memory but will check something higher in some time ( supposed to work with 3600+ too ).
ASRock ITX boards have their limits. I didn't like their highest ITX board and I switched it to MSI which was cheaper, better looking and was offering higher clock/voltage limits.

There are other options too but I'm saying what I had a chance to test.

 

[Witchdoctor]

Just got done with a mITX build, used the Asus 170i Pro Gamer.
It worked well and supports 80mm m.2 drives
I would give the board my seal of approval
However if not overclocking not convinced I would pay the premium

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/769391-Client-mITX-Gamer

 

[Woomack]

so you switched MSI to ASUS or it's another build ?
MSI is great but it supports only shorter M.2 SSD

 

[Witchdoctor]

I did due to that very fact.

80mm is the standard for performance based M.2s

I think this was a poor decision for MSI not to support 80 mm drives on what is marketed as a enthusiast level solution

 

[Woomack]

For some reason it still supports these fast PCIe M.2 SSD ... the only problem is that no one is manufacturing them in any smaller format than 80mm. As I mentioned in your thread, slot is supporting all SSD but it's hard to place it there as on the way is one small chip and no additional holes. In this case other board is better idea.
Other thing is that in games you can't really see difference between new SSD. What matters is that's SSD.

 

[Witchdoctor]

true dat

 

[motherboard1]

Should I expect a struggle trying to install Windows 7 with MSI ? Lots of reviews say it was a trial.

 

[Mandrake4565]

Should I expect a struggle trying to install Windows 7 with MSI ? Lots of reviews say it was a trial.

I didn't have any issues installing W7 on my Msi Xpower Z170

 

[motherboard1]

There really aren't that many options for boards supporting more than 2133mhz RAM, it's hard to find one with all the characteristics you want at a reasonable price.

Looks like I might be going with the MSI Z170 Mortar that woomack suggested, it's Micro instead of mini, and doesn't have quite as many rear USB slots as I'd like, but the price is about right and it works.

Then I'm looking at this,

ASRock Z170M-ITX/ac LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=ASRock_Z170M-ITX-_-13-157-651-_-Product

and

ASRock ASRock Fatal1ty Gaming Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=ASRock_Z170M-ITX-_-13-157-650-_-Product

but I don't have much of an endorsement for ASRock

 

[motherboard1]

There really aren't that many options for boards supporting more than 2133mhz RAM, it's hard to find one with all the characteristics you want at a reasonable price.

Looks like I might be going with the MSI Z170 Mortar that woomack suggested, it's Micro instead of mini, and doesn't have quite as many rear USB slots as I'd like, but the price is about right and it works.

Then I'm looking at this,

ASRock Z170M-ITX/ac LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=ASRock_Z170M-ITX-_-13-157-651-_-Product

and

ASRock ASRock Fatal1ty Gaming Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=ASRock_Z170M-ITX-_-13-157-650-_-Product

but I don't have much of an endorsement for ASRock

 

[Woomack]

I can only say that I didn't like ASRock ITX Gaming but I look at different things than most users. Both ITX ASRock boards should offer about the same as MSI Mortar or anything else if you only want to overclock it a bit and use it for gaming etc. Just check if board has all the features that you need.

 

[Woomack]

My Mortar works fine with G.Skill Trident Z and Patriot Viper Elite but I had no time to play at higher clocks than 3200. XMP works fine so far.
Nearly every manufacturer will mark anything above 3200 memory clock as OC as in theory it depends also from CPU if memory will run higher. You can check on tested memory list that this motherboard supports higher frequencies. List of tested memory kits is quite long. Considering that most memory kits are based on the same 3-4 IC then I wouldn't worry about compatibility.