i3/i5 m-ITX build, low wattage, silent

[Sin_Chase]

Hi all,

Been out of the Mini ITX world for a while so just seeing what the lay of the land is for a potential upcoming project and get some advice/hardware recommendations.

Looking to spec an i3/i5 build for a pfSense Firewall/Router. Yes, very beefy hardware for such an application but it needs to handle 1GBit Fibre and some packages. Would rather have the headroom than be CPU bound.

Key build points:
i3/i5 CPU support
Low Wattage, at least while idling/low usage
Silent (Near silent) active cooling (thinking 1 or 2 low RPM/Low dB fans, just do not think passive will cut it)
Needs to take at least 1 PCI-E/PCI expansion card in the form of a dual port gigabit NIC. Can do full or half height so case does not NEED to support full height PCI.
1 single HDD or SDD, no Optical or FDD required

Willing to look at alternative CPU recommendations but needs high IPC.

 

[cokecan]

I've recently build an i3 2120T mITX system to use as a HTPC/fileserver in a passive case (Streacom FC8) with a pico-psu. Temps are good all round and overall power consumption is very low (around 20-25watts idle)

The Streacom will also fit a full height PCI-e card too

 

[Sin_Chase]

What kind of temps are you seeing with high load?

Will a Streacom case take at least a single fan to get SOME airflow moving? As this is a firewall/router appliance it will be on 24/7/365 and I would like to keep temps lower for longevity. Bit expensive for a case though, seeing as it does not need to look good at all (Built, tested then hidden away) I would rather spend buttons on a case with active cooling than 3 figures on a passive HTPC 'looker'

 

[cokecan]

lol it is an expensive 'looker' of a case but for HTPC stuff it's kind of justifiable.

There is no space for a fan in there I'm afraid. Will check temps later but I know that when transcoding video with the cpu load stuck at 100% for 30 minutes at a time temps are still ok