I have been toying with building an ITX system for... oh years now but just recently I've found myself desperate to play Stardew Valley and am struggling to wait for a hopeful console release. Most real computer tasks I do at work and for home I have a cheap-o intel based tablet, everything else is on my phone. None of the above options allow me to get my farm on.
I already have:
Bitfenix Colussus M case
Spare SSD
PSU (do ITX take 'normal' ones?)
I'm currently thinking of adding:
AMD APU (because I have intel in the tablet)
MSI A88XI mobo
Avexir Green RAM
And this is where I run into... well, my brain! I can get double the amount of RAM at a faster speed for the same price (Kingston HyperX Beast) but then I'd have to get a different motherboard because the MSI only supports 2133MHz. From here I devolve into worrying about getting best performance for cost and I no one I know in real life would have a clue what I'm talking about so... Thoughts?
My own rig:
ASRock FM2A88x-ITX+
AMD A10-7800
Thermalright AXP-200 Muscle (with Noctua NF-F12 PWM)
G.Skill Ares 2x4GB DDR3-2133 CL9
Samsung 850 Evo 250GB SSD 2.5"
Raidmax Atomic (mini-ITX)
Fractal Design Newton R3 600W
-Check the spoiler for additional info and rant on the rig-
I've had some problems with the AsRock and AMD combo, and despite multiple inquiries, the retailer wouldn't tell me what was the actual problem. Thus far, I've had to return them three times. First ones worked like two hours, then the system suddenly gave just a black screen and raised the fans to full blast. Retailer said both MB and CPU were broken, and exchanged them. Second set lasted few weeks, then the same black screen and full blast fans. Retailer said the CPU was broken. Third set lasted half a year, then the same black screen and full blast fans again. This time the components went first to the manufacturers, and the fourth set (with a refurbished MB) has lasted about a month now, so fingers crossed.
My own speculation:
When inside a case, the back side of the AsRock motherboard gets quite hot. My personal guess is that the quality control on the AsRock is the failure point, and the backside components can't take the heat, and the system doesn't understand to throttle down (no sensors to detect it, probably?). Another option is a corrupt BIOS, but from what I've understood via different forums, that usually only happens when someone tries to overclock or update the BIOS, and something goes wrong. I haven't done either one.
In any case, at least AsRock's customer care seems good: the last motherboard was missing the WiFi/BT mSata card (or is it miniPCIe?) and the holding pillar and the screw, so I asked AsRock whether they could send me the missing parts, and they agreed. Now waiting for them to arrive. Good service.
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Case:
Which Colossus M do you have? There are two M-case variants, mini-ITX and microATX. The outer dimensions are apparently the same, but the internal layout is quite different. If your case is the microATX one, then you should go for a microATX motherboard, for lower price and less cramped board layout.
Budget:
What's your budget, and are you in a hurry? If you're willing to wait, and don't mind spending a little extra, then the Zen APUs are apparently coming within a year. Should be a major step-up from the current APUs.
CPU & MB:
But, if you want to spend less, and don't want to wait, then I would recommend taking a look at A10-7860k and maybe the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI (the MSI seems quite alright as well, though). The A10-7860K has a 65W TDP, so the system should stay a little cooler, and thus quieter.
PSU:
I would also recommend taking a look at the Streacom Nano160 PSU (ST-NANO160, 160W), to reduce heat output and space requirements (or alternatively more room for air cooling).
The 600W PSU I have now is a nice semi-passive unit, but it's an overkill for an APU system. So, to reduce unnecessary heat, I recently ordered the Streacom Nano160, which should be more than enough to drive my own APU system. It should be arriving this week.
For what it matters, 160W should be enough to drive most APU systems, assuming you don't have a crazy array of HDDs and other miscellaneous components. Most of the higher end A10 APUs have 95W TDP, but even those should be OK with the 160W PSU, as long as the amount of peripherals is moderate. But it has just arrived to the market, so there are no reviews of it, yet.
In any case, if you want to keep your current PSU, don't worry. All ITX motherboards will gladly take full size PSUs. The only limitation will be the internal case dimensions.
SSD:
Well, you seem to have a spare SSD, so you're already set, but for others reading this: if your board comes with an integrated WiFi/BT card, but you have no need for either one, and can manage with only one hard drive, you should consider using an mSata SSD, to minimize the cable clutter.
RAM:
Indeed, 2133MHz is the sweet spot for the current APUs. 2400MHz gives about 3-5% fps increase. Which in real life is about 2-3 fps. So you're facing diminishing returns.
While at least most of the A88X motherboards do support 2400MHz, you just won't see the full benefit for the money you're paying. For APU memory benchmarks, check this Youtube video, as well as this review.
CPU cooler:
With ITX systems you should probably first settle down on the CPU cooler, as that sets the physical limitations for your case and RAM. The AMD stock coolers are notoriously quite noisy and inefficient. Not sure how the new AMD Wraith coolers stack up, though. In any case, for RAM, I have the G.Skill Ares, which is a low-profile set, and apparently shouldn't interfere with any of the after market coolers. There should be other manufacturers, as well.
I recently bought the Thermalright AXP-200 Muscle, and while it is indeed a very nice and fairly big top-blow cooler (so the board components have active cooling, as well), and the original fan moves surprisingly lot of air, its noise is quite noticeable and annoying. Even at low RPMs, it keeps a rasping sound. So I replaced the original thin fan with the Noctua NF-F12 PWM fan. Now I can't even hear whether it's on or off (40-50 ⁰C, 750 RPM). Unfortunately, it increases the height a little bit, from 73mm to around 85cm --> so 105mm in total, with the motherboard and its stand-offs included, so most of the very small cases can't fit the system.
That's why I'm also thinking of building a custom case to accommodate the new Streacom PSU, so I can make the system smaller, cooler and quieter.
(or if someone can find a ready case with approximately 110*180*200 inner dimensions, I would be very interested)
Wow now that's a post, thanks! From what I gather maybe avoid ASRock here, I did see the mobo you mention elsewhere but I don't think OcUK stock it (currently).
I realise I didn't mention it but I am aware the impending Zen upgrades but as I said I really wanted to play Stardew, weekend boredom! Infact I decided to buy it and see if it would run on my table because I think I remember reading that steam introduced a refund policy if it didn't and what do you know it's fine! I mean it hardly has exacting minimum spec but I'm still a little surprised.
Anyways I guess less pressure to build now and I'll go back to keeping my eye on things but to answer your question I do have the ITX Colussus M, made sure of that bit. I'm also aware that you can run these sort of systems on very low power (but didn't know about the 7860's lower TDP, which I do find appealling) however the PSU I have going is a Nox Krypton 800W which if you go and look at might see a theme starting to emerge... I realise it's overkill and would be hot but it's something that could be exchanged later (I note bitfenix have braided cable sets for certain brands which have obvious appeal). As for cooler I was going to run stock and when I felt like it upgrade to the Raijintek Trition AIO because the case has a 240 opening at the top which would be perfect - also, you know, can dye it green.
The real driving force is that I really like the avexir RAM but as I mention I've been thinking about this for a while and have watched their green offerings dwindle in a fashion that usually indicates to me they're being phased out. I guess that would take away my dilemma but at the same time I think I'd be gutted to have missed out. Red/blue/white only in DDR4 for example speaking of RAM though you say the next speed up would be a very small performance increase but what about twice as much of it? As for the diminishing returns it's not like I'd be paying over the top to get it, as mentioned it's the same price. Do you get on alright with 8GB?
My budget is a very nebulous amount depending on how much I like certain things but I think if I spent much more than the equivalent of £100 on each piece I'd feel really guilty as I hardly need any of it. That being said if I got into PC gaming more I may be willing to drop several hundred on a graphics card, I've noted you can get stubbie R9s.
I've allocated the maximum possible (at least on my MB) 2GB shared memory for the iGPU via BIOS. So with 2x4GB kit you would have 6GB free RAM for other things. For what it matters, that should be enough for any APU-oriented gaming workloads, currently. Practically all the games that would require more than that, would also be bottlenecked elsewhere, most likely. APUs offer a very good bang for buck, but they're no match for any dedicated GPU over 100€.
Personally, I see APUs as a god-send for very small systems. But the more I read about your situation, the more I would opt for a dedicated CPU and GPU, instead. Your case should have plenty of space, at least, and with the higher watt PSU, there's no fear of wattage running out. Then again, if you want something affordable now, and plan to upgrade it later in the future, then APU is a fine starting point for entry-level gaming.
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