MITX vs MATX vs ATX Power Consumption

[Xon]

Hi all

I'm making a Haswell build for a system that will be always on acting as an NVR, file server, router, and media player.

I want it to be as lower power as possible due to being always on.

I am looking at Asus H87I or Z87M but I cannot find any info on power consumption. I really like the ITX but only 1 PCIE might be an issue as would like to have 2x network cards and I will already have a GFX card.

Do you guys reckon there's any significant difference in power consumption between the form factors?

 

[stulid]

There maybe a difference, but its probably such a insignificant amount that there are bigger concerns in life.

 

[pastymuncher]

It will be miniscule. The motherboard isn't the problem when it comes to power consumption. The problem comes from the type of cpu you have (AMD FX 8000 series suck a load of power, especially when overclocked) and the graphics card you stick in the pc. Everything else in the pc consumes small amounts of power.

 

[Axeia]

May I ask why given the relatively simple tasks you want to do on it you're looking at S1150 motherboards and a separate graphics card?

If you're looking for an always on low power solution for these tasks wouldn't the AM1 platform already suffice? It's really cheap too, if you can sell the videocard you have for ~£60 you already got the costs for the top model AM1 5150 and a simple motherboard covered.
For the ethernet connections you could use something like the SYBA SY-PEX24028, USB (3.0) network cards or a PCI-E splitter can do the trick as well.

AM1 really shines in always-on mostly idle systems with an idle power usage as low as 9.6w. Compare that to the 33w+ of the most power efficient CPUs you could place in the motherboard you linked. Add to that the fact that it's an APU so videocard power usage would be included in that already. A really weak and low power videocard such as a NVIDIA GT520 already has an idle power usage of 6W. If you're using a hand-me-down ex-gaming rig videocard this would likely be more in the range of 10-40w. So let's say 9.6w vs (33w + 30 =) 63w.

Now to make things even more power efficient, you can go with a single strip of RAM since AM1 is single-channel only (half the power use of 2 strips ). Make it a low voltage one and even more power saved. Then finally because the total power use is so silly low you could use a pico-psu which is much more efficient than a regular PC power suppply. As far as I can tell without looking to hard OCUK only has a 150W model which might be a bit overkill. If you want a really sleek solution, the ASRock AM1H-ITX motherboard actually has the DC-plug on the motherboard itself. So that motherboard + a suitable laptop adapter and you're done already. I'm sure OCUK can stock it if you make a request in the product request forum.

All in all going with AM1 would be more power efficient in the order of several magnitudes of you what you're currently planning. And it should still have enough oomph to do what you want to do on it.

 

[Axeia]

Might be a bit late but just thought back of this thread while running into the new MSI Eco line, motherboards aimed at minimizing power usage and reducing their environmental footprint.

TechPowerUp: MSI Goes Black and Green with its ECO Line of Motherboards.

Edit: for clarification these might not be up for sale anywhere yet, if it's of interest to you making a request for the board you want in the OCUK product request forums might speed things up.

 

[Xon]

Thanks for the replies.

A little bit more background - this system replaces an HP Microserver N54L.

The reason for the replacement comes primarily from the fact that the microserver can't handle 2 cameras recording at 1080p, plus the Hyper-V etc. It simply dies.

I believe the AM1 Kabini and the BayTrail systems would give me pretty much the same results. Hence why i though of going with an i3 system.

The reason i am looking for something with a gfx card option is simple - besides the microserver i also have an HTPC which I switch on/off as required. If I am replacing the microserver I thought I might as well replace the seperate HTPC and go with 1 machine to rule them all.

 

[Euphoria]

It will be miniscule. The motherboard isn't the problem when it comes to power consumption. The problem comes from the type of cpu you have (AMD FX 8000 series suck a load of power, especially when overclocked) and the graphics card you stick in the pc. Everything else in the pc consumes small amounts of power.

The issue i have with some motherboards is the standby, suspend or idle power drawn. I have noticed a difference in 40W, HOWEVER when the actual motherboard is in use and not idle the amount of power you save/ use is next to non. Its how well the board can hit sleep with low power that is the tricky part.

 

[pastymuncher]

Personally i never put mine to sleep. If i am not using it then i turn it off. My whole pc is only 72w at the wall at idle though.