Spec me a small PC with superb single core performance. Graphics not important.

[Feek]

I'm looking for a super small PC with the fastest possible single core performance using an Intel CPU.

Graphics performance is simply irrelevant because it won't have a monitor attached, I'll be using it headless for an application that doesn't really use the graphics card.

It needs 32Gb memory and a decent speed nvme. Someone has said it should have a Z790 chipset motherboard but that means nothing to me.

As quiet as possible. Ideally it'll be small enough to sit on top of my radio but that's probably not possible.

I know nothing of modern PC specs and I have no parts whatsoever so it's over to you, the knowledgable OcUK members

What do you suggest?

 

[Feek]

budget?

It costs what it costs, I don't have a specific budget but that doesn't mean that the sky is the limit. I really have zero idea what pc components cost these days because I haven't bought anything since around the time that Vista came out.

will you want to overclock to get the max single core perf?

Not really, no.

 

[Feek]

Thanks - I can look at the spec but I have no idea what individual components I need to put together to build a PC.

I mean, I know I need a PSU, case, motherboard, memory, cpu and nvme but it has literally been fifteen years since I built one.

 

[Feek]

Actually @dymetrie, that's a really valid point. A little Dell Optiplex has an i5-13500T which is only 12% slower in single core mode than the i5-13600k that @tamzzy has mentioned and only 2% or slower than the i3-13100.

 

[Feek]

13600k build

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Intel Core i5-13600K (Raptor Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6AV-IN) = £299.99
• 1 x Asrock Z790M-ITX WiFi (LGA 1700) DDR5 ITX Motherboard (SKU: MB-199-AK) = £244.99
• 1 x Kingston FURY Renegade 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C32 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MY-29P-KS) = £128.99
• 1 x WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E) (SKU: HD-58F-WD) = £47.99
• 1 x Cooler Master MasterBox NR200P Mini-ITX Case - Black Tempered Glass (SKU: CA-385-CM) = £99.94
• 1 x be quiet! SFX-L Power 500W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply (SKU: CA-139-BQ) = £103.00
• 1 x Cooler Master MasterLiquid Lite 240 AIO CPU Cooler - 240mm (SKU: HS-07L-CM) = £62.99

Total: £999.88 (includes delivery: £11.98)​

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But still looking for peak performance, would an i7-13700k go in there?

 

[Feek]

The little form factor does mean a lot and I’ve managed to pick up a micro Dell Optiplex with the i7-13700T, brand new for £645. I’ll upgrade the memory to 32 Gb. That’ll do me nicely.