Help decide what CPU to get for AsRock DeskMini110

alinescoo

Junior Member
Jan 10, 2017
10
0
6
Basically it all comes to this: at the moment, on my PC with Android Studio while running an emulator and compiling, my CPU (i5 3350p) gets on all cores over 90% usage, probably it goes to 100%.

Given that AsRock DeskMini 110 supports CPUs with TDP up to 65W and the fact that in only has the CPU COOLER as the only ventilation solution, I don't know what CPU to get. Since the PC is used a lot and it's on my desk, I want it to be as silent as possible.

Now that the new Kaby Lake is out, I have a few options to choose from:
i7 7700 vs i7 7700T vs i5 7600 vs i5 7600T vs maybe i3 7320

I don't know if I really need a i7, maybe a i5 would work perfectly fine. I don't know if I should get a regular or a T version, given the lower TDP and the case housing the CPU. A 35W TPD should generate less heat, making the cooler spin slower, resulting in a more silent computing. However, I don't know how much performance drop is between regular CPU and it's T version, considering that the price are quite the same and I am not sure if T has stock cooler included or not.

Your advice is appreciate it. Thank you.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,226
9,990
126
I've only had a G4400 and a G3900 in my two DeskMini 110 units, but they're fairly silent. Granted, I don't think I've ever tried DC on mine, or put them at 100% load. I know that Intel stock fans CAN get noisy, under full load or higher temps.

I was looking at upgrading my units to G4600 CPUs, that's a 3.6Ghz Kaby Lake Pentium with HT.
 
  • Like
Reactions: alinescoo

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,226
9,990
126
Well, as a general rule, I like to overclock, and the H110 chipset in the DeskMini will not do that.

Also, I am using one on ethernet, and one I'm using the included Intel 3160 1x1 AC433 Wifi, and it was cutting out and disconnecting every hour or so, during heavy usage. It was using the out-of-the-box drivers from Win10 64-bit 1607. I manually downloaded the newest drivers from Intel and installed them, and now things seem better. But it's also colder out now, so it could have been overheating before, and the colder weather fixed it, I can't totally say, if it was that or the new drivers.

I do like the DeskMini on the whole, though. I plan on selling my gaming towers, and just using the DeskMinis.

Also, I have mine connected to a pair of 40" 4K UHD TVs. I was using the HDMI output, which is only HDMI 1.4, and can only do 4K30. So I bought a pair of Club3D DisplayPort-to-HDMI2.0 active adapters ($30, Newegg on ebay), and am using those to get 4K60. Unfortunately, my UHD TVs only do 4:2:0 chroma, at 4K60, but they will do 4:4:4 at 4K30, at least on my 7950 3GB Radeon card.
 
  • Like
Reactions: alinescoo

Bouowmx

Golden Member
Nov 13, 2016
1,138
550
146
The performance decrease of choosing a T processor is the frequency. See Turbo frequencies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaby_Lake#Desktop_Processors
However, a T processor may not maintain maximum frequency under stress (especially concurrent AVX2 and GPU load) because of low TDP.

Alternatively, you can choose a standard-power processor and implement power limit in BIOS for more flexibility: http://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/4905#5

EDIT: I remember Intel Extreme Tuning Utility is able to adjust power limit while in Windows.

Intel Core i3-7320 is 40 USD more than the 7100, and you get 0.2 GHz and 1-MB L3 cache. Worth?

If you do not care about AVX(2), Pentium G4600 (GT2 graphics) and G4560 (GT1) are cheaper alternatives to Core i3.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: alinescoo

jana519

Senior member
Jul 12, 2014
771
100
106
How important is performance and compilation time? Is this professional or a hobby? If the metric is maximum performance and fastest compilation time, you want the i7. However if value is a factor, the i5 is still damn fast and costs a good bit less.

You're looking at a 15-20% performance hit for a "T" series processor. Personally, I'd just get a quieter fan like a Noctua. I'd rather run a quieter system with higher temps and 15-20% better CPU performance than a system with lower temps and less performance. Basically it's a trade-off of CPU temps for performance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: alinescoo

alinescoo

Junior Member
Jan 10, 2017
10
0
6
My main concern in getting a i7 7700 would be its TDP of 65W which may dissipate a lot of heat, resulting in noisy cooler...
Noisy cooler was the reason I've given up on the idea of getting a Intel Skull Canyon.

So I could take a regular i7 7700 and lower its power from the bios? That sounds interesting.

Since i5 and i7 have the same TDP, does that mean that under same usage, they both would generate the same amount of heat?

@VirtualLarry: but the iGPU of KabyLake can't replace a gaming tower... and there is no way of using a discrete GPU, right?

And yes, I am a software developer that uses the system 95% for development. I would have liked to have Iris Pro and be able to play some old games titles but I guess it's not possible. Deskmini seems the best compromise between performance and size. Other NUCs are either with mobile CPUs or not really silent or more expensive.
 

jana519

Senior member
Jul 12, 2014
771
100
106
65W isn't a lot in a chassis with 45mm clearance. You have a lot of cooling options to choose from.
 

alinescoo

Junior Member
Jan 10, 2017
10
0
6
I haven't purchased yet and I've got to say, that new Deskmini GTX looks amazing. Thank you very much, I was not aware of it.
Hmmm, maybe I should keep an eye on that and get the i7...
 

sm625

Diamond Member
May 6, 2011
8,172
137
106
Always opt for the higher TDP/ higher frequency processor if the price is the same. You can always tweak your power or frequency later on if it gets too hot. Chances are it wont anyway. Even in a tiny case you can still run at 65 watts for a short amount of time. If I was going to be doing a 2 hour batch encode job on a system like that, what I would do is run a simple batch file that sets the CPU frequency below 100%:

powercfg -setacvalueindex SCHEME_BALANCED SUB_PROCESSOR PROCTHROTTLEMAX 80
powercfg.exe -setactive SCHEME_CURRENT​
 
  • Like
Reactions: alinescoo

alinescoo

Junior Member
Jan 10, 2017
10
0
6
I've watched a review of the new i3 k and saw that actually hyper-threading cores aren't really the same as hardware ones.
Given that i7 7700 has 4 physical cores and 4 hyper-threading maybe i5 isn't such a bad choice after all? I could almost get a 960 EVO M2 on the price diff between i5 and i7...
 

Ancalagon44

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2010
3,274
202
106
I've watched a review of the new i3 k and saw that actually hyper-threading cores aren't really the same as hardware ones.
Given that i7 7700 has 4 physical cores and 4 hyper-threading maybe i5 isn't such a bad choice after all? I could almost get a 960 EVO M2 on the price diff between i5 and i7...

They aren't the same, quite right, but that doesn't make hyper threading worthless.

Hyperthreading basically makes cores more efficient by allowing them to do one task while waiting for another task to complete. So, if a core is waiting to get a bit of data from your hard drive, it can process something else while it waits.

EDIT: If you don't have an SSD, I'd say rather get the i5 and an SSD. If you can afford an SSD and an i5 (even if the SSD is not a top of the line SSD), then consider getting an i7.
 

alinescoo

Junior Member
Jan 10, 2017
10
0
6
The rest of the configuration will be 960 EVO M2 250GB and 16GB RAM
So probably just go with i7 then...
 

alinescoo

Junior Member
Jan 10, 2017
10
0
6
What do you mean? Deskmini should fit CPUs up to 65W TDP, a M2 PCIe SSD, 2 SODIMM RAM modules and I believe also a 2.5" drive..
 

alinescoo

Junior Member
Jan 10, 2017
10
0
6
A little question, how noisy is the stock intel cooler at regular usage, browsing, nothing fancy?
In the end, I see no other real option than i7 7700 or mayne i7 6700 is price is smaller
 

Ranulf

Platinum Member
Jul 18, 2001
2,331
1,139
136
Its ok but they are not that quiet. I am picky these days though. If you're getting a K version chip, you'll have to buy a custom cooler anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: alinescoo