What's this, a MITX board with decent port placement?!

I like the idea, but most M-ITX build going to be compact, and a octacore CPU pumps out a lot of heat, plus you don't have quad channel memory either. I would imagine finding a CPU cooler will be pretty hard, and the one that comes with it, doesn't seem like it will handle the CPU heat in a compact environment and a respective temperature.

I like the idea, but most M-ITX build going to be compact, and a octacore CPU pumps out a lot of heat, plus you don't have quad channel memory either. I would imagine finding a CPU cooler will be pretty hard, and the one that comes with it, doesn't seem like it will handle the CPU heat in a compact environment and a respective temperature.

If the fan is a high RPM(which looking at the width of it, it might be) then it can vent that hot air out. 1U server racks are thinner, and usually have say multiple core cpus well in the 90w+ range in a thinner package and while they still put off some heat they still manage to stay cool enough to operate. The dual memory slots is kind of confusing...I would say if there were 204-pin ddr4 dimms they could get away with that, but there are not right now.

Somehow I don't see many people going for such a board tbh. As you guys have stated already, you buy a quad channel platform to use two DIMMs, you get 28 or 40 PCIe lanes to use a single card with it... What a fail :3eyes:

Somehow I don't see many people going for such a board tbh. As you guys have stated already, you buy a quad channel platform to use two DIMMs, you get 28 or 40 PCIe lanes to use a single card with it... What a fail :3eyes:

So... Because you don't see the point behind mini-itx, you don't think many others will, either?

Aaaaaaaaaaawww... what a cute! and that little fan cooler <3

Still don't understand why there is a market for this?

Having a nice gaming rig that can handle anything on the market, WITHOUT taking up a significant amount of room? Last year i built myself a Mini-ITX system with the specs in my profile (except using a GTX 760, not my current 970). Whole thing i think cost me like $700-800, runs cool and quiet as hell. Went from a computer running in a CoolerMaster Cosmos II, with 7 CASE fans, plus the PSU fan, fan on the CPU heatsink, and the GPU fan(s)..... to my current BitFenix Prodigy, with ONE case fan, a fan on the radiator cooling the CPU, and the GPU fans. Ran everything i played great until a few games just recently (basically just Dying Light... had to bump the details down a fair bit with that one). Recently upgraded to a GTX 970, and this computer is a little beast. Yes, i could have gone for an even more PHYSICALLY small case than the Prodigy, but i also wanted to have plenty of cooling options, an optical drive, enough room for a few hard drives and a SSD or two, and not be restricted by needing to use shoter/low-profile GPU's and/or SFF PSU's. Also like having a nice amount of room to work with inside the case. Granted, there's not an ABUNDANCE of room in the Prodigy, especially compared to the Cosmos II, but it's more than a lot of the other Mini-ITX chassis offer. To be completely honest.... now that i have a Mini-ITX rig.... i don't really see the point in using anything bigger.

Why? Because X99 supports quad-channel memory (which I can't imagine making a real-world difference) and SLI (which isn't really a necessity)? If i had ample money, I'd probably go high end in a small form factor again. What the CHIPSET supports isn't important to me. I'd have probably even gone with a cheaper motherboard than the one I have (which was the best at the time), but the next step down had poor placement for power headers and such for the chassis I was using.

So... Because you don't see the point behind mini-itx, you don't think many others will, either?

I'm not talking about the form factor. It's just I don't see any sense in paying more money to use that little hardware connectivity. With only one GPU and only two ram sticks, I personally don't see much sense in going X99.

For people who might want the added benefits of the X99 chipset, who already have a Mini-ITX build, but don't feel like also having to buy a new chassis as well? For people who like having gaming rigs with all the high-end hardware they feel they need, without focusing on things that aren't really of any benefit aside from benchmark scores? You say you don't see the sense in going X99 with only one GPU and only dual-channel memory. I say that SLI/Crossfire is a waste of money since modern high-end video cards can handle a LOT more than they used to (Unless you're planning on going for something like three 4K displays... at which point i'd probably STILL say it's a waste of money), and quad-channel memory doesn't really offer any noticeable performance improvement over dual-channel. My current setup can handle any game i've thrown at it so far.... even Dying Light with maximum details at 1920x1080. So tell me again... why would you need to have 2-3 video cards and quad-channel memory?

For people who might want the added benefits of the X99 chipset, who already have a Mini-ITX build, but don't feel like also having to buy a new chassis as well? For people who like having gaming rigs with all the high-end hardware they feel they need, without focusing on things that aren't really of any benefit aside from benchmark scores? You say you don't see the sense in going X99 with only one GPU and only dual-channel memory. I say that SLI/Crossfire is a waste of money since modern high-end video cards can handle a LOT more than they used to (Unless you're planning on going for something like three 4K displays... at which point i'd probably STILL say it's a waste of money), and quad-channel memory doesn't really offer any noticeable performance improvement over dual-channel. My current setup can handle any game i've thrown at it so far.... even Dying Light with maximum details at 1920x1080. So tell me again... why would you need to have 2-3 video cards and quad-channel memory?

What are those added benefits of the X99 chipset you're mentioning? If people already have got small builds that's fine, but that is probably already working out. As for people wanting high end builds with stuff besides benching, that's where you can already go with Z97 chipsets and platforms, like the build you mention and own. If you don't want to go X99, SLI and quad channel memory that's fine, but tbh if you hit a single 4K display and want to play games with eye candy, you'll risk running into limitations quite fast as of now. Also, quad channel memory might not be interesting to you, but I've made the experience that even tripple channel memory adds long term benefits. I'm still running strong compared to friend's dual channel memory setups, and that with 1000MHz ram, just because of increased bandwidth. If your setup is already handling everything you throw it at that nicely, why even go X99? That somewhat contradicts your own statement of not needing more performance, so why bother in going for the enthusiasts platform besides bragging rights? I know why I went with X99, SLI and quad channel memory: because I want to have a system that can feed my upcoming 1440p screen with above 100fps when playing FPS games. Going with a small build would somehow work against that, as there is no setup where I can load my maps as fast as with this memory configuration, or those fps. I'd be interested in knowing the benefits you see, possibly understanding you, but it doesn't help if you don't name those benefits you speak of 🙂

the benefits i speak of in regards to upgrading one's motherboard to a new chipset are connectivity upgrades. Using the current board under discussion over my current board, that'd be the USB 3.1, M.2 socket, and SATA Express. And you seem to be jumping the gun on my statement a bit. I never said anything about upgrading to X99 MYSELF. I don't plan on another decent overhaul for probably a year or two. Had i been still on my previous build and just NOW considered Mini-ITX... i might look at X99 as a possibility.... but my current setup is still new enough that it's not even remotely necessary to upgrade at this point. I'm also wondering where everyone seems to keep getting the idea that i'm running a Z97 chipset? Yes.... you'd need dual GPU's to reach that drastic of a framerate, which even for Battlefield Hardline you'd need dual GTX 980's, and still not quite hit that mark at that high of a resolution (though i don't know why people are so obsessed with NOT sacrificing a tiny bit of detail in exchange). But i'm sorry, where exactly does ANYTHING about X99 help your MAPS load faster? Last i checked, your game maps aren't stored in memory for any length of time unless you're playing that map.... at which point you could have the fastest memory in the world, but it wouldn't make a lick of difference if you're not using a fast data storage media.

the benefits i speak of in regards to upgrading one's motherboard to a new chipset are connectivity upgrades. Using the current board under discussion over my current board, that'd be the USB 3.1, M.2 socket, and SATA Express. And you seem to be jumping the gun on my statement a bit. I never said anything about upgrading to X99 MYSELF. I don't plan on another decent overhaul for probably a year or two. Had i been still on my previous build and just NOW considered Mini-ITX... i might look at X99 as a possibility.... but my current setup is still new enough that it's not even remotely necessary to upgrade at this point. I'm also wondering where everyone seems to keep getting the idea that i'm running a Z97 chipset? Yes.... you'd need dual GPU's to reach that drastic of a framerate, which even for Battlefield Hardline you'd need dual GTX 980's, and still not quite hit that mark at that high of a resolution (though i don't know why people are so obsessed with NOT sacrificing a tiny bit of detail in exchange). But i'm sorry, where exactly does ANYTHING about X99 help your MAPS load faster? Last i checked, your game maps aren't stored in memory for any length of time unless you're playing that map.... at which point you could have the fastest memory in the world, but it wouldn't make a lick of difference if you're not using a fast data storage media.

Well now I see where the advantages you speak of are! 🙂 Yes, there currently is no other board supporting USB 3.1 with this form factor. M2 and Sata Express you could get with another board too, like the ASrock Z97E-itx board, that's why I was wondering. If USB 3.1 adds that much in advantage over 3.0 that it makes the improved costs valid, is subject to personal tastes I guess. Going for a hexa core CPU might have it's special purpose too, but not necessarily for a gaming rig, imho. Well with the IQ you're absolutely right, or course one could go down on the eye candy to get max frame rates, but to my personal tastes, I don't invest hundreds or thousands of $ / € / pounds to play at minimum detail... again, that's a matter of taste, just like the need for Sata Express or USB 3.1 or M2. To my personal experience, my current rig still loads maps as fast as other people's rigs running high clocked dual channel memory with slower harddisks than me. I've helped pick the parts for their last upgrades, and until then I was loading BF4 maps faster than all my friends, where as they were using the same harddisks but dual channel, higher clocked ram, and faster processors, etc. So the only thing really different from my rig was the memory configuration, comparing bandwidth to RAM clocks. So I was wondering what makes people want to go Haswell-E on the smaller form factor, but well, I guess the market for such an platform seems to be totally different in what I look for in an enthusiast's platform like the 2011-3 platform. But thanks for clarifying what you see as the benefits, I have to admit, I did not think about it that way.

Still don't understand why there is a market for this?

because of that 🙂 http://www.techpowerup.com/img/13-05-29/183a.jpg full high end desktop on the go for lan, ODB programation , music creation in studio, in vehicle PC, killer HTPC etc etc...

I will purchase this in a heartbeat if a high quality cooler from Noctua or Phanteks becomes available.

I will purchase this in a heartbeat if a high quality cooler from Noctua or Phanteks becomes available.

Uuhm.... i'm sorry, but for a Mini-ITX build.... why wouldn't you just go with a full water cooling system, or a self-contained water cooler from Corsair and the like?

Uuhm.... i'm sorry, but for a Mini-ITX build.... why wouldn't you just go with a full water cooling system, or a self-contained water cooler from Corsair and the like?

Size & noise. Fan noise under game or conversion load is fine, otherwise I enjoy the silence of mITX. For this particular case, water cooling is not an option.

well... i'd say that's your bad for using such a small chassis... be it purchased separately or actually purchased through Digital Storm. Noise wise..... i wouldn't exactly call a single 140mm fan "loud" by remotely any standard. As i've said before... aside from the 3 fans on my video card (that shut off when not needed... thank you, eVGA), and the PSU fan (which also shuts off when not needed), i have two fans in my case. a 230mm fan up front, and a single 140mm fan on the radiator of my Corsair Hydro H90. I even have the 230mm fan set to turn off when the CPU is under a specific temperature. Only fan that runs constantly is the one on the rad.

This would be good for one of them portable desktop computers that can do gaming as well as video editing if you are one them guys/gals who go to them conventions like CES etc and want to post videos on what you are covering after you are done filming for the day.

well... i'd say that's your bad for using such a small chassis... QUOTE] Not my bad, it's what I want. I'm willing to pay for my toys. I've upgraded everything in it, I have a 600W Bronze PSU I need to put in it. I suppose that's the market; Enthusiasts who want the ITX form factor, and as much power as possible in that space.