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[tunnie]

So FatherT is looking to get a new compact PC, needs to be compact due to its location. I've had for many years a trusty Mac Mini, one of the later intel ones. This is the perfect size, yet current specs out there are not enough.

Looking for an Intel i7, clocked at least 2.7 Ghz or above (ideally 3.1), coupled with some decent RAM as its going to be working with RAW JPEG files.

I'm struggling to find anything suitable, Dell's range is a bit pathetic, only thing that comes close its the refreshed Mac Mini Server 

All in one jobbies considered like the iMac, but needs to be a bit cheaper than the £1,500 price tag for the spec we want!

Any suggestions? 

[Martian]

How "compact" is compact? (dimensions)
Do you wanna build it yourself?

[tunnie]

How "compact" is compact? (dimensions)
Do you wanna build it yourself?

My original design Mac Mini is 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) by 6.5 inches by 2 inches (5.1 cm), this is the "ideal" size, but maybe little bit bigger.

No space underneath desk for a tower unit, so small enough to fit ontop of desk without being intrusive.

I would consider a self build, but its been a loooong time since I did any of that. Most I do now is switching out a dead graphics card now and again.

I would not have a clue on a decent Mobo for a starters 

[Kevin Wood]

If you forget the 2 inches high requirement you could do it with a mini-itx motherboard but you'd need to choose the case and PSU carefully as most mini-itx stuff is based on the assumption that you've got an atom or similar low power CPU so cooling is not a priority. It will be if that I7 is going to be loaded heavily.

[tunnie]

Yeah I thought cooling in such a small box would be interesting 

[Martian]

You're gonna struggle with those dimensions Tunnie, the standard supplied Intel cooler for an i7 is a good 4" in diameter on it's own.

I would consider a self build, but its been a loooong time since I did any of that. Most I do now is switching out a dead graphics card now and again.

I would not have a clue on a decent Mobo for a starters 

I did those 3 systems for Rob and he's over the moon with the end result, quite happy to do the same for you if you want.

[tunnie]

How big are they? Have you got some dimensions? I can pass them on, see how well it would fit in its planned location 

Thanks

[Martian]

Rob ended up buying this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170659541340

Initially I didn't rate it although that was based on the pic of it alone, when it turned up and I saw it in the flesh I was quite impressed with it. Everything is thumbscrew, all the drives have quick release mechanisms, and the front panel temperature readout was fairly accurate.

The blue LED's can easily be left disconnected (I don't go for that crap myself), noise levels were negligible, and cooling was also quite impressive. I did a 30 minute stress test in my living room (ambient temp of 24°C) and the CPU never went above 36° C.

[tunnie]

Yeah I don't go in for those chav mods either, sadly that is a bit big for just sitting on top of a desk 

[Kevin Wood]

Also.. No point insisting on an I7 if it's not going to be at least an 1155 with 3 channel RAM, and the mini-itx boards I've seen only have 2 channels.

[tunnie]

d'oh! Explains why I'm not finding much!

Might have to call for a re-think on the setup he has, basically space usually occupied by a tower has a laptop dock.

Now the HP ones I have for work are very compact, the Dell ones though are freaking huge! Hence why its under the desk.

Might have to look at putting that elsewhere and an RDP solution, then makes options much easier for a beefier setup

[Martian]

Any chance of a pic of where you want this system to live?

[Kevin Wood]

Do you really need I7 performance? Strikes me that, if he has loads of data to churn, videos to render, etc. then maybe, but, aside from those few circumstances, probably not.

... and if it came to the choice between using an i7 through RDP or a more modest machine locally I know which one I'd go for.

If you can reduce the performance to something that'll work in a properly compact ITX case with a 12V power brick feeding it then the size constraints will be more easily met.

If you really need big power in a small system then it begs the question of why a suitably specced laptop won't do the job, because that's about the best you will achieve.

[Marks DTM Calib]

An i5 should do buggering with stills easily enough, its not HD video!

[tunnie]

I'll try and get a photo when I'm back next week, its dealing with RAW video plus some .net environments which do tend to cripple machines.

So an i7 is needed really, my i5 HP runs out of puff sometimes