Fastest Possible CPU in HTPC w/ 160w PSU

[slentthndr]

I'm building an audio workstation inside of an HTPC (I'm planning to take it on the road and use it on stage).  Due to the tiny case and pico PSU, I have to stay under a 160w limit when powering my CPU and mobo.  

 

No GPU... just CPU, 32gb of DDR4 and 2 SSDs.  

 

I was originally hoping to use an i7 6700k (that's what I'm using right now in my desktop), but I've been told that this will draw too much power.  I suppose I could use the i7 6700 instead, but I hesitate to let go of that processing power.  My audio software is super CPU intensive and I don't want it to stutter on stage!

 

What's the absolute fastest CPU I can use without breaking through that 160w (total) ceiling?  

 

Thanks!!!!!

[79wjd]

A 6700k (or 7700k) would be fine, although overclock potential would be limited in such a small form factor.

[slentthndr]

Really?  I've read that the 6700k draws around 90w all on its own.  Don't I have to leave more wiggle room than that?

[EunSoo]

6700 will do fine

[79wjd]

Just now, slentthndr said:

Really?  I've read that the 6700k draws around 90w all on its own.  Don't I have to leave more wiggle room than that?

Nothing else in your system draws much power. 

[WoodenMarker]

3 minutes ago, slentthndr said:

I've been told that this will draw too much power.

Who's telling you that?

[slentthndr]

6 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Who's telling you that?

I used this power calculator and it said I'll be using a total of 190w: https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

 

And in general I've read that if you should never plan on pushing your PSU up to it's limit or it will run super hot and cause problems, so with a 160w PSU I thought I had to plan to stay around 120w or so.  Am I being too conservative?  I just don't want to burn my house down, but if you guys are telling me I can run a 6700k with a 160w PSU then that's wonderful news!

[Droidbot]

ultimate processing power: r7 1700 + biostar itx board

8c/16t @ 3.0Ghz - 65w tdp

[79wjd]

3 minutes ago, slentthndr said:

I used this power calculator and it said I'll be using a total of 190w: https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

 

And in general I've read that if you should never plan on pushing your PSU up to it's limit or it will run super hot and cause problems, so with a 160w PSU I thought I had to plan to stay around 120w or so.  Am I being too conservative?  I don't want to burn my house down.

PSU calculators suck. You'll be fine as long as the PSU can deliver its full 160w (about 13A) over the 12v rail(s). The total system load under full load will probably be around 150w~, which is fine.

[slentthndr]

5 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

ultimate processing power: r7 1700 + biostar itx board

8c/16t @ 3.0Ghz - 65w tdp

I didn't mention this before, but this needs to be hackintosh compatible also... so I'm stuck with Intel.

That's a sweet idea, though.

[Damascus]

Get an r7 1700 with ITX MOBO,  only 65W (like 6700/7700) but double the threads and cores

[slentthndr]

Are there any Intel processors like the r7 with more cores and slower clock speed that would work for me?

[Enderman]

6700k/7700k will be cutting it really close to the 160W...

I would recommend a lower power CPU version.

[slentthndr]

Let's say I build this with a 6700k and everything's overheating... can I just underclock down to 3.4 and have the same low power draw as the 6700?  Or does it not work that way?  Will the 6700k always draw more than the 6700 at the same GHz?

[Droidbot]

2 minutes ago, slentthndr said:

I didn't mention this before, but this needs to be hackintosh compatible also... so I'm stuck with Intel.

That's a sweet idea, though.

not allowed to talk about it here, but get 6700k instead - kaby still has problems as it isn't in any consumer Mac besides MBP

 

possibly try undervolting or underclocking the processor to keep it under highest power draw. use 2 sticks of RAM instead of 4 to keep power usage down. get OCZ VX500 or Sandisk Extreme PRO SSDs to keep power draw down. 

[WoodenMarker]

1 minute ago, slentthndr said:

Let's say I build this with a 6700k and everything's overheating... can I just underclock down to 3.4 and have the same low power draw as the 6700?  Or does it not work that way?  Will the 6700k always draw more than the 6700 at the same GHz?

Heat is determined by voltage as opposed to clock speed. Undervolting can lower temps.

 

You're overestimating how much power you think you need. NFC is a channel with great examples of what you can do on small psus. 

 

[slentthndr]

Wow, thanks!  That video really helped me to understand.  Would you recommend getting the pico PSUs this guy talks about in the video, or just going with the stuff Streacom sells?  (that's where I'm getting my case).

 

Here's Streacom's 160: http://www.streacom.com/products/nano160-fanless-psu/

[WoodenMarker]

45 minutes ago, slentthndr said:

Wow, thanks!  That video really helped me to understand.  Would you recommend getting the pico PSUs this guy talks about in the video, or just going with the stuff Streacom sells?  (that's where I'm getting my case).

Here's Streacom's 160: http://www.streacom.com/products/nano160-fanless-psu/

Uh, not sure. They both seem fine.