Generally speaking, can Clevo P7xx compete with mini-itx desktop in anyway?

As the title says, just wondering whether Clevo P75x and P77x can actually offer same if not worse experience than a mini-itx desktop with similar spec. I am aware of the price difference, but what about in term of heat management and general performance? Does level of spec also make a difference? etc.

Would love to hear your guys' thought.

 

Depends on the Liter amount your allowing.

 

My mistake, let's assume compact model from 14 to 20 liters? Such as Cougar QBX or Silverstone RVZ03.

 

Well I suppose module aspect of desktops will take an edge from a lifespan perspective.

For those that chase performance and willing to chase the limit of the platform the desktop will take a slight lead just because of better RAM selection. The other issue would be future compatibility of GPU upgrades. Nvidia has more or less abandoned the standard dimensions and AMD has no presence as of yet save for the WX 7100. That being said, as it stands the desktop vs laptop generation with 10xx GPU's are pretty close in performance.

However obviously you would lose the portability of the laptop. You wouldnt be able to just put the laptop away and go, and bringing a desktop in a plane is a flip of the coin.

 

Mini ITX builds can have GPU's that are superior to the notebooks and have better cooling, not only that but mini ITX builds have the possibility of much better hardware, which makes the notebook an actual joke in comparison.

 

High Performance Laptops make sense if you need the mobility.
Let me rephrase it, laptops are for users who need mobility and that´s it.
It does not matter why you need the mobility, it does not matter the tasks, nothing else matters but this, if you need a Personal Computer to be used in more then a single location you *should* consider a laptop, not saying you *actually need* to buy a laptop, just saying you should consider it.
But if you are going to use it *only* in one single location, then just build a Desktop with a form factor adapted to your available physical space and hardware needs.

That should be the only thing that matters every time someone asks "Should i buy a laptop instead of a Desktop?".

 

The only way the two would be equivalent is if you somehow managed to tape a laptop LCD to the mini-ITX. If you could do that, then the ITX could compete with the Clevo, otherwise, the mini-ITX, while much better regarding performance and upgradability, will still need cables, displays, keyboards, etc. The biggest space waster is the display.

 

If you use a 6-8 core LGA 1151 motherboard with similar GPU, memory, and add-on drives as the Clevos, you would get a slightly better build in the mini-ITX (due to better power and cooling solutions), but lose a bit of mobility, especially if you need to take a monitor everywhere.

With that said, the problem is that in your question, you say 'similar spec'. A mini-ITX solution can do and support so much more. Money aside, with the proper motherboard, you could try to tame an 18-core CPU with a vapor chamber or a low profile CPU fan (or even possibly try a small water-cooler in the case of the Cougar QBX... great case by the way), run a pretty decent GPU, add 64GB of RAM, and to top it off use 5 or 6 drives, and all done with a BIOS that is blessed by the motherboard manufacturer.

There is a bit of mobility issue (overall weight is about the same, and you need to bring wireless, travel-sized KB/mouse; plus the need for an external monitor; but save by not having to pack one or two large laptop PSUs). I don't know if travel by plane would be easy as they would try to boot it up, but how?? In any case, since I only need something that I fit in a gym bag, and travel by auto, I'm happy with this type of solution. More details about my mini-ITX setup can be found here - http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/mighty-muscular-mini-itx-build.812322/

 

I would not put a sff cooler on an 18 core CPU, that's not going to end well.

 

Jesus, thats a mighty mini alright

 

Then again without bifuricating those pci Express lanes you are not going to get a pair of GPUs in there for one thing.

If you are going to make a truly small machine quiet it needs water cooling and that does require skill and, time and money.

 

I did say 'try to tame' the CPU, correct?

The Cougar QBX says it supports a 240mm (w/ 120mm fan) liquid cooling radiator, but I just went for air with additional fans (the case supports 7 total fans). Currently I run under decent loads (not benching, but loads from cross compilation on 4 or so virtual machines) about 48C on all 8 cores. IIRC, some longer runs of Prime got it to ~70C or so. My budget didn't allow for anything with more cores, but the CPU vapor chamber based cooler specs say it is good up to about 165 watts. I don't know how much headroom there is as core count goes up.

You mention the other thing - multiple GPUs... AFAIK, mini-ITX boards are single GPU only (I only a single x16 slot based motherboard). While the PCIe lanes could be bifurcated, I never came across a crossfire/sli mobo for mini-ITX with more than a single slot, and didn't feel like messing with mounting something else in an already tight space.

 

I wouldn't bother comparing on performance alone, there are too many other factors.

 

For gpu and CPU I'll be doing something similar to Jaystwocents with the two top hats and 480mm of radiator.

 

Sounds like it should be an interesting build.

 

Don't expect it any time soon though, I've got the case coming because I want it to be there ready