The 12900K + ITX Problem

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Gigabyte Z690 I Aorus Ultra DDR4: geni.us/orxS
Asus Z690 I Strix: geni.us/lGdDW
MSI Z690i Unify: geni.us/NwmZ
ASRock Z690 Phantom ITX: geni.us/rQrO
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Intel i9-12900K: geni.us/YCXWiC
Intel i7-12700K: geni.us/aYHbEyB
Intel i5-12600K: geni.us/KuPbfq
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[@EliteNewbie]

I've just finished a build using the 12700k on a Auros Ultra with DDR4, and Corsair 280mm AIO in a Meshlicious - works well, but the 280mm is a VERY tight fit

[@Kart0nas]

I'm using be quiet! Silent loop 280mm aio in meshlicious and it is a normal fit, no problems there

[@EliteNewbie]

@@Kart0nas I couldn't get the Corsair one to fit without removing one of the bottom front clips to hold in the front case panel, it was basically a mm of clearance being the issue

[@saucyg6371]

Is the tight fit do to the thickness or the length?

[@Kart0nas]

@@EliteNewbie oh alright. Well the 'be quiet' one fits as is, with no modifications

[@HDIGamingHDI]

I installed the EVGA 280 CLC with quite a bit of wiggle room in the front panel

[@mrgreatauk]

I think the most annoying thing about the massive 'heatsinks' or 'shrouds' limiting cooler compatiblity is that they're not even particularly functional. If they were an optimised heat sink and they needed to be that big for performance reasons then it would be a bit more excusable. Most of them are basically entirely there for aesthetic purposes though.

[@sircalvin]

dremel time

[@cameconomou7037]

This

[@bradleestevens3395]

you can remove them

[@mrgreatauk]

@@bradleestevens3395 Without causing any problems should you need to do a warranty return? If it's an actual feature described on the manual then fair enough, but I've never heard of that...

[@bradleestevens3395]

@@mrgreatauk Most of the time itll say it in the manual and it doesn't interfere with warranty

[@jonoc9943]

Thanks for the video mate, you just saved me a lot of heartache! I had a cart full of parts I was going to pull the trigger on for a mini-iTX 12700K build, but glad I held off as being limited in orientation of the pump block would've probably done my head in come build time. Really disappointing to see Mobo manufacturers not thinking about CPU cooler compatibility when making m-iTX boards - it's not exactly an optional hardware consideration!

[@Glotttis]

Oddly enough this also applies to Z690 ATX motherboards. I recently built 12700K with ATX motherboard inside a mid size tower case, and was shocked to see that majority of Asus Z690 ATX mobos are incompatible with NH-D15 cooler. It's like motherboard manufacturers stopped caring about CPU cooler compatibility in favor of ridiculous looking VRM heatsinks.

[@tkgg]

We need more videos like these where the manufacturers gets some proper criticism. I guess they can't charge a premium if they cut some features but come on! Having a usable motherboard is better. I really hope that the B660 and H670 motherboards will have higher compatibility with those low profile coolers.

[@therealringo1128]

I mean to me, I just don't see the point of still wanting to have the smallest pc if u wanna fit all that in there, just get an atz board and normal size case and be happy.

[@carjunkyxl8018]

In Europe you can find the Asrock Z690M-ITX/ax with DDR4 as well. As long as you dont pair it with the I9, you will be good. (Because of the power delivery)

[@customisation]

Can you find the aorus z690 I ultra anywhere in europe? As far as I've checked on UK websites the only DDR4 Z690 ITX is the asrock youre talking about. The Aorus one seems to only be DDR5

[@vido989]

@@customisation proshop.de, equippr.de

[@akhilyeddula6435]

Ah that’s the board I wanted to get but it doesn’t seem to be available in the US. Is that a European only board?

[@damon6228]

No problem with power supply. The problem lies in mos cooling module.

[@AlpineTheHusky]

Well from what I have found out just limiting the power spiking and max power doesnt really hurt performance put reduces power consumption ALOT. Could give that a try to optimize performance per watt

[@D3adLyStinG]

Just today I was considering upgrading my PC and this was the exact information I needed. Thank you!

[@MrMolchester]

I just finished my first Mini ITX build with 12900KF build in the NR200P with dual slim XPSC 240 rads and the Barrotec pump res combo. Re-used Zotac 2080ti AMP but with water block. Was a real challenge let me tell you and my CPU temps are not great even with undervolt. Had to cap CPU max freq. to 4.9P/3.9E or it would just crash with the kind of voltage needed to stay cool. Set PL to 230W. Max Voltage offset I could do was -0.04. Also used a G-skill CL38 6000 DDR5 kit which is barely stable at XMP. Eventually set it stable at 6200 1.32V Stress testing CPU and GPU together gets my loop temp to 50 degrees C eventually. Under normal gaming though it’s like 42 deg with pump@2100 and fans at 1,200

[@mojojojo560]

Damn it sounds like you went through a lot of trouble getting it to work the way you needed it to. In hindsight, would you recommend a build like this or was the juice not really worth the squeezing? I ask because I really want my next build to be SFF and I’m doing as much homework as I can before I start.

[@MrMolchester]

​@@mojojojo560 I'm still not sure it was worth it. Its a cool build but was such a pig to work on. If you are planning SFF air-cooled then maybe, but this custom loop I did was really expensive. It is small and quiet which is what I was going for, but I'm dreading any upgrades. The 2080ti from my last build was supposed to be temporary but the thought of getting it all out again... What kind of build are you thinking of? I might have better thoughts to share.

[@wazz6003]

You sir saved me alot of money! Was about to buy 12700KF with a Z690 to my K39 developer build. Plan was to undervolt a little with no overclock so I can continue to use my Black Ridge for dev tasks. That won't happend now :) Huge thanks!

[@weavercs4014]

No point in ever doing that anyway since you can't overclock anything. Might as well go 12700, h670.

[@ClydeDAF]

Very timely video, as I am about to finally complete a very similar build this week - I already "settled" for a i7-12700K, as I have become increasingly concerned that the required coolers wouldn't fit or that the compatible cooling wouldn't be enough to cool a i9-12900k there have been reports of users managing to fit a NZXT Kraken Z63 into a Asus Z690-I Strix motherboard - I might as well give it a shot, since I already had to wait for the appropriate LGA1700 compatibility breaket I've been out of the loop on PC building for a bit, but never expected it to be such a hassle

[@matthewh3552]

I have managed to fit an EK-AIO 240 D-RGB to my Z690-i Strix Motherboard. Not perfect and close the the RAM for the 90 degree fittings, but my RAM is the Team Elite without any heatsinks on. So that probably helps.

[@mamamia5668]

Funnily my 12700k runs hotter with my d15 than my 12900k

[@CknSalad]

@@mamamia5668 12900K seems to have tighter binning and variances compared to 12700K. wouldn't surprise me if 12700K is at higher all core clocks, which means higher temps.

[@mamamia5668]

@@CknSalad my 12700k clocks an avg of 4.7 all p cores and 3.7 all e cores. Whereas my 12900k clocks 4.9 or 5 ghz all p cores and same for e core as the 12700k

[@damara2268]

@@mamamia5668 it might be also about cooler mounting pressure. Alder lake is very sensitive to it for some reason. If the pressure is not right you get almost 10° hotter temperature with the same cooler

[@alexandrgorobtsov7281]

I built Z590i Aorus Ultra with Kraken X53 last year and i didn't know clearance will be such a problem. I had to mount pump 45 degrees to the left and i still wasn't able to use standard mounting on one corner because pump tubing was in the way. I had to use some spare hexagon low profile nut and find my way to tighten it with pliers. Ridiculous

[@TastyLaserCakes]

I just finished my build 2 weeks ago in a NR200P Max. The Asus Strix Z690i board paired with my 12900k worked really well. Clean cable routing and 4 Noctua fans keep my build at great temps and really good noise level. I’m super happy

[@tedfox9429]

I did exactly the same thing and can’t be happier!

[@zacharymeade7864]

What cooler did you use?

[@TastyLaserCakes]

@@zacharymeade7864 I used the one that comes with the NR200P Max. It's a 280mm Cooler Master AIO.

[@Wade1712]

Do you think this exact build, but with the MSI MEG Z690i UNIFY instead, would also work with cooler compatibility? Also just out of curiosity, why did you go with the Asus Strix Z690i over the MSI MEG Z690i UNIFY? Thanks!

[@TastyLaserCakes]

@@Wade1712 I couldn't say without taking time to look at MB / Cooler specs tbh. If they pass clearances then I'd say go for it. Why I went with that MB had something to do with IO availability and compatibility with several of my components but I can't remember the detailed specifics. I made a post on the SFF Reddit forums about 4 months ago as well with more info if you search for it. GL on your build.

[@youtubevanced4900]

When my 7700K died and I replaced it with a 1600X I wanted to reuse my water cooler. I didn't have the new AM4 bracket. So I just rubber banded the block down and lay the case flat so I had gravity on my side. Ran totally fine for a few weeks until I got the proper bracket sent out.

[@razer1158]

Haha - sometimes I see people whose GPU fans died, so they zip tied regular 120ml case fans to the PCB where the old heatsink used to sit, and it worked like a charm until they got a chance to fix the card.

[@stupidcolten]

These videos are CRUCIAL to us new builders! Thanks a lot for these videos!

[@michaelsheen7404]

i ran into the exact same problem when I built my ASRock X570 ITX/TB3 board. Cosair H80i v2 is supposed to fit accroding to the QVL Asrock provided. But it can only barely fit in one direction. I'm pretty sure there was a mounting pressure problem. Later a year, I turned to NZXT Kraken X63. Very similar things happened. And the motherboard isn't that ridiculous than yours in the video.

[@YourFourthCousin]

Same board, same AIO (Kraken x63) and my cpu slowly failed likely due to uneven cooler contact from how awkwardly I had to squeeze everything together. I’m currently at a loss for what cooler can fit on this board in my NR200 and manage a 5800x without throttling. 😞 If you find a good alternative, please let me know!

[@user-mh4jh1li3z]

@@YourFourthCousin Hi, do you solve this problem? I am use z690i aorus ultra ddr4, and want to choose one 280 AIO, NZXT X63 or Corsair H115i pro xt, I know the performance of NZXT is better than Corsair, but it seems to suit this motherboard difficulty, isn't it?

[@YourFourthCousin]

@@user-mh4jh1li3z I’m not even kidding I was working on it *yesterday*. I’ve just been using my laptop and letting my high performance PC sit gathering dust because I don’t know what to do (other than sinking a bunch of money into new parts).

[@wazzuppoo]

this videos comes at the right time. i have an i7 8700k in my itx case and wanted to upgrade to the 12900k so thanks for this video! especially since i also have meshlicious!

[@thejoetandy]

3800x3d might be a good option as well, as AM4 motherboards have excellent cooler and ram compatibility at the moment

[@askopte]

For me it comes down to 2 problems: 1.DDR5 is already a problem with Z690, for ITX the problem is even more severe. Aorus DDR4 is pretty much the only choice, and from the rumor the DDR4 support is not good, and availability is also limited. 2. The added functionality of Z690 over other consumer chipsets may make it worth the premium, but itx board have no physical space for these functions, and the pricing was not adjusted for those lost capabilities.

[@TechGamesAU]

What's the DDR5 problem you're referring to?

[@TimBoundy]

@@TechGamesAU cost and availability, plus XMP profiles are often unstable.

[@definingslawek4731]

which functions do the z690 its motherboards give up? I'm heavily considering doing a xtia xproto itx build with the new 13900k and my 3080fe. Don't know if there's a psu for it tho, and I don't know if I want to miss out on modern intel features.

[@lilTryhard]

The shots you get for videos are so clean. Always appreciate your work!

[@PorkHuntt.]

This changes my build. Cheers for this. I want a giant air cooler

[@silencer51]

As an itx convert for the past decade, I've been waiting for this video!

[@ivovass195]

Excellent points to keep in mind. I'm hoping to upgrade my build with a 12400 ddr4 system so looking forward to see how it performs beforehand.

[@coolhand4598]

12400k isn't really an upgrade from anything

[@everope]

@@coolhand4598 Yes it is lol

[@coolhand4598]

@@everope maybe a 7700k or a 8700k :) .. buying a 6 core in 2022 is a bad idea. 8core minimal.

[@simonwang4530]

Another thing that alder lake suffer now is the window scheduler issue. Alder lake now requires win 11 to reach it's full potential and win 11 is not very good right now.

[@Boodoo4You]

Mate you’re looking kinda jacked yourself. Keep up the hard work in the gym! Legend.

[@dieegobp5384]

Great video, as usual!

[@MrLagzy]

Wouldn't mind the Mini-DTX form factor to become more standard in these smaller builds. non-sandwich build cases already accommodate for it too so it wouldn't be a hassle for that step up in size. Anyways I believe that Ryzen 7000 with X670 and the new AM5 slot will have the very same issues as Alder Lake has in the SFF.

[@jakob.k_design]

why would ryzen 7000 have the same issues? Amd is switching to an even smaller process node then ryzen 5000 so theoretically it should use less power then even ryzen 5000, unless they push performance at the cost of efficiency, but even then they will use way less power then Intel. At east cooling wont be an issue. Cooler clearences will come down to the Mainboard manufactures and how much cooling the x670 chipset needs.

[@OCDyno]

@@jakob.k_design Cooling isn't necessarily tied to power draw, thermal density is a HUGE factor and as nodes shrink they get more and more dense, CPUs like the 5800x are the hardest to cool at a given power draw

[@gustavoalmeida1579]

I would love to see an RTX 3090Tie + 12900K ITX build.

[@davism131]

Really well thought out vid, super informative

[@Andreas01]

My next build will be ITX, thanks for this info, much appreciated.

[@deflol]

Did i miss something or did you miss the Asrock Z690M-ITX/ax? its ITX, it supports DDR4 and it's probably the most affordable Z690 ITX option there is right now. Is it not available in the US or is it not worth consideration for another reason? I'm planning on buying one so that'd be good to know. edit: it also seems to be the only board having no issues with low profile coolers like the blackridge

[@murderbymodem]

Optimum Tech is based in Australia I believe, so it could be that it isn't available for him there, or that the power delivery on that board isn't good enough for the 12900K, which was the topic of the video. ASRock seems to have had the best budget ITX boards for a while, I've never had any issues with my Z390M-ITX/ac paired with an i5 9400, and it was a great deal back when I bought it (aside from the fact that it only has a single M.2 slot, but it looks like their newer budget boards have 2 so that is great to see)

[@optimumtech]

I feared it might be power limited as it's extremely barebones. Might be okay for 12600K though.

[@deflol]

@@optimumtech alright, thank you for the clarification! also to you too @murderbymodem

[@GoaLitiuM]

I built one recently and couldn't be any happier (Asrock Z690M-ITX/ax with 12900K cooled with Kraken X63 into Meshlicious). I could only route the X63 tubes from bottom, but maybe top orientation would also be possible, not enough room for the tubes when facing RAM or the IO block. I haven't had any issues with the board itself so far with this build as it does run Cinebench R23 just fine for 10 minutes.

[@user-qr2ge7up4w]

@@optimumtech I have this board here in Taiwan, it is around $250~260 USD. The spec on the paper is 8 phases / 50A(SIC654). Isn't that okay for even i9 if only gaming? I am pairing it with 12600kf anyway. Still waiting for the arrival of my thermalright silver soul 135 dual tower cooler.

[@strest2046]

Absolutely great content.

[@cxtepo126]

I recently found optimum on youtube when I watched a video about his setup reviews. Since then, I have been watching a lot of his videos and really enjoying them. But I want to bring to your attention that because of his video reviews, I decided to totally revamp and tackle my cable management. Now, my cable management wasn't the worst like you'd see in XQC streams. But it had room for improvement. So that's what I did. Thanks to Optimum.

[@sinisterop8947]

Sir big fan from india. Love your itx builds. I hope I'll be able to build one in the future. ❤️

[@marvinm.8822]

Hello Optimum Tech, you say that these two boards are the only itx options with a z690 chipset and ddr4 memory. But I just gut my asrock z690m-itx/ax, it's also a ddr4 board with plenty of space cause the coolers from the board are not that big. I fitted a i5 12600k, 32gb G.skill tridend z royal 3200 cl14 and a rtx 3060ti founders and cooled it with the nzxt x53 rgb in withe. Works very well, as far I could evaluate. Now I am just waiting for my xtia xproto ncase in withe, wich I ordered after seen it in your chanel. I am a big fan of your videos they meet my taste exactly. 😘👌🏻 Build my whole system after I've seen different videos from you 🤗 Best greetings from germany ✌🏻

[@chonkyseals4431]

Temp vrm? I wanna build same mb and cpu. Need a fan on vrm?

[@christophermartin-givens9849]

Just finished a build in the Iqunix case, which is advertised as a 2 slot case and was mentioned in the video. Was able to fit the monster 2.75 slot EVGA RTX 3070 after taking off the plastic shroud, and the raised logo decals on the gpu fans. The GPU is running incredibly cool.

[@maitraysharma8389]

Barrow recently launched 240mm rad/pump/Rez combo, and using soft tubing it’ll perfectly cool 12700k and 3080 keeping em at reasonable temps.

[@arcayne5814]

IQUNIX ZX-1 case is available in 2 different sizes - Air-Cooled and Water-Cooled. The Air-Cooled is 2-slot GPU compatible only (45mm). The Water-Cooled is 2.5-slot compatible (60mm), though clearances are tight. Still suggest keeping any GPU in the WC model below 2.5-slot to ensure no side panel air turbulence interference with GPU fans. Furthermore, check any potential GPU's dimensions for clearance issues with height as anything more than 130mm (they list 140mm but that may not be realistic) will make PCIe power cable connections a clearance challenge with the top-mounted AIO fans/rad.

[@GazMoore]

Hats off 👏 to you on the stealth black no rgb build that thing is mega epic and right up my street 👍

[@RJTamm93]

Currently using a 12700k on the DDR5 version of the Aorus Ultra using a Noctua U9S, paired with a 3080Ti FE in a NCase 6.1. Absolutely thrilled with the build, haven't 'felt' the upgrade this strongly in a very very long time. It feels next generation fast. While I was worried about some of the reviews about the motherboard and Alder Lake in general I've had zero issues too. Very spendy but, it feels very worth it.

[@RJTamm93]

@@Vsts314 I was able to buy a $315 set of Corsair at 5200Mhz, which was steep compared to DDR4 but I had a bunch of rewards with a retailer I don't shop at as much so out of pocket it wasn't so bad.

[@kevinl1664]

this is a super great informational build video, thanks for putting this together!

[@baks_caspian]

model case ???

[@GuilleGuillaume]

You also have the Asrock Z690M-ITX which is DDR4. I'm using it with the 12600k. This motherboard allows for low profile CPU coolers. It was the first motherboard available in Europe with the Asus one as the only other option.

[@RR185]

It may also be worth mentioning that the 12900K neeeds A LOT of power, so combining it a 750W power supply and going with anything higher than a 3080 is really pushing it. Unfortnately there aren't very many SFX (-L) PSU's with more than 850W out yet. You can throw an ATX PSU into the Meshlicious, but your AIO cooling will be seriously crammed up.

[@mohamedahmed1023]

I have the ASUS Z690-I motherboard. It actually has pretty decent air-cooler support as long as you unscrew the top M.2 heatsink. I have a FUMA 2 in an NR200. The FUMA 2 fit just fine. So did the NH-U12S. Someone also confirmed the NH-D15. The U12A should fit as well. For lower TDP coolers, the NH-L9 should fit and so will the Scythe Big Shuriken 3. The NH-U9S should also fit. I can't speak to AIO compatibility but I wouldn't be worried about compatibility with these boards to the point of avoiding them.

[@mohamedahmed1023]

@@PaulNecsoiu I didn't have a nvme populated in the top slot but it should work- might be a tight fit though.

[@Defendpeace]

Also can consider buying a good b550 or x570 board and wait for 5800X3D and you have a mini gaming machine monster.

[@therobotguide]

I'm just building my first SFF PC, this is really helpful thanks

[@joshizposh1995]

Can I just say the filming, editing and set quality you've got here is beautful, looks amazing! Also great to have a actual competitive gamer review things from a more advanced perspective.

[@jopyeap]

Going to get the 12700 + B660 instead once they are available. OCing the K chip and Z board seem too toasty for my liking.

[@lukebetterton]

I just ran into this problem with the Asus Z690-i and the EKWB 280 D-RGB. There are no orientations that fit. I've replaced the EK 280 with Corsair's Capellix 280 which has a MUCH smaller footprint and has way more clearance around the tubes as a result. For context, I measured EK pump block to be about 3-4mm too wide for the Z690-I.

[@scotty7937]

wish i read this sooner. lol my ek block will not fit in any config i thought i was crazy or doing something wrong, i also tried the corsair cooler, it didnt fit either and the tubing was so rigid it wouldnt have looked right anyways

[@marcin_karwinski]

Yet another set of reasons for the mobo manufacturers to go talk with EK/Barrow/Alphacool etc. to make a full-coverage mobo monoblock to cool CPU, VRM, SoC/chipset, NIC, M.2 on a mITX board, instead of using this approach solely on the huge ATX ones where space is not at a premium... Maybe make it even a bigger block to house minireservoir, or add a pump in there, and allow us to use such a board in open/custom loop with a single GPU and up to 2 or 3 rads... Sure, there were/are some waterblocks for mobos in the offers of LC manufacturers, but these require owners to strip their boards and even then these might not be full coverage blocks, thus it requires expeirence, time, and may void warranty. Heck, add quick disconnects to the mix and it could become a truly great product for customers to configure as they see fit even if they're not that proficient with LC. LC manufacturers would benefit from that through a combined sell and advertising, mobo manufacturers would get better cooling for their higher tier gear without those drawbacks explained in the vid and could promote themselves and use C partner name to boost the PR campaign, and users/customers would benefit due to a huge range of possible products they could combine this with to build a great PC easier... Sure it might not be as easy as using AIO or air coolers, but if one used quick disconnect Aurora-like rad with tubes kit, or if one cut the tubes themselves, the internal space could get far better use for own gear or could simply plug-n-play, with the caveat that the loop would have to be filled before the play part ;)

[@richardfarmer6570]

I have a 12600k and the Gigabyte z690i in my Ghost S1. I am using a Noctua NH-L12 Ghost S1 Edition cooler, it does fit but is very snug. You need to pull the fan back to where the heat pipe bend is in order to clear the M.2 heatsink. Overall it works very well.

[@ldvictoria7763]

Not sure if anyone else has chimed in with this, but I'm using the Aorus DDR4 board with a 12700k and.. a NH-U12S. Which doesn't fit if you leave the massive 3/4in tall M.2 heatsink on, but works fine if you take it off. Obviously this is annoying to even have to do in the first place, but I think taking it off will allow for a much wider range of air coolers to be mounted as it's basically just the heatpipes flaring out a bit wide that causes the issue, the rear and opposite heatsinks don't interfere. Would not be surprised to see a U14 or even D15 put on in this configuration. M.2 temps on a gen 3 drive never reach unsafe ranges in my testing, and there is enough room running naked that you could probably fit a more reasonable 3rd party heatsink if you wanted, or had a hotter drive etc. However, not sure how it would cooperate with the horizontal type coolers if your case required one of those.

[@DerLuukee]

Dude I was just looking for a 12th generation ITX board two days ago. The ddr5 and the graphics card price is a HUGE turn-off. Gotta wait some months for that stuff to calm down. :) Thanks for the video!

[@MrDutch1e]

I don't think you're going to be running a 12900k easily in a compact itx case. Probably get away with it in the nr200 but otherwise you're going to need a lot of tuning. Especially when you consider the socket warping issue. Just go 12700k.

[@Tom--Ace]

I just completed my 12900K+3090 custom water-cooled build in a taobao cube x1 (10l case similar to formdt1). Both GPU and CPU are under water, and I can confirm that it takes tuning. At stock the 12900k runs hot under full avx workloads even with no GPU load, and once the you add the 350w of the GPU and coolant temps rise to 47c, a full avx workload on the CPU will be throttling bad but stable However, by putting SVID voltages to "best case scenario" and LLC to 5 (my 12900KF has an SP rating of 93 so it's a good low voltage example) and then setting a power limit of 150w (95% of the multi core performance for much more power efficiency), the temps drop waaaaay down to the point in a CPU load only scenario the coolant hits 35c or so and the CPU maxes out at less than 80c, and under a full gaming (350w GPU) and combined full avx (Intel burn tool or cinebenchr23) CPU load (150w), the coolant rises to 48c or so and the CPU maxes out at 88c or so. Under gaming the CPU is way cooler, never going above 80c or often even 70c, and the coolant temps don't go above 45c or so. This is all with just a single tx240 rad and 2 noctua 25mm fans. I haven't undervolted the GPU yet, but with tweaking of the CPU SVID voltages and power limits, a great ITX build IS very much possible, but it definitely takes tuning. Undervolting the GPU should improve this further, but my personal recommendation is that unless you really want a very portable 10l build, for a custom watercooling build with 12900k and 3090 water-cooled, go with a slightly bigger case that will fit dual 240mm rads, because dual rads will drastically improve coolant temps and therefore headroom and fan speeds Anyway, my 2c

[@bingbing3464]

@@Tom--Ace the 12900K is efficient (more efficient than even ryzen) under gaming loads anyways. So if youre not gonna do AVX loads all the time and only strictly gaming, you can probably get away even with a 120mm aio.

[@Tom--Ace]

@@bingbing3464 true, BUT you have to prepare for the worst case scenario and sometimes games do hit the CPU with avx loads (eg during loading) so you need to know that temps will stay under control even during full GPU power output. The way I've got it setup right now is great, the CPU easily stays under 80 or even 70c during gaming and almost any non synthetic load. But 350 watts plus 150 watts is still massive heat to be exhausting via a thin 240mm rad, and consequently the noctua fans have to spin up to full power under full load and even then the coolant after the GPU reaches 50c (but component temps are great). So a single rad sff setup works, but a slightly bigger dual rad one would let you run it cooler and/or quieter Not that this setup is particularly loud - noctua fans at 2000 rpm are still pretty quiet, quieter than the GPU fans themselves used to be. Big gains to be had from going double rad though

[@bingbing3464]

@@Tom--Ace cap power cpu limit to 150w if youre worried. It will never hit that with gaming. Even my current 10600k super compact taobao 8L build is capped to 125w and it's overclocked to hit higher core speed with lower power and fully tweaked the ram latencies. It's destroying a stock 5600x and sometimes 5900x with every gaming titles throw at it. Im getting a 12900k soon with a 10L case 240mm aio build with the geek M5 or dan A4 H2O. That's the thing to love about intel, lots of tweaking options. You can even throttle the AVX because that is where all the heat and power draw comes from so you wont lose your core multiplier.

[@Tom--Ace]

@@bingbing3464 yep, I've got long term at 150 watts and short term at 140 watts, although I might up that The biggest difference is running SVID voltages at "best case scenario" with LLC at 5, this dropped temps massively A 12900k can definitely be run in an itx case, it does require tuning, but a custom water loop cooling a 12900k and 3090 on one 240mm rad is definitely pushing the limit. Dual 240 rads are going to handle such a custom loop system much better

[@GJBedrin]

Recently finished a build with a 12700k, Asus z690i, and a corsair LCD elite for the AIO in a NR200p case. So far working like a dream

[@Athasin]

Thanks for drawing attention to this. Hopefully motherboard manufacturers are paying attention.

[@Phanbot01]

As a temporary usage case I paired a NH-L9i-17XX cpu cooler with a 12600k on the Gigabyte Aorus Z690 Ultra (DDR5 was nowhere to be found at the time). This cooler manages to keep thermals in check with minimal noise, playing Division 2 does seem to push temps into the high 90's. I'm waiting to hear from Corsair to notify me when the LGA 1700 mounting hardware is available for the ICUE H100 Elite Capellix AIO so I can use that on the cpu. Don't know why it wasn't included in the box and demands an additional cost on top of the purchase price of the AIO.

[@brucerosner3547]

I'm really glad I didn't see this video before I built my system: Asrock Z90i ITX with Thunderbolt 4, 13600K CPU, 32Gb DDR5 and NH-D12S cooler. Case is Fractal Define 7 mini. It was one of the easiest system I ever built, mainly because the top comes off the case. Might be things have changed

[@jar768jake]

I really appreciate this video. Nobody else has done one and I didn’t really want to fork out the money unless I was sure there was going to be low profile air cooling compatibility, because I’m looking to try and stuff this into a Louqe Raw S1.

[@naofumi9980]

Thank you for the information.

[@Unamatrix01]

Quite an informative video. The inherent problem from a thermodynamic perspective with Z690 IX boards is the high levels of thermal dissipation that is required, since the processors are power hungry and therefore generate a lot of heat. From an engineering perspective, manufacturers are not going to stop building up the heat-pipe and heat sink solutions on the motherboards, as that is the most cost-effective and easily maintained solution. I think AIO manufacturers will need to redesign the pumps to be compatible with the ever reducing clearance space around the CPU socket.

[@pupsaderpupin5627]

Yes, the low profile designs that worked in the past are clearly not sufficient anymore. It's time for the cooler manufacturers to catch up, this trend is likely not going away any time soon.

[@zacchen1346]

EVGA clc tubes come out from the top of pump block, therefore should have 0 clearance issue. It also uses Asetek mounting brackets. Just replace the loud fans and you are good to go.

[@mcp866]

I've been wanting to do an ITX build, but with the mobo issues with the Gigabyte board plus the cooler compatibility concerns plus the fact that I've ordered a i9-12900K, I'm heavily considering just going ATX with a O11 Air Mini instead.

[@EverythingisFire]

I'm really disappointed. I've been loving the ITX/SFF form factor for around 6 years now. I may have to blow up to a mid-tower to keep my upgrade reasonably priced.

[@mcp866]

@@EverythingisFire I feel you. I spent so much time following the SFF world and community just to get an O11 Air Mini in the end, and it definitely is not as mini as it sounded.

[@EverythingisFire]

@@mcp866 I'll have to look into that one. Looks pretty good! If prices don't substantially lower on some mITX mobo's &/or DDR5 this Summer, I was leaning towards the Fractal Torrent C. Even though it's "Compact ATX", should be HUGE AF compared to my Ncase M1 & Cooler Master NR200.

[@georgemiller1316]

I've had nothing but problems with the Aorus z690i, after 5 years of Asus, I dearly miss them. Please make DDR4 itx

[@DeividasGedgaudas]

I'm starting to think that my I9-12900K was from a bad bin.. 240MM Rad, both fans at 1850rpm, pump at 1500rpm - any load - instant 100C, throttle, then in 2 minutes goes down to lowest of 95C adn then climbs back up to 100C and starts throttling.. Rebuilt my machine four times, two different rad placements, caseless setup, three different paste applications.. still the same

[@jakob.k_design]

280mm is almost the size of 360 so it is not unlikely that these tempratures with a 12900k and 240mm rad are correct under heavy load. It is just a processor that runs very hot in any cenario regardless of Itx. But if these are temps under some light load then there is a fault in your system.

[@DeividasGedgaudas]

@@jakob.k_design on that note: 360 vs 280 - is 360 still larger? As I'm thinking of either getting Corsairs 5000D and Arctic Freezers 360 AIO, or a smaller case ant 280mm aio

[@jakob.k_design]

@@DeividasGedgaudas 360= 432cm² 280=392cm² 240=288cm² As you can see 360 is still bigger then 280, but they are both a lot bigger then 240. I would prefer 280 just because it is a more convenient and efficient fromfactor in my opinion, but it also comes down to the rest of your fan setup.

[@DeividasGedgaudas]

@@jakob.k_design Thank you for taking your time to show me another perspective in regards of this

[@McKevittS]

Just finishes a 12700k build in the NR200 with Aorus Ultra DDR4, decided to go away from the Kraken x52 and try the Noctua N12A. It only fits on this board if you take off the thick M.2 heatsink. I had a 4mm tall copper one lying around so I use that instead and it cools flawlessly. the U12A just touched the side mesh panel but everything works great and stays cool

[@ryanking4942]

Just ordered the 12900k! Can't wait to get my heater for this winter!

[@MatarM0]

You are the first one making video about the msi z690i unify i am looking to get one but its not available yet

[@levifig]

And this is why I ended up just going with “old tech” (ROG B550I + 5800X) on my new ITX build on an Iqunix ZX-1. I really was looking for Alder Lake but would never fork that extra cash for DDR5 and could not get my hands on the Gigabyte… 🤷‍♂️

[@mohamedahmed1023]

Great commentary. There is a 4th board that wasn't mentioned here. The ASRock Z690M-ITX/ax. Supports DDR4 and isn't too built up. This is only an 8-phase design so I expect it'll be okay for a 12700K at stock but nothing beyond that.

[@foxorian]

Mini-ITX is a handy, and, my preferred form factor, but I almost wonder if there can be a more modern *slightly* bigger version to better fit these new handy features? Like a Mini-ITX-L (long) version that's just a little longer in one dimension so that the CPU has more open clearance for coolers and breathability? Kinda like how there's Long versions of higher-wattage power supplies.

[@pupsaderpupin5627]

Yeah this would be the current Mini-DTX basically

[@foxorian]

@@pupsaderpupin5627 Oh nice, I didn't know about this. This standard sounds like it would be more beneficial to people looking to build top-spec SFF gaming and productivity rigs, I'd probably want to choose it myself for an easier build next time vs barely larger physical size --- if it picks up in popularity, anyway. I think this video makes a good case as to why it should.

[@ed_samoy]

I guess it's time for Sliger vertical case to shine, not a compact case but it's footprints are small. Alder Lake on ITX seems hard without 360mm rads...

[@danielgriffiths845]

There's plenty of water blocks with threads on top if you have a location for a standalone pump.

[@oDogge89o]

Great video! Would be cool if you were to review a new itx case named Densium 4, it seems like a really nice Velka 3 contender. Cheers

[@piotrek1481]

And now, I wonder, why don't use normal case? They all have support for ranges of motherboards sizes, you won't be able to put it on shelf, but you'll have some some space for bigger components and you (probably) won't have that much problem with size of coolers or anything for that matter

[@shadowjulien5]

I’ve been DYING to get an itx build going for a while. The power consumption and general heat management of alder lake still made me second guess doing to, so i think I’ll wait for zen 4 and see what that looks like (plus hopefully cheaper ddr5 and more z690 itx mobo options if I still wanna do alder lake).

[@ThePiprian]

Currently I think it's a good idea in general to wait and see what will be released/announced in the near future.

[@ndgoliberty]

simply get a 65W part like the 12700 non-k

[@user-tm9ho3bm4v]

Amd is an outright scam these days

[@ThePiprian]

@@user-tm9ho3bm4v What? How?

[@doker9298]

This guy is slowly becoming more and more muscular each video.

[@x0Diesel0x]

For every day of no stock of 3000 series GPUs he does 1000 reps each arm.

[@juancarlosmartinezmora7682]

Thanks for the video and the notice, I love itx cases.

[@MaavBR]

I'm just waiting for a few screws for a custom laser-cut MDF case build. Motherboard is assembled and works fine -- I'm running a 12700K, Z690I Aorus Ultra DDR4 and a L9x65. Will probably need some undervolting to make it work decently, but as a couch HTPC/console it will work wonders with a 3060Ti.

[@krazyfrog]

0:48 The slow roll for this shot made me think I was getting dizzy at first.

[@makingstatements812]

The artic freezer 2 280 aio does "fit" in the meshlicious, however if you dont want to put stress on the pump fittings and have a bulge in the side of the case, you might want to leave the side panel off so the hoses can be free. They are very thick and not very flexible. Also, pull configuration only. The fan blades hit the mobo tray if they arent perfectly balanced. Just a heads up if anyone was looking at this case cooler solution.

[@RaidenFreeman]

Any chance for a review of the iQunix case? I have one of their keyboards and I'm astonished at how good it is.

[@djvidual8288]

Great video!

[@Ch4rlieHughes]

I ended up going for a Asus Z690-I DD5 12700k 3080 with a custom loop running ( cpu + gpu ) . The clearence for fittings cpu side in a meshlicious almost touch and go....as fittings are touching the mesh never the less the side panel does go on...with a very slight buldge ! You are the one that inspired me to enter this space with all the great content you put out there so thank you :) Can't wait to see what AMD come out with this year to ansewer Alderlake. I'm excited to see the motherboards for the new AM5 slot.

[@Femerenden]

Might I suggest an arctic liquid freezer ii? It does not have the best mounting setup to fiddle around in an itx build but the pump cables are on the top, it has a built in fan for the power stages and it has less cables to plug to the motherboard.

[@SpensJahn]

Hey, very informative video - thanks as always!! I'm looking to buy a B660/H670 board to pair with either 12700F or 12600F soon. Hoping to install a Liquid Freezer II 280mm and put all of that in the NR200P! It would be really awesome if you could check out some of the upcoming budget ITX boards and maybe check clearance for AIOs! Have a nice rest of the week!

[@everope]

You got the right idea

[@LakedaimonII]

Did you build It? Im building my new PC using rog strix b660i and arctic site has a warning regarding this MB. I wrote them asking new info, coz i read it depends about what revision they sended you. Im very angry about this.

[@cmr415]

Can report that the Fractal Design Lumen fits the Gigabyte z690i just fine. It has the pump in the rad, so the cpu block is slightly smaller.

[@mojojojo560]

If you did a computer course on skill share I’d buy it. Particularly PC building and formatting.

[@saxxy8whome]

@Optimum Tech Don't forget that Phanteks is releasing an ITX case. Would like to see a build with the phanteks and Intel 12th gen.

[@phucnguyen0110]

I still think that it might get better with B660/H610 ITX boards in the near future? Running a 12400 in an ITX case should be pretty damn nice.

[@youtubevanced4900]

Especially since it's identical performance to the 5600X and only $200.

[@wazz6003]

@@youtubevanced4900 Saw several comparisons today and the 12400f outperforms the 5600X at most of the games.

[@youtubevanced4900]

@@wazz6003 ah OK. I didn't see that in the brief look I saw. Looked like identical performance. Either way, the 5600X looks like a joke right now. It needs to drop to $180.

[@moltti]

I just built my 12900k + Z690-I Strix system this week with Phanteks Glacier 280mm AiO with the tubes facing the memory slots. The tubes clear the memory just fine but the huge M.2 and sound card stack's ribbon cable at the end brushes ever so slightly against the memory. Otherwise getting decent temps with stock settings in NR200P. Cinebench R23 multicore hit maximum of 88C.

[@theunz]

can you post some photo? I am having issue with a few aio for z690-I. thank you

[@MattLefebvre]

One big caveat that needs to also be addressed - is that the NZXT cooler have some of the thinnest tubes out of most AIO's, and it BARELY fits. If you go for an EKWB AIO, or anything with thicker tubes - it will not fit on the Aorus Z690i. Corsair's coolers do fit - but thats thanks to the smaller pump/block design. Rule of thumb for this ITX generation is if the tubes fall outside of the mounting bracket - it wont fit.

[@speed-of-heat]

It's not just ITX motherboards, ASUS ROG STRIX z690-A Gaming-Wifi D4 can't fit the NH-15D either, and in this case not because of the heat syncs but because of the blood plastic on top of the heat syncs!

[@johnqsak]

NOCTUA NH-L9i 17xx should be fine for this board no bigger than the mounting holes 92 mm. We've used them in 2 - 12700K build so far and great temps.

[@JunkysCrAcKeD]

What ram is this ?

[@wailim0903]

can't wait for the b660i build with 12400 seriously as here's also stuck in the air cooling low profile cpu cooler would fit in with the motherboard as well, nice video btw!

[@friend_aut1147]

Having the Asus Z690-I…the NZXT will not fit with dual Channel…the EKWB AIO seems small enough (space for the cooler only 95x95mm). The Noctua NH L-9x65 fits, but thermals under synthetic load are easily 100° or more, but are about 70° for gaming (BF2042, New World etc). Anyone who is interested: I’m planing on ordering one, but it will take 1-2 weeks until I can post results. According to the EK support, the Longstreet side of their AIO is 88mm, so it should fit.

[@SONSC]

I have tested the EK-AIO 280 D-RGB on Asus Z690-I, it will not fit in any "proper" configuration. Tubes to the top: No space Tubes to the right: If your RAM has no heatsinks and you are willing to have them bent, you can MAYBE orient the tubes toward the RAM but I would not recommend this. My DDR5 had heatsinks and I could not fit it in this orientation. Tubes to the bottom: No space because of the M.2 layers. The bottom M.2_2 layer also wont work without the top M.2_1 layer installed so you can not shave a bit by removing the top layer. However, if you are willing to have your M.2_1 layer hanging by a ribbon cable with no other attachment to the motherboard, you can put your SSD into the top layer and just not screw it in. I would not recommend this and moving the PC in this config might cause permanent damage, but it will work. Tubes to the left: No space My suggestion is to go with something that has been confirmed to fit like the Corsair H115i

[@Type1ASupernova]

Noctua NH-U9S is a perfect fit for these itx options

[@cooljaybz]

im planning an ITX build in 2023, hopefully that time issues will be resolved

[@lokkythor2282]

This is why you buy >>Phanteks enthoo pro 2

[@matasa7463]

It seems like an H670 + 12400 CPU seems to be the best bet for ITX intel 12th gen builds. They are incredibly efficient and should run cool and easily cooled with some downdraft coolers.