CPU Overclocking in SFF pc. Worth it ?

[Martix50]

Hi guys,
first of all great forum, this is my first post but i've been luring for a while.

so I want to build a coffee lake SFF PC as tiny as possible. I haven't decided which case to go with yet but from what I've seen most of them are similar in the fact that they can have a low aftermarket CPU cooler and that is basically it as far as cpu/mobo ventilation goes.

So i came to the conclusion that an I5 8600k would be worth my money over an I5 8400 (70-80£ cheaper) only if I'm able to decently overclock it. so the big question is: Is overclocking doable/advisable in those extremely small cases ?I also want to keep the noise level reasonable.

thanks

 

[VegetableStu]

which case are you looking at? Ideally you want the CPU cooler fan (or with help from a nearby case fan) to dump as much hot air out of the case, while another fan dumps room air in, being careful to not create a "fluid" loop

 

[Martix50]

which case are you looking at?

right now i'm honestly going back and forth between many cases. Dan case is probably my favourite but i also like the Lazer3d one, the Dr zaber, and the NFC-s4. while i wait for restock i might just pick up a disposable super cheap itx case or just run the pc from the mobo box :-)

 

[VegetableStu]

Okay this is the reverse since you can't have case fans (or at least one for the L3D LZ7): Have the CPU cooler fan dump room air in as much as you can. Let all the natural vents get the hot air out from the positive(-ish) pressure.

The good news here is that the cases behaves like an open-air test bench in unobstructed orientations, so as long as something's airbending inside you'd do fine (the exception being the LZ7 since the CPU cooler is under the PSU, so you might need more input from others first).

 

[Martix50]

so we have 1 vote for "overclockability", if I understood correctly. anyone else ?

 

[Phuncz]

Overclocking doesn't depend on case size but on cooling capacity and component selection. Two examples in this thread. So if your cooling and components (and noise preferences) allows it, you can overclock.

 

[ignsvn]

I don't OC my cpu, but i do OC my Zotac GTX 950 single fan, about 15% iirc.

Case is SG08.

 

[msystems]

Also you can still get creative in the way that you overclock while being thermally limited so it's worth it to try. Even if you don't Max out the voltage.

Like you can undervolt the chips while overclocking. Also setting the boost high as you want while setting TDP limiter, so single thread applications perform high. No matter what your thermal headroom is, you can squeeze more performance out.

 

[McTeags]

I’ve seen people fit a 92mm all in one CPU cooler in the Dan A4 SFX. They used it while overclocking the 7700k or 6700k while maintaining reasonable temperatures. Note that this solution is only compatible when you use an SFX (not SFX-L) PSU.

From what I understand the case as a whole can get pretty hot if you throw something like a GTX 1080 Ti in there. Blower style GPUs tend to provide you with some better temperatures.