A tale of two tiny Llano motherboards

Subject: Motherboards | October 11, 2011 - 04:47 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: mITX, llano, amd, asus, F1A75-I Deluxe, zotac, A75-ITX WiFi

If you are planning a microITX Llano build, it will be well worth your time to drop by The Tech Report as they are comparing two different mITX A75 boards. The ASUS F1A75-I Deluxe and Zotac A75-ITX WiFi boards have many similarities, a pair of DDR3 slots, a single PCIe 16x slot, 4 SATA 6Gbps slots, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs with audio from the Realtek ALC892. The differences lie in the outputs, where ASUS only has a pair of USB 3.0 ports, Zotac managed to squeeze a half dozen in at the cost of lowering the USB 2.0 port count. To find out if there are any performance differences, you will have to read the full article.

"The tight integration of AMD's Llano platform is perfectly suited to Mini-ITX motherboards. We test two of 'em from Asus and Zotac to see what's what."

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Motherboards

Source: The Tech Report

Thermaltake's new case proves that good things can come in small packages

Subject: Cases and Cooling | August 26, 2011 - 01:09 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: SFF, mITX

The Thermaltake Element Q Mini-ITX case measures just 13" x 8.7" x 5.1" but still manages to have space for a DVD/BluRay drive along with the rest of the required parts of your PC, though you are going to have a hard time using anything but onboard graphics. The price is also small, $65 for a miniITX case is a great deal, especially when it looks as good as teh Element Q. For any sort of SFF or HTPC project this case is a great way to start; as The Tech Report proves in their recent review.

"For just $65, Thermaltake's Element Q Mini-ITX chassis offers a 200W PSU, support for 5.25" optical drives, and subtle styling reminiscent of the Golf GTI. We take a closer look to see if this really is the PC equivalent of a hot hatchback."

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CASES & COOLING

Source: The Tech Report

Pick up the Habey EMC-600B HTPC case for under $100

Subject: Systems | June 24, 2011 - 02:08 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: SFF, mITX, htpc, case

One challenge when building an HTPC is finding an enclosure that won't end up being half of the cost of building the machine. You could use a cheap SFF case but it will look a little gauche when sitting beside your other home theatre equipment. Habey now offers a choice with a $70 case and 120W PSU combo that would blend seamlessly into a living room with the new EMC-600B. There were compromises made in the design to keep the costs low, the most important of which is the lack of anywhere to put an optical drive which is exacerbated by the lack of any extra USB ports on the case. If that doesn't completely deter you then check out Missing Remote's full review.

"The Wesena ITX7, HDPlex H10.ODD and Vidabox vCase3 are all great cases with a direct focus on HTPC aesthetics and each has their pros and cons. The one con almost always present when discussing HTPC chassis is PRICE--SFF chassis with home theater A/V focused designs are frequently over the $100 price range, not including the power supply. What Habey is offering in their EMC-600B enclosure is a stylish aluminum SFF chassis for mini-ITX only that occupies a tiny footprint with a nice appearance to fit just as appropriately in your A/V stack as in your bedroom--and it includes a power supply, all for under $70."

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Systems

Source: Missing Remote

Fancy a silent PC case with no work involved? The HDPLEX H3.SODD is for you

Subject: Cases and Cooling | May 24, 2011 - 04:17 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: HDPLEX, silent, mITX

Silent PC Review just met it's first so called 'silent' case that actually lives up to the name without needing user modification. The HDPLEX H3.SODD is an mITX case which looks like a home theatre component or a fancy rack-mount case. The inputs and outputs are hidden nicely as are the power button and slim DVD eject port. The design should be cool enough to handle a CPU of about 85W TDP, the i3-2120 SPCR used had no problems which lead them to make that estimate on the cooling power. It is a little more expensive than some cases, coming in over $200, in this case it does seem you get what you pay for.

"The new H3.SODD media case for mini-ITX from HDPLEX is a more compact version of the H10 we examined a couple of months ago. This slim-line case performances and exudes high end chic despite its modest price tag. Our sample also manages to be the very first completely silent commercial computer SPCR has encountered after nine years of continuous operation."

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

CASES & COOLING

Source: Silent PC Review

PC Perspective

A tale of two tiny Llano motherboards

Subject: Motherboards | October 11, 2011 - 04:47 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom Tagged: mITX, llano, amd, asus, F1A75-I Deluxe, zotac, A75-ITX WiFi