Mini-ITX boards

DenSweeP

DenSweeP

New member
I'm looking for an inexpensive mini-ITX board that has a HDMI port. I want to build the smallest media PC I can, but don't need anything overly fancy, but the HDMI port is essential. A Atom styled board or the AMD version will work as well. I know there are some LGA1155 boards as well that require a CPU, but I'll look at them as well.

So, anyone who has built their own tiny media PC and what did you use and what did it cost you? I currently have a media player, but it has its limitations.
 
Seen those. Very nice, especially the Ultra, but that price is a bit too rough for me. Was hoping to get it in cheaper and also buy as I can. Also, there is also only one hDD bay which is quite limiting.
 
I would suggest looking at something with atleast an nvidia chipset if you are looking for an atom board.

What OS are you planning on running on the HTPC?

I have seen the Xtreamer Ultra locally for around R3k. I dont think you can build a decent HTPC for less than that. Personally I am thinking this is the best option for me. I have all of my content stored on my Unraid NAS, so storage is not an issue for me.

It also comes with a remote aswell as a mini wireless keyboard. It also has an esata port for connecting an external HDD to.
 
i also want to get one of the Ultras. The fact that it plays 3D as well adds to package. I have the PS3 to play 3D blurays but does not play other 3D content. For me to build a pc for that is gonna cost more i think.

All my media is shared on my home network so there are 4 PCs all with place for more HDD. I don't really want a big thing next to my TV. The fact that it also has a mini mouse and keyboard is great.
 
Eh Atom's are not the best for media PCs (Even the Dual Core 525) - Google a review or two. Nor are AMD's Brazos boards. Your best bet is finding a board that you can put a CPU in although you will pay more.

Otherwise get yourself an ACRyan HD2 media player. Definitely has HD.

Saw a review of it in PC Format Aug.
 
stroebs said:
Eh Atom's are not the best for media PCs (Even the Dual Core 525) - Google a review or two. Nor are AMD's Brazos boards. Your best bet is finding a board that you can put a CPU in although you will pay more.

Otherwise get yourself an ACRyan HD2 media player. Definitely has HD.

Saw a review of it in PC Format Aug.
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HAHA. I have the AC Ryan Mini 1 with the newer firmware on. It is awesome. The only reason why i want a new one is that i wanna test out the 3D more on my TV. Other then that it is really really good. 1080p content plays awesome no problem, 5.1 content plays awesome, network ability is also great. Only thing about the mini one is that the network is 10/100 and not 10/100/1000. It does not really need 1000mb but it is nice.
 
So does the HD2 run its own custom software?

I will have to check out that review, that HD2 looks pretty sweet. I will have to see if the software has the features that I require. But hardware wise it looks like it has all the bases covered for me

I cant live without the device tracking what I have watched and what I still need to watch. Thats why I loved the Xtreamer idea so much , since I can just load a custom Linux image and run XBMC.
 
NeuralBlade said:
So does the HD2 run its own custom software?

I will have to check out that review, that HD2 looks pretty sweet. I will have to see if the software has the features that I require. But hardware wise it looks like it has all the bases covered for me

I cant live without the device tracking what I have watched and what I still need to watch. Thats why I loved the Xtreamer idea so much , since I can just load a custom Linux image and run XBMC.
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Nope. as far as i know it has the AC Ryan software. I just don't know the versions. I had the older version software on the mini 1 and it was capable to run the newer versions.

As far as i know it does not show you what you have watched and have yet to watch. What i normally do is remember what i have watched by adding it to my built in memory banks. :D lol. I kid. it would be a nice feature, maybe i have not found it yet. I know the Xtreamer can even run Android.
 
Can a person run Windows 7 HP 64 on that Xtreamer Ultra?

My biggest issue my current player, the Xtreamer, is that I'm always struggling with it on my home network. And you also can't browse the internet and sometimes I want to stream Supersport Live video, but neither my PS3 or the Xtreamer can.
 
would like to make one myself too, did a htpc for myself not pretty though would love to see what you do , as for the xtreamer ultra, yikes that's rather expensive imho, but heck if you can afford it and want it go for it. personally i would love to make a very small yet powerful htpc and i think the mini-itxx boards will be a nice option. currently i am using a amd setup with everything on board with micro atx board still too big though, would like something the size of an external hard drive with hdd in and dvdrom
 
Looks really nice. Wonder if any locals sell it. But I think I'm just gonna make a plan with my older Core 2 Duo setup rather.The only drawback with it is the board is ATX, so that means large chassis. Oh well.
 
I've been playing and have come up with this for a media PC. Your opinions would be appreciated and if you have reviews to point to, it would help.

For the board I want to use this: MSI E350IA-E45 Price is Approx R1150 incl VAT.

For chassis I will go with this: ISK-100
Mini-ITX Desktop Price is about R750 incl VAT.

Then I will use normal 2.5" 500GB drive and stick in about 4GB of RAM. Nothing fancy.
 
DenSweeP said:
What would be the minimum PSU for this?
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I've seen Mini-ITX cases with psu's as low as 60w, but the norm tends to be a 150w SFX psu, which is more than sufficient.

SFX is 100% compatible with ATX, if I recall the SFX is missing the -5V rail which is required for isa expansion cards, therefore if you are concerned about power usage you can use a normal ATX psu depending on the chassis of course.

I've found the following review on that MSI board, and I often check out reviews at Guru 3D MSI E350IA-E45 review

2 chassis that I've been looking at is Gigabyte i3140 and I also had a look at an Antec one, the ISK 310-150 but I had an issue with the lack of an internal 3.5" hdd bay.
 
Nah, the 3.5" doesn't bother me. I specifically want a small unit and therefore don't mind sticking in a notebook HDD. Besides, they use less power anyway.

Saw the review on Guru and he loves it and I abide by guru's word!
 
DenSweeP said:
Nah, the 3.5" doesn't bother me. I specifically want a small unit and therefore don't mind sticking in a notebook HDD. Besides, they use less power anyway.

Saw the review on Guru and he loves it and I abide by guru's word!
Click to expand...

That setup should make one awesome (and tiny) HTPC setup, paired with your OS of choice and XBMC you can't go wrong :)
 
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