My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
- Apoptosis
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My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
I got in my first Mini-ITX NVIDIA Ion system build and finally started to put the pieces together.
ASUS AT3N7A-I Motherboard - ~159.99
Western Digital Scorpio Black 250GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive WD2500BEKT - $70.91
Kingston 2GB DDR2 800MHz ValueRam KVR800D2N5K2/2G - $35.50
Panasonic UJ-135-A SATA Slimline Slot-Loading Blu-ray Player -$199.99
Travla Mini-ITX Case TE-T287 - $111.00
Total Cost = ~$577.39 before Windows 7 64-bit
Here are some pictures:
Here is the issue that I have... The Travla Mini-ITX 287 Case comes with the laptop style brick power supply, which is rated at 60W. The crazy thing is that it comes with four power supply connectors... A 20-Pin ATX, a 4-pin CPU, one Floppy and one SATA... The case supports two hard drives and an optical drive... Why in the world would they give me a floppy power connector? Also, it doesn't have any 4-pin molex-connectors, so I can't use a 4-pin molex to two 4-pin SATA connector adapter like this one.... GRRR I'm frustrated and my Panasonic UJ-135-A SATA Slimline Slot-Loading Blu-ray Player is all show and no go. I had to hook up an USB powered external optical drive just to get Windows 7 installed. Looks like I need one of these SATA power splitters to get the hard drive and Blu-Ray player running at the same time. I wonder if anyone here in St. Louis would carry that splitter.
ASUS AT3N7A-I Motherboard - ~159.99
Western Digital Scorpio Black 250GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive WD2500BEKT - $70.91
Kingston 2GB DDR2 800MHz ValueRam KVR800D2N5K2/2G - $35.50
Panasonic UJ-135-A SATA Slimline Slot-Loading Blu-ray Player -$199.99
Travla Mini-ITX Case TE-T287 - $111.00
Total Cost = ~$577.39 before Windows 7 64-bit
Here are some pictures:
Here is the issue that I have... The Travla Mini-ITX 287 Case comes with the laptop style brick power supply, which is rated at 60W. The crazy thing is that it comes with four power supply connectors... A 20-Pin ATX, a 4-pin CPU, one Floppy and one SATA... The case supports two hard drives and an optical drive... Why in the world would they give me a floppy power connector? Also, it doesn't have any 4-pin molex-connectors, so I can't use a 4-pin molex to two 4-pin SATA connector adapter like this one.... GRRR I'm frustrated and my Panasonic UJ-135-A SATA Slimline Slot-Loading Blu-ray Player is all show and no go. I had to hook up an USB powered external optical drive just to get Windows 7 installed. Looks like I need one of these SATA power splitters to get the hard drive and Blu-Ray player running at the same time. I wonder if anyone here in St. Louis would carry that splitter.
Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
Some day I'll build me an HTPC...I'm curious to see how this works out.
I actually just bought a Samsung PN50B860 plasma tv because my DLP is dying. As little as I watch TV, I don't think I'll spend any more on TV stuff for a bit.
I actually just bought a Samsung PN50B860 plasma tv because my DLP is dying. As little as I watch TV, I don't think I'll spend any more on TV stuff for a bit.
Joe
- Dragon_Cooler
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Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
This is exactly like what I was wanting to build. PLEASE, ME NEED TO SEE MORE!! Let me know how it does on 1080p playback!
- dicecca112
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Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
The Dual Core Atom did horribly w/1080p playback, I'd be curious to see how the addition of the Nvidia chipset does
- Apoptosis
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Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
I'll be checking that now that the system is built...dicecca112 wrote:The Dual Core Atom did horribly w/1080p playback, I'd be curious to see how the addition of the Nvidia chipset does
Just got the power adapter that I needed overnight mailed from Newegg... They shipped it in a huge box that weighed in at 4lbs... Talk about a waste.
Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
pretty sure that is the smallest box they have. I got a couple sticks of RAM in a box that size.
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
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- Dragon_Cooler
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Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
Nate... How is this build goin? what are the end results? How well does it do HD 1080p..etc..??
Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
What Dragon Cooler Said, The atom processors are quite cool, and I feel it should be more than capable for it with a little gfx help.
Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
Hey, Nate. You're using Windows 7, right? Can you test 1080p VC-1 playback via Media Center on your build? I just connected the ION and it seems the only way I can get VC-1 hardware acceleration is if I exit 7MC and play the files back via MPC HomeCinema. Something I'm okay with but is not so user friendly for the parents. Off the top of my head, Fast & Furious (Blu-Ray) uses VC-1. Harry Potter and Heroes, too, I think, although I'm not entirely sure.
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Antec P182 / Corsair 550VX / Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R / Core 2 Duo E7200 @ 2.53 / Wintec AMPX 2x2GB DDR2 800 / Sapphire 100233L Radeon HD 3450 / WD Caviar SE16 750GB x3 / WD Caviar GP 750GB / Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7190A x2 / XP Pro SP2
unRAID Server
Antec 300 / Corsair 520HX / Abit AB9 Pro / Celeron 430 @ 1.80 / Kingston ValueRAM 2x1GB DDR2 667 / ATI Rage XL / Seagate 7200.11 1.5TB x9 / unRAID 4.3.3
Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
This is exactly like what I was wanting to build. Let me know how it does on 1080p playback !
- Illuminati
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Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
Check out the article Nate wrote on this build. http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1057/1/sushrukh wrote:This is exactly like what I was wanting to build. Let me know how it does on 1080p playback !
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Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
If I were to build a HTPC today, this setup would DEFINATELY be on my list.
Main Rig: E8400@3600mhz, Asus P5Q, OCZ 4GB, EVGA GTX260 216, Corsair HX520, Antec 300, Samsung 2443BW
HTPC1: E5200@2500mhz, EVGA 780i SLI, OCZ 2GB, Asus 9600GSO, OCZ GameXStream 600W, LG 47LG70 LCD TV
HTPC2: E6500@3300mhz, DFI DK X48 T2RS, Kingston 2GB, Palit 9800GT Green, BFG 550W, Acer H5360 720p 120hz Projector
HTPC1: E5200@2500mhz, EVGA 780i SLI, OCZ 2GB, Asus 9600GSO, OCZ GameXStream 600W, LG 47LG70 LCD TV
HTPC2: E6500@3300mhz, DFI DK X48 T2RS, Kingston 2GB, Palit 9800GT Green, BFG 550W, Acer H5360 720p 120hz Projector
Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
I've always wanted to DIY an HTPC to stream stuff from my PC, though the overall always scared me off. I wonder, how does Atom + Ion compare to Atom + Broadcom Crystal HD? I figure the savings gained from not going with an Ion chipset might make it more enticing, but is playback performance affected at all?
Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
Any special reason you're going for the ION? Because you can get 785G+Athlon II X2 or GF9300+Celeron E3xxx/Pentium E5xxx for the same price as an ION board. Power consumption isn't going to differ much, either.Kurotetsu wrote:I've always wanted to DIY an HTPC to stream stuff from my PC, though the overall always scared me off. I wonder, how does Atom + Ion compare to Atom + Broadcom Crystal HD? I figure the savings gained from not going with an Ion chipset might make it more enticing, but is playback performance affected at all?
File Server/Media Encoder/PVR PC
Antec P182 / Corsair 550VX / Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R / Core 2 Duo E7200 @ 2.53 / Wintec AMPX 2x2GB DDR2 800 / Sapphire 100233L Radeon HD 3450 / WD Caviar SE16 750GB x3 / WD Caviar GP 750GB / Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7190A x2 / XP Pro SP2
unRAID Server
Antec 300 / Corsair 520HX / Abit AB9 Pro / Celeron 430 @ 1.80 / Kingston ValueRAM 2x1GB DDR2 667 / ATI Rage XL / Seagate 7200.11 1.5TB x9 / unRAID 4.3.3
Antec P182 / Corsair 550VX / Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R / Core 2 Duo E7200 @ 2.53 / Wintec AMPX 2x2GB DDR2 800 / Sapphire 100233L Radeon HD 3450 / WD Caviar SE16 750GB x3 / WD Caviar GP 750GB / Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7190A x2 / XP Pro SP2
unRAID Server
Antec 300 / Corsair 520HX / Abit AB9 Pro / Celeron 430 @ 1.80 / Kingston ValueRAM 2x1GB DDR2 667 / ATI Rage XL / Seagate 7200.11 1.5TB x9 / unRAID 4.3.3
Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
Well, right now I'm interested in a standard Atom board + Broadcom Crystal HD, but to answer your question I'm considering it because of the m-ITX formfactor. I know Sapphire is releasing a 785G mITX board, but so far I've seen no indication that its coming out in the US. As for the Zotac GF9300, that might be something to consider. Though that board has a pretty big chipset heatsink, could that fit into an mITX case like the one the OP used?hnzw_rui wrote: Any special reason you're going for the ION? Because you can get 785G+Athlon II X2 or GF9300+Celeron E3xxx/Pentium E5xxx for the same price as an ION board. Power consumption isn't going to differ much, either.
Re: My First NVIDIA Ion Mini-ITX HTPC Build - Learning As I Go
The chipset heatsink, sure. If you're installing an optical drive, though, I'm not so sure about the CPU HSF.Kurotetsu wrote:As for the Zotac GF9300, that might be something to consider. Though that board has a pretty big chipset heatsink, could that fit into an mITX case like the one the OP used?
File Server/Media Encoder/PVR PC
Antec P182 / Corsair 550VX / Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R / Core 2 Duo E7200 @ 2.53 / Wintec AMPX 2x2GB DDR2 800 / Sapphire 100233L Radeon HD 3450 / WD Caviar SE16 750GB x3 / WD Caviar GP 750GB / Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7190A x2 / XP Pro SP2
unRAID Server
Antec 300 / Corsair 520HX / Abit AB9 Pro / Celeron 430 @ 1.80 / Kingston ValueRAM 2x1GB DDR2 667 / ATI Rage XL / Seagate 7200.11 1.5TB x9 / unRAID 4.3.3
Antec P182 / Corsair 550VX / Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R / Core 2 Duo E7200 @ 2.53 / Wintec AMPX 2x2GB DDR2 800 / Sapphire 100233L Radeon HD 3450 / WD Caviar SE16 750GB x3 / WD Caviar GP 750GB / Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7190A x2 / XP Pro SP2
unRAID Server
Antec 300 / Corsair 520HX / Abit AB9 Pro / Celeron 430 @ 1.80 / Kingston ValueRAM 2x1GB DDR2 667 / ATI Rage XL / Seagate 7200.11 1.5TB x9 / unRAID 4.3.3