Ongoing Mini-ITX HTPC - D945GCLF2 (2 Viewers)

[Lyve]

Thank you for the warning, if it doesn't work I'll sell it again (bought it used on ebay) and buy another one. Hopefully it's working here, we've got an antenna on the top of the building that delivers a good signal strength though...

Small update on my system:

I exchanged the "boxed" power supply if the case that had a too loud fan against a M1-ATX 90W car PSU with 12-24V input range. I connected a 18V 6A notebook PSU, a totally silent PSU setup which is running fine.

Unfortunately, with the disconnected northbridge fan, the system produced too much heat now, because the fan of the old PSU was able too cool down the mainboard, too.

I now installed a 120mm fan on the case, northbridge is now 39°C, the Atom 51°, measured after 30mins of constantly full CPU load.

The 120mm is very quiet, the "loudest" component is now the 3,5" hard disk, which is really no problem at all.

 

[hbryce]

LittleKahuna

Thank you for your good wishes; hope you resolve your problems soon. See my new thread "Mini HTPC - Shuttle X27D"

 

[LittleKahuna]

Right, it's been over 6 months and I thought I'd just close this build off with a final review of the system, and the lessons I've learnt for next time.

System Performance:
The key point is, it works; play back of all media is stutter free at least.
However it becomes obvious when flicking back and forth within video files that the CPU is working hard to keep up.
The start up time of the system is one area that I am considerably un-happy with. When comparred to a 4 year old P4 the Atom is left trailing.
Just flicking through screens and menus within MP I feel it to be a bit too laggy.

Individual Component Issues:
Motherboard
I would say the dual-core atom suits the SFF motherboards, although not for anything too demanding.
The processor power does seem enough for my requirements, but I would still prefer a faster CPU in future to avoid the lag found in places, and hopefully a slightly smother use of the menus.
There are two major draw-backs to this board in my opinion (for HTPC use at least).
1 - The northbridge fan noise. For such a little fan this thing really kicks up at lot of noise. Looking at other reviews my experience is not a one-off.
I found the noise level un-acceptable even when the TV was on, so like many other users I removed the fan and installed a Mini-Kaze fan.
The replacement isn't ideal as it does not sit on the northbridge heatsink perfectly, and the fans mounting holes needed enlarging to mate with the heatsink mounting screws.
2 - VGA output. I didn't realise the difference visible between VGA and DVI until I used this board, but the VGA output provides a dissapointing picture. I would describe it as fuzzy/blurred almost when compared to DVI.
I will certainly look for a DVI/HDMI out on the next board.

Pro's
Small
Daul-Core Atom
Cheap

Con's
Noisy
VGA output

Media-Drive
The cheap generic drive is noisy, especially on boot up. The answer...makes sure I remove the DVD after watching
Next time I'll look to use a full sized drive.

Case
The case is an excellent starting point for anyone wanting to build a SFF. As it comes with a PSU installed, theres no worries about aditional purchases or space requirements for a 3rd party power source.
And it's relatively cheap.
The looks are not bad. However it is obvious it is a PC, and not really a HTPC case (especially when comparred to the Silverstones cases!).
The layout does not waste any internal space. You can fit everything you'll need for a basic HTPC inside, but you'll need to pay attention to heat sink sizes and wiring layout.
The only downside to the case is the system fan. It is no where near as bad as the original northbridge fan on the intel board, but it does become noticeable now the mini-Kaze is installed.
I would replace it, but that requires removing all the components as the lower mounting screws are obstructed by the mobo when installed.
I'm also having difficulties finding a replacement for it as it's 80x80x10mm. The 10mm depth seems rare for this size fan, and anything deeper will make fitting the mobo impossible.

TV Card
I've had no problems with installing the hauppauge card, all channels found first time and the remote works perfectly. I haven't tried a system 'Sleep' or 'Hibernation' which some users claim causes problems so I can't comment in that regards.
The one problem I have found is the arieal connection to the board is temprimental. If I lose signal strength/quality for a channel I have to move the cable till I find the right spot and the problems stop.


Software.
I am totally amazed at what MediaPortal is capable of, and I'm so happy to find an alternative to MythTV that is Windows based. I wasn't looking forward to learning a Linux distro just to record Freeview TV.
I have only come across two bugs worth reporting to-date. however they do spoil the enjoyment of this software.
1/ Can not record in .MPEG format. All my recordings fail when I use the MPEG format, however .TS works fine. I know this isn't a regularly reported problem so I assume it's driver related.
However after changing drivers and using different combinations I'm yet to solve the issue.
2/ System reboots. This is not a consistant problem. But the majority of times I record two programes at once the system will crash and reboot.
This is regardless of me watching live TV at the same time (i.e. both Tuners are free). The problem does not occur as soon as the recordings start, but someway into the programs, and at different intervals.
The problem will also occur when watching Live TV (no recordings), although far less frequently. The strange part is MediaPortal does not seem to recognise a problem, there are no error logs. However Windows does report a System fault occured.
The system is perfectly stable witout MP running, and problems only occur when the Tuners are active. Unfortunatley I think this will require a hardware config change to resolve.


Lessons Learnt
Although I aimed to create a small HTPC based around the Mini-ITX standard, and succeded (within in reason), I don't feel it was a blinding success.
For the next model I would not use a Mini-ITX board (at least none presently on the market).
I will opt for more 'power', a larger mobo capable of using a 'normal' main-stream processor, with DVI-out and PCI-E expansion.
Obviously the case will need to reflect this, but in hind-sight I feel something larger will allow me more options for noise reduction and cooling, as well as allowing me to use a standard size media drive and additional HDD's.

Summary.
The Mini-ITX board is capable of being used as a HTPC base, and is above 'adequate' in doing so. However the small size, and low price have thier performance down-sides.
As such, for a home HTPC, I would not recommend using the current Mini-ITX boards.

LK