But ZOTAC definitely knows its stuff when it comes to ITX boards. I've had two separate ITX boards from them and never had a problem with either.
The problem (and this is just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt) is that AMD's desktop processors aren't particularly well-suited for HTPC/ITX system use - my experience has always been that they need more breathing room than Intel's processors, and AMD doesn't offer much that can compete with the 35W TDP processors that Intel offers.
(Also, that statement ignores Brazos, which seems to be a fine choice for a small system if you want to avoid Atom but don't want to pay for Sandy Bridge.)
Llano isn't actually too bad, thermally. It has the power gating needed to really save energy under everyday load (like with HTPCs). So while you're dropping a high TDP chip in, you really never push it enough to require a big cooler. However, AMD should offer a low TDP FM1 chip. Maybe 45-55w (since it has a GPU, too).
try a netbook such as Acer 522, it's got c-60 hdmi and vga out.
I play 1080p youtube content at 30-40 % CPU utilization and it was $199, only thing I added was a 4 gig sodimm for $25 as 1 gig that it comes with is useless.
The silver heatsink must be the Hudson D3, but what is the chip with the two sticker labels on it to its left? Also, how likely will the four USB 3.0 ports coming off the discrete controller be able to provide full bandwidth to all the ports simultaneously? (and same question for the chipset USB 3.0 ports if anyone knows)...I also don't see a 20-pin USB 3.0 header, but I guess it's pretty tought cramming another header onto a mini-itx.
The USB 3.0 controller is most likely using a PCIe x4 slot (all CPU lanes, i.e. 16, are used for the open PCIe slot, one lane for WiFi card), which has a maximum bandwidth of 20Gb/s. Four USB 3.0 ports can theoretically provide 20Gb/s as well, so at least the PCIe shouldn't slow things down. Of course, it depends on the controller as some have higher performance than others.
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Andrew.a.cunningham - Thursday, September 22, 2011 - link
But ZOTAC definitely knows its stuff when it comes to ITX boards. I've had two separate ITX boards from them and never had a problem with either.The problem (and this is just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt) is that AMD's desktop processors aren't particularly well-suited for HTPC/ITX system use - my experience has always been that they need more breathing room than Intel's processors, and AMD doesn't offer much that can compete with the 35W TDP processors that Intel offers.
Andrew.a.cunningham - Thursday, September 22, 2011 - link
(Also, that statement ignores Brazos, which seems to be a fine choice for a small system if you want to avoid Atom but don't want to pay for Sandy Bridge.)MonkeyPaw - Thursday, September 22, 2011 - link
Llano isn't actually too bad, thermally. It has the power gating needed to really save energy under everyday load (like with HTPCs). So while you're dropping a high TDP chip in, you really never push it enough to require a big cooler. However, AMD should offer a low TDP FM1 chip. Maybe 45-55w (since it has a GPU, too).Breathless - Thursday, September 22, 2011 - link
that they put the hardware together nicely and seem to always screw the pooch on the implementation of their bios's....speedbump99 - Thursday, September 22, 2011 - link
try a netbook such as Acer 522, it's got c-60 hdmi and vga out.I play 1080p youtube content at 30-40 % CPU utilization and it was $199, only thing I added was a 4 gig sodimm for $25 as 1 gig that it comes with is useless.
etamin - Thursday, September 22, 2011 - link
The silver heatsink must be the Hudson D3, but what is the chip with the two sticker labels on it to its left? Also, how likely will the four USB 3.0 ports coming off the discrete controller be able to provide full bandwidth to all the ports simultaneously? (and same question for the chipset USB 3.0 ports if anyone knows)...I also don't see a 20-pin USB 3.0 header, but I guess it's pretty tought cramming another header onto a mini-itx.vaibhavsagar - Friday, September 23, 2011 - link
The chip is an mPCIe wireless card, you can see the antenna connections leading away from it.Paul Tarnowski - Friday, September 23, 2011 - link
Header is behind the audio ports. You can just make out the black box.Kristian Vättö - Saturday, September 24, 2011 - link
The USB 3.0 controller is most likely using a PCIe x4 slot (all CPU lanes, i.e. 16, are used for the open PCIe slot, one lane for WiFi card), which has a maximum bandwidth of 20Gb/s. Four USB 3.0 ports can theoretically provide 20Gb/s as well, so at least the PCIe shouldn't slow things down. Of course, it depends on the controller as some have higher performance than others.dfghdfshhh - Friday, September 23, 2011 - link
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