What Mini ITX Atom/Ion solution to get ?

[Ben_j]

For the moment, I have a Gigabyte GA-GC230D motherboard for my media center (that is also a home server, so it's always on). I'd like to change that because it was OK as a home server, but now that I use it as media center too, it feels a bit weak.

I'd like to be able to play videos smoothly, possibly in HD, to play SNES and N64 games without having stuck frames from time to time, and just use the computer without it being all slow and laggy.

I'm hesitating between a few solutions :

Two cheap ones :

Atom 230 + Ion

Atom 510 + NM10

And the expensive one :

Atom 330 + Ion

I can't really understand why the Atom 330 makes the price almost double in a lot of cases, compared to the Zotac mobo with an Atom 230, it's a shame because I'd like to have a faster CPU to handle Filezilla Server, IIS, µTorrent and stuff on one session, and still have a smooth experience with MediaCenter/MediaPortal on another session.

Now there's the new Atom 510 + NM10, but I'm affraid it won't be very effective when it comes to HD. But if you tell me that it will be able to handle all the server side, and still play videos and run an emulator perfectly without any lag, I think I'll take it

Finally, the best solution would be the Atom 330 + Ion. The best of the best would be the Asus AT3IONT-I DELUXE, with its included fanless power supply (my server is quite noisy at the moment), built in widi, bluetooth and remote. But it's twice the price so it makes me think a little...

What would you advise me ?

[Tripredacus]

I haven't liked any Atoms yet so far that I've tried. I also wouldn't get a fanless because those things heat up faster than my PS3. I've burned my hand once on a fanless mini before. Right now, my current favorite is the AOpen DE965-HG, but its end of life and replaced by the DE45-HG. They are pretty quit even tho there is a fan in them. Plus they have built in HDMI as well, but there is a limitation as to it displaying properly on some resolutions (such as 1440x900) while on the desktop.

Otherwise, get something with a really big fan OR use effective fan management in the BIOS of your system, which most people don't even set up.

FWIW I use my Windows 98 PC as a "media server" to play my SNES games on...

[Ben_j]

From what I've read the D510 does not heat up a lot, and I just want a mobo, not a whole box. I will put it in a big box, so the hard drive won't be close to the mobo and the temperature should be fine. My biggest problem right now is the power supply fan anyway, I don't mind having a small fan on the cpu.

[Tripredacus]

I haven't had any problems with the D510MO that I can remember... You may just need a new PSU or go get a green PSU like Antec's Earthwatts or similar type. My regular PC uses a Sparkle PSU and (as long as my IDE HDD is asleep) Its so quiet that I sometimes think its not even on!

[Ben_j]

What about performances ? Are you able to play hd videos ? Is Media Center running smoothly ? Have you tried N64 emulation (with Project 64) ?

[puntoMX]

If you use an ATX case, why not buy something based on the AMD 880G with a low power AMD CPU?

[Ben_j]

If you use an ATX case, why not buy something based on the AMD 880G with a low power AMD CPU?

I still plan to buy an HTPC case sometime later.

I think I'll buy a fanless PSU too anyway in the future, so I should take the Asus ion+330 deluxe, it's more expensive but has an included PSU. But then I'll have to buy some DDR3 too

[shabuboy]

Hello,

I did have a MSI Wind Nettop 100 Desktop PC (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Dual Core N330 Processor. it was a barebone), using as a HTPC with 2gig ram, 1TB HD and a DVD burner. I just used it to download movies/music using utorrent and play 720p videos on my 32" TV using CoreAVC software. TALK ABOUT AN ENERGY SAVER!!! Never had an issue with it. It did play some 1080p videos but not most of them. Sold the system to a relative last week. Budget was around $320.

I'm now looking into building a very similar system but with Atom D510 or D525 MOBO using the a Apex MI-008 but with 4gb RAM. However, this system is IF you do not care for HDMI/DVI. I do wish it was an option though. The amount is about the same as before, $320.

However, this time I'm looking into getting a PCI Video card or adding a Broadcom Crystal HD PCI express Mini Card. From what I read, that should allow to play 1080p videos. It will add around $50.

Would love to find out what people say!

Shabuboy

Edited September 21, 2010 by shabuboy

[puntoMX]

Well, read what I said some time ago, that would be a cheap and nice setup but needs a micro ATX case. Onboard 1080p and above hardware, HDMI, DVI, VGA, optical out, 6 stereo outputs/inputs and some space to expand.

If you use an ATX case, why not buy something based on the AMD 880G with a low power AMD CPU?

Better don't tell where you get your movies and music from, just as a side note .