Rate my Zacate
#1
Think I'll get these:

MSI AMD Zacate E350/dual core AMD Hudson M1/DDR3/A&V&GbE/Mini ITX Motherboard E350IS-E45 - MSI COMPUTER $129.99

Antec MicroFusion Remote 350 Mini HTPC Enclosure - Antec $125

PicoPSU-90 + 80W Adapter Power Kit Cyncronix Rating - min-box.com $55

(2) Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive 2TB WD20EARS $79.99*2

OCZ SSD Vertex 30GB (laying around here someplace)

Rii Mini Wireles Keyboard with Touchpad (RT-MWK01) $29.99

PNY Optima MD4096KD3-1333 4GB Dual Channel Kit DDR3 1333 MHz PC3-10666 Desktop DIMM Memory Module - PNY $42.99

TOTAL w/shipping = $563.11 USD
Will the two 3.5" drives + the 2.5" SSD all fit ok? I'm using Pico PSU so I'll probably have room where the onboard PSU used to be.
How much power do I need? Which Pico should I get?

I use amazon rather than newegg because i'm in california so this build would be around $50 in sales tax at newegg for me:mad:
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#2
For me it looks stupid to use such big case with mITX mobo. This case is cool but for mATX mobo with strong cpu & gpu. Im not sure how you want place more hdd's than are supported.

Asrock E350M1 is cheaper.
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#3
asrock only has a 1 yr warranty. i would stick with the MSI for their 3 yr warranty
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#4
FWIK both have 2y warranty.
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#5
nemek Wrote:For me it looks stupid to use such big case with mITX mobo.
What case would you guys recommend? Is there really that much size diff between an mITX and mATX case?
nemek Wrote:Im not sure how you want place more hdd's than are supported.
Total of 3 HDDs. I probably wasn't clear: 1 ssd for boot, and 2 spinners for movies and stuff. Board has 4 6GB sata ports. My current HTPC is maxed out with 2TB of movies and stuff.
nemek Wrote:Asrock E350M1 is cheaper.
Asrock is not much cheaper for me as newegg is the only place has it and the tax for me is $14, so for $6 more I get solid caps on the msi.

This is good feedback! Blunt and Direct. I like it. More please.

Also what the hell size PSU do I really need?
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#6
I'd separate the media from the HTPC. Do you have older hardware lying around that you can put to use as a NAS? I'd highly recommend that.

I just wrote a post regarding the same subject here: http://forum.xbmc.org/showpost.php?p=764...stcount=12

Hope it helps.

If you decide to keep the current setup, I'd use at least a 250watt PSU, just incase.
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#7
xecutionx Wrote:I'd separate the media from the HTPC. .
I thought about that. I read your linked post. Currently I have many power-hungry PCs, gigabit switches, wireless routers throughout my home. My light bill is probably somewhere around $200 - $500 a year more than it needs to be. NO MORE! I am fixing that now.

I use sabnzb too. Movies pixelate and stutter whenever sabnzb starts par-checking and unraring a finished download in the background so I know what you mean about putting that on a separate NAS. But the skipping/pixelation only lasts for a second or 2 and for the $$ I'm saving I can live with it. If I have friends over I will tell sabnzb to download only. I'll parcheck/unrar later.

Also I am planning on streaming the movies around the LAN and I really really like the idea of a 30 to 60 watt draw for this always-on device.

Awesome guys! Give me MORE feedback please

Is the PICO 80 watt good enough? Do I really need to create a separate post for that?
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#8
Quote:What case would you guys recommend? Is there really that much size diff between an mITX and mATX case?
Yea it is. Take a look here

Quote:Total of 3 HDDs. I probably wasn't clear: 1 ssd for boot, and 2 spinners for movies and stuff.
Its hard to find nice htpc case with place for 3 hdd's. Mb NAS/DAS is better idea.
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#9
Image
[MOBO+CPU+GPU] ASRock E350M1 Zacate Dual-Core 1.6Ghz HD6310 ALC892 Mini-ITX ($110 + $7)
[CASE+PSU] Apex MI-100 Black mini-ITX 250W ($53 + $0)
[FAN] Scythe Slipstream 120mm 800RPM 40.17CFM 10.70dBA ($13 + $0)
TOTAL: ($183)
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#10
Check out the Silverstone ML03B. It's about the smallest mATX case I found. I have this case and I currently have 2 3.5" HDDs in there and there is another spot open for a 2.5" HDD/SDD. Since you are using a picopsu (and so am I) the spot where the regular ATX psu would go will be open so you could fit even more HDDs (3-4 3.5" HDDs) in there if you wanted but then you'd need the 160w picopsu and a 150w ac adapter. If I were you I'd get the 150w picoPSU + 102w AC adapter kit (that's what I did). It's not that much more than the one you're getting but it'll give you a little more juice if you need it.
HTPC: Win 7 Home 64-bit | MB | CPU | GPU | RAM | Case | PSU | Tuner | HDDs: OS, Media | DVD Burner | Remote
Media server: unraid 4.7 | CPU | MB | RAM | Case | PSU | HDDs: Parity-2TB, Data-2x2TB
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#11
yepp, good catch wsume99!
i vouch for the Silverstone ML03B too!
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#12
68732 Wrote:I thought about that. I read your linked post. Currently I have many power-hungry PCs, gigabit switches, wireless routers throughout my home. My light bill is probably somewhere around $200 - $500 a year more than it needs to be. NO MORE! I am fixing that now.

Good man ! I too had servers galore at home, mail, web, a SETI farm then upgraded to a folding and boinc farm (I was ranked top 200 in the world !)... My energy supplier loved me.

Now the challenge is to get as many GFLOPS per WATT which is not as simple as it seems. Get your killawatt power meter out and you'll soon be surprised.

68732 Wrote:Is the PICO 80 watt good enough? Do I really need to create a separate post for that?

Should be ok. I have a 120W pico but the power brick is only 60W. No problems so far with 3 drives.
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