ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi

Any way you can strap a small fan to the northbridge of the mobo?
 
I can definitely jimmy-rig something in there for now, especially with no expansion card in that slot yet. Could that possibly be a reason for the problem? One thing that really rubs me wrong about this problem is that I've been unable to find anyone else that has the issue. There are many people running these boards in tiny SFF systems and no reports of a similar issue anywhere. Sigh.
 
I can definitely jimmy-rig something in there for now, especially with no expansion card in that slot yet. Could that possibly be a reason for the problem? One thing that really rubs me wrong about this problem is that I've been unable to find anyone else that has the issue. There are many people running these boards in tiny SFF systems and no reports of a similar issue anywhere. Sigh.

I'm having far off issues with the board as well. Certain BIOS options are missing, the board sometimes refuses to boot correctly. All weird problems nobody is having, and Zotac is not helpful at all.
 
Looks like the fan on the side was the ticket. Just watched an entire hd movie with a DTS soundtrack and no skips with the case cover on! Now the only problem is still pinpointing whether it's actually the northbridge or the fact that I am now moving air over that entire side of the motherboard (where the realtek audio chips are actually located) that solved it. The GPU/northbridge are definitely 5-7 degrees cooler with the fan blowing over them. Went from about 45-47 during playback to 39-40C. The cpu is also now idling at 47 and only 49-51C during HD playback.

The fan on that side is definitely a temporary measure as it is not only very loud but now obscures my expansion slot, which I was hoping would soon house a TV tuner as we slowly phase out our cable box in favor of the HTPC. Guess it's time to do some research on a more efficient northbridge cooling solution! Here are some pics I snapped...


 
Here's mine :

AltiumSuperXCube-moboRevB.jpg


AltiumSuperXCube-EKSupremeLT.jpg


More pics and specs HERE
 
elpibe10


Is there anywhere in the U.S. those Soldam case's are sold? Those itx case's are sick:eek:

I bet they would cost around 200-300. (qmicra custom style price)
 
elpibe10


Is there anywhere in the U.S. those Soldam case's are sold? Those itx case's are sick:eek:

I bet they would cost around 200-300. (qmicra custom style price)
More like ~$400 before you even ship it over to the US.
 
I got in my zotac9300 last night.

Couple problems I just worked around rather than dealing with:
1. I turn system on, go in BIOS and set SATA to AHCI mode. Save&exit, put in XP32 w/SP3 install cd... minute or two later it bluescreens. Gay. I reset and switch SATA back to compatible mode, again try XP install and it works perfect. Whatever.

2. After setting up most of system its perfectly stable EXCEPT restart fails 100% of the time. I do restart, system shuts down, monitor flickers and comes up with 'Zotac' splash screen and hangs there. I hit reset button and it'll then boot up fine. Doing restart from Windows failed every single time I tried it. I go in BIOS to disable that Zotac splash screen, thinking perhaps an error message or something is being printed. With splash screen off the system now restarts just fine every single time. Whatever.


And here is the most bizzar thing that I didn't even think was possible...
While setting this system up, I hooked it up to a HDTV since I had no extra monitors available. I did this with an DVI->HDMI cable I got from monoprice. I plugged DVI side into's Zotac's DVI port and plugged the HDMI side into HDTV. Magically after I got drivers installed I boot Windows up and hear the default startup sound. WTF!? How is audio going out the DVI connector on the motherboard? This is impossible!, but it works :/.
 
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I got in my zotac9300 last night.

Couple problems I just worked around rather than dealing with:
1. I turn system on, go in BIOS and set SATA to AHCI mode. Save&exit, put in XP32 w/SP3 install cd... minute or two later it bluescreens. Gay. I reset and switch SATA back to compatible mode, again try XP install and it works perfect. Whatever.

2. After setting up most of system its perfectly stable EXCEPT restart fails 100% of the time. I do restart, system shuts down, monitor flickers and comes up with 'Zotac' splash screen and hangs there. I hit reset button and it'll then boot up fine. Doing restart from Windows failed every single time I tried it. I go in BIOS to disable that Zotac splash screen, thinking perhaps an error message or something is being printed. With splash screen off the system now restarts just fine every single time. Whatever.


And here is the most bizzar thing that I didn't even think was possible...
While setting this system up, I hooked it up to a HDTV since I had no extra monitors available. I did this with an DVI->HDMI cable I got from monoprice. I plugged DVI side into's Zotac's DVI port and plugged the HDMI side into HDTV. Magically after I got drivers installed I boot Windows up and hear the default startup sound. WTF!? How is audio going out the DVI connector on the motherboard? This is impossible!, but it works :/.

Go into BIOS and select "load optomized defaults" That'll fix boot issues

As for sound going through your DVI/HDMI, it's supposed to do that, though you can set it to go through another output on the board. HDMI is just default usually.
 
Is anyone else having smart fan issues with this motherboard? I can't get the PC health status menu to show up in BIOS, and my fans are REALLY loud. I tried a BIOS update, and talked to a Zotac rep, who said that they disabled the smart fan function, and the OC functions as well, because people were toasting the boards. I'm skeptical at the least. Considering the fact that he just walked away from our conversation without really giving me an answer, I wanna know what other owners of this board have.

Have u tried this latest bios? The update log suggests that many features have been unlocked. I checked it out with modbin6 & it seems true, but I havent flashed yet anyhow.

It can be found here
http://www.zotac.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=445&Itemid=506

As far as overclocking is concerned, with the IGP i've reached a maximum of around FSB370. With the IGP disabled, i touched FSB400 with a pentium E2160, with potential to go higher :D
 
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As far as overclocking is concerned, with the IGP i've reached a maximum of around FSB370. With the IGP disabled, i touched FSB400 with a pentium E2160, with potential to go higher :D

That's the highest I've heard so far. The reviews I've read haven't tried w/o the IGP. Was that at stock chipset voltage?
I have an E0 8400 that could probably do at least 4GHz on the right board.
 
Yea I ran across some bios issues.
I tired to set sata mode to ahci (b/c the esata only works with that on, I read somewhere else) and it bombed on me. Screwed up my nic. I had to uninstall the nic in Windows and disable/enable the mac settings and reinstall to finally get it working again. Hokey.
I had Win 7 already install so it looks like I need to do another install when I want my ahci to work.
Now I need to image the drive and give it a whirl.
 
Question for those of you who keep tabs on this kind of thing... What are your northbridge temps @ idle/load (ie- watching movies). Also, does anyone regularly use the onboard audio to pass-through SPDIF AC3 streams from their HD rips? Before I order another board to see if it is an isolated issue, I want to see if anyone else might be experiencing these incredibly odd audio "hiccups" (only during spdif passthrough of ac3/dts 5.1+ streams) directly related to my northbridge temps.

The problem completely goes away when northbridge stays under 50C and magically appears as soon as I break into the 51C+ range. I have not heard of this issue on any other forum so I am really hoping it is isolated to my board. I've tried all manner of cooling solutions but short of a high flow 92mm fan positioned over the PCI slot (which I would like to use for a tuner), nothing keeps the northbridge cool enough with the case cover on (apex mi-100). IMO, this audio problem should not be an issue since the computer runs 100% prime95 stable for 12+ hours (stock clocks obviously). CPU is an e5200.
 
No audio hiccups whatsoever via SPDIF passthrough (optical out), and my NB is nice and toasty playing 1080p x264s at ~70C on a warm day. (MI-100 too, with barely any airflow)

Only times I've ever had audio hiccups in the past (on another system) were due to problematic X-Fi drivers which were shortly fixed, and by using a beat-up cable. Not using any Realtek drivers here, just the stock Windows 7 drivers, so I can't comment on those.

One suggestion/workaround I remember popping up in the past was to change the audio output in your media player from DirectSound to WaveOut. Worth a shot.
 
Hi,
Does anyone get HybridSLI working? I have a 9800GT and the green boomerang doesn't appear. I set up the BIOS with the settings shown in the manual and my two monitors are connected to the onboard GPU...
 
Hybrid SLI only works with the 8400 and 8500 cards. Not higher end ones, such as your 9800
 
No audio hiccups whatsoever via SPDIF passthrough (optical out), and my NB is nice and toasty playing 1080p x264s at ~70C on a warm day. (MI-100 too, with barely any airflow)

Only times I've ever had audio hiccups in the past (on another system) were due to problematic X-Fi drivers which were shortly fixed, and by using a beat-up cable. Not using any Realtek drivers here, just the stock Windows 7 drivers, so I can't comment on those.

One suggestion/workaround I remember popping up in the past was to change the audio output in your media player from DirectSound to WaveOut. Worth a shot.

TYVM! I am using an identical setup and DirectSound/WaveOut make no difference. I mainly use XBMC so there isn't really an option for it, but changing it in MPC has no effect. Guess I'm ordering another Zotac for testing purposes! Wish these things weren't so damn expensive :(

Edit: You mentioned using the MI-100 with barely any airflow...How hot does your cpu get in there? Are you using the silverstone nt07 for an hsf?
 
Guess I'm ordering another Zotac for testing purposes! Wish these things weren't so damn expensive :(
Sorry to hear about that. Bummer...

Edit: You mentioned using the MI-100 with barely any airflow...How hot does your cpu get in there? Are you using the silverstone nt07 for an hsf?
I think the standard low-profile Intel heatsink can (barely) fit on the MI-100. Or at least it was the impression I ended up with, somehow. Well, either that or he's gone for a PicoPSU-based MI-100, which opens up A LOT of space above the CPU socket.

Cheers.

Miguel
 
Sorry to hear about that. Bummer...


I think the standard low-profile Intel heatsink can (barely) fit on the MI-100. Or at least it was the impression I ended up with, somehow. Well, either that or he's gone for a PicoPSU-based MI-100, which opens up A LOT of space above the CPU socket.

Cheers.

Miguel

Aye, I use the nt07 myself. The standard sink is too tall by 2mm or so, I tried everything to get that sucker under there but it's just a wee bit too tight. You can see pictures of my current setup a few posts above on this page.
 
__Miguel_'s got one thing right, I am using a PicoPSU-90, however my setup is a bit weird ;p

For exhaust, I'm using the typical method of shoving a 120mm fan on the vent side. Scythe S-FLEX @ 800rpm.

Intake is the weird part. Long story short, my Apex PSU had a little accident, and I ended up salvaging it's case and virtually silent 80mm fan (on a 7v adapter as well). This now sits in the standard PSU position, intakes and blows on a fan-less NT07 heatsink. Unfortunately it doesn't directly blow over the NB as well, but that seems to have worked out just fine.

I DXVA all of my x264s and so the CPU never gets stressed, however, it's idling at 40C at the moment as an example, and 10 minutes of full out stress test peaks out at 75C. Not a pretty temp but in real usage it NEVER gets far past idle. Still, wish Zotac would give us undervolting.

If as you say this popping is consistent across MPC and XBMC, I'd definitely be pointing fingers at drivers.
 
It's not so much a popping as just a quick cut out or skip of the audio. The fact is that it goes away when the temps are low and comes right back when they rise. This rule is without fail, I can reproduce it 100%. Hence why I can't see blaming drivers an option, especially considering the multitude of operating systems I've tried (xp/vista/7 32bit and 64 bit versions of each). Your CPU idle is considerably lower than mine but I can easily attribute this to the Pico PSU and hence much better HSF than my NT07, which is not only quite small but also extremely crammed.

Edit: I should also add that the frequency of the skipping is completely random and unrelated to CPU usage, nor is it exhibited by any type of video hiccup.
 
That's the highest I've heard so far. The reviews I've read haven't tried w/o the IGP. Was that at stock chipset voltage?
I have an E0 8400 that could probably do at least 4GHz on the right board.

Exactly, all the reviews tried with the IGP & they're spot on. It maxes around FSB 370. After that it wont boot at all. However with the IGP disabled it does give some extra mileage apparently. I bumped up the chipset voltage to 1.2v. With my open bench setup the chipset cooler remained pretty cool & comfortable to touch, probably because the IGP wasnt running to begin with. More tests to come including with q6600 :)
 
Aye, I use the nt07 myself. The standard sink is too tall by 2mm or so, I tried everything to get that sucker under there but it's just a wee bit too tight. You can see pictures of my current setup a few posts above on this page.

Hmm....which heatsink are you referring to? I managed to stuff a regular pentium dual core heatsink into the MI-100. The heatsink practically touches the PSU! Temps arent too good in that case though :(
 
I wasn't able to fit the standard sink from my e5200 in there, not sure how you got yours in?
 
Exactly, all the reviews tried with the IGP & they're spot on. It maxes around FSB 370. After that it wont boot at all. However with the IGP disabled it does give some extra mileage apparently. I bumped up the chipset voltage to 1.2v. With my open bench setup the chipset cooler remained pretty cool & comfortable to touch, probably because the IGP wasnt running to begin with. More tests to come including with q6600 :)

Do you think it will hit 440?
 
can anyone measure the spacing between the holes on the IGP heatsink? im trying to find a waterblock that will fit. thanks!
 
can anyone measure the spacing between the holes on the IGP heatsink? im trying to find a waterblock that will fit. thanks!

65mm

I made on laser bracket for MCW30 and it works fine :)
 
Hi Everyone,

Has anyone tried the new BIOS of our board on the Zotac site? Any feedback?

Thanks!
 
I wasn't able to fit the standard sink from my e5200 in there, not sure how you got yours in?

Strange.....u mean you had vertical issues? well as i said, the psu is practically sitting on the HSF. There isnt really any clearance, probably just 1 or 2 mm once i fasten the psu in. Else the cooler from an E8400 will definitely fit. I wonder why they aint bundling it with the E5200 too :confused:

Just had a thought. Are you using any standoffs between your mobo and the base of the case? that could be adding the extra height causing your cooler not to fit. I screwed the board directly to the case as the screw holes were slightly raised to begin with. So far there have been no issues so i think its safe to screw the board directly to the case.
 
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Hi Everyone,

Has anyone tried the new BIOS of our board on the Zotac site? Any feedback?

Thanks!

I have flashed my board to the latest bios from zotac, and yes it has thermal monitoring, cpu fan control & cpu multiplier changing enabled :D

Do you think it will hit 440?

not sure, as my current proc is FSB limited to around 420. I havent experimented beyond 400 yet. But 400 was rock solid so im guessing this little bugger still has more potential. But no options for GTL etc might come in the way when overclocking quads
 
What version has the latest BIOS ? And is the update process painless ?

85tbc.png
 
Strange.....u mean you had vertical issues? well as i said, the psu is practically sitting on the HSF. There isnt really any clearance, probably just 1 or 2 mm once i fasten the psu in. Else the cooler from an E8400 will definitely fit. I wonder why they aint bundling it with the E5200 too :confused:

Just had a thought. Are you using any standoffs between your mobo and the base of the case? that could be adding the extra height causing your cooler not to fit. I screwed the board directly to the case as the screw holes were slightly raised to begin with. So far there have been no issues so i think its safe to screw the board directly to the case.

Know what, I didn't even try removing the psu and fastening it in after the board was in. Not sure why, must have been a long day lol! I'll give it a shot with the new board, I'm thinking it will offer better cooling than the smaller nt07.
 
Hi Everyone,

Has anyone tried the new BIOS of our board on the Zotac site? Any feedback?

Thanks!

I have, the auto fan control seems better (more temperature choices) however the manual fan control has less speed settings and you can't independently control each fan. Not sure if there are any other changes; I may revert.

Flashing is easy (once I worked out how to boot from a DOS USB stick - it's a hard disk, not a USB device).

paul
 
I just downloaded the new bios from the site. I'll give it a try later, after I transfer my zotac 9300 ITX to its new home (SG05)
 
Today I´ve got my Zotac:

dsc_3605hq03wmpy.jpg


dsc_3607tqy6gb43.jpg


> E8400 (Q6600 Boxed cooler -> TR AXP-140 will follow next week)
> 4GB GeIL Black Dragon CL4
> EVGA GTS250 1GB
> Samsung HD642JJ
> Samsung SN-S083B (forgot to order a slimline sata cable :( )
> SUGO 05
 
Today I´ve got my Zotac ...
Nice pictures.
Are you a professional photographer ?

3 PC

1 for left 9300 M-ATX 177W
2 for left 9300 M-ATX + 9600GT Eco 149W
3 for left 9300 ITX only 52W
You mean ...

1st PC from the left = 177W
2nd PC from the left = 149W
3rd PC from the left = 59W

The exact configuration for each PC would have been interesting to know, for us to understand why the different wattages.
As well consumes a PC a different wattage in idle (most economic) than on full load (highest consumption).

I am about to build the same board with the CPU E8400 or Q9550S and only one 3.5 HDD.
No external graphics card and no optical drive.
I would like to know what minimum power the PSU needs to have.

I have chosen the Mini iTX PC case AOpen S 100, which only has space enough for a Pico PSU that comes in either 60W, 95W, 105W or 150W.
Would 150W be enough for me I wonder ?

Has anyone got a Pico PSU in operation and could tell or can I calculate the consumption ? ... but what figures could I use for the board, memory, CPU (idle / load) and HDD ?

Board = x W
Memory = x W
CPU = from x W to x W
HDD = x W
-----------------------------------
Total = x (minimum) to x W (maximum)
 
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