Any reason to wait on a mITX system?

S

Smitty2k1

Gawd
Joined
May 31, 2005
Messages
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It's about time to replace my large Antec Fusion as my HTPC. I'm looking at getting an

Antec ISK300 case
i3 530 CPU
value SSD
4GB of ram
slim blu-ray/DVD burner.

I'm still deciding if I should get the mini itx Intel board for stability or the mini itx Gigabyte board for features.

Is there any reason to wait for anything new? Any new cases or motherboards or SSDs I should get excited about?

I've just got the itch to upgrade and am trying to find an excuse to wait!
 
Not really, maybe antec will release a revision with a more efficient PSU sometime....(hopefully)

If you're going for bang for the buck the ECS H55I board would be way to go, I consider gigabyte for more enthusiastic builds (overclocking, etc).

You may also go for the Gigabyte board if you have an iPad or other high power USB device or USB3 devices
 
no reason to wait go ahead and build what you want . i have a gigabyte board on order and 8 gb of ddr3 soon will see what heatsink i have here will fit this board


Jen
 
Be sure to check out the ISK300 thread if you haven't already for heatsink suggestions. Also note that Antec released the ISK310 a few months back (Newegg has it).

Intel is expected to release its next-generation Sandy Bridge CPUs in January. The i5xx line should remain the best option for compact, low-power SFF setups until then. I'd suggest the Gigabyte board with some 1.35v memory (ex: G.Skill ECO) to minimize power requirements.

As a reminder, you can only use low profile graphics cards in the ISK3x0, which limits your options if you want something significantly better than Intel's integrated graphics. PowerColor showed a low profile 5770 a few months ago, but it's not clear when it will be available.
 
Thanks for all the info guys!

I'm going to stick with the i3 530 since it's strictly HTPC duty and I won't need an add in GFX card. I might use my PCIE slot for a TV tuner down the road.

8GB for a mitx motherboard with just 2 memory slots?! Dang! Although I just checked the prices and it's the same price/GB as 2GB sticks!

On another note I've read in some reviews that Intel makes some rock stable motherboards. I really want this to be a set and forget setup where I don't have to tinker or tweak anything. Is there any reason to believe that Gigabyte sacrifices stability for options on its USB3 motherboard? IMO looking at specs no one motherboard jumps out at me as being superior for my application.
 
KenF said:
[..]
As a reminder, you can only use low profile graphics cards in the ISK3x0, which limits your options if you want something significantly better than Intel's integrated graphics. PowerColor showed a low profile 5770 a few months ago, but it's not clear when it will be available.
Click to expand...

It should be pointed out that the cooler on that low profile 5770 actually extends into the adjacent slot area, making it effectively a 2-slot videocard (but with a 1-slot backplate). This means it's unlikely to fit in the Antec ISK, which, as far as I can tell, only provides space for a single slot (plus a little; 1.5 slots at most).

AFAIK, all the higher powered low-profile cards on the market, (e.g., Sparkle 9800GT/GTS 250) have a double-slot cooler like this and suffer the same issue with the ISK. It's too bad too - if Antec had designed just an extra half inch or so they would fit perfectly.
 
for an mITX HTPC there is no real reason to wait.. As for the Motherboard there are 2 standouts being the Gigabyte for OC features & the Intel h57 due to it having raid support. Neither are anything to be concerned about in an htpc so the above recommendation of the ECS h55 is a sound one.
 
Thanks for the link!

I just read on the Silent PC Review forums that someone got a similar setup to mine running rock stable on a 65W version. However I might add a TV Tuner and don't want to risk it!

That is a fantastic price and shipping cost :)
 
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