2012-07-24, 09:50
So, for a long time I have been using an old AMD C-50 base netbook solely as a XBMC platform, running Linux. I faced few problems with 1080p videos and decided, considering that it is after all a very low-spec netbook, to upgrade to something that can handle 1080p videos as well as Youtube 1080p in browser. My first option was Acer Revo RL70, very nice platform for the price of US $300-$350. I even ordered but later cancelled it as came to conclusion that I can build one myself and it will be at least twice as powerful at the same price, though have to mention that not as compact and stylish.
My target price was $350 and this is what I came up with:
- ASRock A75M-ITX Motherboard (AMD A75 Hudson D3 Chipset Supports Native 5 x SATA3, 4 x USB 3.0 Ports, Dual Channel 2400+(OC), 7.1 CH HD Audio with THX TruStudio)
- AMD APU A6-3500 with HD 6530D (CPU - 2.4GHz/2.1GHz, 3 cores, 65W; GPU – 320 shaders, 444MHz, UVD3; FSB/Memeory 1866Mhz)
- Ice Hammer IH-3080WV CPU Cooler, 20db
- Geil Evo Corsa PC3-14900 1866MHz Cl9 2x2GB
- WD Caviar Green (WD7500AZRX 750GB) IntelliPower SATA 6.0Gb/s, 64MB Cache
- Winsis WT-02, Mini-ITX, 200W (http://winsis.com/viewproc.asp?id=230)
After checking out ASRock, Gigabyte, Asus & MSI I went with ASRock as found the reviews on it good and the price was awesome. No WiFi (as in case of Revo RL70) but no worries for me there as I have a WiFi Repeater with an ethernet port next to the XBMC HTPC (that’s now how I call this system). I found that A6-3500 was the sweetspot between the faster A8-3800 and lower A4-3400, all APUs rated at 65W. The WD 750 SATA-6 would be enough for me as I also have a USB 3.0 WD 500Gb external hard drive, besides I can always swap for a bigger one, and the price for Green series fit my budget. For HTPC, even if not considering the price factor, I find SSD as an overkill. As per the mini-ITX case, well not the best but I really wanted to get all from one shop and they didn’t have enough models to choose from, though there was one sleek model from InWin but it had only 65W PSU. Still as you will notice from the pic it looks ok. Besides it has good ventilation and I also removed the CD/DVD cage from the case as have a DVD player and PS3 for Blue-Ray. As per the CPU fan even at 2000rpm and rated 20db I found it little too noisy so used the resistor (was eating dirt in spare parts box, from Zalman) and dropped the speed to 1000RPMRPM. I wish the PSU fan was also little more quiter or even whole setup faneless (dream on) but still it is now acceptably quite. One thing to notice, I had to cut the radiator on one of the memory sticks as I was unable to attach the CPU cooler.
Straight out I partitioned the hard drive (if interested this is how it looks – 35GB NTFS [for Windows to test and compare], 1GB Swap, 8GB for /, 5GB for /otheros [to test newer releases/distros] and the rest 700Gb as /home. I went with the XBMCFreak edition and without a hitch (thanks XBMCFreak dev), instead of installing Ubuntu Gnome Remix 12.04 (yes, I do not like Unity UI) and XBMC via repo. I have all 1080p videos flying with very low CPU usage, at about 20% on average (file size about 20GB), and about 7-10% for 720p. Dolby Digital and DTS with AAC are all working fine via Pass-through set to S/PDif in XBMC.
O/C: Well, I have been heavily involved in overclocking everything I have, custom flashing all that I can, increasing horsepower in rides, etc … not this time as I want it to be cool & quite (as AMD says). As tomshardware.com noted - "overclocking Llano is like slapping an intake on a Ford Fiesta. You’re not buying the thing for its potential on the track". For a side-note this APU does actually have some potential to squeeze out extra juice.
Connections: HTPC->HDMI->LG 50" Plasma; HTPC->S/PDif (Optical TosLink)->Samsung 5.1 DVD Receiver/Player; Samsung 5.1->HDMI->LG.
Next thing, once I am home I will try installing latest AMD 12.6 drivers to see the difference, and hope will not face any problems. So, if you have any questions or recommendations I will be glad to help and to hear.
And the best thing - all this came to about $325 (10,200 Russian Rubles) and compared to Revo RL70 I have USB 3.0, a big plus for me. eSATA port and ability to upgrade to a little higher specs. I am very glad that I went with the custom built HTPC and it is Linux 99.9% friendly.
Now I can relax and enjoy watching the content while researching for a sub-$2000 thin Ivy-Bridge 13" notebook! BTW, if you are not in a hurry to built one today watch out for new “Trinity” based APUs in coming months ... I wonder if they will be compatible with the current FM1 socket(UPDATE: nops, unfortunately they are FM2 socket(!).
... and remember - Open Source is Good For You and for the World!
My target price was $350 and this is what I came up with:
- ASRock A75M-ITX Motherboard (AMD A75 Hudson D3 Chipset Supports Native 5 x SATA3, 4 x USB 3.0 Ports, Dual Channel 2400+(OC), 7.1 CH HD Audio with THX TruStudio)
- AMD APU A6-3500 with HD 6530D (CPU - 2.4GHz/2.1GHz, 3 cores, 65W; GPU – 320 shaders, 444MHz, UVD3; FSB/Memeory 1866Mhz)
- Ice Hammer IH-3080WV CPU Cooler, 20db
- Geil Evo Corsa PC3-14900 1866MHz Cl9 2x2GB
- WD Caviar Green (WD7500AZRX 750GB) IntelliPower SATA 6.0Gb/s, 64MB Cache
- Winsis WT-02, Mini-ITX, 200W (http://winsis.com/viewproc.asp?id=230)
After checking out ASRock, Gigabyte, Asus & MSI I went with ASRock as found the reviews on it good and the price was awesome. No WiFi (as in case of Revo RL70) but no worries for me there as I have a WiFi Repeater with an ethernet port next to the XBMC HTPC (that’s now how I call this system). I found that A6-3500 was the sweetspot between the faster A8-3800 and lower A4-3400, all APUs rated at 65W. The WD 750 SATA-6 would be enough for me as I also have a USB 3.0 WD 500Gb external hard drive, besides I can always swap for a bigger one, and the price for Green series fit my budget. For HTPC, even if not considering the price factor, I find SSD as an overkill. As per the mini-ITX case, well not the best but I really wanted to get all from one shop and they didn’t have enough models to choose from, though there was one sleek model from InWin but it had only 65W PSU. Still as you will notice from the pic it looks ok. Besides it has good ventilation and I also removed the CD/DVD cage from the case as have a DVD player and PS3 for Blue-Ray. As per the CPU fan even at 2000rpm and rated 20db I found it little too noisy so used the resistor (was eating dirt in spare parts box, from Zalman) and dropped the speed to 1000RPMRPM. I wish the PSU fan was also little more quiter or even whole setup faneless (dream on) but still it is now acceptably quite. One thing to notice, I had to cut the radiator on one of the memory sticks as I was unable to attach the CPU cooler.
Straight out I partitioned the hard drive (if interested this is how it looks – 35GB NTFS [for Windows to test and compare], 1GB Swap, 8GB for /, 5GB for /otheros [to test newer releases/distros] and the rest 700Gb as /home. I went with the XBMCFreak edition and without a hitch (thanks XBMCFreak dev), instead of installing Ubuntu Gnome Remix 12.04 (yes, I do not like Unity UI) and XBMC via repo. I have all 1080p videos flying with very low CPU usage, at about 20% on average (file size about 20GB), and about 7-10% for 720p. Dolby Digital and DTS with AAC are all working fine via Pass-through set to S/PDif in XBMC.
O/C: Well, I have been heavily involved in overclocking everything I have, custom flashing all that I can, increasing horsepower in rides, etc … not this time as I want it to be cool & quite (as AMD says). As tomshardware.com noted - "overclocking Llano is like slapping an intake on a Ford Fiesta. You’re not buying the thing for its potential on the track". For a side-note this APU does actually have some potential to squeeze out extra juice.
Connections: HTPC->HDMI->LG 50" Plasma; HTPC->S/PDif (Optical TosLink)->Samsung 5.1 DVD Receiver/Player; Samsung 5.1->HDMI->LG.
Next thing, once I am home I will try installing latest AMD 12.6 drivers to see the difference, and hope will not face any problems. So, if you have any questions or recommendations I will be glad to help and to hear.
And the best thing - all this came to about $325 (10,200 Russian Rubles) and compared to Revo RL70 I have USB 3.0, a big plus for me. eSATA port and ability to upgrade to a little higher specs. I am very glad that I went with the custom built HTPC and it is Linux 99.9% friendly.
Now I can relax and enjoy watching the content while researching for a sub-$2000 thin Ivy-Bridge 13" notebook! BTW, if you are not in a hurry to built one today watch out for new “Trinity” based APUs in coming months ... I wonder if they will be compatible with the current FM1 socket(UPDATE: nops, unfortunately they are FM2 socket(!).
... and remember - Open Source is Good For You and for the World!