[Dougie Fresh]

Great post Dougie. Thanks for the infos. One thing is still missing in my brain though.

This one would support higher loads even if its cheaper?
picoPSU-120/10A 120W AC-DC
US $52.95

Than this one?
picoPSU-120/8.5A 110W AC-DC
US $55

And by the way, Sorry for the "pollution" on your post eskro

I think the difference there is the "quality" (however they are measuring that) of the AC adapter part of the combination. They also have their math wrong -- it's a 102W AC adapter not 110W. With quality, it is possible it could support a higher load if it's able to maintain closer to 12V at load than the other AC adapter. As load increases, 12V from the AC adapter tends to fall off. The ATX spec says +/- 5% is ok. The closer to 12V the better. But, I am only speculating. It could be name brand vs. generic, who knows. It's worth an email to ask why the 102W is better than the 120W.

[bluray]

120/102? These are the only 2 I can find
http://www.short-circuit.com/combo/picop...-acdc.html
http://www.short-circuit.com/combo/premi...-acdc.html

Out of the two Pico PSU's listed, the 120w with 12w/10A power brick is better. The 102w with 12w/8.5A power brick appear to have cooling fan too. Since the voltage is the same, the power brick with higher amperage is better. When your computer work harder, it will pull more amps......

[philbio]

Would the power bricks pull much power while the PC is shutdown or in standby I wonder?

[bluray]

Would the power bricks pull much power while the PC is shutdown or in standby I wonder?

The amount of power consumed by the adapter when PC is shutdown is minimal. Without the PC on, there is no real current being drawn from the wall. Eventhough the PC is off, there is always parasitic power losses...but very minimal....

[pfitzger]

This looks like a sweet setup. Thinking about replacing my Apple TV2 and tired of waiting for a jailbreak for Apple TV3. I love the ATV2 but it's just too flaky with 720P.

I started trying to spec this out and can't find any available Mini-ITX F2 motherboards. The one in the posted build is OOS and discontinued. I've never used AMD or mini-ITX form factor so I don't know much about this.

Do I just need to be patient or is moving up to a Micro-ATX build the better bet for availability and flexibility?

Thanks

[Dougie Fresh]

Superbiiz still has it in stock: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-F2A75IX and they also have a coupon code SVSGVNG for $5 off.

I think it's a bit strange it's gone out of stock everywhere and even says "discontinued" at Newegg. Interesting...

[bluray]

Do I just need to be patient or is moving up to a Micro-ATX build the better bet for availability and flexibility?

It's depending on the form factor of your case. If the case support Micro-ATX mobo, it's the best in my opinion....you'll have more options for future upgrades....a lot more rooms to install everything too....

[Xexiz]

Anyone build this one yet? with the Asrock FM2A75M-ITX and SCBSK-2100?? The scythe back bracket is straight on a back panel chip.! Not sure it could break. I tried it for an hour and it's really well stamped in the bracket's foam

[dumaresq]

I can't find this MB or for that matter any Mini-ITX FM2 MB anywhere except on Ebay. I assume this is just because FM2 is too new.

Also in this case I assume the A10 CPU is going to generate too much heat, or are you just going with the A6 because the A10 and A8 are overkill?

[bluray]

I can't find this MB or for that matter any Mini-ITX FM2 MB anywhere except on Ebay. I assume this is just because FM2 is too new.

Also in this case I assume the A10 CPU is going to generate too much heat, or are you just going with the A6 because the A10 and A8 are overkill?

Yes to all the above....

[pfitzger]

Do I just need to be patient or is moving up to a Micro-ATX build the better bet for availability and flexibility?

It's depending on the form factor of your case. If the case support Micro-ATX mobo, it's the best in my opinion....you'll have more options for future upgrades....a lot more rooms to install everything too....

Thanks Dougie and Bluray. I see the stock at SuperBiiz so good news there.

If I went to the Micro-ATX route are there some good cases you would recommend or is there an equivalent of the 6pack guide for a Micro ATX solution?

I used to have a lot more time for this fun hobby but with 3 kids under 10 I want the proven path to something that will work.

[randolf105]

Im looking to build something similar to this build but i was wondering, would this build work in a Streacom FC7 Evo case?
Thanks

[Dougie Fresh]

If I went to the Micro-ATX route are there some good cases you would recommend or is there an equivalent of the 6pack guide for a Micro ATX solution?

I am still looking for that just a little bit bigger than mini-ITX but can take a micro-ATX solution too. I haven't really found it yet. Maybe the ML03 comes the closest but it's not for me (I want all-aluminum). Things get a lot bigger from there -- like the Lian-Li PC-C50B.

[bluray]

If I went to the Micro-ATX route are there some good cases you would recommend or is there an equivalent of the 6pack guide for a Micro ATX solution?

LIAN LI Black Aluminum PC-C37U.....HTPC-e6-Black......

[Dougie Fresh]

If I went to the Micro-ATX route are there some good cases you would recommend or is there an equivalent of the 6pack guide for a Micro ATX solution?

LIAN LI Black Aluminum PC-C37U.....HTPC-e6-Black......

I built my brother-in-law an HTPC in that Lian-Li case. It's really, really nice. It's tight so one of the SFX PSUs with a bracket or a modular PSU is a good idea.

Ok, I am a Lian-Li fanboy.