[DavidT99]

My first thoughts on what's arrived so far;

ASRock EM350M1 motherboard.



AMD Dual-Core Processor E-350
Solid Capacitor for CPU power
Supports DDR3 1066, 2 DIMM slots, Max. capacity up to 16GB
Integrated AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics, DX11 class iGPU, Pixel Shader 5.0
1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot
Multi VGA Output options: D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI
4 x SATA3 connectors
7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC892 Audio Codec), Premium Blu-ray audio support
Supports ASRock Instant Boot, Instant Flash, Multi-Speed Fan Control, APP Charger, SmartView

Full specification here.....http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Mo...ifications

Build quality looks as good as any other motherboard I have owned (Abit, Gigabyte, Asus, MSI), the backplate is a bit basic as it is only a piece of sheet metal with the connector names stamped on rather than colour coded. You get one SATAII and one SATAIII cable as well as the backplate, CD, QIG and a leaflet on ASRock XFast Technology. No fancy stickers,no screws and no paper user manual (which is on the CD).

A-Plus CS-160 miniITX case.





The case is smaller than I expected and will be a tight fit for the mobo but hey what do you expect! It is well built sheet metal with no noticable sharp edges other than where the mobo backplate goes. The case lid is held on with a couple of tiny screws and slides off backwards, there are lots of vents for air flow. The lid is very tight due to spring loaded contact points so I hope rattles will be a thing of the past. The front panel is matt plastic with vents all along the bottom edge for air flow. I like the silver buttons for power on/off and reset but not so keen on the silver A+ logo. The buttons have a nice click when operated. The DVD draw will only take a slimline DVD drive. I was surprised when I saw the power supply..... It is just a pcb screwed to the chassis with a separate power lead and a psu brick which has a lead with a 3.5mm? power connector which matches a power connector on the case, the mains plug is a standard UK 3 pin. The PSU fan is really a case fan as it is not connected to the PSU board but has a 3 pin connector presumably to connect to the case fan header on the motherboard.
EDIT: The front panel has 2 USB and audio inputs, the audio inputs are both black which I like better than the pink and green type you usually get. Also the feet are multi use whether the case is vertical or horizontal and are screwed in place on one side. I don't like them so they will be replaced if I keep the case.
EDIT: Forgot to add....there is a bag of screws andd tie wraps included in the box.


Also delivered is the HDD and memory which are just what they appear to be so no point saying anything else about them!

I am just waiting for the Compucase 8K01 case and Windows7 Pro and MCE remote to be delivered.

David

[Subliminal Aura]

*subscribing here too*

BTW Vertex 3 is out and since you have SATA 6G unlike us poor folk maybe you'd like to treat your new HTPC ?

[DavidT99]

*subscribing here too*

BTW Vertex 3 is out and since you have SATA 6G unlike us poor folk maybe you'd like to treat your new HTPC ?

Crikey......an upgrade before the HTPC is even built!

David

[Subliminal Aura]

Crikey......an upgrade before the HTPC is even built!

Let me tempt you with some benchmarks ...

http://www.electricpig.co.uk/2011/02/17/...enchmarks/

With speeds like that even the SSD fan boys will come out of the closet

[DavidT99]

Let me tempt you with some benchmarks ...

http://www.electricpig.co.uk/2011/02/17/...enchmarks/

With speeds like that even the SSD fan boys will come out of the closet

Wow....at that speed the PC OS will be loaded before I even press the power button

I expect the SSD will cost a lot more than my entire HTPC.

David

[nemek]

What about noise? mobo / case

[jonasbry]

Nice.

I just bought similar stuff yesterday, got the AsRock E350 M1 + Antec ISK 300-65w and some generic 2gb ram.

I have a spare 320gb 2.5" laying around.

Have fun!

[DavidT99]

What about noise? mobo / case

Have not started the build yet but will report back on noise level.

David

[DavidT99]

The Compucase has arrived so here are my thoughts;

Compucase 8K01 miniITX case



Most obvious thing is how much deeper (approx 30%) this case is compared to the Aplus already reviewed. This gives a bit more room for air flow and space for HDD's, SSD's etc. The case is sheet steel with a plastic piano black front panel which will be a fingerprint magnet if you not careful. A few sharp edges particularly around the DVD drive bay to watch out for. There is space under the DVD area for an HDD but there are no pre-drilled mounting holes for a 2.5" only a 3.5". There is room for a 60mm fan (not supplied) on the front right side which would supplement the PSU fan. There is also a filter screwed to the top of the case just above the CPU cooler location which is a nice touch but.......it is mounted on the inside of the case and screwed in place from the outside so not very easy to remove for cleaning. The PSU is a miniture version of a standard ATX PSU, not sure what you would call it but it is not easily removable should you need to install a higher powered one as the power connector is mounted on the case chassis, the included PSU is 120 watts. It takes a standard kettle lead for power which strangely is NOT supplied! Rubber feet are permanently in place for horizontal mounting and there are a couple of stands for vertical mounting. You get the usual front panel power switch but no reset switch, also included are power and HDD lights. Also on the front are 2 USB2's and audio connectors and a space for eSATA but this is not fitted. There is the usual bag of screws.

I like the case but not sure if I like it more than the Aplus case.

David

[luna_s]

My problem with those built in psus are the noise, recently did a few builds with a similar case made by CIT (the CiT MTX002B) and it was noisy.
The Aplus case there with a dc-dc supply (like a pico) will be a lot better - the zacate uses hardly any power, matter of fact i'd bin the psu in the compucase and replace with a pico.
Such a shame that the itx zacates have fans too - could've been easy to build a zero noise htpc!

[DavidT99]

Decision made on the case......the Compucase wins over the APlus. The Aplus case is just to tight an area to work in, I struggled to get the PSU cables into a suitable location that would allow me to reinstall the DVD drive cage, the SATA cable also snagged on the drive cage and if the HDD was installed in it's location under the drive cage it pushed up against the cooler on the motherboard.

So I have installed the motherboard and HDD into the Compucase and the extra depth is great for working in and allows me to neatly store the excess cables. The only thing with this case is the lack of a 2.5" HDD location so for now the HDD sits on the base of the case.

I have also spotted that the PSU is easily removable so a replacement or even a picoPSU is an option.

The CPU fan is a little noisier than I would like as is the PSU fan so I think some changes are on the cards there.

I will post some photoes when I get the chance.

David

[DavidT99]

Just starting Windows7 install.......the BIOS pages are really cool, full graphics and mouse control not the usual text base.

At idle the CPU temp is about 48C with the CPU fan speed reduced from "full" to level 5 which is a 25% RPM reduction to about 3000 RPM. I will check the CPU temp when Windows has finished.

David

[DavidT99]

After installing Windows 7 I discovered I had to install WindowsXP first and then upgrade to Windows 7.......done now.

I have the screen resolution set to 1080p but the edges are missing (overscan?) how can I adjust this?

Took some power measurements;

Standby: 1.7 watts
Idle: 25 watts roughly.
Load: Not tested.

With the CPU fan set to level 5 I get about 51C on the CPU.

David

[DavidT99]

Some photos's.............

The ASRock EM350M1




The Aplus CS-160












David

[DavidT99]

Compucase 8K01





For some reason all the other Compucase pictures were corrupt! So not many to show you.

David