[elsmandino]

Hi,

Thanks to the LOADS of help that you guys provided me with on another thread thread, I have decided on a J1900 motherboard/CPU combination for my new Openelec build, specifically this one:

http://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/...-_-Product

I am going to buy 2x2GB RAM for it and I already have a spare SSD.

All I need now is a case and a power supply.

Any pointers/suggestions would gratefullly appreciated - I want to keep the build absolutely silent so I need a Pico PSU and a fanless mini-itx case.

Could this be a potential candidate?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Antec-ISK-110-VE...=isk+antec

[MediaPi]

Just to let you know, incase you already didn't theres another variant of the Asrock j1900 board that uses standard Ram. It doesn't have SATA 3. but is slightly cheaper and you won't need to buy more RAM.

RAM is quiet cheap but if you brought that board all you need will be case and power supply. What do you think elsmandino

this is the board
http://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/...6813157513

---

this thread might interest you elsmandino also
http://www.phoronix.com/forums/showthrea...i-ITX-Case

check this out to
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=ar...m350&num=1
(taken from the link above)

[elsmandino]

You have done it again MediaPi - the M350 looks like the absolultely perfect case.

As per your post on my earlier thread (which I have just seen) I reckon it would be worth selling my existing RAM in order to fund a couple of SODIMM sticks for this build (thus sticking with the Mini ITX Mobo).

That just leaves the Pico situation - I have never bought one of these before. What sort of power wattage do you think I am going to need?

[Dougie Fresh]

Since you're in the UK, take a look at some of these ITX cases, most of which also include a pico-type PSU: http://it-tech-uk.com/htpc-mini-itx-cases.html

The e-mini E-i3 works well with the ASRock Q1900-ITX. The standard 60W AC adapter is plenty.

[MediaPi]

elsmandino I just spent about 2 hours reading those threads I gave you and I saw the M350 and lots of others. but the M350 doesnt have power supply so it will end up costing alot more. and I did some more reading and I knew Dougie will have the right answer!

That case Dougie has linked to looks gorgus and is possibly the cheapest you'll get. its small as hell to and has all the power supply you need. It cost
£37.99+£4.99 shiiping to UK. I would def trust Dougie on this and its an amazing case!!

I would say go ahead and get that. you should have everything now. Thakns Dougie for that case its nice!

[Dougie Fresh]

Yeah, the E-i3 is great looking and works great with that motherboard.

[MediaPi]

I actually like the front panel look of this case
http://it-tech-uk.com/htpc-mini-itx-case...board.html

Dougie will that work with j1900
elsmandino just checked the price I gave was without AC-DC power brick, but you can purchase from the same site

[MediaPi]

I've done lots more research and I've come up with a conclusion. funny how you do lots of research and you end up where you started
elsmandino remember the thread I recommended where Mark142 did a build and broaught a case
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...pid1717759

welll I recommend this case
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00GU...UTF8&psc=1

its made by the same comanpy realan but unlike the case Dougie mentioned you get an adapter included in the price. so it would cost almost the same as this case but in this case you get a vesa mount and an 60W AC DC power (or it might be 120W) ,and a fan though you wont be needing/using this. Also I believe it is a model above the other one and if you look at here
http://www.minicase.net/product_E-K3i.html

it has much better ventitlation all round and has accessible ports at the front. bug Mark142 for pics to if you want. atleast you know that a member has purchased it and everything works he enjoys it!!. You wont need anything else with that case. thats my research done now for this thread. good luck

elsmandino also when buying from new egg send it as a gift it will cost you an extyra £2.49 I think but better than paing customs and tax.

[Dougie Fresh]

Weird, I didn't notice that IT-TECH doesn't include the AC adapter. The standard package a reseller like me gets with the E-i3 has a 60W AC adapter. You could easily find a 12V AC adapter with a 2.5mm * 5.5mm tip on Amazon that'd work with that case or just get the 60W one from them.

The E-K3i is a nice case too. I used to sell that one too (and the E-K3) so I can tell you all about it too. It doesn't actually have that much more ventilation on the top, it's a bit of an illusion, but it doesn't matter much because I have a Q1900 in the tiny S197-H55 (SH-55) which has pretty much no ventilation on top and it hardly ever even gets warm to the touch. It's sitting on my dresser as my personal bedroom HTPC. See this post at AVSForum: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/26-home-th...st24687064

[MediaPi]

Dougie arn't Pico psu yellow?
http://it-tech-uk.com/pc-accessories/pow...4-pin.html

I'm guessing IT-TECH get everything (60W adapter) but decided to sell it seperatly. could work for some while majority have to pay extra. makes the base price seem cheaper I guess. Amazon just sell the product as a whole.

I learnt alot from this research. and I'm hoping in the future when I build my first board It will come in handy.

[MediaPi]

Dougie you have experience with this. What If just wanted to stream using this board j1900 and I will only attach a usb remote. 8gb usb3 flash drive and memory to the board whats the lowest power brick I need? can a 12v 2a cover it? you did some load test didn't you? what if I got something like this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/US-EU-AU-UK-Pl...338c1155e4

[Mark142]

Hi All
Sorry to butt in here but as I was mentioned personally I thought it best to give my 2 cents worth. As MediaPi mentioned I did buy this case
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Powercool-Ready-...=powercool

it was for the J1800 motherboard here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-GA-J180...ords=j1800

it does come with a 120w DC adaptor but does not come with a kettle lead. Luckly I had a few lying around which worked still. I did bug Amazon as other retailers including CCL computers sell it with a kettle lead included and amazon agreed to refund me the cost of a kettle lead even though I had a spare..(every little helps right?)

Overall im very pleased with the build and I did promise MediaPi some pics but I have not got round to uploading them. I removed the case fan and dont use the vesa mount as it sits on my AV unit. It is completly silent and wakes on LAN using my android phone cause im lazy.

One thing to note. The case is very small and there is not much excess space around the motherboard to route all leads etc so it does look a bit of a mess. Also be careful where the PSU is located on the board as I did home some issues on the J1800 as it was tight on the left side.

[Dougie Fresh]

Dougie arn't Pico psu yellow?
http://it-tech-uk.com/pc-accessories/pow...4-pin.html

Yes, that's not an authentic picoPSU but a knock-off. I tried some 120W versions and they worked fine. They have a VERY bright blue LED on them and if you are not extra careful the plug at the end comes off very easy (where the AC adapter plugs in/where it connects to the case). I believe Realan offers a 150W version now. I haven't tried it.

Dougie you have experience with this. What If just wanted to stream using this board j1900 and I will only attach a usb remote. 8gb usb3 flash drive and memory to the board whats the lowest power brick I need? can a 12v 2a cover it? you did some load test didn't you? what if I got something like this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/US-EU-AU-UK-Pl...338c1155e4

I did try with a 12V 2A AC adapter from a Western Digital external hard drive and it worked fine. I saw a maximum draw of 15W using Prime95 FFT test. Realan now has a 12V 3.5A AC adapter. I just got some to try. Maybe IT-TECH will have those too.