Installing NAS4Free
April 09, 2013
With so many of our memories and purchases existing only in the digital realm, having a reliable method of storing them is essential. We've written a guide to help you to install NAS4Free - free software which provides several methods of protecting your data by mirroring it across multiple disks. NAS4Free is very scalable product supporting both UFS and ZFS, meaning it is a great choice for Mini-ITX systems - which can vary from low power consumption Atoms up to powerful Core i7 and Xeon based systems. Installing NAS4Free
Building an XBMC 12 Home Theatre PC with a Mini-ITX motherboard
February 28, 2013
We are long time fans of XBMC here at Mini-ITX.com. OpenELEC is a distribution of XBMC (currently at version 12) with a streamlined installation and update process, making it even easier to utilise the graphics acceleration of ION and Fusion based Mini-ITX systems to make a very slick Home Theatre PC. Here's how to do it. Building an XBMC 12 Home Theatre PC with a Mini-ITX motherboard
VIA launches Neo-ITX with $49 APC Android PC
May 22, 2012
VIA today announced the APC 8750 Android PC system, a small footprint low power consumption motherboard with a $49 price point. Comparisons will inevitably be made with the Raspberry Pi. However the APC 8750 looks to have a less painful out of the box experience, with Android OS and applications pre-loaded on NAND Flash, a form-factor compatible with PC cases and a wider selection of ports fitted to just one side of the motherboard. The APC 8750 runs a custom build of Android 2.3 with a selection of pre-installed apps including a browser, all pre-loaded on 2GB of NAND Flash memory. A microSD Slot allows further expansion. The Neo-ITX Form Factor used by the APC measures 170 x 85mm and is exactly 1/2 the area of the 170 x 170mm Mini-ITX form factor. Neo-ITX boards will fit into any Mini-ITX chassis (perhaps with the addition of a couple of plastic standoffs at the rear for stability). The APC 8750 is powered by a Wondermedia WM8750 SoC running at 800MHz which supports H264 decoding for 720p video playback. Power consumption is just 4W idle and 13.5W under peak load. Full Specifications of the APC 8750: Operating System: Android 2.3; Processor: VIA 800MHz Processor (Wondermedia WM8750); Memory: 512MB DDR3 RAM, 2GB NAND Flash; Graphics: Built-in 2D/3D, resolution up to 720p; Ports: HDMI, VGA, 4x USB 2.0, 3.5mm Mic In, 3.5mm Audio Out, microSD slot, 10/100 Ethernet; Power: 15W AC Adapter; Size: 170mm x 85mm (Neo-ITX form factor). APC Website
Thin Mini-ITX on display at Computex
June 07, 2011
Intel demonstrated a new variant of the Mini-ITX form factor at Computex in Taiwan last week. They are calling the form factor "Thin Mini-ITX". 
Intel demonstrated AIO (All In One) machines and thin consumer style chassis on the show floor but they also see room for a low profile board in VESA mounted machines, ATMs, casino gaming machines and plenty of other vertical markets. 
The main characteristics of Thin Mini-ITX are: Mini-ITX (170 x 170mm) motherboard size; 20mm maximum height; 25mm high I/O shield; up to 65W TDP desktop CPU support; internal display connectors; SODIMM memory and an external power supply. 
Low-profile Mini-ITX motherboards already exist using lower power consumption processors soldered directly to the board. Intel's specification for Thin Mini-ITX allows motherboards to define 'keep-out' areas outside of the traditional Mini-ITX motherboard square to fit custom CPU cooling solutions. Intel demonstrated a Socket 1155 motherboard with a heat-pipe and externally mounted heatsink connected to a side-blower fan. 
Thin Mini-ITX-Based All-in-One Desktops at Intel.com
Commodore USA reanimates the C64
April 07, 2011
Nearly 30 years ago Commodore Business Machines released what was to become the most popular home computer ever made - the CBM 64. It had a CPU that ran at 1MHz, just 64K of RAM and ran programs loaded over several minutes from cassette tape. To people of a certain age it was for a while the most desirable object ever created by mankind. Commodore USA are giving us the chance to re-live these moments again with their all-new Commodore 64. Under the hood courtesy of a standard Mini-ITX motherboard is an Intel Atom dual core processor running 1,800 times faster than the original, paired with an NVidia ION 2 GPU. DocLorren of course stuffed an early VIA Mini-ITX motherboard into an original C64 chassis for our very own website way back in 2003. We're saying nothing. New Commodore 64 at Commodore USA
XBMC Guide updated to version 10.0
January 25, 2011
We have updated our guide to building an ION-powered HTPC using XBMC to version 10.0. As an added bonus we have included a new module with instructions to enable 24fps playback for you lucky people with 1080p/24fps tellies. Building an ION powered HTPC with XBMC
Building a Green PC
August 06, 2010
Christopher Barnatt sent us this excellent video demonstrating how to build a silent and fanless PC that consumes under 20W. Click to see just how easy it is. Then check out his website ExplainingComputers.com for more great guides.
Building an ION powered HTPC with XBMC
February 15, 2010
We are long time fans of XBMC here at Mini-ITX.com. Version 9.11 makes it extremely easy to utilise the graphics acceleration of ION based Mini-ITX systems to make a very slick Home Theatre PC. Here's how to do it. Building an ION powered HTPC with XBMC
Intel revamps the Atom with Pine Trail
January 14, 2010
Intel launched their low cost x86 Atom processor in mid 2008 and changed the face of low-cost and low-power computing. In the Mini-ITX world, their popular D945GCLF and D945GCLF2 motherboards combined the Atom N230 and N330 CPUs with the ICH7 chipset and consumer friendly pricing. The single core D410PT 'Packton' and dual core D510MO 'Mount Olive' are the first Mini-ITX 'Pine Trail' motherboards to feature Intel's new Atom D410 and Atom D510 'Pineview' processors. 
Pine Trail boards feature a more integrated design than previous Atom boards by moving the memory contoller and video subsystem from the Northbridge and into the main CPU. The whole platform can be created with just 2 chips which results in lower overall power consumption. The Atom is paired with the NM10 (aka 'Tiger Point') Platform Controller Hub (PCH) which is responsible for providing the I/O subsystem such as Serial-ATA, PCI-express, USB, Ethernet and HD-Audio. Maximum memory supported has increased from 2GB up to 4GB. The Pineview processors are marginally quicker than before - but the big news here is that both motherboards can operate without fans. We have had these boards in our underground testing lab for a while now and we can tell you they output very little heat. Our pre-release model didn't go above 50 degrees Celsius during the whole intensive testing process. For those of you wondering how the new platform compares to what has previously been available we have created the following 6-way multi-graph: 
Video Playback & 3D Performance: In our tests the D510MO played 720p H264 perfectly but struggled with 1080i/p content. This is slightly better performance than the previous generation D945GCLF2 which dropped the odd frame during 720p playback. As before only fairly old or simplistic games will run on the D510MO. Impressive for a budget board - however the ultimate embedded Mini-ITX platform for video playback & 3D remains the earlier Atom paired with an NVidia ION chipset. CPU Performance & Energy Consumption: The Pine Trail boards are slightly faster than the previous generation, whilst consuming almost 10W less. Connectivity has been altered slightly. Legacy Parallel and RS-232 ports are demoted to internal pin headers, and S-Video and PATA have been removed entirely. The addition of a Mini-PCI Express port on the D510MO could prove very useful. As with the previous generation, Gigabit Ethernet is reserved for the dual core D510MO. While not representing a sea-change from the previous generation Atom platform, Pine Trail is a more mature product with improvements in many areas. If you want a great value fanless dual core 64-bit Mini-ITX motherboard, we have them right here: D410PT and D510MO at the Mini-ITX Store
The M350 Universal Mini-ITX Enclosure is extremely versatile
September 13, 2009
The M350 Universal Mini-ITX Enclosure is a great example of what happens when industrial design is done correctly. The case follows the inverted U shaped top, motherboard base plate and front panel design pattern used by many Mini-ITX cases to date, but with many subtleties to elevate it far above the norm. The 2.5in HDD/SSD tray can be fitted in one of two positions, meaning motherboards with larger heatsinks can be accommodated. When a standard profile motherboard is used another tray can be added to mount 2 drives. The HDD brackets double as fan mounting points for use in extreme or critical environments - though most ordinary users won't need these.
The strong plastic front panel has an illuminated power switch and space for a customisation sticker for ODMs. When removed, the front panel reveals two USB ports at right angles with enough space for a wireless antenna. A pulse generator linked to the power switch can be set to boot the machine automatically after power loss, even when the motherboard BIOS doesn't support the feature.
The M350 has no internal PSU so it can be used with the wide range of picoPSU plug-in DC converters and a voltage source (usually an AC Adapter). It can also be used with Mini-ITX boards with their own built in DC converters such as several of Zotac's ION motherboards.
A variety of inexpensive mounting options are available too - such as Wall mounting brackets, DIN rail mounts that work in multiple orientations, or VESA mounting screws to mount to the back of a monitor.
News Archive
* Back to Mini-ITX.com *
| 
