sff

Nov 27 2012

News - Intel NUC Reviewed, Thermal Issue Identified

By Matthew Miller

Intel's Next Unit of Computing (NUC) shot to the top of many HTPC enthusiasts' Santa lists when Intel finally revealed the final specs and prices earlier this month. The NUC will be available in two versions, the Thunderbolt-equipped DC3217BY and the DCDC3217IYE, which forgoes the Thunderbolt port in favor of a Gigabit Ethernet port. Our friends at TechReport recently got to take the DC3217BY for a spin and seemed to come away generally pleased with the experience. Certainly it looks like the NUC will have more than enough SFF horsepower to serve as a capable HTPC so long as internal storage capacity is not a major concern.

The Cliff's Notes version is simple: Intel should have called this an Ultrabox, in an obvious play on the Ultrabook name. The guts of the NUC are essentially the same as an Ultrabook's, right down to the 17W dual-core Ivy Bridge processor. This CPU, with the incredibly catchy name Core i3-3217U, has four threads via Hyper-Threading and runs at 1.8GHz, with 3MB of L3 cache. It's not exactly a screamer by desktop standards, but it's vastly more capable than your average Intel Atom or AMD Brazos CPU. 

TechReport

Hot NUCUnfortuantely, the NUC was not without its issues. In particular, the TechReport reviewer, Scott Wasson, noticed issues with the system buckling under the load of large file transfers across a network, with the transfer slowing to a stop and taking the rest of system down with it. In his review, Scott posited some theories about what was occurring, and after reaching out to Intel, posted a follow-up confirming that the issue was a result of thermal issues surrounding the placement of the wirless NIC and the SSD. Intel is reportedly working on a fix and is currently confident that the issue only affects the DC3217BY and not the DCDC3217IYE. With the NUC release imminent, it will be interesting to see how Intel fixes the issue.

In our recent review of Intel's "Next Unit of Computing" barebones box, we explained a snafu we encountered with large network file transfers causing the system to lock up. At the time, we were working with Intel on resolving the problem and suspected it was confined to our particular review unit. After further testing, we have a clearer sense of the nature of the problem, and potential NUC buyers should read carefully from here.

TechReport

Aug 24 2012

News - Silverstone Sugo SG05 Mini-ITX Case Reviewed

By Matthew Miller

Silverstone SG05

This summer proved exciting for fans of the Mini-ITX form factor with a number of intriguing new cases including the BitFenix Prodigy and the Fractal Design Node 304 grabbing some time in the spotlight. I was also a bit taken with the new Cooler Master Elite 120 as it reminded me of a smaller version of my once-beloved Antec Aria. However, in the midst of these exciting new releases, it can be easy for one to overlook the classics that have withstood the test of time, so it is fantastic to see a site like Anandtech choose to run a review of a Mini-ITX chassis standby like the Silverstone Sugo SG05. The Sugo SG05 has been around for a couple of years, but as they are wont to do, Silverstone has continued to refine the case with new revisions to keep it up-to-date. The SG05 was the first Silverstone case to catch my eye and, along with SG06, remains one of my favorite cube-style designs and it sounds like it Silverstone got a lot more than the look right with the SG05.

Meanwhile, in the background, SilverStone has been campaigning for us to take a look at one of its older cases, the Sugo SG05. They're of the opinion that the SG05 is capable of producing stellar performance while being smaller in volume than the competition. This case has been around for a little while, but was it ahead of its time?

Anandtech

May 07 2012

News - AnandTech Reviews ASRock's Vision 3D 252B HTPC

By Andrew Van Til

If I'm honest I don't really get these ASROCK's NVIDIA + Intel HD Graphics SFF HTPCs because there really isn't much that adding a dGPU nets you outside of slightly better gaming performance. That said, I am glad that ASROCK continues to develop new machines for this segment and that these systems are beginning to look a lot more like I want them too.

The small form factor (SFF) HTPC market has been steadily growing over the last few years. As mobile processors become more and more powerful, it is becoming easier for users to be satisfied with their performance even in desktop configurations.

The DIY HTPC crowd has a marked preference for mini-ITX motherboards and cases. However, the excessive TDP of desktop CPUs results in complicated thermal designs and noisy results. Thermal designs for systems with mobile CPUs with 35W TDPs are fairly straightforward and not very noisy. In fact, it is even possible to create systems which are fully passively cooled.

ASRock has three HTPC families catering to the entry level, mid-range and high-end markets. While the ION based HTPCs form the entry level (and have since been discontinued), the Core series serves the mid-range and the Vision series caters to the high-end. Today, we will be looking in detail at the Vision 3D 252B, the second generation Vision 3D series HTPC from ASRock. First off, let us take a look at the configuration of the review unit sent to us by ASRock

AT

Feb 07 2012

News - Arctic Announces AMD Trinity Based SFF HTPC

By Andrew Van Til

Arctic MC101

With AMD's Trinity APU/IPG coming in the near future it is great to see what OEMs are planning to do with the part. No word on price or timing, but Arctic has released a picture and some [subject to change without notice] specs for their next generation small form factor (SFF) HTPC built on the CPU/GPU combo. I think it looks great, but I'm a sucker for brushed aluminum; hopefully we'll see something with Zacate like power use and better than Llano performance in the A/V stack.

Jul 22 2011

News - Eight New Intel Sandy Bridge Parts to be Released Soon

By Aaron Ledger

Core and Pentium Retail BoxesAt the end of May, Intel introduced new Sandy Bridge architecture Pentium-branded chips that offer great performance for HTPCs on a budget. Things are about to get even cheaper with three new 35W T-branded parts (Pentium G530T, Pentium G630T and Core i3-2120T) . The rest of the non-T parts coming are Pentium G630, Pentium G860, Core i3-2125 (with HD3000 graphics), Core i3-2130 and Core i5-2310.

The Pentium G530T is not only a 35W TDP part, but the dual-core 2GHz Pentium will be the lowest priced Sandy Bridge yet at $47 besting the current Pentium G620 priced at $64. Another interesting part is the Core i3-2125 which will be the first i3-branded part to offer HD3000 graphics bringing a little bit more gaming prowess as the main benefit. The other parts coming are mostly slight bumps in performance to current offerings for the same price.

Intel is going to be a busy company between now and the end of September, as beyond the entry level CPUs that we revealed the pricing of yesterday, Intel has a total of eight new desktop Pentiums and Core i processors launching. Three of the new models are low-power 35W models, with the remaining models being standard desktop parts.

VR-Zone

Jun 21 2011

News - Thermaltake Element Q Mini-ITX Case

By Mike Garcen

Thermaltake has been making cases for a while, but usually they're on the flashier, gamer side of things. This offering has a nice look. Notice the red on the front, which I actually don't mind all that much, but it might not fit in with your specific environment.

http://www.techreaction.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/MG_4630-copy.jpg

The Thermaltake Element Q mini-ITX case was made for space-limited conditions, such as HTPC installations. This small form factor case offers a compact, stylish and convenient solution for housing a mini-ITX system with features arranged to do the job neatly and efficiently. The cooling system utilizes a fanless design to save energy and keep your operating environment quiet. Perforations in the panel vent hot air to keep heat from building up inside your system. The concealed front I/O panel gives hassle-free access to two USB ports and audio jacks.

TechReaction

Jun 10 2011

News - Zotac ZBOX: Brazos Goes HTPC

By Mike Garcen

How did I miss posting this review of the latest SFF by our very own Andrew Van Til over at Anandtech. As we've come to expect the review is extremely thorough and Andrew does a great job of analyzing it's performance which he deems is worthy of your living room (as long as your CPU requirements aren't too demanding).

Zotac ZBOX: Brazos Goes HTPC

Looking at both the ZBOX and its specifications, including a 2GB SO-DIMM and a 2.5” 5400 RPM hard drive, it should be clear that this mini-PC has more in common with a laptop than a “normal” HTPC. Unlike most laptops, there is still a small window for upgrades with one mini PCIe slot (the other is filled with a 2.4GHz 802.11n card) and a free SO-DIMM available. The system is very compact, which pays obvious dividends in size, but this is also a limitation with the cooling solution being the most tangible, immediate artifact. As with most laptops, the ZBOX is very quiet under minimal load but fans quickly spin up when the system is stressed to produce an audible hum in environments with a low noise floor. That said, the form factor is generally a good match for an E-350 Fusion based system, but ZOTAC’s [understandable] preference for product flexibility influences the placement and availability of external ports that hampers the execution more than I prefer in a dedicated SFF HTPC.

Anandtech

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