Hi,
Hi everybody in this forum.
I purchased Asrock ION 330 as HTPC few years ago and I'm really satisfied with this. I'm running Windows 7 and over that XBMC, CouchPotato, SickBeard, SabNZB. Recently i'm having some performance problems with XBMC, so I was wondering if it's possible to upgrade my system to i3 sandy bridge.
What I really like is the Asrock case. Maybe anybody knows if it is possible to fit sandy bridge platform to the same case and if the existing power supply is enough.
Information about my existing system: http://www.asrock.com/nettop/overview.a ... =ION%20330
I would appreciate if you can help me on this
br,
Martin
Asrock ION 330 upgrade to sandy bridge
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
Re: Asrock ION 330 upgrade to sandy bridge
See if you can identify the motherboard or the other parts such as the PSU and the case (model numbers and stuff). They may have used standard parts.
Re: Asrock ION 330 upgrade to sandy bridge
The motherboard looks like a custom job and it is pretty tight in there. In particular it seems to be designed around the fact that the Atom CPU can be cooled passively with a small heatsink and requires only a small number of supporting chips. The whole cooling setup seems to be based around a push-pull mechanism that allows a single narrow air path to pass over both the actively cooled northbridge (ION graphics) and the CPU, with a (relative to the size) big fan right in the middle of the backplate. This greatly simplifies airflow in the case (smart design!) but it also makes it incompatible with regular mini ITX motherboards - assuming you could mount it your ram would block the intake, the exhaust fan would have to be removed to make room for the ports on the back on the motherboard (blocking the exhaust vent), and the rear of the case would need new cutouts (there isn't a backplate so much as the back of the case just has the port holes cut straight into it). And now that you've eliminated all airflow in the case, you need to cool an i3 with something like 30mm of clearance for a heatsink.
I would either look into whether you can upgrade to a faster Atom, or since you'd need a new motherboard/cpu/ram to go to Sandy Bridge anyway, look at a different mini itx case. For example Puget seems to be using the Antec ISK 310-150 for their i3/i5 mini system. It's deeper then your case, but I don't know that you can find a Mini ITX compatible case that small due to the need for cooling to go somewhere. Sandy Bridge systems in that size would need to be custom parts - The Mac Mini is one such beast, but then you're split between the now much older mini with the DVD drive, or the new mini (which is half the height of your system) which is i5 but has no optical drive.
I would either look into whether you can upgrade to a faster Atom, or since you'd need a new motherboard/cpu/ram to go to Sandy Bridge anyway, look at a different mini itx case. For example Puget seems to be using the Antec ISK 310-150 for their i3/i5 mini system. It's deeper then your case, but I don't know that you can find a Mini ITX compatible case that small due to the need for cooling to go somewhere. Sandy Bridge systems in that size would need to be custom parts - The Mac Mini is one such beast, but then you're split between the now much older mini with the DVD drive, or the new mini (which is half the height of your system) which is i5 but has no optical drive.
Re: Asrock ION 330 upgrade to sandy bridge
This isn't a regular Atom but features an Nvidia CPU. An underclocked Sandy Bridge could consume less power, even with desktop parts. There are probably more sensible alternatives to the current Atom crop or Sandy Bridge such as Zacate. You might also want to wait a few weeks to see if the new Atoms would be suitable. But if the layout (I haven't looked at it) is that troublesome, I wouldn't bother to try to reuse that case anyway.
The simplest solution might be to overclock but that might not solve unspecified performance issues. No upgrade is guaranteed to solve unspecified problems anyway. And it may be possible to solve these problems without touching the CPU or the GPU.
If you want an internal optical drive, I don't think you'll find cases much smaller the Antec 300/310.
The simplest solution might be to overclock but that might not solve unspecified performance issues. No upgrade is guaranteed to solve unspecified problems anyway. And it may be possible to solve these problems without touching the CPU or the GPU.
If you want an internal optical drive, I don't think you'll find cases much smaller the Antec 300/310.
Re: Asrock ION 330 upgrade to sandy bridge
Hi,
The is for response.
My system has AMCP7A-ION board and - Atom™ 330 1.6GHz processor.
Information about mobo: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?o ... mitstart=4
So the main problem is layout, because ITX board RAM will be directly in front of air intake.
Here is practically the same case with SB i3 setup: http://www.asrock.com/nettop/overview.a ... T%20Series
Also my processor is clocked to 2100 mhz and it runs like a charm (24/7), but performance issue is stiil there.
So there is two ways to move on:
1. Throw my endise system out and build a new one with new case.
2. Sait for new Atom and see if this can save the day.
If anybody know anything about the new Atom?
The is for response.
My system has AMCP7A-ION board and - Atom™ 330 1.6GHz processor.
Information about mobo: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?o ... mitstart=4
So the main problem is layout, because ITX board RAM will be directly in front of air intake.
Here is practically the same case with SB i3 setup: http://www.asrock.com/nettop/overview.a ... T%20Series
Also my processor is clocked to 2100 mhz and it runs like a charm (24/7), but performance issue is stiil there.
So there is two ways to move on:
1. Throw my endise system out and build a new one with new case.
2. Sait for new Atom and see if this can save the day.
If anybody know anything about the new Atom?