Sorry, for the late reply, vacations...


Yes, it is, only the first backup was quite long. After adding gigabit NIC I don't see any performance improvements for the incremental backups.



I use the extension cable, there is no way to insert it without the cable.

"I am interested in how you got the PicoPSU 120w 12-25v PSU to fit in to the socket on the m/board due to the proximity of USB connector, or do you use an extension cable ?"

I just pluged it in. It sits flush up against the USB connector but it fits ok.

Are you sure you've got 12-25V version? There is no way I could insert mine.

Well I ordered this board and just finished setting it up.

To get an idea of performance, I added 1GB of RAM, installed Windows XP Home SP2, Firefox, AVG anti-virus, Open Office and played around with it.

I am VERY impressed by the d201gly2's responsiveness! Sure one can feel the slowdown when facing more than one intensive task, but hey it's not a dual core. It doesn't "feel" like a 1.2 GHz Celeron.

That said, I wish for the following:

- SATA first generation? No thanks, those drives are not easy to find anymore and more expensive than SATA-2 plus it would save me the trouble of finding and setting a jumper to make the newer generation drive backwards compatible with SATA-1

- two words: Gigabit ethernet. This would truly turn this silent, low power PC into the perfect little server or NAS.


Does anyone have a good case suggestion for this mobo?

Have found some nice cases (however expensive!!)

Nexus Psile:
€ 169.00
Along the top of the case are two rails. These aren't required to maintain the structural integrity of the case, but do give flexibility when mounting the included brushless 80mm case fan. Some Mini-ITX boards can be fitted with passive CPU coolers, so the rail is a very useful feature.


Silverstone (ultra slim):


also Hush makes some very nice ones:

wow, that looks sexy - what's it called? it looks like the PT06, except the front panel is nicer... how much does it cost?

D201GLY2 does not fit into that Silverstone with the original CPU heatsink.

Its the LC19. Dont know the price in Germany.

Has anyone figured a way out to lower the voltage on this motherboard. Mine runs way too hot.

This was a new one for me as SATA is supposed to be backwards compatible. Wikipedia explained to me that this is a problem specific to some cheap-ass VIA and SIS chipsets -- of course Intel used just such a specimen on this board. I still don't understand how this was cheaper than using one of their own older chipsets . . . I wonder if Intel either lost a lawsuit to SIS settled by agreeing to buy a shitload of chipsets or if they won and SIS paid them off with a shitload of chipsets and either way this was how Intel decided to use them.

jessekopelman, thank you for your post as it may me take another look at the issue and, as it turns out, I spoke too soon.

Originally my board wouldn't boot. I went through the usual steps, minimal boot, reset the bios etc... During my troubleshooting, I recall the motherboard's spec mentioning SATA version one. Then I saw my WD5000YS' sticker showing "jumpered pins 5 and 6 enables SATA 150MB/s only operation." I found a jumper, restarted and it worked but must have wrongfully concluded the reason it didn't boot at first.

Can you post a photo of the board with the two NC-U6 heatsinks, please?

-D

I think this has more to do with the fact that this board is designed for what was once called 'third world' users. It is bare bones and inexpensive so you aren't going to get even an i945GT chipset as they are too costly with the sort of margins the D201GLY2 is dealing with. I haven't had any problems with SATA drives, mind you (although I did have a problem with an older Socket 754 SiS board that I used as an HTPC back in the day).

-D

These mini mobos are getting better & better --

I'm so glad to see an Intel chipset!

Pretty sweet deal for US$199 ($99 barebones) if you can live with GMA 950 video and the lack of optical drive bay. (Shuttle is rumored to be reconsidering the bay. One article says no slots, and the other says slot to be added. Wait & see the final design details...)

More -- http://anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=353

With the following setup:

- D201GLY2
- WD Caviar WD5000YS
- Plextor DVD burner
- Evercool slim 80mm fan
- Antec SU430 PSU

my Kill-A-Watt measures a consumption of 47 watts at the wall while idle in Windows XP Home SP2. Keep in mind this Antec SU 430 is the one that ships with Antec NSK2400 / Fusion, and is by no means highly efficient especially at that low wattage.

I don't have a Pico PSU yet but I will try to do a similar test with the 80W brick PSU that came with my iStarUSA S3 case.

I wonder if they'd sell the motherboard separately as I have no need for the case...could be interesting, especially if it offers on-board GigE.

-D

For $99 (barebones), I'd be happy to keep the mobo and 100 watt PS and chuck the case. For me, an optical drive would be required, so I'm not happy with the current KPC case.

FWIW, I read several articles about the Shuttle KPC. It appears that the samples were at CES as a technology preview and the design has not been frozen. Therefore, your guess about features is as good as any. I'm interested enough to put a google alert on the topic.

Speculation & conjecture time --
- 945G chipset. Huge improvement over 201/202 boards, IMHO.
- There was prior speculation that Intel would be doing a 945 mini-ITX. Is this product based on an Intel design? Others coming?
- Some articles speculated on which Celeron 420 was used -- mobile or socket 775. Price suggests 775. Socketed!
- Intel really seems to be doing a great job with low cost laptops & desktops. More, faster!

Another interesting mini PC design mentioned at CES is the Everex gPC mini --

Lousy picture --
http://www.everex.com/press/everex_gpc_mini_photo1.jpg

Specs --
http://www.everex.com/press/Everex%20gPC%20mini%20ET2102%20Detailed%20Specification-v1.0.pdf

Gigabit ethernet -- Yes! Price? Availability? Noise?

Made the power supply switch, compare to my list just above, now 38w.

- Could lower the wattage of current setup by abandoning the 7200rpm drive for either a green power drive (5400rpm), a notebook drive or some flash card.

- May be able to further lower it with a more efficient PSU (like Pico PSU)

Do you actually have any evidence that the SIS chipset is cheaper to Intel than any of their own chipsets? If the board were being manufactured by a Jetway or the like, your theory would be more plausible. Also, forget i945GT, even a i915G would be better than the SIS. I think there is something more than SIS was inherently cheaper at work (again, like Intel was sitting on a bunch of SIS chipsets and needed a way to get rid of them).

I doubt the PicoPSU DC/DC PSU is much more efficient than the iStar one. However, you may be able to find a more efficient AC/DC brick than the iStar one. Still, hard to justify buying a new brick just to save 5W or less.

I wonder if this doesn't have more to do with Intel's 2005 resource constraints and their decision to concentrate efforts on high-end chipsets.


Lots of other articles on the topic of SiS in Intel entry-level products. Unfortunately (for Linux-lovers), SiS (e.g., 67x and 68x) is still popular in low-end Intel-based current production . http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=6&id=2319

The SiS 662 used in the Intel mini-ITX boards is the lowest of the low-end chipsets. Sensible design decision for entry-level Windows PCs in emerging markets -- Intel's design goal. Not optimal for industrial usage of Intel's mini-ITX boards, let alone enthusiast users like us.

Also, Intel OEMs are employing Linux in a low-end strategy (e.g., ASUS Eee, Shuttle KPC, etc.) Intel chipsets are a much better choice for these products, due to the lack of Linux drivers and other issues with SiS chipsets. For Intel CPUs to compete effectively with VIA CPUs for the low-power, low-price market, Intel chipsets will be highly desirable.

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5086&Itemid=1

If fudzilla is right, we'll see a 945 Intel Mini-itx board. Besides, our local sources, Taiwan here, revealed that SiS had stopped chipset business, and they put emphasis on LCD TV ICs. So no more SiS chips anymore.

What?! No more SiS chipsets? VIA is going to leave the chipset business as well

No more SiS chipsets? Good riddance!

As I understand it, Via is out of the Intel chipset business as of April 2008, but will continue to make chipsets for their own CPUs and AMD CPUs. Of course, they lost some key personnel and can not infringe on the Intel patents. Things may be tough for Via.

The fudzilla article cited says --

Therefore, these boards may not be optimal for the Industrial and enthusiast market segments. Understandable, I guess...

Here it is.
Haven't organized cables yet, going to add one more HDD....

Has anyone tried Windows Server 2008 on this board?

"Are you sure you've got 12-25V version? There is no way I could insert mine."

I am wrong you are correct. I have the a mains powered Pico PSU.

Could anybody suggest a bigger heatsink. I was then hoping to use the CPU heatsink for the northbridge. This little board runs way to hot.

What I find most fustrating is why have intel set the motherboard at 1.3 volts. I have a pentium m that runs at 1.6mhz at 1.1 volts. I reckon this chip would run at well under 1 volt then heat and power consumption would no longer fustration. I feel so close to getting what I want from an ITX motherbord (at last) yet I am still not quite there.

There are some posted in this thread. The TT HR-05, SilenX IXN-40C and Swift-tech MCX159.

Also just got my GLY2 today for a solid $100NZD along with 1GB of DDR2-667 for only $23NZD. Which is only $77USD and $17USD. Seems to be cheaper then anywhere else in the world

EDIT: I'm surprised they don't have driver support for Vista Ultimate (or Vista 64-bit, XP 64-bit is OK). Any way around this?

Just came across a mini-ITX case by GTR (F202) for $60 which includes a DC-DC adaptor (ST-DCP100), 60W AC-DC "Sun" brick, and P4 connector. For the same price of a similar Pico+Brick, you get a free case too.



I compared the ST board against the Pico120 using several DC bricks (Delta 60W, Sun 60W, and a DVE 36W - from my NAS) and overall AC draw seems pretty much the same (ST was a hair more efficient with the Sun brick and Pico was a hair ahead with the Delta).

Windows XP idle = 31-33 W
Prime 95 = 44-48 W
Suspend = 29-32 W
Power off = pulsing 7W

Components include the D201GLY2, 1GB RAM, 2.5" 120GB Sata Samsung HDD, and 2x60mm fans.

Oddly the system in suspend mode draws about the same amount of power as in idle mode so putting it in suspend really won't save any power or lower the heat generated, and with the fans powered off this might even overheat the system in a tight case?!

For comparison a Synology NAS with a 3.5" 250GB HDD runnning off the DVE 36W brick consumes 40-60% less power.

Idle (drive spinning) = 18 W
Drive spun down = 12 W
Under load = 23 W
Power off = 0 W

One thing I did notice was I am unable to power down the board properly. XP will perform shutdown normally, but then the board doesn't power off and will start to reboot; I have to manually hold down the power button. This was the same even using a regular ATX PSU so can't blame the DC-DC boards. Did others experience this or just a problem with my particular board?

Vmod modification is here - if you can read German

http://forum.mini-pc-pro.de/hardware-al ... -vmod.html