I'm kinda hoping to use my Thermalright XP-120 on the mini-box if possible since it's not particularly tall. Only concerns will be the width and if it'll even fit on the board (possible clearance issues)

low price - hi performance mini-itx motherboard will kill their business...

Hmm, the person must be misinformed about something because their store already carries all the other intel mini-itx. I don't see why they would avoid any intel mini-itx on purpose. Also I don't see how it kills their business, they already sell the $80 intel mini-itx boards currently. I'd figure it would actually increase the amount of sales.

I must confess I'm not really up to date on specific CPU power consumptions.

However, I do know that the G35 has a TDP of about 15~20W, and most Core-based CPUs draw 35W at least (except the very low power Celerons, probably even the E1xxx parts). Which means that 60W "PSU" (DC-to-DC converter) most likely WON'T be able to power that board, plus a 65W part CPU, plus the extra 2,5'' HDD and laptop ODD. It's waaaay too much, as far as I see it...

My guess is anything shorter than a 120W PicoPSU (the lower wattage versions have rather low amperage ratings on the 12V line...) won't cut it. The good thing is you'd probably be able to hack it in there... hehehe

An Atom-based board should fit there like a glove, though... That is, one with passive cooling on the NB, else the HDD/ODD might bump into something...

Nice case, btw.

Cheers.

Miguel

Mini-box will be stocking the DG45FC

I've seen the intel m-itx G45 motherboard for sale online, for a price of 129 euro.
Now lets wait for some reviews of this chip and how it compares to AMD 780G.

ps, de silverstone LC12B looks like a nice m-itx case high enough for an aftermarket CPU cooler. Don't know if the 60 WATT will be enough for G45 + E7200.

Maybe someone could start a new topic 780G vs G45 and appropriate PSU.

Mini-box now has it. Not in stock though.

The said link, last updated on 6/28/2008, no longer gives the availability date.

If you believe the ETA given by some of the etailers, and the buzz on some forums on the general delay of the 45 chipset, you are likely looking at late August before seeing this baby. So don't hold you breathe.

As for me, my money is on the Jetway NC81 780g mini-itx board.

I read the power requirements in the manual for the DG45FC and it doesn't look like the PicoPSU 120W will not be enough on *any* of the rails.

I'm no power expert, but can anyone verify?
http://resources.mini-box.com/online/comparisation-chart/comparisation-chart.html

http://resources.mini-box.com/online/MBD-I-DG45FC/MBD-I-DG45FC-specs.pdf

That's what I was trying to tell you guys from a while ago... The peak amps the PicoPSU can cough up on the 12V rail is 8, and that's for under 60 seconds (if memory serves me right).

To put it bluntly: PicoPSUs are for 1) VIA-based mini, pico and nano-ITX motherboards; 2) Atom-based motherboards; 3) the D201GLY/GLY2 motherboards (and derivatives, Asus has one of those); and 4) VERY select single and dual-core mATX-based systems, mostly from AMD origins (like underclocked Sempron+ASRock NVIDIA-based board).

That being said, please look at this thread, starting around post #116 or so (and yes, that's also me with the same nickname). There is so much stuff on that thread going on, also regarding power consumptions that it would be too much to just bring here... Also, before that post there's the reference to the AMD mATX builds.

However, it IS possible to run Intel-based systems off a PicoPSU, but it's not an easy thing to do, and you'll most likely need to underclock the CPU and MCH a tad, and also disconnect any unused stuff (COM, LTP, FireWire, etc.) to keep the consumption low.

On that line, starting on post #121 the really juicy stuff begins. Just keep in mind I'm using a G33 chipset as reference, which has lower power needs than the G45, AFAIK. Just keep in mind I'm a law major, NOT an electronics guru...

If you can, kick the PSU up to the M4 and a 200W power brick. That will definetely buy you some peace of mind.

Anyway, keep this mind when calculating your power needs:
a) Most important rails are 12V and 5V (12V for the CPU and HDD, 5V for HDDs - 2.5'' ones use only 5V);
b) 5V is also used for USB-powered devices, at 0.5A per port;
c) 3.3V should only be needed for PCI cards.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

Miguel

The German review siteI mentioned in this thread uses the picoPSU-120 powered by an 84W brick. If my guess of the German is correct, their DG35FC setup uses a notebook drive (5400rpm). The pico has no problem driving an E8500 at full load.

BTW I have two AMD 690G mATX boards each with 3.5" 7200rpm drive powered by picoPSU-120/80W brick. Never had a problem.

I noticed this doesnt have a ide for a slimline drive, is everyone using a standard Drive. Kind of effects the small form factor approach doesnt it?

Slimline optical drives with a MicroSATA port are slowly starting to appear, so I guess you'll just need a MicroSATA-to-SATA adaptor to connect them.

There are also ide to sata adapters for the slimline drives. I have one in the mail right now, and it should work just as well.

¿Do you know, if the X4500 IGP had DXVA?. In some web tells that at the moments its drivers doesn´t support the HD aceleration.

Not sure if this is news or not, but the DQ45EK and DQ45CB are now listed on the Intel website.

Hey folks,

Haven't seen anyone comment on this, but this board has a serious problem for those who wants to go fanless. There are four chips soldered on the back right where the backplate is suppose to go. You can forget about putting that nice, shiny tower heatsink on this one.