Zotac H55-ITX WIFI / Origen AE M10 HTPC Build

mremulator

mremulator

mremulator

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I just wanted to share my latest HTPC Build that I've been configuring since last weekend.

I had previously built a water-cooled/overclocked E7600 custom build, which even featured a powder coated custom Silverstone SG05. However, the build was too bulky (even for Mini-ITX) and a little on the noisy side. The case LED’s were also dazzling. Therefore, I wanted something that would not look out of place under my TV.

I also really wanted to be able to power up the PC without having to manually press the power button on the front of the chassis every time. After a little further research I discovered the Origen AE M10 HTPC case. This thing is built like a tank and actually looks like a piece of expensive AV kit. It also has a Soundgraph VF310 VFD/IR module included, which allows full control over the PC and displays lots of info (ID3 tags for MP3's & system info etc).

The rig has a Core i3 530 CPU, Zotac H55-ITX Wifi mobo, 4GB Corsair XMS3, Sony slot-loading Blu-Ray drive, ATI 5570 (was 5450) and is controlled with a Logitech DiNovo Mini (sweet). ;)

Despite what I had read about the Radeon HD5450 being ideal for a HTPC, I found that it was not even powerful enough to allow for shaders to be enabled in Media Player Classic when watching 1080p content. After a few days I upgraded to the HD 5570 and have not looked back.

Another thing worth mentioning is that FFDShow now supports DTS HD MA & Dolby True HD bitstreaming with the Radeon 5*** cards. Combine this with all the other cool features of the Origen AE M10 case/hardware and you have one hell of a nice little HTPC!

Anyway, pics:

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Sorry for poor lighting, but you get the idea.
 
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I can in no way shape or form afford that case. Which is why I now hate you that little bit for bringing it to my attention :p I mean... damn. It's a thing of beauty!

Nice rig! :) No heat issues? Looks like there's a lot in there.
 
Very nice little build, but I have a few questions.

Are you sure the 5450 was to blame for the lack of decoding performance or could it have been a software issue? Which decoder are you using? The 5450 really should have enough grunt to decode 1080p without issue.

Also why did you go with a clarkdale and then throw in a dedicated gpu? The IGP is more than enough to decode 1080p.

I don't mean to sound critical but am just wondering.
 
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5450 should be able to decode anything you throw at it as far as 1080p goes, and the cpu is definitely overkill
 
It's good enough for a light gaming computer.

I'm reasonably sure my e8400 + 5570 ITX can give the OCUK Titan Sphere (Phenom 9850 + 5570) a runaround.

An i3 530 + 5570 is easily capable of jumping in a few games :)
 
gurusan said:
Very nice little build, but I have a few questions.

Are you sure the 5450 was to blame for the lack of decoding performance or could it have been a software issue? Which decoder are you using? The 5450 really should have enough grunt to decode 1080p without issue.

Also why did you go with a clarkdale and then throw in a dedicated gpu? The IGP is more than enough to decode 1080p.

I don't mean to sound critical but am just wondering.
Click to expand...

I too was surprised, however, with DXVA enabled and sharpen complex within MPCHC causes frames to be dropped when watching a 1080p/23.976fps MKV for example. Disable the sharpen complex shader and it's perfect. Another thing with the passively cooled HD 5450 is that there is a heatsink on the back of the card to cool the memory; this makes the card hard to fit between the chassis and optical drive. The HD5570 can handle multiple shaders and only has a one sided heatsink with a small (silent) fan. Also 400 stream processors instead of 80, faster memory clock and 128-bit memory bus instead of only 64-bit. Got to be worth an extra £20 me thinks.

I know the CPU is overkill for a HTPC, but it's the best bang for buck you can currently get. Take into account hyper threading, 32nm manufacturing, low voltage & temps... well it's a no brainer IMHO. ;)

Hotwired said:
Not bad considering it all runs off a 150W PSU.

Mind boggles somewhat when you find the price tag for the case though... o.0
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Regarding the cost of the case... you get a Panasonic slot-loading combi drive (£55), VF310 vfd/ir module (£69) and WMC remote (£9). This means that not only are you are getting one of the best quality cases I have ever seen, plus power supply etc, but are basically only paying £145 for the case & PSU. Personally, I don't think it's expensive for what you get at all!

Anyway, I'm very pleased with it, plus it runs cool and virtually silent.
 
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yes the 5450 can decode 1080p but when you start adding a few post processing features through media player classic home theatre the low end htpc cards quickly run out of grunt, i had this problem with the 3450 and 4350 and it's the reason i have stuck with my trusty 2600xt as it has a bit of extra grunt.
i had hoped the 5450 would be powerful enough but it appears it's not either :(
hopefully the 5570 will come down in price soon.
 
That's a shame. People should really post this everywhere as it's generally accepted that a low-end card is fully capable of 1080P decoding and a few post-processing duties.
 
Forgot to mention that I cloned the WD Velociraptor and whacked in an Intel 80GB SSD. The thing now flies and I use my QNAP NAS for storage anyway.
 
@mremulator:

Did you experience any kind of power issues using Zotac with M10's PSU?

I have an M10 with similar setup minus the ATI card (i3-540, IGD alone, 4GB, WD Blue Scorpio HDD), but it suffers from excessive current draw on 3.3v and 5V power lanes. It works actually but I can clearly hear that annoying modulated coil noise from CPU fan on system load peaks. According to my meter, there is a 0.8V drop on 3.3V lane and 1.1V on 5V when loaded. Even worst, with an HVR-2200 on PCIe slot (draws 5W from 3.3V), system could not wake from S3 mode. Seems that voltage drop is due to M10's PSU circuit inefficiency not because of the power brick. I used a lab 12V/350W switching power supply in place of FSP150 but didn't help.

BTW Zotac works fine when used with a regular uATX 200W power supply. Unfortunately after all these issues I had to put Zotac aside and use an Intel DH57JG instead. This works great with M10's PSU with much less total consumption and no voltage drops at'all; seems that Intel's circuitry is much more efficient. I missed Zotac's internal wlan though. Onboard mini-PCIe slot is really great feature and the sole reason I've got Zotac. :(
 
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Athan said:
@mremulator:

Did you experience any kind of power issues using Zotac with M10's PSU?

I have an M10 with similar setup minus the ATI card (i3-540, IGD alone, 4GB, WD Blue Scorpio HDD), but it suffers from excessive current draw on 3.3v and 5V power lanes. It works actually but I can clearly hear that annoying modulated coil noise from CPU fan on system load peaks. According to my meter, there is a 0.8V drop on 3.3V lane and 1.1V on 5V when loaded. Even worst, with an HVR-2200 on PCIe slot (draws 5W from 3.3V), system could not wake from S3 mode. Seems that voltage drop is due to M10's PSU circuit inefficiency not because of the power brick. I used a lab 12V/350W switching power supply in place of FSP150 but didn't help.

BTW Zotac works fine when used with a regular uATX 200W power supply. Unfortunately after all these issues I had to put Zotac aside and use an Intel DH57JG instead. This works great with M10's PSU with much less total consumption and no voltage drops at'all; seems that Intel's circuitry is much more efficient. I missed Zotac's internal wlan though. Onboard mini-PCIe slot is really great feature and the sole reason I've got Zotac. :(
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Yea, can't wake from sleep either and I know what you mean regarding the fan noise. However, the rig is only used for movies mainly and is rarely under load. If your intel mobo works fine with the M10's psu... then surely the problem lies with Zotac and not Origen/Soundgraph (iMON passthrough)?
 
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