[Pc_Support] Mini-ITX 2677/2699 set-top case for $79 -- WAS: ASRock K8NF4G-SATA2

[Bryan J. Smith]

On Tue, 2005-12-13 at 19:18 -0500, Jason Boxman wrote:
> You need a wireless card of sorts to drive your home entertainment system?  
> That must be quite a setup (cool, strange, or both).

CaseTronic/CaseOutlet offers a 2677R or 2699R case for $79 that looks
like a nice set-top.  Dimensions are 2.5" (H) x 11.50" (W)  x
10.75" (D).  They'll take (1) 5.25" slim, (1) 3.5" slim and (1) 3.5"
internal, in addition to the mainboard.
  http://www.caseoutlet.com/shopexd.asp?id=137  (2677R)
  http://www.caseoutlet.com/shopexd.asp?id=138  (2699R)

[ NOTE:  They have White as well, but I assume you want Black ]

If you hit Froogle, you can find other resellers offering them for as
low as $60.

As far as mainboards, any ViA will work, although I recommend at least
the CLE266 for MPEG-2 decoding acceleration (don't know about in Linux
-- I need to research mplayer's support).  That's the EPIA CL, M[II] or
PD.
  http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/mainboards/mini_itx/epia_m/  
  http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/mainboards/mini_itx/epia_m2/  
  http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/mainboards/mini_itx/epia_cl/  
  http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/mainboards/mini_itx/epia_pd/  

Configuration pages with mainboard/CPU are here at
CaseTronic/CaseOutlet:  
  http://www.caseoutlet.com/shopexd.asp?id=203  (2677R)
  http://www.caseoutlet.com/shopexd.asp?id=200  (2699R)  

The M10000 is probably your best "bang-for-the-buck" to start.  Ignore
the MII unless you need CardBus and CompactFlash (which isn't bootable
on that board, it's connected via the CompactFlash, not an ATA channel).
The CL and PD add various features (e.g., dual LAN).  Coincidentally,
CaseTronic/CaseOutlet doesn't seem to offer the CL10000 on those pages,
but it's priced similarly to the M10000 at around $150 (for just the
mainboard+CPU+cooling).

The new CN400 chipset adds MPEG-4 decoding acceleration (again, I need
to research mplayer), DDR400 FSB/memory support, SATA and other goodies,
and is in the EPIA SP (will work in that case) and the new dual-
processor DP using NanoBGA C3 processors (but won't work in that
case):  
  http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/mainboards/mini_itx/epia_sp/  
  http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/mainboards/mini_itx/vt_310dp/  

Intel will require a bit more clearance, cooling and power (even for
Pentium-M, and definitely Pentium-4) -- let alone they cost a buttload
in Mini-ITX.


-- 
Bryan J. Smith   mailto:b.j.smith at ieee.org
http://thebs413.blogspot.com
------------------------------------------
Some things (or athletes) money can't buy.
For everything else there's "ManningCard."