NEW BOARD! Zotac H55 in MINI ITX Form Factor with 6 SATA/1eSATA

[GaryMaster]

I have been really happy with my UNRAID i3-530 build on the ASUS H55 board.  I found this new board today and wished I had waited!

 

The i3-530 on this platform is a very powerful processor, but with VERY LOW power draw (mine pulls only 36W with disks spun down).

 

MINI-ITX Form Factor

6x SATA2 + 1x eSATA

Gigabit LAN

Full 16x PCIe Slot

On package video with HDMI and DVI (this would make a great HTPC also, supporting 1080p)

Onboard 7.1 Audio, Optical S/PDIF

IEEE 802.11n Wireless Built In

 

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-H55-A-E&title=ZOTAC-H55ITX-A-E-Socket-1156-Intel-H55-DVI-HDMI-A-V-GbE-Mini-ITX-Motherboard&c=fr

 

I just posted this in the Good Deals section because it is on sale today at eWiz above for $115.99 $110 after coupon code "GO4GOLD".

 

This would be a great combination with the Chenbro 120w mini-itx case with 4 integrated hot swap bays.

 

[BRiT]

I was just about to post these same findings. It looks to be very well suited for unRAID with the built in 6 SATA and a full 16x PCI Express slot. Once SAS or higher port SATA cards are supported, it would be almost ideal for the Chenbro and external SATA Towers.

[GaryMaster]

I just had to have one, so I ended up ordering one of these a few hours ago.  

 

I'll probably buy a Chenbro 4 bay and swap my i3-530 CPU into this board from the ASUS.

 

Good point about the 16x PCIe slot - I added that to the specs above.

[Shurik]

According to reviews on newegg this board comes with a share of issues.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500043

[GaryMaster]

According to reviews on newegg this board comes with a share of issues.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500043

 

I'll soon find out...  Ordered one, but it hasn't shipped yet.  I'm glad the one reviewer mentioned that the stock heatsink wouldn't fit in the Mini Box M350 case.

 

I really love that case (not for unRAID) and was considering picking one up because I thought this combination might be a slick way to get high performance into a tiny box.  Apparantly not a good match.

[WeeboTech]

I was just about to post these same findings. It looks to be very well suited for unRAID with the built in 6 SATA and a full 16x PCI Express slot. Once SAS or higher port SATA cards are supported, it would be almost ideal for the Chenbro and external SATA Towers.

 

Late to the game on this, but I need to comment so there are no false impressions here.

 

The chenbro would require a right angle riser card for the pcie. It's quite cramped in there.

the promise tx4 barely fits. There are questionable mounts for the add on cards.

For example I had to remove the promise bracket and leave it unbolted.

 

You would then need to nibble out one of the vents in order to add external ports for a tower. (I did this).

 

I do not believe this would be an appropriate case for an a pcie expansion card without case modifications. even then it is questionable if it would fit.

 

 

[Shurik]

I'll soon find out...  Ordered one, but it hasn't shipped yet.  I'm glad the one reviewer mentioned that the stock heatsink wouldn't fit in the Mini Box M350 case.

 

I really love that case (not for unRAID) and was considering picking one up because I thought this combination might be a slick way to get high performance into a tiny box.  Apparantly not a good match.

 

I have that case for my HTPC with Atom 330 - that little thing does wonders with 1080p video while hanging on vesa mounts behind the TV.

[BRiT]

Late to the game on this, but I need to comment so there are no false impressions here.

 

The chenbro would require a right angle riser card for the pcie. It's quite cramped in there.

the promise tx4 barely fits. There are questionable mounts for the add on cards.

For example I had to remove the promise bracket and leave it unbolted.

 

You would then need to nibble out one of the vents in order to add external ports for a tower. (I did this).

 

I do not believe this would be an appropriate case for an a pcie expansion card without case modifications. even then it is questionable if it would fit.

 

Thanks for clarifying that. I should have added in those caveats, which I was aware of, at the time of my post. Even using low profile / half-height cards it seems like a tight fit. Perhaps using a PCI-Express flexible ribbon riser card would ease things a bit, but then you still need to modify the case for the external Sata cable mounts.

[MurrayW]

According to reviews on newegg this board comes with a share of issues.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500043

 

I'll soon find out...  Ordered one, but it hasn't shipped yet.  I'm glad the one reviewer mentioned that the stock heatsink wouldn't fit in the Mini Box M350 case.

 

I really love that case (not for unRAID) and was considering picking one up because I thought this combination might be a slick way to get high performance into a tiny box.  Apparantly not a good match.

I have two of these motherboards in M350 cases (one for an HTPC and another one as a computer for my wife).  See this post for more details:  http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18228161&highlight=#post18228161 and this one for a picture of what I did for my wife's computer in the kitchen:  http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18155639&highlight=#post18155639

 

It would be great if it worked without any modifications, but I was able to get it to work in about 5 minutes.  I read rumors somewhere that there should be another lower profile cooler available (I think cooler master) at the end of this month that might allow you to use this without having to cut one of the plastic posts off the top of the fan and to be able to attach the drive to the bracket with the screws as intended.

 

[GaryMaster]

I have two of these motherboards in M350 cases (one for an HTPC and another one as a computer for my wife).  See this post for more details:  http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18228161&highlight=#post18228161 and this one for a picture of what I did for my wife's computer in the kitchen:  http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18155639&highlight=#post18155639

 

It would be great if it worked without any modifications, but I was able to get it to work in about 5 minutes.  I read rumors somewhere that there should be another lower profile cooler available (I think cooler master) at the end of this month that might allow you to use this without having to cut one of the plastic posts off the top of the fan and to be able to attach the drive to the bracket with the screws as intended.

 

That's good to know.  Really love that case and these processors are a rediculous bargain when it comes to processing power and efficiency.  I'm really surprised newegg hasn't picked it up yet.  I was also going to VESA mount one of these for a kitchen recipe kiosk.  I picked up one of the 22" multitouch monitors to use for the project.

 

What kind of CPU temps are you getting in that case?  It would be nice if you could run the i3-530 completely passive.  I've read of some doing this, but I think it's pushing things a bit.

[GaryMaster]

The only thing I don't like about the m350 case is the rectangular recess in the front of the case (apparantly for a custom logo).  I wondered if MINI BOX's little PICO LCD would fit into that space.  Did you ever check that out?

[MurrayW]

I have two of these motherboards in M350 cases (one for an HTPC and another one as a computer for my wife).  See this post for more details:  http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18228161&highlight=#post18228161 and this one for a picture of what I did for my wife's computer in the kitchen:  http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18155639&highlight=#post18155639

 

It would be great if it worked without any modifications, but I was able to get it to work in about 5 minutes.  I read rumors somewhere that there should be another lower profile cooler available (I think cooler master) at the end of this month that might allow you to use this without having to cut one of the plastic posts off the top of the fan and to be able to attach the drive to the bracket with the screws as intended.

 

That's good to know.  Really love that case and these processors are a rediculous bargain when it comes to processing power and efficiency.  I'm really surprised newegg hasn't picked it up yet.  I was also going to VESA mount one of these for a kitchen recipe kiosk.  I picked up one of the 22" multitouch monitors to use for the project.

 

What kind of CPU temps are you getting in that case?  It would be nice if you could run the i3-530 completely passive.  I've read of some doing this, but I think it's pushing things a bit.

The temperatures when idle are around 44 to 46C per speedfan.  When I look in the bios the temperature readings are higher (I think around 65C) so I am not sure which one is real.  I am not using a touchscreen computer (may in the future, so I will be interested in seeing how yours works).  I just used an AOC 19 inch monitor that we had mainly because the stand allowed me to vesa mount the M350 on the back without having to take the stand off.

 

 

One problem that I am still testing is that in the past few days, the monitor would go blank for a few seconds every once in a while, then it got worse where it was up to a minute or longer with a greater frequency.  I thought that it was a loose DVI connection, problem with the DVI port or video driver.  I tightened the connection and installed the latest drivers again and that still didn't help.  Last night I took the case off of the monitor and we didn't see any problems.  I plan to run like this over the weekend to confirm that the problem disappears.  Right now, I am leaning towards there being a problem with the monitor overheating with the bottom of the case up against it.

 

Also, I would not recommend running this fan less.  Before I realized that the fan was going to rub against the hard drive, I powered it on for a few minutes.  With the fan not spinning, it got pretty warm.  I turned it off right away when I realized it was not spinning, so I am not sure what the temperature was, but it did give off the aroma of "hot electronics".   

 

To answer your other question about the recess in the front of the case, I never have given that any thought for using it for anything.  I can measure the dimensions for you if you want.

[GaryMaster]

One problem that I am still testing is that in the past few days, the monitor would go blank for a few seconds every once in a while, then it got worse where it was up to a minute or longer with a greater frequency.  I thought that it was a loose DVI connection, problem with the DVI port or video driver.  I tightened the connection and installed the latest drivers again and that still didn't help.  Last night I took the case off of the monitor and we didn't see any problems.  I plan to run like this over the weekend to confirm that the problem disappears.  Right now, I am leaning towards there being a problem with the monitor overheating with the bottom of the case up against it.

 

Also, I would not recommend running this fan less.  Before I realized that the fan was going to rub against the hard drive, I powered it on for a few minutes.  With the fan not spinning, it got pretty warm.  I turned it off right away when I realized it was not spinning, so I am not sure what the temperature was, but it did give off the aroma of "hot electronics".   

 

To answer your other question about the recess in the front of the case, I never have given that any thought for using it for anything.  I can measure the dimensions for you if you want.

 

That's OK, I'll let you know if I get serious about modding it - Thanks for offering.  Your problem does sound like a thermal issue.  Is it always all or nothing or do you see some graphical corruption before the screen goes out.  I wouldn't totally rule out the onboard graphics overheating if you aren't getting good air movement out of that case, but your temps wouldn't indicate a problem.

 

Those few who have run this fanless have another fan nearby moving air past an oversized heatsink (like a case fan or P/S fan).  Neither are a real option in this case.

[BRiT]

How loud are the fans with the system in that case?

[MurrayW]

That's OK, I'll let you know if I get serious about modding it - Thanks for offering.  Your problem does sound like a thermal issue.  Is it always all or nothing or do you see some graphical corruption before the screen goes out.  I wouldn't totally rule out the onboard graphics overheating if you aren't getting good air movement out of that case, but your temps wouldn't indicate a problem.

 

Those few who have run this fanless have another fan nearby moving air past an oversized heatsink (like a case fan or P/S fan).  Neither are a real option in this case.

It's all or nothing.  Works fine then all of a sudden the screen goes black and the monitor gives a message about losing sync.

[MurrayW]

How loud are the fans with the system in that case?

The only fan is the processor fan.  Most of the time you can't hear it.  When it kicks in to high speed, it is pretty loud, but it seems that after 10 or 15 seconds it cools down enough to be inaudible again.  I forget what temperature setting I am using for the fans to go to a higher speed...I just used the default value in the bios.  Really haven't used this for anything other than web browsing and email so far.

[GaryMaster]

It's all or nothing.  Works fine then all of a sudden the screen goes black and the monitor gives a message about losing sync.

 

If you're getting a sync message on your monitor then it is probably not the monitor's power supply overheating.  I believe your strategy of running it with the case unmounted from the monitor (maybe even with the lid removed from the case) for the weekend is a good diagnostic to try.

[MurrayW]

It's all or nothing.  Works fine then all of a sudden the screen goes black and the monitor gives a message about losing sync.

 

If you're getting a sync message on your monitor then it is probably not the monitor's power supply overheating.  I believe your strategy of running it with the case unmounted from the monitor (maybe even with the lid removed from the case) for the weekend is a good diagnostic to try.

I thought the same thing while typing that.  It hadn't really occurred to me until I spelled it out.  I might try using the hdmi port and a hdmi-dvi cable to see if it is DVI port only related.  Then I always have my second system that I can set up and try...seems that I have a lot of ways to try to narrow this down.