Asus ITX-220/Intel CEL220 CPU/Intel 945GC/FSB 533/2DR2-533/GMA950/GbE/5.1-CH Audio/2SATA/VGA/Mini-ITX Motherboard Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)It's a good board. Runs a little on the warm side but effective and cheap. I didn't have any issues installing. The way it was packaged sucked! It must be an OEM board because it didn't come in a retail box, they stuck it in an anti static bag and placed it on top of the rest of my order with no packing in between! Needless to say the logistics company stacked other boxes on top of it and crushed the board. It still ran though. I'm surprised it still ran, but it did. Other than that, no issues.

***Update*** The board died 3 months later. Wouldn't power on. Can't say I'm surprised. I know that I should have sent it back to Amazon after seeing how it was packaged in the box but I was too lazy to deal with the issue.Now I'm buying a different board and loosing 100 bucks in the process. Oh well.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Asus ITX-220/Intel CEL220 CPU/Intel 945GC/FSB 533/2DR2-533/GMA950/GbE/5.1-CH Audio/2SATA/VGA/Mini-ITX Motherboard

Product Description:
Item #: BD4249. Intel Celeron 220 on boardIntel 945GC/ ICH7 chipset2 x DDR2 DIMM sockets support up to 4GB of system memoryHigh speed Gigabit Lan connectivityMini-ITX form factor
Product Type: Motherboard
Form Factor: Mini ITX
Dimensions (WxDxH): 6.7 in x 6.7 in
Chipset Type: Intel 945GC Express / Intel ICH7
Max Bus Speed: 533 MHz
Processor: 1 ( 1 ) x Intel Celeron 220
Compatible Processors: Celeron
RAM: 0 MB (installed) / 4 GB (max)
Supported RAM Technology: DDR2 SDRAM
Supported RAM Integrity Check: Non-ECC
Storage Controller: Serial ATA-300
USB Ports Configuration: 6 x USB
Storage Ports Configuration: 2 x SATA
Graphics Controller: Intel GMA 950 - Dynamic Video Memory Technology 3.0
Audio Output: Sound card - 5.1 channel surround
Networking: Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet
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ASUS AT3IONT-I DELUXE - Motherboard - mini ITX - NVIDIA ION - SATA-300 (RAID), eSATA - Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b, 802.11g, Bluetooth, 802.11n (draft) - video - HD Audio (6-channel) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Using WD Green 3.5" drive, 2x2GB DDR3, 90W Adapter, DVD Drive, 120mm fan at low speed.

Power Consumption:

1W @ OFF
2W @ Sleep (Win 7)
26W @ Idle
30W @ 1080p h.264 mkv
32 @ 1080p h.264 + hulu 480 p (Flash 10.1RC)

Overclocking:
I had it POST at 2.3GHZ, but doubt it would have been stable.
Finally settled on setting FSB at 666, which sets CPU @ 2ghz.
This let me set the memory to exactly 1200mhz, which I've found to be the highest this MB will go for memory.I had it stable at 2.13GHZ, but could only set memory at 1185ghz or so.Pros:

-N Wifi works great, better even than my previous full size Rosewill N Card

-Integrated bluetooth picks up my Logitech Dinovo keyboard

-plays my HULU, Netflix, and h.264 files just great (having installed Flash 10.1 RC)

-takes DDR3 memory, which uses less power and is now cheaper than DDR2.

-Win 7 seems snappy enough at 1.6ghz, but easily overclockable to 2.0ghz.I had it stable at 2.13Ghz, but I couldn' set the memory to 1200mhz.

-Comes with Laptop power adapter and the molex adapter that plugs into the MB can power 3 Sata devices, which GREATLY reduces wire clutter

Cons:

Hotter than expected, was hoping for completely fanless, but I'm not comfortable with this:

Cold boot temp was 35 CPU, 25 MB, but temp approached 65 CPU/ 45 MB when running 1080p video.

This is normal, considering it is a high powered GPU.
I read about a fanless Zotac board hitting 71C and no crashing problems.
Regardless, I threw a 120mm fan on the heatsink, which I cannot hear after setting to Silent in BIOS.

Motherboard reserves 512MB for itself, plus another 256-512MB for the GPU. So my OS reports only 3 of my 4GB, so make sure you have 2x2GB memory, else you'll end up with 1GB usable for the system.IMHO, This board is definitely a better value than Zotac's equivalent offering.

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Product Description:
AT3IONT-I DELUXE Motherboard

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In Win BK623 micro Atx Case Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)One of the smallest micro ATX cases that can fit full profile PCI cards. Has 3 bays (one 5.25" and two 3.5"). Used it to build an HTPC with an ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO motherboard, AMD atlon ii x3 435, WD caviar green 2TB hard drive and 2x2GB A-DATA DDR3 1600Mhz. Takes some time to build because of the limited space available. All connectors are well labeled. Resulting system looks nice, is quiet, and low power. Havent tried putting a full sized video card yet, but Im certain it will fit comfortably considering the size.

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Product Description:
S.F.F Tiny Tower Chassis - ATX Desktop Case/IP-P300BN7 80+/U4+HD/Filter

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Zotac Atom N330 Dual Core WiFi ITX Intel Motherboard IONITX-F-E Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this after reselling my similar Zotac IONITX D-E (a.k.a. IONITX A-U, only no PSU included), as it simply didn't do it for me as an HTPC. The main issue with the D-E/A-U was that there were no PCI-E slots for a TV card of my choice.

That all changed with the F-E, which was released just a few months later. It's got the PCI-E slot that makes all the difference.

TV CARD:
If you have digital cable, you could technically just use the HDHomeRun (analog cable/NTSC not supported): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010Y414Q?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8

We, on the other hand, only have analog cable. Therefore, it needed to work with my current TV card, which is an analog/digital hybrid: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E2T6Y4?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8CASE
I use my board with this APEX case, which works quite well: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WCQYU6?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8MEMORY
The best memory to grab for any of these Zotac boards is Crucial's XMS sticks.

Go for the 2GB (2 x 1GB) if you don't intend to ever watch Blu-Ray movies:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CDLCGG?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8

Go for the 4GB (2 x 2GB) if you DO intent to watch Blu-Ray movies:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TPXULC?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8

Hope this helps! :)

Click Here to see more reviews about: Zotac Atom N330 Dual Core WiFi ITX Intel Motherboard IONITX-F-E

Product Description:
Experience fluid and vivid high-definition video playback with the ultra-compact ZOTAC ION platform. The mini-ITX form factor ZOTAC ION combines a high-performance NVIDIA ION graphics processor with a power-efficient Intel Atom processor for the ultimate eco-friendly platform that has no troubles handling regular web browsing, e-mail, & productivity and HD video playback tasks.

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SilverStone Grandia GD02B Aluminum/Steel Micro ATX Media Center/HTPC Case - Retail (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First of all let me say that overall this case is well built with quite cooling fans and an acceptable depth (about 14 3/16 without rear cables - right angle cables best choice for tight fit) for many home theater cabinets.

One issue of some concern is the position of the hard drives and power supply. With two hard drives installed, one WD Raptor 10,000 RPM 36GB for the operating system and another Seagate 7200 RPM 1TB for music and movies, the hard drive cage and drives appear to get hotter to the touch than I would like. There is no room for hard drive cooling with both drives installed. My solution will be to remove the 36GB Raptor and install a quite hard drive cooler which will take up the space of the second hard drive.

A second issue is the CPU cooler. I purchased a quite low profile Zalman but it was too high with the CD/DVD drive holder installed. I then purchased the fanless CPU cooler from SilverStone thinking they would have one that fits properly. By the way I have a BioStar TA790GX XE and an AMD 5050e 45 watt processor so heat is less of a factor. If you contact SilverStone they will tell you the cooling capabilities with regard to acceptable processors. Anyway, the SilverStone CPU cooler works fine but partially blocks the Slot for a video card. If I decide to utilize the Hybrid CrossFire in the future some of the cooler fins will need to be removed. Because this cooler can handle a 65 watt or greater processors this may not be an issue. Some investigation will be necessary.

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Product Description:
Grandia represents brilliance, and SilverStone's Grandia GD02 is certainly a brilliant chassis that seamlessly integrates innovation and aesthetics. An HTPC enclosure has never been so powerful yet so compact like the GD02. With a depth of only 360mm, it will comfortably fit inside home theater cabinets but still accommodate a regular sized power supply, Micro-ATX motherboard, and even high end graphics cards up to 11.5 inches. With exquisitely finished hair-brushed aluminum front panel and organic spherical appearance, GD02 is not only designed brilliantly but also looks brilliant.

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Western Digital Caviar Blue 320 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 8 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD3200AAJS Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This drive is probably not for you if you have no idea what Bulk/OEM means in the product title. It means that you'll receive just the hard drive in a plain cardboard box - no fancy packaging, no manual, no screws and NO CABLES whatsoever. You can save a few bucks by getting this packaging if you are assembling your own machine (in which case the motherboard and power unit likely include the necessary cables), or if you are replacing a SATA drive. If you are adding a drive to your Dell or HP or whatever branded machine, you will likely need to buy a SATA data cable and possibly a SATA-IDE adapter power cable.

For me the drive works great out of the box. It's a fast and moderately spacious drive at bargain basement price.

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Product Description:
WD Caviar Blue hard drives are available with either SATA or EIDE interface in a variety of cache sizes with a multitude of available features to deliver rock solid performance and ultra-cool and quiet operation. Pick the drive that suits your needs with the confidence in knowing that all WD Caviar Blue drives are built to the highest standards of quality and reliability. With capacities ranging from 40 GB to 640 GB, these drives are the perfect solution for family and business computing.

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APEVIA X-Master AL/500 - Desktop - ATX - power supply 500 Watt ( ATX ) - silver - USB/FireWire/Audio Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Well, I have been wanting to replace my old worn out desktop, and home made NAS unit with an updated system that I can use to work with my Home Theater, as well as a family system to browse the internet, kids can do homework on etc. There arn't much out there for people that like a desktop platform. Everything is towers, mid towers etc. I ran across this case, and I am pleased for the most part. The only issue I have, is that I did have to do some modifying on it to work with my chosen mother board. I wanted a system that I could also do some gaming on, but not really a power gamer. I got a board that could use core 2, as well as quad core in case I wanted more power later. This case claims to support full ATX boards, which it does hold, but the included power supply does not provide an 8 pin CPU power connector. All it has is a 4 pin CPU connector. I used it on my core 2 duo, and it does work fine, but noticed in the Bios that only one of the cores were powered and working. This was, I assumed because only one rail was getting power due to the 4 pin connector instead of the correct 8 pin. I guess if I wanted to run like that, it would have done fine, but I bought a core 2 duo, so wanted the full core 2 duo power. I opted on an PCI-E NVedia graphics card that fortunatly does not require additional power, and noticed that the power supply does provide a 6 pin PCI-E connector. Hmm.. I didn't need that for my graphics adapter, and found that it had 3 12V leads, and 3 Gnd leads. My processor power needed two more 12V and 2 more gnds, to run the 2nd rail, so I just got an 8 pin Molex connector, cut the 4 pin CPU connector off, and used the power from it to power one rail. Cut off the PCI-E 6 pin connector and used 2 of those 12V and 2 of the grounds to finish the power for the CPUs in the new 8 Pin Molex connector. Guess what? Now, my power supply has an 8 pin CPU power, and the bios now shows both rails powered up and operating. Yeeppii.. But, the fact that I had to void warrantees, and have some soldering skills as well as computer hardware skills to use the box like I wanted to. If you are not comfortable with doing that, then you would need to purchase a new power supply that does have the proper connections to replace the one that comes with this case. But, other than that, I do really like this case. It looks good, and will look good with my home theater components, it has nice cooling, even tho I added a 120mm additional fan in mine. The case has provisions to add up to two additional 120mm fans. Kinda cramped in there, but, that is the trade off for something not as large as a full tower. It has provisions for 2 3.5" drives. I put a 1TB, and a 500GB drive, but if you plan to have a 3.5" floppy in it, that will take one of those spaces. I opted not to use a floppy drive. It has two full bays for CD Rom, or full sized drives, or adapters to put another 3.5" drive in that spot. By the way, another cool feature, is, if you choose not to use one, or two of the additional fan locations, it has holes there also where you can mount additional drives. That was nice I think..

Anyway, this is a nice case, for a reasonable price. I would recommend it with that CPU power connector situation in mind.

I will add to the review if things change..

Click Here to see more reviews about: APEVIA X-Master AL/500 - Desktop - ATX - power supply 500 Watt ( ATX ) - silver - USB/FireWire/Audio

Product Description:
Apevia X-Master Desktop HTPC Case Consider building your new custom Media Center/HTPC in our stylish Apevia X-MASTER case. This ATX PC case can be positioned horizontally as a tower, or vertically as a desktop in order to conform with your available space. Its brushed aluminum front panel harmonizes with most of today's home theater systems. Its optimal cooling capacity (up to 4 fans) provides the best cooling solution amongst desktop and Media Center/HTPC cases. It can accommodate standard ATX/MicroATX/AT motherboards, and standard ATX power supplies. The installed 500W power supply comes with all cables sleeved to avoid clutter, improve air flow, and is more than enough to handle all your system needs.

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eMachines T5234 Desktop PC Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this budget PC(the T5234) to replace my aging Gateway with AGP graphics. Other than the 3rd party software stuff on the disk I didn't want, this PC does all I want. I changed the memory to 2GB to give Vista Home Premium more to work with and put in an add-on nVidia graphics card as I do 3D modelling. If you don't game much and just do basic computer tasks the onboard nVidia 6150 is fine. I priced a similar Dell budget PC but it only had Vista Home Basic, which I wouldn't bother with. I didn't give it five stars as the PC doesn't have built-in Firewire, something you'll have get a low cost add-on card for to do get moview from a DV camcorder.

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Product Description:
Change the way you enjoy your work and enjoy entertainment with the eMachines T5234 desktop. Increase your performance with an AMD Athlon dual-core processor using the power of two cores to effortlessly enjoy smooth video and vibrant images with next-generation nVidia integrated graphics. Dual-channel memory keeps your PC running fast and smooth, supporting data intensive programs and large downloads. Windows Vista Home Premium and preinstalled Microsoft productivity software make it easier than ever to create documents, stay in touch with email, create DVD movies and share your digital photos.15-in-1 Digital Media Card Interfaces -6x USB 2.0 Ports (2 Front, 4 Rear), 1x VGA, 3x Audio (Rear) Line-in (Stereo), Speakers/Headphones (Stereo), Microphone, 2x Audio (Front) Microphone, Front/Headphone (Stereo), 2x PS/2 Ports (Keyboard and Mouse) and 1x Parallel Port 15-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader -xD-Picture Card, CompactFlash I (CF), CompactFlash II, 1 Requires use of adapter supplied with media card Secure Digital (SD), Mini Secure Digital (Mini SD), Multi Media Card (MMC), Reduced Size MMC (RS-MMC), MMC Mobile, MMC Plus, Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Pro Duo, SmartMedia and IBM Microdrive Operating System -Windows Vista Home Premium Dimensions -Height 14.50 x Width 7.20 x Depth 16.10 (368x182x410mm) Weights -21.5 pounds (9.8 kg) Monitor is not included

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Asrock Intel Dual Core Atom ION330HT/B/W7HP Desktop Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'm really pleased with this machine, you won't find a HTPC that include wireless-n, HDMI output, Optical output, small and good looking case ( hard to find) that fits perfect with my TV and home teather. It runs mkv files smoothly. I'm streaming all my videos and pictures from my server and never have a problem. If you wanna play games you are out of luck with this PC, it won't play any video games,but this is a HTPC not a video game pc. The new version just came out, but I don't see the need to spend $250 more (if you get this one for $400 or close, the new one costs around $650), maybe in a near future I will definetly buy another HTPc from ASROCK.

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Product Description:
Asrock ION330HT/B/W7HP Intel Dual Core Atom 330/ 1.6Ghz/ NVIDIA ION GPU/ 2DDR2-800/ 320GB/ HDMI/ VGA/ 802.11 b/g/n wireless LAN Windows 7 Barebone

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Wireless Rf Mini Multimedia USB Kyb with optical Trackball 2.4GHZ Blk Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I use this as the keyboard for my living room entertainment center. Although I have the USB RF receiver in the front USB port, I am able to type and mouse as if it were a wired keyboard/mouse even from my kitchen 25 feet away. This is the best purchase I've made for my entertainment center. I love the trackball on the right and the scrollwheel under the left trigger spot. My only complaint is that the RF times out after a short while (5m perhaps), but it comes on with any keystroke (and it still registers that keystroke). When I need to use the mouse, I just hit the shift key and it functions again. This is probably a good feature because it should be saving battery life. I've been using the same batteries for three months and have not had to re-register the keyboard to the USB receiver.

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Product Description:
Enjoy the freedom of wireless connectivity with Adesso's wireless mini Keyboard with Optical trackball. The keyboard and trackball allow you to work up to 100 feet away from the USB receiver connected to your computer. In addition, the optical trackball provides great accuracy with minimal hand movement due to its 800 dpi resolution. The lightweightand stylish keyboard offers mobility and comfort wherever you type. Take complete control of your desktop with hotkeys. The different hotkeys give you quick access to some of your most common tasks such as e-mail access, volume control, and launching your web browser - at the push of a button.

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Slimline Micro Pc Case 350PS Review

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(More customer reviews)Prior to this I've only built one PC from scratch. This time I wanted something smaller than the mini-tower I previously used. I also wanted something quiet.

This unit is shiny, and it's hard to discern in the photos the colors. This (or at least mine) has a dull silver front surrounded by a chromed-plastic bezel and a glossy piano-black case.

There is no doubt that the interior is cramped when installing items, but that's to be expected in a case this size.

There is a very small misalignment between the DVD/CD player and the front, which I've seen mentioned in other reviews. This is very minor, and while I was initially annoyed when building the PC, in use I just don't notice it.

I do wish the case had a firewire port in the front for transferring movies from our camcorder to the PC. There's a port in the back though, and the inconvenience is minor.

The case and power supply fans are really pretty quiet. Of course, this is all relative to what one individual believes quiet is. Each will have their own opinion. All I can say is that with the unit sitting on the floor next to me (I use the stands and have it vertical), I really can't hear it over the ambient noise in the house. I have the included case fan set to low (it has a little switch for low, med and hi), which seems to provide more than adequate cooling. In the future I may purchase a different fan with a speed sensor and connect it to the motherboard to take advantage of some automatic fan settings.

I thought I had a defective DVD player for a bit since the unit sounded like a jet preparing for takeoff when the player would spin-up. It turns out that moving the mounting feet (only used when mounting the case vertically) around greatly affect the vibration of the case. Just by spreading the feet out a bit the whole thing has quieted down nicely. To make it any better I'll have to open the case back up and put some felt pads or something between some of the sheet metal items. As-is though, I'm fine with it.

Overall, I like this case and would definitely purchase it again.

For reference, here's what I've used, and after a month seems to work excellently:

-Motherboard: Asus M3A78-EM.
-Ram: Kingston KHX6400D2/2GR (x2 for 4GB- can buy 2 more to upgrade someday, which will then max out the motherboard at 8GB).
-CPU: AMD ADV60000DOBOX Athlon 64 X2 6000 3.1GHz Socket AM2 Dual-Core processor.
-DVD: ASUS DRW-20B1LT 20X DVD

LITE-ON 4x Blu-ray Disc SATA Internal Optical Drive iHOS104 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this drive as a 2nd drive in my computer, with the added ability to play Blu-ray discs. For the price it really can't be beat, especially since it includes good software that costs retail almost as much as the drive. It's also a very quiet drive. So far it plays everything I stick in it, with no problems. The picture on my new 23" HP 1080p monitor is drop-dead gorgeous and very stable. You do need a decent video card to use this drive, but the one that came with my new HP has a dedicated 512 mb of memory and works fine. It also has an HDMI output.

The only minus I can say about the BD drive is that it came with an SATA cable, but no power conversion adapter.

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Product Description:
LiteOn 4X BD-ROM SATA Retail

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Zotac GeForce 9300 HDMI Wi-Fi Mini ITX Intel Motherboard GF9300-G-E Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Bought one of these when I saw it on a shelf at a local computer shop. I didn't need it, didn't have any case to put it in, didn't have a spare power supply to test it with, but I had to have it. Brought it home, started searching for cases and parts for it.

The good
Requires a power supply, a CPU, a DIMM and a hard drive or compact flash card with adapter to build a full PC. It's the first motherboard I've seen in its' price range that is good enough for just about anything (included even casual gaming) with almost no real additional investment. It's possible to build a mini-game system for $300 with this board. For an extra $100, adding a graphics card can turn it into a relatively high-end gaming system.

The bad
Damn near impossible to buy a case for it which will do it justice. Socket-775 chips are not really meant for this type of application. But I found that under-clocking a 45nm Core-2 makes it so you can place it in just about any case with a low profile cooler running on low RPM.

If you're an impulse shopper, click buy now and figure out what to do with the board later once you've got it. This is just about the coolest board on the market at the moment.

Zotac, if you're reading this, please make a new model with 8 SATA ports on it so you'll make the most amazing mini-server board as well. A mini-itx board with built in hardware RAID-5 for 8 drives would make it the best mini-server board EVER

Click Here to see more reviews about: Zotac GeForce 9300 HDMI Wi-Fi Mini ITX Intel Motherboard GF9300-G-E

Product Description:
Experience the perfect digital home experience with the ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi. Harnessing the power of NVIDIA's GeForce 9300 graphics processor, the ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi delivers NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology for flawless high-definition Blu-ray playback and superior scaling of standard-definition videos, and NVIDIA CUDA technology for accelerated video processing capabilities.The ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi pairs the GeForce 9300 graphics processor with Intel socket LGA775 processors - Intel Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, Pentium and Celeron up to 1333 MHz front-side bus - for a high-performance platform that's ready to take on high-definition video playback yet only occupy a 170mm x 170mm mini-ITX footprint. Hybrid SLI, PCI Express 2.0 x16, DDR2, high-definition audio and SATA 3.0Gbps technologies enable the ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi to have expansion potential worthy of a home theater PC.

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Gateway DX4822-03 - MT - 1 x Core 2 Quad Q8400 / 2.66 GHz - RAM 8 GB - HDD 1 x 1 TB - DVD?RW (?R DL) / DVD-RAM - GF GT 220 - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - Monitor : none Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Very nice computer. Came with Windows 7. This is a great improvement. Easy to transfer all info from old computer.
TV card is very nice although instructions on setting it up were a little lacking.Video resolution had to be cut down for the TV to play without lag on my flat screen monitor. Over all this is a good computer with plenty of power for the average user.
Some reviews commented on overheating but I have not had that issue after 1 month of use.

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Product Description:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66GHz Processor
4MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB
8192MB DDR2 Dual-Channel 800MHz RAM
1TB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 Graphics with 1GB Dedicated Video Memory
SuperMulti 16x DVDR/RW Double Layer Drive
High Definition Audio with 8-Channel (7.1) Surround Sound
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
802.11b/g Wireless
Multi-in-1 Digital Media reader
Analog/Digital TV Tuner
Front ports: 4 x USB 2.0, Microphone, Headphone, Photo Frame Button
Back ports: 4 x USB 2.0, IEEE-1394a, 2 x PS2 ports (keyboard, mouse), 6 x Audio Ports, RJ-45, VGA, HDMI; For TV Tuner: Coax, S-video, Stereo Mini-jack Audio
Expansion slots: 1 x PCI Express x1 (occupied), 2 x PCI (1 available), 1 x PCI Express x16 (occupied)
Drive bays: 4 x 3.5 HDD" (three available), 2 x 5.25" ODD (one available)

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Creative Labs SB1090 USB Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Audio System Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Under 'Creative audio control panel,' be certain that 'high speed' (2.0) is checked, and not 'full speed' (1.1). This may or may not solve lag and other commonly cited audio issues. That said,

I do not like this sound card. In fact, it's not really a sound card at all. More truthfully, it is a (large) software suite connected to a big volume knob. As far as I can tell, and from what I have read and seen in task manager), all of the real work is done with your computer. Well, this shouldn't be too much of a problem on modern machines, right? I mean, aren't the days of needing external chips to alleviate workload on the CPU long gone and irrelevant?

Maybe. But the fact is that I feel that I could have attained the same, cheap audio tricks via any number of winamp plug-ins, equalizers, et al. What I wanted was a superior external DAC than the noise coming from my onboard RealTek 'high definition' audio. The truth is that I can tell no difference between the two outputs until I turn on the effects of the x-fi, which are really annoying to a music purist. They produce listener fatigue and unwelcome distortion (music was not meant to be heard in simulated surround, and 'crystalizer' can get downright 'screechy').
The simulated surround or EAX is fine for watching movies and playing games, though. But if you are primarily a music buff and have decent speakers, I advise looking elsewhere.

There is good news, though. While Creative has a history of not supporting older cards on a newer OS, there is a functioning beta driver for Windows 7 already at their site. You won't be experiencing what thousands of people did when trying to use their XP cards on Vista, etc. However, the overall performance of the card is sluggish both on my XP install and my Win 7 beta. Adjustments are cumbersome and opening the severe bloatware of sound options is unacceptably slow even on fairly well-equipped hardware. I'd consider this a fluke of my install, but on two separate disks, and with two different OSes (XP and 7)? No. It's just bloated.

I got this new for virtually nothing, but I'd still not buy it again because I can honestly achieve the same effects by using the EQ of the iTunes, Mediamonkey, etc. Again, this is nothing but a ton of sound software that happens to have a physical body. You can do better for not much more money. However, as a solution for a broken onboard chip / output jack, this is an economical solution. But even then I'd almost recommend one of those USB thumb drive-type cards as they won't take up unnecessary desktop space or clutter your install with a ton of software that, btw, takes 20 minutes to install).

If the x-fi surround were anything but a fancy software suite, I'd rate it higher. Sorry. Just trying to save someone the grief if they are looking for a music solution. That's what these reviews are for.

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Product Description:
Adding the USB Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 sound card is the easiest way to make your music andmovies sound their best. X-Fi Technology restores details and vibrance your music and movies lostduring compression, making them richer and fuller, and expands stereo into surround sound withheadphones or speakers. Plus it includes PowerDVD software via free download for the ultimate PCmovie entertainment experience.

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Antec 380 Watt M-ATX Desktop Case NSK1380 (Black/Silver) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This was my first build for a HTPC to put in my media cabinet. I decided on this case mostly because it was the only decent sounding (review-wise) case that would fit into my media cabinet. The build itself was such a pain (literally) starting with trying to put the clip-in motherboard standoffs in. The very first one sliced under my fingernail drawing blood. Once I got the mobo in the very first thing I noticed was that the cables come out underneath the PSU and connecting the ATX power made all the very short cables rest right on top of the NB heatsink. The only way to route the cables was to buy a 10" power extension and molex to 2x ATA adapter. This mess blocks the PCI-e slot and one HDD space. The OD screw holes don't all line up with the drive cage holes on two drives I tried. Once built it's now working like a charm but it's not at all attractive (too much plastic) and looks out of place in my A/V cabinet. To do it over again I'd choose different. It works for now.

Now I'd skip the whole HTPC self-build and get a Dell Zino HD but they didn't have those when I did this.Or, I'd look at mini-ITX and a ION board/build.

Pros:
- Silent
- Well made panels
- Fits in small spaces
- Stays cool with very creative cable routing
- Works

Cons:
- Clip-in motherboard standoffs difficult to put in and very sharp
- Cabling comes out bottom of power supply and with the GA-MA78GM-US2H mobo rests right on the NB heatsink
- Cables much too short - had to buy extension/adapters
- Power LED way too bright
- Difficult to install OD and HDD
- Poor fit and finish - not all screw holes align with OD screw holes for any drive I tried (3 of 8 max)
- Difficult to get top back on
- Not very attractive looking - too much plastic on the outside and it looks that way
- Doesn't look like it fits in with other A/V equipment
- Included internal fan takes up PCI slot and stays on even when the system is shut down.
- OD drive shield is flimsy and button doesn't reach OD button - I just ended up removing it
- No HDD LED (is it working or is it hung?)
- Not sure how I'll ever get a graphics card in here because of the aforementioned cabling issues but with the 780G chipset on my mobo I haven't found the need
- Expensive for so much plastic facade (the price hasn't dropped at all!)

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Product Description:
Antec NSK1380 380W M-ATX Desktop Case (Black/Silver)

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