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Hardware Green Gadgets LP-170 Pico-ITX Review

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by arcticstoat, 4 Apr 2011.

  1. j_jay4

    j_jay4 Minimodder

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    Just goes to show how far Atom has to go to in terms of efficiency, heats up to 109C with passive cooling and can't really manage playing high bit rate video. No wonder atom hasn't made it into anything handheld.

    I totally agree with yogev_ezra on the relevance of the review, it's a product that will peak some amount of interest in most of the bit tech readers I think, even if they're not planning a pico-PC.

    It sounds to me like GG have made an excellent effort, but ultimately have been hampered by the Intel Atom.
     
  2. j_jay4

    j_jay4 Minimodder

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    I love that the bios chip takes up most of the PCB lol
     
  3. Niftyrat

    Niftyrat Dremel overpriced like EA games

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    Would something like this run a dedicated server for say ARMA2 currently using an old core 2 duo I have lying around in a rather large antic p190 case. Would like something to hide away with little to no noise and low power but still be good for running ther server
     
  4. Lizard

    Lizard @ Scan R&D

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    I very much doubt it - Arma 2 eats hardware for breakfast and then spits it out in bloody pieces... instead I might consider an AMD Fusion based system.
     
  5. PureSilver

    PureSilver E-tailer Tailor

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    I like the low power draw, since I'll soon be in the market for an ultra-low-power home automation system. I wonder if such a thing could be run over the serial port expansion card... Hmm.
     
  6. Material

    Material Soco Amaretto Lime

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    Y'see, it's got it's uses, it's just for very specific stuff like this.
     
  7. TWeaK

    TWeaK Minimodder

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    I wouldn't really call that 'checking VGA signal quality'...

    Still, I like where you guys are going with this, and echo the annoyance with Atom seemingly holding the system back. Definitely a good crack at a truly SFF PC, even if the retail price is hard to swallow.
     
  8. yogev_ezra

    yogev_ezra Green Gadgets Ltd

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    Err... it's 2 different things (unless the original person who said 'signal quality' also meant HD video playback quality). The playback quality depends on the CPU/GPU - it has nothing to do with the output used (VGA/HDMI). In electronics bad signal quality can mean presence of waviness on the monitor, wrong pixels, distortion etc., but not HD video quality.
    Thanks for the kind words. Regarding the price, we do offer a limited time promotion for Bit-Tech readers. Unfortunately we cannot enforce lower prices on our resellers.
     
  9. Guest-2867

    Guest-2867 Guest

    I'd like to see one of these actually work properly for more than 5 minutes in the hot Israeli summer!
     
  10. Xyllian

    Xyllian What's a Dremel?

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    Twice the cost and half the speed of my fusion system and with thermal issues? Me thinks ill pass.
     
  11. Xir

    Xir Modder

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    First of all, thank you for the quick and elaborate response.
    I'm looking forward to seeing how the thermal connection is ensured. :thumb:
    Correct.
    I didn't mean playback capabilities like stuttering, but signal qualits, like getting a mushy picture even at the screens native resolution.

    I came across this as some netbooks (appearently) use the internal digital connector (which suffices for 1024x600) for the onboard screen, but look terrible over their VGA output.
    (The N450 - NM10 with GMA 3150 combination for instance)

    This device however runs solely on the VGA output, so I suppose you've made sure the analogue signal quality is decent. :)
     
  12. l3v1ck

    l3v1ck Fueling the world, one oil well at a time.

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    I kind of lost interest when I got to the word "Atom".
    ;)
     
  13. murraynt

    murraynt Modder

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    yogev_ezra: You have some B*lls coming on here and writing back to everybody :rock:
    The thermal issue definitely need to be addressed first off.

    Secondly the astethis.

    Seems the Atom CPU is the real hold up ATM.
     
  14. Hakuren

    Hakuren What's a Dremel?

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    Honestly I don't get it who in the right frame of mind would be interested in system like this. OK, low power draw is nice, but no internal PSU (more clutter with external one), highly ineffective CPU/chipset/board cooling, and negligible performance. And all of that rubbish is yours for only 420 Pounds!

    I must admit I was looking for SFF which will be (audio)-only small recording station and night running PC (internet radio). I came to a conclusion that I can build SFF PC with enough performance and very low power consumption for a fraction of a cost when compared to all of these ready built SFF/mITX. Old s775 (with all power saving options enabled) + mATX board and 250GB 2.5 drive + some nice case (the only thing I need to buy) and I will get nice little PC with a bit higher power consumption (~75W total) but vastly superior vs mITX. Even at ~75W it can run on UPS whole night just fine in case of power outage.
     
  15. Xir

    Xir Modder

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    on that link it shows a DVI output card...:D

    Don't understand the thermal problem though, the heatsink inside Netbooks is tiny, and they run passively most of the time...
     
  16. yogev_ezra

    yogev_ezra Green Gadgets Ltd

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    You will have to wait for summer then :D
    This is exactly what I meant before - you are not our potential customer for 2 reasons:
    1) You already have a computer
    2) It satisfies your needs :thumb:
    Thanks :thumb: I promise to stop writing here once we grow up to size of VIA :D
    Agreed, and we are exactly working on that ATM. We will not start selling the kit before the thermal problem is solved.
    If it would be so easy, I would not say it's impossible :D
    http://www.commell.com.tw/Product/Peripheral/PCI Express mini card/MPX-SDVOD.HTM

    This is not a DVI card - it's a card that brings out SDVO signal to DVI connector. For it to work, the CPU/chipset must already provide SDVO signal, and PineView Atoms do not have it (they only have VGA+LVDS). This card will work with GMA500 or GMA900 for example, but not with GMA3150.

    What we could offer is Lex M750A: http://www.lex.com.tw/product/minipci-pcie.html
    But I do not like this solution because then we have to disable on-board GMA3150, so you are both paying for something you cannot use, and lose the free mini-PCIe slot.

    The only realistic option I see is Commell LVDS-to-DVI converter: http://www.commell.com.tw/Product/Peripheral/LVDS Convert Module/ADP-L2DXT.HTM but it will take us a few months until we can test it (and as I mentioned before, if it does not up-scale the resolution to at least 1280x1024, it's useless), and not sure it can fit in our current chassis design.
    Netbooks usually have either single-core N450 (TDP 5.5 Watt), single-core N455/N470/N475 (TDP 6.5 Watt) or dual-core N550/N570 (TDP 8.5 Watts). We try to build the system with dual-core D525 which is more than twice as fast than N450 and is the fastest Atom currently in the market, but its TDP is 13 Watts. We can offer N450 for anyone interested, as it is working perfectly in current chassis and has no thermal issues, but this option is just too slow. We would love to be able to offer N570 (or at least N550), but we are forbidden to do so by Intel (again, conspiracy theories). If Intel agrees to sell us N570, then the issues would be gone as well. But till then, we need to find better passive cooling for D525.
     
  17. RichCreedy

    RichCreedy Hey What Who

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    dont think of it as a computer, but more an advanced coffee cup warmer
     
  18. Teh Noob Slayer

    Teh Noob Slayer What's a Dremel?

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    Speaking of netbooks, wouldn't one make a better/ versatile buy? You could spend the rest of the money on a big monitor or something else?
     
  19. Guest-2867

    Guest-2867 Guest

    Good point, it's just the right size to sit a mug on :lol:
     
  20. Xir

    Xir Modder

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    Ah okay, sorry...but thanks for the explanaition. :thumb:
     
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