Atom Mini-ITX Build: Part 2

Part 2 (of probably 3 for the hardware). Following on from yesterday's initial build (and thanks for the comments - good points, and yes it is the northbridge under the fan. I'll have to keep an eye on that). Anyway, here's the second installment. Today we're installing internal headers and connecting both the power and the SATA leads.

Connecting the internal headers

Audio, USB and Front Panel

Ok, first things first. Lets get rid of this Firewire cable as there's no Firewire on the motherboard. It'll improve airflow and tidy up the space a little. However, tidy-up could have been improved as we'll see later...

So,I'm advised by Serbrious that this is apparently the wrong side of the case for the motherboard. Connecting the headers wasn't too bad I thought (but this is my first build), but Serbrious and Dr. MPEG are both veterans and 'annoyances' like this upset them ;-). Anyway, onwards.

So, lets route the USB port and sound connectors from the case to the relevant motherboard headers. Sound is the connector facing 11 to 5 o'clock and USB is the on facing 2 to 7 o'clock. I vaguely remember a quick discussion at this point regarding which way around the USB and Audio case connectors went. Looking at the manual, the USB connector has no pin at slot 9. I also had to fight with Serbrious at this point to let me plug it in as he was now on a roll, almost relegating me to being the official photographer. Anyway, these are now in - check! We're routing the cables either side of the PCI slot to tidy as we go.

Now its time for Serbrious to consult the manual (I've not let it go and have already read it through twice before we started). We're connecting up the case controls for reset, power and HDD light. The Atom manual on page 30 covers this little setup (warning - 4MB file). I manage this one myself and am quite pleased with myself...

All done. There's no speaker header oddly, so that too was removed from the case (along with the Firewaire lead above). Now we're ready to look at attaching the power leads and SATA HDD cables.

Connecting the power supplies and SATA lead

So lets start here, with this P4 (2x2) header. It simply pushes into place near the CPU. You can also see the northbridge fan power attachment to the right of it (red, black and white lead).

Now back at the case end of things. You can just make out where the P4 leads go (smaller connector on the left). On the right, the connector running 1 to 7pm is the main ATX cable to both 'mainboard' and the DC-DC power supply (converts 12v DC to 3.3, 5.0 and 12V).

Time to inspect the BIOS jumper. Here it is (apologies for focusing on the wrong component). Anyway, make sure it covering pins 1 and 2 for 'normal' operation. Pins 2 and 3 are the 'configure' option (after POST runs, BIOS displays the maintenance menu - use this option to clear passwords). Removing the jumper altogether puts the BIOS into 'recovery' mode. In this mode, BIOS recovers data from a recovery diskette (assuming you've installed one) ;-). Anyway, its pins 1 and 2 for me. Pin 1 on this motherboard is denoted by the arrow.

Ok, so we're nearly done for this installment. Lets take a look at the SATA connectors. Here they are. SATA 0 (the one we'll be attaching our HDD to) is furthest away from us as we're looking. Its beginning to get a little cramped in there, but it does fit. Also, note the legacy P-ATA connector, handy if you are using an old P-ATA HDD/CD-ROM. However, the cable in the pack only had one header, so its a choice between the two.

So here we are at the end of part 2. Yes, I know its not cable tied yet (it will be). However, please note the less than ideal power connections for both the HDD, CDROM (S-ATA) and FDD. This mass of cables above could have been easily corrected with a soldering iron and some heat shrink (so Serbrious informs me). I'm sure he's right, but I'm too excited to wait and decide to assemble the cables as you see them. It'll work, I know it will.

Part 3 tomorrow (hopefully) - Installing the HDD, cable tidy up and turn on..

Atom Mini-ITX Build: Part 1

So, here we go. Part 1 of the hardware build. I'll save software configuration for another time (in truth, its still ongoing...and probably never stops). Anyway, to start with lets introduce the players. Well, first there's me. Formerly technical, nowadays likes to do interesting stuff when I can, but tends to spend most of his time in email. Then there's Serbrious, my trusty partner in professional crime and guru of all things silicon and digitally based. Finally, there's Dr. MPEG, a veteran of ahem years in research and partly responsible for the standard that goes by the same name as his pseudonym in this blog. So I'm in good hands. Now to set the scene. I had planned to make a start at this after work. However, my two accomplices decided to twist my arm and we tried to do as much as we could over the lunch break. What follows is my best recollection of that...

Case assembly and motherboard fixing
The first thing to say, is obviously, make sure you've got all the tools to hand (jewelers screwdrivers mainly) and anti-static cables/gloves (er, we didn't have the latter). Also, make sure you've laid everything out so you can access it easily and have a printed copy of the motherboard product guide handy. I must make a note here saying that I didn't get any documentation with the case. This may be normal, but to be honest, without Serbrious and Dr. MPEG, I would have been scratching my head at times on this.
So, pressing on. First fit the I/O shield firmly into the back of the case. Be sure to give it an all round firm push until it clicks home. It should look like the following when 'in'.

Next is fitting the motherboard. I should note that at this time, I went through the first of three digital cameras during this build. As such, I don't have a shot for this. However, suffice to say it went in. Its a tight(ish) fit in the case, but a good one. Securing of the four screws neatly holds the I/O ports within the I/O shield and when in it should now look like this.

So, I'm now onto my second camera and we've only secured four screws. This might take longer than I thought.

Houston - we have a problem!
Its upon my return that Dr. MPEG and Serbrious have discovered what, in the words of Serbrious, calls a 'problemette'. After offering in the PCI riser (supplied with the case), it looks like the PCI card may sit a little close to the fan. If you look closely at the figure below, you'll see what I mean.

So Serbrious sets about a possible fix and considers mounting the fan on the side.

Its possible, but will need some modifications to make it work. We decide to offer in a spare PCI NIC just to see what the clearance is like. Its in, but with only about a mm gap. I decide to keep with the standard configuration and Dr MPEG advises to stick some insulating tape over the screw which should do the trick. Eagerly we reassemble the fan, pop in the DDR RAM and continue the build.

From this... to this

Ok, so a lot's happened. Yesterday was a very busy day (and night). Today was something completely different again. Without going into detail here (as I'm out of time), its built - well, the hardware, Ubuntu's installed, and a minimal MythTV backend and frontend is installed (oh, and ffmpeg is doing its thing) etc.

I'll spend time over the weekend going into the gory detail (lots of photos) and break the build into a few parts to make it easier to read (and write). Quick fag packet calcs are ~5fps HDTV transcode from MPEG2 to WMV (exact details and profile later). HDTV decode is a non-starter - but we knew that already... System runs at around 30watts and is very quiet, performance is pretty good overall (but the xserver seems slowww) and powerline is rubbish - couldn't help that last outburst... Lots and lots to say, but I really will have to leave the detail for later over the weekend.

We're still in the woods...
but I can at least see where the pub lights are now! ;-)

No flowers this evening

So, I'm just leaving work and thought I'd phone my wife to see if LambdaTek have delivered the goods. After taking the HDD and RAM in to work in preparation for the 'big build', I was hopeful of a positive response from 'Mrs Foobar59' confirming my package arrival. Unfortunately, much to my surprise (after receiving emails from Lambdatek telling me they'd dispatched my order), my wife informed me there were no parcels for me today. Doh! and double Doh!

I decided to console myself by purchasing some humus, taramasalata, olives and pita bread on the way home for tea (with beer). Just over an hour after leaving work, I'm home. The door opens and Mrs Foobar59's there, smiling. "They delivered it to the wrong address", she informs me as I'm already on my way into the kitchen. And there, on the table, it is. A BOX.

The olives now open (I get pretty hungry on the way home), I've now opened the box to inspect the goodies. Yes, all seems in good order. There's the case, power leads, PCI riser and other attachments inside. That's looking good so far. Now for a peek at the motherboard envelope. There's a static bag with the board inside, SATA and IDE leads - check! Ok, contain yourself, its pretty much all here now. Just the tuner card to go (come on Amazon!).

Anyway, I can at least start to build the majority of this now. I've decided to take the hardware into work and build it after hours with a couple of good colleagues of mine. Firstly, it'll be a major comfort knowing I've got some real expertise on hand and second, they're both interested in what I'm building, so its a winner all around!

The plan is to do the initial hardware build tomorrow (minus the tuner), with a software build the following night. I've come away from work tonight borrowing a book on Ubuntu from another colleague (thanks - you know who you are :-), and have re-read the motherboard product manual in preparation for tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll have the basic unit built with Ubuntu onboard in the next couple of days. I know I could load just Mythbuntu, but I'm after a general purpose Linux box to run not only MythTV backend, but the transcoder and possibly the DLNA media server as well (and who knows what else! - more on this at a later date). For now though, lets just see how far these immediate ambitions get over the next week or so.

Doorbell rings and..

08:30am...its garden flowers for my wife :-(

Great for her, but not quite as exciting for me. Still, its now only 10:20am and plenty of time still for Parcelforce to arrive with the goods. Here's hoping!

On another note. The wireless keyboard and mouse have been so useful on my current setup, I'm going to have to order another one.

10:22am - still no arrivals...

11:30am - what's this? Ding Dong, the doorbell's gone. What's this, its a small parcel. What can it be. Hurriedly, I sign the receipt and trot into the kitchen. More flowers? no, its addressed to me. Could it be? YES! its a start. LambdaTek are second out of the blocks and I've now got my DDR2 RAM and 2.5inch 250GB SATA HDD (it takes longer to type tht than type 'hard disk' or 'HDD', maybe I'll abbrevite it from now on.

Anyway, I can't smile wide enough. We're out off the blocks finally.

First kit arrives

Hurrah! My first piece of kit has arrived. Believe it or not, its the cheapest one and the only bit of kit that doesn't come from a recognised vendor (other than the fact its come via eBay of course).

Yes, the wireless keyboard and mouse arrived this morning wrapped in 'Happy Christmas' paper! Not bad for eBay, two days. Its a pity my other kit isn't here as last night was spent reading the product guide (warning 4MB file) for the D945GCLF atom board. Looks ok so far, though I did have some worries over the RAM I've ordered as the manual references SPD memory. I couldn't find any references to SPD on LamdaTek's site for the Corsair DDR2 module, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed... However, the manual (p.12) says:

"the board should be populated with DIMMs that support the Serial Presence Detect (SPD) data structure. If your DIMMs do not support SPD, you will see a notification to this effect on the screen at power up. The BIOS will attempt to configure the memory controller for normal operation."

So I'm hoping all will be ok. Now, where did I put those anti static gloves?

So, what's all this about then?

Ok, so what's this blog about? Well, I've decided to build aMini-ITX based MythTV backend and offline transcoder for my home network setup. So what does all that mean then? Ok, well I'm no expert on either Mythtv or offline transcoders (or Mini-ITX for that matter). However, I am pretty familiar with connected home technologies, though being more of a manager than a geek these days, I thought it about time I got my hands dirty again.

So, I couldn't wait any longer... After a couple of nights (yes, that much) of research and talking with colleagues at work, I've taken the plunge. So here's the order I've placed (got a little ripped off on a couple of items as cheaper component prices were out of stock!):

• Intel ATOM 230 Mini-ITX: £49
• Noah 3988 case: £59
• 2GB DDR2 RAM: £22
• 250GB 2.5 SATA HDD (as using PCI slot with the case): £42
• Hauppauge WinTV NOVA-S-Plus DVB-S Receiver: £45
• Cheap Wireless KB and Mouse: £13

(don't laugh - 'every little helps')

So all in, ~£230. A bit more than the £150 budget I originally set (and £169 I managed to source parts from originally, but as some were out of stock, I had to order elsewhere). I also got a little carried away with memory and a spangly looking case. Anyway, I'm sure it'll all be worth it in the end.

Next activity is reading up more on Ubuntu, MythTV setup, DVB under Linux and installing additional coax on the Sky LNB I have at home (in the UK). Then, build the hardware when it arrives, install Ubuntu, setup MythTV (need to work out how to disable UPnP - hmmm), setup offline transcoder (ffmpeg?) and install a DLNA Media Server (hence disabling UPnP on Myth).

Ok,that's it for the first posting (this is really more of a blog test post than anything really substantive. I'll get around to doing this properly later (fiddling during my lunch break currently).

One last thing. I thought I'd just see what an image looks like in this blog as I'll be taking lots of photos during the build process.