# G1217 AMD AM1 SFF quad core Mini ITX desktop build / business machine



## Jhelms (Aug 12, 2014)

*It has been a while so I decided to build something rather different. 

My needs:*
- Super small desktop that sips power as the unit will run up to 14 hours a day
- Must sit on the desktop / take up as little room as possible. No larger than 8x8x2"
- Must be as affordable as possible
- Decent sized drive / must be SSD
- Powerful enough to run standard business software (visio, power point, excel, word, light graphics and photo programs, website programs... and so on) without hesitation or noticeable performance drop off.
- Also dual or triple monitor support

*Basically everything but a gamer. *

Building on some recent experience building a simple AM1 based machine and knowing how snappy it was with all the software I use, I decided right away this would be the base. Some say the AM1 is good for nothing but a file server or HTPC. After using one for a short time and getting a feel for it... anyone that browses, uses basic software and so on could live with one of these and never want more if they do not game or do things like heavy photo / video work. The darn little thing just runs like hell for normal / basic use!

*So I built my parts list*
- 5350 AM1 CPU $65. Using stock headsink with a super low profile fan (additional $10)
- ASRock AM1H-ITX mobo (with direct DC input as this is critical for me / keeping it tiny) $60
- 8gb dual sticks of corsair Vengeance LP (I would recommend a single stick of 8 or 4gb. No reason for dual since AM1 is single channel - slight waste of power. I had these so making use of them) $40-$90 depending on what you buy
- SSD Corsair Neutron GTX 240gb ssd. Refurbed for $95. This could also be a much smaller SSD from $60-$90 depending
- Meanwell GS90 19V DC power supply, direct into the AM1H Mobo! No ATX supply to deal with, thus dropping the size of the pc drastically $30
- Wireless AC module $20 for an EDIMAX (love these cheap things) or do not use wireless and hard line at no cost
- Using windows 7 pro 64 that I already had. Or buy it for $90.

*For this particular build the cost is $460 with OS if one purchased everything new which is a little silly for a machine like this. Understanding many do not show the cost of the OS when showing their build sheet, that would put the build at $370. Still is to high for a system like this. Take away the not necessary ram I used, take away the wireless module and take away the large capacity SSD and one could have a system like this for..*
- $60 cpu
- $65 mobo
- $30 PSU
- $40 single stick of 1600 found used all over for $40 or less
- $60 120gb refurbed SSD
*Total: $255 or $345ish with OS.*

*Here is a photo of the Mobo as it stands waiting for the slim fan to arrive. I put some sunglasses in the photo so one can get an idea of the size the PC will actually be when finished. Chassis will only add about .5" per side all the way around. The loose battery and cable looks like crap. I will probably re-locate this to the bottom of the PCB and hide it.*






Now onto the chassis. I run a small business designing affordable HiFi headphone amplifiers and such. The way we build our affordable chassis will directly apply and work for how I will be building the custom chassis for this PC. It utilizes standoffs, a little hardware, rubber feet and laser cut and etched acrylic.  Here is an example of one of the amps and how a simple chassis works... (shameless plug)






The chassis is built in layers like this...







I also have to work in and build in the hard drive mount which after measurements, will have to go under the PCB. Good news is that I have figured this out while keeping the design slim. Also cables will be close to 100% hidden so all one will see is the connections at the back of the amplifier. If possible I will build in a pair of drive mounts but have to make more measurements to make sure this can happen.

The only bad news is that I have to travel to Australia on business all next week so there will be a little delay until I am able to show the finished design (if anyone cares) a "lord business" machine is nothing impressive to the masses 


*Kudos to ASRock for bringing more mobos to the market with direct DC in!  *


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## newtekie1 (Aug 13, 2014)

Just did something similar but I didn't quite get it as small as you plan to, mines 8x9x2.25": http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/ultra-sff-htpc-smallest-pc-ive-ever-built.203947/


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## Jhelms (Aug 13, 2014)

Very cool - checked it out! HA = we use the same fan for the stock heatsink  

I mostly finished the chassis design last night. Sending it off to my laser cutter guy to make it happen. Wish I did not travel all this next week or I would have it together this weekend. Chassis ended up 7.75 x 7.75 and is a littler taller than I wanted at about 2.25". It could have been smaller but I added some angles and curves to the acrylic as it accents lighting when done this way.


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## Jhelms (Aug 16, 2014)

*Nothing big, just one part installed before my trip out. 50mm low profile fan. Cable was silly long so I reduced the length significantly. Also used 4-40 stainless socket caps to mount the fan. The little details matter  *
- Still need to take care of the cmos battery cable setup as it looks ugly
- Custom momentary switches that will attach to the top panel will hopefully be in when I get back late next week. Their wiring will route behind the ram so it will barely be seen connecting to the mobo

Wish the manufacturers got their arses in gear and released their low profile fans for the AM1 already. Each I spoke to said late next month. Ugh...  This works though. Also crazy to see some overclocking the 5350 past 3ghz! Most around 2.5 stable. Fascinating what this little cheap toy chip can do.


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## Jhelms (Aug 24, 2014)

And... 99% finished  She turned out great - exactly what I had envisioned.

- Excuse the red sata cable. Was a tad long and it was supposed to be black but was shipped the wrong cable. 
- Final dimensions are 7.75" x 7.75" x 2.25"   This is one small quad core!

Some photos:










You can see how small it is next to my mouse and laptop..





Barely takes up any room on the desktop!





An image of how the hard drive is mounted on the bottom and cables routed... 





Drive is physically bolted to the bottom


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## TRWOV (Aug 24, 2014)

OMG, that is like distilled sex *** NERDGASM ***


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## Jhelms (Aug 24, 2014)

Much appreciated!


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## newtekie1 (Aug 24, 2014)

That is awesome looking!


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## Devon68 (Aug 24, 2014)

I must be missing something. How is it powered I don't see the 24 pin cable connected or the PSU for that matter


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## Jhelms (Aug 24, 2014)

Good question, the AM1H-ITX is the first AM1 mobo to take direct DC input (19V) like a laptop. The DC jack is located at the right rear of the mobo. No messy ATX supply needed - regulation is on board. The PSU I used is a meanwell 19V / Model GS90A19-PM1.

*Props to ASRock for building the board this way! I definitely have a few wishes for a future rev of this board... *
- Do away with the ATX header totally and all associated
- Put power, reset buttons and leds right on the front edge. Maybe even a pair of USB
- Get rid of the PS/2 port, MOAR USB
- Bottom of the PCB, add a socket for a full sized SSD or M-PCIE

Understood that the PCB layouts (atx, micro atx, mini ITX and so forth) are designed to make things compatible.... with pretty much everything. But think outside the box manufacturers. Build a killer board designed around being compact and functional. Then the aftermarket will respond. I tried to do this as much as I could with this mobo in making everything on board in a compact chassis but the layout is limiting.


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## TRWOV (Aug 24, 2014)

he's using this board: http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/AM1H-ITX/


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## Devon68 (Aug 24, 2014)

Didn't know a thing like this existed. That's kind of awesome.


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## Jhelms (Aug 24, 2014)

Very awesome. I always wanted a socketed mini itx mobo with dc input and could never figure out why a manufacturer did not make one. Was browsing and just happened upon this board - got all nerded out and bought it straight away!

I know if more people knew about it, they would buy it! DC input Makes builds simple, and eliminates a load of wire clutter (which could be further reduced per my above suggestions) And with more efficient processors coming out all the time / better APU's, going this route makes a lot of sense for business applications and light duty gamers.


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## stinger608 (Aug 28, 2014)

Very awesome little build!!! Man, with I had the resources to build a custom mITX case!


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## Nordic (Aug 28, 2014)

That case is just amazing. That is low cost? It looks premium.


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## Jhelms (Aug 28, 2014)

Much appreciated! and yeah - the case is pretty low cost. With power switches (would have to DIY cables for power / reset and leds / sata and whatever else) it would run about $39.99. 

I have to say it does everything I ask it to do and plenty quick! I can recommend this combo to anyone looking for a low power setup for business / streaming / surfing applications. It rocks!


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## Jhelms (Aug 28, 2014)

*Just running some general power measurements on the AM1H-ITX mobo and 5350...*
- Idle is 19-20w
- General usage 22-25w (browsing and so forth)
- Streaming Netflix 28 - 32w

No undervolting. I could undervolt the ram but no options for the cpu with this mobo. So with my combo - it is what it is. Also if one used a single stick of ram, that should help a small amount as well in lowering overall draw. Not bad! And virtually no heat production - just even so slightly warmer air than ambient around the heatsink which is great for my hot AZ climate.


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## stinger608 (Aug 28, 2014)

And you can build these for standard mITX motherboards?


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## Jhelms (Aug 28, 2014)

Notta, I would have to design one for each mobo individually. I just did the one for this mobo only


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## red_stapler (Aug 28, 2014)

Needs a banana for scale.

(Also, I'm considering building one of these myself!)


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## Recca29 (Aug 28, 2014)

Just one word "awesome".


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## stinger608 (Aug 28, 2014)

Garage1217 said:


> Notta, I would have to design one for each mobo individually. I just did the one for this mobo only



Well damn........ I suppose you would have to have the motherboard in front of ya to design the case. Dang it.


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## Jhelms (Aug 28, 2014)

Indeed


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## Nordic (Aug 28, 2014)

stinger608 said:


> Well damn........ I suppose you would have to have the motherboard in front of ya to design the case. Dang it.


So that leaves us the option of purchasing the case he has designed... Or him being a small business owner might consider giving you a case at cost if you send him a board to design a case off of for a short time... Heatware depending.


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## puma99dk| (Aug 28, 2014)

really good looking itx system, i hope the cpu fan ain't killing ur ears


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## HammerON (Aug 28, 2014)

Very nice build


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## stinger608 (Aug 28, 2014)

james888 said:


> So that leaves us the option of purchasing the case he has designed... Or him being a small business owner might consider giving you a case at cost if you send him a board to design a case off of for a short time... Heatware depending.



Na, I think I am going to get back to my HD Thunder build. : http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/hd-thunder-no-not-high-definition.112389/


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## Jhelms (Aug 28, 2014)

Actually the fan is virtually silent. Have to put your ears about 12" away to tell if the pc is on. With a tdp of 25w at full tilt....not much is needed


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## Sempron Guy (Aug 28, 2014)

excellent build


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## agent00skid (Aug 28, 2014)

Garage1217 said:


> *Just running some general power measurements on the AM1H-ITX mobo and 5350...*
> - Idle is 19-20w
> - General usage 22-25w (browsing and so forth)
> - Streaming Netflix 28 - 32w
> ...



If you want to undervolt, then I have gotten a BIOS from AsRock that allows it.


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## Jhelms (Aug 28, 2014)

VERY cool  No idea how you got it but indeed interested!

Do you have a build thread?


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## newtekie1 (Aug 28, 2014)

Garage1217 said:


> Actually the fan is virtually silent. Have to put your ears about 12" away to tell if the pc is on. With a tdp of 25w at full tilt....not much is needed


I can back this up as I used the exact same fan for my build.  Small fans don't have to be loud if they aren't running at 6000RPM+.


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## agent00skid (Aug 28, 2014)

Garage1217 said:


> VERY cool  No idea how you got it but indeed interested!
> 
> Do you have a build thread?



I asked AsRock about it, and they looked into it.

Link to BIOS:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5WCb35PB8wfM0xrTkd0SHc3T1k/edit?usp=sharing

And I found it no more interesting that a few update posts in the "Your PC ATM" thread felt sufficient.


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## Jhelms (Aug 28, 2014)

Very cool and appreciated. Will have to give this a try soon!


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## suraswami (Aug 28, 2014)

the transparent look of the PC - unique idea.  hmm can u make me one too?


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## Jhelms (Aug 28, 2014)

Did you want a whole PC or just the chassis? I do not plan to become a PC manufacturer but happy to help


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## Nordic (Aug 28, 2014)

Garage1217 said:


> Did you want a whole PC or just the chassis? I do not plan to become a PC manufacturer but happy to help


You may not want to, but as I said it looks premium. I bet you could sell those for $80. The mitx market already seems to be more expensive than regular sized components even though they are smaller.


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## GhostRyder (Aug 28, 2014)

That is insane looking!


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## Jhelms (Aug 28, 2014)

For now will just support the community if anyone wants a case and as long as it is ok with Mods on this site. I am so slammed with my other business I am not sure if I can take on a whole new segment. I will just keep it to the AM1H-ITX mobo since it takes direct DC in and makes the above look snazzy without the ATX mess!


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## suraswami (Aug 28, 2014)

nice work, I was complementing you, tho I would like to take one but no need for one right now.


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## Jhelms (Aug 28, 2014)

Right on! I make so many things for so many people - never know if they are serious when they ask haha. Should post my hard drive clocks lol


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## Nordic (Aug 28, 2014)

Garage1217 said:


> Right on! I make so many things for so many people - never know if they are serious when they ask haha. Should post my hard drive clocks lol


That sounds interesting...


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## Jhelms (Aug 29, 2014)

Made a little thread on them. May give some others DIY ideas http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/hard-drive-clocks.204667/#post-3156377


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## xBruce88x (Aug 30, 2014)

nice build


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## Jhelms (Sep 3, 2014)

Interesting - USB 3.0 ports do not work on this mobo. RMA'ed it and the new board - still no USB 3.0! Reinstalled all drivers, tried a fresh install and the ports do not even have power. Now that two boards have the same issue... I started to dig a little. Looks like the 3.0 controller is on-board the AM1 processor. I guess my next step in troubleshooting is to throw parts at it and try another 5350. Very curious if that is the issue.


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## GhostRyder (Sep 3, 2014)

Garage1217 said:


> Interesting - USB 3.0 ports do not work on this mobo. RMA'ed it and the new board - still no USB 3.0! Reinstalled all drivers, tried a fresh install and the ports do not even have power. Now that two boards have the same issue... I started to dig a little. Looks like the 3.0 controller is on-board the AM1 processor. I guess my next step in troubleshooting is to throw parts at it and try another 5350. Very curious if that is the issue.


That is quite an odd issue...I have not heard any problems on that platform yet at least in that case.  Maybe you got a bad chip?

Let's us know how it's resolved!


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## Jhelms (Sep 3, 2014)

Possible! After all these years and countless chips that I have punished / overclocked... I have never killed one off or had an issue with a chip. Just may be my turn  Time will tell.  But yeah, searching... it appears to be that I am alone in this issue.


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## GhostRyder (Sep 3, 2014)

Garage1217 said:


> Possible! After all these years and countless chips that I have punished / overclocked... I have never killed one off or had an issue with a chip. Just may be my turn  Time will tell.  But yeah, searching... it appears to be that I am alone in this issue.


I have some how managed out of the masses of chips I have messed with ended up with 2 bad chips in my time.  One had a bad memory controller (I cannot remember what chip it was now but it was awhile back) and recently I have (Actually working on it in my free time) an A10 6800K with what I believe to be a bad temp probe inside the chip.  That chip seems to shut down randomly for "Overheating" on a Hyper212 at stock settings even with Turbo Disabled even though my temp probe and laser gun say its temps are nowhere near what its reading (That and none of the coolers I have put on it get warm).

Im going to have to put it on Liquid AIO (Spare I have) and see what happens while running a few more diagnostics to see if we have to get another/RMA it.

You should be able to easily get a replacement if that is the problem, but things happen sadly enough


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## dom99 (Sep 5, 2014)

I really like this design, I would live to make my own for my mITX Kaveri build


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## micropage7 (Sep 5, 2014)

d#mn, i like it
small, simple and straight


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## Jhelms (Sep 5, 2014)

Bought a new 5350 today to see if it is the CPU with the USB3.0 issue. Will see tonight and with luck, that will be resolved. Or somehow I received two mobos with the identicle issue. 

Besides that, I think this has been my fav build as it does everything I want except game. It is TINY and cost less than the first SSD I purchased!


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## newtekie1 (Sep 5, 2014)

I wonder if the USB3.0 issue might be power related.  Like those ports aren't active when using a laptop power supply or something.


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## Jhelms (Sep 5, 2014)

newtekie1 - That has been on the back of my mind as well and a worry as I can definitely make use of the ports. If so, it would be an epic fail.  Will know for sure here soon!


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## agent00skid (Sep 5, 2014)

The rear USB 3 works on mine. Never tested with windows. But ran a Linux based OS off a USB 3 stick in the USB 3 port for some time. Also charged my phone on them.


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## Jhelms (Sep 6, 2014)

That was it - it was the 5350. Hunch paid off! Put the new chip in and the USB 3.0 ports fired right up. Put the old chip back in just to make sure, and USB 3.0 was dead. Now for the RMA process as it is past 15 days with newegg.


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## Jhelms (Sep 6, 2014)

*Agent00skid - Installed the bios and it is working like a charm, thanks!

But... I used it for evil *

*Overclocked her a bit and with only maybe 30 minutes of playing I ended up at....*
2.436ghz
Bus: 116
Memory: 1854

Memory does not seem to be the limiting factor as I can drop it down but cannot increase the core. 1mhz more on the bus and she crashes. Funny enough at 116 I can run any test / software / prime and she is stable.

Only thing I think that keeps it from 2.5ghz is the core voltage while set at 1.3V never reaches more than 1.27V on my mobo.

I see guys on the asus AM1 board hitting 3ghz with good cooling and 2.5ghz pretty standard with stock cooling! - nuts for the AM1!

Anyways, very happy with the quick results and no voltage increases needed


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## Nordic (Sep 6, 2014)

I am curious how far you can undervolt also. I have a intel ivy bridge celeron and I can undervolt it to .8v at stock clocks. This cuts the power used by 6v.


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## Jhelms (Sep 6, 2014)

Will have to give the undervolt a try! For now, having fun with the overclock 

Since this is an APU and overclocking changes a lot more thingies than just a cpu overclock, I ran passmark just to get an idea of all the changes. Quite a difference for no voltage increases


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## red_stapler (Sep 8, 2014)

I decided to build mine using the box that it came in:


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## TRWOV (Sep 8, 2014)

red_stapler said:


> I decided to build mine using the box that it came in:



so ghetto


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## red_stapler (Sep 9, 2014)

Garage1217 said:


> Since this is an APU and overclocking changes a lot more thingies than just a cpu overclock, I ran passmark just to get an idea of all the changes. Quite a difference for no voltage increases



I have mine at 120 bus speed and only got 3000 on my CPU Mark score.  :-/


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## Jhelms (Sep 9, 2014)

back it down to 115 or 116 and see what happens.

What is your ram set at? What other software is running in the background at startup?


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## red_stapler (Sep 9, 2014)

Garage1217 said:


> back it down to 115 or 116 and see what happens.
> 
> What is your ram set at? What other software is running in the background at startup?



I'll give that a try.  Ram (old OCZ reaper I had lying around) is only 1066, so I'm certain that is not helping.  OS is clean 8.1 install + drivers.  No additional software is installed.

*edit*  re-checking the BIOS showed that the ram was only clocked at 930!  I set the ram speed to like 1280 manually, so we'll see how it does now.


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## Jhelms (Sep 9, 2014)

Ouch, yeah I would say the ram is the weakest link...  I can definitely see it holding everything back


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## Jhelms (Sep 9, 2014)

Found these little dual micro SD mini PCI-E adapters. I see no reason it would not work in the onboard adapter as it can utilize a wifi module? Guess I would have to try it out and see.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151399644569?ru=http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=151399644569&_rdc=1

Since this is a business machine, having 2 extra memory devices onboard would make for awesome backup. Could possibly even do a software raid 5 all in a compact unit vs more external drives. For my needs, dual 64gb cards would be more than enough 

Trying to see how much functionality I can reasonably cram into this little guy.


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## Nordic (Sep 10, 2014)

Mico sd is really small and they just seem impractical and expensive. You could do an external harddrive which for cheaper. One drive, but surely more reliable and faster than a microsd.


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## Jhelms (Sep 10, 2014)

Agreed.... but luckily I already have the micro SD cards. Also already have 4 externals and a NAS setup. This is more of a... nice to have on board sort of thing.. and a... wonder if it would work sort of thing.


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## brandonwh64 (Sep 10, 2014)

That device is not bootable tho


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## Jhelms (Sep 10, 2014)

I can see where the confusion is, when I spoke about a backup I meant file backup only, not OS or not raid 5 off the primary drive. Just software raid of two micro SD cards for file backup only. Doh - sorry for the confusion!

But overall yeah, with the backups I already have and the speed of the drives I have, it is quite pointless. Just seemed cool to add in extra drives onboard


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## Jhelms (Jan 1, 2015)

Nothing new really - which is awesome. System is rock solid and easily recommended on the mobo and combo. Starting to get the itch to PC game again someday... May need to build a new thingy.


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## Jhelms (Apr 12, 2016)

Update on AM1 processors:

USB3 speed has always been terrible and most of the time, it ran at 2.0 speed.  Reading some more recent reviews on AM1 systems, I found that overclocking even 1-2mhz on the bus freaks out the onboard USB 3 controller and it reverts to USB 2 or worse. It can also cause the primary sata controller to be finicky or shut down which leaves you with only the asmedia controller which is slow in comparison. So to make everything finally play nice, I had to back things off to stock and add a little bit back with the multiplier setting -  and all is actually working as well as it did when overclocked with only a slight noticeable difference in software loading. However USB 3 is finally working properly again! Hope this helps other AM1 mini systems.

While I love this tiny business machine, looking forward to a big new build at the end of the year.


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## TRWOV (Apr 12, 2016)

Haven't got problems with my USB3 ports.... yet *knocks wood*


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## cdawall (Apr 12, 2016)

How strange I never had that issue with mine either and I'm on the same board


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## Jhelms (Apr 13, 2016)

cdawall said:


> How strange I never had that issue with mine either and I'm on the same board


Run a speed test on your USB 3.0 ports. Also go to devices and printers and see if your attached device is actually showing connected at 3.0 speed. I am not the first to document this with the AM1 processors! They work - just at 2.0 speeds


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## cdawall (Apr 13, 2016)

I was getting 150 mb/s from my flash drive that's the only thing I plug in 3.0


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