N100 Mini-ITX Silent PC Build

[@tramcrazy]

It is genuinely refreshing to see someone building a new PC that is not intended to be ridiculously high performing but is instead just right for their needs. Throughout this build I noticed so many modest and sensible hardware choices; it made me consider the clear benefits of having a silent, efficient albeit slightly less performant machine. Thank you once again Chris for another excellent video; I am soon going to use your network cabling tutorial for my own installation!

[@weinbergfahrer4048]

That's exactly the reason why I switched to an Apple Mac mini M1 in its stock configuration. Although it has a fan, under normal load it's practically inaudible. Thanks to Christopher for videos, that often put things in the right perspective!

[@danielpicassomunoz2752]

I'm looking forward to low specs, high performance, optimized software

[@gregclare]

Totally agree. The most common overkill in new PC builds that I see is with GPU. People seem to want to buy the best GPU they can afford, instead of what they actually need. I mean, you don’t need a RTX 4000 series for checking email, social media, web browsing, and even most gaming needs! I suspect in most builds, people can save the most by buying only the GPU they really need now, also allowing an easy future upgrade when more graphics performance is really needed.

[@DJDocsVideos]

both the SSD and the RAM choice are overkill for this box

[@Darkk6969]

@@DJDocsVideos Well he uses virtualbox so it will benefit from it.

[@ypat90]

Nicely done! 1/3 electricity consumed for 3-4x performance gain. And no tinnitus triggering noise. Wishing you another 10 years of enjoying this computer case.

[@NOPerative]

Absolutely. Less power consumption with tangible performance improvements is the real-world, old-school, inarguable upgrade.

[@knerduno5942]

Too bad we are not seeing Atom based board anymore. They have even lower power usage, and have even better math performance than the N series.

[@BenState]

Still way too expensive. the power difference will not be noticeable in any meaningful way in terms of cost.

[@knerduno5942]

I think it is too expensive also. Should be around $60

[@clooi5018]

This is E-core only version of Alderlake family. So is all gracemont core. :) @@knerduno5942

[@Gorf1234]

Nice video Chris - you've not changed in (nearly) 40 years! You won't remember, and neither of us knew it at the time, but you were instrumental in starting me off on a career in IT when you were helping me with an electronics project at school.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Wow! I presume this was at WRGS? A long time ago.

[@Gorf1234]

@@ExplainingComputers Indeed it was! Not the happiest of times for other reasons, but even after all this time I remember you patiently explaining the purpose of a 555 timer to what must have looked like a Lancashire neanderthal. Clearly your desire to educate others hasn't dwindled.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Ah this takes me back, as does the 555. Still a useful and classic IC. :)

[@kurnma3776]

What a beautiful rig. Love how you focus on practical and power-efficient builds that don’t make your power bill skyrocket.

[@LucS0042]

PS2 port, parallel port headers, serial port, VGA port.... Feels like a blast from the past.... But with a modern cpu. Great video!

[@RoboNuggie]

I tend to have music on most times to dampen my tinnitus - but the power saving aspect is something to look for regardless especially in these times..... Thank you for the video Chris, and take care.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks for your support. I find there are times when background sound helps, and times when I prefer to remove all triggers. :)

[@clooi5018]

Chris, I was person that did the memory reference layout for the CPU company (This family cpu supports DDR4, DDR5, LPDDR5, max 32G ram), very happy to see you like the system . I posted a link to Intel website on the N family that has more powerful CPU N200,N300 , lower performance N95 --. Somehow my comment was deleted yesterday . So I am not posting any URL risk robot spam removal. Nothing is more satisfying than seeing happy customer. Merry Christmas !

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks for this, very interesting to hear from somebody involved. :)

[@clooi5018]

​@@ExplainingComputers This chip was also optimized for chromebook. If you build a Chrome flex OS and run it off SSD, it will be very fast. A few well known OEM build chromebook with this CPU. Surface Go4 will come with this family of CPU too. 😊

[@polar_inertia]

​@@clooi5018 can I ask you what CPU you would recommand for a PC running linux and used for coding and occasional retro consoles emulation please? Is the N100 a good candidate or going for N200 or better is safer? thank you.

[@clooi5018]

@@polar_inertia Both N100 and N200 has 4 E-cores, differences being N200 higher clock speed and has 32EU, N100 has only 24EU (usually sufficient for day to day use), another factor you want to consider is memory technology used, you will want DDR5 (or LPDDR5 usually soldered down and not upgradable ), this CPU can support DDR4, but only up to 3200MT/s. DDR5 above can support up to 4800MT/s, my last knowledge about this family of CPU, we hoped it would hit 5200 but somehow Si IP has its limit. A better performance CPU in this family is N305, it utlizes all 8 E core, supports DDR5 too, more costly too . This family of CPU supports single channel memory only. If you doing coding and occasional gaming, probably is ok with N200 with DDR5 support . I have not done code compiling on this system, cannot comment too much this. If you have extended high power mode running, probably get a system with fan cooling (supports up to 15w) rather than those 6-9w passive cooled system. I know of friends working in such environment, for coding laptop, they use a lower performance system (laptop) purely for coding (basically text typing) and office email, internet etc, for compiling , they have more beefy system , sometime system with i7 performance or Ryzen7 type of system performance for that purpose, with plenty of storage . Sorry, did not mean to psycho you to buy more hardware. Anyway, this N family CPU has upgrade coming soon, known as TwinLake, you will something like N250.. just guessing.

[@polar_inertia]

@clooi5018 thank you so much for that detailed answer! It's really appreciated! No worries I'd rather know now that the Nxxx aren't powerful enough than after bying one 😁

[@flemtone]

I love seeing new systems built that use far less energy :) This is the way!

[@ExplainingComputers]

The way indeed.

[@420bobby69]

Getting to watch an excellent new build video from Chris while simultaneously getting to watch him struggle with the small form factor on camera is such a perfect combo. Passive cooling too! The only thing quieter than a Noctua fan.

[@SuperFredAZ]

I really appreciate the way you re-use the case, and drives, and do frugal upgrades that get what you need and don't waste resources. this would make a great Home Theater PC or Plex (or similar) server. Nice job!

[@PS_Tube]

Greetings. A silent PC is certainly a nice choice when it gives enough power to do everyday tasks and even run a VM. Interesting upgrade video, Chris B.

[@jpmyers6950]

After I watched this video I bought all the parts and built one for myself. The bios went right to my USB stick and booted into Linux mint. I installed it and it loaded just fine. I installed a temperature app and put on a video, the temp only went up to 120. This is an amazing board. Thanks Chris.

[@dang48]

I enjoy seeing these videos. Helps when deciding what to use when upgrading and I appreciate the honesty shown when discussing any drawbacks. The silent cooling is a bonus as well. Thanks and as always, great video.

[@VictorBreder]

Congratulations for the new build! I thought that N100 were available only on mini PCs, so it's cool to know they are an option to consider for power-efficient modern builds!

[@jamescollins6085]

I hope to find a similar solution with the more powerful i3 N305 CPU, as that would make for a great low power home server.

[@MrPir84free]

There's also firewall appliances in the N100 format. Not terribly user friendly as far as servicing, but they come with a massive heatsink in the fanless variety. Personally, I might be interested in a N305 version over the N100; twice the cores, with a slight bump up in power draw. Note. I checked my N100 firewall appliance; it's running at 55 C currently.

[@djzio]

Professor Barnatt, when I find a channel that grabs me, I stick with it. Over the last couple of years, a lot of channels I used to find interesting got to be boring, stupid or just shite, but your videos are still as interesting as the 1st!

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks for this positive feedback, appreciated. :)

[@richardbaker974]

The combination of perfectly suited lower-end "tool" PC build AND Explaining Computers. Absolute must watch for me.

[@watching_events447]

Nice build. I recently bought an N100 mini PC for running Jellyfin , pihole, and Nextcloud. Performs well, at just 6 watts draw.

[@danielkowalski7527]

up to 15w draw

[@watching_events447]

@@danielkowalski7527 Measured mine at 6w when streaming video from Jellyfin. That's about as much as I do at any one time.

[@RobertBoerner]

Another excellent video. One idea for the black plastic back plate you used to cover the empty PSU bay would be to fit a parallel port. It would be pretty cool to have a modern system that has PS/2, serial and parallel ports should you need them for older devices.

[@busydadscooking001]

I missed this part of the video. I would actually block it with a screen or leave it open for airflow. That case was not designed for fanless specifically and so it has ventilation but ideally more..

[@michaelwright2986]

I'm sure somewhere in the world there are still functioning daisy wheel printers. That would give a real retro charm to paper output.

[@jorgerapalo2673]

I work with structural design software that uses a hardware lock device that connects to a parallel port in order to let the program function legally. I have needed to keep functional old machines that still have that port. Newer versions of the software use other methods but are expensive and the old one that was legally bought still works like a charm. So having a newer computer with a functioning parallel port would be great.

[@apparentlyretrograde]

Just ordered one of these based on your recommendation. I'll be using it as a plex and roon server. I've had a beautiful fractal design mini itx case sitting idle for a couple of years and finally have something worthy, but not overpriced, to put in it.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Good luck with your build! :) I remain very pleased with this board.

[@Antti_Nannimus]

Nice set of choices for a perfectly functional "daily driver". As a build for you and your skills, this was falling-down easy. But I'm sure it would be a great tutorial for beginners looking for a similar very affordable platform. It's a nice addition to your canon, and your video production skills are always top-notch.

[@ToddSAFM]

I love your computer upgrade videos. So down to earth, and a good reminder to keep hardware in service when possible rather than buying everything new for a new project.

[@iandron7119]

Thanks Christopher, that's a nice wee system you've got there. I liked the Tremeloes reference even though it's before your time!

[@Techmagus76]

Not sure how many viewers will get the Tremeloes reference, but nicely delivered Chris.

[@DeirdreYoung1]

What a sweet little box! I really wasn't sure that the N100 would do the job, but I admit I am pretty impressed.

[@johncundiff7075]

Awesome mix of old school and new school! Keep up the great work Sir!

[@litebkt]

I’m really impressed by these low power solutions. Thanks!

[@martinenglish6641]

All in all, it is a good board. I can use it to operate as a beefy PLC application in factory settings or a small PC controller and monitor many PLCs in a factory setting. I have 2 on order and will test it before trying to market it to my customers. It has to function stressed under max loads in a hot. humid, and dusty environment. I may have to run it caseless as I do many of my SBCs that serve as replacements for old SS PLCs. It looks promising and cost-effective. Cool Video. Thank you.

[@zzstoner]

That new board looks really nice. Props to ASRock for making it, and props to you, good sir, for giving it a happy new home. 💻🖥👍

[@Colin_Ames]

Always good to see an EC build video. Clear explanation as to why each component was chosen, and how to carry out the assembly. As a bonus, I think this might be the first time I heard the meaning of LPT.

[@sharonwolff1]

That and the serial port are now relics of the past for most people. Surprising the board had them both. Unless you ordered that motherboard especially because you had a use for them?

[@Colin_Ames]

@@sharonwolff1 I too was surprised to see that Chris’ board had both ports, as I’m sure it’s meant for office or home use. Serial is still (or was until recently) used in industrial applications.

[@nasanierulastname2997]

Those older ports might be useful for certain commercial or industrial use cases where interfacing with the machine the computer controls requires LPT or COM. One example I can immediately think of is laser tag arenas.

[@PhilipBallGarry]

Nice build. It's always extremely satisfying to see the performance benefits of current PC tech vs something nearly a decade old. A year on, I suffer from post-covid tinnitus so I can fully appreciate how it feels to never be able to hear true silence ever again 😞. But, some people have succumbed to far more serious after effects of the virus so I should be thankful really.

[@liontuga155]

I love this build. And yes, Office 2003 is the best MS Office, and I still use it! I feel vindicated! Thanks, Chris!

[@lawLess-fs1qx]

jeez I though I was the country bumpkin with Office 2008

[@nasanierulastname2997]

@@lawLess-fs1qxBack in senior year of high school I actually typed a paper entirely on Office 2000 using a Windows 98 VM

[@Kenobi5001]

Great quiet build, Mint and XP.. two of my favourites!

[@felipegarcia2207]

Thanks!

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks for your support, appreciated. :)

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

Nice little system and totally silent too.

[@lilhaxxor]

I am glad you got your new PC. I wanted to do something similar but I got lost in the many options to choose from, and gave up. Seeing how simple the build can be helps a lot. Thanks for sharing. ❤

[@ShizukanaEntertainment]

Great video (as always)! One thing I've learnt throughout the years of computing is to take pauses during longer sessions. It's easy to forget about time while working/gaming/etc., but a few minutes of just standing up or leaving the room for a minute helps with getting out of that very static stance one might have while sitting down (completely unaware of it). Tinnitus can come from muscle tension and so on, for instance, jaw clenching. Hope the silent machine helps out anyhow! Sure think it will!

[@ExplainingComputers]

A very interesting point on muscle tension. Thanks for this,

[@atonal440]

I bought an N100 NUC recently, and it is remarkable performance for the price. It feels like my old desktop i5 from ten years ago: 4 cores, 4 threads, nothing fancy like P-cores or chiplets, everything is equal and sane. It feels right somehow.

[@JP-vh1vx]

Very helpful video as usual. Today I built a similar pc to his build. I’m very impressed with the performance and price. These N100 cpus make for a snappy little machine.

[@MikeBob2023]

Thank you! 👍🏻🙏🏻🙂 6:00 Small World! I'm a *QuietPC* customer too! I live in Florida and they were the only retailer on Planet Earth who had a brand new *i9-13900T* to sell me earlier this year. It was a flawless transaction and I highly recommend them to everyone I know. 💖

[@chriholt]

Nice upgrade Chris! Hadn't heard about the N100 processor until this video!

[@ExplainingComputers]

Greetings Chris.

[@tremorist]

The sub d connectors give it a kind of retro look. Happy holidays.

[@registromalplena2514]

Glad you're doing this when I thought about getting this board to make a 1U server.

[@leadfarmer5563]

As always Chris, informative and entertaining. I am extremely happy I found your channel years ago. Thank you for all the great vids including this one.

[@frederickwood9116]

Thanks for sharing. This board and its bigger m-atx sister are right in the home pc/lab space and very economical too. For anyone curious. The specific nvme is MZ-V7S2T0. The manufacture’s website has a memory QVL file in the support section so you can get a better interesting about ram speed options. There is a storage QVL too if anyone is curious.

[@johanpeturdam]

Great video. I almost feel inspired to build something like this for my parents’ daily use. And in the words of Depeche Mode: Enjoy the Silence!

[@Praxibetel-Ix]

[piiiiiiiing...] God-tier song. Anyway, good luck if you do build one!

[@circuitdotlt]

I'm using this motherboard inside an old switch 1U rack case, as a home server and smart home hub, DVR etc. What I missed was an internal DC connector to have 19V laptop brick mounted inside, not only via back panel. Also I'd love it to have a full x16 PCIe for RAID storage options. The connector is x4, but actually only x2 connected. Same for mpcie.

[@dexterroy]

You have CRT monitor! Massive respect!

[@ted-b]

I always love an EC computer build!

[@hasansalim1868]

Hi Chris. Congrats for the upgrade and thanks for the nice video.

[@e79905]

Great video. Thanks for teaching me about the potential bios backdoor. Definitely gonna check if mine has it.

[@MarcosCodas]

I really miss taking a closer look. But the videos are fantastic as usual.

[@45KevinR]

First one of your videos that I've seen. Very straightforward and measured. I am reminded in the best way, of the Open University broadcasts of the 80s & 90s. 👍🎓😎

[@IanHodgetts]

I love the fact that you have copious amounts of blu-tack alongside your K-9. I use that much of it I ought to buy shares in the company! ;-)

[@giannistsolebas6962]

It's so nice to watch a video like this. It reminds me of older systems when passive cooling was still a common thing. Such a beautiful piece of computing engineering, for daily use of browser, office, etc.

[@MrMesospheric]

The video and its associated videos, together with the latest moronic MS developments, that finally pushed me 100% over to Linux. Years of practice with Linux now means I am entirely comfortable, helped by these videos, with dumping MS for good. Thanks Chris; the very definition of useful, reliable YT content.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Great to hear of your successful transition. :)

[@andygardiner6526]

serial and parallel connectors - made me feel quite retro!

[@johanpeturdam]

Ikr? You can put a CVX4 or OPL3LPT on the LPT port and have actual retro sounds coming out of your machine. And a mouse in COM1 too.

[@cleverson_sa_]

Congratulations! I've build my night sky observation camera station for outdoor usage with an ASRock board as main server . I love the power efficiency of these boards. 😊

[@ExplainingComputers]

:)

[@kountkrackula9518]

The thermaltake case you have is a case I love, I have one I use as my linux machine. Half way across the world same taste in cases. Great content.

[@ExplainingComputers]

:)

[@leonidd00]

very interesting. I had an idea to do the same couple of months ago, but I was 10 years away from the pc topics and bought at the end a laptop, but I love the idea of silent and fast small pc with linux for dayli usage. Thanks for the video!

[@alanthornton3530]

An interesting silent build & not a bad price for the N100. I like the the old itx case you've reused it seemed to have a fair amount of space. Mr scissors had plenty of action nice to see, one thing missing was the cursing of the IO shield.

[@gloiloidn5752]

I just love your videos! Now you can read comments without any noise :D

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks, and exactly so. :)

[@horseradishpower9947]

I will confess, silent computers are something I have come to really appreciate. It's one bug thing with the Raspberry Pi 5B, because the official cooler isn't very loud, and is barely used under nirmal loads anyway.

[@1697djh]

All home computers where silent until the advent of IBM PC’s

[@anttikangasvieri1361]

I had a project to silence my desktop...undervolted, underclocked r5 3600. Oversized aircooler with very low rpm quality fans. Just the other day I thought something was wrong since I could hear the machine. Turns out it was just my soda bubbling. Silent machines rock.

[@horseradishpower9947]

​@@Tony-eo8zzI'll be honest... I like having a Raspberry Pi as a daily driver. I want something for creative writing and the like, and it is wonderful for what I want. Also, it has a small power output, which is another big consideration for me. Having a system be as quiet as possible is another thing I want. I have an Intel machine, which I got for basic gaming.

[@AndrewTSq]

@@Tony-eo8zz Yes, either Noctua or those I got from Cooler master, they were like $40 for 3 rgba fans. Cant hear them at all.

[@kempshott]

@@1697djhThe IBM PC was never intended to be a home computer. In any case the keyboard was noisier than the PC itself.

[@petercarter9034]

I really enjoy watching you build personal computers, it reminds me when I used to go to computer fairs and building my own back in the 80s...

[@Kennephone]

I love that case, I wish more modern cases had 5.25'' drive bays, even if you're not gonna put an optical drive, they're handy for hot swap sata bays or additional front usb.

[@dezmondwhitney1208]

This Build was Clear and confidence building for those us building our own desktop pc or returning to doing so. Energy saver too.

[@perrymcclusky4695]

Looks like a convenient and quiet daily Linux driver. I’d be interested to see how Windows would perform on it, just out of curiosity. Looking forward to your next video!

[@stanwbaker]

I'm typing this on an N100 mini-pc running Win11. It's fine. Nothing astonishing but I'm delighted for the price.

[@perrymcclusky4695]

@@stanwbakerThanks for the info! Wishing you a great day!

[@mikeh7704]

These days I feel Windows needs at least 16GB RAM to be performant. Linux is probably ok with 8GB.

[@terrydaktyllus1320]

@@mikeh7704 Yes, Windows needs 16GB RAM for all of those "lovely" background processes that sit there stealing all of your personal data and phoning it home to Microsoft. The best Christmas present anyone can give themselves is to rid themselves of their Microsoft abuser once and for all and move to Linux.

[@stanwbaker]

@@mikeh7704 My full-flavor Win11 install, plus Chrome hits just over 6 gb. Greater than 8 would be recommended for any OS, but required for Win11.

[@busydadscooking001]

Hi Chris, the temperature is certainly acceptable for a fanless PC, and the components are mounted fine for airflow, but I'd prefer to keep it cooler if it was mine. You should test it with the case open, or placed on its side, because not having vents at the top may be something you can fix, and a vertical orientation may help speed how quickly air goes over the fins. Once that's determined I feel like the heat sink could be swapped for a larger one if you like (and you'll probably improve cooling just by reapplying thermal paste more evenly). Lastly, you MAY be able to reduce idle power consumption and therefore temperature by capping the CPU speed in windows power options, or the voltage in BIOS. You can look at power options for the samsung drive and RAM too. But I think step #1 should get you up to -5C improvement without any performance hit at all.

[@kitmoore9969]

I often wonder why people like to keep their heat in a box )-/

[@CCoburn3]

This is why the heyday of the SBC is over. For a comparable price, you can get a more capable system than an SBC. That's not to say there are no use cases for an SBC form factor. But more and more people are going to build systems like this instead of using SBCs. If you're looking for a quick video to produce, you might compare the performance of this computer with similarly-priced SBCs. I think that would be very interesting.

[@retropcscotland4645]

I’ve decided to build one as my 2nd pc to play my older games on. Since I do not play nor enjoy modern hand held guiding games, press this button press that button known as QuickTime events no thanks. This solution is ideal for the less demanding titles I enjoy. Thanks for inspiring me to do so.

[@lilblackduc7312]

I hope the new fanless system is easier on your ears, Professor! Thank you for sharing this video with us...🇺🇸 👍☕

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks for this. The silent operation of this PC is already providing me with significant benefits.

[@kk0dj]

Smashing! You did the usual outstanding job on this Chris. Thank you for choosing to upgrade with affordable yet fully capable components. Looking forward to a subsequent report down the line. Cheers!

[@danw1955]

Glad I caught this video Christopher! This gives me some ideas for upgrading a nice old Falcon Northwest aluminum 'Shuttle' type case that currently has an old mini-ATX with a dual-core Celeron that's about used up. I'm pretty sure the case is setup for a micro ITX as well, but even if it isn't, there's plenty of floor space to redrill it for the necessary stand-offs. I don't see those SATA power cables being able to support any type of standard 3.5 in. SATA drives, so I may have to go with the N100M, so I can retain my stock PSU, and a case fan or 2, to keep the drives cool. It wouldn't be quite as efficient, but I could have a LOT more storage, and exponentially faster to boot!😉

[@lorderectus1849]

Chris says : The Silence is Golden!

[@ChazClout]

This would be great to use for a low powered NAS, especially if you used flash storage for the array, complete silence! Great video Chris and may be the basis for my next homelab build.

[@QazCetelic]

Have you seen those NAS N5105 boards by topton? They have 6 SATA ports.

[@dwinterx]

That was my first thought as well, but the PCIe / M.2 connectivity looks a bit limited to me though. Still an interesting motherboard. I'm running a HP Prodesk 400 G6 (SFF) I bought used off ebay for about £160 a little while back, came with a core i5 (9th gen), 16GB Ram and an SSD. I upgraded a few bits on it and run Unraid on there. Quiet, efficient, and quite powerful when it needs to be. About 8W on idle and similar on load to this N100 system with an 8 core, Core™ i7-9700T. They are great for a NAS and can fit a single 3.5" drive as well which is handy. Not silent, but I run it in the loft of my garage anyway, so I can' t hear it! 😀

[@deanstyles2567]

An EC build without 'come on you little swine'? It's gone very smoothly then! 8GB of RAM instead of 16GB is an interesting choice. I'm assuming Linux Mint 21.3 may see a newer kernel that supports the N100? Thanks Chris for the video. These N100s are decent little chips.

[@sihledotcom]

He probably said that during the I/O shield install which he skipped lol

[@Praxibetel-Ix]

Either putting the I/O shield on went well or our always dashing pal turned the air blue during the process! 😅

[@energymarketchile]

Congrats Chris on your new driver! Good move!

[@tpobrienjr]

This is tempting. My amateur radio station would enjoy some of the silence.

[@montecorbit8280]

Got a couple questions about your choices of hardware: 1: Why only 8GB?? I would have figured 16 would have been better?? I know that Mint is more efficient memory wise, but that may still be a problem.... 2: Why not the N200 or N300/305. It seems like the extra performance and the higher memory and disc performance may have served you better over the next 10 years.... 3: Did you consider a standard power supply with a Zero RPM fan?? That probably would have remained silent unless things were getting really warm.... Thank you for time, I enjoyed the video. I learned something about tinnitus, in your previous video. I didn't know there was such a thing as a "trigger" for tinnitus, which explains why my ears whistle more when my HVAC system kicks on. I hope your holidays is most excellent!!

[@ExplainingComputers]

I used 8GB because it is more than sufficient for my use case. I do not understand the obsession that seems to be emerging of fitting more RAM than required (which will use more power and generate more heat). I can 100 per cent guarantee that it will not be "a problem". I am bewildered with the comments here telling me how much RAM I need given the use case I clearly explained. I am not aware of any N200 or 300/305 Mini-ITX motherboards! This case does not use a standard ATX PSU. It uses SFX, and a zero RPM SFX PSU is very expensive. I have built many, many silent and quiet PCs on this channel over the years, including those with zero-RPM PSU fans and very quiet CPU and case fans -- eg in the series that starts here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z5q5fnqJd6usY68 Please assume that in a build for a daily driver PC with a very specific use case that I did draw on my 30 years of PC building experience, especially of quiet PCs, to select the best components for my use case! :)

[@montecorbit8280]

@@ExplainingComputers Sorry if that came through as confrontational, it was not meant to be. It was merely a request for information. 1: "8GB is enough for what I need."....kwel!! 2: "not aware of N200 or 300 ITX motherboards." I did not know there was a problem with sourcing them. They are kind of new so I didn't take that into account . 3: "zero RPM SFX PSUs are expensive". Cool, I didn't know that, I don't remember you mentioning that it was an SFX PSU in the video. I mentioned what does zero RPM was because I live in the US and you live in the UK in terms are not necessarily standardized or interchangeable, I just wanted clarity.... My apologies if I angered you.... Monte

[@ExplainingComputers]

Sorry if I offended. :)

[@montecorbit8280]

@@ExplainingComputers Not offended, but.... I really like your channel, and I learn a lot. It was a bit like my favorite teacher tearing me apart for asking what I thought was a legitimate question. I have sense decided that it was either a misunderstanding or a "bad day".... Thank you for replying; Monte

[@SewRatcoon]

Even as a passive computer like that it still healthy to put a small cooling fan in to move the ambient air out and, there's plenty of tiny cooling fans that are extremely quiet.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Extremely quiet yes, but not totally silent. I've build and tested many silent and quiet systems on this channel! :)

[@geoffpedder]

Neat, I'm thinking of using this motherboard for a low power server system. Looks good

[@Praxibetel-Ix]

It seems as though KZbin ate my first attempt to make this comment so here it goes again. I always love the PC build videos and this one is certainly no exception. I did have to hold back my laughter upon seeing the two individually bagged screws that came with the board! Whose bright idea was that? Anyway, hopefully your ears will be very happy with the quiet PC upgrade! And in regards to 15:21, here's a nice virtual hug. 🤗

[@marjon1703]

Totally with you about MS Office. I Still run windows 7 on my daily computer for exactly this reason.

[@Broken_robot1986]

Verrry impressive! Congrats on hitting load numbers equal to your old resting ones.

[@Phil-Sands]

Brilliant video as always Chris. Your presentation style reminds me of the old schools programes on TV with the white screen and the next title whooshing in. Thanks again.

[@Bronek0990]

Thanks for the idea! I'm planning to build a low power home server soon and energy usage is a major consideration, alongside noise. While this specific model doesn't have enough SATA ports for my liking (unless I get a PCIe -> SATA card), this has definitely pointed me in the right direction!

[@45KevinR]

There's a few aliexpress motherboards out there with 6 sata and 1-2 M2 shots. They appear to be the latest cpu upgrade on boards that came up from 5105 & 6213 cpus. The main struggle is the N100 only having 9 pci lanes to handle everything, so there's some compromises. Those motherboards seem to originate from NVR security camera recording. So they get 3/4 2.5G ethernet ports (!) which claim the lion's share of the pci lanes. Still very good value of you wait for the prices to cycle lower. I was looking at older SFF pcs or H110i motherboards and the price-performance-wattage on the new N100 softrouter/nas setups appear to compete very well even against used systems. We don't get as great deals on discarded commercial kit in the UK.

[@DFX2KX]

it's impressive what you can do with a silent PC these days. though my ears would fill the void with a quiet eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee anyway, so I've never bothered going completely silent.

[@johnrush3596]

N100 makes a decent VM server as well for prototypes and home automation. With 32gb you can throw a lot of lightly loaded services at it. Performance is great for the power usage.

[@cdl0]

Good stuff; I like this. I have one recommendation: If possible, disable display of the logo at boot, and monitor the manufacturer's website for a BIOS upgrade to fix the LogoFAIL vulnerability.

[@Mr.KellyMelvin]

Well, this was a breath of fresh air.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks. :)

[@NOPerative]

Something old. Something new. Upgrade baby! Good stuff.

[@brunesi]

I have changed from a full tower also 10+ yo i7 desktop to a modern ryzen mini pc this year. I was looking for a completely quiet desktop. This isn't, but most of the time, the noise gap from the older system is music to the ear. I'd take a leap and say that it improves life quality even. As a sidenote, I'm currently using a Noctua 120mm fan at a project at work. It's 12V rated, but I'm powering it at 5V. It is not dead silent, no, but inside a case, it might pass unnoticed. And it helps with the thermal profile. Additionally, as a diy project, one could add a usb pwm module and implement a temperature curve control, in order to keep noise at a minimum. Model I believe it is NF-F12iPPC-2000.

[@MicrobyteAlan]

This was a great episode. I watched this episode on my newly installed Zorin 17 system. Thanks for the help yesterday. It was easy finding older episodes for reference. Phillip the 🪛 and Stanley the

[@ExplainingComputers]

I do like Zorin OS.

[@srvuk]

Very nice. The N100 is, IMO, the best bang for your buck processor to come out in 2023. Dual channel RAM would have added a nice little oomph to the performance but this is Intel after all, so you cannot expect too much. This video also showed people that using a 2014 PC does not have to mean living in the dark ages, with day to day performance being perfectly acceptable. Re-using the case was another example of good ecology.

[@robertj1138]

I really like this project as it matches with a similar idea i had for building switching over my NAS. I probably would have put a fan in there because I am paranoid, but it is nicely done. Thank you for sharing.

[@danielpicassomunoz2752]

Looks nice for a home server, with enough ram, many containers

[@plsbanhackers9031]

This is perfect, I didn’t even know there was an itx n100. I need a cheap low power pc for browsing (I already have a ryzen 7600 computer for gaming)

[@nekomasteryoutube3232]

Its rather interesting to see a motherboard these days that has PS/2, VGA, Serial, and Parallel, while having support for a bunch of modern connections.

[@spacewolfjr]

I wonder if the board is aimed at replacing some legacy hardware they wouldn't need much CPU but might still need serial and parallel connections

[@benyomovod6904]

Built to work and last. NO RGB nonsene, just a tool to work with Thank you

[@johnbee1574]

iv always felt asrock is underated, this board has all you need. and nice to see the vga port sticking around

[@srtcsb]

Big hardware improvements in speed and efficiency at decent prices. Bravo Chris. Thanks for another great video. 🙂👍