Are any Celeron 1037U Motherboards actually available?

[z28dreams]

Why the hell don't a single one of those have USB 3.0? Seems ridiculous.

 

[cbn]

The Celeron has pretty weak graphics. If I were building a light-duty gaming machine, I'd want to drop in a 7750 or similar.

A dual core 1.8Ghz SB/IB/HAS with a 7750 wouldn't be a l33t haxxorz CoD FPS-rig, but it'd play a mean game of WoW at 720p.

Alternatively, it seems like hedging bets - as you speculated, some people might have a specialized card they wanted to run. That card might be 4x, 1x, 8x, 16x, whatever - the slot is physically capable of supporting it, whatever it may be. I could see a RAID controller for a server, TV tuner for an HTPC, or something specialized like a "pro" sound card breakout machine for a semi-portable recording rig.

Better to have the choice, imo.

I agree 1037U is not an entirely weak CPU for budget gaming.

In fact, the more I think about it a 1037U (using Biostar or ECS boards) with a spare or cheap discrete card in the PCI-E x16 slot could probably play most (if not all) the Valve games @ 1080p on Steam. (An option to consider for Ubuntu/Linux)

In contrast, the Gigabyte 1037U Mini-ITX might be the board to choose for "carry over legacy parts" or a "Spare Parts PC build" (re: IDE and PCI slot).

EDIT: One thing I didn't notice earlier was that the Gigabyte 1037U Mini-ITX, Zotac 1007U Mini-ITX --> http://www.staples.com/product-nr_IM1RA2784 and Gigabyte 1007U Mini-ITX--> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128598 all have dual Ethernet ports (Any good ideas on what this could be used for? I've read Router/Firewall is one usage)

 

[nForce2]

I have a question about NUC, Brix and thin mini-itx:

Does anyone know if they share the same size DC-in port/connector?

P.S. Looking at this Intel PDF on page 26-27, there is a recommended power jack type (at least for the thin mini-itx)

I've seen at least two types of connectors... and some are 12V, while some are 19V.

Given the choice, I'd go for a 19V board over a 12V. The reason being, that the motherboards with 12V input generally expect the input to be well-regulated... they apply their own regulation when they step it down to 5v, 3.3v, etc, as needed, but they use the 12V as-is for 12V needs. The boards that take 19V have the additional 12V regulation onboard, and are more tolerant of lower-quality power bricks.

It's the same issue with the PicoPSUs. The standard one takes a regulated 12V supply and pass it through... whereas the "Wide Input" models (the red ones) have the additional 12V regulation. :thumbsup:

 

[nForce2]

Why the hell don't a single one of those have USB 3.0? Seems ridiculous.

Some do - the Giada N70E-DR, or the GreatZC ZC-1037U-2C, for example.

Why more of them don't, I have no idea. Especially for the BRIX, since it is so limited in expansion.

 

[cbn]

Looking more closely at the MiniBox M350, I noticed the company makes a custom I/O shield and riser http://www.mini-box.com/I-O-shield-and-riser-card-for-DN2800MT for a particular Intel atom thin mini-itx board made by Mitac--> http://www.mini-box.com/MITAC-DN2800MT-PD11TI-Mini-ITX-Motherboard

Seems like a great idea for a few reasons:

1. The I/O shield and riser only cost $5
2. Using an full width add-in-board in the thin mini-itx's PCI-E x1 slot does not reduce the number of 2.5" drives capable of being used in the M350.
3. Using thin mini-itx in M350 allows for use of 19v brick. (In addition, a pico psu is no longer needed, of course)
4. M350 with the $5 riser is $13 cheaper than a Silverstone PT13 on Amazon. (And the Silverstone doesn't allow for that full width PCI-E x1 card to be added like this M350)

So looking at that ECS 1037U thin mini-Itx (with its PCI-E x1 slot) I keep thinking it would be so cool if Mini-Box made a $5 I/O shield and riser available:

If I am not mistaken wouldn't the M350 (with custom $5 I/O shield) still be the cheapest case option ($45 total shipped) at this time for thin mini-itx?

 

[nagi603]

Hey there,

I've just bought Gigabyte's C1037UN-EU & 4 Gigs of ram for it. I already had a LCPOWER LC-1340mi for case (and it comes with a 75W PSU, though quite a bit bigger then my PicoPSU), So I'll be sharing some things about it in the following week(s). (Frankly, I would have bought Gigabyte's barebone, but as I already had the case, and wouldn't have any storage to put in them till next month, I chose to go with this route.)

I'm missing a couple things for my configuration: some low-powered fans and a HDD. (well, I have a HDD, but it is sitting in my RPi's USB station till I get my databases off it. I'll buy an SSD for it in a couple weeks).

So it is currently sitting with an open case, on BIOS.


Quick look:
Cooling:
With the open case and around 25°C ambient, the cores are idling around 65 and 63°C after about an hour according to the "M.I.T." section of the BIOS, while the PC Health status shows the CPU temp to be ~57 an the system to be ~55. The core speed seems to be at max. I'm vary about closig the case until I get at least one fan.

I tried attaching a fan to the headers and setting the "system fan speed control", but it is either faulty, or just doesn't work in the BIOS.

The BOIS doesn't have any undervolting options, only decreasing the frequency multiplier.

For that matter, the BIOS is surprisingly lackluster in the boot order switches as well.

Case:
As for the case, it is a cheap mini-ITX one. I managed to rip the leads off the power switch in about five minutes somehow, lucky that I had a replacement from some old order.

Horribly bright blue leds, gah.

There are two 4cm fan placements on the top of the case, but I only found out that they are for 1 cm thin fans after I ordered a 2 cm one. (As the 2cm was a cheap but moderately silent one, and the 1cm a very high priced Noctua.)

 

[AkumaX]

more or less unrelated, but here's a laptop (chrome book) that has a 2955U:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834257593

 

[cbn]

Deleted.

 

[cbn]

Update:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138368

The Biostar Celeron 847 now carries a 15% discount code. (ends 11/4) This brings price to ~$55 with free shipping.

Is there anyway we can tell how many are left in stock? (EDIT: I Just checked by adding 100 to my cart. ...Newegg shows 25 left)

They were at 112 a month ago, so they either returned some stock or they're selling pretty quickly now! 11/4 is next Monday - if they sell enough, could the Biostar come as soon as next week? Any bets?

20 left now. (BIOSTAR NM70I-847)

Just checked, last day for the promo code and 11 left.

I wonder if we are going to see a blow out sale coming up for those last units (if they don't sell out with the current promo code) in an attempt to make way for the Biostar 1037U?

Just nine left now. Not sure which time zone Newegg runs in, but however you look at it, the deal doesn't have much time left.

Even so, they have the inventory down to single digits now. They could probably launch the 1037U board now at any time, and still continue to sell the 847s slowly if there was enough of a price difference between them.

Inventory is back up to 46 for BIOSTAR NM70I-847. (Price is now $64.99 with free shipping)

Quantity has increased to 66 and the price is now $59.99 with free shipping.

 

[cbn]

ZOTAC NM70ITX-C-E 1007U (88.99 with $6.98 Shipping ) finally got added to Newegg Embedded Solutions:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813500088

Usb 3.0, PCI slot and two Ethernet ports.

 

[Zap]

ZOTAC NM70ITX-C-E 1007U (88.99 with $6.98 Shipping ) finally got added to Newegg Embedded Solutions:

+ USB 3.0
- Zotac

:whiste:

I've had mixed results with Zotac. Two died in systems I've built for others. I currently have two flaky boards. I think that's 4 out of maybe 6 or 7.

 

[cbn]

I wonder if MSI will release a 1007U or 1037U versions of these Celeron 847 boards:

http://www.msi.com/product/mb/C847IS-P33.html

(Mini-ITX, All solid caps, PCI-E x1, VGA + DVI, regular DIMMs, One SATA 6Gbps, One SATA 3Gbps, one system fan header, tpm module connector, chassis intrusion connector)

http://www.msi.com/product/mb/C847MS-E33.html

(Micro-ATX, All solid caps, PCI-E x16, PCI-E x1, 2x PCI slots, VGA + HDMI, regular DIMMs, serial port, one SATA 6Gbps, three SATA 3Gbps, big passive heatsink, two system fan headers, parallel port connector,tpm module connector, chassis intrusion connector)

==================================================================

The first board is rather nice with the solid caps, although I am sure a lot of folks would probably prefer HDMI over DVI and the limited SATA ports is a concern. However, with that said, it did get decent, but extremely limited number of reviews at Newegg--> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...owViewpoints=1) and Amazon--> http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-...HN8/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1

I like that second board because of the large passive heatsink and I'd imagine those expansion slots could probably come in handy too. Newegg doesn't sell it, but it did get one review on Amazon---> http://www.amazon.com/MSI-C847MS-E33...owViewpoints=1

NOTE: Maybe having PCI-E x 4 slot would have been better than the PCI-E x1 slot. Looking at the 1037U chip specification here at Intel Ark ,1037U does appear to be able to run 1 x8 and 2 x 4 for PCI-E natively.

 

[cbn]

Looking ahead to 2955U: http://ark.intel.com/products/75608/Intel-Celeron-Processor-2955U-2M-Cache-1_40-GHz?wapkw=2955u and 2980U: http://ark.intel.com/products/76620/Intel-Celeron-Processor-2980U-2M-Cache-1_60-GHz?wapkw=2980u

Only two SATA ports are supported. (although they are both 6 Gbps)

The PCI-E configuration is listed as 4x1 or 1x4 for 2955U and 4x1 or 2x4 for 2980U. (Max# of PCI Express lanes is listed at 10 for 2955U and 12 for 2980U)

That is a big difference with what we are seeing with Celeron 847 and 1037U and the NM70 chipset from a SATA and PCI-E configuration standpoint.

Apparently, there is also a rather large difference in # of usb ports. Haswell 2955U/2980U has four usb 3.0 ports (see Intel ark above), but according to Guru3d-->http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/intel_847_nm70_review,2.html and Wikpedia--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_chipsets the NM70 express chipset supports up to eight usb 2.0 ports.

In summary:

Celeron 847/1037U with NM70:

PCI-E 2.0 configuration: 1x16, 2x8, 1x8 and 2x4
SATA ports: one at 6 Gbps and three at 3 Gbps
usb 2.0: up to eight ports

Celeron 2955U:

PCI-E 2.0 configuration: 4x1, 1x4
SATA ports: two @ 6 Gbps
usb 3.0: up to four ports

Celeron 2980U:

PCI-E 2.0 configuration: 4x1, 2x4
SATA ports: two @ 6 Gbps
usb 3.0: up to four ports

 

[cbn]

For those looking for usb 3.0 and 4K video together with 1037U, this would be possible with the MSI Micro ATX 1037U (assuming it gets released) using a usb 3.0 PCI-E x 1 adapter like this one in addition to a PCI-E x 16 video card (capable of 4K).

The other affordable option, as was mentioned in this thread here, is the Foxconn D70S-P 1037U Mini-ITX using a Mini PCI-E to usb 3.0 header card and a PCI-E x1 video card (capable of 4K). This will need an enclosure with usb 3.0 front ports though.

Mini PCI-E to usb 3.0 card
usb 3.0 ports on enclosure
PCI-E x1 video card (Can a PCI-E x 16 be modified or used with an adapter to open up the choices)

vs.

PCI-E x 1 usb 3.0 adapter (does not need a case with usb 3.0 front ports)
PCI-E x16 video card

Not sure what the difference in price would be? I am guessing the second option would be cheaper though.






EDIT: Another possibility for 4K output and usb 3.0 together would be if 1037U versions of the ASUS C8HM70-I ---> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131948 and ASUS C8HM70-I/HDMI ---> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131948 were released (Both boards come with usb 3.0 and PCI-E x16 slots)

 

[cbn]

Several times in this thread, 1037U laptops have been mentioned (in addition to 1037U desktop barebones). Looking around I see that at least one company makes a little stand so a person can use a notebook as a mini tower.

There was also another company that made a product like the one above. I can't find the link at the moment, but the stand handled a variety of notebooks within a range of different thickness.

 

[nForce2]

+ USB 3.0
- Zotac

:whiste:

I've had mixed results with Zotac. Two died in systems I've built for others. I currently have two flaky boards. I think that's 4 out of maybe 6 or 7.

Another minus being that it's only a 1007U system. :\ The ZOTAC page for the NM70ITX-C-E is exceptionally vague (not even listing the CPU model name)... which makes me think they could at any point do what ECS has done, and change out the CPU while keeping the rest of the motherboard essentially the same?

Otherwise, there is the obvious PCI slot (and missing PCI-Express)... but otherwise the specs are pretty decent. A large heatsink, USB 3, eSATA, dual ethernet, etc...

 

[nForce2]

Quantity has increased to 66 and the price is now $59.99 with free shipping.

Up to 71 now for the BIOSTAR NM70I-847! I think 7 was the lowest stock quantity I saw before you noticed the jump... but this makes it look like the decreasing numbers before were "artificial". Might be a while before the 1037U Biostars show up. :\

 

[nForce2]

Several times in this thread, 1037U laptops have been mentioned (in addition to 1037U desktop barebones).

I actually thought about using a laptop as my HTPC replacement. You have a size penalty from the screen you will never be using, but otherwise it is MUCH smaller and much more efficient than a PC plus a separate multi-hour UPS. :thumbsup:

The only real downsides are that they tend to be noisier (small fans and mandatory active cooling), are limited for expansion, and aren't necessarily designed to be run 24/7 for years on end.

 

[nForce2]

Hey there,

I've just bought Gigabyte's C1037UN-EU & 4 Gigs of ram for it. I already had a LCPOWER LC-1340mi for case (and it comes with a 75W PSU, though quite a bit bigger then my PicoPSU), So I'll be sharing some things about it in the following week(s).

Thanks for sharing your results!

So it sounds like the motherboard you received doesn't have a fan - that answers one of our questions from earlier (some photos were showing it with a fan). Who did you order it from?

Do you by chance have a Kill-A-Watt or any other type of power meter? One of the big differences we have seen is that some of the 1037U systems have rather poor power usage at idle... It would be great to have a data point for the Gigabyte if you know the numbers. :thumbsup:

Keep us posted on how things work out!

 

[nagi603]

Thanks for sharing your results!

So it sounds like the motherboard you received doesn't have a fan - that answers one of our questions from earlier (some photos were showing it with a fan). Who did you order it from?

Do you by chance have a Kill-A-Watt or any other type of power meter? One of the big differences we have seen is that some of the 1037U systems have rather poor power usage at idle... It would be great to have a data point for the Gigabyte if you know the numbers. :thumbsup:

Keep us posted on how things work out!

There might be three versions of this board: C1037UN/C1037UN-L and C1037UN-EU. The first two having a smaller heatsink and a fan, the last one (the one I bought) is the one with a big passive heatsink.

I bought it from a Hungarian retailer (ipon.hu), but they don't ship internationally, and the price has gone up to $120 since.

Unfortunately no, I don't have any power meter. The CPU frequency seems to be throttling down nicely to about 50%, (at least according to resource monitor), but so far I haven't found any software that would display the cpu voltage live too, like AMD's OverDrive utility. Granted, I didn't look too far. (Intel extreme tool won't run, Crystal CPU / CPU-Z doesn't offer live monitoring and MSI Afterburner won't display anything.)

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I'm pretty sure CPU-Z does live monitoring. As I sit here, looking at my Celeron 847 running a background virus scan and doing its other (light) assigned duties, CPU-Z is bouncing around between 800 and 1100 MHz, with core voltages between 0.74v and 1.08v.

 

[nForce2]

Here's an interesting system. It's the NDiS B323 from Assured Systems, made for the digital signage market.

* Fanless
* NVIDIA 705M GPU
* 2.5" drive bay
* USB 3.0
* Dimensions: 250x194x40 mm

I wonder how much it would cost? :hmm:

http://www.assured-systems.co.uk/Di...PC-w-18GHz-1037U-CPU-and-NVidia-705M-GPU.html

 

[nForce2]

Four more new 1037U motherboards. A mixture of specs, but having dual Mini-PCIe slots would be nice for expansion. :thumbsup:

(comparison of all four can be found here: http://www.seavo.com/ProductView1.aspx?menuid=3&popid1=79&id=114&sid=41)



Seavo SV1a-13714P:

http://www.seavo.com/ProductView2.aspx?menuid=3&popid1=79&id=2593&sid=114

Seavo SV1-13716P:

http://www.seavo.com/ProductView2.aspx?menuid=3&popid1=79&id=2594&sid=114

Seavo SV1-13716P-B:

http://www.seavo.com/ProductView2.aspx?menuid=3&popid1=79&id=2595&sid=114

Seavo SV1-1372A:

http://www.seavo.com/ProductView2.aspx?menuid=3&popid1=79&id=2596&sid=114

 

[nForce2]

Here's an interesting system. It's the NDiS B323 from Assured Systems, made for the digital signage market.

Found another reference to the NDiS B323:
http://www.sovio.com/catalog/57/572/63844.html?wofoto=1&pm=1&cur=EUR

... which has a PDF of the system specs, including a mechanical drawing from all sides:
http://f.sovio.com/files/add/doc/222354/NDiSB323.pdf


This PDF seems to indicate that it is made by "NEXCOM". I couldn't find anything for the 1037U B323 on the NEXCOM site, but I found a very similar unit with a Celeron 847, the NDiS B322:
http://www.nexcom.com/Products/mult...ctive-player/digital-signage-player-ndis-b322
... which is for sale for $448 at:
http://www.thebookpc.com/product-p/ndis-b322.htm

 

[nForce2]

Another review of the Biostar NM70I-1037U:

http://www.madshrimps.be/articles/article/1000518/BIOSTAR-NM70I-1037U-Motherboard-Review

Test Setup and Extra Info

In order to start testing the board, we equipped it with one GeIL Black Dragon 4GB DDR2133 (@1333) memory module, but also a Hitachi Travelstar 5K250 250GB HDD. We installed the latest Windows 7 x64 from scratch and got the tests going.

Power consumption test results

System Full Load measurement was recorded while running the AIDA64 System Stability Test and checking on Stress CPU, Stress FPU, Stress Cache, Stress System Memory, Stress GPUs.

In IDLE, we have recorded a value of 19.17W, while in Full Load about 44.86W.