MSI's Bay Trail-D Mini-ITX Board Launching This Month

[JMcEntegart]

MSI's Mini-ITX board powered by Intel's Bay Trail-D is coming before the month is out.

MSI's Bay Trail-D Mini-ITX Board Launching This Month : Read more

 

[Sicundercover]

This would be more interesting if it wasnt Intel graphics.

 

[shafe88]

It would be great to have an AMD version, the ultimate HTPC board. Small with decent graphics.

 

[oj88]

Don't forget that Bay Trail SoC CPUs are for cheap netbooks, tablets, 2-in-1s, and AIOs, with 32-bit, 2GB RAM. The full system's (including touch screen, keyboard, mousepad and OS) price range is between $200 to $400. I don't see its value in the DIY market here.

 

[navalweaponsofficer]

I agree great HTPC option and 64bit OS capable. These Bay Trail D chips are a great value for low power computing and pack a lot of compute power for their power rating.

 

[InvalidError]

I don't see its value in the DIY market here.

DIY NAS, HTPC, various types of home servers and appliances... basically anything where power efficiency and small size are more important than processing power and expansion options.

 

[mrcoolbreeze704]

Would a a6 or a8 not be better for a htpc build? Seems and has the edge in integrated graphics at this price range.

 

[InvalidError]

Would a a6 or a8 not be better for a htpc build? Seems and has the edge in integrated graphics at this price range.

Unless you plan to play more than trivial 3D games on your HTPC, then the IGP does not matter much.

I know if I personally built an HTPC, I would try to aim for fan-less and that would be far easier to achieve with a 7.5-10W Bay Trail than a 45-65W A6.

 

[Jaroslav Jandek]

Looks like my server/HTPC is getting an upgrade (I am also considering the boards from ECS). Looks like this one will fit nicely on the back of my TV or wherever I eventually place it.
Board (< $60) + 4GB RAM (~$30) + pico & adapter (~$22 + $9) = ~$121. Relatively cheap platform for an HTPC... I will 3D print the case for the board myself. I already have the RAM, the adapter and some HDDs.

 

[antilycus]

my mini itx case w/ external power supply is about the size of a Wii. It has a 256SSD and just upgraded to FM2+ A10-7850k. This is the ULTIMATE HTPC + gaming machine. Go run the Heaven (unigine) benchmark on your PC and let me know what it gets. This APU got 30fps on basic settings (720p). This thing listed above. wouldn't even get 4 fps.

 

[Jaroslav Jandek]

@antilycus: My primary concern is audio/video playback and web browsing. It is also a server (VPN, NAS, various services) running 24/7 => low power and low noise are the most important features. We have 2 PCs with dedicated GPUs if we wanted to play games.

Just FYI even the Atom Z3740 can do 40+ FPS in Starcraft 2 and 20+ fps in more graphics-intensive games (like Crysis) at 720p/min.settings (and that's a 2W part).

 

[jimmysmitty]

This would be more interesting if it wasnt Intel graphics.

For the majority of people tis would be fine for a HTPC as most wont game on it.If you want to game you can either add a discrete GPU or just buy a AMD APU instead as that is all AMD has for mITX boards.

 

[pollom]

Really nice for asterisk server

 

[test 0525]

where are the "7.1 channel audio" ? not even an S/PDIF

 

[pogsnet]

I won't believe that it can be 4.5x faster against Kepler as shown in the slides.

 

[houldendub]

Actually really like these, anyone else thinking about Stream Machines??

 

[the1kingbob]

This would be more interesting if it wasnt Intel graphics.

For the majority of people tis would be fine for a HTPC as most wont game on it.If you want to game you can either add a discrete GPU or just buy a AMD APU instead as that is all AMD has for mITX boards.

AMD has 6 mini-ITX boards on newegg with FM2/FM2+ compatibility, that is the same size as this board.

 

[mmohon]

Anyone think I could use this puppy for in home streaming via steam? Was thinking of building a small pc for my living room. I have a wired drop to feed it. I just need to get my games on my TV while leaving the tower in my office..

 

[falchard]

I don't see a market for this. Anyone else able to find any?

 

[InvalidError]

I don't see a market for this. Anyone else able to find any?

There is a huge potential market for this. If you cannot see it, you need to learn to look further than the tip of your nose. There is over a dozen examples in this thread - just about anything that does not require tons of processing or GPU power is a potential market for things like these.

 

[Wisecracker]

I know if I personally built an HTPC, I would try to aim for fan-less and that would be far easier to achieve with a 7.5-10W Bay Trail than a 45-65W A6.

The quad-core A6-1450 *Temash's* Bay Trail, has a greater OpenGL score than Intel HD4K graphics in CineBench15, and maxes at 7w.

 

[antilycus]

my concern with the Mini-ITX form factor is the medling of GPU and CPU. (granted I am biased towards the AMD APU as it's the only one that does a decent job (best in the market) for offering any solution). Yes the 7850k is 95w PEAK, but my external power supply is rated to 295w so, no big deal. Look at the 360.. that brick (if I remember correctly) is rated to 400W. I would rather have the option to PEAK (keyword) at 95w if the GPU needs it (the power sucker). Something like the Rasp Pi or this thing above, is handcuffing your growth where as the extra APU can extend the needs further. Granted, you won't get 770 or 780 gtx results from it, but I do like where AMD is going. if I wanted 7w or under, i'd hook up my Tegra3 tablet or phone to my TV. just doesn't seem worth it. To each their one. I like the smallest FF i can get with the best "power" I can get. Yes I can watch all I need on something above, but I am not going to be decoding/recoding anything on it.PICO PSU and PICO PSU Cases are what I like.

 

[antilycus]

To that same extent, OUYA is a pretty good HTPC too...

 

[Jaroslav Jandek]

@antilycus: you like small form factor and A10-7850K? These APUs put out quite a lot of heat. All that in an ITX case means active cooling and therefore noise (can't fit those big and silent fans). I do not know many people that would want a noisy HTPC.

The quad-core A6-1450 *Temash's* Bay Trail, has a greater OpenGL score than Intel HD4K graphics in CineBench15, and maxes at 7w.

How about a link to support your claims? Check this review out. It is consistently loosing to HD4000 and HD3000. Power consumption 8-15W. 3D performance is simply bad even at 720p/lowest settings (even Intel Atom Z3740 can reach similar numbers).

 

[InvalidError]

my concern with the Mini-ITX form factor is the medling of GPU and CPU.

I do not see that as a problem. NAS and most other types of home servers do not require more than basic distplay capabilities to get them through initial setup and OS installation. Most office and reception desk computers are never going to be used for any form of 3D gaming or work. Point-of-Sale and Kiosk applications require little more graphics power than what they need to display a touch-based user interface. Much of the same goes for industrial process control and monitoring applications, information display and digital signage applications, etc. Most of these still run plain mostly static 2D UIs and video.

Sure, IGPs may be "bad" for gaming but the vast majority of PCs out there are not used for remotely serious 3D/gaming and the (mini-)ITX for factor is generally not intended for gaming enthusiasts and 3D or GPGPU-dependent professionals... specially not SoC-based mITX boards.