Asrock N100DC-ITX – Almost Perfect! But...

Summary

In this video, the creator discusses the Asrock N100DC-ITX motherboard, ideal for low-power, small form factor home servers. While the board features a passively cooled 4-core CPU with a low TDP of 6W and supports an M.2 slot for additional storage, its main limitation is the ability to connect only two hard drives. The video outlines a solution to power the board with a standard ATX power supply, enabling users to connect more drives. It also covers power consumption, hardware transcoding capabilities, and the performance of the N100 in various server tasks, showcasing its efficiency and potential for DIY NAS builds.

Takeaways

• 😀 The Asrock N100DC-ITX is designed for low-power small form factor home servers, featuring a passively cooled 4-core CPU with a TDP of just 6W.
• 🔌 It can be powered using a single 19V power brick and draws less than 6 watts at idle, making it energy-efficient.
• 💾 The motherboard supports only two SATA ports, limiting the number of hard drives that can be connected, which is a significant drawback for DIY NAS setups.
• 🔧 A workaround for the limited SATA ports is to use a 6-port ASMedia card, allowing for a total of 8 SATA ports without power management issues.
• ⚡ The N100DC-ITX lacks a standard 24-pin ATX connector, but it can accept a power supply between 12V and 20V, enabling custom power solutions.
• 🔋 Powering drives through the motherboard's JST connector is risky due to its low amperage rating, especially for spinning hard drives.
• 🖥️ The system can achieve power consumption levels as low as 5.2W at idle and around 10.9W with multiple drives connected in sleep mode.
• 📶 The motherboard includes a PCIe x2 slot suitable for a 10-gigabit networking card, offering potential for high-speed data transfers.
• 🎥 The N100's integrated GPU supports hardware video transcoding and AV1 decoding, showing decent performance for 1080p and 4K content.
• 🚀 Overall, the N100DC-ITX is a highly efficient NAS solution when optimized, capable of running virtual machines and basic server tasks with low power consumption.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the Asrock N100DC-ITX motherboard?

The Asrock N100DC-ITX is designed as a low-power, small form factor motherboard ideal for home servers.

What is the TDP rating of the CPU on the N100DC-ITX?

The CPU on the N100DC-ITX has a TDP rating of 6 watts.

What are the connectivity options available on the N100DC-ITX?

The N100DC-ITX features an M.2 slot, an open-ended PCIe x2 slot, and two SATA ports.

What limitation does the N100DC-ITX have regarding hard drive connectivity?

The N100DC-ITX can only support two hard drives due to having only two SATA ports and a limited power connector.

How can you increase the number of SATA ports available on the N100DC-ITX?

You can use a 6-port ASMedia card to add additional SATA ports to the N100DC-ITX.

What is the power source requirement for the N100DC-ITX?

The N100DC-ITX requires a 19V power supply, but it can operate with a voltage between 12V and 20V.

What method was suggested to power multiple drives using the N100DC-ITX?

A custom power supply cable can be made using a 4-pin CPU power extension cable and a DC jack to terminal block adapter.

What is the reported power consumption of the N100DC-ITX at idle?

At idle, the N100DC-ITX draws about 5.2 watts with proper power management settings.

How does the N100DC-ITX perform in terms of hardware video transcoding?

The N100DC-ITX performs adequately for hardware video transcoding, achieving 125 FPS for 1080p H264 and 35 FPS for 4K H264.

What is a notable feature of the iGPU on the N100DC-ITX?

The iGPU on the N100DC-ITX supports AV1 decoding, which is beneficial for playing back AV1 content.