Silent HTPC Build: Streacom DB4 case, ASRock Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX/ac, Core i5-7600, Sierra

[GerhardZ]

That's an awesome case! Thanks for sharing this. I'm considering this motherboard for my next upgrade. Have you already replaced the WiFi/BT module?

Thanks! The quality of this case is amazing. Really love it.

Yes, I managed to replace the BT/Wifi card already, but haven't yet started on getting the Broadcom 1560 card to work.

Am on a business trip this week, so will start tackling this on Friday.

 

[GerhardZ]

pictures of the build I did over the weekend:


Some

 

[smoldersonline]

Thank you for your feedback. I'm using a DW1560 on a different board right now. It was pretty easy to set up and it works very well. Happy to help, just let me know.

 

[GerhardZ]

Thank you for your feedback. I'm using a DW1560 on a different board right now. It was pretty easy to set up and it works very well. Happy to help, just let me know.

Thanks smoldersonline, I might just take you up on your offer.

BTW, does anyone understand why my two 3,5" 4TB WD Green drives aren't recognized? I formatted them Mac OS Extended, but after logging in I get two error messages saying that the drives aren't recognised.

I pulled these drives out of their WD MyBook enclosure to put them directly into my case. Does WD perhaps sabotage these drives to only work when they're in their My Book enclose, or could this be a SATA compatibility issue with the motherboard?

My 2 2,5" SSD drives work just fine.

EDIT:
Just did some Google research and found out the likely culprit: WD encrypts the data on the drives. The USB to SATA bridge is required to decrypt the data... bummer. Will have to reformat the drives.

 

[smoldersonline]

From what I see in your pics (thank you), the DW1560 has the same dimensions as the card that came with the board. For my new rig, I'm considering to use a BCM94360CD (with a mini PCI-E adapter). That combo would have a different size http://www.ebay.com/itm/251723761338 Would that somehow fit, do you think?

 

[GerhardZ]

From what I see in your pics (thank you), the DW1560 has the same dimensions as the card that came with the board. For my new rig, I'm considering to use a BCM94360CD (with a mini PCI-E adapter). That combo would have a different size http://www.ebay.com/itm/251723761338 Would that somehow fit, do you think?

Optically, that card looks quite a bit taller than the existing DW1560 card, so I don't think you'll be able to fit it into the shielding enclosure.

You could of course choose to plug it directly into the slot and trash the enclosure. Keep in mind however that you will then not be able to use the antenna that comes with the motherboard. Also, there's a motherboard battery attached to the enclosure, so you'll have to find some other place for that.

Hope that helps.

 

[smoldersonline]

Thank you - I understand and that helps. Is looks like the top and one side cover of the shielding enclosure is separate (so two parts). Would it maybe be an option to just not use that part and allow a taller card?

The board gets some great reviews. Sure hope you get it all to work!

 

[GerhardZ]

Did you figured how activate the thunderbolt port?

Sorry, not yet. AM trying to get HDMI Audio to work at the moment.

Hope to first get the basics sorted before I delve into the Thunderbolt.

 

[GerhardZ]

The Thunderbolt port it's also a mini displayport 1.2.
If works like the mini displayport I tested in an nvidia GPU, once activated, You will have native audio there.

I'll shift my focus to this as soon as I get some of the basics sorted... something which is proving to be a real pain.

Hopefully getting the Thunderbolt port working will be easier. Stay tuned.

 

[smoldersonline]

Good luck with your efforts! I'm guessing you've got WiFi/BT already sorted, right?