N100 Mini-ITX Silent PC Build

Silent Mini-ITX PC build using an ASRock N100DC-ITX motherboard with an Intel N100 processor.

At the time of upload, the ASRock N100DC-ITX motherboard was available from:

TechImage:

The “Explaining PC Front Panel Connectors” video I mentioned is here:

The video first where I first built my i3 4300T Mini-ITX system is here:

And the video where I added a removable 2.5 inch drive bay is here:

Oh, and in this recent video I discuss important factors when choosing an SSD:

More videos on computing and related topics can be found at:

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:57 ASRock N100DC-ITX
05:37 RAM, SSD & PSU
08:33 Out with the Old
10:45 In with the New
12:48 Performance (Linux Mint)
17:41 Power Use
18:53 Wrap

#N100 #Mini-ITX #SilentPC #ExplainingComputers

[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!

[ypat]

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.

[Gorf]

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.

[kurnma]

What a beautiful rig.

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

[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 Thank you for the video Chris, and take care.

[flemtone]

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

[LucS]

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

[clooi]

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 !

[watching_events]

Nice build.

I recently bought an N100 mini PC for running Jellyfin, pihole, and Nextcloud.

Performs well, at just 6 watts draw.

[bobby]

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.

[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.

[horseradishpower]

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.

[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!

[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!

[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.

[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!

[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!

[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.

[martinenglish]

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.

[atonal]

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.