AOpen MZ855-II (Mac Mini-sized Pentium M)

Info & chat about quiet prebuilt, small form factor and barebones systems, people's experiences with vendors thereof, etc.

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sneaker
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AOpen MZ855-II (Mac Mini-sized Pentium M)

Post by sneaker » Sat Aug 06, 2005 12:46 pm

Looks like this little unit is finally appearing in stores after it was first shown off a few months ago, and there's now a review in English (well, two different ones from the same person). Have to use the Google URLs to bypass the registration page:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&c ... 855ii.html
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&c ... 855ii.html

It sounds promising from a noise perspective:
However, as you'd hope with a chassis that makes aesthetics a priority, it's extraordinarily quiet. The CPU is actively cooled, but the 70mm fan is almost silent. AOpen claims it produces only 22dBA even at full pelt, which is less than the majority of hard disks. With the passively cooled 150W PSU in an externally attached brick, there are no other fans to increase levels of audibility. So the MZ855-II would be ideal for any location where low noise is a priority.
The main limitation is it only supports half-height AGP video cards, so the hunt will be on for a decent one. Most are crippled with 64-bit RAM though one search returned this GeCube 9600XT. Another problem is that even when the card itself is low profile, they don't necessarily include a half-height bracket. The Shuttle SD11G5, on the other hand, will take standard PCI-E cards, has the 915GM chipset and a Sound Blaster Live on-board. The problem is that, while the first pictures appeared months ago, there's still no word on the Shuttle's availability (closest thing I've seen to an ETA is "autumn"). I'm not sure I can resist getting the AOpen unit in the meantime :D

When I was looking at SFF PCs a few weeks ago to replace my Black Monolith (aka Antec BQE) I was really disappointed at what was on offer, expecting by now there'd be an updated "Zen". It took a while, but it looks like they've finally arrived.

rpsgc
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Post by rpsgc » Sat Aug 06, 2005 1:46 pm

Too bad they went with the 855 chipset and not the newer 915G.

who1zep
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Post by who1zep » Tue Aug 16, 2005 9:20 pm

Sneaker,

I'm building one of those right now. I scoped out a Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9600SE 128MB Low Profile AGP Video Card for $99 here.

I'm assuming that the onboard VGA video won't do 1920x1200, which I need for my mighty Dell 24" widescreen that'll be sitting right next to it when I'm done.

I'm ordering from Europe to get the BLACK model, which looks better and matches my monitor.

At a similar thread I started someone mentioned another video card: http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... 539#204539

Moderator Edit: Oversized URL

sneaker
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Post by sneaker » Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:26 pm

I note from your other post that the MZ855-II is actually quite a bit larger than the Mac Mini, so perhaps "Mac Mini-shaped" would have been a more appropriate title for this thread.

Look forward to your comments on the noise level and whether the fan can easily be substituted if need be. Unfortunately, it still hasn't appeared in stores in Australia, or I'd have bought one already, as it beats all the existing SFF offerings with their internal PSUs. That said, availability is the only reason I would buy this unit over the Shuttle SD11G5. The latter won't be available until late September according to one user here who received a reply from Shuttle.

elec999
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Post by elec999 » Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:44 pm

I wonder whats the noise of this pc, and also whats the power usage. Where in usa or Canada can I purchase it.
Thanks

hmsrolst
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Post by hmsrolst » Wed Aug 17, 2005 4:27 pm

I'd sure like to know how quiet that CPU fan really is, and when this will be available in black in the U.S.

Schlotkins
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Post by Schlotkins » Thu Sep 29, 2005 5:35 pm

Any more info on these? I'm looking at one ... I wonder if the iRAM would fit in the expansion slot?

pipperoni
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Post by pipperoni » Thu Sep 29, 2005 9:09 pm

AOpen has announced their 915 P-M version of this low profile SFF and even the standard shuttle size 915 P-M is listed on their XCube page (too bad the XCube webpage layout is so bloody awful you can't find anything on it).

Press release for MZ-915-M

If you go to AOpen's XCube Specifications sheet and use the pull down menu, you can see specs for the low profile MZ-915-M and the normal Shuttle size EZ-915-M.

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Post by NeilBlanchard » Thu Nov 03, 2005 8:37 am

Greetings,

Here's an update on this unit:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27406

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Post by MikeC » Thu Nov 03, 2005 8:58 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:Greetings,

Here's an update on this unit:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27406
Actually, the AOpen miniPC and the MZ915 are not the same product. The former is the mac-alike; the latter is a half-height SFF system.

I have a MZ915 system on the test bench right now. Some issues with the fan controller is delaying things.

Jarno
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Post by Jarno » Tue Nov 15, 2005 7:52 am

MikeC wrote: I have a MZ915 system on the test bench right now. Some issues with the fan controller is delaying things.
I have just built a system on the MZ-915 M. I'd like to share my observations. First the system setup:

- AOpen MZ-915 M
- Intel Pentium M 740 (1.73 GHz, 533 MHz)
- 2 x 1 GB Kingston Valueram DDR2 533MHz
- Seagate Barracuda ATA V 80GB
- IBM branded Panasonic DVD-ROM drive (PATA)
- Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
- DTemp for HDD temperature monitoring
- Z-CPU for system info
- all updates from Windows Update, also checked no newer drivers exist from AOpen, Intel, etc.

Major issues:

1. System airflow is insufficient. Built on instructions, after some heavy-duty installation work HD temperature was reported to be 60 degrees Celsius!!

2. Sims 2 crashes the Intel Graphic driver some 1-2 hours into the game play in random locations. XP usable with color-mangled 640x400 VGA, tells Intel Graphics driver did not respond (hanged).

3. Running case open with an extra fan blowing above the ICH6, 915G, RAM and below HDD cools the system to hover around 30 degrees celsius, and my kids just reported Sims 2 NOT hanging for some 2-3 hour gameplay.

4. AOpen Quick Installation Guide has a picture of 915, where ICH6 chip has a (small) heatsink. My system has this chip WITHOUT any heatsink! (like the corresponding chip in the 855 figure on the same guide)

5. Running case closed and with the CPU fan only, but most of the left side openings covered causes more airflow between the HD and the ICH6, this made the HD report temperatures around 48-50 C instead of the 59-60 C.

6. DDR2 533 RAM is clocked at 399 MHz by the system. Z-CPU shows the RAM SPD data to include 3 modes:
- 200 MHz w/ 3-3-3-9 timing
- 266 MHz w/ 4-4-4-12 timing
- 266 MHz w/ 5-4-4-12 timing

Both Z-CPU and memtest86+ (http://www.memtest.org/) show the system running the RAM at 399 MHz with 4-4-4-12 timing, although the BIOS tells the RAM to be running at "533MHz". Setting the BIOS to "400 MHz" causes the RAM to be clocked at 133 MHz!

7. I tested setting the memory to the 3-3-3-9 timing as reported in it's SPD data, but XP crashes randomly and the memtest86+ tests fail to complete with that setting. It could be the memory, but I started to feel maybe AOpen is running the memory at 400 MHz on purpose, what if the system is actually incapable of running the standard DDR2 533 MHz speed (as advertized AND told by the BIOS)?

Minor issues:

8. System has only one P-ATA channel connector, I had to use an old ATA cable to connect both the HD and the DVD-ROM. Now the HD is limited to UltraDMA mode 2 (33MHz) due to the 40-pin cable and the DVD on the same channel.

9. Advertized SPDIF coax out doesn't exist, even though the system came with a loose cable for "coax out". The ONLY SPDIF output is in the FRONT, and it is optical. For HTPC applications a coax out in the REAR is what is needed.

10. DVI digital out seems to require either an ADD2 card in the PCI Express x16 slot, or a full PCI Express x16 graphics card. Seems that there are not many suitable ones (low profile).

11. AOpen specs say the unit has 8 USB ports: 2 in the back, 2 in front, and 4 on board. In fact the 2 in the front + the card reader are connected to the on board headers, there seems to be one free on board.

12. Motherboard headers and jumpers are undocumented. The figure in the Quick Install Guide does not match with the real board, and the markings in the board leave a lot to be guessed, at least for me.

Positive points:

13. System is well capable of showing WMV HD video (both 720p and 1080p) my 1280x1024 LCD panel. 1080p playback has CPU utilization of around 65% during playback. Did not notice any stutter on the image!

14. Sims 2 game play seems OK, even if antialiasing etc. cannot be turned on due to the limitations of the Intel 915 graphics.


I have still couple of days to decide whether to return the M915 or to keep it. If it stays up with the added ventilation, I'll try to locate a quiet system fan (there is a 3-pin header for it) and have some airflow between the HD
and ICH6+i915G+RAM. If this works out I might keep it in the hopes that AOpen manages to fix the BIOS and run the memory at spec'd speed.

My experience with AOpen tech support this far is abysmal: I have left 2 notes on their Dr.AOpen system with NO feedback whatsoever. But their other products seem to have updated BIOSes available, so maybe there is hope?

Additionally, I'd like to know if the AOpen SilentTEK utility works with this unit? There is one for download for the i915G based motherboard product.

I have tried to locate a slot loading DVD-multi burner, but the Panasonic models are OEM only and I haven't yet found a reseller for those.

Regards,

Jarno

MikeC
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Post by MikeC » Tue Nov 15, 2005 9:53 am

Jarno --

Thanks for the info. We'll consider your findings carefully and see if any of the behaviors you see are repeated for us here in the lab. Right now, we're waiting for a new sample. Turns out the first one had a corrupted BIOS that was causing problems.

Jarno
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Post by Jarno » Wed Nov 16, 2005 4:53 pm

UPDATE:
Jarno wrote:3. Running case open with an extra fan blowing above the ICH6, 915G, RAM and below HDD cools the system to hover around 30 degrees celsius, and my kids just reported Sims 2 NOT hanging for some 2-3 hour gameplay.
No crashes at all when running case open & with an extra fan!
Jarno wrote:7. I tested setting the memory to the 3-3-3-9 timing as reported in it's SPD data, but XP crashes randomly and the memtest86+ tests fail to complete with that setting. It could be the memory, but I started to feel maybe AOpen is running the memory at 400 MHz on purpose, what if the system is actually incapable of running the standard DDR2 533 MHz speed (as advertized AND told by the BIOS)?
Above testing was done without the extra fan (but case open). Now, with the extra fan the memory works at the 3-3-3-9 latency timings, as they should since the system is running them at DD2-400 speed. I have the memtest86+ running on the system right now, plan to leave it on overnight to be absolutely sure.
Jarno wrote:Additionally, I'd like to know if the AOpen SilentTEK utility works with this unit? There is one for download for the i915G based motherboard product.
I tried this out, but could not get it to work. SpeedFan the same story.

Regards,

Jarno

Jarno
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Post by Jarno » Sun Nov 20, 2005 3:19 am

Jarno wrote:UPDATE:
Jarno wrote:3. Running case open with an extra fan blowing above the ICH6, 915G, RAM and below HDD cools the system to hover around 30 degrees celsius, and my kids just reported Sims 2 NOT hanging for some 2-3 hour gameplay.
No crashes at all when running case open & with an extra fan!
Added 60x60x10 fans for chassis ventilation, case closed the BIOS reports case temperatures arounf 40 C. Now everything else works, but Sims 2 repeatedly crashes the graphics driver after about 2 hours of game play. THis did not happen with case open and the bigger fan.

There is either severe design flaw by AOpen or my unit is faulty. Will have to return the unit tomorrow :-(

Jarno

who1zep
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MZ855-II

Post by who1zep » Sun Jan 01, 2006 1:03 am

hmsrolst wrote:I'd sure like to know how quiet that CPU fan really is, and when this will be available in black in the U.S.
Sorry, Dude. The black MZ855 will never be available in the US. However, the MZ915 is black.
  • I bought mine from a German ebay seller to get the black MZ855-II (DDR-333).
    The newer chipset model with faster supported RAM (DDR2-533) is the MZ915.
    ... The above models are shoebox-sized.
    The Mac Mini-sized model is the MP915 (pre-production name Pandora) (DDR2-533) (silver).
My MZ855-II has been running fine. I have a Pentium M 1.73GHz chip and 1GB DDR-333 RAM. I use it for web, office, mp3 burning, some wav editing, no games.

I am able to run my Dell 2405FPW @ 1920x1200 with the on-board graphics, VGA out. It does not have DVI out. The picture was pretty bad with an extension, so I bought a long VGA cable and now it's an excellent picture for my apps.

I need the long cable because I keep the computer in my closet, just like my old ATX-sized computer. My room is much cooler without the old computer's 300W power supply, Pentium 1.0GHz chip and ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon video card with fan making a bunch of extra heat.

I put the MZ855-II on a piece of foam to keep the vibration of the unit from making a hum on the open-end TV cabinet the unit sits on. Nevertheless, I could still hear the stock AOpen 60mm cooler fan making a cyclical humming sound, and I'm not sure the speed was adjusting. I replaced it with a speed-control-enabled fan, and the cyclical hum was fixed.

I experimented with running the unit with no cooler fan, but backed off when the chip temp would not stop going up. I haven't measured the temps since.

It is not silent. I still hear the CPU fan easily with the door open. The 3.5" Seagate Barracuda 7200.7, 160GB drive clicks occasionally and is probably causing the vibration that the foam seat is thwarting. Perhaps I could try a bigger fan, but a bigger 80mm fan would not screw into the side of the cooler as intended. The case has a ventilation grid down the entire length and height of both sides of the case. The heat from the heatsink gets blown directly out the side of the unit, instead of down onto the chip. However, all internal noise escapes due to the 'open' sides.

I'm glad I built the machine. My old ATX had a very buggy ABIT board, and I was always opening the sucker up. I haven't had to do that with the new AOpen, plus it's much cooler, quieter and smaller.

I will build a MP-915 Mini PC in the near future for my office, and start/contribute to a thread on the issue. Hopefully, it's quiet enough to sit on my desk next to another 24" Dell monitor. That would be too cool. Image

Got my system's specs in my new siggy, below.
Last edited by who1zep on Mon Jan 02, 2006 3:06 pm, edited 4 times in total.

hmsrolst
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Post by hmsrolst » Sun Jan 01, 2006 8:44 am

Thanks very much for the nice mini-review. I'm looking forward to hearing about the 915 models.

NeilBlanchard
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Post by NeilBlanchard » Sat Mar 04, 2006 5:15 pm

Greetings,

Anand Tech has done a review.

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