aha

>>32271 It's not all Nidec fans, just the ones they make for Intel to package with their CPU's :D

>>32269 oh you take that back! ;)

Nidec's Gentle Typhoon are one of the best fans I ever had. Noctua's come in second.

>>32268 The fan wasn't from a bad batch, all the Nidec fans are bad, you just have to hope you get a Delta or Foxconn with your Intel CPU.
The mobo is fine, it just has a few firmware issues that are a nuisance but not a show stopper. The whole system is running great now.

You really just have one from a bad batch. But all turned out well. Why didn't you RMA'ed the mobo?

Just fitted the new fan and it's working like a charm... ...well, so far anyway :D

I've ordered another fan to try, this time a foxconn, and I'll see how that goes. I use a fan speed reducer on the case fan but I wouldn't want to use one on a cpu fan as it will limit it's top speed and cause overheating when the cpu is working hard. I don't know why there has been a change to these newer 4 pin PWM fans, there was nothing wrong with the way you could control the speed of a 3 pin fan!?!
This fan problem has existed with all the firmwares, I've found other people also with the problem and most found using a delta or foxconn fan sorted the problem.
You're right that mobos can be like a lottery but I've used ASRock and Asus over the years and found them both to be very good. I think the big problem for ASRock is their desire to have a BIOS that looks really cool rather than one that works well.
I have a stable system now working as I want it s0 I'll stick with this setup, but I don't think I'll buy another ASRock mobo again.

If you decide to keep it, you can buy a fan speed reducer

http://tinyurl.com/slowdownmofu

>>32259 :( are you using the latest bios (1.50)? if so maybe revert back to a previous (stable) version.

Mobo's are a lot like lottery tickets. I had an Asus Maximus IV Impact that kicked the bucket (it's replacement worked fine though).

Do you still have warranty? I would replace it asap.

>>32258 I might try and so something with the Atom but it's stunningly weak in the power department! :D

I've had a couple of weird problems with my new system. The HDMI output to my TV in UEFI/BIOS is totally screwed up, it repeats the left side of the screen on the right (see photo). ASRock support told me to try another video mode in the BIOS but that was more problematic!?! But I'm set up now so I won't really need to use it again.

The other big problem I had was the fan running at full speed all the time. This seems to be a problem with Nidec fans that come with most intel processors. After messing about with settings in the BIOS I managed to get it to idle at 1000rpm, but I'm not entirely sure how or why. It's crazy that a stock intel fan doesn't work out of the box with a motherboard designed specifically for that cpu and fan!?!

I've asked ASRock to fix these issues in a BIOS update, but I doubt they ever will. UEFI seems to be a backward step from the good old BIOS that was just solid and reliable.

Oh I will NOT turn on FTP. I had it on once and got so many requests ..brr. Maybe there's an app that I haven't found yet. I'll figure it out next month.

You could use the Atom as a backup (gaming) server. No need to be that powerful. Or install Raspbian on it, and play Minecraft and/or Doom! ;)

>>32256 I think it's time to retire the Atom, it's from early 2010 and hasn't had any driver support for a couple of years and with Kodi moving to DX11 means it really doesn't work well. It also isn't powerful enough to decode HEVC/H265 video files. I had already overclocked it as far as I could and it was running at 100% cpu a lot of the time.

You might find that you can talk to your NAS with a different protocol such as FTP instead of Samba (SMB), or it may be it needs to have a deifned username and password or might only be able to use an anonymous setup. It's crazy how variable network file systems can be between different platforms.

What are you going to do with the old Atom setup?

I have Kodi on the Pi2, on just a 8GB SD-card. I do like the OS (cause free) just some things are a bit..different/weird. Like the clock that just doesn't want to display the correct time but that's not a big deal. Another small gripe is that it will not recognize the NAS (yet). Yet even my android phone sees it. Still, it runs all MKV & MP4 movies without any hiccups. And if need be I can turn it into a remote controlled car ;)

The HTPC (with W10) only uses an 256GB M.2 ssd. Movies, series, & games are stored on the NAS (2TB) but transferred to watch/play.

I'm using the same old case, Inwin BM639, with a PicoPSU 160XT power supply. I have a 500gb OS drive and a 1TB media drive. And of course my dual DVB-S2 HD satellite receiver card.

lovely lovely! oooh..Dual LAN! And good choice on the i3, I'm using the lesser 4160 which is enough for my 1080 tv.

And yeah, Windows 10 can and is a bitch to work with. But Kodi has its flaws too. However for just watching movies & series it's an amazing OS.

PS: What, no case?!

...And before you ask Grim, The spec is as follows...
ASRock H170M-ITX/DL Mobo
Intel i3-6300 CPU
8Gb DDR4 2133 Ram