MiSTer Mini-ITX Ironclad DX

The New MiSTer Mini-ITX Ironclad DX is probably the most feature rich MiSTer FPGA I/O board available, It is the TOP model of the MiSTer Mini-ITX Ironclad family of IO boards for desktop and entertainment center and the successor of the Ironclad Plus, with thousands of users worldwide. Built with the best quality and the experience of years. It is compatible with:

  • Terasic DE10-Nano
  • Mister Pi
  • Qmtech Cyclone V KFB (with and without integrated SDRAM). Requires different B-Board available as optional addon when purchase.

Make your MiSTer FPGA setup completely yours. Take any Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, or ATX (who said smaller is better) case you like and turn it into your definitive retro gaming machine, unmatched feature set is here. Go nuts!, use your imagination to mod the case as you want, add RGB lighting, transparent panels… The choice is yours and that is what all of this is about; features, freedom, and choice.

Highlights:

The only IO fully compliant with the Mini-ITX standard, no modding needed or adjustments, all headers are there, the back i/o shield is also included.

No over-complicated things or expensive unnecessary stuff, extremely easy assembly and install, play the best possible way. User experience and quality of life are key here, say good bye to the ratnest of cables going in and out to/from everywhere.

Built-in Mt32-Pi internal support using a Raspberry Pi Zero 2w without needing the internal Mt32-pi hat.

Integrated audio DAC with amplifier for the headphones outputs, perfectly balanced and adjusted for high-retro-fidelity without needing the Hi-Fi Blaster add-on.

Analog Devices 24-bit color video DAC, Texas Instruments audio DAC, Texas Instruments audio amplifier for headphones, Texas Instruments demultiplexers, Atmel microcontrollers, Samsung and Panasonic caps, etc. No cheap counterfeit chips are used, Unrivaled reliability and audio / video quality.

Sega Saturn RGB/S-Video type connector for analog A/V output. There are Saturn cables with much higher quality than the best MiSTer VGA to RGB/SCART cables, and they carry audio inside the same cable, like the RetroGamingCables Packapunch Pro Saturn cable, allowing less cables setup with noise-free image and audio without interference, the difference is very noticeable by anyone. This connector supports RGB and S-Video output with internal passive luma trap circuit. Just use the appropriate Saturn cable and edit the mister.ini file for RGB or S-Video. Composite video is also possible using a Saturn S-Video cable + cheap S-video to composite passive adapter/cable.

Two USB charging ports at the back to charge your controllers while the system is off.

Built in PSU on board, you only need a standard 5 volts power supply (2 Amps+) with 5.5mm barrel plug. The one included with your DE10-Nano (2 Amps) works for a basic setup, the one included, for example, with the QMTECH’s Cyclone V KFB (4 Amps) is enough for full complete build with Mt32-Pi and many extra devices. ATX Power connector is also on-board if you prefer to use it or have special power requirements for your dream’s build.

Dual SDRAM mode is supported compliant with the latest official I/O board v9.2 and works exactly the same, replace the GPIO1 bridge with the secondary SDRAM module and you are all set.

Adds physical and electrical protection to your DE10-Nano board with modern smart power distribution circuits protecting the system against over voltage, short circuits, and over current.

Use the single power button on your case to power on/off the Mister, also act as “Reset”, “Menu” and “USR” buttons depending on how, and how many times, you press the button. Simple and efficient. It just works!

Full SNAC compatibility. Enjoy the fully integrated, TRUE zero lag, controller/lightgun/joystick experience with two simultaneous players support. Featuring Standard USB3.0 type User port connector with official IO board v9.2 level of compatibility, SNAX branded devices are also compatible, and…

…DB9 connector with dual operation mode; SNAC8 mode for DB9 fork cores or official Megadrive 1-player SNAC. DB9 fork cores allow you to have two players in cores which officially do not supports them like the Megadrive core, or having SNAC support in cores that do not supports it officially, like Neo-Geo, control the MiSTer’s menu with a SNAC controller, and using DB9 MD or DB15 controllers to play SNES, NES and others. But anyways if you don’t use this forked cores this DB9 ports doubles up as a standard Megadrive 1-player SNAC for the official core.

Infrared remote control support with learning function to use with the optional remote control kit, or another remote if you want!, Welcome back to the 80’s!, feel the power of Infrared, turn on/off your MiSTer from your coach. Also reset, menu, and USR commands are available from the remote, as well as controlling the internal MT32-Pi. ProTip: you could get one of those “Media Center” remotes with a USB receiver for PC, use it to control the MiSTer’s menu and games, and map its spare buttons to control your Ironclad and the MT32-Pi hat via the remote commands learning feature.

Cabinet power mode; in this mode your Ironclad will turn on automatically with your arcade cabinet as you power it on. You can use any standard RGB to Jamma adapter available with your Ironclad build.

User friendly installation and future proof, compliant with the latest standards of the MiSTer FPGA project available to this date.

Clean interior design, because transparent side panels and RGB are a thing!

Now your wife/husband/partner will be more lenient about letting you having your retro gaming stuff hooked to the main TV ;p

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Full Features:

  • Fully compatible with standard Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, DTX or ATX cases.
  • You do not need to buy a PSU, the power adapter that came with your DE10-Nano (2 Amps) will work fine for a basic setup, for a more advanced setup, with Mt32-Pi or SSD for example, a more powerful adapter is recommended (>4 Amps).
  • ATX Power supply is also supported, use one or the other, not both at the same time.
  • 24-bit color analog video output.
  • Internal connectors for Raspberry Pi Zero 2w (mt32-Pi) and i2c OLED screen.
  • Integrated i2s audio DAC plus integrated headphones amplifier with dual purpose back 3,5mm jack connector for tape input and headphones output, also, HDAUDIO compliant internal connector for cases with integrated audio jacks.
  • Various internal illumination schemes, change the internal leds color to your liking.
  • Modification-free. Assemble and install inside your case and you are set, just like with any standard PC motherboard.
  • All functionality of the official I/O board v9.2, AV Board, USB hub with seven ports, Real Time Clock, and SNAC is included in a single board.
  • Internal USB port for internal SSD, wi-fi, 2.4G receiver, Bluetooth, you-name-it, and two USB headers for front case USB connectors, plus the four at the back panel.
  • Compatible with ANY model of MiSTer SDRAM module in the market. Space or orientation is not an issue anymore.
  • Dual SDRAM mode is supported compliant to the official I/O v9.2 with full hardware Reset/OSD/User buttons functionality. No analog video/audio output is available in this mode.
  • Ensure the MAXIMUM analog video quality thanks to the revamped precise DAC and wide & shielded track routing.
  • User port with SNAC official support plus DB9 SNAC8 port . Use your Genesis/MD/Atari original controllers/lightguns directly without adapters, SNES/PCE/Neo-Geo/PS1/N64, etc are also available. Official cores SNAC is supported for gamepads lightguns, mt32-pi, and everything available at the moment. Level shifters are integrated on board, so no level shifter external board is required for anything.
  • Custom made user-transparent Bios controlled functions using a fast MCU to keep things fluid and seamless.
  • All three MiSTer FPGA I/O buttons, “Reset”, “OSD” and “User”, are interfaced to the case “Power” single button. Depending on how many “clicks” you do, or for how long you press on the button it does one function or another. If the case also has a “Reset” button, reset functionality is also directly available on it. another duplicated “Reset”, “OSD” and “User” individual buttons are soldered directly on the board, with adjacent pin header holes in case you need them to customize your case as you wish.
  • Additional protection for your MiSTer FPGA!. The Ironclad provides over-voltage/short-circuit/over-current protection to your beloved FPGA board, it also controls power-up and power-down cycle to make it softer and safer than the usual hard switch on and off. Besides that it watches the installation has no critical mistakes, in which case it will cut the power to your DE10-Nano and flashes the led/beeps the buzzer to warn you.
  • The Ironclad DX has over voltage, short circuit, and over current protection, If a short circuit is detected on any of the USB ports or any other connected device it will shut down power to that device. Also if you happen to plug an incorrect power supply with higher voltage, or it breaks giving surge spikes, it will safely shut down and/or ignore it till a good power supply is connected.
  • Even more protection!. Featuring “Auto Fan Control” the Ironclad DX by default measures the temperature of your FPGA and sets the fan connected to the 12v 4-pins header acordingly to keep it fresh while being as silent as possible, if you prefer it also allows you to manually control the fans connected to its 12 volts PWM (4-pin) header in 8 speed steps to get the best compromise in refrigeration and noise. It also has a 5 volts 3-pin header (no speed control).
  • Compatible with internal “PC Speaker” or “piezoelectric buzzer”. Core dependant, like the Amiga one to simulate floppy access noises. The Custom BIOS also makes a nice “beep” sound when booting successfully, emits various tones when the user interacts with the buttons, and uses it for other warnings like boot/installation errors. Boot, reset and shutdown beeps can be muted using the “silent mode”.
  • HDAUDIO standard header on board for front case audio input and amplified headphones output.
  • Cleaner audio and image output, The Mini-ITX Ironclad DX uses separate power lines to run fans and other components prone to cause electrical noise, so analog outputs are as clean as they can possibly get.
  • No limit on how overkill you want your setup to be. If you want to use like 3 big fat 3.5″ HDDs to store your romsets, you can!, simply use a powerful ATX power supply, the Ironclad DX will not hold you back.

Differences with the Lite model:

The Ironclad DX has been developed to provide everything available for the MiSTer FPGA Project with no compromises, nothing has been left off the table, plus enhancements, more advanced features, and quality of life functions, compared to the Ironclad Lite the Ironclad DX has this additional features:

  • 24-bit color analog video output.
  • Built in audio DAC and headphones amplifier (Hi-Fi Blaster accessory built in)
  • Real time clock on board.
  • 7 total USB ports, Lite has 6.
  • Headphones jack on board.
  • Tape audio input for cores supporting loading games from external analog cassette.
  • Sega Saturn console type a/v output with RGB and S-Video with luma trap.
  • USB charge ports for your controllers while the system is off.
  • Automatic fan speed regulation based on FPGA temperature.
  • DB9 connector doubling up as DB9 SNAC8 user port or official Megadrive 1-player SNAC.

But, the Ironclad Lite has a capability the DX model does not have!, It fits inside Thin Mini-ITX cases (45 mm depth) while the DX requires a Mini-ITX case (60 mm depth), keep that in mind.

Basic build requirements:

To build your MiSTer Mini-ITX Ironclad DX you only need:

  • The Mini-Itx Ironclad DX Kit.
  • Your DE10-Nano (Or Mister Pi, or QMTECH’s Cyclone V KFBs) and, optionally, a MiSTer SDRAM module.
  • The case of your choice, It can be almost any of them, from 20€ like the black one in the pictures, to anything.

That’s all required, the Ironclad DX does not require a Pico-PSU.

Adding the “Massive Heatsink” add-on is highly recommended as it allows passive cooling operation and is made to fit perfectly on your MiSTer Ironclad build, you don’t need to buy a fan at all if you use it, so it saves money.

Basic assembly instructions are printed on the back of the PCB, in short it consists on connecting the included bridges to the Ironclad DX, lifting the temperature sensor and mounting your FPGA board over the pillars, mounting the included “B-Board” over the FPGA board, and connect the bridges to the FPGA board and B-board. Then connect the DB9-riser, mount the backplate with the DB9 and VGA nuts, introduce the block inside the case, and connect the front panel, USB, and HDAUDIO headers if available, to the case. That’s all.

Feel the Audio Difference:

The Mini-ITX Ironclad DX sports analog and digital audio out through the dual purpose 3,5mm / Mini-Toslink connector, just like the official I/O board. There’s also the headphones amplified audio output. There are many factors that affect analog audio quality, like the DAC used, signal routing, shielding and proper isolation. The Mini-ITX Ironclad DX uses the Texas PCM5102A DAC, and isolates the analog audio signals from other electrically noisy sources, like fans and power hungry interfaces like USB ports, it also uses solid electrolytic caps at the output, so all internal requirements for glorious audio quality are met. The rest of the job must be done by the carriers of the signals to your equipment, the cables…

Cables play a crucial role in transfering the analog audio signals, with standard cables there’s always some crosstalk and interferences coming from strong video signals. For us retro-gamers, the Sonic the Hedgehog’s completely white intro screen with the Sega logo and the choir’s voice playing… along with a background hum brings back fond memories, but that hum shouldn’t be there in the first place! It’s caused by a very strong video signal destroying the audio signal through the PCB or cable.

Here are some audio samples so you can hear the difference by yourself:

1-Sonic Intro, MiSTer Official IO v9.2, VGA to SCART AV cable, record from line-out jack, Megadrive core, no-filter:

2-Sonic Intro, Ironclad DX, no video cable, record from line-out jack, Megadrive core, no-filter:

3-Sonic Intro, Ironclad DX, Sega Saturn Packapunch Pro RGB cable, record from scart edge, Megadrive core, no-filter:

4-Gunstar Heroes, Ironclad DX, Sega Saturn Packapunch Pro RGB cable, record from scart side, Megadrive core, no-filter:

Record 1 is taken from official IO v9.2, with VGA to scart cable connected, at line-out jack. Record 2 is taken from the Ironclad DX line out with no analog video cable connected. Record 3 is taken from the Ironclad DX at the scart side of the Saturn Packapunch Pro RGB cable. Record 4 is like 3 and is here just for enjoyment ;). You can hear that the output at the Ironclad DX line-out is really good in record 2, and the quality is transferred perfectly through the Saturn double shielded high quality cable with no audible interference in record 3. No editing has been done to the recordings just cutting and compressing to publish here.

But this is not the whole story as the same applies backwards, strong audio signals can deteriorate the video signal or video signals between themselves!, it is a bit hard to show that here, as uncompressed video recordings from analog signals would be needed, but keep that in mind, The Ironclad DX in combination with a high quality Saturn AV cable is just unbeatable and it is noticieable by the naked eye/ear.

Assembly and Instructions:

Manual will be available here…

Pricing and sales:

Availability: The MiSTer Mini-ITX Ironclad DX will be available on Feb 7, 2025 click HERE to see stock status and purchase!

The Mini-ITX Ironclad DX is assembled, tested, and shipped by myself, so there is a limit of units I can dispatch each month. There will be a pre-order system at first as the offer catches up with the demand. There will be a limit of units for each batch, as i want that everybody who paid for his board has it shipped in a reasonable amount of time meeting the given estimated dates. If a batch is running I will update the status with new important information at the front page, if there is any.