The MiSTer Mini-ITX Ironclad Plus is the best and first solution to make your MiSTer FPGA setup completely yours. Take any Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, or ATX (who said smaller is better) case you like and transform it into your definitive retro gaming machine, unmatched feature set is here. You can also go nuts and use your imagination to mod the case as you want, add RGB, transparent panels… The choice is yours and that is what all of this is about; features, freedom, and choice.
- Highlights
- Full Features
- The Audio Expansion Connector
- Manuals, Assembly and Instructions
- Prices and Sales
Highlights:
The only IO fully compliant with the Mini-ITX standard, no modding needed or adjustments, all headers are there, even the back i/o shield is included.
No over-complicated things or expensive unnecessary stuff, assemble, install, and play the best possible way. User experience and quality of life are key here.
Adds physical, electrical and thermal protection to your DE10-Nano board.
All official MiSTer addon boards in a single board, nothing is left behind, SDRAM module not included by default, and many, many more exclusive features not available anywhere else.
Full SNAC official compatible plus SNAC8 only available on boards with the DB9 type User port connector. Enjoy the fully integrated, TRUE zero lag, controller/lightgun/joystick experience with two simultaneous players support. Standard USB3.0 type User port connector is also on board with official IO board 6.1 level of compatibility, SNACX accessories are also compatible.
Bundled Infrared remote control with learning function on board to use other remote if you want!, Welcome back to the 80’s!, 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 Hat. Pro tip: 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 the Ironclad Plus and the MT32-Pi hat via the remote learning feature.
Mega Drive II / Genesis II RGB and Composite compatible AV Out for the highest quality available and single video+audio cable wiring.
Better video quality output. Thanks to the precise video DAC, the video output level is higher and more accurate than the official i/o board. Enjoy higher brightness and better contrast.
Cabinet power mode; in this mode your Ironclad Plus will turn on automatically with your cabinet as you power it on. You can use any standard RGB to Jamma adapter available with your Ironclad plus build.
User friendly installation and future proof, thanks to its detachable individual interconnects.
Use the single power button on your case to power on/off the Mister, which also acts as “reset”, osd and “usr” buttons. Simple and efficient. It just works!
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
Full Features:
- Fully compatible with standard Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, DTX or ATX cases.
- Modification-free. Assemble and install inside your case and you are set, just like with any standard PC motherboard.
- All functionality of the official Analog I/O board, USB hub with seven ports, Real time clock, Tape In, and SNAC is included in a single board with DB9 port and official USB3.0 type connector.
- Built-in Real Time Clock module, essential for your computer cores and an often overlooked but a really nice feature!. The MiSTer allows savegame syncing with the cloud, but how does it know which savegames are newer than others if your MiSTer is not always connected to the internet while playing and creating such save game files?, the answer is the RTC module, enjoy the cloud sync feature without worrying if your save game files are syncing correctly or not, you will always get the latest file replacing the older ones, not the other way around.
- Compatible with ANY model of SDRAM module in the market. Space or orientation is not a problem for this.
- Ensure the MAXIMUM analog video quality using the built in Mega Drive II/Genesis II/32X video-out connector for RGB/YPbPr/CVBS. Finding very high quality Scart cables is not easy, they are never double shielded and wires are thin for space reasons, just like VGA cables, they have simply too many conductors inside a single cable. On the opposite console double shielded ultra-high quality cables are readily available from sellers like RetroGamingCables.co.uk, and they also carry stereo sound!. Say good bye to “buzzing” sound and picture noise. This connector is far less prone to connection problems than Scart sockets.
- DB9 connector User port with SNAC official plus SNAC8 support. Use your Genesis/MD/Atari original controllers/lightguns directly without adapters, SNES/PCE/Neo-Geo/PS1, etc are also available. Official cores SNAC is supported for gamepads lightguns, and everything available at the moment, also SNAC Extension capability is included to unveil the true power of this interface allowing 2 players and more retro controller versatility. You can also connect your MT32-pi directly to this port. Standard USB3.0 shaped user port is also integrated on board, SNACX is also included, your choice!.
- 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 DE10-Nano 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.
- Even more protection!. Featuring a “Smart Fan Control” the Ironclad Plus detects how hot your FPGA is running, and control the fans connected to its PWM (4-pin) headers accordingly while keeping the noise as low as possible. If temperature rises to dangerous levels, it will warn you flashing the led and turn off your DE10-nano safely if the situation continues. Setting fans speed manually is also available in 8 selectable speed levels.
- Internal USB port for internal storage, wi-fi, you-name-it, and two USB headers for front case USB connectors.
- Cassette audio input connector to enjoy the feeling of being loading the original stuff, hummm.
- 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 thermal or 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 plus I2S audio enhancement plug-in module expansion, more information on this BELOW.
- Compatible with 20-pin or 24-pin ATX power supply or Pico-PSU. Please always use reputable power supplies for all your electronics.
- Future proofing!, thanks to its detachable individual interconnects you can remove one and install an addon accessory released in the future if you want, or use dual SDRAM modules if a future core needs it (limited Reset/OSD/User buttons functionality in case of Dual SDRAM). The choice is yours.
- It has the usual “SOG” switch, and VGA outputs 5 volts for accessories like the external RGB to composite/S-video adapter.
- Cleaner audio and image output, The Mini-ITX Ironclad Plus 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.
- Now 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 power suply strong enough for that, the Ironclad Plus will not hold you back.
The Audio Expansion Connector:
The Mini-ITX Ironclad Plus sports analog and digital audio out through Mini-Toslink connector, just like the official I/O board, using a dual purpose female audio jack connector. The Ironclad additionally features analog audio out through the Console A/V out connector. Digital audio out is just perfect quality wise, while the Sigma Delta DAC built in the DE10-Nano have a more standard sound quality, but it can sound pretty good also using good quality components and proper signal routing!. The Mini-ITX Ironclad isolates the analog audio signals from other electrically noisy sources, like fans and power hungry interfaces like USB ports, and uses solid electrolytic caps at the output, that is why it sounds like this by default with no additional audio modules or enhancements attached:
It sounds pretty good right?, but i know there are a lot of audiophiles out there who only want the best of the best, and that is why i built an interface on board to support an audio enhancement module; The Ironclad Hi-Fi BLASTER.
Connecting this module adds a better I2S DAC to your Ironclad Plus which improves the analog audio out quality of all connectors. It is plug and play, connect it, flip a switch on your DE10-Nano and you are set. having this module on board also enables the headphones amplified audio out for front panel connector on-board (the HDAUDIO header), you can also install your own female headphones audio jack if it is not included with your case. The audio expansion connector on board can also be used to connect your I2S dac board of choice, also plug-and-play, no modification needs to be done to the Mini-ITX Ironclad Plus, instructions to do that are available in the manual section.
Assembly and Instructions:
Complete guide available HERE
Pricing and sales:
Availability: The MiSTer Mini-ITX Ironclad Plus is already out click HERE to see stock status and purchase!
The Mini-ITX Ironclad Plus is assembled and tested in my own workshop by myself, so there is a limit of units I can manufacture each month. There will be a pre-order system at first, with 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. New batches will be offered for pre-order as the previous batch is being finished and starts shipping, i will update about this via Twitter and this web’s “News” section.
This page will probably be updated, changed format, more info added, new pictures uploaded, etc, during the evolution of the project, so stay tuned, and thank you very much for your interest!