Justin said:
I like this Antec better - its smaller.
Think about it - if I have to get a foam box to sio this thing in; the
smaller the better.
There are smaller motherboards than microATX. But the
thing is, you're pretty well stuck with whatever is
onboard in terms of peripheral interfaces. For example,
I'm having trouble finding Firewire here. These particular
ones are good, because they don't have VIA processors on
them. You still have to find a proper power solution,
and this is the kind of project where it helps to be
able to measure power consumption, to make sure everything
is margined properly. (You don't want to be on the road
somewhere, and the power supply pops because it was
overloaded from day one.)
http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=52#9300-ITX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500022
They make cases that look like stereo equipment, but
with those, you're restricted on storage devices. Even
the RAM can be special for some of these builds - fortunately,
Kingston has been making low profile RAM (I have some), so
there is more of it around. The low profile RAM is sometimes
needed, to make room for other things in the case. That is how
tiny some of these things are.
http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=3
This case uses a slot load (slim) optical drive, presumably one
that runs from +5V only. That is the kind of thing you'd find
in a laptop. If you go with 2.5" hard drives, you might be running
those from +5V as well. This unit has a 200W power supply.
Dimensions 10.6" x 10.4" x 3.5". There is just enough 12V
to run a 65W processor.
Winsis Wi-02 Black SGCC / ABS Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case 200W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811234021
http://www.winsis.com/ewebeditor/UploadFile/2009210173939387.pdf
You can adapt 2.5" drives to fit a 3.5" bay, with this. The
break-away end plates, hold two drives one above the other.
You may need right angle SATA cables, depending on how
cramped things are.
http://www.startech.com/item/SATA35252X-35-Bay-to-Dual-25-SATA-HDD-Adapter.aspx
I don't know whether I'd want to use a slot load optical drive,
but the case ends up being smaller. It's just a question of
how well the power supply holds up, and what kind of noise
level it produces. (Some small supplies use 40mm fans, and
they can be irritating when the fan spools up.)
This TFX supply looks like it might be a replacement for the
one in that case. One reviewer commented it was a bit wider
than standard. It is a Seasonic 300W and it is 80% efficient.
So this might be a suitable replacement for the one already
in the case.
+3.3V @ 20A, +5V @ 20A , +12V1 @ 18A, +12V2 @ 18A, -12V @ 0.8A, +5VSB @ 2.0A
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151070
If the mini-ITX motherboard has a PCI Express slot, you
don't plan on adding a video card (as you're power limited),
then the slot can be used for Firewire. This particular card
is more expensive than another one Startech makes, but this
one comes with a low profile faceplate. And you'd likely need
that for this build. Or, you can get the $30 one, and just
bash the faceplate into shape.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158111&Tpk=PEX1394A2DV
http://www.startech.com/item/PEX1394A2DV-2-Port-PCI-Express-1394a-FireWire-Adapter-Card.aspx
So small is fun, but you need wodges of cash and nerves of
steel, to get the thing built. And on occasion, be familiar
with Dremel, hammer, and tongs, to beat things into shape.
In that build, you'd be using built-in video. And hopefully,
a stock CPU cooler fits in there. Planning is a nightmare,
when they don't provide good documentation.
Paul
