BrooksyX Mini-Itx Rig

[BrooksyX]

So ive been kinda bored lately and wanted to build a new since that is always fun.
Sadly I don't have tons of extra funds (about $110 in paypal) and I don't want to part out my current rig either.

So I thought of a great idea. Why not build a lower power mini-itx rig for under $200!

I thought about picking up an atom 330 setup but the atom is just to slow in my opinion so I am going with a low power celeron 775 and 775 mini itx board. I now have about $80 left in paypal and I could probably part with another $50~75 of my own cash.

Here is what I have:
-35w Celeron 440 on the way (thanks dark2099)
-2x 1gb of cheap ddr2 ram (thanks dark2099)
-Stock intel heatsink

What I need:
-Case
-PSU
-HDD
-Motherboard

For the motherboard I was thinking Zotac NF630I-D-E for $47.99 shipped after MIR:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NGP6EU/?tag=tec06d-20

For the case I want to go as small as possible. Don't even need dvd drive.
I was liking this one but it is a little spendy compared to other psu/case combos:
http://cgi.ebay.com/M350-Mini-ITX-F...2|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50

HDD doesn't really matter. Any 80gb+ Sata laptop drive will do.

And then probably windows 7 for the OS.

What do you guys think? And of course I will post pics.

 

[BrooksyX]

Reserved

 

[Geofrancis]

i dont think that power supply with the itx case will power that that motherboard+cpu i had a 70w dc psu hooked up to my dualcore intel atom board and that wouldnt start up with it and that was with no hard drives/cd drives hooked up i think you should get a 120w psu to make sure it will power everything.

 

[BrooksyX]

I think I am gonna go with this case and psu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121090

Its $55 shipped at derictron. The psu is 120w. Also looks like i'm gonna get a sweet deal on a 630i.

 

[Geofrancis]

thats a nice case i was going to get that for my server but i ended up getting a morex 669 cube case with a 200w psu

see here http://forums.techpowerup.com/showpost.php?p=1337651&postcount=66

 

[BrooksyX]

Looks like a pretty sweet rig. I wanna go as small as possible. If this rig turns out nice I might just sell my main rig and use this. I am going of to WSU in the fall and I am going to be living in the dorm the first year. So having a tiny pc would be an advantage. The only downside is the lack of graphics power but I am not really a huge gamer. I mainly use my pc for web browsing/schoolwork/ and as a media center.

Right now I am just waiting on a deal to go through on that motherboard. Once it does I will probably order everything else.

 

[Pinchy]

For my mini itx, I have an EPIA mini ITX motherboard, with a 1GHz VIA CPU. Got a 1GB SODIMM PC2700 RAM stick in there.

I have paired it up with a 500GB WD HDD and 120mm fan to cool it, 60mm fan to exhaust hot air from the case and for a power supply, the motherboard has an onboard DC-DC converter...so I just plug a 60W AC adapter into it and off she goes. There is also a gigabit LAN card.

I mean, its not slow for what it is. Its currently running apache, file transfer software, eset secuirty suite, ventrilo server, php, mysql, filezila and the printer - and there isnt that much lag.


Recently as well, I added a DVD burner. But to keep it small, I got a laptop burner and IDE converter, so it didnt take all that much room .

The case was made of a cut out motherboard tray and some acrylic.


Now to keep stuff small, I would say you should get:

1.8 or 2.5" hard drive...or if you dont need storage a 16GB CF card with CF --> IDE adapter.
Slim DVD burner
DC-DC converter (so the power supply is an AC adapter)

 

[BrooksyX]

Well right now I can't decide between these two cases:

http://www.apextechusa.com/products.asp?pID=179

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121090&Tpk=hec mini-itx

They are both about the same price. However the Apex is about twice as tall but less wide and bigger psu. The Hec is a lot thinner but only has 120w and is wider.

One plus if I go with the Apex case is I could probably keep my q6600 or go with an e7xxx/e8xxx cpu. I could also use one of my PCs HDDs and DVD-Drive.
With the HEC case i would have to go with the celeron 440 I have on the way.
But I do love how small the HEC case is.


edit: I noticed a local pc shop has the Apex case but the color shown is different. I might call and ask if they have the all black one:
http://enuinc.com/cas-ape-itx-001.html

 

[Geofrancis]

the apex case will let you have some room to upgrade and install a pci-e card so you can add a graphics card if you wanted. as for putting a quad in it or a dual core the zotac motherboard it does support it but its only single channel ram so you would lose 10-20% performance on most applications. even tho the board only has a pci-e x1 slot a cheap 8400gs or hd4350 chopped down to fit into the slot would work perfect and give you hd video acceleration.

see http://forums.techpowerup.com/showpost.php?p=1273232&postcount=1

 

[SystemViper]

I have the Mozart TX case, I have been wondering if it was worth it to add a mini itx, the case has spots for a regular MB and the mini itx,

so i'll be subscribed to see what these boards can doo..

subscribed

 

[Mussels]

i swear i made a post in this thread, and then it just disappeared... i wonder where the hell it ended up

 

[Geofrancis]

any case will take an itx board

 

[BrooksyX]

any case will take an itx board

The mozart tx can fit a regular full size atx motherboard and a 2nd mini-itx motheboard in the same case. Thats why system viper was wondering if it would be worth it.


I still haven't officially closed this deal on the mini-itx motherboard that I have pending on. The guy says he still needs to calculate the shipping on it. I hope we can finish it by tonight so he can get it shipped out tomorrow. I'm waiting to close the deal on the board before I buy anything else because I don't wanna get stuck with a bunch of parts and no motherboard.

I am starting to think I am going to go with the Apex case, I love the all black version. Also with that I can fit a full size hdd and dvd drive. Hopefully the local pc shop that I shop at in portland has the all black one. I'm gonna call them tomorrow (closed today).

 

[BrooksyX]

Alright so I just purchased the zotac board. Should get here by Wednesday hopefully. I am thinking about ordering this case tonight:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154093
http://www.apextechusa.com/products.asp?pID=179

What do you guys think of it? Any better suggestions?

 

[MKmods]

I say use Legos!

amazing deal on the mobo....when I first bought my Epia PD I paid around $300

If there is any way use a full size DVD as the laptop ones are really slow. (I have a few of the laptop ones, if you need just PM me)

for a case (if you dont use Legos)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811153099

 

[SystemViper]

I guess it depends on how u r gonna place he case, if your looking for
a tower or a desk top,

so which did u order?


WOW the more i look into the Mini-Itx, the more
interesting it looks, i though they had no power but they
could pack a punch if built correctly.

very cool~

 

[BrooksyX]

I ordered the all black apex case. The one I linked to above.

I did get an amazing deal on the board. Cost me $49 shipped. So far I have spent about $160 and all I have left to get is a usb wifi adapter to shove in there and I need a digital tv tuner or two. Which I may steal the one from my computer. We shall see. So in the end the rig is going to cost under $200. Not bad for a HTPC with hdmi out, 250gb HDD, 2gb of ram, dvd burner, etc.

 

[MKmods]

will the stock intel cooler fit in that case?

 

[BrooksyX]

will the stock intel cooler fit in that case?

I hear its a tight fit for the smaller intel heatsink. I have a bigger copper core stock intel heatsink that I am gong to be using without the fan. Its going to right next to the 120mm intake fan i plan on running at 5v.

I'm about to post some pics.

 

[BrooksyX]

All my cooling supplies. Will be doing some cooling mods

Here is the cooler ill be using:

 

[dark2099]

quite a collection of fans you have going there.

 

[BrooksyX]

quite a collection of fans you have going there.

lol thanks. Two 92mm, an 80mm, a 70mm, a 60mm, and the intel one. Also got a few blue 80mm led ones somewhere.

Ill probably use as many as I can. Gonna run them at 5v so they are almost silent. Don't need tons of airflow. Just enough to move a little air.

 

[craigo]

Great budget cooler going with stock/passive, Is it built yet?...can you post some benches when done (everest please)..good luck with the project
Cheers,
Craig0.

 

[BrooksyX]

Great budget cooler going with stock/passive, Is it built yet?...can you post some benches when done (everest please)..good luck with the project
Cheers,
Craig0.

No I am still waiting on the motherboard, case w/ psu, and dvd buner.

I will post some benches.

 

[SystemViper]

Sweet, looks like it's coming together,