Morpha's Mini-ITX machine

[morpha]

Summary: My old amd939 gaming rig (mATX) serves its purpose as a stable and silent work machine/ low power consumption 24/7 download rig. However it lacked the power to run a few applications I work with at a decent speed. I wanted more power but didnt want to pay too much for it. So i set out to create an ITX rig that cost less than $600 to be bought over 4 months.

I managed to meet my goal but there were/are a few things that needed tinkering with.

Requirements: (aside from the obvious)

• Be Silent Running
• High Definition movie playback
• < 100w power consumption
• Run Windows 7 Ultimate
• Dual Screen a 22" 16:10 and a 23.5" 16:9 monitor at native resolutions.

System Specs: (Note: prices are in AUS)
Case: MI-100 - Aywun Mini-ITX Cube Case $66 with psu
It took a while for me to decide upon this case. It has good cooling options, room for a DVD burner, 2 hdd's and a single full expansion card. The only let down (imho) was the very short clearance between cpu and psu.

Motherboard: Zotac nForce 630i-ITX $119.50
I thought about getting a better model but doing so would have blown my budget limit.
I dont need digital audio out because both optical and coaxial is used already on my z5500's. And my Gaming rig is using the HDMI port on my monitor's'.

CPU cooler: ZEROTherm ATOM30H $39
The solution to the height problem in this case was found with this cooler (thanks to Mussels who found it). Tiny little thing with heatpipes and a just-a-bit-too-noisy fan.
It was annoying that the stock intel Half-Height cpu cooler wouldn't fit.

Ram: 2x 2gb TEAM 800mhz DDR2 (generic ram) $71
im glad I got generic ram. The 3.5" hdd when mounted in the floppy drive bay sits directly over the ram with only 1mm clearance. If the ram had had a heatsink on it I wouldn't have been able to get it in! and I would have had to remove my cooling.

CPU: Intel Pentium e5200 $98
Who doesn't love this CPU?

OTHER:
Pioneer 217 DVD-RW - $39
PCI-E 1x Silicone Image Sata Controller - $25
Nexus 120mm Real Silent Case Fan - $19
500gb Samsung Sata HDD - $40
13cm sata cable - $5

Shipping costs: $52.30
Parts Cost: $521.50
TOTAL: $574.80

I ONLY JUST made my budget!

 

[morpha]

Mods:
Some of you might have noticed that the cpu coolers fan was removed. There were a few reasons for removing it.
1. The PSU has a 80mm fan directly above it moving air in the opposite direction to that fan.
2. the fan was too noisy.
3. (See image bellow) Next too the motherboard was a spot for a 3.5" hdd to rest on its side. Luckily enough a 120mm fan sits in there quite happily and now that cools the cpu fan. Both sides of the case have grills for air flow.

The nexus fan has a molex AND a 3 pin fan connection on them and the molex plug was getting in the road. Some cutting and electrical tape and it was removed.
Since the case is so small there really isnt enough room for lots of cables. air flow will be a big problem.

The PSU fan was obscenely noisy. I opened up the PSU (voiding the warranty) to find plastic covering part of the fan (WTH!). I removed that and also 7v modded the fan with an old fan I had lying around (pulled out of a 486, remember those?)

The back of the case.

----------------------------------------------------

The Sata cables are annoying me aswell.. I was able to find some 13cm sata cables which have worked nicely to reduce cable clutter in the case.
Cost me $5 which is steep for a 13cm cable.

I did find a guide on soldering them though. So maybe ill try that...
http://metku.net/index.html?path=mods/baby-sata/index_eng2

 

[morpha]

Stats

Stock settings:

• Power Consumption @ idle: 50w (with DVD bruner)
• Power Consumption @ idle: 48w (without DVD bruner)
• Power Consumption @ load: 64w (using OCCT)
• 3.1 @ windows 7 score (let down by the onboard video).

 

[boomstik360]

Good stuff man that looks cool. I just built a mini itx setup for my nephew with the zotac 9300 itx with PCI E, SG05 case, 9800gt low power, and an e8400. Those little setups can rip and the zotac boards are really nice. Good job!

 

[Yukikaze]

I love mITX systems and this looks kewl.

I plan to build one that is relatively high-powered for myself soon, since my ancient P4 I've been using and lovingly (and idiotically) upgrading since 2004-2005 has apparently died and I used it as an HTPC on our second TV.

It will be based on one of the "S" quads from Intel most likely, since I can get them for real cheap...

 

[morpha]

Good stuff man that looks cool. I just built a mini itx setup for my nephew with the zotac 9300 itx with PCI E, SG05 case, 9800gt low power, and an e8400. Those little setups can rip and the zotac boards are really nice. Good job!

I totally wanted that motherboard but I just couldnt rational the cost. This systems for work not play so I didnt need the pcie 16x or a graphics card.

 

[morpha]

So Ive had this system up and running with Windows 7 Ultimate for a few weeks now.

only a little bit of lag with the onboard video when rendering the windows aero stuff.. But otherwise it performs beautifully.

there is however 1 major problem. The USB drivers - Which are Vista 64bit - Keep freezing up and as such I loose the ability to connect USB devices ( I connect to the net using a USB wifi device). Zotac havent released any Windows 7 Drivers for this board.

Has anyone come across this problem?

 

[Mussels]

So Ive had this system up and running with Windows 7 Ultimate for a few weeks now.

only a little bit of lag with the onboard video when rendering the windows aero stuff.. But otherwise it performs beautifully.

there is however 1 major problem. The USB drivers - Which are Vista 64bit - Keep freezing up and as such I loose the ability to connect USB devices ( I connect to the net using a USB wifi device). Zotac havent released any Windows 7 Drivers for this board.

Has anyone come across this problem?

its nvidia, grab the drivers from them directly.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_win7_64bit_15.37.html

 

[MKmods]

how the hell did I miss this? Subscribed.

 

[Mussels]

how the hell did I miss this? Subscribed.

it was too small

 

[MKmods]

LOL, this is small to me
http://gizmodo.com/177564/jack-pc-the-wall-socket-pc

I really need new glasses

 

[morpha]

it was too small

haha funny joke
ITX is indeed small.

Im downloading the drivers you mentioned hopefully that will work.
I had just sent an email to Zotacs support asking them about windows 7 support when I read your post.

I've yet to update the BIOS to a newer version. When I do im hoping that s3 sleep state support will be added.

 

[Cuzza]

LOL, this is small to me
http://gizmodo.com/177564/jack-pc-the-wall-socket-pc

I really need new glasses

damn small!! infact pointlessly small. at the end of the day you still need to plug a monitor etc into it, and they take up space. yeah. i dont get it.

Back on topic, keep up the good work morpha!

 

[Th0rn0]

I want to do a ITX rig. I want it for Lanning and media center but with Uni in less then 2 week I cant really afford it atm. Might even go shuttle as the proce of barebone shuttles has dropped!

Only want it for light lanning so its not too bad, my main rig weighs a ton now and not been able to drive is a problem

 

[morpha]

I want to do a ITX rig. I want it for Lanning and media center but with Uni in less then 2 week I cant really afford it atm. Might even go shuttle as the proce of barebone shuttles has dropped!

Only want it for light lanning so its not too bad, my main rig weighs a ton now and not been able to drive is a problem

Good stuff man that looks cool. I just built a mini itx setup for my nephew with the zotac 9300 itx with PCI E, SG05 case, 9800gt low power, and an e8400. Those little setups can rip and the zotac boards are really nice. Good job!

While an ITX rig can be made with seeminly gaming grade equipment. the boards themselves can be really cut down on the little things that all add up. For example. While my motherboard does support DDR2 upto 800mhz. It doesnt support Dual Channel mode. and for gaming atleast, the extra speed will be missed. TBH id sooner build a MATX lanning rig. larger indeed. But they actually make gaming MATX motherboards.

 

[Mussels]

you also have severe PSU limitations on ITX as well, and most are half height and single slot - leaving you with very little options for GPU's.


ITX is perfect for media PC's and office PC's, mATX is the smallest size for gaming (my last mATX rig was a Q6600 @ 3.5Ghz, 4GB of 1110MHz ram and an 8800GTX)

 

[Wile E]

While an ITX rig can be made with seeminly gaming grade equipment. the boards themselves can be really cut down on the little things that all add up. For example. While my motherboard does support DDR2 upto 800mhz. It doesnt support Dual Channel mode. and for gaming atleast, the extra speed will be missed. TBH id sooner build a MATX lanning rig. larger indeed. But they actually make gaming MATX motherboards.

Actually, Maximum PC (or was it CPU mag? I don't remember) ran a bunch of back-to-back tests with ram in both single and dual channel on an Intel Quad setup and found gaming to be unchanged.

But the other drawbacks to ITX are still a deal breaker anyway.

 

[Mussels]

Actually, Maximum PC (or was it CPU mag? I don't remember) ran a bunch of back-to-back tests with ram in both single and dual channel on an Intel Quad setup and found gaming to be unchanged.

But the other drawbacks to ITX are still a deal breaker anyway.

when it comes to ITX, the video card will be the limit long before system memory

 

[morpha]

So I've had this thing for over a year now and its time for an upgrade (more like update than upgrade).

New Parts:

• Samsung 500GB Spinpoint M7 500GB 2.5in SATA HM500JI
• Antec ISK310-150 Mini-ITX Case
• 2x Noctua NF-R8 80mm Fan
• And Just for LOLZ Dual 10cm Cold Cathode Kit Blue

The case is a new Antec one, rather than a laptop brick (which Antec only release 65w ones) it has another PSU which is reported as being loud and annoying like the current one. But while searching these forums I found links to THIS Which I can use if its still too loud while modded (like the current one).

This case is ~20% smaller than the current one. Basically it just shrinks the full-size DVD drive bay to a slimline drive bay. Which for me isnt a problem. During the year I ended up removing and selling the DVD drive since I never used it. Between 2 computers I have an e-sata drive that sits in a cupboard until needed.

I have no idea if im gonna be able to fit those cathodes into the computer or not, But I will need to hook up a switch.

 

[morpha]

Okay so I got the new case and it looks great! and is wisper silent. (so i feel no need to instead a laptop brick), the 20% shrink in size allows me to just fit it into a little cupboard space under my desk. However there is one thing...

Its now consuming MORE power than previously... I figured that having 3x 80mm fans rather than 1x 50mm and 1 x120mm would use a tiny bit more power. But ive taken out OTHER components and gone to a smaller hdd so i figured It would use less. Its all together possible that the psu in this case is not as power efficient as the other one (doubtful)

Ill have too look into which part is causing the extra 10w power increase.

 

[cdawall]

i had that case i didnt particularly like it...

 

[Mussels]

Okay so I got the new case and it looks great! and is wisper silent. (so i feel no need to instead a laptop brick), the 20% shrink in size allows me to just fit it into a little cupboard space under my desk. However there is one thing...

Its now consuming MORE power than previously... I figured that having 3x 80mm fans rather than 1x 50mm and 1 x120mm would use a tiny bit more power. But ive taken out OTHER components and gone to a smaller hdd so i figured It would use less. Its all together possible that the psu in this case is not as power efficient as the other one (doubtful)

Ill have too look into which part is causing the extra 10w power increase.

PSU is quite likely. i'd had 50W+ changes in wattage going from one PSU to another.

 

[morpha]

i had that case i didnt particularly like it...

Which case chawall? the old Aywun one or the Antec one?

 

[cdawall]

Which case chawall? the old Aywun one or the Antec one?

aywun one it had an atom n270, 8400GS pci, 1.5TB hdd and tv tuner

 

[morpha]

aywun one it had an atom n270, 8400GS pci, 1.5TB hdd and tv tuner

I didnt like it either... which is why I changed it to an antec model.

The Aywun Case:

• PSU sat over the cpu so stock intel half-height coolers wouldnt fit, you needed smaller.
• cheap and nasty USB ports on the front of the case.
• However by jamming a 120mm fan where I did the case had beautiful cooling.

I found that I never used the DVD burner and once I had enough money to buy a laptop hdd I decided that I didnt need the big case anymore. So I got the antec one (pictures to come)