One of my newest project rig. [Archive]

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alucasa

11-03-2006, 03:57 PM

Today, my replacement motherboad has arrived. So, I was finally able to complete my mini-pc rig.

http://img277.imageshack.us/img277/443/img0707et9.jpg
http://img316.imageshack.us/img316/8805/img0711it9.jpg
http://img316.imageshack.us/img316/3295/img0714iu9.jpg

Merom T7200 (4mb L2 cache & 2.0 ghz)
1 stick of ocz value 1gb DDR2 ram & 667mhz (Bought the cheapest one available)
1 80gb 2.5 inch HDD
1 Slim-DVD-RW
And ~ Geforce 7600GT

All of those on 90w internal PSU (fanless)

It is very small and you can see how small it is from below pictures.
The bigger case is Silverstone Sugo mATX case.

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/7717/img0717vr1.jpg
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/949/img0718iw4.jpg

Since I haven't purchased winxp 64 for it yet, I am temporarily installing Windows server 2003.
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2272/img0719kk4.jpg

I will post some benchmarks after install is done.

Lestat

11-03-2006, 04:37 PM

wow pretty cool man
waiting for benches

alucasa

11-03-2006, 04:42 PM

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/2936/1qq6.jpg
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2766/2wf1.jpg

I am downloading 3Dmark06.

Supertim0r

11-03-2006, 04:45 PM

hehe, nice !
it must be silent :)

WesM63

11-03-2006, 04:56 PM

dude thats sweet!!

Care to disclose price etc?

alucasa

11-03-2006, 05:03 PM

dude thats sweet!!

Care to disclose price etc?

Sure, why not.

$315 for the mainboard, http://www.logicsupply.com/product_info.php/cPath/78_75/products_id/552

CPU was bought from Ebay for $220.
Case was also bought from ebay for $120
Rest components are easy to figure out. Do the math. :p:

I can put one more hardrive in the case... Well, I do have a 8gb CFII card that can go under the mainboard. I was going to use it as an OS HDD. But I realized I needed the CF card.

WesM63

11-03-2006, 06:02 PM

Thanks, the MB was the main thing i was looking for ;)

alucasa

11-03-2006, 06:10 PM

Thanks, the MB was the main thing i was looking for ;)

Logicsupply's boards come with BIOS 1.3 loaded (meaning it is merom capable right out of box). I recently confirmed that they received new shipments from Commell on November 1st.

Anyhow, here is the result of 3Dmark 06 .

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/2695/3ll1.jpg

AzraelDarkangel

11-03-2006, 06:25 PM

That's awsome! I love mini-ITX, been thinking about doing a project when I have more money. They need a better psu so you can install high-end vga cards although 7600GT is pretty good. Also overclocking, I just want to take something like that to a LAN party and be able to stomp all over at least a few peoples fancy-shmancy gaming rigs.

alucasa

11-03-2006, 06:31 PM

My case has a internal 90w PSU. There is another version of the same case with 120watt internal PSU. That should do enough.

It is kinda amazing that the rig has been running fine with just a 90w psu and the performace of the rig is not so bad. It's above average, I think. Most importantly, it's only as big as your hand.
According to my calculation, the rig is using around 80w.

With 120watt PSU, you should be able to use one grade higher video card, probably something around 7800gt or so.

You have to also factor the size of the case. The Geforce 7600GT was a tight fit and I needed a custom-made flexible PCI-E cable.

AzraelDarkangel

11-03-2006, 06:53 PM

You have to also factor the size of the case. The Geforce 7600GT was a tight fit and I needed a custom-made flexible PCI-E cable.

I was wondering about that. They used to make risers for fitting pci cards like that although I haven't seen anything like that for pci-e cards on the newest mini-ITX. Now just need a slightly bigger case and PSU and stick one of the new 8800GTX cards in there...lol!

nn_step

11-03-2006, 07:23 PM

Just a thought, what PSU are you using?
Because you probably could get away with using this
http://www.mini-box.com/s.nl;jsessionid=ac112b801f4334d0202a61aa47529040a0 deb9d3678a.e3eTaxiPc3mTe34Pa3aLaNeKbN50n6jAmljGr5X DqQLvpAe?sc=8&category=13&it=A&id=417

dvast8n

11-03-2006, 10:30 PM

Very nice build!

I was thinking of building something similar to put in my Subaru Forester with a 7" touch screen. MP3s, DVD movies, GPS Navigation, WiFi etc etc all in one unit.

alucasa

11-03-2006, 11:43 PM

I was wondering about that. They used to make risers for fitting pci cards like that although I haven't seen anything like that for pci-e cards on the newest mini-ITX. Now just need a slightly bigger case and PSU and stick one of the new 8800GTX cards in there...lol!

There is shuttle-case sized mini-itx cases. But all of them are ugly and all of them come with their own psu that you cannot replace and none of them are over 200 watt.

Just a thought, what PSU are you using?
Because you probably could get away with using this
http://www.mini-box.com/s.nl;jsessionid=ac112b801f4334d0202a61aa47529040a0 deb9d3678a.e3eTaxiPc3mTe34Pa3aLaNeKbN50n6jAmljGr5X DqQLvpAe?sc=8&category=13&it=A&id=417

Not sure. It came with the case. I have no reason to upgrade my psu. The system passed torture test. 90watt for this rig is fine as long as I don't OC.

I am planning to build another mini-itx system (Yonah this time though. I have two of them lying around in a box) and make it a X-max present for my parents. They'd love a new pc that's so small.

The case will be this one : http://linitx.com/product_info.php?cPath=8_68&products_id=1102

And Geforce 7600GS will be more than enough for this build. So, 80watt is more than enough.

Noob-ftw

11-03-2006, 11:48 PM

That mATX build spanks my current desktop =_=

oohms

11-04-2006, 12:38 AM

The Geforce 7600GT was a tight fit and I needed a custom-made flexible PCI-E cable.

Where did you get that flexible PCI-E cable... i have never seen anything like it before :eek:

perkam

11-04-2006, 12:50 AM

Some nice deals there: http://www.mini-box.com/Elite-PMI8M-w-Pentium-M-1-6G?sc=8&category=100

Perkam

alucasa

11-04-2006, 01:00 AM

Where did you get that flexible PCI-E cable... i have never seen anything like it before :eek:

In server business, you use those all the time in *custom* servers. Brand servers are made so that every piece of hardwares fit like a cloakwork though.

http://store.mycableshop.com/items~cname~Risers%2C+Extenders+%26+Expansion+Chas sis+~cc~riser.htm

That above site specializes in riser cards / cable. It's costy if you want it done custom. They have a set of standard sizes that are considerably cheaper.

RichUK

11-04-2006, 05:26 AM

OMG alucasa, thank you so much for this thread. I've never even heard of or seen mini-itx stuff before. I'm going to start a project of my own. Thanks :)

alucasa

11-04-2006, 06:16 AM

Here are more pictures that I took a long time ago when I received my mainboard for the first time. My flashing failed and that's what took literally two months of delay.

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/436/img0680mq4.jpg

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/8365/img0671mg2.jpg

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/6973/img0657um0.jpg

A CF type 2 socket underneath the board. You can install a 8gb CF card in there and set it as a master/slave IDE device with a jumper.
http://img461.imageshack.us/img461/3669/img0654il1.jpg

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/5606/img0653ls4.jpg

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/1396/img0652ct8.jpg

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/2296/img0649gr0.jpg

http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/9090/img0647tx5.jpg

RichUK

11-04-2006, 10:44 AM

Few questions.

Would it be possible to run a 7900gt? Is there a power supply that would suffice to run this graphics card? If not, what would you recommend as the fastest graphics card that is possible to use in a set up like this.

Also, could you get a wireless card to use in one of those mini pci slots? And one last question, what heatsinks are available for this motherboard?

Ohh also, what is the most powerfull power supply that is available for this type of setup?

P.S sorry for being such a n00b on this.

Thanks, Rich. :)

EDIT: No worries about the wireless question, i just googled that.

mnewxcv

11-04-2006, 10:55 AM

thats really cool. I may have to do that for my next rig.

alucasa

11-04-2006, 11:17 AM

7900gt, you should have an extra 100 watt for that card and the size of the card...

The biggest case for Mini-Itx currently available is this one : http://linitx.com/product_info.php?cPath=8_68&products_id=542

It is still a very small case and I am sure that you will need case modding in order to fit 7900gt in there.
The case I mentioned have 200w PSU. 100w for the 7900gt and the system will use around 50w max.
So, there, power problem is solved. The biggest obstacle is size of the video card.

My personal take is get an average sized video card. Length should not exceed 17cm or you might run into issues with space. Power problem can be solved quite easily by purchasing aftermarket internal mini PSU. Those are available up to 200watt.

No mini-Itx system will draw more than 50watt on stock except those P4/AMD mini itx.

And, yes, wireless mini-pci cards can go in there. Those mini-PCI slots are meant for that.

Finally, why would you look for aftermaket heatsink?
I am running mine with the fan disabled. The chip draws 30watt max. It doesn't overheat unless it's in a closed box. But, to answer your question. there are some selections : 1U pentium heatsinks. (ex : http://www.logicsupply.com/product_info.php/cPath/53/products_id/547)

Few questions.

Would it be possible to run a 7900gt? Is there a power supply that would suffice to run this graphics card? If not, what would you recommend as the fastest graphics card that is possible to use in a set up like this.

Also, could you get a wireless card to use in one of those mini pci slots? And one last question, what heatsinks are available for this motherboard?

Ohh also, what is the most powerfull power supply that is available for this type of setup?

P.S sorry for being such a n00b on this.

Thanks, Rich. :)

RichUK

11-04-2006, 11:22 AM

Thanks for the advice alucasa, much appreciated :)

RichUK

11-04-2006, 11:31 AM

On the heatsinks:

Ahh, i didnt realise that they come with heatsinks. I'm now assuming retail Merom's come with heatsinks, correct?

If so then i'll use the stock heatsink.

alucasa

11-04-2006, 11:39 AM

On the heatsinks:

Ahh, i didnt realise that they come with heatsinks. I'm now assuming retail Merom's come with heatsinks, correct?

If so then i'll use the stock heatsink.

No, no mobile intel CPU comes with a heatsink (Not even retail ones). There is also no standard mounting holes for socket 479 (Yonah / Merom / Pentium-M / Celeron-M ).

It is the mainboard that comes with their own heatsink. Good (well,expensive) ones come with their own heatsink. (It's so tiny).

RichUK

11-04-2006, 11:45 AM

I see, thanks :)

I've been researching and i've decided to go with the same board, just not sure which merom to go with. I'll definitely go with a 4MB chip though.

alucasa

11-04-2006, 11:46 AM

Last pictures.

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2682/img0720yo6.jpg

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/408/img0721wx1.jpg

It's a small beast that can pack a punch ~

Dax5

11-04-2006, 04:29 PM

Very Nice indeed! =)

giorgioprimo

11-04-2006, 04:55 PM

Have some question:

there is any option in the bios that allow to overclock? i mean vcore and fsb variation?

May you take better picture of the place were you placed the HD?

Were did you take the custom-cable to connect the VGA?

Do you think is there any room to put a wather cooling setup?

Thanks

alucasa

11-04-2006, 05:10 PM

There is no option at all when it comes to CPU OC.
RAM, you are able to manually set timings and that's all you get.
You don't OC these kind of systems unless you want to turn it into a metal lava or get its PSU boom. It's runnin on a 90w psu for God's sake. :p:
So, no, no vcore or fsb options at all.

To show you where I installed my HDD, I have to dismantle it. I am using it to play Neverwinter nights 2 right now. So, I am not gonna dismantle. But the 2.5 inch HDD is installed on a side. There is a L-shape metal piece where you install slim-line DVD and a 2.5 inch HDD on its side.

Read the thread. I mentioned a URL where such custom cables are specialized.

Why watercooling? I am running it without a fan. This kind of system uses 50watt max, including its CPU. But to answer your question. No, there is no room. This case is only as large as your hand and only as tall as the small pepsi can. Go figures.
However, there is a mini-itx cube case where you will have enough rooms for watercooling.
Google for Morex 668 and its successor 669.

Have some question:

there is any option in the bios that allow to overclock? i mean vcore and fsb variation?

May you take better picture of the place were you placed the HD?

Were did you take the custom-cable to connect the VGA?

Do you think is there any room to put a wather cooling setup?

Thanks

giorgioprimo

11-05-2006, 04:02 AM

Romano

11-05-2006, 06:30 PM

i don't see any picture....

DarkSephiroth

11-05-2006, 06:35 PM

Kinda like a lappy

alucasa

11-06-2006, 06:36 PM

Final placement of the rig.

Neat, isn't it ?

http://img484.imageshack.us/img484/5681/img0722wv7.jpg

In the meantime, I have this case coming

http://img484.imageshack.us/img484/7374/669bvq4.jpg

It is supposed to arrive by this friday or so. I also have a Merom 5600 and another core 2 duo mini itx mainboard coming within this weekend.

So, I will make another thread using the above case.

Revv23

11-06-2006, 07:35 PM

lol its smaller then your router! :p:

Anyways, this might be of interest to some: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16816105001

blargman

05-26-2007, 09:34 PM

what case is that? did it come with the psu inside? I am thinking I'd like to find a case a bit slimmer, pull out the cd drive, and psu ( external psu ). Anyone think this might be possible? Anyone have any ideas on cases/psu?

alucasa, in that case, u think a 8800gts would fit? is it just the length thats a problem for bigger cards or?