Atom Powered Mini ITX Lego comp

M

markkleb

Gawd
Joined
Jun 2, 2006
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Ok Pete this is for you......

Those who know me know I built a tiny lego comp for my first project. I used a Via PD and it looked cool but was so $$$ when I did it...
http://www.uberreview.com/2008/02/fat-wheeled-rc-lego-mini-pc-case-mod.htm
(Im not sure how but other people/sites have better picts of my mods than I do, lol)

Now to the modern ages, I came across an Intel mobo with Atom 330 for a very good deal so I thought it was time for a freshen up. So here is what we got so far

Intel mobo with Atom330
2 gig stick of memory
320gig sata 7200rpm Laptop Hdd
Laptop DVD
6200 GPU (upgrade in the near future)
200 watt power

and all this
Picture044.jpg

Picture045.jpg


Now the cool guy at "Uberreview" mentioned using an 8bit graphic into the case.....any ideas?
 
MINDSTORMS... I programmed one that could follow a line you drew in any direction (was pretty basic) as long as it was black sharpie on white paper :p and I was in like 4th grade...
 
LOL, my Bro (Pete) is a Lego nutt. A few xmas's ago he gave me some Legos. Turns out they are actually fun to design cases with.
No cutting no glue just click and go....

This time I thought it would be fun to incorporate the Mindstorm robotic stuff into it so Im all ears....

Ideas?????
 
Having the entire case fold/unfold like a flower or so would be cool :D

Have it respond to certain stimuli?
 
Elledan said:
Having the entire case fold/unfold like a flower or so would be cool :D
Have it respond to certain stimuli?
Click to expand...

"Transformers"!

that sounds pretty interesting.....I will definitely give it some thought.

I remember when I did my first mod I saw a cool case by a guy that made it for his daughter, it was a cube and rather than hide the wires he wrapped them and made them look like vines and flowers.

Its one of the cases that got me so interested in modding...

PS:Elledan, thanks for dropping by and sharing ur idea...
 
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That's a great board. Except the fan on it is a bit noisy. You can try putting it on the system fan port and I think that will cut the speed in half which will eliminate the noise as well as still keep it cool.
 
Thanks ShepCrook, I havent plugged it in yet but I promise I will be messing with the coolers and fan. I have a basic shell made and Il get it programmed and running tonight so we can figure what to do to it.

I am going with a similar format to my other SFF comps, wiring,DVD,hdds etc below the mobo
Picture002-6.jpg


I am also thinking of using a 90deg PCI mount for the GPU, just looks cool
Picture003-6.jpg

Satas for the Hdd and DVD will make this a lot easier...

Picture004-2.jpg

I also like the thought of the heatsink facing up as well.
 
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I want to try to build another system based on that board but the problem is is that it only has 1 PCI slot. If it had 2 I could easily make an HTPC setup for cheap. but, since it only has one, I'd be stuck using an AIW card.
 
There are boards that allow kick butt CPUs and even PCIEx cards...Its just I got a really good deal on this one (plus I helped another member to get rid of it) so its kind of a win/win...

A few years ago when I bought the Via PD (Via 1000mhz) it was a few hundred dollars so lucky for us prices have come down a lot...
 
I got my Atom 330, board and 2GB ram for $100. They are pretty good, but mine really isn't running anything major.

I know I could get a board that can use a Core2, but I wanted something that would be quiet, and cooling a core2 would mean a big heatsink + Fan since I don't want watercooling. We'll see what the future brings.
 
Yeah, that's a nice feature, but you have to worry if that will obstruct airflow on the heatsink and fan. Or just be in the way in general.
 
I am the king of airflow....I promise it wont be a prob.

Here is a shot showing where I "think" it will mount (as long as I didnt order the mount that flips the GPU, lol)
Picture-6.jpg

I have a huge box of heatsinks, I will be looking through them to find a nice copper one for the CPU.

Here it is with a pair of Forged Copper Enzotech coolers
Picture005-2.jpg


This option may be a bit of "Overkill"
Picture007-1.jpg


And kind of messes up the whole SFF thing, lol...
 
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ShepsCrook said:
That's a great board. Except the fan on it is a bit noisy. You can try putting it on the system fan port and I think that will cut the speed in half which will eliminate the noise as well as still keep it cool.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's exactly right. But you do need to change the correct option in the BIOS for that, or else it will constantly run at 100%, just like the other header... I did that with mi D945GCLF and it's barely audible now... No heat problems whatsoever, too (though the board was put into a standard ATX case, so...:rolleyes:)

markkleb said:
I am the king of airflow....I promise it wont be a prob.
Click to expand...
Do I sense a dare? ;)

markkleb said:
IHere it is with a pair of Forged Copper Enzotech coolers
Click to expand...
Very cool looking coolers. Congrats on that one. Sad the D945GC series doesn't fit those as standard, right? Though it would almost double the motherboard price... :p


markkleb said:
IThis option may be a bit of "Overkill"
Click to expand...
Priceless!!! :eek:

Congrats on the build.

I'm not a really a fan of "Lego Computers", but that Transformers reference made me want to stick around and see where this is going...

Good luck!

Miguel
 
I prefer a bit more design to lego builds. Not just a simple box with a ton of colors on it. I attempted this once but ran out of the colors I was using and I had to use other colors. In the end, it just looked bad. Although, all of my cables ran down the center tower which was holding the lego "Building" up where the computer was so you didn't see any cables at all.
 
Thx __Miguel_for stopping by...

SC, well right now I just need to mount the components to get it running (I hate having stuff all over the desk)

The cool thing about Legos is I can tear it apart and add stuff as I go while still using the comp.

I have a iMon (remote control and a display) I may add as well as incorporating the robotics stuff.
 
I like to use LogMeIn for remote desktop and control.

What is your end build design suppose to be like? Just a box that opens?
 
I honestly have no clue, thats where you all come in... Ideas.....

I am doing 3 mods all at the same time. The Lego one is gonna be my 24/7 Pict place and surfer. Not to mention it will take a lot less space than my tower...

Right now its just a square to hold the mobo,dvd and hdd. I was plugging it all together esterday when I dug out my PS for the epia mobo I realized it wouldnt work with this mobo
Picture008-4.jpg


I ordered one of these to replace it
http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-150-XT?sc=8&category=981
so now I am waiting for the PS and 90 deg PCI plug
 
"Wiring" is my thing, I could make my own. But notice the PS goes under the GPU, it also hits the memory, and would stick out the side of my comp. And just looks plain fugly...

I am using a reg junk 20 pin PS to run the comp
Picture-7.jpg


I just programmed it and to be honest its a pretty snappy little comp (MUCH faster/smoother than the Via Epia PD) I am using 2gigs of mem and a good 320gig sata laptop Hdd.

I will run some temps on it than when I have a chance swap out the coolers. I just got the hardware for my Qpack redesign so I am gonna spend a few days designing the new wiring style. Please if you have ideas on what to do with the Legos or robotics post them as I tent to be a rather "Plain/ Square" kind of guy..
 
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Thanks modder man.. And ShepsCrook there is not a lot [H] about a 1.6ghz /6200 comp, lol....
 
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