![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
So i have been putting together a CNC mill very slowly over the last couple of years, I have gotten to the stage where it can help "build itself" so i needed a computer to run it.
(its very annoying to try and mill manually with the servos attached, turning the pulleys is hard on the hands
The machine has to have a printer port to run the CNC controller board, and i didnt want a p4 or anything like that i wanted something that will run a cool like an E7300
anyways i was looking for a small motherboard to use and saw NCIX had a "refurbished" shuttle XPC K45 for $75! had a quick look at the specs and saw "printer port!" yay! (those specials give you 3 minutes pay or change your mind after you cart them for instant impulse buying!)
bought it and a core 2 7400, I had a hard drive to use (250 GB, 7200.10, overkill for that machine but its the smallest SATA one i had.
anyways i installed windows XP32 (which mach3 runs best on) first i tried various ways to do a network install, which almost worked except there were no drivers for the marvell network chip.
i borrowed an optical drive from a different computer and everything went fine.
The cpu was running a bit hot, but i ran intel burn test a few times and it melted the intel TIM material, now it idles at 32c in a 24c ambient room.
So then came the big test. was the printer port and motherboard hardware up to the Mach3 driver test? well it was, it was marked as "Excellent" with nice steady even pulses, almost too small for the graph to see. (32ms avg)
The last time i had a SFF computer was the original SV24, which was quite a nasty piece of crap(via chipset) so i was quite wary! (not to mention thats this was refurb)
the $200(Canadian) computer has exceeded my expectations! and it has a "real" CPU not some weak atom thing
once i get the mill working nice i will mill "mach3" in to the plastic front "photo cover" thing and light it with an LED
(its very annoying to try and mill manually with the servos attached, turning the pulleys is hard on the hands
The machine has to have a printer port to run the CNC controller board, and i didnt want a p4 or anything like that i wanted something that will run a cool like an E7300
anyways i was looking for a small motherboard to use and saw NCIX had a "refurbished" shuttle XPC K45 for $75! had a quick look at the specs and saw "printer port!" yay! (those specials give you 3 minutes pay or change your mind after you cart them for instant impulse buying!)
bought it and a core 2 7400, I had a hard drive to use (250 GB, 7200.10, overkill for that machine but its the smallest SATA one i had.
anyways i installed windows XP32 (which mach3 runs best on) first i tried various ways to do a network install, which almost worked except there were no drivers for the marvell network chip.
i borrowed an optical drive from a different computer and everything went fine.
The cpu was running a bit hot, but i ran intel burn test a few times and it melted the intel TIM material, now it idles at 32c in a 24c ambient room.
So then came the big test. was the printer port and motherboard hardware up to the Mach3 driver test? well it was, it was marked as "Excellent" with nice steady even pulses, almost too small for the graph to see. (32ms avg)
The last time i had a SFF computer was the original SV24, which was quite a nasty piece of crap(via chipset) so i was quite wary! (not to mention thats this was refurb)
the $200(Canadian) computer has exceeded my expectations! and it has a "real" CPU not some weak atom thing
once i get the mill working nice i will mill "mach3" in to the plastic front "photo cover" thing and light it with an LED