cardboard box server

C

corran_horn314

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 4, 2004
Messages
445
I've lurked on the forums forever, now i've finally decided to post... This is something I did yesterday. I had had this in an old dell case, but it was way too big for a mini-itx board so this is my i'm-a-broke-college-student fix.

***
Note: no pics for a bit. I know the website is down, I had to pull parts to try to fix another computer.
***

That is a 300W antec power supply, Epia M 10000, 512MB of pc2100 ram, and a 40gb maxtor hard drive under the mobo. The box is from an external drive i bought some time ago. Nothing special but its my fileserver and soon to be web server(all i need is a domain now, these pics are hosted on it allready) It now fits nicely under my router on the counter.
 
The bios for mini-itx boards don't let you oc. They are meant to be run quietly and cooly. I haven't measured official temps, but its not too hot to the touch. The only thing i'm worried about is the hard drive being buried like that...
 
Oh, that was a joke... but thx for the answer, i didnt know you couldnt overclock those boards.

BTW... Welcome to the forums.
 
Thanks. Maybe my sarcasm sensors need tuning...

Anyway, yeah the Epia boards, which are only 17cmX17cm if anyone didn't know, are designed to be efficient not speed mongers. I have an OCed P4 gaming rig for that :)
 
lol, nice case! i like the fold out window ;)


ahhh Corran Horn...gotta love him
 
welfare case? i could just see in the future, homeless people "my computer broke *tear*", and the welfare agents handing out computers in cardboard boxes :D
 
Fantastic piece of kit (ref top post piccies)

You're not studying engineering are you? All our sparky / compsci guys set up development rigs like this, although they tend not to bother with the side walls and lid...

Don't forget liberal amounts of engineering adhesive (blu-tack) for the HDD
 
I'm a compsci major and I set it up to teach myself more about web stuff. I bought a domain and I'm almost ready to launch my crappy site...

I thought about mounting some LEDs or cold cathodes, but currently its pretty much out of sight.
 
damn i really need one of those miniitx boards for an upcoming project... can you tell me how high the hsf is?
 
I have a basic site up now, hosted by the machine pictured above... www.cardboardghettoserver.com
Keep in mind I'm no master with html or web design, I'm trying to teach myself about how to run a server.

The HSF is about 1.25 inches tall, FLECOM. If you want a more precise measurement look online or ask and I'll rip the mobo out measure again...
 
The poor college student with an external 120GB hard drive? I think I would have used that money for a $30 mini case. But ah vell...
 
Touché

Actually I've had the external drive for a while, and only just recently got completely fed up with the larger case it was in. Maybe I'll actually buy a case soon, but I figured that the cheaper I can do it the better.
 
thats the first case i have seen that needs scissors to make a blowhole!

looks pretty hardcore ghetto, props!
 
Now all you need is some plastic wrap and some good ole clear tape and you could put a nice side window on it :)... but more seriously I did this with a pentium 200 old POS Gateway and it worked for many months till my cat got at it (long and pathetic story)..
 
i love it... approaches like that are simply more interesting ... and eye catching to non - [H] addicted normal people

if I was in your situation though I would have figured out a way to cheaply mount the bare parts on a wall
 
Originally posted by corran_horn314
road runner, why?
Click to expand...

Just curious. Thought that maybe you were on comcast. Running public servers off of your pc might be against TOS of road runner. It is with comcast on residential connections.

Originally posted by portlandoregongamer
you could have figured that out like i did with a simple tracert ;)
Click to expand...

True, didn't cross my mind to look it up :)
 
Originally posted by Bennyb
TEMPS@!$!

OC?!#??!$
Click to expand...

Most extreme OC'ers don't even use a case. There is an increased chance of your case bursting into flames. Metal case = 0% chance case will start burning. cardboard case = 1+% chance of the case starting to burn. I would rather buy an antec lanboy. This case was made as a joke. It looks horrible. The rule is if it works it is a piece of art.
 
The website is down.:( BTW maybe you should make your next case out of styrofoam or something equally cheap.
 
NOT STYRAFOAM!!! ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! STUPID IDEA!!!


No offense, but that is one of the most wrong things I have heard in a while...


Styrafoam is one of the worst things when it comes to static electricity... it can easily fry computer parts



And the website is still down :(
 
Originally posted by Grizzy
NOT STYRAFOAM!!! ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! STUPID IDEA!!!


No offense, but that is one of the most wrong things I have heard in a while...


Styrafoam is one of the worst things when it comes to static electricity... it can easily fry computer parts



And the website is still down :(
Click to expand...

it would probably melt too....atleast it could, and it seems like it would trap a lot of heat
 
Geez, I go away for a bit and all hell breaks loose. I had to pull some parts(psu and mem) to try to troubleshoot/fix another computer. Needless to say the website and pics are down for a while. The foam is the type that is used to cushion electrical components for shipping and such and it isn't directly touching any of the really sensitive stuff so I'm not worried terribly about static. I only put the foam there to help prevent stuff from sliding around. As far as heat goes I think I am fine as well. The mobo/cpu produce next to nothing, the psu blows what little heat it produces out, and the hard drive is a bit of a concern but I've felt it after its been running for a while and its no hotter than in an avarage case.
 
Wow. This threat is leet.
1337.jpg
 
Somebody should actually take there time and make a serious card board box, one with 2 levels, on the top is all the drives, cd-rw, dvd, hdd. And below it is the mobo and everything else.

...Maybe I'll make that a project of mine :p
 
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