I think I've finally figured out my SFF build :P

VulturEMaN

Gawd
Joined
Sep 11, 2005
Messages
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Well, as I've been roving through the SFF world of products, I've probably come up with 4 builds that I wanted todo at one time or another. However, as my current computer will need replaced ASAP, then I felt that it was time for me to figure out something beautiful.

Here is the current parts list:

Commell LV-674 Mini-ITX Mobo 4gig-e ports, 4x SATA2 RAID, PCI-E....it's perfect
Intel Pentium D 950 (only if getting the EE from a friend doesn't pan out)
Corsair 520W PSU Stable rails and small, thin cables makes this perfect for me
Patriot DDR2-667 2x 1GB RAM (lowest timings for 1.8v stable ram, and a crazy OCer)
Asus Mini-PCI MIMO Wireless Card Gotta get my wireless for where this comp is goin..
Aerocool Xfire (ripping fan off) Any better ideas?
Thermalright NB Cooler Just cause that aluminum heatsink is ghetto lookin :p
Lite-On DVD Burner Screw spending extra money on thin drives
CoolerMaster CoolDrive6 Fan/Temp Controller + HDD Cooling Everything I want + good reviews
Wireless RF Keyboard I like this concept of havin that little joystick on it :D

All of this will be thrown into a case that I'm currently working on (basically a normal tower w/ 3 5.25 bays, and the rest of the case below the 5.25 bays is cut off). It'll have alot of windows, a vent (that is convertable into a window) for a 2x 120mm radiator, and 1 120mm fans on the case front. No more 80mm fans. They suck poorly :D

You may have noticed that there is no video card initially on here. I won't be buying one until the 2nd generation of nvidia's 8 series come out. After all, I play CS1.6 way more than Source :cool:

For the time being, I'll just use a spare 80gig Sata drive I have laying around until I get what I really want (another RAID setup).

Current Mod Status:
 
Dillusion said:
Wow, way to take 'SFF' down to the T ;) Worklog?

No worklog as of yet, cause I just got the case about a day ago and I'm still planning on how I'm gonna tear it down. First time modder here :p

Almost every piece of the case is held in with rivets too, so I guess that I'd just need to hack them off? Heck, if I was crazy enough, I would rivet them back on where I want them....

arg...the tormenting of a n00b modder :p

EDIT: Here's some pics of what I managed to grab from my aunt for free :D

A 19in Gateway Monitor and 2 old-school 17in Monitors with speakers:


4 Computers Total: 3x Pentium2, and 1 Gateway Pentium3 (keepin that one for the parents):


Case with everything ripped out:
 
after looking at what you are buying, and the case you are putting them in, i don't understand what your intentions are. Are you going to make a custom case? If not, then you seem to be wasting space and money. since you have a mATX case, why not get a mATx board. it will be cheaper and offer more ports if needed. Your cooling and power seems to be over the top as well, since you are using the new core duos, they don't run nearly as hot as the P4's or athlon 64's, so there doesn't seem to be a need for the 4 120mm fans and a 520w psu. Typically, most people who want an ITX, want a small footprint for their case as well.

just my thoughts
 
dnt94civic said:
after looking at what you are buying, and the case you are putting them in, i don't understand what your intentions are. Are you going to make a custom case? If not, then you seem to be wasting space and money. since you have a mATX case, why not get a mATx board. it will be cheaper and offer more ports if needed. Your cooling and power seems to be over the top as well, since you are using the new core duos, they don't run nearly as hot as the P4's or athlon 64's, so there doesn't seem to be a need for the 4 120mm fans and a 520w psu. Typically, most people who want an ITX, want a small footprint for their case as well.

just my thoughts

VulturEMaN said:
rest of the case below the 5.25 bays is cut off
^Sounds like a custom case to me :p

btw, this is just a standard ATX case that I'm ripping down to fit a full-size PSU and (in the future...maybe for christmas!) watercooling setup. Now watercooling is great and all, but having a whimpy setup is lame. Ya gotta have lots of "fun room" to throw in random stuff.

I'll be getting all the ports I need when I mod the front bezel with a completely redesigned front and new lights/buttons/overall look.

I'm only throwing the 120mm fans in there to leave room for a 2x 120mm rad that I will put in when I get watercooling. Once again...I'll need space that a normal mitx or matx case just can't give me. Oh and btw, I scrapped the 4th 120mm fan. I only need the 2 on top and 1 in the front :p

I'm also investing into this 520w psu just because of the solid volts/ 3x 18a rails/ future expandability. It seemed to be just the modular PSU that I wanted. Don't get me wrong...there are a few nicer ones out there for cheaper, but this one caught my eye by far. I want to use this PSU in the computer after this one :p

Also, I'm not a typical ITX user. I wanted to grab a m-atx case, but never found anything that I truly liked or didn't have what I was looking for. I figured that modding a case down to what I want would look nice. But...what is the sense of modding an atx case down to m-atx? It's literally useless, so I went with the next extreme: modding a case down to fit a m-itx board. btw, another reason behind doing this is that the final product will be (pretty much) the exact same dimensions as my 1500VA UPS, so they'll look pretty when they're stacked :D

EDIT: Your first sentence hit me hard dnt94civic. I don't think that I stated this, but I intend on having some sort of theme for the case. Not sure yet, but inspiration hits me hard usually.
 
I really wanna see better m-ITXmotherboards come out. I think the best would be one with 2 PCI Express slots...one for sound and the other for graphics...and then not have any of those things integrated. The only problem with this is you run the risk of having video cards become too big...the cases would be very small though.
 
Steeeeve said:
I really wanna see better m-ITXmotherboards come out. I think the best would be one with 2 PCI Express slots...one for sound and the other for graphics...and then not have any of those things integrated. The only problem with this is you run the risk of having video cards become too big...the cases would be very small though.

I was honestly thinking the same thing when I was looking at the side ports of this mobo. If the sound and firewire ports were removed and another x16 pcie slot was thrown in there, it would be pure insanity. I can also see manufacturers moving to that in the future, which would make the mobos cost less and would allow for more expandability. This is one of the key reasons why I think I'm gonna try out m-ITX. After all, how much longer can ATX last in a world of "OMG THE TECH STUFF NEEDS TO BE SMALL ENOUGH TO BREAK FROM THE BREEZE WHEN WATCHING A VIDEO" :p

And anyways, we need to finally kill of the printer port. I'm sick of it. It only makes me cry.
 
Aight...is it possible for a mod to move this to the worklog section? I started working on the case today and I have some pretty pics...

I'll also add the mandatory 'first post' pics if it is moved...
 
Pics :)

Well, after removing nearly all the rivets, I was able to get the mobo 'tray' out of there....


...but it resulted in my case looking like this temporarily.


After some hidden rivets were blasted out with my nifty little tool that I found, the case was finally apart and ready for me to cut it up :d
 
>.> That mobo and cpu arent compatible. . . that is a board for a Yonah (Core Solo/Duo), it is a 478 pin, and the e6600 is a Core 2 Duo which is socket T based.
 
Blitz108 said:
>.> That mobo and cpu arent compatible. . . that is a board for a Yonah (Core Solo/Duo), it is a 478 pin, and the e6600 is a Core 2 Duo which is socket T based.

Whoops! Actually, I thought that I had edited out that error a long time ago, but I guess I never reposted that. Tis fixed now. ARGHHH!!!

/speak-like-a-pirate-day

Actually, when I first discovered that error, I decided to switch back to the original reason why I looked into the m-ITX market, the LV-674. Having the 4 gigabit ethernet jacks, the 4 SATA II jacks (where the Core Duo one only has 2 and no raid), 7.1 audio (versus 5.1 on previous board), and support for the EE processor (which I might be able to get for ultra cheap [300$] from a friend).

Moving to the whole Core nonsense doesn't make sense if I'm losing all of these features that I use. I LOVE RAID, I have a 7.1 system, I need 4 ethernet jacks (the hub is starting to look ghetto), SATA II ftw, and high end processors for cheap.

Plus the bios are probably more developed, as it's been out for close to a year now.

and omfg....a board that actually has a firewire header. lol.....I LOVE YOU COMMELL!!!
 
I *really* wanted to use that board to make a gaming PC that bolted to the back of my LCD, but it was kinda too expensive for me :'(

First time I've seen a mini-ITX in this forum, I'll be keeping a close eye on this one.
 
n00btard said:
I *really* wanted to use that board to make a gaming PC that bolted to the back of my LCD, but it was kinda too expensive for me :'(

First time I've seen a mini-ITX in this forum, I'll be keeping a close eye on this one.

It wasn't on this forum, but when I said a long time ago that I wanted to use the LV-674, this guy stepped up with a worklog from another forum.

http://www.systemshock.co.za/forums...?showtopic=6313

I changed my parts list to save money and make it look/work better.

I went with this Patriot 2gig ram setup, cause I just found out that the board only runs at 1.8v with minimal adjustment in either direction (I think the email said .5 in .0125 increments)

I also switched to the Aerocool Xfire and will be ripping that fan off and let it be passive. The PSU 140mm fan will cool it more than enough.

I also switched to the Thermalright NB Cooler cause it won't look ghetto without a fan. This might entice me to switch to the Thermalright P90 Ultra if I find that there's enough room for it to fit. 2x Thermalright coolers would look tight.

I decided that the combo drive bs where everything was stuffed into 1 5.25 drive sucked and cost too much. Plus I won't need the floppy all that much (I'll hook up one that I have layin around when I need one). So out comes the Lite-On DVD burner and the CoolerMaster CoolDrive 6 (which, btw, looks sweet as all heck)

I've also decided to put the Wireless RF Keyboard on my initial buy list. Its too nice to pass up.

Its also been decided that I'll just have a 2x 120mm vent that will be more than enough room for a future rad and to just have the 1 120mm fan in the front. The PSU will be able to send out more than enough hot air, and the vent will take care of the rest.

A few of you have PMed me asking about a mouse and monitor. I'll keep my current 19in Samsung CRT until it blows, then I'll go LCD. As for a mouse, I have an original Intellimouse that I just cannot part with. It's too damn nice.

btw, check the first post for the updated product links :p

Is there any chance that a Mod could move this to the worklog section? I'd hate to repost all of this and get the same questions. Plus it would make it more comfortable for non-sff people to ask questions (cause people that don't know sff usually don't give input at all).
 
VulturEMaN said:
After all, how much longer can ATX last in a world of "OMG THE TECH STUFF NEEDS TO BE SMALL ENOUGH TO BREAK FROM THE BREEZE WHEN WATCHING A VIDEO" :p
I think you have shown yourself with this build why it is still around. People want options and high end components require lots of space, unless you are willing to make compromises.

C2D is cheaper, faster and costs less to run. Why not buy a less expensive ATX or microATX board and get a $10 hub or Gigabit controller card, which will leave you more money and 2 more slots? With a full sized PSU, double rad, large heatsink, dual CD drives and all of your other components, you are basically looking at ATX dimensions.
 
sleepeeg3 said:
I think you have shown yourself with this build why it is still around. People want options and high end components require lots of space, unless you are willing to make compromises.

C2D is cheaper, faster and costs less to run. Why not buy a less expensive ATX or microATX board and get a $10 hub or Gigabit controller card, which will leave you more money and 2 more slots? With a full sized PSU, double rad, large heatsink, dual CD drives and all of your other components, you are basically looking at ATX dimensions.

Here's my purpose for this computer: I WANT A SMALL COMPUTER! :cool: I'm not going back to an ATX case right now. Period.

Sure, I'd love to jump on the micro-atx bandwagon and grab a core duo mobo and throw it in a sff case, but...meh...there aren't any good core duo mobos out currently in matx form. I'd be making more compromises switching to them over the Pentium D board.

Having a case that is approx. 13.5" x 8" x 9" isn't that much different than a matx case. A q-pack has dimensions of 13.8" x 11.2" x 9". What is the purpose of the extra 3 inches? To accomodate the m-atx form factor. Useless wasted space if I were to get it for a mitx mobo. Would you rather have a custom built case that looks like it was meant for your system or a manufactured case that *might* give you what you want?

That computer you described above is pretty much what I have now (minus the rad). And I hate it alot. I don't need all of those PCI slots. I want front panel audio but can't use it (friggin Creative). I only need wireless and a video card. That mini-pci MIMO card will be way better than my current ghey card, and moving from SLI to a single card solution will be a godsend for cooling/space (space just because of all the stupid 1x slots they're throwing in there without a reason to use them). Hopefully the m-ITX industry looks at their setup and starts making more modular boards like Steeeeve said before. I think that you will soon see more customizable boards that allow for everything you want. But right now, I don't need that. I just want a small computer.

This may sound quite odd, but I'm not worried about processor speed as an upgrade. I'll be more than happy running this build into the ground for the next 5 years. Do we really need 2 or 4 cores to run games like Source or UT2004? No. I see them being more than useful in server applications and whatnot, but not in gaming. Not yet.

Having 2gigs of ram, PCI-E, a dual core processor, and enough room to expand into a high-end watercooling setup is my dream. I just want it smaller than everyone elses :p I think having a *longer* case instead of a 'boxy' matx case allows for me to more easily install a watercooling setup. The pump, res, rad, and other pieces take up quite a bit of room when you go with a big setup, and only having the components that I want (which is 3x 5.25 bays) makes this alot easier.. Heck, I'll have it cool the nb, cpu, vid card, and mosfets...not that they'll be making loads of heat, but a 2x 120mm rad would make it more efficient.

We'll see. I might change my mind tomorrow morning :p
 
Well, I started chopping the case apart yesterday. But, unfortunately, the dremel cutting discs decided to cut the screw that holds them onto the dremel. So now I gotta go out today and buy a 2pack of 402 mandrels. Pics tonite.

AND I PLEAD, YES, PLEAD FOR THIS TO BE MOVED TO THE WORKLOG SECTION :eek:
 
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