The Mini-ITX build begins.

[Lazzer408]

That's a pity my friend. You've put so much work into this! If you're not going to make several more of them, you'll at least finish one as a one-off special?

Unfortunatly society limits humanities productivity. Example. One hole is going to cost me $100. 100 holes would cost me $110. Go figure. Keeps the rich man rich and the poor man poor. What does the poor man get? A Dremel and crappy holes not worthy of a retail shelf. Did I mention I'm a perfectionist? Cuzza, I bet I spent 3 hours clicking pixles photoshopping your heatsink. lol

On another note.

For the PSU's power cord, I was going to use a 90-deg pc power connector and route the cable inside to the back of the chassis where it would be soldered to the 3-pin jack I posted a few pics back. This gave the ability for an off-the-shelf psu to be used without the user having to wire anything. Unfortunatly, any off-the-shelf supply that'll fit in this thing is going to have a loud ass fan.

 

[Lazzer408]

PSU mounted. I need to order the C6 chassis connector for the rear and move the motherboard over a nudge to make room for it.

 

[p_o_s_pc]

nice seems to be a decent fit... just please don't can this project i want to see it play out

 

[Polaris573]

Yeah don't give up yet. I want to see how it turns out as well. I've been thinking about doing something like this in the next year or two and I'm interested to see how yours turns out.

 

[erocker]

I'm a bit late to this thread, but wow! Very impressive. Mad engineering skills Lazzer.

 

[Lazzer408]

nice seems to be a decent fit... just please don't can this project i want to see it play out

I'll finish the one for sure. Once completed I can better judge mass production costs. The frustration comes from attempting to get the most from the least. Whether that's wattage from a tiny psu or getting heat out of a tiny case. The 'correct' design is the one that works the best with ALL things considered. Solve one problem, create 2 more. It's crazy how something as simple as a pc chassis can get so complicated.

Yeah don't give up yet. I want to see how it turns out as well. I've been thinking about doing something like this in the next year or two and I'm interested to see how yours turns out.

If it turns out well maybe I can sell you one.

I'm a bit late to this thread, but wow! Very impressive. Mad engineering skills Lazzer.

Thanks. I have the machines to thank too. They do all the work. I just measure and line up the parts. lol

 

[Geofrancis]

I'll finish the one for sure. Once completed I can better judge mass production costs. The frustration comes from attempting to get the most from the least. Whether that's wattage from a tiny psu or getting heat out of a tiny case. The 'correct' design is the one that works the best with ALL things considered. Solve one problem, create 2 more. It's crazy how something as simple as a pc chassis can get so complicated.

its a pain in the arse tryin to get decent power into a small case but thats the challenge! now you know that no one else in the world has the same computer as you.

 

[Lazzer408]

I'm changing the harddrive mounting to allow a 2 drive RAID if laptop drives are used.

 

[Polaris573]

If it turns out well maybe I can sell you one.
l

Nah, sorry but I'm pretty big into the whole do it yourself thing whether it be cars, computers, repairs, etc.

 

[Lazzer408]

Nah, sorry but I'm pretty big into the whole do it yourself thing whether it be cars, computers, repairs, etc.

No problem. Just offering. Maybe you can grab some ideas off the build. That's why it's public. For those that don't have the ability or equipment to make something like this can still get one if I can price it competitively.

 

[Cuzza]

I love your paint skills man. What are you gonna do about that noisy PSU fan?

 

[Lazzer408]

I love your paint skills man. What are you gonna do about that noisy PSU fan?

There's nothing I can do for this supply. At first I was impressed how quiet it was and then the fan came on. It had no problems powering a fully loaded gpu and cpu but damn, it's a like a cordless vacuum with a full load. It's fan is also out of balance which vibrates the whole chassis. If I make the case just a little bit longer (1/2"~1") I can fit a micro-atx supply in it but by then I might as well just buy a retail case. It's still a consideration. The two matx supplies I messed with were nice and quiet even under heavy load. It sucks that the power supply of all things is the limiting factor but It had been from the start. Once the case is complete some of the noise will be burried but I'm sure I'll hear it gaming.

As far as harddrive mounting. With the motherboard moved over I can't mount the drive(s) like I wanted but it left plenty of room for the rear power connector and opened up airflow to the side case fans. I can actually feel them moving more air.

 

[Lazzer408]

Hmm... I'm laying this out in CAD to scale. If I make the chassis 12x12x3" I can fit a micro-ATX in the same location if I relocate the optical drive to the other side towards the bottom of the chassis. This wouldn't look all that bad because the LCD would be centered directly above it. I'll put up a pic in a few minutes and get your opinions.

 

[Lazzer408]

I don't know about that power button but w/e. That's the least of my worries. The supply could pull it's air from the bottom if it has a fan there. There's just enough room for cramming wires too. What do you guys think?

 

[Lazzer408]

This is the PSU I picked up tonight. It's single 80mm fan is quiet and runs at a fixed RPM.
380w Output:
+3.3V@15A
+5V@15A
+12V@22A
-12V@0.6A
+5VSB@2.0A

Here is a somewhat updated drawing to show how the PSU vents into a chamber which prevents it's exhaust from entering the rest of the chassis.

 

[p_o_s_pc]

There's nothing I can do for this supply. At first I was impressed how quiet it was and then the fan came on. It had no problems powering a fully loaded gpu and cpu but damn, it's a like a cordless vacuum with a full load. It's fan is also out of balance which vibrates the whole chassis. If I make the case just a little bit longer (1/2"~1") I can fit a micro-atx supply in it but by then I might as well just buy a retail case. It's still a consideration. The two matx supplies I messed with were nice and quiet even under heavy load. It sucks that the power supply of all things is the limiting factor but It had been from the start. Once the case is complete some of the noise will be burried but I'm sure I'll hear it gaming.

As far as harddrive mounting. With the motherboard moved over I can't mount the drive(s) like I wanted but it left plenty of room for the rear power connector and opened up airflow to the side case fans. I can actually feel them moving more air.

why not replace the fan with one that doesn't sound like a vacuum?

 

[Lazzer408]

why not replace the fan with one that doesn't sound like a vacuum?

It's spinning that fast because of how little air it can move through such a cramped space. It gets pretty toasty with just the fan it has. To use a slower fan would risk overheating.

 

[p_o_s_pc]

It's spinning that fast because of how little air it can move through such a cramped space. It gets pretty toasty with just the fan it has. To use a slower fan would risk overheating.

consider modding the PSU case to allow better airflow possibly cut out a place for another small fan and run them both on 7v

can i get a link or pics to the PSU so i can see what you are working with

 

[Lazzer408]

consider modding the PSU case to allow better airflow possibly cut out a place for another small fan and run them both on 7v

can i get a link or pics to the PSU so i can see what you are working with

http://athenapower.us/prohtml/ap-mfatx30.html#productoverview

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...Product&guid=d3535142f4274814b9b0d0cc82cb6a8e

Funny that Newegg drops the price $10 the day my review went up. I paid $63.99 on 11/08.

I mentioned briefly that I was trying to stick with off-the-shelf components as best I could. If a modification was simple enough to do 100 times I'd consider it. I may manufacture a few of these so it's important that I choose common components for the sake of the end user. I can't expect them to buy modified proprietary parts from me, incase of failure, or to use any non-standard components. I started this off making MAJOR modifications to power supplies in attempts to cram one in that G-Atlantic chassis. After all that trial and error I was better off designing my own chassis. I'm trying to keep it as small as I can without compromising thermal management and reliability, or adding complexity and expense.

I most definitely appreciate any and all input and advice I can get.

 

[Lazzer408]

A couple layout pics. Optical drive moved to left side. PSU intake through bottom, outlet through right side vents and isolated from the rest of the system by the panel with a gromet for the power cord. In the first pic you can see the area between the psu and optical drive where the cords have to be crammed. In the second picture you can see the mATX supply only hangs over the edge about 3/4". That's how much deeper the chassis will have to be. I have the room to mount the power buttons/leds on the right side of the front panel. That would balance out the front look rather then leave the one side plain.

 

[Lazzer408]

Awe no new comments? I think you guys are getting bored with it. lol

 

[craigbru]

Hey, I'll comment. I love the work you've done so far. SFF rigs are what I live for, and I like seeing someone else's take on it. Keep it up man!

 

[MKmods]

-WARNING- This project involves working with LETHAL voltages! Do NOT open your power supply without proper training and knowledge.

I when I saw this as it reminded me of when I first started modding PSs.. I was so proud of my design I sent a pict of it to PC Power & Cooling expecting them to be blown away like I was....

They replied with a very serious email "DO NOT OPEN THE PS, ITS DANGEROUS"

(Honestly how I grew up is a shock every now and then is a good teacher for being careful)

I really enjoy watching this log, after mon I will have more time to goof off and browse more.

 

[pantherx12]

Pfft i've had 240 volts and 13 amps go through my tongue.

How much can the caps store up in power supplies?

Its not anything like their entire rated wattage and amperage is it?

 

[p_o_s_pc]

the only problem i could see with the cord between the panel and bottom would be if it had to be replaced for some reason...how would someone go about doing that?