The Mini-ITX build begins.

[pantherx12]

Offer a free repair service for simple jobs!

 

[MKmods]

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?

enough to kill you if ur not careful.(so be careful)

But if there are small kids anywhere around your house be REALLY careful, If we kill/mame our selfs its one thing but if someone else is injured that sucks and ur going to hell.

 

[pantherx12]

Enough to kill me eh?

Suppose I'm pretty lucky I've had them zap my fingers pretty badly, just left burns on finger tips mind you.


True about children though, safety first TPU.

 

[p_o_s_pc]

its funny you guys talk about PSUs zapping you when i haven't had that happen yet*knock on wood*

but that could be because i leave them unplugged for a few days or weeks before i get around to doing anything with them.

 

[MKmods]

the shock can stop ur heart (not likely just a possibility) It can cause you to jerk back and cut urself, fall over , hit ur head etc...
For me every shock makes me a bit more careful the next time.

I have yet to be shocked by a computer part (mostly home/industrial wiring shocks for me)

 

[p_o_s_pc]

the shock can stop ur heart (not likely just a possibility) It can cause you to jerk back and cut urself, fall over , hit ur head etc...
For me every shock makes me a bit more careful the next time.

i almost make myself freakout when i'm messing with a PSU so i am extra careful and so far its paid off. The reason for me trying to be so careful is for the reasons you just posted

 

[Lazzer408]

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?

The bracket that holds the psu to the chassis will be notched so that the cord just slides out of the notch once the top cover is removed. The wire all the way to the PSU doesn't have to be 6 feet long with an AC plug on the end. It could run from the psu to a jack on the back of the chassis where an AC cord could then be externally connected.

EDIT - Something like this. I ran out of gromets so I just cut a slit at the bottom for now. The bottom of the chassis was extended by welding on 1" pieces. Tacky but this is just a mock-up.

 

[Geofrancis]

how the project going ive not seen any updates in a while.

 

[Lazzer408]

Not much going on with it. The m-atx supply runs it just fine. It's quiet.

What started off as a rocket fast little gaming itx build only wound up obnoxiously noisy because manufactures can't correctly state specifications like the output to noise curve on a power supply. Due to the lack of any quality components it'll never be anything special. It's not worth it to me to have to make things like a low profile heatsink. I can't imagine I'm the only one who wants a small computer but when I start looking up specs on existing products I find nothing I can use. It keeps getting bigger, defeting the purpose. 12x12x3" is what it wound up at. It'll be a one-off project sitting on the shelf like so many others. I don't really have a use for it. I'm pretty self-defeting when it comes to building things because I keep comparing my work to retail products. This will never "look cool" or wind up on a retail shelf. I just don't have the machinery required. If I had the tools I'd blow your mind with what can be done. Unfortunatly we're all eating from corporate hands with only financial agendas.

 

[Geofrancis]

thats a bummer i thought we were going to see a finished custom pc that goes like stink. ah well im still waiting for a bit of plastic for my build before i can get anything else done to it. got my 4850 working again tho so im just testing it out with some cod4.

 

[roast]

Not much going on with it. The m-atx supply runs it just fine. It's quiet.

What started off as a rocket fast little gaming itx build only wound up obnoxiously noisy because manufactures can't correctly state specifications like the output to noise curve on a power supply. Due to the lack of any quality components it'll never be anything special. It's not worth it to me to have to make things like a low profile heatsink. I can't imagine I'm the only one who wants a small computer but when I start looking up specs on existing products I find nothing I can use. It keeps getting bigger, defeting the purpose. 12x12x3" is what it wound up at. It'll be a one-off project sitting on the shelf like so many others. I don't really have a use for it. I'm pretty self-defeting when it comes to building things because I keep comparing my work to retail products. This will never "look cool" or wind up on a retail shelf. I just don't have the machinery required. If I had the tools I'd blow your mind with what can be done. Unfortunatly we're all eating from corporate hands with only financial agendas.

I totally understand.

I like how this build is going though, dont give up! I've been following it for quite a while, I'm interested in doing a mini-itx build myself, so I have learned a bit here.

Redesign the whole thing if you have to. If noise is a concern, why not get triangular foam padding to insulate the noise?
On an old build of mine, the chipset fan was ridiculously loud - I insulated the whole case with bubble wrap and it worked a treat. Only increased temps by 1-2C.

Even with the size, redesign and start from the ground up, again. It would be a shame to see this build die, even if you have to resort to a hammer and chisel to get it done!

 

[envador]

Not much going on with it. The m-atx supply runs it just fine. It's quiet.

What started off as a rocket fast little gaming itx build only wound up obnoxiously noisy because manufactures can't correctly state specifications like the output to noise curve on a power supply. Due to the lack of any quality components it'll never be anything special. It's not worth it to me to have to make things like a low profile heatsink. I can't imagine I'm the only one who wants a small computer but when I start looking up specs on existing products I find nothing I can use. It keeps getting bigger, defeting the purpose. 12x12x3" is what it wound up at. It'll be a one-off project sitting on the shelf like so many others. I don't really have a use for it. I'm pretty self-defeting when it comes to building things because I keep comparing my work to retail products. This will never "look cool" or wind up on a retail shelf. I just don't have the machinery required. If I had the tools I'd blow your mind with what can be done. Unfortunatly we're all eating from corporate hands with only financial agendas.

Lazzer, DO NOT GIVE UP! You have all the tools and skills required... more than what I had back when I was still modding. Most of my projects were done with a dremel, tin snips, a file and pliers. You've got some great ideas and can really execute. The duct for the CPU fan is really innovative.

I actually stumbled upon TPU and your posting when trying to find fan noise information about the SPI300F4BB ... also, thanks for the posting the review of that Athena AP-MFATX30 PSU. I'll steer clear. I guess I can only assume the SPI300F4BB is going to be just as noisy... both are 80PLUS certified which is what I want since the PSU is going to be put into an always-on HTPC.

So anyway, my HTPC is my DialupPC (http://www.envador.com/cases/Dialup/) that I made a while back. I needed a new PSU for my DialupPC . I upgraded the guts a few months ago to a core 2 duo E8400 and an itx board. You see the PSU in my pics? That's the power supply I ripped out of an old Shuttle XPC box. It's strikingly similar to the SPI300F4BB and AP-MFATX30. And yes, it got NOISY when under load. Why is nothing ever perfect?

Well, back in 2006/2007 (i think) I got this external power brick PSU: http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-150-XT ... It was enough to power the P4 2.0Ghz that was in DialupPC at the time. Totally silenced my HTPC. Sometimes the little fan in the external brick kicked in, but it was pretty quiet.

I figure it's been a good 3 years and since DialupPC's board is out for RMA, I might as well replace the PSU (since I'm not sure whether my picoPSU is dying and if that caused the my motherboard to die).

My choice is either to get another picoPSU combo or maaaaybe THIS! --> http://www.idotpc.com/thestore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=67&idproduct=831 ... It's the SPI 120GNF and it's fanless. 120Watts though, so maybe if you're driving a gaming card it won't work out.

For comparison, it looks like the picoPSUs are available in up to 150watts.

Anyway, I'm going to keep watching this thread for sure! Rooting for ya.

 

[Lazzer408]

~Still tinkering~

I spent the last couple months in Michigan and didn't get much done on the mini but I did find a couple of fans I'm testing. This blower-style fan also serves as my duct, blowing the hot air out the back of the case. At least this way there's no CPU heat being blown into the chassis.

Idle - 37c
Load - 69c

That is acceptable in my book for an E6750@3ghz.

The Intel heatsink has a big copper slug in the center that's ~1.5" in diameter. The opening in this blower is only ~2.16" so there's only about 3/8" gap left for airflow. I'm ordering a 1U copper heatsink tonight that would allow the entire opening of the fan to be exposed to fin. That should help alot plus the fact it's copper. We shall see.

 

[Chicken Patty]

good stuff lazzer, really like that blower style fan.

 

[Lazzer408]

good stuff lazzer, really like that blower style fan.

Thanks CP. I have another blower that's a bit thicker. The one shown is ~.85" and the other one I have is ~1.5". The top of the CPU to the top of the chassis is only ~2" so that leaves me ~.5" for base/fin of a heatsink if I use the big blower. Too bad too. It's alot quieter with more flow then the skinny one.

Does anyone have a ref. HD4870 fan cheap?

 

[Chicken Patty]

Thanks CP. I have another blower that's a bit thicker. The one shown is ~.85" and the other one I have is ~1.5". The top of the CPU to the top of the chassis is only ~2" so that leaves me ~.5" for base/fin of a heatsink if I use the big blower. Too bad too. It's alot quieter with more flow then the skinny one.

Does anyone have a ref. HD4870 fan cheap?

Not me, no fan here.

BTW, you have any ideas to use the thicker blower, or it just won't work period?

 

[Lazzer408]

Not me, no fan here.

BTW, you have any ideas to use the thicker blower, or it just won't work period?

If I use the thicker one I'll only have .5" between it and the cpu. I can't fit much of a heatsink in .5". It'll take 6000rpm to keep that cool. I think the skinny one will work much better with the copper heatsink. The copper heatsink is 1", plus .85" for the blower, and I have .15" left out of 2" total height to fit it. Remember I'm craming HD5870/Q9550 overclocked gaming rig into a 12x12x2.5" chassis with a 450w PSU. lol This isn't easy.

EDIT - copper heatsink ordered. 92x90mm 20mm fins. 25mm total height. Hope it works well with the blower.

 

[Lazzer408]

Not the heatsink I'm waiting for from ebay but I found this one locally. About 30+ minutes on the belt sander to take the folds off and expose the fin. Works the same as the large stock Intel, both using the small blower, but this heatsink will fit a chassis height of 2.5". I have more options to test so keep watching.

Idle - 37c
Load - 69c

Before:

After:

 

[Chicken Patty]

that's not bad at all for temps. Like the new sink. Looking forward to seeing the ebay one in work

 

[brandonwh64]

Hmmm that is a good idea with the blower! does that board take the high quad 775s?

 

[Lazzer408]

Same heatsink using a 80x15mm thin fan. Works great as long as the top of the chassis is off. I could even fit a 92x15mm fan in there but once the cover is on I run into the same problem with the fan being choked and load temp climbs to >70c. The blower is probably going to be my best bet. I need to get a proper blower though. The one I'm using is just a cheap pci slot blower.

The LAST option to try is a 1.5U or 2U passive heatsink with the chassis fans reversed to blow inward directly through the heatsink.

Idle - 34c
Load - 59c (10c less)

 

[Lazzer408]

Hmmm that is a good idea with the blower! does that board take the high quad 775s?

Yes it'll support the Quads.

 

[[Ion]]

If you can find one of the SFF LGA755 Dells, I pulled a blower out of one of those. It may be too big for this application, but I used mine in my SFF rig (substantially taller, but with the same mobo and a copper-core C2Q HSF) on my Q9400 and it kept temps reasonable...not sure exactly but it was under 60c

 

[Lazzer408]

If you can find one of the SFF LGA755 Dells, I pulled a blower out of one of those. It may be too big for this application, but I used mine in my SFF rig (substantially taller, but with the same mobo and a copper-core C2Q HSF) on my Q9400 and it kept temps reasonable...not sure exactly but it was under 60c

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=dell+blower&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Which one?

 

[[Ion]]

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=dell+blower&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Which one?

I used this one and this one, the second kept it a couple degrees cooler, and was also marginally quieter. Either worked though