The Mini-ITX build begins.

[xBruce88x]

wow that is pretty sweet.

is this the type of powersupply you're using? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817338042

o.o i dunno if this will fit with your video card, but i think your cooling problem would be solved with it! and it has a nice 16A 12v rail.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817339004

[Lazzer408]

Originally Posted by xBruce88x

i remember working on a lot of the SFF dell optiplexes and their power supplies had blowers as well. maybe a small blower for the powersupply would work?

That's a good idea if the SPI300's fan became too anoying. It would require modifying the opening of the psu but if the case came supplied with a psu, which it probably will be, then it's not too big a deal.

Is anyone interested enough to consider buying something like this?

Originally Posted by xBruce88x

wow that is pretty sweet.

is this the type of powersupply you're using? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817338042

o.o i dunno if this will fit with your video card, but i think your cooling problem would be solved with it! and it has a nice 16A 12v rail.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817339004

Close. The AP-MFATX30 is the same size as the SPI300F4BB. The HEC250SRT wouldn't fit. The SPI300 is rated to have 15a 12v1 and 15a 12v2. Not at the same time ofcorse. Internally they all only have one 12v rail. I think it's a bit deceiving the way psu manufactures use the term. Reguardless. One 16a 12v rail is 192w worth.
http://www.sparklepower.com/pdf/SPI300F4BB.pdf

[xBruce88x]

ah ok.

well one last idea for powersupplies then... at least the last i could think of right now...
could you tack little chipset fans to the heat spreaders of the powersupply? kinda like these...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103155

i guess these would also help... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835108096

[Lazzer408]

Originally Posted by xBruce88x

ah ok.

well one last idea for powersupplies then... at least the last i could think of right now...
could you tack little chipset fans to the heat spreaders of the powersupply? kinda like these...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103155

i guess these would also help... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835108096

Probably. I'm trying to stay away from modding things. It was easier to make a new case to fit the smallest standard components I could find.

[xBruce88x]

lol yea i forgot you tried that already...

oh i google'd SPI300F4BB and your response to what i posted about the other power supply is already on the results list lol

[Lazzer408]

Originally Posted by xBruce88x

lol yea i forgot you tried that already...

oh i google'd SPI300F4BB and your response to what i posted about the other power supply is already on the results list lol

I've noticed that. TPU seems to come up quite often when I'm Googling "tech stuffs". -Gives Google a cookie- Good google.

That little heatsink actually worked well. I was so bent on the dual supply setup for awhile. I could do it easily now with the extra 1/2" height I added but I'm going to immediately digress from the thought before another month goes by. lol

[xBruce88x]

haha yea good idea, well i guess an easy mod would be to get a deeper fan for more airflow and less/same noise at the same time for that power supply and longer screws to make up for the size.

[Lazzer408]

Boy can those 70mm fans suck. Sounds like a server.

[p_o_s_pc]

wow nice airflow there

[Lazzer408]

Here's where it's at right now (first pic). I won't get the SPI300 supply until next week but in the mean time I can use this one for testing. It's close to the same size and efficiency rating. The supply is only warm with the 60mm low rpm fan laying on it. The second pic is the 2 70mm fans shown in the case. I'm going to place them on the right side blowing out. The cpu makes the most heat and that location, blowing out, they bring air into the rear slot for the cpu then evacuate it right away and also brings air in the videocard side. The motherboard was moved over 1/8" to make room for them. The last pic is the airflow. I guess I can get started on the fan controller. It will be a thermal controlled PWM using a dual comparator to create the PWM, mosfet low-side switch, and user adjustable.

From the pics it doesn't look like anything new but to semi-quote Edison, I now know 10 ways not to make a case. Once all the parts are here and the paint is on we'll all see how all this time pays off.

[Lazzer408]

More testing. The 4870 is alot quieter. I made a 6-pin to dual 6-pin because I was to lazy to pull the psu and solder in another one. That's hdmi to my 56" tv.

[xBruce88x]

I think your ITX build is more powerful than my desktop!

[wolf]

wow dude, post #260 things are starting to shape up pretty epically, I think there is a lot of potential in custom mini ITX builds, the pci-e riser card is a must for something quite flat like yours, where can you buy them from anyway?

[xBruce88x]

you could try Logic Supply

Riser Card

[Lazzer408]

Nothing much to update. Just trying different fan sizes, speeds, locations, and then testing. So far the cpu load heat doesn't effect the gpu idle temp and the gpu load heat doesn't effect the cpu idle temp. With the psu installed in the case I'm seeing about 10c higher on the cpu, no effect on the gpu. I'll have to reconsider the fan duct. A plastic duct using double-sided tape, to hold it to the case cover, will probably be the route I'll take. Cheap and easy and I already know it's effective.

[Lazzer408]

Yup I'm going to go with the duct. The heat from the psu and the cpu recycling it's air is getting it too hot. 49c idle with fans on low. With the duct in place and fans on low it's 37c idle. I'm sure the issue gets progressively worse as things heat up under load. With the duct it's all good.

I ordered this tonight.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811996004

[Lazzer408]

Here's the acoustic measurments on the SPI300 psu. It's going to be noisy. As far as I can tell this is the closest model for the fan (highlighted). Where does the CPU get it's power from these days? 3.3v, 5v, or 12v?

[Geofrancis]

i think cpu's these days take all there power from the 12v line.

that power supply doesn't look like it has enough power on the 12v rail only 7a on each rail.

[xBruce88x]

hmm.. the only thing i can think of for that as far as noise would be to have a short flexible 40mm tube in place of the 40mm fan, at the other end have a 40mm to 60mm/50mm adapter with a 60mm/50mm fan attached. i know it sounds crazy and might take up more room, but i looked for quieter 40mm fans and just couldn't find any with the same airflow rating.

or you can make your own 40mm to 50/60mm adaptor. the reason i suggested the tube is b/c i couldn't find any adaptors that are flat on one side allowing it to be flush with the bottom of the case or w/e. you would have to custom make an adapter for that. seeing what you did with the radeon card, i guess you should be able to figure that one out

but as for fans with the same/slightly better airflow with lower noise...

50mm fan

60mm fan

they actually move a little more air but they're still quiter

[Lazzer408]

Originally Posted by Geofrancis

that power supply doesn't look like it has enough power on the 12v rail only 7a on each rail.

I ran it off a 300w before without a problem. A 65w cpu would draw 5.41a off a 12v rail, 13a off a 5v rail, or 19.69a off a 3.3v rail. I'm going to guess it runs off the 12v to keep the current down. The motherboard then provides 1.27v to the cpu. At 1.27v it's 51.81a. Crazy. When I tested the 4750, I only saw it spike 7a once. I'd have to look back but I think the average was 3-4a off the 6-pin plus w/e it pulled off the mobo. PSU calculator said 256w with an o/c. Parts should be here Tues. or Wed. then I'll know.

[Lazzer408]

That little guy fits right in there. I haven't heard the fan spin up yet but I haven't load tested it. The air from the fan isn't very warm at all. That's the LCD off to the lower left. I'm tinkering with it now.

EDIT - Totally unacceptable noise level under load.

[Lazzer408]

I'm about ready to can the project. No one makes the hardware with the configuration I need. I can't produce a cost-effective system when I have to manufacture/modify so many parts. I could make it larger but then it'll have a bunch of wasted space inside and defeats the purpose. On the bright side this lcd is kinda cool.

[Polaris573]

May I move this thread to the project logs sub-forum please? It should have been done earlier but it flew under the radar I guess. Since it's been here so long I'll give you the option to leave it here. It's up to you.

[Lazzer408]

Originally Posted by Polaris573

May I move this thread to the project logs sub-forum please? It should have been done earlier but it flew under the radar I guess. Since it's been here so long I'll give you the option to leave it here. It's up to you.

Sure thats no problem.

[Cuzza]

Originally Posted by Lazzer408

I'm about ready to can the project. No one makes the hardware with the configuration I need. I can't produce a cost-effective system when I have to manufacture/modify so many parts. I could make it larger but then it'll have a bunch of wasted space inside and defeats the purpose. On the bright side this lcd is kinda cool.

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?