[RESOLVED] One for you hardware monkeys - Mini-ITX

piersk

Has anyone had any dealings with any mini-itx systems? I've had an idea for a project (that will probably turn into a business opportunity) and am looking for a computer with a small footprint, but isn't going to cost the earth to put together.

One idea I had was to buy a mac mini, stick ubuntu on it and go from there, but the other was to put together a mini-itx system. Components don't look too expensive (but then I've never put any sort of computer together so I don't know how much it would normally be)

stolzyboy

they are typically a bit more for some components, cuz sometimes you'll have to get like a low profile vid card, etc... but for all practical purposes, most items will be the same or around the same as cost... i've built hundreds of computers and about a dozen mini computers... depending on your project may hinder some items... for example if you need a super video card, you may have a hard time getting those in smaller sizes

does newegg.com ship to UK?? i always use newegg, they are typically the cheapest/best place to get things that i've found and i've used quite a few, including, but not limited to: cdw, tigerdirect, and the like

piersk

For what I need it for, it's not going to have any monitor attached to it, so for all intents and purposes I'm quite happy with whatever card the motherboard comes with. Also, I've been looking at mini-itx.com as a shop (FYI, newegg.com doesn't ship internationally). Basically, if I can build a mini-itx system cheaper than a mac-mini (with a bit of change since it's going to take me time to build it) then that would be the ideal way forward.

I've also got to take into consideration the fact that I could probably fix a PC, but not a mac. So many things to take into consideration.

stolzyboy

you should be able to beat a mac mini pricing, at least i could with newegg.com parts... and yes, future fixing/etc... is a huge consideration, but yeah, you have to figure in labor and time when you are figuring in on saving money on building vs. buying a mac mini

piersk

Another question with ITX. I was having a look around at different motherboards and am I right in thinking that most of them have CPUs built in (usually with speeds of around 1-1.5GHz)? So really all I need is the MoBo, RAM, case and HDD. Is this right?

Oh, and is there a big difference between MoBos with or without fans?

stolzyboy

yes, you are correct... this one i found on newegg, where you can't obviously buy from, but it has quite a bit higher specs(should be around 2.4-2.8 for the amd 64 3000+) than 1-1.5 and it's $150... you can get some as low as $50, but those hover around the 1.0 ghz range

so, you buy those and you have the mobo/cpu together, so you'll need ram, case, hdd, and prolly cd to install, then do have small ones for small cases, not sure on price...

piersk

Cool, thanks for your help, guys!

stolzyboy

lol, just realized i didn't put the url in my post 🙂

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138277

piersk

I was lookin at this one. It's not a hugely fast processor, but it should suit my purpose. I've run more than I'm planning to on less and the gig of RAM I'm planning on installing should make up for it

piersk

Another question on this... what sort of apps did you run on these and how often was it "in use"? I've heard of people running MythTV on them so I can see it being in use a fair bit and probably getting quite warm. what sort of temperatures did yours run at?

stolzyboy

i'm not sure of actual/recorded temps, but i built a couple that people are using as DVR-type boxes and they've never had any problems... tho, those weren't FULL mini's, they were a step larger, but had a add-in video card(haupage to encode video) which would create a significant amount more of heat than the normal built in one and like i said, they've had no issues...

there was about as much space in those w/ the add-in video as there is in the minis you are referring to

hth

piersk

Hmmm... and I'm sure those PVRs were on pretty much 24/7, which is what I'd want it for. And I don't think they'd be constantly doing stuff 24/7 (especially not in the evening)

I think thats all my questions for now