Project BluBawx I by E.E.L. Ambiense - Feb. 18th 2nd Update! - bit-tech.net Forums

E.E.L. Ambiense · 3rd Jan 2009, 00:51

Here I am again to start off the new year with a new build. But it's not going to be huge. Not this time. I love large full-towers full of 800 lbs. of liquids and heat-producing hardware, sure, but I've decided to go the exact opposite direction. I've always wanted to build something small; like really small. I just never got around to it. And I was waiting for the hardware to get up to snuff for what I wanted to do with this vaporous idea of a build that had been bouncing around in the noggin. I think it's finally here. And a few of my piers here on B-T have repeatedly stated for me to do a scratch-build, so I'm relenting. I'm throwing caution to the reckless wind. I'm just going to see what happens. This will be a HTPC build. And I've been hard at work on it already. Hell, I even scratch-designed a quasi-Blu-Ray font for the build's name because I'm anal. :laugh: And yes, the "I" in the name signifies that I may continue to build future editions of it if this one works out well.

Anyways, I present to you my first 'scratch-build' project.

I'm going to be designing and cutting this thing out of different kinds of acrylic. Namely, transparent blue, solid black, and a cool mirror-blue acrylic for accents I've been itching to try. I may change things; I may not. Just have to see how it goes, ya know?

This build will comprise a few familiar parts. Namely, the motherboard. Because B-T was kind enough to review this board and what they found really perked my ears up (and eyes, if that's possible). Finally, a board that can get desktop performance out of a mini-ITX board, and fullHD playback too.

Of course, I speak of the J&W® Minix™ motherboard.

System Specs (subject to change since it's not totally set in stone yet):

Motherboard: J&W® Minix™ mini-ITX 780G AMD board
CPU: AMD X2 5050e 45w AM2
RAM: GSkill DDR2-800 4gb SO-DIMM kit
HDD: Western Digital Scorpio Black 320GB 2.5" SATA II
Optical: LG GGC-H20LK Blu-Ray Disc / HD DVD / DVD combo unit SATA
OS: not decided on yet, but probably Vista Home Premium 32-bit
PSU: not decided on yet, but I have an idea

Let's get started, shall we?

Here's a concept of what I'm going to build...

It's been interesting, to say the least. I've probably revised things with this build design over 17 times at this point.

I keep going tiny, then I expand it back out because I want more airflow, then I shrink it back down because of size. I've had designs with fullsize PSU's in it; others with 5 HDDs in it; even one with it on water with a custom chipset block, etc. I just realized I wanted to keep it simple and easy to maintain. As well as reasonably efficient, but mostly QUIET.

While I'm working on finalizing intricacies with the design, I'll start with some of the actual hardware.

Here's the motherboard. B-T was right; neat packaging!

Here's a CD-R on top of the box for size comparison. It takes a bit getting used to looking at, I know.

Here's some more of the junk-- er, stuff going in the build...

HDD chosen....

Let's have a closer look at the chipset on the board. Hmm... I'm curious as to why this thing seems to cook so bad.

Let's pop the stock sink off and have a look, shall we?

That would be part of the problem. Augh. Okay, let's fix this up a bit.

...I really hate this stuff. Frackin' dried-bubblegum-under-the-lunch-table-at-a-filth-elementary-school TIM... ugh.... It's

!

After a quick cleaning with some TIM cleaning solution, this should make it a bit better.

And a little bit of some Céramique...

And pop the sink back on. I haven't been able to check on temps because I haven't actually run electricity through it at this point, but later on I was able to check power at the wall. Seems like the system under OS install was hitting 141w according to my Back-UPS. I don't think it's that high, TBH. Have to think I only have one HDD, and it's a 2.5". As well as one optical unit, 45w CPU and I'm not OCing or anything of that sort, and two 120mm low-power fans. Anyways, after I got into BIOS and let it sit for a while, BIOS was reporting that the NB was running around 52-degrees with a fan gently blowing over it. That seems consistent with others who have this board, but I haven't been able to flex the system's muscles just yet, so I really have no idea, lol. You're stressing me out, stop asking!

System idled at 95w or so, according to the Back-UPS. Again, I don't think it's that accurate. I really hope the PSU I'm thinking of going with will handle this system fine!

I'll get to that later.

Installing the RAM... angle insert...click!

Let's install the CPU...

And some TIM of choice...

There we go. All done.

Here's the CPU cooler I've tentatively chosen. The Silverstone SST-NT07-AM2 1U cooler for up to 65w CPUs. Seemed to fit the bill fine what I need.

Fitting on top of board to see if I have any clearance issues. Everything looks fine. Looks like it'll fit like a glove in there. I'm thinking of tossing the stock fan also for a thicker 25mm 80mm fan. I'll get to that later on though.

-------------
Until the next update, I got nuthin'.

yeknom · 3rd Jan 2009, 00:54

Yay! Another EEL build!

OCD people won't be able to get over the name. Bawx isn't as good as box!

BluBox seems a bit bland though

E.E.L. Ambiense · 3rd Jan 2009, 00:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by yeknom

Yay! Another EEL build!

OCD people won't be able to get over the name. Bawx isn't as good as box!

BluBox seems a bit bland though

LOL. 'BAWX' is on purpose, because it gives it personality. If they don't like it, tough.

Besides, 'BluBox' has already been used, I believe.

Mankz · 3rd Jan 2009, 01:00

Awwh, that motherboard is so cute...

craigbru · 3rd Jan 2009, 01:06

This looks like a fun build. I'll be watching!

DaveVader · 3rd Jan 2009, 01:08

Awesome, that motherboard really is small! Maybe you are compensating for having such a large...

E.E.L. Ambiense · 3rd Jan 2009, 01:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mankz.

Awwh, that motherboard is so cute...

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigbru

This looks like a fun build. I'll be watching!

Thanks, Craig!

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveVader

Awesome, that motherboard really is small! Maybe you are compensating for having such a large...

...Tower? Yeah, my main rig is kinda big, isn't it?

jhanlon303 · 3rd Jan 2009, 01:25

Yippee!!!!
E.E.L. has joined the ranks of the mini-ITX crowd as well as the scratch build crowd. The size is spot on - H2O-C7 is 8" X 11 3/4 inches x 5" because of my pump/res. Could use a slot loading optical and blow away a Mac Mini. I like!

I wait and watch.

snuff!

john

E.E.L. Ambiense · 3rd Jan 2009, 01:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhanlon303

Yippee!!!!
E.E.L. has joined the ranks of the mini-ITX crowd as well as the scratch build crowd. The size is spot on - H2O-C7 is 8" X 11 3/4 inches x 5" because of my pump/res. Could use a slot loading optical and blow away a Mac Mini. I like!

I wait and watch.

snuff!

john

Thanks, John! LOL.

Yeah, I did initially want to go slotload but Blu-Ray Disc slotloaders were so bloody expensive, it was a total turn-off. I just decided on a combo drive that has really good reviews.

jodah175 · 3rd Jan 2009, 02:20

woohoo!!!!! another mod by E.E.L.!!!! w00t! i can't wait to how this turns out. I've been wanting to do a m-ITX build for so long, plus the Atom boards are incredibly cheap compared to some of the Jetway's and VIA's.

If you don't mind me asking, where did you find that CPU cooler? I can't seem to find it anywhere.

nhenhophach · 3rd Jan 2009, 02:28

I am making same you. I will post full.

E.E.L. Ambiense · 3rd Jan 2009, 02:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by jodah175

woohoo!!!!! another mod by E.E.L.!!!! w00t! i can't wait to how this turns out. I've been wanting to do a m-ITX build for so long, plus the Atom boards are incredibly cheap compared to some of the Jetway's and VIA's.

If you don't mind me asking, where did you find that CPU cooler? I can't seem to find it anywhere.

Thanks for looking in, man!

No problem. I got it from Performance-PCs. It's easy as pie to install too. Even comes with a solid metal backplate for the mobo.

Neji · 3rd Jan 2009, 03:08

Very interesting. Can't wait to see how it performs.

ModMinded · 3rd Jan 2009, 07:18

I like the material choice and design! How big will the case be roughly?

E.E.L. Ambiense · 3rd Jan 2009, 07:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neji

Very interesting. Can't wait to see how it performs.

Should perform admirably, if others using this board is something to go by.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ModMinded

I like the material choice and design! How big will the case be roughly?

Thanks! Um, size? I'd try looking at the concept drawing a little closer...

ModMinded · 3rd Jan 2009, 14:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by E.E.L. Ambiense

Should perform admirably, if others using this board is something to go by.

Thanks! Um, size? I'd try looking at the concept drawing a little closer...

500mph · 3rd Jan 2009, 14:07

THIS MOD RAWX

Beware,some of the 65nm K8's have a bug with their temp reporting. My 4850e is reporting a temp of 5c which is below ambient. That is a very nice board you have, but it is to expensive for me.

Cheapskate · 3rd Jan 2009, 17:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by 500mph

...which is below ambient...

You kill me!

You are keeping it pretty simple considering the arsenal at your disposal. I guess you shouldn't get too wild with a mirror material though... It's already fancy. If you get too wild with it you end up with Japanese garbage truck again.

Boddaker · 3rd Jan 2009, 17:29

Sweet mini-mawd you got going there EEL! Looking forward to seeing this one progress.

E.E.L. Ambiense · 3rd Jan 2009, 17:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by ModMinded

HAHAH!! Had to say it, man!

Quote:

Originally Posted by 500mph

THIS MOD RAWX

Beware,some of the 65nm K8's have a bug with their temp reporting. My 4850e is reporting a temp of 5c which is below ambient. That is a very nice board you have, but it is to expensive for me.

Thanks, man! My 5050e seems to be right. I was a bit worried, but it seems I got a good one. Maybe they fixed the issue with the 5050e?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheapskate

You kill me!

You are keeping it pretty simple considering the arsenal at your disposal. I guess you shouldn't get too wild with a mirror material though... It's already fancy. If you get too wild with it you end up with Japanese garbage truck again.

LOL. Man, I'm never gonna hear the end of the garbage truck, am I?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boddaker

Sweet mini-mawd you got going there EEL! Looking forward to seeing this one progress.

Thanks, Bod!

3rd Jan 2009, 00:51	#1
E.E.L. Ambiense Acrylic Heretic Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Malabar, FL Posts: 2,745	Project BluBawx I by E.E.L. Ambiense - Feb. 18th 2nd Update! Here I am again to start off the new year with a new build. But it's not going to be huge. Not this time. I love large full-towers full of 800 lbs. of liquids and heat-producing hardware, sure, but I've decided to go the exact opposite direction. I've always wanted to build something small; like really small. I just never got around to it. And I was waiting for the hardware to get up to snuff for what I wanted to do with this vaporous idea of a build that had been bouncing around in the noggin. I think it's finally here. And a few of my piers here on B-T have repeatedly stated for me to do a scratch-build, so I'm relenting. I'm throwing caution to the reckless wind. I'm just going to see what happens. This will be a HTPC build. And I've been hard at work on it already. Hell, I even scratch-designed a quasi-Blu-Ray font for the build's name because I'm anal. :laugh: And yes, the "I" in the name signifies that I may continue to build future editions of it if this one works out well. Anyways, I present to you my first 'scratch-build' project. I'm going to be designing and cutting this thing out of different kinds of acrylic. Namely, transparent blue, solid black, and a cool mirror-blue acrylic for accents I've been itching to try. I may change things; I may not. Just have to see how it goes, ya know? This build will comprise a few familiar parts. Namely, the motherboard. Because B-T was kind enough to review this board and what they found really perked my ears up (and eyes, if that's possible). Finally, a board that can get desktop performance out of a mini-ITX board, and fullHD playback too. Of course, I speak of the J&W® Minix™ motherboard. System Specs (subject to change since it's not totally set in stone yet): Motherboard: J&W® Minix™ mini-ITX 780G AMD board CPU: AMD X2 5050e 45w AM2 RAM: GSkill DDR2-800 4gb SO-DIMM kit HDD: Western Digital Scorpio Black 320GB 2.5" SATA II Optical: LG GGC-H20LK Blu-Ray Disc / HD DVD / DVD combo unit SATA OS: not decided on yet, but probably Vista Home Premium 32-bit PSU: not decided on yet, but I have an idea Let's get started, shall we? Here's a concept of what I'm going to build... It's been interesting, to say the least. I've probably revised things with this build design over 17 times at this point. I keep going tiny, then I expand it back out because I want more airflow, then I shrink it back down because of size. I've had designs with fullsize PSU's in it; others with 5 HDDs in it; even one with it on water with a custom chipset block, etc. I just realized I wanted to keep it simple and easy to maintain. As well as reasonably efficient, but mostly QUIET. While I'm working on finalizing intricacies with the design, I'll start with some of the actual hardware. Here's the motherboard. B-T was right; neat packaging! Here's a CD-R on top of the box for size comparison. It takes a bit getting used to looking at, I know. Here's some more of the junk-- er, stuff going in the build... HDD chosen.... Let's have a closer look at the chipset on the board. Hmm... I'm curious as to why this thing seems to cook so bad. Let's pop the stock sink off and have a look, shall we? That would be part of the problem. Augh. Okay, let's fix this up a bit. ...I really hate this stuff. Frackin' dried-bubblegum-under-the-lunch-table-at-a-filth-elementary-school TIM... ugh.... It's ! After a quick cleaning with some TIM cleaning solution, this should make it a bit better. And a little bit of some Céramique... And pop the sink back on. I haven't been able to check on temps because I haven't actually run electricity through it at this point, but later on I was able to check power at the wall. Seems like the system under OS install was hitting 141w according to my Back-UPS. I don't think it's that high, TBH. Have to think I only have one HDD, and it's a 2.5". As well as one optical unit, 45w CPU and I'm not OCing or anything of that sort, and two 120mm low-power fans. Anyways, after I got into BIOS and let it sit for a while, BIOS was reporting that the NB was running around 52-degrees with a fan gently blowing over it. That seems consistent with others who have this board, but I haven't been able to flex the system's muscles just yet, so I really have no idea, lol. You're stressing me out, stop asking! System idled at 95w or so, according to the Back-UPS. Again, I don't think it's that accurate. I really hope the PSU I'm thinking of going with will handle this system fine! I'll get to that later. Installing the RAM... angle insert...click! Let's install the CPU... And some TIM of choice... There we go. All done. Here's the CPU cooler I've tentatively chosen. The Silverstone SST-NT07-AM2 1U cooler for up to 65w CPUs. Seemed to fit the bill fine what I need. Fitting on top of board to see if I have any clearance issues. Everything looks fine. Looks like it'll fit like a glove in there. I'm thinking of tossing the stock fan also for a thicker 25mm 80mm fan. I'll get to that later on though. ------------- Until the next update, I got nuthin'. __________________ Latest Builds: "Movie Sign!" • CheckMate - MotM May '09 ~~Nominee~~ Loser! • BluBawx I - MotY '09 ~~Nominee~~ Loser! • Lumière Noire - MotM Apr. '08 ~~Nominee~~ Loser! • Razzle Dazzle • CMC Field Server • "Building Better Worlds" - MotM Feb. '08 ~~Nominee~~ Loser! • Biohazard • MicroSuperFly Last edited by E.E.L. Ambiense; 18th Feb 2009 at 23:29.

3rd Jan 2009, 01:06	#5
craigbru Now... with more CNC! Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Nebraska Posts: 996	This looks like a fun build. I'll be watching! __________________ Project Rogue - Insanity in SFF / Brainstorming Project: OSIDIAS Losias Technologies & SFF Modding Forums

3rd Jan 2009, 01:25	#8
jhanlon303 The Keeper of History Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Westminster, CO, Seattle. WA Posts: 7,818	Yippee!!!! E.E.L. has joined the ranks of the mini-ITX crowd as well as the scratch build crowd. The size is spot on - H2O-C7 is 8" X 11 3/4 inches x 5" because of my pump/res. Could use a slot loading optical and blow away a Mac Mini. I like! I wait and watch. snuff! john __________________ Life is it's own answer. Live life for itself. Accept it and enjoy it day by day. Live as well as possible. Expect no more. Destroy nothing, humble nothing, look for fault in nothing. Leave unsullied and untouched all that is beautiful. Hold that which lives in all reverence.

3rd Jan 2009, 02:20	#10
jodah175 Wannabe Modder Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 96	woohoo!!!!! another mod by E.E.L.!!!! w00t! i can't wait to how this turns out. I've been wanting to do a m-ITX build for so long, plus the Atom boards are incredibly cheap compared to some of the Jetway's and VIA's. If you don't mind me asking, where did you find that CPU cooler? I can't seem to find it anywhere. __________________ so many ideas, so little time (and so little cash! )

3rd Jan 2009, 07:18	#14
ModMinded Are you throwing that away? Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 1,377	I like the material choice and design! How big will the case be roughly? __________________ My First Mod Log (Nzxt Lexa) (Ongoing) - What was that about idle hands?

3rd Jan 2009, 00:54	#2
yeknom Multimodder Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 154	Yay! Another EEL build! OCD people won't be able to get over the name. Bawx isn't as good as box! BluBox seems a bit bland though

3rd Jan 2009, 02:28	#11
nhenhophach Bit-tech Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Vietnam Posts: 6	I am making same you. I will post full.

3rd Jan 2009, 03:08	#13
Neji Multimodder Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Japan Posts: 180	Very interesting. Can't wait to see how it performs.

3rd Jan 2009, 14:07	#17
500mph The Right man in the Wrong place Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: U.S. Posts: 1,979	THIS MOD RAWX Beware,some of the 65nm K8's have a bug with their temp reporting. My 4850e is reporting a temp of 5c which is below ambient. That is a very nice board you have, but it is to expensive for me. __________________ Rocketfeesh Emergen-C! [Web][Twitter][Steam]

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