Small Form Factor Building PC for (soon to be) 3 yr old son

Hi,

I really need some help on this one. I have no clue when it comes to the small stuff and feel very out of water in the hardware area's of mini-itx or something of that size.

I need advice on all hardware, so feel free to suggest please. I'll list what I would like to achieve then perhaps that would make it easier for everyone.

The Background

I have 2 sons (one 10 week old and the other is getting close to 3) and the older son is very inquisitive. Since he sees 'pappa playing' with that funny tv looking device ( he already knows his way around the TV remote, but I'm blaming his mother on that one) he likes to sit on my lap and press the keyboard buttons and play with the mouse. I kind of reinforce this habit with our weekly Skype video calls to Farmor and Farfar (grandma and grandpa), so he is getting used to sitting in front of a screen and touching things.
Last weekend we visited some friends and the father there let's his daughter play educational games (she's 3,5 yrs old) on his Mac pro and watch educational children's video (and interactive) books on disk. Obviously my son thought this was very interesting and was captivated by it.
Pappa has decided that perhaps it would be best if he had his own computer to play with.

The Goal

To build a SFF (I'm thinking MacMini size or slightly bigger) that can withstand the abuse that a child can throw at it. I would like to get it as quiet as possible, so either passive cooling and low power draw, or cooled by 1 fan.

Secondary Goal

To alleviate the related stress that I have whenever my son wanders into the office and is deathly quite for minutes on end. Knowing that he would have his own computer that we can load educational software on would be a big step in this direction.

Hardware Requirements

1. What Motherboard should I look for? Something that is small enough to fit the case parameters?
2. Which CPU (if it doesn't have an integrated CPU)
3. GPU necessary? Need something that would be capable of running children's interactive software from the ages of 3-6 yrs old
4. PSU? Min wattage needed to power the system?
5. Case suggestions?
6. Decent Monitor in the 17'-19' range? Not too expensive please.
7. HDD? Would a 2,5 be necessary here, and what optimal size? Possible to be SATA?
8. OS? Something that can run the software, and also be forgiving to random keystrokes and mouse clicks? But yet simple enough to navigate in the near future?
9. Optical Drive?
10. Additional Cooling needed? Fan suggestion if at all?
11. Anything Else I'm forgetting?

I appreciate all the help and will be thankful for any suggestions plus advice on what I need to think of, or be careful with. Of course if anyone has the experience in children computers and their experiences will be fun to hear some stories.

I'll be out of town for the night, so I won't be replying to this thread until tomorrow night when we're back (family outing to the summer house w/ no el and no water).

Thanks in advance!

 

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161260

Job done.

Its cheap, small, hard to break and should have more than enough power for your son's needs. Plus it even comes with a keyboard and mouse. I'd probably change the OS myself, but Linux would still be pretty good - hard to break and comes with a load of games.

Hope that helps.

 

Monitor not included tho and its not really got many options to upgrade when the kid grows up... seems like wasted money to me.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/437087

£299 and Its a complete deal, it offers some upgrade options for future needs and being
from a high street store is easier to take back for repair/upgrade etc.

btw, some of the "educational" software are getting pretty high spec now.

as for self build, I wouldnt recommend it with a small child, plus I dont think you will save much money (if any)
over the pcworld computer+monitor.

 

I'm walking out the door now, but thanks for the comments already!!

I need to specify that I live in Sweden so ordering a whole computer from the UK doesn't seem to be the right option. But I'll look at the hardware specs for possibilities.

 

I agree with what the above posters said.

Make your own PC and you'll love it too much and panic whenever your children go near it, where as you buy a cheap and cheerful shop built one you wont be so upset when they inevitably shove toast in the DVD drive :thumbsup:

 

Clicky and look for the Zotac ION-ITX-A Wi-Fi / M350 Mini-ITX Case / RAM Offer Bundle

That should sort you out, you just need HDD, slim optical drive and any converters required, I'm pretty sure they post to Sweden as well

it might not be amazing in the way of specs, but it'll do for a while (Until he asks "daddy, what's Crysis?" at least)

 

My daughter of 4 likes to play on my PC from time to time but her obsession is with the Nintendo DS. you can get plenty of educational stuff for a DS and it's portable for them to take places inc whilst in the car!

Maybe you've got one already but if not that would be my suggestion as they are quite kiddy orientated.

 

Buy a Mac Mini....?

Just an idea

 

Interesting that you list the OS, by that I'm guessing you won't outright ban anyone that's says the word linux so how about Edubuntu? Not used it myself but it's free so can't be worth not trying it out.

 

I took a look at that, isn't that more than I need? I'm not sure, but isn't the ION like a step above the Zotac 9300 bundle?
I'm asking only because it might be easier to buy something a little simpler that would cost a less at the same time.
If it's not a step above, but the same than I'll have to see what shipping costs

As for the other posters, - Mac Mini here costs 7000sek at the 120GB size (7000sek = 572GBP) and I was hoping to come under that with all peripherals included.

As far as Linux, as long as it can run Window's software than I'm open to that as well (confessed Linux Noob).

 

is there anything smaller that's capable of doing what I want? I have this amazing piece of equipment that I want to drop a computer in, but it's limited in space. I've seen some guys make NAS' out of them, but nothing more than that. (it's an old CD geiger counter woOt)

 

Maybe it IS more than you will need for now, but the idea is that when your lad is getting into DVDs and home movies, as well as some more demanding educational games (I know we had a maths one in school which was very similar to lemmings ) because of it only using a dual core Atom processor it's low power as well, and should last a fair amount of time

The 9300 needs a processor as well to function, with the ION board it's all in one

 

usch, sorry for bringing this up again, but I just got my case in the mail and my wife is asking me to build this now.

Zotac GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi is that the best mini-itx out there right now? Or stick with the posted link from Bigsharn? There's rumors that the ION 2 is coming 4th qtr 2009, should I wait for it, or just get this build started?

What would be a good low profile GPU if I wanted more graphics power?

And lastly, what would be the correct PSU for this?

 

That is a very good system & IIRC the case can actually be attached to the back of a TFT using the vesa mounts.

You can't add a gfx card to it & the psu is built in to the board.

 

thanks for that Saspro, but what about the other questions?

1. is Zotac's 9300-itz wifi the better board more so than the ION?
2. Wait for the ION 2 or just build now?
3. If I went with the 9300, is there a good low profile GPU for better graphics?
4. Again, concerning the 9300 and an addtional GPU, which PICO PSU would be compatible?

sorry if i'm a PITA

 

I'll apologize now for bumping my own old thread, but now I'm finally ready to do this since I'm on paternity leave until september woOt.

I've decided on Zotac's H55 reviewed here unless you can convince me there's something better for the same price?

Otherwise I was planning on the i3-530 for CPU and was tinkering with the idea of a low-profile GPU.

My questions now is :

1. What PSU do I need for this board + 1 HDD + 1 slotload DVD drive + (maybe) 1 low-pro GPU? I know nothing about m-itx PSU's, so be gentle on me.
2. If I did go for a GPU, which one would work?
3. Cheap DDR3, kind?

Thanks again!

 

You're probably better off going micro ATX, which will provide more slots for add on cards and give you a better case selection.

1. Micro ITX and Micro ATX cases are so small that generally they need a custom-ish power supply that comes with the case.

2. The integrated graphics should run everything for the moment, so I wouldn't bother. If you insist, spend a bit of money and do it right, perhaps a 5670 (if only becuase it dosn't require a PCIe power connector).

3. If the motherboard supports low voltage DDR3 (1.35-1.5v) get some, it has a suprising good effect on power consumption.

 

I still stick with my original post, it'll be cheaper and better on power

Though the H55 is a nice board it's VERY overpowered for what you need it for, as Play_boy says you could do with looking at the cheaper mATX boards