my post is long winded so if you dont want to read much skip past this block of text. so i arrived at college to find that myspace was blocked. onoes. big deal. facebook isnt. i found that boxtorrents wasnt blocked. okay, now im actually enthused. i'm a big fan of anime, and boxtorrents is the place i go to for free legal anime. only upon opening up my bittorrent client i found that i couldnt connect to the tracker. ONOES! we've actually got an issue here. especially with the anime that is still ongoing. currently, im getting it from a friend of mine who sends it over msn messenger. definintely cumbersome. so i started thinking of how i could get my anime without going through a process like that. i arrived at the conclusion that i needed a computer that would essentially serve as a download server [i think that is the correct term for it.] and stick it in one of my friends' places and go over there now and again to collect my animated goodness. however, as i got thinking about it, going over there now and again is a cumbersome process and i wanted something more efficent. i wanted to be able to administer it remotely without having to leave a moniter, keyboard and mouse there too. so i got started on thinking how to do that. i decided that i would want a computer that i could control remotely and never have to go back to do anything after i set it up. looking around there were many ads for computers and such, but since this would be at one of my friends' places i would want it to be small. whew! that was pretty long. in a nutshell, these are the guidelines im looking to follow -small -relatively fast -cheap (sub $200 for parts) research pointed toward mini itx as the form factor i was looking for. however, i couldnt find any mini itx cases that were as cheap as i'd like or as small, so i decided to make my own. so this isnt a "mod" so much as a custom build, but i think the people on this forum could help me. sketchup model so i realize that the back looks kind of weird but looking at the model, the back panel connectors arent all aligned. im thankful none the less for the people who made those models. i dont know exactly where i want to put the hard drive, so its between these two designs at the moment i realize that the second one would be easier to make a mount for, but that would involve making a larger case so... not too sure which to do. currently the model is looking to be a little more than 170X170 mm and a little less than 70mm tall. some other angles notice the bracket? i dont. thinking of removing it and drilling a hole for the antenna and the two leds by the way, that odd looking white block is a dimensionally scale power brick. i guess im looking for some imput and thoughts as to what to make it out of. thinking of aluminum or plexi but dont really know which. any thoughts/comments would be appreciated
Buy a Pentium III laptop off of eBay and use remote desktop and FTP to administer and transfer files? I know it's not quite what you were looking for, but it would be small, efficient, and have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor available in case of an emergency. Back to the mod at hand, I'd go with the second design. It'll be better for cooling and easier to mount things, and an extra inch or two of height isn't likely to cause your friend any problems.
Just had a quick look and listed some possible options below, I think your budget is a bit tight TBH. 2nd what Crazybob said, cheap P3 laptop would be good, you could always gut it and recase it too What might be cool for storage... You could have a main drive for OS and downloads, then set up a 2nd one to automaticaly copy completed stuff from the 1st drive when the 2nd drive is present. So basically when you go round there you just take the 2nd drive out of it's caddy/dock and take all your completed downloads with you Welcome to the Forum! __________________________________________________ Jetway Versa J7F4K1G5D Mini-ITX Motherboard with VIA C7 1.5GHz (25w) Processor $129.95 VIA C7 1.5GHz nanoBGA CPU (25w) VIA CN700 / VIA VT8237RP Chipset 1 x DDR2 Memory Slot supports up to 1GB Dual 10/100/1000 Ethernet Ports ATA133 and Serial ATA (SATA) IDE devices support VIA S3 Graphics UniChrome Pro AGP 8X onboard Video VIA VT1617A Audio 4 x USB 2.0 and 2 x COM (Serial) Ports 1 x PCI Expansion Slot Extras needed: Ram, 2.5" Sata HDD, Pci or Usb Wifi, PSU: PicoPSU-120 Power Kit $54.95 Pos: More storage options, dual gbe, low power consumtion Neg: More expensive and more parts needed __________________________________________________ Elite C7VCM Mini-ITX Motherboard with VIA C7 1.5GHz Processor $99.95 CPU: VIA C7 1.5Ghz Chipset: CN700 DC-DC power on board, 12V in Board can power up to 2 x 2.5 or 3.5" drives Memory: SO-SIMM DDR 400MHz, max. 1GB Graphics: Unichrome Pro integrated Storage: 1* P-ATA Expansion: 1* PCI I/O ports: VGA, audio, 2* PS/2, 4* USB2.0, 1* 10/100MBit LAN, 1* COM, 1* parallel-port Extras needed: Ram, 2.5" Pata HDD (with 2.5" to 3.5" IDE cable), Pci or Usb Wifi Pos: Good value, inbuilt psu, low power consumtion Neg: limited storage options __________________________________________________ ALIX.1C Board with 1 LAN and 1 miniPCI $150.00 LX-800 mini-ITX with integrated RAM and PSU CPU: 500 MHz AMD Geode LX DRAM: 256 MB SDRAM on board Storage: CompactFlash socket, 44 pin IDE Power: 12V DC, DC-DC converter on board. No bulky ATX PSU needed Expansion:miniPCI + PCI + LPC + optional I2C Connectivity: 1 Ethernet channel (Via VT6105M) I/O: 2 COM, 4 USB, 1 LPT, audio, VGA Extras needed: 2.5" Pata HDD, Mini-Pci Wifi Pos: Very good value, inbuilt psu and ram, extremely low power consumtion, takes mini pci wireless (save space) Neg: not very fast, very limited storage options (unless you use usb hdd's then you can take them with you)
Depending on what bittorrent client you use you may want to enable transport encryption. Back when I lived in the dorms at college I found out quickly that normal torrent traffic was blocked. Upon enabling transport encryption in my client of choice 'azureus' I quickly saw all my torrents pick right up. Not sure if this is the case foe you. But it is worth a try. If that does not work a busted p3 laptop off ebay would probably suit your needs. You can always drop a new cheap 80gig hdd in there if you need more space.
I understand that an old p3 laptop or something like that would actually work, but not only do i want something to serve my purposes, flat out i want to build a pc. the second design would be much easier to mount and will only require a few mm in extra height, but to be honest with you, an inch in height is a big deal to me in this case. (slight amount of pun intended) i really am looking for "as small as i can get it." i suppose also, i could take that and go lanning instead of my current computer. (shuttle sd32g2) ...not that my shuttle is much larger than that. my original plan was to use a... screw it. here's the model of my original plan. and yes, i intended to mount the pci card in that way. i found out how it could work. that design would be easy to construct, although making a system for the pci card to be stable would be a bit of a challenge. i actually have a 250 gb hard drive in front of me right now, but with the idea of small, im looking to a laptop hard drive. i was looking on ebay, and i can get a 20 gig or so drive for around 20 dollars. 200 is a real tight budget, but its definintely something that i can stay within. this board was unveiled at cebit 2006 and has a 1.5ghz c7 processor. the board shown at cebit didnt have an onboard dc-dc converter, but this one does. dont need to buy a psu. $100 http://www.mini-box.com/Elite-C7-1-5G power brick for... power obviously. 60 watts is enough for what i need, though if i did want more power, little dollar would get me it $20 http://www.mini-box.com/60w-12v-5A-AC-DC-Power-Adapter corsair 512mb SODIMM $33 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145506 gigabyte pci wireless nic $20 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16839121008 total of 53+shipping and 120+shipping. barring materials that keeps me below the 200 mark i was shooting for
One thing though, won't a confined space coupled with a 3.5" hard drive lead to some toasty case temperatures? You could always go the route of a 2.5" laptop hard drive along with an adaptor. I did, it's pretty much silent and extremely cool. Plus easier to find a home for.
They have an ultra-cheap board with a Pentium-M for 69.99 on the egg... You might want to look at it.
that second model is an original concept i had planned. [points to top of page] what im actually going for is the laptop drive. will have to check out that pentuim later though... when i get the chance today i will add a mounting system to the model and i will probably end up putting a slim 120mm fan in the top of the case for some extra airflow.
One thing I don't think you covered - do you want this to look good, or to function well? If you want good function, you can use some cheap aluminum. it will bend to your shape easy enough with access to a metal brake, or with a couple books , a clamp and a hammer. One piece of scrap aluminum folded up like origami will get the job done - add some JB Weld or pop rivets to create mounting points and you'd be all set. If you were REALLY careful and designed with rivets/thermal paste, you'd be able to use the box as a giant heat-sink. If you use plexi, it can still be cheap and effective - but you'll need a strip heater or heat-gun if you want it to look halfway decent. Personally, I'd strongly consider the sheet-o'-aluminum approach. DAMN ugly, but the whole case could be built for $10 and an afternoon, and could be exactly as small as you need it.
im looking more into functionality than aesthetics. maybe later i will make a nice looking case. i took a peek at that intel board and theyd about even out in price. the intel requires buying a power supply and power brick, whereas the ecs only requires the brick. the intel one is slightly more expensive but the ram it requires is cheaper, evening out the price overall. however, because it is standard desktop memory, it would require reworking the case idea or making it taller to fit everything in there. SODIMMs run parallel to the board itself. i know what sort of idea i want to use to mount the drive and brick, just working on it in sketchup. think sorta like the way the shuttle g2 chassis has the drives.
Another thing to consider would be a case like this one, which will take a microATX motherboard and a 3.5" hard drive, and already includes the power supply. Fabrication and mounting are both taken care of, and the size is very reasonable at 12.8" x 3.8" x 15.8".
instead of a hardware solution have you exhausted software solutions? there is transport encryption as stated earlier. you could create a pptp and tunnel from an outside location if you know someone with a server, you could also look at encrypted open proxy software that is out there to get around it too. basically anything that encrypts incoming and outgoing should hide it enough to get around the problems you are having.
mmm... i dont know anyone with a server though. my little box that i plan on making would end up as such a server, although just serving one person. I think his case ends up being slightly bigger than a multidisc CD case. He wins. correct! current design runs at rouglt 170x170x70 mm or 6.7x6.7x2.75 inches. if i went with that mATX idea, i may as well use my shuttle, its 11.9x7.9x7.3 inches.
so this is kind of the general idea im looking at. its kinda complicated, and i suppose i will end up simplifying it by removing all those bends. the thick l shaped plates hold the brick against the brick against the side panel. although the hard drive is actually mounted, the brick really just kind of floats. depending on the clearance between it and the top of the case i may put felt padding so it wont rattle around. i suppose i could shift the brick back so it is flush with the hd... that should kinda get rid of all the metal i have around the hd's ide connector... for whatever reason pic doesnt seem to want to show up... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v107/27413/mount.jpg
