My Mini ITX PC Build - Copied Drives Over to New HDD! (Still Need Help!)

[Pako]

I hear ya. For what it's worth, I'm no Linux fan boy.... I think it's cool, especially since it's an open source, anti-microsoft product....but I can't see using it as a every day box.

I think the only time I would run a non-web server Linux install is if I had a coffee shop or something and the only thing people would do is use the internet with a big fat "Click HERE for the internet" and have Firefox ready to go. That would insure no dumb apps would get installed and detour virus' from infecting my box. Outside of that, I'm not a big fan either.

Your list looks like a solid build for what you are looking to do.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

That's a tidy little board. No frills at all on it. I'd be interested to hear about the thermal performance once you're done building it. You could drop a couple of 2TB drives in it and have a nice little file server hidden away in the garage for not that much more than buying a half-decent NAS box.

Let us know how the build goes.

 

[Solid Lifters]

That's a tidy little board. No frills at all on it. I'd be interested to hear about the thermal performance once you're done building it. You could drop a couple of 2TB drives in it and have a nice little file server hidden away in the garage for not that much more than buying a half-decent NAS box.

Let us know how the build goes.

No, I don't think I'm ready for a NAS. In fact, I couldn't even get my PS3 on my network. Plus, I don't really have a need for one.

I do plan to store a ton of DVDs/BDs on my PC HDD (the MEAGA PC build) but I'll have at least 2TB on that PC, perhaps more is I can find a reliable 1.5TB HDD or a cheap 2TB HDD.

As far as heat build up on the MINI PC, I just hope I wont have much trouble mounting the 120mm fan. Also, I don't know if I should make it a draw or exhaust fan. If I draw in air, how will the hot air exhaust the case, which I understand is more critical than intake. If I exhaust, the placement would be too close to the CPU fan and could battle for air with it causing temps on everything, including the CPU, to rise to higher levels than not having an exhaust fan.

I think I should make the 120mm an exhaust fan and make sure to drill more holes in the case. What I plan to do is cut a square hole on the top panel of the case near the back of the HDD and between the CPU and put in a 80mm fan filter only. With the 120mm exhaust fan near the side vents, the hole in the top panel should allow air to be sucked in so the CPU and HDD can breathe a little better.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

As far as heat build up on the MINI PC, I just hope I wont have much trouble mounting the 120mm fan. Also, I don't know if I should make it a draw or exhaust fan. If I draw in air, how will the hot air exhaust the case, which I understand is more critical than intake. If I exhaust, the placement would be too close to the CPU fan and could battle for air with it causing temps on everything, including the CP, to rise to higher levels than not having an exhaust fan.

That processor won't be making that much heat. It was designed for nettops and has a TDP of 8 watts. I'm pretty sure the exhaust fan alone would take care of it. Plus the CPU fan is so tiny that I doubt it will be able to battle for much air. You could possibly even get away with no exhaust fan.

I think I should make the 120mm an exhaust fan and make sure to drill more holes in the case. What I plan to do is cut a square hole on the top panel of the case near the back of the HDD and between the CPU and put in a 80mm fan filter only. With the 120mm exhaust fan near the side vents, the hole in the top panel should allow air to be sucked in so the CPU and HDD can breathe a little better.

That sounds like a good idea, since that fan you have listed moves quite a bit of air. So it would probably suck in dust through every crack.

 

[Solid Lifters]

That processor won't be making that much heat. It was designed for nettops and has a TDP of 8 watts. I'm pretty sure the exhaust fan alone would take care of it. Plus the CPU fan is so tiny that I doubt it will be able to battle for much air. You could possibly even get away with no exhaust fan.

You think the 120mm fan is overkill? Maybe an 80mm fan is more than enough and much easier to fit in the case. But remember, this PC will be on 90% of the time. I figure the more air I move out of it, the better. I have a very hot room that this PC is going in. Two HUGE windows with metal frames that attract the heat of the HOT SoCal Summer Sun like Madonna with ballplayers at a MLB social gathering.

Oh, I forgot to mention that this fan is being connected to the PSU so it's going to be on 100% full speed 100% of the time. I cannot hear the 36db fan I have now when it spins at 2000 RPM so I should be OK as far as noise.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

You think the 120mm fan is overkill? Maybe an 80mm fan is more than enough and much easier to fit in the case. But remember, this PC will be on 90% of the time. I figure the more air I move out of it, the better. I have a very hot room that this PC is going in. Two HUGE windows with metal frames that attract the heat of the HOT SoCal Summer Sun like Madonna with ballplayers at a MLB social gathering.

Oh, I forgot to mention that this fan is being connected to the PSU so it's going to be on 100% full speed 100% of the time. I cannot hear the 36db fan I have now when it spins at 2000 RPM so I should be OK as far as noise.

I'm not sure about the airflow in such a small case. I'm guessing that if the air can't come in as fast as it goes out, then it won't help much. A slower 120mm fan could do. In my case right now, I have two 80mm fans rated at 30 dBA and I can hear them across the house.

 

[Solid Lifters]

I'm not sure about the airflow in such a small case. I'm guessing that if the air can't come in as fast as it goes out, then it won't help much. A slower 120mm fan could do. In my case right now, I have two 80mm fans rated at 30 dBA and I can hear them across the house.

Wow, I guess they're higher than 30dBA. I have a 120mm fan in my current PC and when it spins at 2000 RPM I cannot hear it over the 60mm CPU fan that spins at 4500RPM.

I guess I need to look for a more quiet fan. Say a 120mm that rotates at 1,200RPM or less. I thought the fan I picked out was a little overkill but since it had a quiet rating, I figured it wouldn't matter.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Well you never know how they test it.

For my next computer I got one of these for the exhaust, since I am not sure how everything is going to work out. It's a pricey fan(for me) at $12.99, but it has 3 speed settings. I bet the video card is going to be the loudest anyway.

 

[opendriver]

If its silent cooling you want, check this one out

Another thing about the Atom mobo you had selected; I heard that the small fan spins at crazy RPM's and is fairly loud, especially since you have the 330 in it. Disabling HT'ing will reduce heat, but its a measly 16W TDP. Just take it off and up the case airflow, maybe even switch the stock thermal past over to some AS5 or TX2.

Edit: tree'd

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

If its silent cooling you want, check this one out

I have two of these in the case for my new computer. I don't know how loud they are, since I only have the case and a hard drive. But I could give them a free air test drive.

edit: Crap, got mixed up. I actually have two of these.

These are the 80mm's. I think the majority of the sound is just the air moving, but I'm not sure.

 

[opendriver]

Ive got two of these in my case and it sounds like an A380 taking off. DONT get these.

 

[Solid Lifters]

I've decided to go with a 100mm case fan. It appears only the 120mm fans can fit only after shaving them down. I want to avoid that because I'm not sure how easy it is to shave a fan down. Are the frames made of metal or plastic? If it's plastic, I see no problem shaving it down. If it's metal, I don't want to do it in fear of causing metal shavings to get into the motor and short or file anything down.

Second, I'm curious as to how a GPU would work with watching steaming video. Does the GPU take over or will the CPU be used? Both? The performance of the Atom 330 with steaming video has me a little concerned, but I'm not too worried about it. If I can get better streaming video quality with a good GPU, I will consider adding one.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

I want to avoid that because I'm not sure how easy it is to shave a fan down. Are the frames made of metal or plastic?

The fans are plastic as far as I know

Second, I'm curious as to how a GPU would work with watching steaming video. Does the GPU take over or will the CPU be used? Both? The performance of the Atom 330 with steaming video has me a little concerned, but I'm not too worried about it. If I can get better streaming video quality with a good GPU, I will consider adding one.

It's most likely CPU as it gets loaded pretty heavily when I watch flash videos. You probably notice the same thing with your 2500+. My video card is pretty decent(6600GT), so it would be able to handle some pixelated flash videos.

 

[Casio]

GPUs have almost nothing to do with streaming and flash video.

Unless you hold off 6 months+ for some Nvidia Tegra-based Goodness, which brings GPU acceleration to Flash Video.

This may be a pretty good read for you too.

 

[Solid Lifters]

GPUs have almost nothing to do with streaming and flash video.

I always thought by the way the CPU was so heavily taxed that the GPU wasn't being used at all. I also thought that it was due to my GPU being a piece of crap (5100).

Unless you hold off 6 months+ for some Nvidia Tegra-based Goodness, which brings GPU acceleration to Flash Video.

No, no more waiting. Plus, I didn't read anything definitive for it in a mini ITX configuration, so I have no idea what exactly I'd be waiting for.

This may be a pretty good read for you too.

Thanks, that was a nice read.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Is my system good enough to run Windows 7?

Right now, I can pre-order Windows 7 Upgrade for only $50 but time is limited. Good idea?

 

[TB]

These are the requirements for 7, among others.

• 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit processor
• 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM
• 16 GB available hard disk space
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Looks pretty doable, but there might be an issue I'm not seeing.

 

[Pako]

If you're not using an old XP key, and are considering Vista, I got better benchmarks on Windows 7 over Vista and found it to run with less resources than Vista. I can't say that the final build won't be bloated, but the beta was pretty lean.

 

[Solid Lifters]

If you're not using an old XP key, and are considering Vista, I got better benchmarks on Windows 7 over Vista and found it to run with less resources than Vista. I can't say that the final build won't be bloated, but the beta was pretty lean.

Wow, such fast responses!

I have no idea what an "old XP key" means? I don't know why you think I would consider Vista, either. I just want to go straight from Windows XP SP3 to Windows 7 with the Windows 7 Update. I have no idea what is needed for that to happen. If you got the time I would appreciate what that all means to me.

I plan to F10 and start my PC from a fresh restart, if that would be best. But, then would I have to redownload all those XP updates before switching to Windows 7?

 

[Pako]

Sorry, I forgot you had a harddrive with XP already installed. What I meant by "Old XP Key" is just a CD key from an older machine no longer in use. You could reuse that "Old XP CD Key" to install XP on your old machine.

As far as upgrading, with Windows 7, you should be able to lauch the CD from windows. It will then reboot and do what it needs to do. I'm not sure about the service pack requirements, but with XP being so different from Windows 7, I doubt it's usng any of the same files, but rather is just verifying you are paying for an upgrade path instead of a full install.

My brain is completely fried so I hope some of that gibberish makes sense.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Sorry, I forgot you had a harddrive with XP already installed. What I meant by "Old XP Key" is just a CD key from an older machine no longer in use. You could reuse that "Old XP CD Key" to install XP on your old machine.

As far as upgrading, with Windows 7, you should be able to lauch the CD from windows. It will then reboot and do what it needs to do. I'm not sure about the service pack requirements, but with XP being so different from Windows 7, I doubt it's usng any of the same files, but rather is just verifying you are paying for an upgrade path instead of a full install.

My brain is completely fried so I hope some of that gibberish makes sense.

LMAO!

Your brain is fried?! I had to got to my mother's and help her with some paperwork and it was 110 degrees over there. The insane weather + mother = brainkilled.

OK, so running from a clean start (5 year old PC) with Windows XP without a Service Pack or updates should be fine? Good.

I guess I should order the Windows 7 upgrade. I never thought it would go for $50, which makes it sound too good to be true, to be honest. I just wanted to make sure.

Thanks, Pako.

EDIT: Windows 7 Upgrade disc ordered. Total was $59.79

I guess this means I need to add a DVD player to my list or I can just use the ancient one from my old PC, if I can. I only have ONE IDE connection available and the HDD is getting it. Guess I gotta check what connection type my DVD ROM drive is.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

OK, so running from a clean start (5 year old PC) with Windows XP without a Service Pack or updates should be fine? Good.

Most likely, since you'll have to do a clean install of 7.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Most likely, since you'll have to do a clean install of 7.

Yeah, I read that when I ordered my Windows 7 Upgrade disc. Fine with me, since I planned on doing it anyway.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

What's the delivery date on that Upgrade disc? As far as I'm aware, the release date for Windows 7 is somewhere around October 13th.

And by the way, Windows 7 rocks.

 

[Flerbizky]

I can't say that the final build won't be bloated, but the beta was pretty lean.

The RC version of Windows 7 (as the beta) are both considered feature complete by MS -

So you will not get a bloated Windows 7 installation - Ever ;-)

 

[Pako]

The RC version of Windows 7 (as the beta) are both considered feature complete by MS -

So you will not get a bloated Windows 7 installation - Ever ;-)

I certainly hope so! 👍

 

[Solid Lifters]

What's the delivery date on that Upgrade disc? As far as I'm aware, the release date for Windows 7 is somewhere around October 13th.

And by the way, Windows 7 rocks.

The invoice has 22 October. It's coming regular UPS so and extra 5-7 days on top of that. Halloween I should be rocking it 'new school.'

The RC version of Windows 7 (as the beta) are both considered feature complete by MS -

So you will not get a bloated Windows 7 installation - Ever ;-)

That's good to know. Makes one less thing to worry about.

I certainly hope so! 👍

Ditto.

 

[opendriver]

Now you got me toying around with the idea of getting a mini ITX box, just for office and email stuff. All I have to do is buy the Atom board and a 2GB stick of ram (actually, I could just take a stick out of my main machine and still have 2GB) and its only going to cost me 120 bucks. I have the rest of the stuff lying around from upgrading my current computer. 500 Watts is a bit overkill. Not to mention the mid size tower and stupidly loud fans...

 

[Pako]

I know you probably have things ordered and have the hardware in mind, but check this out:
http://www.evga.com/articles/00487/

Micro-x58 mobo.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Now you got me toying around with the idea of getting a mini ITX box, just for office and email stuff. All I have to do is buy the Atom board and a 2GB stick of ram (actually, I could just take a stick out of my main machine and still have 2GB) and its only going to cost me 120 bucks. I have the rest of the stuff lying around from upgrading my current computer. 500 Watts is a bit overkill. Not to mention the mid size tower and stupidly loud fans...

Do it! Do it!

I know you probably have things ordered and have the hardware in mind, but check this out:
http://www.evga.com/articles/00487/

Micro-x58 mobo.

Nah, it's too powerful. I want a low power and low heat system.

That's the best looking Mini ITX board I've ever seen, though! Very nice.

I have a problem with the video. It cuts out half way. In fact, I've been having a lot of problems playing videos lately. It started after downloading that PS3 media server. What did that thing do to my settings?