Since I've been slacking off on the Windows Home Server Cube, I threw something together over the last few days to get me back into the swing of things.
The breadbox had an aluminum shelf inside, about 16"x 7.5". I also had a Commell LE-370Z. Hmmm, that's a nice and tiny board, pretty much the same as what I'd used in this system. That one was pretty small, but I decided to see just how small of a working system I could build with that board. Since the board is 4" x 5.75" x ~1" tall, I knew I wanted to stay as close to that size as possible. I ended up at 2.5" x 4.5" x 6.5", which I think is pretty damned good. Anyway, some specs, then some pics.
Commell LE-370Z with onboard Celeron-M 600MHz(Banias core, 0K L2 cache)
512MB DDR400@266MHz(but really good timings)
40GB Seagate Momentus 5400.2 2.5" hard drive
Broadcom 802.11a/b/g Mini-PCI wireless with external antenna
60 watt external power brick
And the pics, case was bent on an 18" break from Harbor Freight.
I'll be cutting and bending a cover from some leftover mesh I have. May also add some feet just to get it off the desk. Doesn't require any real cooling, either. Should be fine without a fan, idling at the BIOS screen the whole system only pulls 18 watts of power. It also performs as good or better than most VIA C3 boards.
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And it's done for now. Decided against adding the parallel port, didn't want to clutter up the backpanel since it's so simple right now.
And let me say, it photographs much better than it actually is. The mesh was a pain to get cut right, and then I ended up bending it just a hair too small. It fits, just a bit too tightly for my liking. Still, I think it's pretty cool, and that's all that really matters to me. All that's left is to install XP and configure everything. Oh yeah, and make a run to Hardware Hank or Radio Shack for the rubber feet I like.
Anyway, the final pics.
And just so the size is even more obvious, here it is with a 3.5" hard drive.
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Got XP Pro installed and started getting things set up. Trying to get a CPU temp while it's in Windows was a pain, but Speedfan seems to be working. This bastard gets HOT. Just doing the install and updates the CPU is hitting into the 60ºC range, hate to see what it would hit under a real load. Might have to try to squeeze in a fan. Unfortunately it would have to be mounted to the outside of the cover, didn't leave enough room internally. Tempted to bend a new cover that's a bit taller, make "flaps" to cover the gap that would be on the front and back. Not sure if I'm that motivated, though.
I did check Intel's specs for the CPU and found it's rated to 100ºC, the board itself is rated for operating in temps from 0-60ºC, so I'm in safe territory. Still, the case gets almost too hot to touch, so I'm mulling the fan over a bit.
I also had it running on the end with the CPU side of the board towards the top. Going to run it "flat" for a while with the whole top of the mesh available for venting. See if that makes a difference
Oh yeah, and I really need to add a power switch somewhere on this. Been having it start when power is applied, but it's a pain and I don't want to damage the power connector. It'll have to be on the back of the case, the board uses a full size DIMM which doesn't leave much depth on the front of the case. Just wish there were small AND nice looking momentary switches. I've got a Bulgin vandal here for the WHS project, but it's so fricken big I doubt it would fit anywhere. I also have some small momentary switches from an old, old project, but they have ugly plastic knobs. Guess I'll keep looking.
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After an extended run, CPU temps were above 70ºC, so I really had to add on a fan. Went digging through my parts and came across a 1cm thick, 40mm fan that had been on the heatsink of another embedded board. And it JUST barely fits with the cover on.
Second problem, it's really amazingly loud and whiney at 12 volts. The board doesn't have any fan controls, and access to 5 volts isn't easy. Ended up using two 3 pin connectors. One connects to a standard fan header on the board, only for RPM monitoring. The second three pin was modified to fit an onboard external power header Commell puts on the boards. It is a 4 pin male "floppy" power connector, so with a couple swaps of wires on the fan connector, I've got the fan running at 5 volts.
With the fan CPU temps are staying in the 60-65ºC range. Not a great reduction, but at least now the whole case isn't getting too hot to touch.
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Some final pics after a few fixes.
-Added power and reset buttons from the parts bin
-Added power and HD activity LEDs, also from the parts box
-Added two quiet 40mm cooling fans. Originally planned on just cutting round holes, but decided to make it easier on myself and just do a square cutout. Doesn't make much difference in looks, at least not to me.
-Added rubber feet, only to find out that when the mesh cover is in place the body of the case is a bit warped. Not sure how that happened.
Anyway, it's complete. Enjoy the last pics.
