Not my normal scene. . . .

[garethace]

but, in accordance with my new adoption of more simple IT techniques and proceedures, i frantically spent an evening last night, preparing what i could only call a small format Piazza pan type of Pentium III system to act as a data inspection point for projects, 2D CAD files and the likes. Compare the difference between the older chassis the little mobo came out of. Having built the system and used it for an hour today, i would say, that noise/vibrations of the chassis are terrible. But you get what you pay for - this little chassis came with the CF card reader as standard, and a small 200 Watt PSU, which is fine for a Pentium III 800Mhz chip, and the chassis itself with all cables for front panel USB, Firewire, sound etc, etc, for only €105.99 from iBuddie! Seeing that i was paying that for a standalone, CF Reader for a 3 1/2 inch bay, i decided to take a chance on this chassis. I also have my eyes firmly fixed on the Antec Lanboy case, or the Coolermaster flat desktop chassis - neither of which are nearly as small as this though - so this presented somewhat of a challenge to me - after a long time fixing ribbon cables etc, etc, etc - i got it together, only to realise i had forgotten the wire to go from the CDROM drive to the integrate sound chips CDIN port. Anyhow, i am sure i could have ordered a very similar oem system like this one, for a small cost, and creative do a nice barebones shuttle rig, which is watercooled and very, very attractive looking. But i decided, having a spare small atx mobo and chip lying around, with Savage 4 int graphics etc, i would give this a lash. I only installed a bog standard CDROM drive in this - i am merely treating this system as a Xterminal if you were, it isn't that much bigger than a MAC II system, the ones with the litle 640x480 screens! - the board has onboard LAN too, which is just as well, since i would have to buy a 'small pci card' lan card for it, which aren't very readily available as far as i know. Quite an experience, i will let the pics speak for themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[garethace]

 

 

 

BTW, if i have to carry any small file with me at all, i either just sync up with the Pocket PC, or put it onto a CF card. I can take the CF card out of my Pocket PC, and read it on the big LCD screen for comfort etc, etc. But basically my computer is the Pocket PC know, and the desktop is merely a larger version of a Pocket PC, with a CF reader as the medium to swap stuff.

[Cesar R]

I like your mouse pad !

[Greg Hess]

Gare,

 

Have you considered using dynamat or another such material to absorb the vibrations?

 

this would of course quite possibly increase the internal temp of the case...but if your using a p3...heat shouldn't be a concern really.

[garethace]

Yeah, but in the desktop chassis, i could put a 1.4GHZ TB cooler in, to make the PIII much more stable and cooler - really pushed it to the limit with big huge MPeg4 and VIZ encoding stuff. Nowadays it is just re-made as an information point, but i might test it out as a rendering box too.

 

At €100 per box, with a CF reader as standard, and 200 watt psu, i might make a stack of them with a KVM to render etc. Anyhow, i haven't had much experience with the tight spaces of a 16inch x 13inch x 3 1/2 inch box. I enjoyed the experience of building the thing. I must look around for a slow, low lying Pentium III cooler though, but on the whole she seems thoroughly stable and a-okay.

 

I love the 'retro' type of Apple MAC back in the first G3 233Mhz days, type of feel to it - but a good deal faster, and with Firewire front panel access, or USB 2.0 if i can find a low profile card. But to be honest, i might even be crazy enough to try out an nForce 2 board at some stage - since the nForce 2 integrated graphics would be quite a bit better over the Savage 4 from VIA. The int. sound of the nForce is incredible too.

 

Hector brought up some interesting points here btw: http://www.archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?s=&postid=15125#post15125

 

BTW, i also got my Mx500 Logitech today, so no more need for a tatty old piece of A4 paper for a mousepad - no need for a mouse pad at all!!!