Mini-ITX/SFF wish list

[dave_the_nerd]

Isn't the Phenom M the same footprint as the Prodigy but fits matx?

Thereabouts. It's the stupid handles on the Prodigy.

 

[cbn]

8. 4TB 2.5" HDDs for <$100 each.

I think that would be great if that happened.

The current pricing looks as follows:

3.5" 4TB HDD starts at $180.
3.5" 2TB HDD starts at $90.

2.5" 2TB HDD starts at $180.

So the 3.5" HDD form factor still has a very healthy lead on 2.5" HDD.

Still, I think it would be great to get rid of 3.5" drives for the most size constrained SFF desktops (Eg, see posts #2 and #12 for the situation in a potentially very small Micro-ATX enclosure). And, of course, for laptops having cheap high capacity 2.5" HDD available is an obvious plus.

 

[cbn]

16. Custom I/O shields for MiniBox M350 so additional thin mini-itx boards can be used with full width expansion card in the enclosure.

Currently MiniBox does offer a custom I/O shield (that includes a PCI-E x1 riser)--> http://www.mini-box.com/I-O-shield-and-riser-card-for-DN2800MT for a particular Mitac thin mini-itx atom board--> http://www.mini-box.com/MITAC-DN2800MT-PD11TI-Mini-ITX-Motherboard

Seems like a great idea for a few reasons:

1. The I/O shield and riser only cost $5 for the Mitac.
2. Using an full width add-in-board in the thin mini-itx's PCI-E x1 slot does not reduce the number of 2.5" drives capable of being used in the M350.
3. Using thin mini-itx in M350 allows for use of 19v brick. (In addition, a pico psu is no longer needed, of course)
4. M350 with the $5 riser is $13 to $15 cheaper than a Silverstone PT13 on Amazon. (And the Silverstone doesn't allow for that full width PCI-E x1 card to be added like this M350).

But then what about other thin mini-itx boards like the ECS 1037U thin mini-Itx (with its PCI-E x1 slot) shown below:

It would be great if some additional I/O shields could be made. Either that or redesign/add-on to the I/O portion of the M350 case in some way so a stock thin mini-Itx case I/O shield could be used (while keeping the ability to use an expansion slot above it).

 

[cbn]

17. Mini-ITX boards with Bay Trail E series chips so we can have AES-NI and ECC together in an affordable package.

http://ark.intel.com/products/78475/Intel-Atom-Processor-E3845-2M-Cache-1_91-GHz ($52)

http://ark.intel.com/products/78478/Intel-Atom-Processor-E3827-1M-Cache-1_75-GHz ($41)

http://ark.intel.com/products/78477/Intel-Atom-Processor-E3826-1M-Cache-1_46-GHz ($37)

http://ark.intel.com/products/78474/Intel-Atom-Processor-E3825-1M-Cache-1_33-GHz ($34)

http://ark.intel.com/products/78476/Intel-Atom-Processor-E3815-512K-Cache-1_46-GHz ($31)

18. Affordable Mini-ITX board with AMD Kyoto which also has ECC and AES-NI.

 

[cbn]

Another relatively inexpensive Silvermont atom I found with AES-NI and ECC:

http://ark.intel.com/products/77982/Intel-Atom-Processor-C2550-2M-Cache-2_40-GHz ($86)

The Avoton C2550 is a quad core Silvermont atom with a 2.4 Ghz base clock and 2.6 Ghz turbo. It loses the iGPU and usb 3.0 of Bay Trail E series, but has six SATA ports native to the chipset ( a big improvement over Bay trail-E which has two only two native SATA) as well as more available PCI-E 2.0 lanes (16 vs. 4).

Seems to me this would be a great SOC to use for an affordable NAS board.

 

[cbn]

2. Higher than 450 watt SFX PSUs. (designed for 92mm fan, if that helps).

Glad to see this 600 watt SFX 80 plus Gold rated Power supply show up:

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=524&area=en

 

[Skott]

There is a 500w model in the works too.

 

[cbn]

There is a 500w model in the works too.

Thanks for info!

http://www.pcper.com/category/tags/sfx-psu

Next we have the SX500-LG, and perhaps more exciting to mini-ITX enthusiasts the new 500-watt option in the SFX lineup features a 120mm fan!

The SX500-LG's 120mm "ultra-quiet" fan adds a bit to the depth of the PSU, which is 130mm compared to the 100mm of the ST45SF-G and SX600-G, and it is classified as an "SFX-L" form factor - with only the length being non-standard for SFX. This new fan implementation should really help reduce some additional load noise from a small high-powered system. Both of the announced additions to the SFX family will also feature all flat cabling this time.

There are new models across all of SilverStone's lineup coming up, so stay tuned. No pricing or availablity just yet, but there's a lot to look forward to from SilverStone this year in the cases and cooling department!

I like it!!

(I'd imagine Silverstone has a special case all lined up for this PSU as well.)

EDIT: Looks like the DS380, ML07 and RVZ01 are some cases that can already use this new SFX-L form factor PSU.

DS380:

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=452&area=en

ML07:

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=503&area=en

RVZ01:

http://www.silverstonetek.com/raven/products/index.php?model=RVZ01&area=en

 

[piasabird]

Why not show the Silverstone ribbon Fully Modular Power supply cable kit?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-043-_-Product

Designed to go with the Silverstone Strider Series of fully modular power Supplies.
Silverstone also makes some SFX power supplies that come with an adapter plate to use with ATX mounting holes.

 

[cbn]

Why not show the Silverstone ribbon Fully Modular Power supply cable kit?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-043-_-Product

Designed to go with the Silverstone Strider Series of fully modular power Supplies.

Silverstone also makes some SFX power supplies that come with an adapter plate to use with ATX mounting holes.

Now if only we get a SFX/SFX-L to ATX adapter plate that has a 3.5" HDD mounting bracket also built in?

Then use a shortened version of one of those ribbon cables to connect SFX or SFX-L PSU to the adjacent 3.5" HDD?

Judging by the following dimensions:


ATX:

150mm (W) x 86mm (H) x 140mm (D)


SFX-L:

125mm (W) x 51.5mm (H) x 130mm (D)



I'd imagine a 3.5" HDD + SFX-L or SFX PSU would fit in the same space occupied by the larger ATX PSU. In fact, I believe there would even some room to allow the intake fan of the PSU to provide some air flow to the 3.5" HDD.

 

[crashtech]

My wish for SFF is for more low power Haswell CPUs to become available. Currently the only 35W Haswell commonly available is the 4130T. I'd love to see something with HD 4600 graphics become available, and decent Turbo on 1 or 2 thread loads.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

My wish for SFF is for more low power Haswell CPUs to become available. Currently the only 35W Haswell commonly available is the 4130T. I'd love to see something with HD 4600 graphics become available, and decent Turbo on 1 or 2 thread loads.

How common is common?

http://www.compsource.com/pn/CM8064601466003/Intel-211/?src=F

*shrug*

 

[crashtech]

How common is common?

http://www.compsource.com/pn/CM8064601466003/Intel-211/?src=F

*shrug*

They are tray CPUs and nobody stocks them. The link you provide points to such an item.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

They are tray CPUs and nobody stocks them. The link you provide points to such an item.

Tray CPUs? Right... and? I'm probably the only person on this board stupid enough to build their own rig and use an Intel OEM HSF.

The way I figure it, something is "common" enough to not worry about it, if I can pay with a VISA card and get it delivered to my house.

 

[crashtech]

Reads like condescension, is that your intent?

I don't think it makes me less of an enthusiast that I prefer to buy from vendors with whom I am familiar. I have lamented on this board the fact that neither Newegg nor any other vendor with whom I have accounts sell tray CPUs any longer. This fact was my primary reason for mentioning that the CPUs I would otherwise like to buy are not available boxed, not that anyone ought to be averse to using one, despite the lack of warranty.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Not condescension - surprise. I interpreted your post as a knock on tray CPUs. (as though they're somehow less CPU-ey or something.) "Right... and?" was an invitation to explain.

Dissing Intel OEM HSFs was a flippant way of pointing out the imo insubstantial "advantages" of a retail boxed CPU. (While simultaneously acknowledging that I use one anyway because I'm a cheap bastard.)

I can understand wanting to stay conservative with who you give your credit card number to. I tend to pay with Paypal if the option is given for similar reasons.

However, finding the one or two companies that sell exactly the weird, "rare" part I want is, well, kind of part of the fun, and dealing with them is, to me, an acceptable risk.

Kinda like some guys I know who spend their weekends slogging through scrapyards.

Newegg Daily Deals and the clearance table at Microcenter don't really get the heart pumping anymore.

 

[cbn]

My wish for SFF is for more low power Haswell CPUs to become available. Currently the only 35W Haswell commonly available is the 4130T. I'd love to see something with HD 4600 graphics become available, and decent Turbo on 1 or 2 thread loads.

Maybe more options in the BIOS would help too?

This way we could make our own low TDP chips (with custom turbos) from high TDP stock chips?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Any Zx7 board will undervolt - you can turn a -K chip into a -T or ULV pretty effectively.

Or you can go super-extreme:

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/135719-5-9-watts-the-worlds-most-efficient-high-end-computer

 

[crashtech]

Maybe more options in the BIOS would help too?

This way we could make our own low TDP chips (with custom turbos) from high TDP stock chips?

That would be nice.

@ dave: "Z" boards will at least undervolt, but two problems, first is that "Z" thin minis are rare, or are there any at all? I can't stop to look right now. Second, we'd want to be able to come up with a custom Turbo map but locked multis won't allow for that.

That's partly why I use the 4130T for certain SFF builds right now.

 

[cbn]

That would be nice.

@ dave: "Z" boards will at least undervolt, but two problems, first is that "Z" thin minis are rare, or are there any at all? I can't stop to look right now. Second, we'd want to be able to come up with a custom Turbo map but locked multis won't allow for that.

That's partly why I use the 4130T for certain SFF builds right now.

Sounds like another good reason for Intel to release a lower cost/feature reduced Z series chip.

The first reason I had for a lower cost/feature reduced Z series chip was in this thread:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2389429&highlight=

A post about limiting power delivery (which shouldn't affect the second reason for wanting a low cost/feature reduced Z chipset: undervolting):

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=36551888&postcount=73

 

[cbn]

Picture comparing ATX (140mm depth) to SFX-L and SFX:

(What can't be seen in the picture, of course, is the height difference between the units.)

 

[cbn]

Silverstone also makes some SFX power supplies that come with an adapter plate to use with ATX mounting holes.

Now if only we get a SFX/SFX-L to ATX adapter plate that has a 3.5" HDD mounting bracket also built in?

Then use a shortened version of one of those ribbon cables to connect SFX or SFX-L PSU to the adjacent 3.5" HDD?

Judging by the following dimensions:


ATX:

150mm (W) x 86mm (H) x 140mm (D)


SFX-L:

125mm (W) x 51.5mm (H) x 130mm (D)



I'd imagine a 3.5" HDD + SFX-L or SFX PSU would fit in the same space occupied by the larger ATX PSU. In fact, I believe there would even some room to allow the intake fan of the PSU to provide some air flow to the 3.5" HDD.

Regarding the idea (above) of making an SFX to ATX adapter which parks a 3.5" HDD next to a SFX-L or SFX PSU intake fan, please take a look at these following pictures of the Coolermaster Elite 110 PSU intake fan to HDD placement:

Those HDDs are really close to the PSU intake fan! But apparently the set-up still works.

So I am thinking that SFX/3.5" HDD to ATX adapter I am mentioning should be very do-able. (and probably flow air to the PSU much better than what we are seeing above)

 

[tviceman]

I ended up completing a SFF build with the Fractal Node 304. It's not a perfect case, and I think it can still be smaller with the same cooling capabilities, but it's way smaller than the Bitfenix Prodigy and looks nice.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I beasted one out with a SG05 back in 2012 ... wow almost 2 years ago now!

http://vivithemage.com/2012/10/20/s...77-i-deluxe-noctua-nh-l12-the-itx-mini-beast/


I wish I could have gone smaller

 

[GreenMeters]

I'd like to see an understated M-ITX case that supports 2x3.5" drives AND an ODD (slim or regular) AND a decent low-profile HSF (like Scythe Shuriken or Kozuti) but no bigger--and preferably smaller--than the Lian Li PC-Q03 by requiring a DC-DC PSU (like PicoPSU), freeing up that ATX/SFX PSU for the extra HDD. Integrated IR receiver on the front would be a nice bonus.

If only Streacom had a slightly taller version of the F7C Evo that could take a decent HSF and an extra HDD...