What are good sites to find parts for a SFF/fanless/solid state system?

[Netopia]

Hey All,

I'd like to build a super tiny box, fairly low power (Atom type) with no fans and an external brick type power supply. I'm thinking I'd need a different sort of mobo in order to hook the power up, but I don't know. I searched around NewEgg but really didn't find anything that fit.

For those who are familiar with this type of setup, I was wondering if you might share some of your favorite sites, both for design (enthusiast's sites) and for buying parts.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Joe

 

[dawza]

www.logicsupply.com

http://www.e-itx.com/

www.mini-box.com

P.S. I would strongly suggest going with an SSD for small fanless builds- even with an Atom-based system, temps can get pretty close to, or in excess of, standard HDD specs.

 

[Netopia]

Thanks for the quick reply dawza... and good to meet you!

I'll check out those sites and see what I can find.

My intent is to make this a totally solid state unit to go out in a factory floor where there is MUCHO dust and filth. The environment either kills normal machines by clogging them up and they overheat, or it's a constant battle of continual cleaning and blowing out.

Since this machine will be used for only one application (written for the industry), I was thinking of just using a 16GB CF card with an adapter, but with the price of some of these SSDs plummeting, I may just end up going that route instead!

Joe

 

[CurseTheSky]

From what I've heard, CF is horribly slow compared to low-end SSDs. Do your own research, as again, that's just what I've heard.

If 16GB is enough, a 30 or 40GB SSD should be more than plenty. You're looking at $100-130ish there.

 

[Zap]

Joe, there has been a number of 30GB SSD deals for under $100, some as low as $70. Those are for "good" SSDs, too.

No fans and external brick style PSUs are not a problem.

The problem is the dust and filth.

Fanless mobo/CPUs still have heatsink fins and fanless cases (such as the Mini-box M350) are full of vent holes. Once the heatsinks and vents get clogged up...

 

[dawza]

If the environment is that harsh, you might want to contact Logicsupply directly and get their recommendation. There are sealed systems that can deal with the dust and grime, but they won't be cheap- and you probably want them to be pre-assembled so the heatpipe alignment, etc is right (unless you have extensive experience doing this and would be willing to take the blame if something went wrong).

Something like this would probably work, especially if configured with something solid-state (you wouldn't necessarily be submerging the system, but being waterproof means that you would be able to easily clean it with a hose/dunk/pretty much whatever other method you want):

http://www.logicsupply.com/products/systemgw_01

Again, not cheap, but, I'm assuming that even $1K would be peanuts if this is a mission-critical work-related expense. I'm sure that there are other OEMs that specialize in this kind of thing, but that is beyond my knowledge base.

 

[Netopia]

Perhaps I overstated the harshness. It's horrible with fans pulling air and dust through constantly. I'm hoping that having something that just cools through convection would be able to go a year at a time or more without having to clean it... maybe longer. I think I'll start with something on the cheaper end of things and see how it works out.

Joe