ITX storage machine, parts listed, need advice

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kill4killin

Gawd
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Jul 3, 2006
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Ok, well I built a mini ITX computer on Newegg.com and the parts are as follows:

-iStarUSA C3 STORM Series Mini ITX media tower case - $89
-VIA EPIA-CN13000G 1.3Ghz C7 processor/motherboard/VGA - $165
-Kingston DDR2-533 1GB - $85
-WD 400GB SATA150 16MB Cache - $120 (I want a 500GB or 2 but A: the case only has room for one HDD and B: 500GB SATA150 drives are rare and SATA II controller cards are expensive and hard"ish" to work with in linux)
-Phillips Slim 8x DVD/R+RW - $60

Like I mentioned it will be running linux, Ubuntu 6.06 to be specific. I am going to hook this up to a standard 17" CRT and my network so that I can just use it basically as a storage whore machine. I initially really wanted 2x500GB drives so that I could have overhead with storage but see above why I didn't (if you have suggestions, suggest away). The only downfall I see to this system is the case. The case only comes with an 80W PSU and only has room for one HDD so expandability for the future looks a little...dull should I say...

So any suggestions are welcome, this is my first time going ITX or any small form factor for that matter so I know a little bit but as always you guys know a LOT more than I do.

P.S. this will be replacing the rig in my signature so if you want it PM me :D
 
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Sata II drives will work fine on sata 1 controllers

Also there are several SataII raid cards that work quite well under linux

Why not look at another case if this one won't fit the number of hdds you want?
maybe a modded desktop case or a slightly larger itx case

also after you finish installing the box you won't need a monitor keyboard or mouse on it if you install remote admin tools like an ssh server
 
yes, I know, going from a beast to a tiny PC...the move has mainly been spurred on because I now have a laptop more powerful then my desktop so I see no need to have the desktop anymore, I just have it around still because it has 1/2TB of storage space in it and my laptop only has 80GB of storage so I keep a lot of stuff on it VIA network drives.

tacticus: Thank you for your input. I had no idea SATAII drives worked on SATA150 controlers, I will get the 2x500GB drives then.

I know that there are cards that work in linux, there is EVERYTHING that works in linux, the trick is just finding them. Granted finding a SATAII card that works in linux is probably easier then finding a wifi card that works in linux (personal grudge againts linux/wifi)

Do you know where they sell other ITX cases? This is the only one that I could find on newegg.com and I was hoping to keep this as small as possibly as I live in a college dorm that is about 14'x7' and space is very limited. (hence the move away from my beast machine)

and yes I am aware that I will not need peripherals after the install, I may or may not keep them attached, only time will tell.

::EDIT::

Ok, here are two different system options for me that will fit my needs, 500GB is a fine start for the ITX system and if I can find a case about the size of the one selected there then I can add a second one to the order, but for now 1 500GB drive is sufficient.

Micro ATX system - 2x500GB Maxtor HDD, Thermaltake VF1000BNS case, GIGABYTE GA-945GZM-S2 motherboard, Intel C2D E4300 processor, G.Skill 2x512mb RAM. I will also use my pre-existing PSU, graphics card and optical drive from my current rig in this machine as well to save some cost unless I find that it needs an mATX PSU as well in which case I guess I need to add one...

Mini ITX system - 1x500GB Maxtor HDD, iStarUSA S3 Storm Mini ITX computer case, VIA EPIA-CN13000G 1.3GHz VIA C7 motherboard/processor/VGA, 1GB Kingston RAM, Phillips slim DVD/R+RW optical drive.

The Micro ATX system costs $720 and the Mini ITX system will run me about $540...so I am sort of leaning towards the ITX system unless someone can sway me otherwise for any good reason...
 
Gah, Synaps3 just gave me a brilliant idea...since I don't need power I should just recycle my system and just get a different motherboard, new hard drives and microfly case...DUH!
 
Thats wut I was going to recommend. I picked up a Qpack for cheaper after rebate, threw in my old AXP system, stuck in a cheap 30$ 4 port SATA card and 4 x 500GB drives and made it a linux file server. I attached an ide dvdburner just to install linux and then removed it to free up space. This would give u flexibility to mix and match parts as well as upgradeability.
I took a QPack, modded it to fit a 5 x 3.5 hard drive into 3 x 5.25 drive bracket to hold my hard drives. I had to cut out part of the supporting metal rods and I redid the front panel w/plexi and added a blue vandal switch and a bunch of leds.
U could pick up a Microfly for cheap after rebate from Tigerdirect to house everything. Throw in ur Silverstone, plus a cheap 4 port SATA card based on the si3114 chipset, apply some cable management and uve got a nice portable TB server. U can install Ubuntu or the distro of choice onto one of ur IDE drives and store everything on the 4 sata drives.
U could sell/trade/giveaway/or keep ur other IDE drives and optical drives. I have a spare dvdburner for testing and a bunch of random IDE drives for system drives and temp/test drives.
Not there was anything wrong with the original plan, but then u woulda wanted more and once we showed u mashie's udat, u wouldn't be happy with anything less. I modeled my modded QPack after Udat, but I have planned and speced out wut it would take to build a mini itx terabyte server.
right now im testing out the same system w/a turion cpu... or trying to... it would be cool to have a terabyte server using less than 100w....
 
In theory using one of the Intel chips that are supposed to come out that suck only 35W you could make a TB server in the sub 100W range without much trouble at all...This thing is going to unfortunately need a lot of wattage though. If I did the math right, I have an opteron opteron, IDE drive, 250GB IDE drive (until I have the money for another 500GB SATA) and a 500GB SATAII drive, then to keep it LAN worthy I figured I would keep the 7600GT in the box as well. So that combined will probably suck at LEAST 300-350W. I think the Silverstone will come in handy!
 
kill4killin said:
In theory using one of the Intel chips that are supposed to come out that suck only 35W you could make a TB server in the sub 100W range without much trouble at all...This thing is going to unfortunately need a lot of wattage though. If I did the math right, I have an opteron opteron, IDE drive, 250GB IDE drive (until I have the money for another 500GB SATA) and a 500GB SATAII drive, then to keep it LAN worthy I figured I would keep the 7600GT in the box as well. So that combined will probably suck at LEAST 300-350W. I think the Silverstone will come in handy!
Click to expand...



Actually it would likely use less than 200 =(
 
^^ in your sig, why the downgrade in the system?

Ok, well I think this has been decided on. I am going to get an mATX motherboard, most likely the A8V-VM unless people have better suggestions. It was well liked on newegg.com and is pretty cheap. And I will be putting it in either a Qpack or a MicroFly. I will then be transplanting my Silverstone PSU, 7600GT, Optical drive, processor, RAM and my 250GB IDE drive from my old machine into this new one until I have the money for the new hard drives in which case I will then be upgrading it to 2x500GB Maxtor drives on top of the 250GB IDE if it is not dead by then.

Thanks everyone for the help. This project has actually inspired my dad to want me to build him a 2TB mATX PC for the theater in the basement so that he can store all 500 of our DVDs in the dvd collection on it.
 
kill4killin said:
^^ in your sig, why the downgrade in the system?

Ok, well I think this has been decided on. I am going to get an mATX motherboard, most likely the A8V-VM unless people have better suggestions. It was well liked on newegg.com and is pretty cheap. And I will be putting it in either a Qpack or a MicroFly. I will then be transplanting my Silverstone PSU, 7600GT, Optical drive, processor, RAM and my 250GB IDE drive from my old machine into this new one until I have the money for the new hard drives in which case I will then be upgrading it to 2x500GB Maxtor drives on top of the 250GB IDE if it is not dead by then.

Thanks everyone for the help. This project has actually inspired my dad to want me to build him a 2TB mATX PC for the theater in the basement so that he can store all 500 of our DVDs in the dvd collection on it.
Click to expand...

I only play ut and I like monies. And, the qpack is a bit large IMO. It's pretty huge =(
 
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