[NTLUG:Discuss] Small form-factor cases

[Darin Smith]

I just built an MSI Metis 266 box (for 'doze gaming & some multimedia work 
that is, sadly, easier to do on 'doze than on Linux--still.  Oh yeah, it 
also helps inflate my seti at home stats).

It's a pretty nice little box.  It takes low-profile/half-height PCI and 
AGP (up to 4X) cards and can handle an Athlon XP up to 2600+, which is what 
I've got in there.

On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 12:26:00 -0600, Kelledin 
<kelledin+NTLUG at skarpsey.dyndns.org> wrote:
> - A lot of SFF cases use power supplies with the same basic form-factor 
> as generic 1u PSUs.  So sometimes you can get a
> 300W or 350W 1u PSU off eBay and use that--such parts are on
> eBay almost all the time.  Beware, though, that the form-factor
> for 1u PSUs is not hard-and-fast, so you may have to mod things
> a bit to make a generic PSU fit.  (I had to modify the back of
> my 1u with a carbide burr and a few other tools.)
>

The Metis, actually an MSI mobo in an In-Win BT533 case painted black with 
a silver door, only has a 180W power supply.  If you are an overclocker, 
you will want a bigger power supply, and indeed, I believe some 1U units 
would work fine.  I'm doing fine so far with just the 180W power supply 
(though I did have to replace it--my hard drive's power connector was 
malformed, and pushed a power pin out of the Molex connector from the power 
supply--unbeknownst to me, and it shorted by contact with the case--this 
p.s. is not short-protected).  However, I have not yet upgraded to a 
GeForceMX graphics card--nor will I due to the heat and my limited demands. 
 I'm planning on going up to a GeForce 4MX 440, which is cheap, easy to 
find in low-profile, and won't suck down so much power or make so much 
heat.  I'm rather impressed with the design of the BT533/Metis266 case, 
except for one thing--their well-advertized "excite blue LED power light" 
(as the Engrish says...) is bright enough to light up the whole room at 
night.  I solved this problem with a piece of electrical tape strategically 
placed. :)  The fans are a little loud, but not too bad.

I did add a low-profile Firewire A/B card.  You can get low-profile USB2.0 
cards for $15 at Fry's (look in the electronic components area of the Plano 
store, rather than the normal computer upgrades area for some reason).  But 
the MSI box has USB2.0 already on it.  I tried one of those 9-in-1 flash 
readers, and the computer wouldn't even POST with it plugged into a USB 
port--dunno why--all my other USB stuff works fine.  I've also seen at 
least one low-profile TV tuner card, but I'm opting for a USB or Firewire 
solution there.  There are a plethora of low-profile ethernet cards--though 
it's now hard to find a mobo without ethernet built-on.  There are also 
plenty of low-profile SCSI and Serial ATA cards.  The nice thing about the 
low-profile cards is that they usually come such that you can use them 
either low-profile or full-height by changing a bracket (2 minute job).  
Additionally, some "standard" PCI cards can work with a little creativity 
and a dremel, vice, and hammer (a drill press can help, too) to modify the 
bracket into a "low-profile" bracket.

One thing to understand--cabling gets crowded in a small case--quickly.  
Make good use of zip-ties and keep good ventilation paths by the CPU, GPU, 
and chipset and you'll be fine.

--Darin