Ultra compact ATX case

[rthorntn]

Hi All,

I am about to buy a motherboard, the Asus P8B WS, it's ATX.

Now this is for (high-speed, low noise) firewall.

So the question, has anyone seen an ultra compact ATX case for sale, here's what I was thinking:

Just a little taller than a PCI slot
Just a little wider and deeper than an ATX motherboard
Space for 2.5" disks
Can be used on it's side
Single big, slow fan

I am going to put a 45W CPU in there and power it with an external brick.

Thanks for looking.

--Richard

[mentawl]

Smallest case I know of that comes close to that specification is the Coolermaster Elite 360:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811119195

I doubt you'll find anything substantially smaller that'll support a full size ATX board.

[rthorntn]

Thanks Mentawl, that looks great!

--Richard

[rthorntn]

The question now is with these components in mind:

Asus P8B WS
Intel Xeon E3-1260L
4GB RAM
ADSL2+ PCI Card [http://linitx.com/product/12181]
10GbE PCIe card [ SMC TigerCard XFP]
2 x Sparklan WPEA-127N [installed in Mini PCI-E to PCI-E Adapters}
2 x SSD
4 x 2.5" 1TB
120mm Fan

In the Coolermaster RC-360, should I be looking at an external brick still, like this:

Winmate DD-24AX DC-DC
Li Shin 0226A20160 20V 8A 160W

Or an ATX PSU, like this:

Seasonic X-400 Fanless

I am trying to get low power usage at idle, most of the time the CPU utilisation will be fairly low.

Thanks.

--Richard

[Luke M]

Use a normal ATX power supply. That way you don't have to worry about power limits. No reason to use a low TDP CPU either.

[rthorntn]

Thanks Luke, you mean I should buy a normal part like:

Intel Xeon E3-1235 (with onboard P3000 video) 95W TDP

For $79 cheaper and underclock/undervolt it?

Or go for a non Xeon?

I kind of like the idea of the low voltage part and as long as it's under $100 difference it's OK but I am probably missing something...

--Richard

[Luke M]

No, I think you should get a standard TDP part and run it normally. Idle power won't be any higher than the low TDP version. I assume you are getting the Xeon because you want ECC memory?

[HFat]

The reason one would go with a low-TDP part is to have a smaller/quieter cooling system which couldn't handle a hotter chip. But, out of a server room where noise isn't much of an issue, why one would want to such a powerful CPU for a firewall is beyond me.

If you have to go Intel, why not use a cheap Clarkdale (you'll find information about their unofficial ECC support in this forum)?

[FoolishGhoul]

You have probably sorted it out by now but I just thought I'd share my findings for anyone looking for a compact ATX case.

Search Google for "CIT S002 Slim Micro HTPC Media Centre Case with 450W PSU - Black/Silver" and you should find a case made by "Colors IT".

3 online sellers in the UK (Scan, Overclock, Tekheads), but I bought mine from an independent shop in Carlisle

I was hoping to get a mATX case but to my suprise when I got home I found it had all the holes and enough PCI slots to fit a full size ATX motherboard. It also has a full size ATX power supply at the front. Absolutely fantastic design!

The only caveat is that you need to source one or both of the following:

A narrow ATX motherboard
A short ATX power supply (or use a picoPSU)

I have tried several arrangements and while the motherboard will fit it can be quite a tight squeeze because the power supply sits on the same level as the motherboard but infront of it - potentially a very powerful system if you can get the components to fit.

I'll post pics when I get my camera working of the setup I have and you'll hopefully see what I mean.

Happy hunting!

[Akustyk]

I had a similar question. I ended up buying the Lian Li PC-A05NB. It's a beautiful case that is small and very light. It fits a full-size ATX motherboard and has room for at least 3 x 3.5 and 2 x 5.25.