confusis
06-14-2012, 04:09 AM
LOSIAS SkunkWorx, in collaboration with Aurora Design Studio, present:
FLAKB0X
In the pursuit of the most space efficient system possible, various areas must be considered. Volume, performance, power consumption, heat output, storage and so forth. Changing one variable can effect one, or all of the others. Careful consideration must be given to each change, upgrade or modification. Small Form Factor isn't an area where you can just throw parts together and expect it to all fit. Sacrifices must be made to reap the benefits of the system. The benefits, however are huge. With today's technology, massive power can be packed into small systems. M-ITX boards cover large market segments, from embedded industrial applications, to workstations, to gaming PCs.
All in all, I believe the sacrifices are worth the struggle. A system that looks good on your desk, without taking up a large portion of it is an achievement in itself. More often than not, a smaller system will consume less power, leading to cost savings over time. Less power being used leads to less heat output, which, if taken advantage of, can lead to a quieter system.
In my quest for the ideal system, I've tried many things. M-ATX boards in Mid-Towers, E-ATX boards in cases smaller than Mid-Towers, M-ITX boards with low power mobile processors and low profile graphics cards. Flakb0x is the next generation of Small Form Factor for me, as unlike my previous builds, it is all current or last generation hardware. The performance potential is huge, assuming I can invest the money into hardware.
The flakb0x system is being built around an Asrock H61M-ITX motherboard.
-Socket 1155, with support for Sandybridge and Ivybridge processors up to 95w (**According to Asrock's CPU support list only IVB i7's and Xeons are supported at present**)
-3 Internal 3GB SATA connections
-PCIEx16 slot V2 (V3 with an IVB processor installed)
-And a few other nifty features
Along with the board, I have procured:
-2x2GB Corsair Value DDR3-1333 DIMMs
-1x eBay sourced flexible PCI-Express riser
-1x Toshiba 320gb Hard Drive 2.5"
-1x Sapphire HD5670
-MDPC Black sleeve
-MNPCTech Hex Modder's Mesh
-2mm Aluminium
-1x XBox 360 power brick (can supply 196Watts of 12VDC)
-1x Core i7 cooler (copper core, designed for the 95w i7's, so should run quiet and cool with a 65w i3)
And plan on procuring:
-1x Intel Core i3-2100/or Pentium G630 (budget friendly!)
-1x 160watt PicoPSU
-Matte black vinyl
http://imagehost.losias.net/images/bqHw.jpg
http://imagehost.losias.net/images/yhOBg.jpg
http://imagehost.losias.net/images/dSDUZ.jpg
In case you were wondering, LOSIAS SkunkWorx is an invitation only group of elite designers and modders at http://www.losias.net that work together on project design, product development, reviews, views and insights. Like a modder thinktank focused on SFF.
After some hacking, filing, cutting, swearing, etc etc, here is more!
Motherboard is test fitted to tray, along with 2.5" HDD (dummy for my 320gb Toshiba drive, and eventually a SSD)
http://imagehost.losias.net/images/idnYX.jpg
Rear panel is mostly done, the 3 pin socket is the main power plug, the 1 pin next to it is a power socket for the fans in the case's stand
http://imagehost.losias.net/images/9Fa8h.jpg
And the top placed on. The hole there will be filled with mesh :)
http://imagehost.losias.net/images/ADbZH.jpg
To do:
Buy CPU
Buy PicoPSU
Sort GPU cooler size issues
Buy matte black vinyl
Cut acrylic front panel
Make stand,
etc :)
FLAKB0X
In the pursuit of the most space efficient system possible, various areas must be considered. Volume, performance, power consumption, heat output, storage and so forth. Changing one variable can effect one, or all of the others. Careful consideration must be given to each change, upgrade or modification. Small Form Factor isn't an area where you can just throw parts together and expect it to all fit. Sacrifices must be made to reap the benefits of the system. The benefits, however are huge. With today's technology, massive power can be packed into small systems. M-ITX boards cover large market segments, from embedded industrial applications, to workstations, to gaming PCs.
All in all, I believe the sacrifices are worth the struggle. A system that looks good on your desk, without taking up a large portion of it is an achievement in itself. More often than not, a smaller system will consume less power, leading to cost savings over time. Less power being used leads to less heat output, which, if taken advantage of, can lead to a quieter system.
In my quest for the ideal system, I've tried many things. M-ATX boards in Mid-Towers, E-ATX boards in cases smaller than Mid-Towers, M-ITX boards with low power mobile processors and low profile graphics cards. Flakb0x is the next generation of Small Form Factor for me, as unlike my previous builds, it is all current or last generation hardware. The performance potential is huge, assuming I can invest the money into hardware.
The flakb0x system is being built around an Asrock H61M-ITX motherboard.
-Socket 1155, with support for Sandybridge and Ivybridge processors up to 95w (**According to Asrock's CPU support list only IVB i7's and Xeons are supported at present**)
-3 Internal 3GB SATA connections
-PCIEx16 slot V2 (V3 with an IVB processor installed)
-And a few other nifty features
Along with the board, I have procured:
-2x2GB Corsair Value DDR3-1333 DIMMs
-1x eBay sourced flexible PCI-Express riser
-1x Toshiba 320gb Hard Drive 2.5"
-1x Sapphire HD5670
-MDPC Black sleeve
-MNPCTech Hex Modder's Mesh
-2mm Aluminium
-1x XBox 360 power brick (can supply 196Watts of 12VDC)
-1x Core i7 cooler (copper core, designed for the 95w i7's, so should run quiet and cool with a 65w i3)
And plan on procuring:
-1x Intel Core i3-2100/or Pentium G630 (budget friendly!)
-1x 160watt PicoPSU
-Matte black vinyl
http://imagehost.losias.net/images/bqHw.jpg
http://imagehost.losias.net/images/yhOBg.jpg
http://imagehost.losias.net/images/dSDUZ.jpg
In case you were wondering, LOSIAS SkunkWorx is an invitation only group of elite designers and modders at http://www.losias.net that work together on project design, product development, reviews, views and insights. Like a modder thinktank focused on SFF.
After some hacking, filing, cutting, swearing, etc etc, here is more!
Motherboard is test fitted to tray, along with 2.5" HDD (dummy for my 320gb Toshiba drive, and eventually a SSD)
http://imagehost.losias.net/images/idnYX.jpg
Rear panel is mostly done, the 3 pin socket is the main power plug, the 1 pin next to it is a power socket for the fans in the case's stand
http://imagehost.losias.net/images/9Fa8h.jpg
And the top placed on. The hole there will be filled with mesh :)
http://imagehost.losias.net/images/ADbZH.jpg
To do:
Buy CPU
Buy PicoPSU
Sort GPU cooler size issues
Buy matte black vinyl
Cut acrylic front panel
Make stand,
etc :)