Making a LAN box?

Psymonkee

Psymonkee

Psymonkee

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Joined
24 Feb 2004
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St.Andrews
Hey,

Heading off to my first LAN in forever in April and really can't be done with packing up my full tower to go with me!

Looking to build a portable system that can handle Trackmania 2 and other similar titles! Not looked into this for a long time so no idea where to start - I was thinking mATX but has that long passed now?

Just need the main unit for now as I'll move HDD's and reuse the monitor!
 
I'd look at an 1150 socket ITX build. Case is up to you, but I have an i3 and 970 stuffed into a coolermaster 130 and it runs great. The cpu is a big bottleneck on the card, so it depends on budget as to whether you would have a cheaper card or a better cpu to suit your needs. SSD would also be a recommendation since they can handle being knocked about more, but if you are going to have loads of games installed then 1 additional HDD for storage would be ideal as well. That was about £300 + gpu (which was free in my case :) )
 
Oh haha - budget would be good wouldn't it! :p

I could run to 400 this month and a bit next month if needed. Could always steal my GFX card from my main tower if time/funds are tight!

I'll take a look at the build above Devrij! :D
 
I second the Coolermaster Elite 130 as a case, its pretty cheap and really quite flexible.
I have managed to fit all sorts in it now.

Also looks quite understated, which I like in a case.
 
Psymonkee said:
Oh haha - budget would be good wouldn't it! :p

I could run to 400 this month and a bit next month if needed. Could always steal my GFX card from my main tower if time/funds are tight!

I'll take a look at the build above Devrij! :D
Click to expand...

Use your current GPU

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte H87N-WIFI Intel H87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £89.99
1 x SK Hynix 256GB SSD SH910A SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (HFS256G32MNB-2201A) £84.98
1 x Intel Pentium K Anniversary G3258 Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £55.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Savage Red 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX324C11SRK2/8) £46.99
1 x Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Case - Black £45.95
1 x EVGA 500W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply (100-B1-0500-KR) £38.99
1 x Raijintek Zelos Low Profile CPU Cooler £15.95
Total : £378.84 (includes shipping : ).

 
I assume these CM 130's can contain a 970 then? :)

That looks like a pretty solid build though :)

I might tweak things about to grab a modular PSU while I'm at it as I've had some bad experiences working in small cases without one in the past! :p
 
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Don't forget you'll need a Windows license.

A friend used to host LAN gaming sessions once a month or so. I got it down to a fine art: I had a Shuttle SFF box, which had its own padded carry case in which I stored a small keyboard and my trackball and a few games. I had a monitor. And I had one of those transparent Really Useful Boxes, which held everything else: steering wheel & pedals, joystick, power strip, DVDs, USB sticks, screwdrivers, headphones, etc. Add in tea towels for padding.
 
Psymonkee said:
I assume these CM 130's can contain a 970 then? :)

That looks like a pretty solid build though :)

I might tweak things about to grab a modular PSU while I'm at it as I've had some bad experiences working in small cases without one in the past! :p
Click to expand...

Just about. The power connectors just about clear the ODD cage.

7bGvBzkl.jpg
 
I've used Elite 120 and 130 cases before (builds for mother and nephew respectively) and the cases are really good, can fit in proper sized components, and are pretty solid. However, they're pretty anonymous and, dare I say it, boring. For me, I wouldn't be able to resist swapping the 130, PSU and an extra £25 (if you shop around) to get the EVGA Hadron Air instead and really have a PC to show off in front of your mates at the LAN.
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=27038108&postcount=920

I've since changed the 7850 to one of the refurb MSI 7950 Twin Frozr cards and that only just fits after I found the right angle to put it in at. The 7950 is 261mm and most 970s are about 20mm shorter than that so it will definitely fit.

Just a thought because extra shiny is always good! :)

EDIT - meant to say, the Hadron is built so not even a bomb blast will dent it, does make is slightly heavier than you think it's going to be, but I'm happy swapping weight for something that won't get damaged during transit.
 
Here is the 130 with an Asus 980 Strix in it, to give you an idea of scale.

I also fitted an SFX PSU and chopped out the 5.25" bay.
(I have a USB DVD rom drive when I need something on disk)

Side-Asus.jpg
 
Quartz said:
You might also consider a CM 110 and go for a short 970. But with all these SFF cases, go for a GPU with a blower fan.
Click to expand...

The Elite 110 is a cracking little case. IT does away with the optical drive bay, to make the case shorter, though it is a little taller than the 120/130 to allow for more hard drive space. The Elite 120 will not support a 120mm liquid cooler without modification, whereas the 130 and 110 will support 120mm AIO out the box with no modification needed. As stated, the 130 will take fullsize GPU where as the Elite 110 will need an ITX sized GPU.
 
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