Talk to me about mITX

gcaster

gcaster

gcaster

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Hi guys,

Looking to build up a new computer for business use. Doesn't have to be anything outstanding but will need to last, the computer it's replacing is about 7 years old.
I'm not looking to overclock and a small case would be preferable.

Is mITX the smallest of the small?
I can see the main problem being heat. The build is gonna be kept in a reception desk (open front but enclosed back and sides). With mITX cases being so small am I going to be able to put a 120mm fan in it or not and is it best just sticking with a stock heatsink?

What kind of builds would people put in these? A Sandy Bridge build would be nice for the on-chip graphics but is there an mITX board that has SATA 6Gb/s ports as an RMA wouldn't be possible in future (only need 2 sata ports).

Cheers
G
 
mITX is about as small as you can go without having trouble sourcing parts. Smaller computers do exist but not really for normal use.

Have a look at the mITX boards available on OCUK:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-292-GI
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-007-ZT&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1905

That should give you an idea of what is possible.

I have never built one myself. It would be fun to do though. Looks like you can get an i3 in the first of those I linked to and then just clock the nuts off it.
 
I'd maybe go with something like this:

Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3 Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Mini-ITX Motherboard £82.99
(£69.16) £82.99
(£69.16)
Lian Li PC-Q07B Mini-ITX Case - Black £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £41.99
(£34.99) £41.99
(£34.99)
OCZ Intel Extreme XMP 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 10666C7 1333MHz Low Voltage Dual-Channel Kit (OCZ3X1333LV4GK) £29.99
(£24.99) £29.99
(£24.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £28.99
(£24.16) £28.99
(£24.16)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
(£9.99) £11.99
(£9.99)

Sub Total : £200.78
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.25
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £42.41
Total : £254.44

2 issues being you'll need an i3 CPU (530 maybe) however OCuk don't stock them anymore, they're in stock elsewhere though. Also that case is out of stock but you can either pick a different case (more expensive) or have a look around to see where you can find one in stock.
 
Cheers guys.
Reckon I'm gonna go for an i3 setup in one of the Silverstone SG05 cases (not from OCUK as they don't stock them) for the front 120mm fan.
Looks like it could be a fun build. These mITX boards are obscenely small!
 
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