What's the absolute smallest SFF case you can get

I will be using the pc exclusively with Ableton Live and Steinberg Cubase - both of which are for electronic music production and editing. The one thing both these applications need is an incredibly fast processor with as many cores as possible. The worse the video card, the better (I wouldn't dream of installing any other applications on this pc, let alone a game!)

Thanks for the tips though - I'm kinda coming to the conclusion that I might have to build this thing with a very fast dualcore instead. I'm waiting on the reviews of the Intel G45 DG45FC mini-ITX before I make any decisions but it's looking like it might be a good choice for my needs.

That is, if I can find a suitable case and psu!
 
had a search for threads by "nick" and couldn't find anything useful.. what's his exact username?

or do u have any direct links to the thread in question?
 
As for cases, you might want to have a look through the silverstone selection if you haven't already. I've got a hoojum cubit3 which is damn hard to find now. (there is one retailer that sells them, but very limited selection for overpriced price) However it is brilliant, has suprising amount of space - 1 full height PCI card, 1 slot loading drive, 2 hard drives if mounted with upside down.

Others to look at would be nexus psile and hfx micro, morex, cubid and casetronic do some small ones (just remember if you start going too small you are going to have some serious heat issues. M200 is good for size.
 
For a case the Silverstone LC12B or S is good. Not sure if the PSU will be up to the following:

For system mobo, what about going socket AM2+ with an AMD Phenom Quad core?

Jetway JNC62K AM2+ Mini-ITX Mainboard (£86.36 inc VAT)

Features:
  • NVIDIA GF8200(MCP78S) Chipset
  • Support Socket AM2+ Quad core Opteron™ & Phenom™
  • Integrated Geforce 8200 GFX Core processor
  • Advanced 3-Phase PWM Design
  • Solid Polymer, long life capacitors
  • Support 4 Serial ATA2 Devices with RAID 0, 1, 0+1,5,JBOD
  • Support 1080i and 1080p and HDCP
  • Support Dual Display and rotate Display
  • Support Microsoft DirectX 10
  • Support h.264, VC1 and Mpeg2 video decode
  • Support Blu-ray DVD playback
  • Support DVI/HDMI 1.3 Output
  • Supports 2 X Gigabit LAN
  • Integrated ALC883 HD Audio CODEC with 8.0 CH
  • ITX Form Factor(17cm x 17cm)

Specifications:
  • CPU:
    • Socket AM2 HTT 3000 MHz AMD® Opteron™ With Hyper Transport Technology
    • Compatible with 64-bit Dual Core AMD® Athlon™64 X2 Processors
    • Suggest CPU power consumption <= 65W
  • Chipset: NVIDIA GF-8200 (MCP78S) single chipset
  • Memory: 1 x 240-pin DIMM Sockets for un-buffered Single Channel DDR2 1066/800 SDRAM up to 2 GB
  • Expansion Slots: 1 x 32-bit PCI slots
  • Storage: Embedded MCP78S Chipset
    • 4 x Serial ATA2 3Gb/s connectors
    • Supports HDDs with RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5,JBOD functions
    • 1 x Ultra DMA 133 / 100 / 66 IDE connector
  • Audio: Realtek ALC883 8-Channel HD Audio CODEC w SPIF in and out
  • Ethernet LAN:
    • Realtek RTL8211B PHY Gigabit Ethernet LAN
    • Realtek RTL8111C PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet LAN
  • USB: Embedded 10 x USB 2.0/1.1
  • Special Features:
    • Advanced Power Design that supports the latest Socket-AM2+ CPU
    • IMAGE IT System Backup Software and ProMagicPLUS System Recovery System
  • Rear Panel I / O:
    • 6 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
    • 1 x PS/2 Mouse & Keyboard Combined connector
    • 2 x RJ-45 ports
    • 2 x Audio I /
    • ports
    • 1 x VGA port
    • 1 x DVI port
    • 2 x DB-9 RS232 ports
  • Internal I / O:
    • 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers for 4 USB 2.0 ports
    • CPU / Chassis Fan connectors;
    • 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector and 1 x 20-pin ATX Power connector
    • CD / AUX Audio in & 1 x Serial Port header
  • BIOS: Award 8MB SPI Flash ROM
  • Form Factor: Mini ITX Form Factor(17cmx17cm)
 
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The issue with Quads and small FF is that good quality power circuitry (PWM) takes some serious room on the board and generates a lot of heat. As such you are always going to be pushing it. The best Micro ATX motherboards will be up to the task, just a case of finding a suitable case. ITX is not realistic for anything above a dual core Wolfdale.
 
Um phenoms aren't low power - my boss got one and his uses easily 90 Watts. I would have to agree though, that a Quad in a SFF air cooled is just asking for BIG problems, even watercooled its still asking a lot + you going to be needing more power! I'd go with a core2duo if you sure you want mini-itx
 
Most resellers don't recommend using 3 or 4 core phenoms with common mATX boards such as the most popular one, the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H.

That said, Gigabyte have just released a model called GA-MA78G-DS3H to deal with these higher loadings, but I would be really surprised if that sort of tech is in the ITX boards.
 
Out of interest, why do you need to walk around with a quad in your pocket anyway. I am presuming it is some sort of portable render station or similar, would be interesting to know for sure though :)
 
sibeer said:
Out of interest, why do you need to walk around with a quad in your pocket anyway. I am presuming it is some sort of portable render station or similar, would be interesting to know for sure though :)
Click to expand...

MiL0 said:
I will be using the pc exclusively with Ableton Live and Steinberg Cubase - both of which are for electronic music production and editing. The one thing both these applications need is an incredibly fast processor with as many cores as possible.
Click to expand...
 
Must say I think the OP should consider a fast Wolfdale if that is the intended usage. That will definately run of the sweet looking Intel ITX board, will also be far less hastle to cool :)
 
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