Would this work?, Mini ITX Build

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electricfirebolt

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Mar 29, 2012
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Okay, So I've got this idea to put a computer within my desktop, it has been done before and I would like to do this for myself as I need a computer than can run 24/7 with minimal power usage as a sort of torrent box/streaming box/upload box.

I've looked at a wide variety of methods and I'm wondering whether it is possible to fit a Mini-ITX Motherboard in a 5.25 Bay/2X5.25 Bays?

The motherboard that I've come across is the Biostar NM70I-847 which features a Celeron 847 Dual-Core at 1.1GHz, I would then further add 1/2GB of DDR3 and power it using a Pico PSU.

Can you tell me whether this will work out and if the sizes of the motherboard and the drive bays will fit.

Thanks, Much appreciated.
 
Solution
pauls3743
Sorry to dash your big idea but
1). mini-ITX is too big for a 5.1/4" bay (it's wider than a bay), you might get away with a pico board though
2). I've tried pico power supplies, I found it was too inefficient and the power brick got quite hot

Suggestions
1). house it in a small ITX case, I'm currently using the inWin BM648
2). try a seasonic small 250w 1u power supply, I found it very quiet and much more power efficient than the pico power supply (I found the inWin's psu pretty good as well)
3). I would also underclock and undervolt what you can as this also reduces the power drawn by your system

I'm currently running clarksdale i3-660 with 8GB and 512GB SSD. The i3 has been clock limited to 1.6GHz (down from 3.33GHz), the RAM has...
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pauls3743

pauls3743

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Sorry to dash your big idea but
1). mini-ITX is too big for a 5.1/4" bay (it's wider than a bay), you might get away with a pico board though
2). I've tried pico power supplies, I found it was too inefficient and the power brick got quite hot

Suggestions
1). house it in a small ITX case, I'm currently using the inWin BM648
2). try a seasonic small 250w 1u power supply, I found it very quiet and much more power efficient than the pico power supply (I found the inWin's psu pretty good as well)
3). I would also underclock and undervolt what you can as this also reduces the power drawn by your system

I'm currently running clarksdale i3-660 with 8GB and 512GB SSD. The i3 has been clock limited to 1.6GHz (down from 3.33GHz), the RAM has been downclocked to 1066MHz and the whole system has been undervolted (as far as I can without crashing it through trial and error). This is my main firewall/web proxy and draws 25-30W from the socket.
 
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electricfirebolt

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What if the Mini ITX Motherboard was mounted sideways taking up to 5.25 Bays?
 
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DiaSin

DiaSin

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MiniITX is a bit bigger than you seem to think it is. Sideways it would take up about 4 of those bays. There ARE cases made to house a full sized PC and a MiniITX system. I will post a link once I find it.

Edit: This is quite expensive, but it is designed for what you have in mind. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517017 The back of the top section will house a mini-itx system.
 
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pauls3743

pauls3743

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A mini-ITX board is 170mm x 170mm, any bigger and it's not ITX, any smaller and it won't be supported by the standoffs. A 5.1/4" drive is, ironically enough, 5.3/4" wide (146mm) and 42mm tall. If the board was rotated on the flat it still wouldn't fit in the drive bay. If the board was tilted 90 degrees up on one side (similar to your main motherboard) it would take up 4 bays. If it was tilted slightly so it fit the width of the bays, it would need 3 bays high plus whatever the height of the components on the board needed so you could be into 4 bays again.

I suppose if needs must you could look at cutting slots in your bay cages to mount your board, this does need your case to be at least 170mm wide internally. Or you could look at mounting the board opposite your main motherboard in the back of your case.
 
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