Compact Case Computer
-
I have to move a lot, so want to put together a compact desktop. Use it also for hooking up to the tv. Would like its greatest dimention to be no more that 11". Also case needs to handle a compact CD, either 1 3.5 and 1 2.5 drives or 2 3.5 drives. Would also like an SD card slot. On the mother board would like to have 2 hdmi, wireless, audio, and quite a few usb. The only thing I can think of that is a nice to have, besides usb 3, is eSATA.
-
I have to move a lot, so want to put together a compact desktop. Use it also for hooking up to the tv. Would like its greatest dimention to be no more that 11". Also case needs to handle a compact CD, either 1 3.5 and 1 2.5 drives or 2 3.5 drives. Would also like an SD card slot. On the mother board would like to have 2 hdmi, wireless, audio, and quite a few usb. The only thing I can think of that is a nice to have, besides usb 3, is eSATA.
At 11" that sounds a lot like a Mac Book Air with the lid down or a high end Vaio. Unless you go for a custom case I don't know how you'll get anything resembling a desktop in that footprint without going away from mainstream x86 or getting a custom aluminium case milled for you. There's a shop near me that does those if you have a spare arm or leg to sell. Alternatives might include a Micro ATX quad Atom, there are rumours of these being available or perhaps a Xynos5 based ARM system (Same as Samsung S4). A boxed Xynos5 with 8 GB RAM and a good separate GPU is easily powerful enough to run Windows7 in a Qemu VM if you can't get the ARM build of Win8 to run on it directly. Melle were supposed to be shipping one this month or next but I haven't looked into it.
"The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom, courage." Thucydides (B.C. 460-400)
-
I have to move a lot, so want to put together a compact desktop. Use it also for hooking up to the tv. Would like its greatest dimention to be no more that 11". Also case needs to handle a compact CD, either 1 3.5 and 1 2.5 drives or 2 3.5 drives. Would also like an SD card slot. On the mother board would like to have 2 hdmi, wireless, audio, and quite a few usb. The only thing I can think of that is a nice to have, besides usb 3, is eSATA.
NewEgg has a bunch of DIY combos[^]. Probably one of them would fit the bill.
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einstein -
At 11" that sounds a lot like a Mac Book Air with the lid down or a high end Vaio. Unless you go for a custom case I don't know how you'll get anything resembling a desktop in that footprint without going away from mainstream x86 or getting a custom aluminium case milled for you. There's a shop near me that does those if you have a spare arm or leg to sell. Alternatives might include a Micro ATX quad Atom, there are rumours of these being available or perhaps a Xynos5 based ARM system (Same as Samsung S4). A boxed Xynos5 with 8 GB RAM and a good separate GPU is easily powerful enough to run Windows7 in a Qemu VM if you can't get the ARM build of Win8 to run on it directly. Melle were supposed to be shipping one this month or next but I haven't looked into it.
"The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom, courage." Thucydides (B.C. 460-400)
I was planning a custom case, unless that is something ots. LIAN LI PC-Q07B with mini-ITA may fit what I would like.
-
I have to move a lot, so want to put together a compact desktop. Use it also for hooking up to the tv. Would like its greatest dimention to be no more that 11". Also case needs to handle a compact CD, either 1 3.5 and 1 2.5 drives or 2 3.5 drives. Would also like an SD card slot. On the mother board would like to have 2 hdmi, wireless, audio, and quite a few usb. The only thing I can think of that is a nice to have, besides usb 3, is eSATA.
hp make a range of micro servers. mine is 8 1/2w x 10h x 10d, approx. Comes with >6 USB, slot for optical drive, several internal 3 1/2 bays. You could add a two-headed video card, I think. Have a look around here[^] Good price when I bought it. Mine, the CPU is a bit skinny, but I really only use it as a disk server anyway... Cheers, Peter
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
-
hp make a range of micro servers. mine is 8 1/2w x 10h x 10d, approx. Comes with >6 USB, slot for optical drive, several internal 3 1/2 bays. You could add a two-headed video card, I think. Have a look around here[^] Good price when I bought it. Mine, the CPU is a bit skinny, but I really only use it as a disk server anyway... Cheers, Peter
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
Do you know the model? Little hard to just search without an idea. Thanks
-
Do you know the model? Little hard to just search without an idea. Thanks
I think mine's the N54 - first one on that page I linked to. Alternatively, I'm sure Mr G knows about 'proliant micro server' Cheers, Peter
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
-
I have to move a lot, so want to put together a compact desktop. Use it also for hooking up to the tv. Would like its greatest dimention to be no more that 11". Also case needs to handle a compact CD, either 1 3.5 and 1 2.5 drives or 2 3.5 drives. Would also like an SD card slot. On the mother board would like to have 2 hdmi, wireless, audio, and quite a few usb. The only thing I can think of that is a nice to have, besides usb 3, is eSATA.
Have you looked into Intel NUC? I'm building one with this case: http://www.tranquilpcshop.co.uk/nuc-ye-gbe-lan-board-d33217gke/[^] It will fit on the palm of your hand and can be mounted to the back of a monitor via the VESA mount. It also has two HDMI sockets and a number of USB as per your spec. The wirelss isn't built into the motherboard, but you simply add an internal wirless card. You can buy them prebuilt, but I'm doing a custom job with the afforementioned case so that I can get a completely fanless setup. Motherboard info: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/desktops/desktop-board-d33217gke-brief.html[^]
-
Have you looked into Intel NUC? I'm building one with this case: http://www.tranquilpcshop.co.uk/nuc-ye-gbe-lan-board-d33217gke/[^] It will fit on the palm of your hand and can be mounted to the back of a monitor via the VESA mount. It also has two HDMI sockets and a number of USB as per your spec. The wirelss isn't built into the motherboard, but you simply add an internal wirless card. You can buy them prebuilt, but I'm doing a custom job with the afforementioned case so that I can get a completely fanless setup. Motherboard info: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/desktops/desktop-board-d33217gke-brief.html[^]
Thanks for the input. The problem is that it only has one mSATA port. Pretty impressive though. Think that the i3 is probably perfect for my applicaiton, since want to keep the power demands down.
-
Thanks for the input. The problem is that it only has one mSATA port. Pretty impressive though. Think that the i3 is probably perfect for my applicaiton, since want to keep the power demands down.
It has two mSATA ports actually, one full length and one half length. The full length one is used for the SSD drive and the half length one for the wireless. It's a very neat and capable little package (assuming it suits your needs). I plan to use mine as a media streamer, but will also install Visual Studio to it.
-
Thanks for the input. The problem is that it only has one mSATA port. Pretty impressive though. Think that the i3 is probably perfect for my applicaiton, since want to keep the power demands down.
-
It has two mini-PCIe slots. One with mSATA for the SSD (up to 256GB) and one half-length one for the wireless card. Suits my needs nicely.
Yes, definately nice packaging for a smaller system. A lot of stuff can be done, as proven by the laptop, which does not have much more expandability. I bought a 250 gb for my laptop when my old drive failed because I really did not need more with having a desktop also. I use the desktop for backup, which is a 4tb drive, and run a smaller drive for the system. Then have some backups that are usb.