Anthony: Your seeing the new motherboard form factors the same way we have used them. We have built a couple of the mini-itx form factor units with new low-power consumption hard drives to replace circa 1988 servers which had OLD high draw (amperage hogs) 350 to 500 watt power supplies. Many of our clients want to put a computer system at an unattended remote location so power consumption, heat, and fewer moving parts are important criteria. In the past that required low-volume, high-cost, specialty mobo & CPU; stuff that cost in the $500 to $750 USD range.
When looking at any SurvPC project cost should always be considered. From my perspective I draw the line at $125 to $150 USD for putting new stuff into any older SurvPC. By the same token most SurvPC cases have proven their reliability by living from ten to twenty years. Something the new less than $100 cheaply constructed materials case are not going to do. Some of the new cheaply ones don't even make good "part-out" units for something like their hard drive cage - that material is often so flimsy they won't take the added stress of a low-noise hard drive enclosure. In our neck of the woods the electronics salvage folks charge $.72 to $.78 USD per pound for taking old computer parts as salvage - complete units are free - but the video displays cost $10 USD each for disposal. The best part of taking a trip over to the salvage folks is finding a two to three year old 24-inch CRT - one which handle the three video input high-res display cards - for less than $125 USD. Our local repair shops want at least $150 USD to get one of those units back into operation. You have to laugh out loud when you drive that giant display with a small form factor late style mobo. John O Anthony J. Albert wrote: > On 15 Jul 2004 at 22:24, Day Brown wrote: > >>John Oram wrote: >> >> >>>Day: >>> >>>Form facor for ATX mobo is normally said to be: >>> >>>"full ATX" motherboards have a maximum size of 12" by 9.6" (304mm by >>>243mm), >>> >>>"Mini ATX" boards have maximum dimensions of 11.2" by 8.2" (284mm by >>>208mm), >>> >>>"extended ATX" form factor, also sometimes called "EATX". This form >>>factor is essentially the same as ATX, except that the board can be up >>>to 12" by 13" (304mm by 330mm). >>> >>>FlexATX mainboard size is 9.05" by 7.08" (230mm by 180mm). >>> >>>The Mini-ITX is more than 33% smaller than the FlexATX mainboard at >>>6.69" by 6.69" (170mm by 170mm). >>> >>>The newest VIA mobo form factor is "Nano-itx" at 4.72" by 4.72 (120mm >>>by 120mm). Which VIA claims is "the world's smallest and most highly >>>integrated mainboard for the emerging generation of smart digital >>>entertainment devices." >>> >>>http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115286,00.asp >> >>I spoze that's pretty cute John, but I prolly got a dozen or more >>standard ATX and even some old AT cases sitting around from dead windoz >>systems. >> >>Maybe the square footage on the standard high rise cubical desktop is so >>valuable that they seek the 'Nano-itx' or whatever, but I doubt that >>space on the table where the SURVPC user has a system really sees much >>advantage in it. I tend to be more interested in performance reliability >>and low price than the smaller form factors. I look out for the fanless >>setups because I see so many crashed systems due to dust that was sucked >>into the PC while it ran in an ordinary home rather than a >>climate-controlled office someplace. The fans and heatsinks get choked >>with dust,... and it's history. >> >>For me, its usually cheaper to just pay the shipping on an ordinary atx >>that I can stuff into a case already on hand, than to get one of the >>new, and no doubt prettier, smaller form factors... and the case for that. > > > What the new (and smaller) sizes are good for is for the smaller sized > ATX cases, and also for embedded projects - hwere you want to put a PC > into a toaster's case, for example. However, the smaller MB also tend > to draw less power... which is another of their benefits. As you > mentioned, the fewer fans, the fewer moving parts to fail. They're > also quieter, as a side benefit. > > On the other hand, putting them into a full-sized ATX case is usually > pretty ease. At worst, I've had to drill a couple more holes in the > bottom of the case, and add in a few standoffs, to make things fit > right. At most, ten minutes worth of work. > > Anthony Albert > =========================================================== > Anthony J. Albert [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Systems and Software Support Specialist Postmaster > Computer Services - University of Maine, Presque Isle > "This is only temporary, unless it works." > --- Red Green > >
