Mini-ITX computer/home server build

[chrisjones]

Hey Guys, I've just ordered some parts for a new build of mine and thought I'd share it with all of you lovely lot!

Basically for the moment the rig will act as my main desktop for a while as I save up for the parts for my main desktop and it will also act as my home server as well, with all my films and music stored on it with PLEX installed too.

Some of you may be wondering why I went Mini-ITX, and the main reason is the size of the machine, as when it is converted to a home server it willl be put on my TV stand and used as a media PC as well as home server. The second reason is that I quite like the Node 304 case and wanted to make a rig in one, so I took the plunge!

The specs are as follows;
Intel Core i5 4670K
Asus Z87I-Pro
Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB Black 1600MHz
Samsung 830 Pro 256GB SSD (already own and will use as boot drive)
WD RED 3TB hard drive (for storage, will get more drives in future)
Corsair H80i
Corsair RM550
Fractal Design Node 304 case

The parts should arrive on Monday so I will start the pictures rolling then.

 

[Conchubair]

cool, love the case.. will you be watercooling?

 

[chrisjones]

Only the H80i, as this will eventually become a home server among other things, I need the hard drive cages in the front, so there would only be the rear 120 free for a rad. This is why I went for an AIO to give me more room inside the case for hard drives. I would have watercooled this if it was an M-ATX build, but with the size of the case it would have taken up too much space. Performance shouldn't be a problem though

 

[Conchubair]

yeha thats what i expeccted, not much room for a CL

 

[NeverBackDown]

That is a rather high end home server? At least it will not need to be upgraded for a long time.

And please post pics

 

[chrisjones]

Haha yeah it is a bit high end for a home server, but I liked that the board had 6 SATA ports on it, from an M-ITX board I haven't seen that before, only 4 meaning I don't need a raid card necessarily (I'm going to get slated for that haha). Also, It will be used as my main desktop for a while so I need a bit of poke in it, don't want a slouch I will be putting FAH on it when I convert it to only a home server as it will be on 24/7. And don't worry, there will be plenty of pictures haha

 

[chrisjones]

Hey Guys, sorry it's taken me a while for this update, been busy building and with school work.. I did manage to finish the build yesterday but didn't have a chance to upload the pictures. BTW sorry in advance for the quality of the pictures, my camera didn't want to work with any of it's batteries so I had to use my iPhone. Also, the cable management isn't the best by any means, but this case is quite hard to cable manage, and especially with the modular cables of the RM 550.

Anyway, on with the pictures!



I put all of the boxes up for you guys that like seeing all those sexy boxes..



The case all ready for the nice new components!



I love the look of this motherboard, it's a shame that you won't be able to see it through the case.. May have to mod a window into the top sometime, we'll see!



CPU Installed.



RAM Installed



Here is the finished PC. Sorry I didn't take any more pictures between this stage and the last, I was a bit busy trying to manage the cables haha, now that was a challenge..



My Ghetto disk drive solution to install Windows, I didn't have a USB one, and so I grabbed an internal one I had spare and just stuck it ontop of the case with a short SATA cable to the MOBO



The case all done!



And finally, it in it's home (for the moment, will be moved when it moves to being a server full time). Sorry for the quality of this picture most, my phone wouldn't focus but you get the idea!

Oh, and yes that is the WiFi antenna ontop of the case, but that is only there as a backup for if my ethernet switch decides to stop working (hasn't yet), as I have a gigabit cable running to my switch from the PC.

Thanks for looking!

 

[NeverBackDown]

Looks like a subwoofer on the desk. Makes it look pretty cool. Nice job

 

[chrisjones]

haha it does a bit actually, but cheers Ever since I first saw the 304 I knew I wanted to build in it, and it definitely hasn't let me down, It's a cracking looking case and doesn't take up much space on the desk either!

Oh damn, I've only just realised how messy my desk is in those pictures though, my bad

 

[NeverBackDown]

I would be more worried about the picture quality lol

 

[chrisjones]

haha yeah, I will get a new camera soon, but I just bought a new DJ controller too (the Pioneer DDJ-SX for those who are interested ) so a bit low on funds at the moment if I don't have a decent camera by my next build I will definitely borrow a friend's DSLR to get some decent pics

 

[NeverBackDown]

Sounds good!

 

[SgtT8ie]

Hi there chrisjones
I know it's been a while and your build may have changed a bit, but I am in the process of slowly upgrading the internals of my Node 304 build.

Could you tell me how much room the RM450 PSU left for a graphics card? From what you could see the PSU would severely hinder a full length GFX card?

Thanks in advance

 

[chrisjones]

Hey, I just opened up the case and checked for you (haven't opened it up since I built it basically). There is enough space for a medium length card, however it depends on how many ports you've used on the RM for the 12v rail.

I've attached some pictures to show you what I mean, I don't however know why the images are upside down, I have tried rotating them and they still end up like that.

Sorry about the poor cable management, it was quite tricky in that case, but it is possible to do it much better, I just didn't spend the time doing it.

There is a picture of the bare PCIe slot, one with an 8800GX2 (for lols because it's so big it doesn't even fit in the case), and a 9800GT which is medium length, and fits with careful management of cables. There is no way to fit a full length graphics card in there though, so bare that in mind. A reference GTX760 will maybe fit, however I can't be certain of that as I don't have one here to check. I think you could maybe fit a card up to 20cm, but I can't guarantee it.

 

[SgtT8ie]

Thanks so much for checking. That was the impression I'd gotten from your original photos.

Ah well, I will look at alternatives then.

By the way, nice looking set up!

 

[chrisjones]

That's alright Yeah, the space inside this case is quite lacking, but considering the size of the case it's not really a surprise! I'm amazed I've managed to fit this much in it tbh haha, I'll definitely have to get around to writing a review for the Node when I get a chance because it is a cracking case!
Thanks dude, there are things I would like to change or update, but can't be done for a while unfortunately due to financial constraints :/ I'd love two or three of the Asus VN279QLB monitors though
If you're looking for a new case that might support a larger graphics card, take a look at the Corsair Obsidian 250D, it's rather similar in looks to the Node, but offers support for much larger graphics cards. Good luck in whatever you decide on!