Vectality NAS /MPC

With all the recent ION motherboards that have been coming out, I wanted to see what I could do with one.

In regards to computer needs at home, I am in need of two things at home:
1. A Network Storage Machine for movies, tv shows, etc.
2. A device to play my Netflix Downloaded Movies/TV Shows over the Internet in the workout room in front of the workout treadmill
3. A computer that can at minimally play World of Warcraft. (Can I farm and walk 3.0MPH?)

So....
The computer is going to need lots of storage.
The computer is going to need to be a small footprint, yet a piece of art as well
The computer is going to need to connect wirelessly to my wireless N router (I hate long cords)
The computer will play on a 24" inch monitor, and need decent resolution.

I designed the case below to fit my needs. It holds three hard drives, a Zotac mini-ITX ION motherboard, and has a nice foot print at only 5" wide, 9.5" tall and 8.5" deep.

I also designed the case to look like a "mini tower" - specifically like a mini Danger Den tower - something that one could put on a desk and look really cool. The ideal case would be made from acrylic and color could be chosen by the user.

Here are my sketches.

After making the sketches, I realized that the motherboard would need to be BTX style due to the way the Hard drives get power, and minimize the cords across the "pretty" part of the case. I also wanted to use "pretty" ram - so I chose Balistix Tracer ram from crucial.

Parts:

Completed Case:

After building this case, I can say it is one of my favorites. It's a small footprint, has 3TB of storage, plays movies from Netflix instant play, streams movies and TV to my main media PC, and can play COD4 with its internal graphics card. Some might say "There is no CD ROM" - I really don't need one - I loaded Windows 7 Ultimate via a pen drive installation, and via mapped drives and ISO's I can install anything / play anything I need. The small footprint of this case is really amazing. Look for the system at the next PDXLAN, I will have it on top of my Main PC. Smile

Yummy, black on black with a little shiny, just how I like em.

Have you used Win 7 Media center on it at all? If so does it seem snappy enough with the Atom cpu?

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Workstation: Xeon X3430 @ 3.8 GHz, Watercooling by DangerDen, Asus P7P55D Pro, PNY GTX 465 flashed to 470, Intel X-25M G1 80 GB, 2x Samsung Spinpoint F1 1 TB Raid 0, Mountain Mods Twice 7, Acer 24" 3d LCD
HTPC: HDHomerun, i3 540, GA-H55M-S2H, EVGA GTX260, Antec P182, Antec earthwatts EA380, hard drives.

I'm liking this mod a LOT Matt. Nice work! It makes me want a mini itx gamer with a PCIe16 video card inside....

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I have a computer that runs 3DMark.

Nice.

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GamingNW TF2 Every Thursday! - GamingNW

PDXLAN MyMiniCity - Help our city grow! - http://www.pdxlan.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6285
Keizer LAN - Keizer, Oregon LAN Party
LAN Party List - Check the LAN Party List for upcoming events or add your own!
Grandma Chonga's Salsa - http://www.chongasalsa.com

Super clean build and well laid out.

Will this setup be available to order via Danger Den? If so, they should call it the Vector HTPC case or something similiar Wink

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I wish my title was Poser Extrodinare

Hey that is nice and clean. Just the way I like it.

It looks nice with the steel screws against the black. Instead of trying to hide them or color match them.

Good Job.

It also shows how much cleaner things could be if we didn't need/use disc drives.

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Good Karma good - Bad Karma bad

I wouldn't mind picking up one of those cases. I have been thinking about starting a media comp. That would look great in my living room.

Very nice!!!

you should do something with the back IO panel....... Smile

Rod

rodrosenberg wrote:

Very nice!!!

you should do something with the back IO panel....... Smile

Rod

DD could cut one out of thinner acrylic

Matt, be a man and get a PDXLAN tattoo Wink

yes, you can make it a tramp stamp if you must

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I wish my title was Poser Extrodinare

Actually the IO panel does fit - I just forgot to put it in. Embarassed

Vector wrote:

Actually the IO panel does fit - I just forgot to put it in. Embarassed

you should paint it first to match the case.

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I wish my title was Poser Extrodinare

Can you post a photo with something next to it for scale? Maybe a Mt. Dew can, etc. I wanna see just how teeny-tiny a 9" case really is!

JeepMcMuddy wrote:

Can you post a photo with something next to it for scale? Maybe a Mt. Dew can, etc. I wanna see just how teeny-tiny a 9" case really is!

if only this was not a G-rated forum . . .the comments I could make

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I wish my title was Poser Extrodinare

For those that wanted scale:

DUDE. That. is. one. sexy. little. computer.

I'd also be very interested in picking one up. Are you going to keep this design to yourself or eventually allow others in on it?

Also you say it plays COD4, mind filling me in on the res and quality settings you have it set at to do so?

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Alienware M11x C2D SU7300 @ 1.73GHz | 4GB RAM | 500GB HDD | nVidia 335m 1GB | Bluetooth

i've been wanting to build a smaller media pc and haven't gotten around to it. maybe this will be my inspiration. very very nice.

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desktop: amd phenom ii x4 920, 4gb ddr2, gtx 260, 1tb
laptop: acer timeline 5810TZ

I think it would be sweet if you could somehow get the screws to be piano black like the case, or even better, sports car orange!

Awesome case though, I want to build one that can hold a GTX 260!@_@

P.S. Did you paint the case yourself? How did you get it piano black like that!?

My media PC died last night, i think its an omen.

Here's hoping that this design becomes available! I've already gotten the OK to put a new media server together (luckily on this one the wifey used it as much as I did for streaming and she misses it!)

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Alienware M11x C2D SU7300 @ 1.73GHz | 4GB RAM | 500GB HDD | nVidia 335m 1GB | Bluetooth

Post here if you want Danger Den to start selling Vectors case. Smile

http://www.dangerden.com/forum.....mp;t=11464

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GamingNW TF2 Every Thursday! - GamingNW

PDXLAN MyMiniCity - Help our city grow! - http://www.pdxlan.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6285
Keizer LAN - Keizer, Oregon LAN Party
LAN Party List - Check the LAN Party List for upcoming events or add your own!
Grandma Chonga's Salsa - http://www.chongasalsa.com

Posted for more info.