Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Computer-1 mini-ITX Chassis

teenage.engineering

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 236 posts

Re: Computer-1 mini-ITX Chassis

#171

Post by paulpan »

Puts wrote: post #36
gambiting wrote: post #5

I mean...neat? But the price is insane. £195 for a very basic case that you have to assemble yourself?

I think anyone complaining about the price is missing something. Anything produced in small quantities will be expensive and I wouldn’t even assume they themselves thinks this product is gonna be profitable. I suspect a lot of the projects TE puts out is more about showcasing their design language to then be able to do collaborations with other brands like IKEA who can take a product to a broader market. In other wor…

Also value-oriented builders probably wouldn't want to use the ITX form factor given they're always more expensive than mATX with a on-par feature set at best. ITX builders likely are not price conscious.

mATX cases can also be quite small (e.g. Fractal Node Define 7) but you get 2 more RAM slots, can use ATX PSU, and can get bigger coolers so not have to resort to price AIO.

Re: Computer-1 mini-ITX Chassis

#172

Post by phkahler »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #35
cletus wrote: post #26

I'm a big fan of this form factor, specifically just big enough to fit a motherboard/CPU/RAM plus a real-size GPU. These all use SFX PSUs and typically just an M2 SSD on the motherboard. They also have only 2 RAM slots. The days of needing a tower are over for most people. I'm all about space-saving while still having a full-power PC. It's a niche, boutique market but there are some really interesting cases. My perso…

Agreed. There's an entire world of Small Form Factor cases available now with great features. This Teenage Engineering chassis is neat and has a cool aesthetic, but it's definitely a form-over-function design. Great if you're going for a certain vibe, but not ideal for a high power build, or even a quiet mid-range build. Those tiny fans and limited ventilation holes are not going to cut it for anything but a very low…

For quiet with integrated graphics I find this non-commercial 3d printed option quite nice:

https://github.com/phkahler/mellori_ITX

The one and only fan is the CPU fan, which is also used to blow air through the case and out holes in the bottom. I look forward to the next iteration, but my current system does everything I need without missing a beat.

But then I'm biased in this area...

Re: Computer-1 mini-ITX Chassis

#173

Post by frio »

formerly_proven wrote: post #114
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your goal is as close to noiseless as possible, a big case with a lot of sound dampening material is the way to go. However, the modern SFF experience is much better than you give it credit for. An AMD 5950X with a 240mm AIO in a mini-ITX case is easy these days and it keeps the CPU temperature in a reasonable range. But if your goal is a no-compromise quietest build possible, obviously you don't want to get a sma…

> I'm not sure where you're getting these numbers, but modern AIO water cooling isn't that expensive. I could have been more clear here, I meant a custom-loop, not an AIO since they're a sidegrade to a top-end air-cooler at best. > However, the modern SFF experience is much better than you give it credit for. An AMD 5950X with a 240mm AIO in a mini-ITX case is easy these days and it keeps the CPU temperature in a rea…

The space is evolving. https://www.winterdesign.co/ -- this ultimately proved too expensive to produce in large quantities (due to the massive spike in the price of Aluminium), but it's a mini-ITX case with 2x280mm radiators.

I managed get one cheap-ish from the Kickstarter, and while it's got some flaws (and was a total bastard to build in -- it's a very small space to do a custom loop), it's everything promised on the tin; small, quiet, powerful (5600X and a 6800XT -- even when gaming the fans don't ramp above 40%, though admittedly that may change in summer).

Re: Computer-1 mini-ITX Chassis

#175

Post by ctippett »

SergeAx wrote: post #158
vhodges wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The size difference can be substantial. I have an Antec something-500 from 15 years ago and a Caselabs ITX case that is larger (for custom cooling, etc - I never did use the space) and in 2018 transplanted the guts into a SFF from Sliger and I could fit four of my new case into the Caselabs case - and they are commanding quite the premium in the afterlife. Height and Width are less than my MacBook Pro (deeper of cour…

One PCI slot is effectively zero PCI slots because I don't know who is seriously using internal graphics. Maybe as a temporary solution to get things up and running and buy GPU later (doesn't work with AMD, though). This, by the way, is another perk of a desktop PC - the ability to postpone some upgrades. To expand the RAM you will have to buy new sticks first and then try to sell old ones, with the discount, of cour…

If you don’t mind limiting your CPU choices, there’s nothing stopping you from using one of AMD’s CPUs that come with integrated graphics. I did this for a short while with a Ryzen 5 2400G before purchasing an external graphics card (and eventually replacing the CPU too).

Re: Computer-1 mini-ITX Chassis

#177

Post by vhodges »

SergeAx wrote: post #158
vhodges wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The size difference can be substantial. I have an Antec something-500 from 15 years ago and a Caselabs ITX case that is larger (for custom cooling, etc - I never did use the space) and in 2018 transplanted the guts into a SFF from Sliger and I could fit four of my new case into the Caselabs case - and they are commanding quite the premium in the afterlife. Height and Width are less than my MacBook Pro (deeper of cour…

One PCI slot is effectively zero PCI slots because I don't know who is seriously using internal graphics. Maybe as a temporary solution to get things up and running and buy GPU later (doesn't work with AMD, though). This, by the way, is another perk of a desktop PC - the ability to postpone some upgrades. To expand the RAM you will have to buy new sticks first and then try to sell old ones, with the discount, of cour…

I don't game (but would like to be able too). I ran intel integrated graphics for 5 years and never missed a thing ;).

I put 16G in my machine in '15 and rarely exceed 3-4G daily use even today (and for a long time 1-2G daily - I recently switched to Budgie desktop so it's jumped a bit). At this point I'd just buy new ram and the two sticks I have go into the surplus pile but my motherboard (depend on source) only supports 16 (it's oldish also from 2015)

There are water cooling for SFF cases (mine can take a 120MM radiator for instance - the ghost mentioned upthread can take up to a full 360 with the tophat) but I put a Noctua CPU cooler in and changed out the fan on it. Stays nice and cool. My Caselabs itx case could do up to 3 360MM Radiators but was not SFF (by a large amount!).

On the upgrade path, it's so long between that I usually just build a new machine, 6+ years so far on my current desktop and good enough until I find it not. By then, DDR5. PCIE 4.x, etc, etc

I am not trying to convince you to get one, just show that there's a market for SFF... just like there's one for latops, rackmounts, NUCS, stickpcs, Pis and yes even EATX Threadripper monsters in cases on casters ;)

Re: Computer-1 mini-ITX Chassis

#178

Post by twostorytower »

orliesaurus wrote: post #32

I was wondering if I put a 3080 in there, would it fit?? The card's dimensions are 285 mm x 112 mm x 40 mm The chasis supports dual-slot up to 180 mm. so I think the answer is...nope :( now the next question is: what GPU can I fit that's dual and 180mm?

The Dan A4 can fit a 3080 (or any GPU up to 300mm). They also can fit an AIO!

Mine stays cooler than my tower, somehow. Was not easy to build, but damn it is sexy.

https://imgur.com/a/1hXg2Sz#db15yTr

Post reply on HN