Anyone with Mini-ITX knowledge?

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Anyone with Mini-ITX knowledge?

I've been wanting to do a Mini-ITX project ever since I stumbled onto them. Anyway I was wondering about the gaming prowess of these things. I was thinking of getting the 1.2GHz board and throwing on an beefy video card. I'm thinking LAN box type thing. Any ideas?

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Forget it, the mini-ITX board

Forget it, the mini-ITX boards do not have AGP slots and the PSU's limit you to vid cards that lack the need for a power supply...
Here is more info on them: www.mini-itx.com
(EDIT) You actually can get an OK system if the board is not made by VIA, and you plan on using a large case...

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Mini itx boards aren't usuall

Mini itx boards aren't usually designed for gaming prowness. They are mainly for tiny systems (small book pcs) but the hobbiests out there have found them to be awsome for hack jobs, like putting them into odd cases (NES's, etc), car comptuers, or they are used for MP3 players a lot. If you really want a gaming system, go for a decent standard system with an agp slot and keep the itx motherboards for some hack job.

They are great for playing mp3's, doing basic office stuff, internet stuff, but as for gaming, they leave a lot to be desired.

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.

If you want a small gaming box, go with either a shuttle XPC, or a MicroATX board and case.
Antec recently released an mATX case called the Aria, and it looks to be perfect for a LAN box. Pair that with a Shuttle MN31n or an Asus A7N8X-VM, an Athlon 2500 and a Radeon 9600 and you've got yourself an awesome, compact, and reasonably priced gaming rig.

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Yeah...kind of figured

I kind of figured that the Mini-ITX wouldn't have been stellar. But it would make a great file server. Are there any pitfalls of storing Mac files on a PC. I figured that I could use it as a back-up for all my software and as a general file server on my network.

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I store all my mac files (dow

I store all my mac files (downloads, installers, etc) on one of my windows xp boxes. It is very nice and i have had no problems. Mac os 10.2.8 conencts to it with no hitches.

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As long as the Macs are using

As long as the Macs are using OSX and the PC's are using Win2000/XP you should be fine, and also miniITX computers make EXCELLENT file and LAN servers...

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One old school

I do have one machiene that uses OS9. Would there be an inexpensive (read: free) way to make it work with that one?

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The "L" word

Or the "B" word, if BSDs appeal to you more then Linux.

http://netatalk.sourceforge.net/

Install that and "Samba" on the same machine and you have an excellent multi-platform file server. For free.

--Peace

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nope

unless your talking about playing old 2d games then yoru pretty much stuck, the only mini ITX board i ever saw with agp was only sold in japan AND it neede those half height agp card like the old compaq deskpros took, ya know the ones with the square backplates, anyway mini itx is just an upgradede thin client, there onyl good for internet, workstations(in banks and such) and home theater.

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SparcStation ITX

I made one. It's pretty fast, but the built in video sucks for 3D. It has great hardware DVD decode though. Only a PCI slot, so you are pretty limited on video cards.

http://vader.inow.com/~drbob/itx.html

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Sweet!! I like that sparc.

Sweet!!

I like that sparc. I actually have the same one at my work that i recently gutted and i am planning on putting a micro atx celeron 800mhz motherboard into.

Same danged sparc.

I was actaully going to try to fit the cdrom on top of the motherboard, but I really like yoiur way much better (using the external cdrom bay underneath it). All i need to do is to find an external sparc cdrom bay like that and I will be set.

Jon
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If you really need more space

If you really need more space, you could do the stacked-case thing with an 811 case and the IPX and have the mobo and cards on top and all the drives in the bottom. That would require less shifting a squeezing of comopnents to make them fit in one case, and if you were going to use an external CD-ROM anyway...

It's too bad I like my SPARCclassic and the 811 case as-is. It's be neat to have an ITX kinda hack like Dr. Bob's.

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itx

I did try to fit a slim line CDROM in there, but it was about .25" too short. It was quite the bummer.

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