https://hackaday.com/2017/11/24/modder-puts-computer-inside-a-power-supply/
When building a custom computer rig, most people put the SMPS power supply inside the computer case. [James] a.k.a [Aibohphobia] a.k.a [fearofpalindromes] turned it inside out, and built the STX160.0 – a full-fledged gaming computer stuffed inside a ATX power supply enclosure.
While Small Form Factor (SFF) computers are nothing new, his build packs a powerful punch in a small enclosure and is a great example of computer modding, hacker ingenuity and engineering.
The finished computer uses a Mini-ITX form factor motherboard with Intel i5 6500T quad-core 2.2GHz processor, EVGA GTX 1060 SC graphics card, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 250GB SSD, WiFi card and two USB ports — all powered from a 160 W AC-DC converter. Its external dimensions are the same as an ATX-EPS power supply at 150 L x 86 H x 230 D mm. The STX160.0 is mains utility powered and not from an external brick, which [James] feels would have been cheating.
(Score: 2) by KiloByte on Saturday November 25 2017, @06:04AM (3 children)
And here's my radiator [hardkernel.com]. 5 years old but still much faster than certain too-popular-for-their-worth SoCs from last year.
Ceterum censeo systemd esse delendam.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Saturday November 25 2017, @08:56AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 25 2017, @12:54PM (1 child)
How does that compare to an Intel i5 6400T with a GTX 1060 graphics card?
If this had been done with a Pi like system, it wouldn't be impressive and not worth posting, this is interesting due to the components he managed to squeeze in to this small space. Your comment is not even relevant to the article.
(Score: 2) by KiloByte on Saturday November 25 2017, @02:18PM
Badly, of course, but the machine is a wee bit smaller. And we're talking about a RPi 1 era.
It's a different class, though — as you can see from a rather extreme radiator-to-computer size ratio, and that an extra screw-on fan is recommended addition, the thermal budget is drastically bigger than on other cheap SoCs, and it does make use of it.
The concept of putting an entire computer inside what usually holds only a minor component is funny, and the scale is different enough.
But then, imagine that back in the days some folks used to put an entire computer inside a keyboard...
Ceterum censeo systemd esse delendam.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by LoRdTAW on Saturday November 25 2017, @06:17AM
Little smaller than my Advantech UNO-3072LA [ibb.co]. Has three boards, CoM with the actual CPU/chipset/memory (Single core Atom w/2GB). Then a standardized mezzanine connector to a motherboard with CF, SATA, USB, and the I/O ports. Then a PCI carrier that plugs into the motherboard. 24V DC power required.
If only they made an ITX case similar to this style of UNO instead of their own form factor with a CoM (computer on module). Just mount your ITX board sideways, use a heat pipe setup to get the heat to the heat sink under the motherboard and then a PCI riser with one or more slots with a PCI bridge chip. I really like the "Every port on the front" setup. Really neat form factor.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Whoever on Saturday November 25 2017, @06:31AM (1 child)
TFA and the summary says this:
But if you look at the linked imgur page [imgur.com], you will find this:
(Score: 2) by ese002 on Sunday November 26 2017, @02:59AM
I wondered about that. Mini-ITX is small but nowhere near small enough to fit into ATX power supply housing.