Fractal Design Node 304: Simple and Superb Mini-ITX Case Design

If you're one for minimalism, this is your case.

Let's start with the obvious, this case has no optical bay. As of those are even necessary with mini-itx/htpc/file server applications. If you're griping this thing would pair nicely with a external blu-ray or something of that nature. Fractal design included modular drive mounting brackets for full customization. The Node 304 also sports a built in fan controller for excellent quietness.

No reset button!

Upon further research there is one thing though that bothers me, a 2 slot GPU like lets say a 650 TI, won't fit in this case with a standard sized PSU. So choose one or the other, I personally would go for a smaller PSU as anything over 400-450w is overkill. The idea of this form factor is to use minimal power imprint anyway. So be weary if you plan on shoving a power hungry CPU or a space heater GPU into this case, or any mini-ITX case for that matter. On the bright side, anandtech tested this thing and it idles at 30-db, about the same noise levels that the Bitfenix Prodigy produces. It also tested to be competitive with other well known mITX cases such as the Thermaltake A30 or the Silverstone SG05 in terms of cooling and ventilation. I'm sure the rear mounted 140mm fan has something to do with that. 

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Sexy white on black

And again :)

Conclusion: 

At $89.90 on amazon this case is a real competitor in the mini itx form factor. It has no frills, bells or whistles. There is one single LED that is both power and HDD indicator. The modular brackets mentioned above are sturdy and are there to keep as much space to the end user as possible. This thing really is bare on the inside. CPU/GPU temps are swell, again, the only thing holding this back is the spaghetti monster that is a normal PSU. Which is absolutely no blame to Fractal Design or any case manufacturer. I think it's time for power supply manufacturers to consider this form factor when designing power supplies and invest in smaller supply's that are just as ready to shell out power for hardware. This is a winner folks, do yourself a favor and pick it up on Amazon. (link below)

Aleutia Relia Fanless Server / Media PC

Durability and zero moving parts

Before today I can honestly say that I had never heard of London based Aleutia computers. Upon further inspection of their official site I was baffled at just how competent this company is to keeping energy efficiency their mission. Aleutia even offers a solar powered ten computer classroom rig complete with LED monitors all using around 370 watts. Other fare from the manufacturer is anywhere from 12  to 20 watts idle. Today's PC though will use a sweet 17 watts at idle. 

Now, pretty mundane case eh? See those ventilation holes on each side? Those are to let heat out right? Exactly, but, here's the kicker, what we dont see are the thick copper heatpipes that lead to those holes. Just one of the many carefully crafted design ideas Aleutia has put into this build. The case also allows for 2*2.5 inch SATAIII drives or 2*SSD's. To make the deal even sweeter this baby can be customized to your techy heartstrings, swap out the i3 with an i7 for exceeding performance, and add upto 16GB of ram. If that's not enough she also has Dual Intel LAN. At a shade over 4 lbs, she's a keeper.

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Aleutia Product Page: 

ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe: Vertical Power Phasing Goodness for Overclockers

If first impressions mean anything, then be prepared.

ASUS has always been a reputable manufacturer of motherboards, monitors, GPUs, and so on. And we've seen what they can do in the past with their system boards. But the P8Z77-I Deluxe has really outdone itself here. Of course on top of included WiFI, 2xSATAIII ports it also has LUCIDLOGIX VIRTU MVP, UEFI BIOS, Bluetooth 4.0 and a slew of many other features. This baby really is sweet.

DIGI+ VRM:

Lets introduce the Digi+ VRM or "the first thing that catches my eye". This never before seen vertical board is what allows such intense overclocking. The mobo boasts 8 phase CPU power supply, with an extra 2 for your Intel 4000HD graphics. Picture below:

Furthermore on overclocking, this board allows DDR3 2400 (OC). Should you go and mess up your ram configuration leading to a boot error which causes a distinct frustrated state, in which to your certain clumsiness ends up with your shin busted and broken hardware ASUS thought of this with the Mem OK! button resetting your memory profile to a boot-able one. Don't end up like this kid...

Anyway, I dont suspect the readers of this blog will be that insane. This board is probably the best thing that's happened to the mini-itx mobo market in a long time. They've truly thought of everything, even down to the PCB which is 8 layers. The 5k capacitors are said to extend the life of the mobo. VID: 1x HDMI, 1x Displayport, 1x DVI-I AUD: Optical S/PDIF USB: 6x USB 3.0, 8x USB 2.0 HDD: 2x SATAII, 2x SATAIII, 2x eSATA LAN: Intel 8257V, 1 x Gigabit LAN WIFI: 802.11 a/b/g/n

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