Atom based system

[Gnome]

I'm hoping some of you have some insight into this:

I'm looking to get a Atom based system that'll serve as a PFSense/IPCop firewall for a small business. I've been toying with the idea for a while now but I could only find complete solutions (IE. Asus EEE Box), they only have a single Gigabit LAN, they have active cooling, they are fairly expensive (although I'm willing to pay for the cheapest version) and finally I can't tell if adding another Gigabit LAN is even possible.

My brother told me a guy at work bought himself a Atom based motherboard with the CPU attached and then just made his own build. That is what I'm looking for. Bare bones that allows me to add to it.

Either just a motherboard with CPU (maybe a case and PSU would be cool also) or worst case scenario a complete solution that allows me to add extra PCI devices.

The only requirements are:
Low cost
Low power
At least one IDE or SATA port
At least one USB port

Plus points would be:
Atom CPU
Integrated Wireless (b/g/n)
Integrated Gigabit LAN (x2 preferable)
Motherboard/CPU/PSU only (passive cooling preferred)

Thanks for any help!

 

[Archer]

There are plenty of boards that match the spec (example).
It has gigabit ethernet, wireless N, 4 USB, dual core atom, passive cooling, onboard video, 2 SATA ports and one PCIe x4 slot. Now you just need to define what low cost is, and try source it local.

Here is a list of all motherboards on newegg (I love that site, so easy to search for stuff)

 

[Gnome]

Yeah my problem was I was searching local shopping sites. And after about 10 minutes I got frustrated.

Thanks, I'll have a look.

 

[Synaesthesia]

Something like the Intel 945gclf2 motherboard and a Mini ITX case.
http://www.mini-box.co.za/
Well maybe it would be cheaper/better to just get a cheap PC box - Intel Celeron which is way faster than Atom, and pretty much the same price.

 

[Rudimental]

I might not buy from here, but this site has a nice list: link.

 

[packetloss]

Frontosa has a nice Intel Dual Atom core based unit (Mini-ITX) with passive cooling. Also has a small Mini-ITX chassis that takes 2 Hot-Swap Serial ATA's. Can use a normal PCI Lan card as secondary. Works well as proxy/firewall.

 

[Gnome]

Can't really buy from Frontosa.

So I'm thinking of getting Intel D510MO because it's a relatively cheap mobo and meets all my requirements (except it doesn't have wireless but I'm not too stuck on that anyway). My only problem now is this:

Mini-ITX cases with passive PSUs? Suggestions?

 

[Archer]

There are a couple of cases that will have external PSUs like this. Will obviously be a very tight fit. And that particular case comes with a 40mm fan so may be noisy. Otherwise ask the egg! But good luck getting those cases here There are some really nice ones from Silverstone in that list that would be perfect imo.

 

[Rudimental]

I'd get a basic cheap mini-itx case with external PSU like this and then mod the case above the motherboard to fit a larger thin fan(s) such as the Zalman ZM-OP1 if needed. You might be able get away with no system fans at all depending on your HHDs, since that is a Pinetrail board and uses even less power than the older dual-core atoms.

Of course, how much cooling you will need is dependent on where exactly this machine will be operating, but I would personally prefer slightly noisier and better cooled rather than quieter at higher temperatures, especially if it will always be on.