Silent Thin Client
How to use build a thin client with no moving parts
This document implies no liability for any action taken by anyone who reads or transfers it's information.  Do all of this at your own risk.  You may end up with a silent NC, or you may get electrocuted and die.  Neither I, nor my company, assume no responsibility for either outcome.  But believe me, if I did this just about anyone can.

Theory

One of the main problems with desktop computing lies in the simple fact that a modern companies have one computer per end user.  Mathematics alone shows that the largest number of hardware components will be duplicated at the desktop level.  If a company can keep the duplicated desktop elements to a low number then three key MIS liabilities will be reduced:
  1. Initial Parts Cost
  2. Maintenance Cost
  3. Administration Cost
The ideal desktop is one called the "local nothing".  No data stored there.  No configuration specific to the machine is held inside it.  No moving parts.  The "no moving parts" issue is the one that is addressed specifically in this how-to.
 

Reasoning

When deciding to build a Silent Thin Client, I adhered to three key ideals:
  1. Cost must be below $300
  2. Parts needed to be as easy to obtain as possible
  3. Size does matter
There are a few possibilities and each has it's positives and negatives.
 

Possibilities

Cases

ATX

The most inexpensive case at the time of this writing is an ATX mid-tower case.  For about $29, you can get one that isn't super easy to open up and work on, but you won't be doing much maintenance.  The largest drawback is the size of the case.  Most of them are a minimum of  (HxWxD)15" x 8 " x 18". (http://www.in-win.com:80/framecode/ino_a500.html)   Much of this space is wasted because there is no hard disk, floppy, or other internal devices.

Booksize (NLX / LPX / FlexATX / Proprietary)

The most size effective cases are BookPC cases or NLX / LPX cases.   Often these motherboards are very integrated with non-standard chipsets.  With sound/video/LAN onboard.  This forces the developer to find drivers for obscure hardware, and some of them (for example the davicom chip on a PCChips board) are not supported.  Roger Murley <roger@millenn-tech.com>  offered this page to help abate that "need that driver" feeling: http://www.amptron.com/html/drivers.html#presystem  Because of the size and integration, the cost of these cases are also very high.  Sometimes over $250 for just the motherboard and case.

BabyAT

These cases are my second choice because of their size and cost.  However, the fanless power supply that I was able to tract down, had an ATX power connector.  I am sure that if a fanless AT power supply, or an ATX capable AT board (as is the case with many modern AT boards) would elevate this problem.  Many advanced power saving / manipulation features are not available on these boards however.

Micro ATX

A comfortable half-way point is the Micro ATX form factor case and motherboard.  The board still is open enough that you can use you own video/sound/LAN card, or you can get them built in with more standard chipsets for which the drivers are supported.  Here are some of the Micro ATX cases I have found: I chose to get the In-Win P500AU.  It is easy to assemble/work on and pretty damn small for an Micro ATX case.  Here is the link I used to buy it.

Motherboards

Intel810 family chipset

Once you decide on the form factor, there are plenty of boards.  The most popular chipset  for Intel processors in a Micro ATX form factor at the time of this writing is the Intel810.  Because the code for the 810 chipset isn't standard with the Linux kernel yet, you have to put some code into the source tree and build it yourself.    These boards are fairly inexpensive and offer high integration.  Some even have LAN, but I have not heard that the chipset is supported under Etherboot or Netboot.

SiS 620 and SiS 530

The SiS 620 (Intel Pentium/Celeron) and 530 (Super Socket 7) come on a variety of boards and offer optional video onboard depending on manufacturer.  Audio is a separate chipset, and is included on 75% of the boards.

VIA Apollo

Socket 7 / Socket 370 boards that offer a range of video that can be built in.  Often a ATI Rage chipset is built in sometimes a Trident.

Built In Features

If you don't get anything built into your motherboard, it allows you to install well supported hardware.   Often the built in video is only a max of 8MB, and while that's nice for normal users, memory requirements will only increase in the future.  A nice motherboard with nothing built in is the Supermicro 370SLM and 370SVM.  One uses the IntelLX chipset and the other a Via.  Here's the link I used to buy them.

 Power supply

The holy grail of fanless machines is the fanless ATX power supply. It has been found.
Ryan Solri
rsolari@tkpower.com
TK Power
510-770-1172
Tell him Jason from HireTechs.com referred you. Also prices may vary so let him get you a quote. Quantity is always better!

They make one specifically for a 1U Linux box application right now. It is 100W($60) and will go practically forever without any air flow! They will make a 65W($50) one upon request but since they don't stock them it takes a bit longer.

CPU Fan

In order to bypass the need for a CPU fan, clock your processor down one or two steps and have a nice heat sink. I was running a Celeron 366mhz @ 366 mhz and I could still handle the heat sink after 4 days, but I clocked it down to 300mhz to be safe. Your mileage may vary on this and you may need to check the interior temperature after months continuous use to get a true gage of how it's doing. Today's processors are way too fast for Xterminals, and even local applications will be fast at 366mhz. AMD processors run hotter than Intel Celerons in general. But either can be kept quite cool clocked down and running only X.

Putting It All Together

They only real modifications that need to happen physically, are when you mount the power switch and plug. The power supply fits fine on the top self of the case behind the top 5 ¼" drive bay where I screwed it to the chassis. I bought a plastic box from Radio Shack ($3.99) that had the same dimensions as the opening of the old power supply, and cut space in it to mount the plug. Otherwise you assemble it just like a typical tower machine. The beauty lies in it's simplicity.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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