Anyone ever heard of an Argonaut Merlin?

[TinyBox]

Hi, long time lurker, first post.

Saw one of these up on Ebay and thinking about picking one up for a project. Seems like a good deal considering the spec and size. Any advice would be very welcome. Do you think I could put together the component spec for less than the whole package (ebay price - looks like it will end up under a grand)?

http://www.argonautcomputer.com/merlin-mx4-mini-computer.php

EBay Item Number: 160149297994

[Greco101]

Well with a week left...... Expect it to clear 1000. Welcome to TBCS.

[Omega]

I doubt you'll get a system as fast as that with a mini-itx setup, but it'll be much cheaper. So if you want to do a miniature mod, go with either micro-ATX or mini-ITX components. mATX for performance at the sacrifice of size, mITX at the sacrifice of performance. For instance, a mITX computer could be built into the case for a power supply for a normal computer (and that's happened before, too), whereas a mATX computer would take up more room but support much more powerful equipment (PCI-e gpu's, S775 CPU's, etc.)

Welcome to TBCS.

[TinyBox]

Hmmm, that's tough. If it does go over $1000, (should have snagged the $995 Buy it Now) then that puts it just over my budget. Anyone else who wants to bid on it feel free.

The power in that little package is very tempting though. I thought about mATX but it just isn't small enough for what I have in mind. mITX definitely fits, but it is tough finding something with enough power.

It seems like the Argonaut must be using mITX to get that small. I wonder what motherboard they are using? Perhaps the spec could be duplicated...

Decisions decisions....

[.Maleficus.]

Someone else on the forums (forgot who) found a LGA775 mITX mobo and is using it on a homemade laptop. I believe Scotty found the link, but there wasn't a store that sold them. I'm sure if you look around hard enough, you'll find something powerful enough.

[Crazy Buddhist]

There are some quite powerful mini itx boards around. this one is priced at £150 in the uk so probably something like $150 Stateside I'd guess.

From Wordsworth Technology limited:

Product Overview

Mini-ITX Industrial Motherboard with Intel® Core 2 Duo, Pentium® 4/ Pentium® D 1066/800/533MHz CPU, SATA II, Dual PCIe GbE, USB 2.0 and Audio

http://www.store.wordsworth.co.uk/images/products/preview/kino-9454.jpg (http://www.store.wordsworth.co.uk/index.php?p=product&id=63&parent=13)


Product Description

Manufacturer: IEI
CPU
LGA 775 Intel® Core™2 Duo, Pentium® D/4/Celeron® D with 533/800/1066MHz FSB

System Chipset
Intel® 945G + ICH7

BIOS
AMI BIOS Label

System Memory
2 x 240-pin dual channel DDR2 400/533/667MHz up to 4GB

Ethernet
Dual PCIe BROADCOM BCM5787 M GbE chipsets with ASF 2.0 remote control support

I/O
8 x USB 2.0
4 x SATA II
1 x IDE
3 x RS-232
1 x RS-232/422/485
2 x PS/2 for KB/MS
1 x 20-pin LPC (TPM Module)

Expansion
1 x PCIe x16 (Support PCIe x1/2/4/8/16 PCIe add-on cards)
1 x Mini PCI

IrDA
1 x IrDA by pin header

Super I/O
ITE8712

Digital I/O
8-bit digital I/O, 4 input / 4 output by super I/O

Audio
Realtek ALC655 with AC'97 codec

Display
VGA integrated in Intel® 945G

Watchdog Timer
Software programable 1-255 sec. by super I/O

Power Supply
ATX support

Power Consumption
5V @ 1.8A, 12V @ 5.81A, 3.3V @ 3.49A, 5VSB @ 0.37A
(Pentium® 4 3.06GHz, DDR2 533MHz 1GB x1)

Temperature
Operation: 0°C ~ 60°C (32°F ~ 140°F)

Humidity
Operation: 5% ~ 95% non-condensing

Dimension
170mm x 170mm