Thinking on buying super small PC just for XITE-1

[masterec]

Hi guys. Not sure if this is the right forum.

I am thinking of buying a Mini PC (Intel) just for the sake of having a small PC which is running Win7 32 bit so that I could use my XITE with all the bells and whistles on 32bit software. I miss STS samplers and Modular stuff in windows 10.

Since I have an established and complex setup I am thinking of buying mini PC and hooking it to my existing monitor (monitor has 4 inputs anyway) and install Xite on it.Basically I will be running Scope on this computer solely for the purpose of loading projects into XITE and setting everything up.

I intend to purchase this model - Lenovo ThinkCentre M83 SFF Intel G-1820 (4th gen.)

lenovo_Thinkcentre_m83_sff-1.jpg (24.18 KiB) Viewed 10443 times

lenovo_Thinkcentre_m83_sff_1.jpg (34.42 KiB) Viewed 10443 times

It has 4GB RAM and this should be enough because there won't be any DAW or anything like that running on Windows 7. XITE will be used as a glorified synth machine and FX processor. I will sequence stuff over my hardware sequencer connected to the XITE so no DAW will be installed on this small machine. As I said it will be used to load projects, save them, tweak stuff - basically PC will be tuned just to control Scope.

The only modification done to this mini PC will be an SSD drive instead of an old drive.

Here are my questions and concerns.

1.
As you can see in the image - this is a mini PCIe slot. I have a metal bracket, I get that I need to replace the current metal on XITE PCIe card with a smaller one - my question is - has anyone tried to install xite card to such small devices, wild card fit?

2. Does anyone have something different to recommend?

[valis]

Where are you located?

[garyb]

1. the card is very small, so probably.

[Bud Weiser]

1. the card is very small, so probably.

The older XITE PCIe card (w/ lockable DVI connector) came w/ standard and low profile brackets.
The new card,- w/ HDMI connector also on the card,- doesn´t.
That´s a problem when a low profile bracket is urgently needed.
I doubt it´s pssible finding a bracket w/ the correctly positioned cutout for the card´s HDMI jack.



Bud

[masterec]

1. the card is very small, so probably.

The older XITE PCIe card (w/ lockable DVI connector) came w/ standard and low profile brackets.
The new card,- w/ HDMI connector also on the card,- doesn´t.
That´s a problem when a low profile bracket is urgently needed.
I doubt it´s pssible finding a bracket w/ the correctly positioned cutout for the card´s HDMI jack.



Bud

Thanks everyone! I guess I need to ask SC directly about low profile bracket.

Is there anything else I need to watch for?

[masterec]

I also forgot to ask - can anyone recommend super silent small form computers that could be used for 32bit Windows 7? I mean has anyone actually tried and can confirm first hand?

[astroman]

If you find a candidate motherboard, check if it allows to reduce the CPU VCore.
This option is fairly rare afaik, but it has a tremendous effect on CPU heat emission.
(my Scope system runs on a mobile Pentium 4 with such reduction)
It’s almost silent, CPU fan with 5V, but pre PCIe and too old for your setup.

Stating the obvious: use the most humble graphic card.
If it‘s a board with Intel onboard graphic, the chipset may get surprisingly hot.
(I had this once with an Atom board, where the CPU was taxed about 5W, but the chipset burnt 35W)

[garyb]

there is no low profile bracket.

[masterec]

there is no low profile bracket.

Well...I'll just make my own in that case - no problem. I mean I have a friend which is good with such things (modifying metal) - so no problem.

[valis]

A dremel and sharpie (fine point) would be enough. There are low profile blank brackets already made and ready for modding.

[Bud Weiser]

Thanks everyone! I guess I need to ask SC directly about low profile bracket.

Since XITE boxes come w/ this card https://sonic-core.de/product/pcie-inte ... pe-xite-1/ ,- the low profile bracket is history.
Mid 2020 I was interested in buying the new PCIe card and asked Holger if there is a LP-bracket available.
Already there, the answer was "no".

But, maybe you find someone here using the old PCIe card w/ DVI connector and being willing to let his LP-bracket go.
Don´t ask me ...

But I can imagine, It would be an easy mod,- if a mod would be necessary at all since a cutout for DVI connector is larger than a cutout for HDMi anyway.
The bracket just only holds the card in place,- the jack is soldered to the card.
Once the cutout is high and wide enough, it should work w/ a HDMI cable.



Bud

[nebelfuerst]

You can also 3d print brackets. For most cases of home use it's strong enough. For a stage environment, not.

[jksuperstar]

I took a 1U rack PC, which had one horizontal slot, and bastardized it with a flexible connector from the PCIe slot to the card. Works like a charm.

Of course, the mini-itx board + cooling fan required me to cut a hole in the 1U rack to make it fit, and depending on the rack it's in, either top of a box, or the PC mounted upside down with a very shallow patchbay sandwiched between it and the XITE, it still has lots of space to save.

Point is: get creative, in any way you are comfortable doing so

I've seen very small PCs with mini-PCIe (NVMe) ports, that you can buy a flexible adaptor that converts to full size single lane PCIe...just what the XITE needs.