5L <$200 PC build using Lenovo All in One motherboard Build Log

[Dapuma]

I recently got interested in SFF pcs, i found it fascinating how someone could fit so much power in such a small space, a stark contrast from the 110L 80lb PC I had just built a month prior to getting into this. So I decided to make a SFF pc, my first one ever. But I realize I kinda threw myself into a build that will probably end up being much more challenging than I originally anticipated.

*How did this happen? Well basically as a poor high school kid, I wanted to build a "free" pc using parts I got from curecoin and banano, which I get from doing folding@home on my main PC. When I finally had my first profits, I was pretty stoked and bought the cheapest motherboard I could off of ebay, which was an $8.37 Lenovo m73z motherboard.

Planned parts list:
Motherboard: Lenovo m73z h81 motherboard (purchased)
CPU: Whichever is cheapest price/performance from i5-4430S, i5-4440S, i5-4460S, i5-4570S, i5-4590S, i5-4670S. Leaning towards 4570S atm
PSU: Cheap, low wattage flex atx psu from ebay. ~250W, from reputable brand.
Case: 3d printed (IDK how to use cad, but thats something ill have to learn on this journey
GPU: Intel HD 4600, but possibly gtx 950 using pcie from wifi card slot.
CPU Cooler: Possibly a wraith stealth that I had on hand, but I may want to use something different due to the fact that feel like its kinda cheating because I already have it (but again, the 3d printing is kinda cheating too), but also because I found a way to play music on my wraith stealth.
RAM: at least 8GB of DDR3L-1600 (kinda expensive on ebay tbh but ill cross that bridge once I get to it)
+ a ton of adapters for proprietary standards, possibly more proprietary things, and maybe some 60mm fans for airflow, and then possibly a vinyl wrap for sexiness.

*Since the funding for this is being "generated" in real time and at a constant and somewhat slow rate, time is quite literally money. Something that I would normallly say costs $5, for this project it would be more like it would cost the project 5 days before I can order it. That's just an example, not the actual data of $ to day.

My school has a pretty nice 3d printer I can basically use whenever I want, it uses PLA plastic. No one else uses it so waiting on a queue to use it wont really be an issue.

Theres going to be some things I need to know in order to carry this forward:
How to use CAD software to create a .STL file to 3d print it
Thickness of PLA plastic necessary for a strong structure
The pinout for the 14 pin power input to the board
The pinouts for basically everything else on the board(ah yes, the proprietary goodness)
How to keep it under 4.5L, with my goal being 4.2L including the GPU.

The board has the dimensions of ~175mm wide by ~275mm long, with the tallest point on the board being around ~15mm higher than the bottom point.

EDIT: The raw cost for this build is planned to be under $150, including any tools I may have to buy.

 

[Dapuma]

Image of CPU socket (LGA 1150)

Wooden thing I mounted the mobo to
I ended up using standoffs to attach that board in place, but at 6mm thick, its kinda bulky. I spent over an hour cutting that board to size with a butter knife and sanding it with sandpaper. I don't have proper tools unfortunately, but thats something Ill have to love with for now

Well, they're different standards
Apparently Lenovo has 2 14 pin standards, which I wasnt aware of. I got this adapter for free from ebay $5 coupon that you get every so often. Once I know the pinouts of the mini 14 pin one I will probably have to cut the old 14 one off of the 24 pin to 14 pin adapter and solder it directly to the board. Janky.

 

[Dapuma]

Alright, my rear io panel just came in the mail today, and I could finally start measuring things out and such.

Here is an image of the board with an IO panel
Here's a (crappy) photo of measuring things out
The lego thing represents the GPU, and the foam block is a flex-atx PSU

My thoughts: After measuring things out, assuming this will be a perfect rectangular prism, I realized that <4.5L will probably be impossible, or at least beyond my abilities with the equipment I have on hand. Even getting things under 5L will be hard.

I think the whole rear io panel will need risers, real short ones.

I will either have to cut away the side of the wraith stealth to make it fit, but tbh I'm more heavily leaning to using something that has a shorter width and length, and around the same height. And that is avaliable for super cheap on ebay(preferably) or Aliexpress.

I also will have to find the voltage the board takes (I believe it is 12V, but I could be wrong)

I will have to go through lots of photos of the original power supply connector to find the pinouts manually

I also wonder if there is a smaller >240W PSU thats AC-DC. That would make my quest for sub 5L even easier. Now unfortunately I won't be able to just buy the original PSU and look at the connectors that way, as that would make things so much harder for my budget.

 

[Dapuma]

Small update: So I really can't scrutinize each image because sometimes colors might mean different things for each of the wires. So what I think I will do is buy a power supply that uses the same connector, and use that and hopefully that helps me find the pinouts. I believe the Lenovo m90z psu has the same connector, but its smaller and usually cheaper on ebay than the m73z psu so I am going to look at that. Heck, if it is thin enough to fit I might have to use it... but then there's the issue of the GPU. These stock PSU's are like 150W and I think I would need at least 250W.

1. I may have to use a DC-DC ~100W PSU to power the graphics card. But then there's the issue that I won't have anywhere to put the power brick on the inside, so I would have to do it on the outside... and to be completely honest, I'm not really fond of the idea of having an external PSU. And putting the external AC-DC PSU internally may also pose issues for the airflow, something that is of utmost importance to me.

2. The other option, which might be kinda risky and much lower success rate is finding a way to "stack" psus, meaning I would have to disassemble them, and have their cooling shared by 2 40mm fans. I really dont know how big the internals are of a Flex-ATX PSU or the lenovo one without the metal casing.

3. The third option is to get some sort of industrial PSU that is really small, like what some of the people here sell, but the issue I have with that is price. I'm trying to work with under $150 here. Makes me think that maybe I should have just gotten a working one with an i3, then seeing what I can use and sell... I think It's a bit too late for that I'm afraid.


It will be a little while before I can buy any more parts because I am currently in the process of saving up for a $25 ebay gift card to use. May take around 2 more weeks to accumulate enough money.

 

[Dapuma]

After looking at the motherboard for the lenovo m90z, I realized the connector looked the same for power. Also, the m90z psu seems to be around the same dimensions as a flex atx PSU.

They are around $13 on eBay. Along with this, I'm also going to buy a multimeter for ~$9 to find the pinout of the Lenovo all in one 14 pin power connector.

Unfortunately, this extra cost means that I will have to wait to purchase ram.

 

[Dapuma]

I bought the 150W OEM PSU and the multimeter. should arrive in 1-2 weeks

 

[Windfall]

Recommendation for CAD: Use autodesk Fusion 360!

It's incredibly easy to learn, and should you have questions, many here use it and can help (I've used it for 2 years now).

 

[Dapuma]

Recommendation for CAD: Use autodesk Fusion 360!

It's incredibly easy to learn, and should you have questions, many here use it and can help (I've used it for 2 years now).

alright, thanks for that! I actually have an autodesk account from my school so ill have to try it out.

EDIT: nope i don't have access to that unfortunately. I only have autocad.

 

[Windfall]

alright, thanks for that! I actually have an autodesk account from my school so ill have to try it out.

EDIT: nope i don't have access to that unfortunately. I only have autocad.

Try it via this link since you're a student: https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/students-teachers-educators

Sign in on that page and you should be good to go!

 

[Dapuma]

Try it via this link since you're a student: https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/students-teachers-educators

Sign in on that page and you should be good to go!

wtf that worked. Thanks!

 

[Windfall]

wtf that worked. Thanks!

Autodesk's site is tricky that way!

Have fun exploring the program, the Autodesk student tutorials are a great starting point! If you have questions, ask!

 

[Dapuma]

So heres a basic rundown at the moment

Things I have:
M73z motherboard ($8.47 $0.00) from ebay
Some really cheap 60mm fan 5V ($1.87 $0.00) from ebay
150W m90z PSU ($13.75 $0.00) from ebay
Multimeter ($8.88 $0.00) from ebay
Zip ties ($0.00) from the sidewalk
m73z Rear IO Panel ($5.00 $0.00) from ebay
3mm drill bit ($0.00) from neighbor
Fusion 360 ($0.00) from school
Soldering iron ($0.00) from school or home
Screwdriver set ($0.00) at home. Might be considered cheating, but who in the right mind wouldn't have a screwdriver set?
Thermal paste ($0.00) It came with one of my coolers. May also be considered cheating, but idc.
Sata cables from home

Need to get:
Screws ($0.00) Probably can pick them up from around the house.
Mini pcie to pcie x16 adapter (~$9)
8GB PC3L-12800S sodimms (~$20)
~256GB SSD (~$20)
i5-4570S or 4590S (~$50)
GTX 950 (~$40)
~250W flex atx psu (~$20)
CPU cooler (~$8 maximum)
Case ($0.00) 3d printed using schools printer

Tbh everything's raw price does end up over $150. ~$205 total, or a little over 6 months at current rate of income after offsetting electricity costs from folding@home.
keep in mind i might need more things than this...

Im thinking of purchasing RAM next, so off I go for 2 weeks saving up the money.

 

[Choidebu]

I can applaud your utmost frugality.

Not everyone have disposable incomes, but everyone have their dream!

Btw my multimeter cost me 3$. Just sayin'.

 

[Windfall]

I can applaud your utmost frugality.

Not everyone have disposable incomes, but everyone have their dream!

Btw my multimeter cost me 3$. Just sayin'.

Frugality is good!

Laughs in harbor freight caliper.

 

[Dapuma]

I can applaud your utmost frugality.

Not everyone have disposable incomes, but everyone have their dream!

Btw my multimeter cost me 3$. Just sayin'.

Where'd you get your multimeter?

 

[Windfall]

Where'd you get your multimeter?

Probably harbor freight. If you sign up for their snail mail list, every couple months you'll get a coupon for a free flashlight, screwdriver, or multimeter.

 

[Choidebu]

Where'd you get your multimeter?

I'm in Southeast Asia ?

 

[Dapuma]

Probably harbor freight. If you sign up for their snail mail list, every couple months you'll get a coupon for a free flashlight, screwdriver, or multimeter.

oh thats interesting to know, i didn't know that

I'm in Southeast Asia ?

well im in usa lol thats probably why

 

[Dapuma]

ffs i forgot about aliexpress new user discount...

 

[Choidebu]

ffs i forgot about aliexpress new user discount...

yea that's the one I've got alright except mine's a D not B. Got extra frequency counter on this one.

One word of caution: Don't use this to measure current more than its stated limit. My unit came with depleted battery so I had to open the whole back cover up to change it. There I found no fuse connected to the 10A measuring socket. Just a wire jumper. This thing will melt on 10A alright, possibly taking the surrounding plastic with it too.