In 2013 I decided it was time to build a new HTPC. At the time I was just starting my SFF obsession and found a forum member at AVS Forums who was importing these little Realan E-i7 cases. In addition to importing them, he was also modifying them with little windows for internal IR receivers and getting the factory to produce versions without the ODD slot.
Here are photos from my initial 2013 build:
imgur.com/a/5PqwV
The PC gets tons of use as my HTPC for Netflix, big screen party games, Kodi, and general web browsing from the couch with a wireless keyboard/mouse combo. It got an upgrade from a 2.5” SSD to a mSATA drive in a PCIe adapter, but other than that the little PC has been chugging away happily for 5 years.
Then I found this forum and stumbled across the post by @theGryphon (https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/i-think-i-found-a-little-gem-realan-e-i7.6175/). His post inspired me to dust off my case and think about improving it. The shoddy power button was certainly the first thing to be changed.
Here is a little album of that mod – I have captions for the photos that explain some more items in detail:
imgur.com/a/Tv2M7ee
Next up was getting rid of the unsightly power brick. The AV stand I keep my components on has basic glass shelves and no great way of hiding the power brick. This led me down weeks of researching 12V power supplies, crimping tools, and sourcing connectors, cabling, and tools. I settled on the somewhat popular Mean Well EPP-200-12 power supply as it would interface directly with the 12V DC-ATX board that came with my Realan case and was a small enough footprint (4" x 2") that it should fit in the case.
Here is my initial work getting the Mean Well AC-DC unit to fit:
imgur.com/a/f7FKZXX
While some of this DC power supply stuff is second nature to you pros around here, it was a whole new world to me. The 25 or so computers I’d built over the years all just used off the shelf power supplies of various form factors. There was a lot of trial and error in ordering the right components from DigiKey and Mouser and learning to crimp and re-learning how to solder.
Here is an album outlining the power supply wiring and installation – captions included in Imgur album:
imgur.com/a/oCJeb9j
So that’s where things stand now. Although I have no need to, I’m getting the itch to upgrade the internals. I’m almost certainly going to go with the Ryzen 2400g and I’m eagerly waiting on some B450 motherboard reviews in the coming weeks. Because the little 180W DC-ATX board that came with the E-i7 only outputs 6A on the 12V rail, I went ahead and ordered the upgraded 250W board from Realan which has 10A on the 12V rail in anticipation of an upgrade. The board was only $22 shipped but is estimated to take 6 weeks to be delivered from China.
When I upgrade to a more powerful processor, I’ll also be taking a look at the heatsink. I initially chose this low profile Scythe cooler because the old 2.5” mounting bracket reduced the clearance in this case. Now that I’ll have my M.2 SSD mounted directly to the board, I have another ¼” or so for a larger cooler. However, that might put the fan too close to the case lid, so I may need to cut some new vent holes in the case lid. The upgrades never end!
EDIT: vent holes have been cut! imgur.com/a/t1W9ytc
Big thanks to all the awesome forum members here for inspiration and for answering my questions! I’ll definitely be posting again when I finally waste $500 buying a new CPU, motherboard, RAM, and SSD.
Edit: well I went ahead and bought a new 2400G, ASrock B450 itx motherboard, 2x4GB RAM, and a M.2 ssd. Just got done installing the new components in the case! imgur.com/a/Yj6LmcN
Edit2: Upgraded the heatsink to a Noctua NH-L12s. Fits like a glove in this case. Also ran some stress tests on with Prime95 and Furmark to ensure power delivery and cooling were adequate. imgur link
Edit3: Upgraded the Realan DC-DC power board to the PicoPSU plug in board. imgur link
Edit4: Installed a GTX 1050 ti low profile graphics card and two low profile Coolermaster case fans to act as the graphics card fans. Drilled out the side fan intakes with an 80mm hole saw and installed wire fan grilles. Significantly lowered required fan speed and improved both noise levels and sound signature (no more whistle). imgur link
Here are photos from my initial 2013 build:
imgur.com/a/5PqwV
The PC gets tons of use as my HTPC for Netflix, big screen party games, Kodi, and general web browsing from the couch with a wireless keyboard/mouse combo. It got an upgrade from a 2.5” SSD to a mSATA drive in a PCIe adapter, but other than that the little PC has been chugging away happily for 5 years.
Then I found this forum and stumbled across the post by @theGryphon (https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/i-think-i-found-a-little-gem-realan-e-i7.6175/). His post inspired me to dust off my case and think about improving it. The shoddy power button was certainly the first thing to be changed.
Here is a little album of that mod – I have captions for the photos that explain some more items in detail:
imgur.com/a/Tv2M7ee
Next up was getting rid of the unsightly power brick. The AV stand I keep my components on has basic glass shelves and no great way of hiding the power brick. This led me down weeks of researching 12V power supplies, crimping tools, and sourcing connectors, cabling, and tools. I settled on the somewhat popular Mean Well EPP-200-12 power supply as it would interface directly with the 12V DC-ATX board that came with my Realan case and was a small enough footprint (4" x 2") that it should fit in the case.
Here is my initial work getting the Mean Well AC-DC unit to fit:
imgur.com/a/f7FKZXX
While some of this DC power supply stuff is second nature to you pros around here, it was a whole new world to me. The 25 or so computers I’d built over the years all just used off the shelf power supplies of various form factors. There was a lot of trial and error in ordering the right components from DigiKey and Mouser and learning to crimp and re-learning how to solder.
Here is an album outlining the power supply wiring and installation – captions included in Imgur album:
imgur.com/a/oCJeb9j
So that’s where things stand now. Although I have no need to, I’m getting the itch to upgrade the internals. I’m almost certainly going to go with the Ryzen 2400g and I’m eagerly waiting on some B450 motherboard reviews in the coming weeks. Because the little 180W DC-ATX board that came with the E-i7 only outputs 6A on the 12V rail, I went ahead and ordered the upgraded 250W board from Realan which has 10A on the 12V rail in anticipation of an upgrade. The board was only $22 shipped but is estimated to take 6 weeks to be delivered from China.
When I upgrade to a more powerful processor, I’ll also be taking a look at the heatsink. I initially chose this low profile Scythe cooler because the old 2.5” mounting bracket reduced the clearance in this case. Now that I’ll have my M.2 SSD mounted directly to the board, I have another ¼” or so for a larger cooler. However, that might put the fan too close to the case lid, so I may need to cut some new vent holes in the case lid. The upgrades never end!
EDIT: vent holes have been cut! imgur.com/a/t1W9ytc
Big thanks to all the awesome forum members here for inspiration and for answering my questions! I’ll definitely be posting again when I finally waste $500 buying a new CPU, motherboard, RAM, and SSD.
Edit: well I went ahead and bought a new 2400G, ASrock B450 itx motherboard, 2x4GB RAM, and a M.2 ssd. Just got done installing the new components in the case! imgur.com/a/Yj6LmcN
Edit2: Upgraded the heatsink to a Noctua NH-L12s. Fits like a glove in this case. Also ran some stress tests on with Prime95 and Furmark to ensure power delivery and cooling were adequate. imgur link
Edit3: Upgraded the Realan DC-DC power board to the PicoPSU plug in board. imgur link
Edit4: Installed a GTX 1050 ti low profile graphics card and two low profile Coolermaster case fans to act as the graphics card fans. Drilled out the side fan intakes with an 80mm hole saw and installed wire fan grilles. Significantly lowered required fan speed and improved both noise levels and sound signature (no more whistle). imgur link
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