Single Malt Mod: Whisky PC

Written by Geoff Richards

February 6, 2006 | 14:14

Tags: #epia #mini-itx #motherboard #picopsu

Companies: #mod

'Never Drink and Mod' is always good advice - operating power tools while intoxicated is just a recipe for disaster. The solution, according to Metku modder Janos Marton, is to down a bottle of whisky, wait a while, then start modding.

The result: the Whisky PC.

Carefully crafted from a 1.5L bottle of 'Ballantine's Finest' Scotch Whisky, the Whisky PC was made possible thanks to the diminuitive dimensions of the Mini ITX platform.

Unlike most Mini-ITX mods, which usually use VIA's low-power EPIA processors, the Whisky PC uses an Intel P3 733EB processor. Add the usual notebook SO-DIMM memory (256MB) and a 2.5-inch 40GB notebook hard drive and it's not hard to see how Marton was able to squeeze so much into such a tiny space.

In fact, he suggests that since the S370 motherboard has a rearward Compact Flash slot, he could have dropped the IDE hard drive and simply used the CF slot. Then again, if space had been that tight, he might have opted for a PicoPSU, the world's smallest power supply. Instead, a standard mini-ITX PSU was sufficient.

"My Whisky PC is still working well and quietly in the corner of my living room," said Marton last week. "Perhaps I should start planning on making a cluster of these... Combine the fun of emptying the whiskey bottles with some good company and building a high calculation power cluster." That was our thought exactly, Janos!

Discuss.


Janos Marton's Whisky PC: a bit of a tight squeeze, but all the mini-ITX bits fitted in the end.

Discuss this in the forums
YouTube logo
MSI MPG Velox 100R Chassis Review

October 14 2021 | 15:04

TOP STORIES

SUGGESTED FOR YOU