Anyone have m350 miniITX case? mSATA question...

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

Here's the case I'm talking about: http://www.logicsupply.com/products/m350?gclid=CNT1yNSHyrMCFcRU4Aodk3gAUQ

Here's my question for anyone who has this case: how much space do you have UNDER the motherboard? I see that there are stand-offs to mount the mobo to, but how much space do you have under there?

Why am I asking? Well, I'm looking at a mini-itx board (this one, actually: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157312 ) and it has a mSATA slot mounted, quite cleverly, on the underside of the board. 

I figure if there's ~5mm or more, it should be compatible, but if somebody has a definite number, that'd help. There are other options, but I prefer the ASRock.

[BobA]

I have one being used as my wife's computer.  If I remember correctly there is less than 1/8 of an inch.   Just room for some thin wires.   3mm?  This is from memory.  If I take it apart I will be in deep puppy doo doo.   I notice the board you were planning on has a power supply connector.   There is no room in the case for a PS.  I use an external supply and a DC connection to the M350.  There are some mini power supplies that plug into the connector that you might have to use with an external DC source.

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

3mm? 

Oof. Yeah, I'm not too surprised to hear that. It's a really small case, and that ASRock board is fairly unique. I certainly haven't seen any other boards laid out in that way. There are a couple of other options that still give me the mSATA; this one is just about the same. And there are Intel options too, I just like ASRock (current mobo has been incredibly solid.)

Maybe I'll come up with a custom case idea? 

Regarding power; yeah, I am definitely thinking about a picoPSU with an external brick.  I'm only running an i5-2500k, built-in graphics, and one (maybe two) ssd (hence my interest in the mSATA) so power demand isn't going to be tremendous, even at full load -- even if I overclock the i5 a bit. 150 watts should more than cover it.

I'm shooting for the best balance possible:
small form factor (the m350 case)
speed (the stock i5-2500k can handle everything that's currently playable in MAME, in addition to PS2 emulation)
and
"silence" (the new Noctua NH-L9i, which is the biggest question mark at this point, because no retailers have it to buy yet. If that guy's tests are accurate, though, this heatsink will definitely do the job - maybe not perfect, passively cooled SILENT ... but very, very quiet.  Especially since this system will hardly ever be really pushed to the thermal limits.)

[MTPPC]

I've got an M350 with an 85W picoPSU and brick I'm trying to get rid of right now. I used it with an E3400 celeron for a XBMC setup. I later robbed the mobo and processor for my Solar Ride Pinball project. I don't think there's 5mm under the board, but you could probably form it in the right spot. I'd be more worried if your 150 watts will run the complete system with that i5. I must admit, I don't know how energy efficient that family of processors is. I do know that a GTS250 video card can pull almost a hundred watts by itself.

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

I'd be more worried if your 150 watts will run the complete system with that i5.

Already tested it. At full load my current system only pulls 120 watts max as measured from the wall with a Kill-a-watt meter. (That's the i5 @ 3.4ghz, all 4 cores at 100%, built-in HD3000 graphics, 1 SSD, 1 2TB "green" drive, plus whatever the mobo/RAM itself pulls.)  The 150 watt picoPSU is rated for 150 sustained, 200 watts max, so as long as the brick I end up with can keep up, it should be fine.  With room for some light overclocking, I think... maybe up to 3.8 or 4.0ghz? It's not necessary, but I like the idea...

I'm planning on putting the 2TB drive in an eSATA enclosure anyway (portability and modular design are also part of the plan on this project, but they don't fit the fun alliteration!) so it'll have it's own power supply. That'll save me maybe 3-5 watts at load on the main system? 

PM me with your details about the m350. I wasn't buying right away, but I might be able to work something out...