2. The PSU
PSU:
Since I was working in such a small space, I needed a small, yet reliable, and light PSU. The Enermax 1U PSU I used for my plexi mod came to mind. So I went ahead and ordered the Enermax EG250S-V 1U 250 Watts IPC Switching Power Supply from Iowa Computing. Cost: $80. Once again, I was amazed when it arrived. Made out of aluminum, it was so light. This would be perfect.
Motherboard Action:
Next thing I had to get was the Shuttle FV-24 mobo. I needed this before any modded could be done so I could get sizes correct. I went ahead and ordered one of these puppies from So Trick. Cost: $125. You can check out a review on this little beast over at VIA Hardware. Again, I was amazed when this thing arrived. (I love getting things in the mail... except bills). It was so tiny and again, just fit in the mailbox by millimeters.
Back of the Mailbox:
Now that I had the 2 items which were going to be at the back of the mailbox, the motherboard and the PSU, I had to start some planning and some cutting, so that I could access the mobo connectors, as well as supply power to this computer. Here was the hard part, I need to accurately measuring the cut-outs while nothing was attached. Hmmm... My girlfriend then came up with an awesome idea (girls who love modding rock!); I used a thin piece of cardboard to cut a template of the back of the mailbox out. I would then plan my cutouts on that, and simply transfer that to the back of the mailbox when done.
After lining everything up, making some trace cut-outs, and transferring those to the cardboard, I had my template set up for the power supply. One problem though was figuring out how to cut the motherboard opening, since I didn't have a for-sure location for the motherboard yet. It was time to side-step the cutout for a bit, and start planning the motherboard mounting piece.
