i searched around and i found out that the Mini-ITX only supports up to 136GB of internal memory so i guess that external is the way to go. here is a pic of the case
here is my cart:
DESCRIPTION PRICE
VIA EPIA 5000 Eden 533 Mhz Fanless Motherboard $90.00
Kingston Low Profile 512MB PC133 DIMM $106.20
Panasonic UJ845B Slotload DVD-RW $124.20
Black Morex 3688 Mini-ITX Case $106.20
Western Digital Scorpio 40GB 2.5in 5400RPM HDD $99.00
my total now comes to $617.58
looks like i will have to save up since im 15 and in N.Y. i cant get a good job 'til i'm 16. shipping is about $92.00 but i know a PC store that will order the parts for me. i know the owner there (from making countless trips to White Castle and stopping by to buy parts for my xbox) and he will probably order the parts there.