All New Me

[lynx]

Originally posted by Virtualbody1234+21 August 2004 - 21:03--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Virtualbody1234 @ 21 August 2004 - 21:03)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>

Originally posted by clocker@21 August 2004 - 11:16
<!--QuoteBegin-Virtualbody1234

@21 August 2004 - 10:18
Can we see some photos of the progress?

Lookie here.

Nice work, clocker.

One thing that comes to mind looking at that setup. Did you considered adding small jumper wires to ground the components that are now insulated from the case? [/b][/quote]
See page 2, post 38.

[clocker]

Originally posted by Virtualbody1234@21 August 2004 - 14:03
Did you considered adding small jumper wires to ground the components that are now insulated from the case?

Despite the fact that I have yet to hit an identifiable grounding problem, the issue does haunt me.
As yet, no one has provided a clear cut yea/nay answer.
To be on the side of the angels, the final wiring harness includes a common ground point for every component in the case.
This will be implemented as I build my latest addition to the project- the dualPSU.
Two separate ( but equal, no doubt) units housed in a common chassis
Unit one will power the motherboard and HDDs, unit two will handle optical drives, all fans and auxiliary display/control devices.

I have been doing extensive BIOS testing (there are a bewildering number of modded versions available for the NF-7S) and memory tweaking.
In order to remain Prime stable as I crank down the RAM timing ( now down to 2-2-2-11) I have had to raise the chipset voltage from the default 1.65 to 1.75v, which not only raised my temps a bit, but has also lowered my 12v PSU rail.
The details are shown here:
Image Resized
[img]http://server6.uploadit.org/files/sprocket2-primetemp.jpg' width='200' height='120' border='0' alt='click for full size view'>
Note the 12volt reading...it used to run pretty stable at 11.97v now it&#39;s down to 11.73v.
The only change is the chipset voltage, so I must conclude that it is struggling for some reason.
Fortunately, I have several PSUs at hand...the only question is whether to use an ATX or AT unit.
I&#39;m leaning towards AT...the separate on/off switch would allow me to run the cooling system independent of the operating status of the motherboard...in other words, extended cooldowns or even pre-cooling would be possible.
Whatchoo guys think?

[Virtualbody1234]

I get your idea about the AT power supply but if you have spare ATX then I would go with that. No need to continue cooling after shutdown it will cool by itself (slower but who cares). ATX would be more automated. Just one regular shutdown.

[Storm]

Originally posted by Virtualbody1234@21 August 2004 - 23:48
I get your idea about the AT power supply but if you have spare ATX then I would go with that. No need to continue cooling after shutdown it will cool by itself (slower but who cares). ATX would be more automated. Just one regular shutdown.

how would that work??? i mean, only one PSU would be hooked to the mobo, so how would the other shutdown??? you&#39;d have 2 have some common wires...... my guess is that it would be way easier to just use the AT PSU (though pre/post cooling sounds kinda pointless, especially pre-cooling....... i mean, that would do nothing at all..... you comp would be at room temp before you turn it on, and you cant get it any cooler than that..........

[Virtualbody1234]

The second ATX power supply can be "joined" to start and shutdown too. I&#39;m sure clocker knows how to do this already.

[tesco]

Originally posted by Storm+21 August 2004 - 18:14--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Storm @ 21 August 2004 - 18:14)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Virtualbody1234@21 August 2004 - 23:48
I get your idea about the AT power supply but if you have spare ATX then I would go with that. No need to continue cooling after shutdown it will cool by itself (slower but who cares). ATX would be more automated. Just one regular shutdown.

how would that work??? i mean, only one PSU would be hooked to the mobo, so how would the other shutdown??? you&#39;d have 2 have some common wires...... my guess is that it would be way easier to just use the AT PSU (though pre/post cooling sounds kinda pointless, especially pre-cooling....... i mean, that would do nothing at all..... you comp would be at room temp before you turn it on, and you cant get it any cooler than that.......... [/b][/quote]
with realays. you plug the "on" wires on the second psu to the relay as well as i think any powered wire on teh first psu (or maybe the power button) then when the first one powers up it sets off the relay which starts up the second psu.

[clocker]

Originally posted by Virtualbody1234@21 August 2004 - 17:45
The second ATX power supply can be "joined" to start and shutdown too. I&#39;m sure clocker knows how to do this already.

Indeed I do...it&#39;s a very simple two wire splice.
I don&#39;t know, I agree that the "pre-cool" concept is silly now that I think about it, but I have more AT PSUs laying about...I&#39;m prolly down to 4 ATX units.
It&#39;s only one extra switch to remember at startup/shutdown and I wouldn&#39;t have to do any fancy wiring if I just use an AT supply.

Actually, the point is moot right now...I really should run a test install of the second PSU and verify that my 12v rail improves before I do anything radical (or stupid).

Good news on the HS front, though.
My buddies down at Geek St. came up with the ideal candidate to try...it&#39;s a Thermaltake sink of some sort...aluminum body with a copper base, and the size is absolutely perfect.
Now that I have some good baseline data with this setup I can swap it out and see how she flies.
I also found the perfect little sink for the southbridge...probably useless, but why the hell not?
The price was right (i.e. free) so all I have to lose is the time it takes to try it out.
This time round I&#39;m determined to get the insides right before I proceed to the fun stuff outside.

[Virtualbody1234]

Yup a 2 wire splice for ATX.

You could rig one of the AT power supplies to be controlled by the ATX one via a relay. If you really want to get fancy you could make a timer.

[Virtualbody1234]

Originally posted by clocker@21 August 2004 - 19:28
Good news on the HS front, though.
My buddies down at Geek St. came up with the ideal candidate to try...it&#39;s a Thermaltake sink of some sort...aluminum body with a copper base, and the size is absolutely perfect.

I&#39;d like to see that. Is there anyway you could find that sink online at the thermaltake site?

[clocker]

VB, it apparently is too old to still be featured on their website...this is the closest current product.
The biggest difference is the base...mine has a copper plate running the full width of the base instead of a round insert.
Clearly, it was intended as a "budget" cooler, or possibly it was just one of their very first ( hence not terribly sophisticated) designs.
I&#39;ll grab a pic of it for you when I mount it.