Case Design

[SciManAl]

yeah wood can be heavy, but you have lots of wood in colarado so no worry (just hope some lady doesn't get mad reading a letter from her boyfriend again :flame: )

i agree with plexi... cheap a little stronger (hell my case is made entirely out of plexi) and there are rumored "plexi bits" that make perfect holes, and cuts in plexi... staus lights are good i use them for at a glance diagnostic, while to the casual person they are just there for decore...

you do cars, what kind of tools/milling/metal working equip do you have, you could make a rival lian li (sp???) case of your own...

yeah and probably a way for all the switched to be in front and easy access, and not entending past the frame, so that if ipick it up i am not pressing any buttons/potentailly ripping one off...

and if it is at all a Lan Party comp, then it needs to be transportable, if the cooling unit is seperate then make it disconnecablte, or more simply put an in and out port in the back to hook up the h20 lines to...

[clocker]

Al, I don't even know what a "LAN party" is, so I probably won't be attending any soon.
I have a mill, 3 lathes and various and assorted matal/wood working tools of my own and access to almost anything else.

I may just cobble a prototype up out of plywood or something equally cheap and easy.
Seeing as how often I change stuff it might be a good idea...

[SciManAl]

Al, I don't even know what a "LAN party" is, so I probably won't be attending any soon.

lan party involves carieying ones computer around allot, (the reason for minis...)

umm yeah proto version should be wood... you can patch holes you don't want etc... but if you really went the distence, you could machine an aluminum case after you have the temperate zones etc how you want them... that would be kickass ya know... and if you keep it thin, then you should have no problems modding if you HAD too... (i imagine you will be moving fans and stuff, but at the point of making a metal one you would feel confident that air intakes are going to be the same place etc... along with the other elements of design... )


also, if you made a metal case, i am just now wondering about it, what if you used the metal of the case as a heatsink... don't know how... but ya know huge peece of metal... COULD be used...

Also in regard to the heatpipes, i was thinking that if applied right one could heatpipe things like the PSU, and northbridge as well, possibly to the point at wich the case no longer requires fans, or at least a much more passive heat dissapation plan... that also would make it quiter... i am currently working on a completly passive case cooling set up... the heat pipe will be the top of the case, just a huge grill... and then all compenets will be hooked up to it that don't require the performance cooling of the likes of the CPU, Video card... That is my goal, the only things that are making noise, are hard drives, optical drives, and the water pump... this will also be focussing on performance of course...

[_John_Lennon_]

Originally posted by SciManAl@30 November 2003 - 03:15

also, if you made a metal case, i am just now wondering about it, what if you used the metal of the case as a heatsink... don't know how... but ya know huge peece of metal... COULD be used...

That seems like it would work.......

Oh and Clocker, that switch looks like it would work perfectly, one to each of the 3 pins, excellant planning.

[lynx]

I like the idea of your cmos switch, but I would prefer to see a "momentary contact" type so it can't accidentally be left in the wrong position - I've seen motherbards blown by leaving the jumper in the "clear" position and then switched on.

I realise that power/reset type switches don't meet the requirements, but there are a few "double throw" push button switches around. I think I would probably fit it into the back panel, so that it is away from prying fingers.

[clocker]

Originally posted by _John_Lennon_+30 November 2003 - 03:08--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (_John_Lennon_ &#064; 30 November 2003 - 03:08)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin-SciManAl@30 November 2003 - 03:15

also, if you made a metal case, i am just now wondering about it, what if you used the metal of the case as a heatsink...&nbsp; don&#39;t know how... but ya know huge peece of metal...&nbsp; COULD be used...

That seems like it would work.......

[/b][/quote]
Of course it would work, guys. Zalman has already done it.

[SciManAl]

wow great&#33;&#33;&#33;

[clocker]

This
looks like it would be right up your alley, SciMan.

And this is the convection radiator that I found. Looks real nice, but I have been unable to find any performance specs or reviews of it yet.

[racer II]

Clocker if you realy want to get water cooling be sure to check out this cpu block :
http://www.highspeedpc.com/Merchant2/merch...egory_Code=Rev3 ive read alot of good things about it

[clocker]

Thanks Racer, I&#39;ve seen that block and the reviews are very good.
Plus, it has a very cool mounting system.

Unfortunately, the mounting makes the use of Peltier plates impossible and that is something that I want to leave open for future experiments.

Sigh.