Air Cooling

[clocker]

Since I first put my PC together in early August I have probably not gone longer than 5 days without changing something. I am an inveterate tinkerer and my computer has been the focus of my attention...some of you ( the truly interested or the desperately bored) may recall the various incarnations poor Sprocket has has been forced into.
Recently she was watercooled, but poor performance, due to substandard components, has brought me back to aircooling. My next PC will be watercooled from the start, but Sprocket is now fully committed to being aircooled.

Fully committed in this case means big fans and lots of 'em. No more pussyfooting about, no sir.

A month or so ago, I visited one of my favorite haunts, an ancient surplus store that has been in the same location for over 50 years. This place has an astounding amount of crap in it, I rarely can get out in less than 2 hours...if you can imagine it, it's probably in there- the trick is finding it.
While wandering around I spotted this panel of fans, but it wasn't what I was searching for at the time so I ignored it.
Today I went back and bought it.

It is a monster...six 120mm by 38mm aluminum bodied fans in brand new condition. I have absolutely no idea what it was originally intended for.
The store's policy is no returns on electrical items, but they will hook your item up and check that it works befor you buy. When I made it to the checkout counter, the lady couldn't manage to dig up anyone to test these fans ( who knows where everyone was hiding...) so she said she'd knock $10 off the price if I'd buy it as is.

Well, YEAH!
So, instead of $29.95 I paid $19.95.
Basically, $3.50 per fan, including fingerguards and wiring.
How can you go wrong?
Here she is...
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/clocker-2.JPG
The panel itself is stainless steel ( I'm pretty sure), but I shan't be using that on this project ( I don't think). The fans, while dusty, are in mint condition, it's hard to imagine that this panel was ever installed/used.
The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that these fans are not 12volt...they are, in fact, 110v.
This is just fine with me, I would have been leery of hooking these babies up to my PSU anyway. I hooked them up when I got home and, as expected, they all worked. Worked is an understatement...this thing is almost a hovercraft, it moves some serious air. Then I spliced in a fan rheostat and they will go from silent to full song smoothly and with no hum. Next I'm going to experiment with a wall light switch/dimmer and see how that works.
At any rate, I will have to wire in a separate plug and run these completely independant of the PSU, no big whoop really.

So, in addition to mounting six 120mm flowmonsters, I am also relocating and rewiring the PSU.
All of this relocating/rewiring/hacking & installing is PhaseI.

PhaseII will be the beauty part...I'm not saying what it is, but I'll tell you that it includes extensive use of blue mirrored Plexi and the complete ( I hope) stealthing of all the wiring.

Let the fun begin!

[Cygnuz-Y]

WOW, really cool what you got there, i wish i had time and money to to start serious modding, cuz everything i have done so far is painting and opening some 80MM holes to my case, i think you should fan controllers to each of those fans...

Pleaz post pics of PhaseII and PhaseI :music1:

[Spicker]

year 2004 is going to be great!
lucky rich bastard :angry: :lol:

tht is a good deal! ;)
keep us updated ALL THE TIME! :D

[abu_has_the_power]

Originally posted by jaigandhi5@23 January 2004 - 00:16
year 2004 is going to be great!
lucky rich bastard :angry: :lol:

tht is a good deal! ;)
keep us updated ALL THE TIME! :D
yep. u r a lucky rich bastard. how r u gonna use that panel? or r u just taking out each fan separatly?

[clocker]

I am not using the panel at all.

3 fans go on the case roof as exhausts.
1 goes in the case front, 1 on the floor and 1 on the back wall- all three as intakes.

2x 80mm also go on the lower front wall to cool the relocated PSU and 1 more 120mm goes on the mobo wall to cool the back of the CPU socket ( there is currently a 80mm fan in this position).

I already have the three roof holes cut/drilled/ready to mount the fans. I only need 3 more holes to route the wiring into the case.
The front and rear case walls will need some serious hacking to fit these fans properly and trim around them. I will make external trim panels out of black Sintra to make the back look respectable. The inside will have to wait for PhaseII.
Mounting the fans will only take a few hours, I think.
Modding the PSU may take as long as a whole day.

[adamp2p]

Clocker, I admire your ambition. Wait, that is an understatment...

[Lite]

Nice looking rig :D

[DWk]

Originally posted by jaigandhi5@22 January 2004 - 22:16
year 2004 is going to be great!
lucky rich bastard :angry: :lol:

tht is a good deal! ;)
keep us updated ALL THE TIME! :D
20 dollars is rich? Wow I never knew I was rich :o

How big is the panel clocker? 'Cause I see that's somewhat bigger than the regular tower cases.

Well anyways... keep it up B)

[Virtualbody1234]

You could get a relay hooked up to the power supply to control when the fans would turn on. That would make it so they turn on with the computer's power switch.

Your whole PC is turning into a hovercraft. :lol:

[Livy]

just an idea about the fans, could u not hook them up to a relay hooked up to your 12v rail so that when ur pc is turned on, the fans come on, instead of a seperate switch.

edit: god damn it, virtual got there 1st

[SciManAl]

Hmmm............................................................................................ :P

nice find clocker i have such a store near me called the Yard store... very kick ass... i have not however been having much time recently ince i have started to mess with the programming side of me... and when spring comes i will undoubtably start skateboarding again.... I wish you success and if not at least try try again... :lol:

Air cooling can work if manipulated by the right mind, i think you are one of the few up to par...

Also do you have a DB meter?? how loud are those??? mayby a sound file of them would be great!!! :lol: no just a guess/real measurement or approximation will do... Thanks!

[clocker]

DWk,
The panel is 33"x20".

VB,
Next addition will be wings and a rudder.

SciMan,
At full rip the six fans are just slightly louder than a 747 at takeoff.

Livy &VB,
We'll see about the relay...as much as possible I'd like to keep the wiring for this simple, but it's certainly a possibility for the future.

[4th gen]

do you think you'll be adding any more fans/cooling in the future on this project?

i really admire your hard work and dedication, for what it's worth :)

[clocker]

Originally posted by 4th gen@23 January 2004 - 06:49
do you think you'll be adding any more fans/cooling in the future on this project?


After I install the seven 120mm and two 80mm fans I don't think there will be enough sheetmetal left to mount any more fans. :P
If there is, I'm sure that I'll at least think about it.

[Livy]

Originally posted by clocker@23 January 2004 - 14:40
Livy &VB,
We'll see about the relay...as much as possible I'd like to keep the wiring for this simple, but it's certainly a possibility for the future.
adding a realy is very simple, you conect one end up to the 12v rail on ur psu, and the other side the live wire for the fans, then output to the fans, and when it turns on, the fans turn on.

you may not even need external wiring, will draw a diag later if it will help

[clocker]

Thanks Livy, but not necessary.
I know exactly how relays work, when I rewired my car I relayed everything, I'm just not sure I'll need to do it on this project.
I need to actually start mounting the PSU and the new wiring for the fans to see how much space I have available ( and where it is).
Keep in mind that PhaseII involves hiding all of the wiring, so the less, the better.
In fact, it's very likely that, flying in the face of modern practice, I shall be using ribbon cables for all my drives....

[Lite]

This project really interests me alot! i wish i could get some (cheap) 120mm fans! :angry:

Keep us posted please!

btw, where are you going to mount all of these fans?

[clocker]

Lite,
I described the layout earlier.
With any luck I should have all the fans mounted by tonight and I'll post more pics.
As soon as I finish my coffee ( a real necessity to get me moving) I'll start stripping Sprocket down. Once bare, mounting the fans is really no big deal, but I also have to make several other changes to make PhaseII possible so I could get bogged down...plus, I'll have to find another PC to post from as Sprocket will be dead in the water for a few days.
I've been thinking about/planning for this for a few days now, so I have a pretty good idea of the constuction sequence...I just need to get off my butt and start.

[Virtualbody1234]

Hey clocker. You could add the relay and wiring right inside your power supply and install a flush mount AC socket.

A bit like the one in this picture. Even one without a ground would be cool.

http://www.voller-energy.com/ve/VE100-115v-AC-socket-finger.jpg

[clocker]

VB, that may be the way to go...
I have a question about PSUs for you-
I am planning on removing mine from it case entirely...the circuitboard will be mounted to the case floor ( with appropriate standoffs/isolators, natch).
Will I have problems with EMI emissions? Does the stock case provide any shielding?

[Virtualbody1234]

I wouldn't be concerned if the case had sheilding. I would be more concerned that there would be no sheilding between the open PS and the other components like the HD motherboard ect.

Edit: Oh, I see that I misunderstood your post a bit. Yes, the PS case does provide sheilding.

[clocker]

The PSU will not be exposed at all when I am finished, it will be covered with plexi.
I guess my question had to do with the properties of the enclosure... is there an advantage to a metal enclosure over a plastic (plexiglass) one?

[4th gen]

Originally posted by clocker@23 January 2004 - 16:09
The PSU will not be exposed at all when I am finished, it will be covered with plexi.
I guess my question had to do with the properties of the enclosure... is there an advantage to a metal enclosure over a plastic (plexiglass) one?
How will the heat transmission (radiation) be with a plastic enclosure?

[clocker]

Originally posted by 4th gen@23 January 2004 - 09:13

How will the heat transmission (radiation) be with a plastic enclosure?
Not gonna be a prob, 4th.
The PSU will have two 80mm intake fans and one 120mm exhaust fan. Airflow and cooling should be better than ever.
It's kinda hard to describe what I am planning on doing...pics, as progress allows, will make it clear.

Essentially, the idea is to move the PSU from the top back corner ( right above the HSF) to the front bottom corner. I'm hoping to promote better (escape) airflow around the HSF by totally opening up the area above the motherboard.
My 80mm fan, which currently blows on the back of the motherboard, will be replaced by a 120mm fan, so I should have a significant airstream to evacuate.

There are also aesthetic reasons for moving the PSU...it will be easier to stealth the wiring behind the plexi skin panels that are the basis of PhaseII.

[DWk]

Leet man. or l337 :P

I think I kinda get the whole idea of it. Looks good. So you're gonna have WC and lotsa fans working your computer?

[_John_Lennon_]

Originally posted by clocker+23 January 2004 - 12:25--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (clocker @ 23 January 2004 - 12:25)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-4th gen@23 January 2004 - 09:13

How will the heat transmission (radiation) be with a plastic enclosure?
Not gonna be a prob, 4th.
The PSU will have two 80mm intake fans and one 120mm exhaust fan. Airflow and cooling should be better than ever.
It&#39;s kinda hard to describe what I am planning on doing...pics, as progress allows, will make it clear.

Essentially, the idea is to move the PSU from the top back corner ( right above the HSF) to the front bottom corner. I&#39;m hoping to promote better (escape) airflow around the HSF by totally opening up the area above the motherboard.
My 80mm fan, which currently blows on the back of the motherboard, will be replaced by a 120mm fan, so I should have a significant airstream to evacuate.

There are also aesthetic reasons for moving the PSU...it will be easier to stealth the wiring behind the plexi skin panels that are the basis of PhaseII. [/b][/quote]
Seems like you will also heat up the incoming air that you are getting, by doing the mod. Oh, and I hope you have long Power cables, :unsure: .

Btw, clocker, sure you dont want to ship off the Aquarius........

[clocker]

Progress so far...
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/clocker-fannage.JPG
I tried to get one shot that more or less showed the whole layout, you may have to use your imagination for some of this.
Starting with the image in the mirror the 120mm motherboard fan is visible as are the three roof fans (well, kinda...future shots will show them better, for now you&#39;ll have to take my word on &#39;em).

Moving to the back, in the lower right hand corner are the new on/off switch and power cord inlet locations. You may also notice that I decided to keep the twin 80mm fans on the TT ducts. They work sooo well and there really isn&#39;t a whole lotta sheetmetal back there to mount a 120mm fan in. It could be done, but my current solution works well and looks trick, so it stays.

Moving to the interior, such as is visible, the twin 80mm fans in the front lower case wall will be cooling for the PSU and the 120mm fan above them will be flowing air over the HDD and then acting as general intake for the case.

The PSU has been stripped and mounting holes for the board have drilled in the case floor. Tomorrow begins the long and agonizing process of custom fitting the wiring. Actually, the power leads are not that big a deal, but I dread the ATX connector.
Oh well, no pain, no gain.

As time and energy allow I shall take more pics and slowly my concept will become more obvious....

[Virtualbody1234]

Originally posted by clocker@23 January 2004 - 22:15
As time and energy allow I shall take more pics and slowly my concept will become more obvious....
Looks great clocker.

I&#39;m looking forward to seeing more pictures. That way I might get a better view of your bathroom. :lol:

[_John_Lennon_]

Hey, I have that exact same facet.........

But clocker, the case is coming along nicely, I evny all those fans. :)

[tesco]

Originally posted by _John_Lennon_@24 January 2004 - 00:37
Hey, I have that exact same facet.........
i have same one too lol. :lol:

clocker i like seeing teh pictures of your computer, from all angles, dont forget to KEEP POSTING PICTURES lol.

[clocker]

Well, the bathroom has the brightest light ( although it makes everthing look brown instead of black...) and it had a mirror.

More pics later today I hope, I want to get the PSU done and mounted.

[SciManAl]

Great job see you got some of those ionic filters eh hehehe :P

They work like a charm, I applaud your efforts please continue with all due haste and supiorer craftsmanship&#33;

[DWk]

Ah cool you&#39;re doing it the way I thought you were. Nice job, man. Keep it up B)

[bigdawgfoxx]

That thing will be louud...but coool..looks awesome :)

[SciManAl]

who cares if you can hear lol just so it is as cool as my bare ass in winter... :P

[j2k4]

I look forward to your documenting the "Dual-Mode PC/FAB/EVAC/SCRUB Facility" you have constructed, sir.

Does it have a solid-core entry door, or just hollow-core?

Please resist the "blue plexi" treatment for the door; you might also consider mounting any spare fans in the ceiling to help remove the air no doubt befouled by adjunct activities in your new workroom. ;)

Pretty impressive, buddy-no shit&#33; :D

[clocker]

I&#39;m back&#33;

As per usual with any of my major projects, this one took a left turn this morning as I quaffed my morning coffee.
Keep in mind that the mechanical work that I&#39;m doing now is only part one, it&#39;s all leading up to a big cosmetic change at the end.
So I have to be planning ahead for that at the same time that I&#39;m occupied mounting fans, relocating the PSU, etc.

Anyway, it occurred to me that, even though stage two involves cladding most of the interior with blue mirrored plexi, there would still be some areas of the case interior exposed, and they would probably look better if they were black.
As we have a snow storm moving in tomorrow, today was my last chance for a while to do some painting, so that&#39;s how I spent the better part of my day.
So, out come all of the fans that I installed and Sprocket was destickered and cleaned and given a coat ( well, several actually) of semi-gloss black paint.
I like semi-gloss because it is so much more forgiving than high gloss black, which will show every single flaw/dust speck/ripple.
Plus, it dries quickly.
After the appropriate amount of time ( to be honest I pushed it a little) I brought her in, still reeking of paint ( one advantage of living alone) and began reassembly.
This time it took 3 times longer as I was careful not to mar the virgin paintjob...which is semi-humorous as 99% of it will end up covered anyway.
If I do say so myself, it looks the cat&#39;s meow.

Sorry, no pics yet...I was in a hurry to get her back up and running, even though the PSU isn&#39;t done yet. I&#39;m running her on my spare/test PSU...I was very curious to see how all the uberfans were going to work.
Astounding.

Admittedly the window side panel can&#39;t be completely closed as the power leads are snaking in there, but it&#39;s mostly enclosed so the results aren&#39;t terribly off the mark.
After 1 hour Folding (100% CPU usage) I am sitting at case 21C, motherboard and HDD 22C, socket 24C and diode 26C. This is a 9 degree drop&#33;
Sprocket is admittedly noisier than she was before...it&#39;s hard to tell exactly, as my test PSU is very noisy/whiny, so that will go away after my real PSU is done.
The new fans have a totally different pitch than I&#39;m used to hearing...I guess a good description would be the sound that the wind makes in a large cavern...anyway much lower pitched than my 80mm guys were producing.
I&#39;ll nmeed to experiment with a different speed control device...my light dimmer switch won&#39;t get all the fans spinning up till it&#39;s about 1/3 through it&#39;s range. I also may oil the fans and see if that will help.

I checked the manufacturers website while the paint was drying.
My fans are made by Comair Rotron. They are Muffin-XLs, model mx2b1. They put out 92-108 CFM.
I&#39;m running five of these bad boys. They&#39;ll probably suck the traces off my motherboard.

Pics in the AM, I&#39;m bushed and just feel like hanging out tonight.

[Lite]

Sounds good, i cant wait for the pic B)

[DWk]

Lol wind in a cavern.

What I&#39;m interested in is how the side panel isn&#39;t fitting :(

Tell Sprocket to suck up and let you slide in ;) :lol:

[Spicker]

clocker should make his own website and like put pics of his projects and talk about it and stuff, pros and cons about it....

stuff tht went wrong...

ppl would learn and have fun :lol:
edit: typo

[clocker]

DWk,
The only reason the side panel won&#39;t fit is that my test PSU is sitting next to Sprocket and the wires are going in which makes it kinda hard for the panel to slide on. This problem (?) goes away when the real PSU is in place.

Jaiq,
I have such a website. This is it.

Just getting moving here. First mug&#39;o coffee.
Pics in a bit.

[bigdawgfoxx]

waiting patiently...also wanting to know info bout my monitor choice&#33; clocker go look please..i need an opinion between samsung and viewsonic..

[tesco]

Originally posted by clocker@25 January 2004 - 10:49
Jaiq,
I have such a website. This is it.
i thought the This is it was a website link lol, i went to click it but nothing happened.

I was just wondering, after you have done all this testing and stuff are you going to build your own case or buy that one you said you liked and mod it?

[clocker]

I&#39;ll be glad to look Dawg, but really, the only test that matters is how they look to you.
I am always amazed when I go someplace like Circuit City where there will be a wall of monitors, just how obviously superior some of the models are. It doesn&#39;t seem fair to even compare some of them.

What looks good to Consumer Reports or PC World may not be your favorite.
Is there any way you can get a live viewing of your choices?

Now I&#39;ll go read your thread....

[DWk]

Originally posted by clocker@25 January 2004 - 08:49
DWk,
The only reason the side panel won&#39;t fit is that my test PSU is sitting next to Sprocket and the wires are going in which makes it kinda hard for the panel to slide on. This problem (?) goes away when the real PSU is in place.
Oh ok. I misunderstood that. So where are the power cables going? On the other side panel?

[bigdawgfoxx]

Originally posted by clocker@25 January 2004 - 10:00
I&#39;ll be glad to look Dawg, but really, the only test that matters is how they look to you.
I am always amazed when I go someplace like Circuit City where there will be a wall of monitors, just how obviously superior some of the models are. It doesn&#39;t seem fair to even compare some of them.

What looks good to Consumer Reports or PC World may not be your favorite.
Is there any way you can get a live viewing of your choices?

Now I&#39;ll go read your thread....
Yah..I think I might drop by best buy and have a look at some of theirs when my parents go to get a new car..i think there getting it today lol

[clocker]

Ok, here we go.
Pics first...
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/clocker-newbackB.JPG

http://server5.uploadit.org/files/clocker-insideB.JPG

http://server5.uploadit.org/files/clocker-backB.JPG

http://server5.uploadit.org/files/clocker-frontB.JPG
First, a bit of a caveat. When I first saw the pictures I was surprised to see what looked like major drips and flaws in some areas. I looked carefully, and with the naked eye under normal daylight I couldn&#39;t find them. The camera has a much more critical eye than I do.

Outside of the fact that it is black, there are only minor detail differences between these shots and the earlier ones.
With one major exception....the Muffins fans are gone.
When I earlier described the sound as being like a wind in a cavern, I thought that was the air rushing through the fans.
No such luck.
It was the sound of my whole case vibrating.
I discovered this when I placed a pencil on the case roof and then watched, amazed and dismayed, as it rolled right off.
Tried it again.
Rolled right off.
Then I discovered that I could vary the sound by placing my palm flat on the sheetmetal in various places.
Not good.

These fans, being aluminum instead of plastic, are fairly heavy. The Xaser case is made from the thinnest possible sheet aluminum...one step above foil, really, and is not extensively braced or ribbed.
Even though the fans don&#39;t seem to be out of balance, they do seem to generate enough low frequency vibration to set the case to rattling like a tympany. I had the fans mounted using rubber grommets, so that won&#39;t help.
I&#39;m not sure what to do at this point.
I have two 120mm 12volt fans that I can use from earlier experiments. I can get more, obviously.
The trick is, if I&#39;m going to use standard case fans I need to build that into my PSU wiring harness. The Muffin fans, being 115v were completely independant of the PSU so I didn&#39;t have to worry about them.
Now I may have to.

I&#39;m trying to come up with some alternative mounting methods for the big Muffins, but if I can&#39;t come up with a much better result I don&#39;t see how I can use them in this project.
They may end up decorating my workbench, possibly they could be used to create a forced air induction from my window to my PC.

Sprocket is temporarily cobbled back together so I needn&#39;t make any decisions right away, but I&#39;d really love to get this solved so I can move forward to the fun, cosmetic stuff.

[Mad Cat]

Pictures don&#39;t work :(

[tesco]

picturtes arent working :( i really wanted to see what it looks like, they are showing red x&#39;s, doies anyone else have this problem?

edit: madcat must&#39;ve posted as i typed.

[clocker]

Hang in there...Uploadit.com says they are having server probs and will be back in 1/2 hour...

We see about that. :P

[tesco]

wow cool theyre working now...looks really empty, unless thats because nothing is in it...

[bigdawgfoxx]

Clockers case is freaking HUGE&#33; lol

[pc-gamer-dude]

thats hot, now for a question

what is sprocket running (system stats)?

[clocker]

Yeah, it is a big case, but remember there is no HDD or PSU in those pics.

Sprocket Specs

AMD XP2600+ ( T-bred) running @ 200x11.5
Zalman 7000Cu HS
2x512 Mushkin Level 1 PC2700 ( 2.5T,3,3,6)
Asus A7N8X Deluxe rev 2.0, bios 1007
ATI Radeon 9000Pro (whooptie-doo&#33;)
WD 160GB Caviar ( 7200rpm, 8mb cache)
LiteOn 52x CD-RW
Memorex DVD-ROM
TT Purepower 420w PSU
Soyo 6in1 Card reader

[bigdawgfoxx]

Pretty nice..Level II mushkin would be nice and a graphics card sometime..but nice..as for the case and everything well..AWESOME&#33;

My parents bought a 99 tahoe for my dad to take into the mountains....its got chrome american racing rims on it and a 5.7 litler V8...i cant wait to be driving that shit in less then a year B)

[clocker]

Level II PC3200 AND a XP3200+ are coming soon....

What mountains does your dad go to?

[bigdawgfoxx]

hes gona be going through the rockies..ON roads...not through mountains...and he thinks he needs a tahoe...oh wel&#33; haha

[DWk]

Nice, clocker.

I know you&#39;ll pull it off :)

By the way, the black case looks REALLY good B)

[clocker]

Originally posted by bigdawgfoxx@25 January 2004 - 17:06
hes gona be going through the rockies..ON roads...not through mountains...and he thinks he needs a tahoe...oh wel&#33; haha
I live right at the foot of the Rockies.
We are currently getting hammered with snow.

Humorously, all the accidents that I&#39;m seeing on the news involve 4-wheel drive SUVs.
Hmmm....

[bigdawgfoxx]

hahaha..yeah hes gona have to get chain tires

[pc-gamer-dude]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc....atalog=7&depa=1 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-130-141&catalog=7&depa=1)

does that happen to be your case?? (i want one of the ones in that link so bad...) idk it looks like it, and its huge.

[_John_Lennon_]

Case looks nice clocker.

Looks like you&#39;ve got enough room behind your back plate to run your IDE wires when you use them behind your Motherboard and behind there to make it look tidier.

http://www.titansfan098.com/uploader/Pict0004.JPG

http://www.titansfan098.com/uploader/Pict0003.JPG

http://www.titansfan098.com/uploader/Pict0002.JPG

You can hardly tell with my crappy webcam, but my case got extremely tidy when I turned my Drives around, and ran the IDE cables back behind some things. I can run it behind my motherboard, cause there isnt enough room, but it looks like there is in your case.

[clocker]

PC, this is my case. (http://www.thermaltake.com/products/xaser3/v1000a.htm)

John,
I&#39;ve got big plans for the wiring. In her previous incarnations the wiring has been pretty clean.
I hope to do even better this go round.

[_John_Lennon_]

Originally posted by clocker@26 January 2004 - 01:11
PC, this is my case. (http://www.thermaltake.com/products/xaser3/v1000a.htm)

John,
I&#39;ve got big plans for the wiring. In her previous incarnations the wiring has been pretty clean.
I hope to do even better this go round.
Yeah, I should go dig up the pic of the guy over at [H] forums that has awesome wiring.

someone say the word and I will.

[clocker]

Word.

[_John_Lennon_]

Ahh, the upper end Xaser cases.

You know, they are all around bashed, (the Xasers) but I like the ability to put 8 fans in my case, like that expandability.

Now I just need to find a case that will be able to put about 6+ fans, 2 of which being my two 120MM panflos.

[_John_Lennon_]

Took me 20 mins (always does at [H])

http://www.m6.hwgn.net/case_pics/case3.jpg

There it is.

:-)

[pc-gamer-dude]

damn thats a fine wiring job. i wish he would do my case for me.

[clocker]

Wow John, that is very nice&#33;
He&#39;s fortunate that his main power lead to the board is tucked away like that.
Mine is out in the open by the RAM and IDE sockets.
Those ribbon IDE cables are looking better to me all the time...so much more flexible than the round, sheathed ones.

[_John_Lennon_]

Originally posted by clocker@26 January 2004 - 01:45
Wow John, that is very nice&#33;
He&#39;s fortunate that his main power lead to the board is tucked away like that.
Mine is out in the open by the RAM and IDE sockets.
Those ribbon IDE cables are looking better to me all the time...so much more flexible than the round, sheathed ones.
Yes, I am tempted to cut a bit out of the back of my PS to be able to flip it upside down and have my power cables out in the back side of the case like hie is.

Also, I know that with my rounded cables its just the individual wires with the tubing over them, if u take off the tubing that makes it rouned, they become very flexible.

[clocker]

John,
I was just looking at the pic of the nice wiring job.
I don&#39;t see any wiring for the front case headers ( HDD activity, on/off, USB,etc.).
Is he cheating or has he flipped the connectors on the board?

There is a guy on the OC forum who is flipping all his motherboard connections over to the back side to clean up the installation. Should look very cool, but a lot more work ( and RISK&#33;) than I&#39;m willing to invest.

[tesco]

if you look really closely (bottom left) he is feeding the header wires through one of the mounting holes into teh back of the board. very clever :)

[_John_Lennon_]

Originally posted by ROSSCO_2004@26 January 2004 - 11:14
if you look really closely (bottom left) he is feeding the header wires through one of the mounting holes into teh back of the board. very clever :)
Yep.

Wish I had that kinda room behind my Mobo backplate to work with.

[Weedy]

clocker, u live in colorado?

[clocker]

Originally posted by Weedy@26 January 2004 - 13:12
clocker, u live in colorado?
Yes, why?

[Weedy]

same :lol:

[clocker]

Ah, It&#39;s a small world after all, isn&#39;t it?

[SciManAl]

HEHEH damn that is nice wiring... I have a clear acrylic though... i have to make it invisible from all 6 dimensions..... but this is inspirational stuff... i am sure you could beat it though clocker... No doubts&#33;&#33; :lol: hehehehe :P

[bigdawgfoxx]

Originally posted by _John_Lennon_@26 January 2004 - 00:38
Took me 20 mins (always does at [H])

http://www.m6.hwgn.net/case_pics/case3.jpg

There it is.

:-)
where are the power wires and stuff...? Why you got both ur HDD so close..for heat wouldnt it be good to spread them out a lil? lol...looks nice though.

And where are the wires that plug into the IDE connectors on the mobo and stuff? for the HDD and CD?

[pc-gamer-dude]

where do u see a second hard drive? and u can barely see them, but they are there and conncected.

[SciManAl]

One on top of other one, and yes they are reversed

[bigdawgfoxx]

yeah theres 2...is there like a place behind the mobo where he runs them to the other side of the HDD? Like does the place where the mobo screws in have a thing behind it for wires to run through? if you know what i mean...haha

[pc-gamer-dude]

i see both the HDs now, and normally they dont produce to much heat, well mine dont anyway. and yeah, all the wires are wired uner the mobo tray.

[SciManAl]

Yep i would do that, but like said i need the cable to be invisible not just out of the way... say anyone have some invisible paint??

[bigdawgfoxx]

haha...my case aint got a mobo tray...oh well..rounded cables are krunk too

[SciManAl]

Well my acrylic has nothing but some screws that go out to the mobo... and you can see that...

Hey clocker an idea what would it take to make some ribbon wires that ran inside some plexi walls??? as small as mobo circutry?? what ya think??? I am think that i could have some ribbon small as a dot kinda circuts running power everywhere?&#33;?&#33;? what ya thyink

(this post is not just for clocker i just also want his opinion included...)

:P

[_John_Lennon_]

Originally posted by SciManAl@26 January 2004 - 23:05
Well my acrylic has nothing but some screws that go out to the mobo... and you can see that...

Hey clocker an idea what would it take to make some ribbon wires that ran inside some plexi walls??? as small as mobo circutry?? what ya think??? I am think that i could have some ribbon small as a dot kinda circuts running power everywhere?&#33;?&#33;? what ya thyink

(this post is not just for clocker i just also want his opinion included...)

:P
Hmm, Cases with wiring in the walls.... Do you just have to plug things into the walls of the case, and plug things in at the other end, interesting.......

Also Big dawg, he has room between his right hand panel and behind his motherboard plate to run all the wires back there.

There is a pick of the back side showing the running wires, but I cant remember what page of what topic it was on.

[clocker]

Originally posted by SciManAl@26 January 2004 - 20:05


Hey clocker an idea what would it take to make some ribbon wires that ran inside some plexi walls??? as small as mobo circutry?? what ya think??? I am think that i could have some ribbon small as a dot kinda circuts running power everywhere?&#33;?&#33;? what ya thyink


That would be really cool if you could overcome two problems...

1) It would be tough to change things around much so you&#39;d have to be very certain of your current configuration and anticipate future additions/upgrades.

2) You would have to use much better connectors than Molex&#39;s...double the number of connections, double the current loss through the connectors.
I hate Molex&#39;s anyway...

[lynx]

Originally posted by SciManAl+27 January 2004 - 02:53--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (SciManAl @ 27 January 2004 - 02:53)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Yep i would do that, but like said i need the cable to be invisible not just out of the way... say anyone have some invisible paint?? [/b]
I&#39;ve got a can of that, it&#39;s yours for &#036;50. Might have a bit of trouble finding it though, I accidentally spilled some down the outside of the can. :lol:

<!--QuoteBegin-SciManAl
Hey clocker an idea what would it take to make some ribbon wires that ran inside some plexi walls??? as small as mobo circutry?? what ya think??? I am think that i could have some ribbon small as a dot kinda circuts running power everywhere?&#33;?&#33;? what ya thyink[/quote]
I posted something similar in another thread, although I didn&#39;t take it quite as far as circuitry actually embedded in plexi. I think normal UltraATA connectors might be a little too much for that sort of thing, but SATA might be feasible. I suppose the solution would be to have two thin layers. The inner layer could be made in sections of different sizes. Rearranging the order of the sections would allow you to move the connectors up and down to match your motherboard.

[clocker]

*semi-bump*
Good news boys and girls&#33;
I figured out a way to use two of my uberMuffins after all.
It&#39;s been driving me absolutely nuts that I was unable to use these guys, as far as fans go these are the nicest I&#39;ve ever used, and I&#39;ve been eying them speculatively for the past two days ( while I&#39;ve been halfheartedly rewiring my main PSU).

While straightening my workspace up I grabbed the panel that the fans came mounted upon and hark&#33; I had a epiphany ( or perhaps just a senior moment, hard to tell the difference anymore...). A quick look with a ruler and yes, the measurements would work. Or at least it looked close enough to try.

If you&#39;ll refer back ( sorry to put you through this) to the original pic I posted showing the fan panel, you&#39;ll see that they were arranged in two rows of three with an open space down the middle. Oddly, this open area was not centered...one side was 3/4" wider than the other. The wide side is 7".
Which just so happens to be the width of the rails where our PSUs rest.
And my PSU isn&#39;t up there anymore.
Hmmm.....
The fans were 12" apart (outside edge to outside edge) which looked like it would work, so out came the ole jig saw.
Being stainless steel and having a flange on each side, the panel was not happy to be cut, but sheer perserverance and two blades finally convinced it to part.

A test fit proved me correct, dropped in like it was made for it, so I went ahead and mounted my speed controller ( in real life, a wall switch light dimmer from Home Depot) wired it up ( almost all the way) and laid it on the rails.
Much better, but still a bit of vibration or thrumming noise.
Another AHA&#33; moment lead me in the garage, where a little digging around yielded up a 3" length of closed cell foam tubing, usually employed as insulation around exposed water pipes. This has a slit down one side ( so you can slip it over a pipe) and thus clipped right over my two rails. Then I layed the panel on top of this and YES&#33;
No noise except the beautiful sound of vast amounts of whooshing air.
All of my other fans are running on 5v so the loudest fan in the whole case is the stock Zalman HS fan as SpeedFan cycles it up and down.
I can live with this.
Currently Folding at 30-31c ( temp keeps bouncing between the two so it must be close to 30.9 or so) after 1 hour.
All that is left is to cut a hole for the pwer plug recepticle ( I didn&#39;t want to go to the trouble before I knew this might work) and finish up the PSU.

I had tried to cut/splice the PSU wires, pretty much knowing all along that I was doing a half-assed job, finally decided to do it the right way and unsolder the wires from the circuit board and then cut them to the proper length and resolder them back in.

It&#39;s actually easier than I thought it would be plus it gave me the opportunity to completely eliminate the two extraneous Intel-only cables ( you AMD guys know the ones I&#39;m talking about...I&#39;ll bet yours are wrapped up on top of your PSU, aren&#39;t they?).
My motherboard power connector ( the big 21 wire beast) is all done, but I have lots of test fitting to get all my power leads to the drives, etc. just right.

Right now I&#39;m just luxuriating in my apparent success ( knock on PCB) and may take the rest of the evening off.
But I&#39;ll take some pics first so you won&#39;t have read all this for nothing....
So, pics in an hour or so.

[bigdawgfoxx]

Your temps are GREAT man&#33; but your W/C was the same temp but SILENT&#33; lol Waiting for the pix now&#33;

[clocker]

Originally posted by bigdawgfoxx@27 January 2004 - 16:31
Your temps are GREAT man&#33; but your W/C was the same temp but SILENT&#33; lol Waiting for the pix now&#33;
No dawg, the WC setup was hardly silent.
I kept adding more fans to try and better the performance, which was far more dependent on the room ambient than air only cooling seems to be.
Plus, it was clunky...I ended up with the radiator, pump and fill tubes all on the outside of the case...Sprocket was beginning to look as if she had been assimilated ( "ass-laminated"?) by the Borg.

Pics will come...I just want to let her run for a while longer before I disconnect everything and move it for photos.

No bathroom beauty shots this time.
Sorry.

[clocker]

Pic, as promised.
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/clocker-mviewC.JPG
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/clocker-mviewB.JPG
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/clocker-mViewA.JPG
I haven&#39;t decided how to fasten the panel in...right now it&#39;s just resting on the foam.
I&#39;m sorta thinking of just using Goop to glue it to the two foam tubes and letting it go at that. They seem fairly snug and should hold the panel in place, plus it would make removal/installation a snap. Literally. :P

[SciManAl]

The gluwe should work...

I actually have started using a Hot Glue gun to make a bead around my fans that holds and keeps away vibration...

Very nice so far (Also Clocker nice moniter&#33;&#33;&#33; I had to spray paint mine :rolleyes: )
The wires are pretty damn close to perfect keep this up and it will be fine&#33;

My project: To make a set of Circut Sized wires that are on a micron scale... Found a friend here that does that kinda stuff... Also i plan to replace the molex connecter with a ribbon cable connection...much like those found in playstation 2s... (basicly invisible) i think my findings may be of some use to you... My goal is something that looks like a IDE cable that holds ALL wires in the case... It will travel in the case... and look really awsome... if i can get it in my plexy then it should like the case had integrated circuts in it&#33;&#33;&#33;

I think you are getting very close... still think you should just have a duct that pumps air in from outside... :lol:

Clocker you live in denver right?? It is kindsa colder there most of the year... spring is stil spring though <_< :lol:

Hmm... Very nice keep this up and i may not be able to compete...

[clocker]

Originally posted by SciManAl@27 January 2004 - 18:18


My project: To make a set of Circut Sized wires that are on a micron scale... Found a friend here that does that kinda stuff... Also i plan to replace the molex connecter with a ribbon cable connection...much like those found in playstation 2s... (basicly invisible) i think my findings may be of some use to you... My goal is something that looks like a IDE cable that holds ALL wires in the case... It will travel in the case... and look really awsome... if i can get it in my plexy then it should like the case had integrated circuts in it&#33;&#33;&#33;


I like that idea Al.
Would look especially nifty in your plexi case.

I am starting to rethink my wiring...now that I&#39;m over halfway finished with the PSU...
I&#39;ve seen a couple of rigs where the PSU is external to the case.
Just plugs into the back like all the rest of the cables.
Very cool.

[SciManAl]

Just plugs into the back like all the rest of the cables.
Very cool.

Hrmhmmmhrm *scraches head* intresting i would however like the PSu to be inside the case..... :blink:


Would look especially nifty in your plexi case.

Thinking so too.. and after that i could say that my comp was decent enough for pictures... well what the hell am i waiting for :lol: &#33;
I think we are going to need to have a photoshot in a while&#33;&#33;&#33;

[tesco]

hey scimanal do you have a webcam or digital camera? could you take some pictures of that special cooling thing you made, id like to see it. you have such good temps, i want one lol. Can you get us some pictures?

[clocker]

I second that.

[SciManAl]

hey scimanal do you have a webcam or digital camera? could you take some pictures of that special cooling thing you made, id like to see it. you have such good temps, i want one lol. Can you get us some pictures?


I second that.

No no webcam, but i will be going on up to the university and be taking some very extremly high qaulity pics?? what say you to that??? this is something that will be delaid at least to this weekend though... I have to take finals this week, but this friday night i could take some pics and have them up by saturday...

I really need to clean my case up... it is very m,essy... and you can see it all&#33;&#33;&#33; LOL anyways yes some pics will come soon... very busy these days... <_<

Regarding the Heatpipe, i will take pics of it in my case, but i will not take it out... My version right now that i am using is very crude... the version you guys would make is very clean and nice... but yes i will get a clear shot or two or three of it... i hope to please&#33;&#33;

[clocker]

With the temps you are posting, crude doesn&#39;t matter.
I&#39;m looking forward to the pics.

[j2k4]

Clocker-

Your pipe-wrap mounting method is ingenious-

I have a question:

It would appear the foam also would have the effect of limiting/redirecting airflow in that area of your case, due to what would appear to be close proximity to the sides of your box, creating a seal of sorts.

Is this an intentional condition/benefit?

[Virtualbody1234]

Great work, clocker.

Watch out for your fingers. You need some fan guards.

http://server5.uploadit.org/files/clocker-mviewC.JPG

[clocker]

J2,
As yet I have no idea what the sealing effect/benefit may be as I&#39;m unable to mount the sidepanel yet.
Time will tell. I can&#39;t imagine any benefit/ disadvantage to this arrangement, but, if anything, I have learned that only a real world test will tell.

VB,
I would love to have finger guard, these fans are real VegO-Matics, the problem is that the mounting panel has welded in studs to mount the fans and they aren&#39;t long enough to include the guards. If this arrangement stays ( and, given my past history, that is doubtful :P ) I&#39;ll figure something out.
I&#39;ve already realized that I need to mount a on/off switch for the Muffins somewhere convenient/external. Last night when I shut down the PC I completely forgot about them and they ran all night.
Shows how quiet they are, which is a good thing.
I kinda like the idea of the fans running after shuttdown to help prevent heatsoak...I&#39;ve seen a device which times the fans to run after shuttdown, but it is for 12v units.
Another thing to figure out.
This is turning into a nightmare. I thought I&#39;d be done by now. :o

[SciManAl]

This is turning into a nightmare. I thought I&#39;d be done by now.

LOL
will you have some substancial progress by this weekedn?? i think with my photoshoot yours should be as welll...

a Showdown if you will.... :argue:
:lol:

[clocker]

http://server5.uploadit.org/files/clocker-APS1.JPG
OK, a pic.

Things aren&#39;t working out quite the way I had hoped...I need to get some more material (Sintra, maybe?) and make a new panel for the roof fans as the front fan fouls the back of my drives a bit.

Also it turns out that there is room for two 120mm fans on the front casewall, and whaddya know?, I just so happen to have another one so in it goes.

Surprisingly, the front fans actually draw in quite a bit of air given that they really don&#39;t have a good access to the outside. I&#39;ll just test the temps as it is ...I can always open up the front doorpanel with a grill or something.

Playing with the PSU was much easier than I had imagined...once I found the courage to begin it went relatively fast. Time will tell whether all this has been worth it or not, either way, I learned alot and I guess that&#39;s worth something.

[adamp2p]

clocker you are one hell of a classic B)

[clocker]

I&#39;ll take that as a compliment so thank you.

[tesco]

ive got two quick questions:

1) what is the hard drive attached too? i know it has the heatpipe cooler on it but how is it held up like that? ive never seen that in any case before.

2) how come you put the psu hanging from the cd drive bays? i thought you were going to put it on the case floor.

[clocker]

The HDD is bolted to the motherboard wall using some rubber isolators that came with the heatpipe cooler. It stands about 5/8" off the wall.

I was going to mount the PSU down on the floor, but it occurred to me that moving it up to the bay bottom would eliminate a lot of length in the cabling. My only concern is that it had to be flipped upside down again ( which is actually the stock position)and cooling it may be an issue. I have one 80mm fan blowing across the heatsinks and time will tell if that&#39;s good enough...

[DWk]

One word to describe: w0ot :w00t:

NJ man :)

[Virtualbody1234]

Originally posted by clocker@31 January 2004 - 00:36
The HDD is bolted to the motherboard wall using some rubber isolators that came with the heatpipe cooler. It stands about 5/8" off the wall.

I was going to mount the PSU down on the floor, but it occurred to me that moving it up to the bay bottom would eliminate a lot of length in the cabling. My only concern is that it had to be flipped upside down again ( which is actually the stock position)and cooling it may be an issue. I have one 80mm fan blowing across the heatsinks and time will tell if that&#39;s good enough...
It should be enough to cool the power supply. They can take a lot of heat before any problems result.

[SciManAl]

Very true... I have a PSu in my bros comp that averages over 60c...

[Virtualbody1234]

I have seen people with the power supply fan that wasn&#39;t working at all. And they didn&#39;t even have any case fans. :o I told one guy that he needs a new fan badly and I offered him one installed for &#036;10.00 and he refused thinking it was too expensive. :lol:

[Samurai]

LOL

Sounds like someone I know... he has a car with a f*cked battery but he refuses to buy a new one which costs nothing for the size of the vehicle. He calls out the repair men who give him a jump start. They&#39;ve refused to get called out from him from what I hear haha

Any new pics Clocker? :D

[SciManAl]

I have to say i am actually finding your idea quite aww inspiring clocker, i am using quite a ew of your ideas ya know... I congradulate you on your progress&#33; Although i must wonder what more you can do, other optimise it, what is left to paint in the "big picture" ??

[clocker]

Originally posted by SciManAl@31 January 2004 - 10:25
I have to say i am actually finding your idea quite aww inspiring clocker, i am using quite a ew of your ideas ya know...&nbsp; I congradulate you on your progress&#33;&nbsp; Although i must wonder what more you can do, other optimise it, what is left to paint in the "big picture"&nbsp; ??
Damn&#33;
A "database backup" just wiped out a huge post&#33;

I refuse to retype that novel again.
Suffice to say something new has/is happening and maybe tomorrow I&#39;ll have the energy and the pics to repost again.
In the meanwhile here is a teaser shot...
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/clocker-newcase.JPG

[Virtualbody1234]

Hey that&#39;s not your case nor your motherboard. :huh:

[SciManAl]

hehehehe, clocker you devil LOL :lol:

[JunkBarMan]

To put fans in, what exactly do you use to cut into the case with?
Also, other then clocker, how many fans in the case do you have? How many exhaust and how many are intake?

[clocker]

Originally posted by Virtualbody1234@31 January 2004 - 19:46
Hey that&#39;s not your case nor your motherboard. :huh:
What an eye you have VB.
Actually that is my first case and my first mobo.

Early this morning, whilst quaffing my first caffeine fix and staring at Sprocket ( who has been renamed Muffin in honor of her new uberfans BTW), I realized that basically I hate this Xaser case and all my efforts have not made me happy...indeed, every time I mod that thing another glaring design/build/engineering fault jumps out at me.

I&#39;ve been making noises about designing/building a custom case and this morning I decided to get serious about it.
So I started making a list of desirable features and started thinking about construction details/processes.

One thing I definately want is the kind of drive bay where the unit screws in instead of the quick release/rail method of the TT. I&#39;ve long wanted to stealth my drives, but the Xaser doesn&#39;t allow one to move the drive back at all, so I couldn&#39;t.

I remembered that my first case had this feature so I dug it out of the closet and started to measure and study the bay design.

It&#39;s important to know that I am a total slob and especially when I have been binge modding, crap ends up strewn all over hell and gone.
So here I am kneeling in a pile of parts with this case and hark&#33; serendipity strikes, and a put a fanpanel up to the case and whaddya know...almost fits.

It was all downhill from there.

Over on the OCs forum there has been a continuing thread concerning the amazing results folks have been getting by ducting in frigid winter air. One guy in Minnesota ( I think) has been posting screenshots of single digit CPU temps using this method.
I really haven&#39;t wanted to hack up my pristine Xaser window panel to try this out, but I have no such qualms about this black, generic cheapo case. This case in fact, cost less...with a PSU, than just a replacement Xaser sidepanel.
Plus, cheap as it was, the build quality and structural integrity far surpasses the Thermaltake.
It was looking better all the time.

Of course it did have some shortcomings, but hey, I know how to deal with that...so...I put in a roof blowhole, trimmed and wired and installed the twin Muffin fan panel ( this is where the cold air ducts will ultimately connect), cut out the front panel for a 120mm fan, modified the front bezel to open up access for the fan, installed/wired new switchgear and activity lights and started prepping my backup PSU to mount it.
I still have some detail stuff to finish, but by tomorrow night ( depending on how interesting I find the SuperBowl) I should be ready to transfer Muffin&#39;s guts out of the Xaser and into her new, temporary winter home.

There are a couple of questions that I hope that this exercise will answer.

Does a smaller case provide better airflow management (fewer fans, lower RPM= less noise)?
Will heat from the PSU affect the HDD which will be mounted above it?
How low can I get my temps with the outside duct?

We shall see.
First stage will be to get the new case all optimised and get some baseline data.
Then I can build the window fan panel and ductwork.

Apparently, I just don&#39;t know when to stop... :P

[Virtualbody1234]

Time to move into an igloo. :lol:

[clocker]

Originally posted by Virtualbody1234@31 January 2004 - 21:18
Time to move into an igloo. :lol:
By tomorrow night I should have snowbanks right outside my window.

We know how handy they can be....

[tesco]

clocker i thought you said that your first computer was a emachines? this one looks like one somebody built.

plus i did an experiment today, i wanted to try out teh computer outside (in my garage which is pretty cold but no wind) to see what kind of temps i would get, but once i got out there to start setting up my computer i got too cold and luckily i hadnt setup to muc and just took it back inside kind of upset that i couldnt do it but then got teh idea to try it out in my laundry room (which has a vent going straight outside and thas cold air coming straight into the dryer lol) so i unhooked the vent pipe and opened up the computer then put the vent blowing air onto my cpu, and started her up. I got pretty good temps, around 10-15c runnign folding@home, not too bad, i dont think enough cold air was blowing through when i tried it (-4c outside).

overall not too bad, is this sortof what you are doing? (except not gonna be in a laundry room lol)

[Virtualbody1234]

Isn&#39;t that an MSI motherboard?

[clocker]

overall not too bad, is this sortof what you are doing? (except not gonna be in a laundry room lol)
Precisely.

Isn&#39;t that an MSI motherboard?
No, it&#39;s a Biostar.

clocker i thought you said that your first computer was a emachines? this one looks like one somebody built.
My first comp was an eMachines.
This was the first case that I built up. I kept it for about 3 months and then began my ill-advised love affair with the Xaser.
Life has been hell ever since.
My advice...never fall for cheap perfume. <_<

[_John_Lennon_]

Originally posted by clocker@1 February 2004 - 00:59

overall not too bad, is this sortof what you are doing? (except not gonna be in a laundry room lol)
Precisely.

Isn&#39;t that an MSI motherboard?
No, it&#39;s a Biostar.

clocker i thought you said that your first computer was a emachines? this one looks like one somebody built.
My first comp was an eMachines.
This was the first case that I built up. I kept it for about 3 months and then began my ill-advised love affair with the Xaser.
Life has been hell ever since.
My advice...never fall for cheap perfume. <_<
Or flashy clothing, or large bays, or the ability to get a nice big peep on whats on the inside. :lol:

[SciManAl]

Hehehehe, i knew you could do it clocker, hareness the power of the friggen cold air...
Biostars are rock solid cheap mobos that never fail, but fail to harness the full potential power of the componets... I like them, for server comps etc...

Sounds like a plan stan, go for it, show us some readings... Take your time, HAVE PHUN&#33;&#33;&#33; :lol:

See ya in 5 hours

[clocker]

Here are some pics of Muffin&#39;s new skin...
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/clocker-Ablkfront.JPG
First the front.
Multiple fans of course....all set up as exhausts.
The two 80mm&#39;s are pulling air over the HDD which has the two lowest drive bays all to itself.
The two little 50mm&#39;s are sucking air from the very top of the lower floppy bay which is where the PSU is mounted.
Lower down, visible through the grillwork, is the 120mm hole that is the main vent for the PSU. If necessary I can mod the front bezel and install a fan here, but so far the exhaust air isn&#39;t really very hot so I&#39;m gonna ride with it as it is.

Now for the side...
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/clocker-Bblkside.JPG
Difficult to photograph well...especially when you are a no-nothing camera wise.
Besides the obvious major Muffin fan panel ( which I&#39;m sure my vid card is just lovin), I&#39;m quite proud of the PSU setup. The circuit board is mounted vertically on the outside (visible) bay wall, which leaves the heatsinks parallel to the floor and easily able to be cooled by the two 80mm fans mounted on the bay back.
The camera is a cruel mistress...in actuality, the wiring is pretty neat, not the disorganized nest that it looks like in the pic.

I have two filler panels left to make...I ran out of Sintra and will have to scrounge some more tomorrow.
I also have to check out what kind of ducting I want to use so I can make the appropriate sized holes in the left sidepanel to feed the Muffins.
With the right sidepanel installed and the left one off I am Folding at 32°C. When the furnace goes into sleep mode ( at 10PM) I expect that those temps will go down.

After I clean up my disaster area workspace and take a day or so off to rest and gather some baseline data, I&#39;ll build the window fanpanel and install some outside ducting and then we shall see...

[DWk]

That looks like Morpheus&#39;s Neb.

Well done, my friend B)

[SciManAl]

Very pretty&#33;