Sprocket Resurfaces...

[j2k4]

Keep the pics coming; I imagine mine will be mighty similar, huh?

Parts should be here in about ten days or so...I hate doing things on a schedule, but there it is.

[clocker]

What did you end up getting?

[j2k4]

Won't pull the trigger until after the weekend (probably), but I'm going with the list I was given - it all makes too much sense.

This computer guy I got, he's pretty sharp. :

Still have to resolve the "which case?" issue.

[clocker]

Hmmph.

The case is simply a matter of money.
Either go with the $50 Centurian or decide to spend around $100 more and get something like this.

[j2k4]

Going with the Centurian, then.

[Detale]

This computer guy I got, he's pretty sharp. :

I think we have the same guy. He's great 'aint he? He had a thank you thread here somewhere

Clocker What GPU cooler did you get again, I'm too lazy to search the threads for it. Also how did you attach the fans? I noticed the board doesn't have ESATA on board, I thought that is like a deal breaker for you no?

Now I know you are working with the Corsair 620 same as mine but what cable are you using for the HDD's I don't have that one, is it a mod or aftermarket? In case you don't know what I mean...

It looks like there are a series of 4-4pin connectors on 1 wire Mine only came with 2 on a single line. This would clean stuff up in my WC case a bit, Oh I'm opening her up a little at a time BTW.

[clocker]

That is the stock Corsair SATA wire with relocated connectors.
I need to locate a cover for the bottom one.

Since I've used this same model PSU on several builds I have lots of extra cables to play with.

The board does not have native eSATA on the I/O panel but does have a two port eSATA breakout for the backplane.
This is getting modified and installed up front.
That's one of the last main fabrication jobs left to do...I'm saving that up with a few other things so I only have to strip the case down one last time (hopefully).

This will require removing the front bezel (which is all metal, held on with eight screws) but before that can happen the front plate, which holds the hard drive cage and the DVD burner must come out.
Here is the front bezel showing where the stock front USB/1394 ports are located...


Right above those is where I'm going to put the eSATA ports.
With those connected, I'll have seven of the eight motherboard SATA headers filled.

This is the Zalman VGA cooler.
The fans are held on with zip ties for now, if the modification works out I'll figure out a more elegant method later.

Edit:
Added another 100MHz to reach 4.3GHz.
Had to bump the CPU core voltage up to 1.268, which droops to 1.25 under load.
Finally got a 10 second SuperPi run and picked up a few points on the PC Pitstop test...




Tee hee.

I ran OCCT for 15 minutes to generate some heat but did not continue to see how stable the system was.
Temps still did not exceed 50°C, so that looks good.

I'm guessing- with no real evidence- that I've hit the wall with "Auto" settings and will have to decipher the BIOS settings to get any higher (or indeed, to stay here with any pretense of stability).
That silliness will have to wait for another day.
Right now I need to concentrate on getting her all properly assembled.

[Detale]

I can't say I've even looked at the Corsair cables to think of relocating them, but if you have time could you take some cloes-ups of them so I can check em out please. Thanks man

[clocker]

OK, no new pics yet but some progress has been made.
The new lower front plate has been completed (yeah, I know I haven't shown any of that stuff yet) and this morning I should complete the install of the RAM cooler.

I should have gone ahead with the install of the front eSATA ports but didn't for two reasons.
First, it requires completely stripping the case down to gain unfettered access to the front bezel. This is a giant PITA and frankly, I was feeling lazy.

Second, it's not a trivial mod.
Although it only requires drilling four holes and creating two rectangular openings, the final result is completely exposed and visible. I've learned that forcing myself to perform such feats is usually a bad idea and since the front bezel is my favorite part of the case, I want to wait till I'm confident of the outcome.

Detale:
About the Corsair cables...you don't need pics from me, this is completely self-explanatory.
If you have any unused cables left over look at them. If not, pull one from your case.
Now, look at one of the 90° fittings- on the back you'll see a little cover which just pops off. Remove it.
You'll now see that the wires are simply pressed into a metal fitting which pierces the insulation and touches the inner copper wire. The wires are easily removed, leaving the wire somewhat mangled. This was not a problem for me since I was moving the fittings much closer to the PSU end...there was plenty of virgin wire to work with between the PSU terminal and the first stock connector.

Because the Corsair wiring is all black, special attention must be paid to the polarity of the connector. I left the stock connectors in place till I was finished so I could verify which wire was which as I installed the new parts. Then all you do is cut the excess wire away flush with the edge of your new end connector.
Just to be safe, I verified polarity with a DMM before hooking up to the real components.

You can do it, it's easy.

[Nickthestick91]

^ Yeah, I did the same thing to one of my Corsair SATA power cables. My optical drive is at the top of the case, while two of the hard drives that also need a SATA power cable are at the bottom of the case, so I took the attachment off the wires, matched up the wires, and put the attachments back on so that they lined up perfectly with my drives. Extremely easy to do. I found a tutorial on the net a few days ago, so I'll try and look for it for you Detale.

EDIT: Here it is - http://www.gam.net.au/pcmods/satapower/3.html

Scroll down to where it says "Type 3 - Remove inline 'self crimping' SATA Power Connector (Type 3a, Type 3b)", and it'll tell you how to do it. (You don't have to take off the attachments on the ends of the cable if you don't have to relocate them.)