Case Mod - In Progress Project : Penguin v4.0 - Closed! ALL ITEMS NOW FOR SALE!!! - 21/06/09

Oh it's not that I don't spend a lot of time on forums, far from it! Only this is my first time on a modding forum

Anyway loving the updates! I only wish I had more time to spend on reading this forum, and a place to start modding. I don't really have a nice place to use as a "workplace" but during summer I'll crash at my brothers place. Lucky ******* has plenty of places to make a suitable working area. And ofc I hope by that time I can afford the stuff I want

Keep up the good work!

 

wow really loving this mod, just Caught up with it all, love the idea of using cold rolled steel plate to file against as a solid edge .. great idea ! will definitely be using that idea for filing my radiator hole !

love and metal

luke

 

looks great so far... good work

 

Update any time soon? Very much liking where this is heading!

 

Back At Last

Hey everybody, haven't had a lot of time recently, been working pretty much 2 weeks straight and still don't have enough money to put into this mod.

Anyway I have a lot of time off until I can find a new job so expect a few updates soon.

Cheers I should have the Pico mount done by tomorrow

Cheers mate, hopefully should be more soon.

Yea i spend way too much time reading and probably not enough posting here tbh. Its always nice to have some where that's clean to work, shame you can never have enough space or enough surfaces to work on.

Thanks, yea a couple of people on here have used the idea, I'm simply copying them, it works a treat though!

Thanks mate.

Don't worry there should be an update coming tomorrow, all of the filling should be done on the Acetel pieces by then.


Until tomorrow then...

 

Very nice Looking good love the attention to detail going on.

 

Very nice work. Love the clean way of how you're working.

Got a question, why do you wanna run a I7 PC "through" a Pico PC? What is the pc mainly gonna be used for? Because i really dont get the point of why a Pico PC and an i7 pc.

 

Cheers, the main pc is gonna be used for most of the CAD, Photoshop, Illustrator, Gaming and Design work I'm doing, and the Pico PC is gonna be used for playing music, downloading (legal) Torrents, and other boring stuff like that. (Actually have it up and running on Ubuntu, downloading a few bits now)

The Pico will be run through the Main Pc, not the other way round, although i will be able to control it through the touch screen as well.

I'm using it for basic tasks so that my main rig doesn't have to be on all the time and so that doesnt clog up my system with downloads, music, ect.


Plus its makes my penis bigger, really it does, you should try...

Cheers

 

And it's good for the environment and your electricity bill.

But... ehh... compensating much?

 

Was planning on trying it, until I found a folder in my e-mail client called "Spam". I swear, it's a hidden penis enlargement-mine!

 

A chunk of it is still for sale if you change your mind just PM me

Always wanted a Pico ITX system, great mod.

 

Oh I'm such a sucker for small cases getting watercooled Keep up the good work on this one.

One question though, as I don't like rubber edging(?) at all, did you try how the rad hole would look without it? I mean, you did an awesome job filing down those edges, it might look nice (in a minimalistic sense, atleast) without the rubber... (You can also go around the cut edges with a black marker if those bother you)

 

Yea will do mate, gotta pay for the holiday though first.

Cheers, you know I really, really hate rubber edging, i only ordered it in case i screwed up cutting the top of the case (plus it cost like £1 for 2 meters). Even though I didn't screw up I really like the edging for some reason, maybe you just have to see it in person. Once I put the rad back in I will give it a try without the edging though, just to make sure.

Update coming in about 30 mins...

 

Ninth Post - Pico Motherboard and Bottom Plate Fitting

Right on with the update, I haven't had a lot of time recently and all the parts to the case have been strewn across my room, now it time to make all these pieces fit into the case.

Firstly its time to mount the Pico Motherboard into the 5 1/2" Bays, and to do this i need to do some planning, so after doing a bit of CAD work i have drawn out the plans for the mobo tray. There needs to be a hole in the middle so that the RAM slot and the BIOS Battery can stick through it as they are both about 7mm clear off the back of the board. I suppose its essential considering this thing is about the size of a playing card, they have to put it some where don't they.



Here is a quick pic of the ghetto set up i have going on at the side of my desk. I have Ubuntu running off the 500gb drive atm, I am in two minds whether to get XP running off it?!?



Got the outer edges drawn out, I'm using the same 6mm Acetel sheet as i did for the Bottom Plate that is going to hide all the wires / the pump.



And here is where i was working yesterday, very sunny, very hot, great tanning weather!!



I don't have any pictures of the cutting stage as its fairly boring, but after filling down the outside edges of tthe mobo tray I test fitted it...



Fits like a glove, first time.



Before I filled down the middle of the mobo tray I drilled the mounting holes for the Pico, I wanted to do this earlier so that there was a reduced chance of the material cracking, but i just plain forgot to.



Im using M3 allen head hex bolts and countersinking them into the Acetel so it can sit level in the 5 1/2" bay.



Tape removed and a detail shot (dont mind the scraches from the emery cloth, the tray will be sanded down and given a decent finish when i decide what method to use).





All the bolts fitted, although nobody will see the bottom part of the tray (or infact any of it), I like to know it does look half decent.



Test fit with the Pico board attached.



I still need to put some foam under the board for that little bit of extra silencing and to bolt the entire thing into the bays, but at least I'm halfway there now!



Anyway, on with test fitting the Bottom Plate of the case, this thing is very awkward, not only to cut and file, but to actually find a way of putting it into the case. The problem is that the Hdd rack was in the way, so out with the drill!!!



Going...


Gone!


Should be able to fit it back in with a couple of M3 button head bolts and some acorn capped nuts.


Right, the Bottom plate now fits! Hazzar! Here's a couple of pics of it sitting in the case, and test fitting the parts that go in and around it!



Detail of the power socket which extends the 3 pin PSU power to the front of the case.



The motherboard tray detail...



Pump hole



With the pump and the PSU test fitted to see if the Bottom plate has been cut and filled correctly!



And it does!! Quite a result as alot of hours have gone into this piece, but alot of hours are still to go until it is perfect!



That's all I've got for now, but I'm making progress every day....

 

great work!!

i may have missed this.. but what material is that?
acrylic?

looks fantastic

 

Cheers, the material is Acetal Black Sheet 500 x 500 x 6mm

I got it for about £30 from Direct Plastics Online, great service and quick delivery!

 

K, my bad Lovely use for such a small PC. Whats the tdp of that thingey?

 

Tenth Post - Yet More Pico

Yet more action for the Pico mounting, this is the last bit I promise (at least for the moment). Anyway on with the modding...

In order to mount the Pico board, the bottom of the drive bay needs to come out!


Four holes all marked up...


Drilled...


And the Pico tray mounted at last...


I temporarily put the cage back together to see if the tray still sat properly...


Turns out it needs a quick file to get it back inline, atleast its not too short.



But we cant just leave it like that can we? Needs a bit of vibration dampening, you know just in case...




Tray mounted once again...




Thats all I have for the moment, but I have got something special lined up for the side panel in the case. Should be updating at some point tonight!

 

Nice mounting for the PICO.

 

/\ yeah looks good mate