Case Mod - In Progress Double Dissipation - Silent HTPC/Gaming PC - the case is back

Last year mid year I decided to build a custom more or less HTPC. The main goal was for the PC to almost completely silent. The rid was based on Puget System's Serenity and hence included Antec P183 V3. I added the Be Quiet accoustic padding to the side panels and the result was blissful silence (no pictures at the moment, sorry). The only thing bothering me was the bulky 24 pin ATX cable that made it hard for right sidepanel to fit and the fact that my Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 motherboard was a bit smaller than full ATX boards and hence the tray fittings were not aligned.

The next in line for swap was my old Ati Radeon HD 4670, and I decided to get Powercolor Radeon HD 6850 SCS3. I worked great, but the since its length and bulkiness (it takes three slots) it had problems with the MB, SATA connections and my Asus Xonar sound card. I decided to get the Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5 motherboard.

Then my TV died on me, so I dediced, with time to spare, to build my own RCA interconnect cables (pictures will be posted tomorrow), which gave me the idea to sleeve the cables and I played some games as well. In the end I decided on building HTPC/gaming PC.

The final build will consist of:

Antec P183 V3 - interior painted matte black
Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5 motherboard - waiting to be installed
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T - waiting to be installed
Scythe Mugen 2 rev B - waiting to be installed
Arctic Silver 5 - waiting to be installed
1x system SSD and 4x 2 TB Samsung drives - waiting to be installed
2x XFX Radeon HD 6870 1GB DD XXX card - waiting to be installed
Asus Xonar Essence card - waiting to be installed
Seasonic X-760 W - waiting to be sleeved and installed
3x Scythe Slimstream 800 RPM - waiting to be sleeved
Sony DVD-RW - waiting for the exterior to be painted
Lamptron FC Touch - waiting to be installed
Chieftec card reader - dissasembled

MDPC sleeve, cable clips, screws and caps - still have to be ordered
Custom top fan cover for the case - already finished, but will be redone
Be Quiet damping foam - have to check if they can send it in bigger pieces so I can have it waterjet cut to fit behind the MB panel

And as bonus:
Home made RCA interconnects - done
Home made sleeved UTP cable - done


So far I'm still waiting for the case to arrive back from the auto shop (luckily my coworker's friend does it but takes some time since it's a "pizza and a beer" type of compensation - plus the logistics of getting it from work back home, not to mention I take bus to work, no parking available, so I have to do it the afternoon, but my annoying coworked I can't stand works shifts and I do not want to see her any more than needed).

I managed to get at least one side of the case to AI, so I'll be able to have my damping foam cut to size as, following:



For tomorrow I'll be able to post the home-made RCA cables and some tools I received today for the UTP cable mod.

 

Sounds very good. Look forward to the next update!

 

Until you have pictures of work in progress, this is not a project log (more like a teaser advert). Moved to modding for now.

 

Will be updating some pictures really soon.

In the mean time, I'm open towards some names for the mod.

 

Some update:

This is the sleeving did in "the early stage" and am going to redo using some MDPC sleeve. I just don't like the look of it.





Also, I'm going to redo the top vent coverplate, currently covered in damping foam glue, soaking in soap water.




Soaking as well is the top plastic plate. I hate so much glue, so I'm using less to keep it together.



I bought some tools yesterday, the glue gun was like 3,5 €. The caliper was really cheap as well, but quite dirty and not sliding well. It got disassembled, cleaned and given some graphite powder to keep it running smoothly. Works like a charm.




I also picked up some crimping tool, boots and RJ-45 ends.



Using this, because I'm still waiting for my case to come back, I made my premium sleeved UTP cable.





Earlier this month, I also made my own interconnects. The ones below will be connecting Xonar card and the amp. Learned how to solder in the process.




And luckily for me, I found another used and damaged PSU. Since I have to extend some fan cables, this will come in handy.

 

Those sleeved cables look sweet I must make some of those!!!

 

Ah, I see tape residue. charcoal starter fluid/naphtha on toilet paper works best for removing it. Just don't smoke and work!

 

Nice job on the sleeving.

And back to project logs we go!

 

Thanks. It's really simple.

The only finished cables are the RCA interconnects and UTP cable. The others will be resleeved because I really don't like the way I messed them up.

The matches are for the candle to shrink the heatshrink. I don't smoke, and even if I did, it wouldn't be inside.

 

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sleeving LAN cable? never even thought about it!!!! excellent idea!
*gone sleeving*

 

That is one sexy lan cable!

 

I finally decided on the name. First due to the fact that the plastic hearsink cover is matte and will not be repainted but has a nice font with the "Double Dissipation" writing on the side. The second is the definition itself.



I decided to try out my new tools and made a stand for screws. I went pretty nicely since the chopstick (yes, it is a cut off chopstick) is really soft. I even spray-painted the screws black, just as the slot covers, but the colour doesn't stick nicely and evenely, so they will go to the guy painting the rest of the case.



For my further needs I decided to get a block of metal with some screw holes made for painting the screw and baking them. It's just an idea at the moment.

 

Sanding, part 1

I got very bored with learning today, so I decided to put some muscles into my work and do what I can at the moment with what I have at the moment. The Antec P183 comes with very ugly glossy plastic inside, and so does my card reader cover. So I sanded that so a more brushed aluminium finish with grade 320 sandpaper.

Here is how two of the parts looked before:



and after some sanding.



Closeup:



And the rest of them:



However, when editing the pictures, I noticed that some parts were just not up to my standards, so some more sanding had to be done. You can still see some spots, but I'll sand them later.

 

Love the cable braiding, Looks like you've done a perfect job on it, Subbed

 

Thank you. And the fact that it's the first one I made, makes it even better.

 

Btw, if anyone is interested in making his own RCA cables, I placed the guide here.

 

No update for some time since I had to study. Nevertheless that might have been the best solution since it's getting frustrating not to get my case back yet. First the paint job was not done well as I was told now he has lots to do. But since it's for almost free I can't or shouldn't complain.

In the meantime, I ripped apart the front panel. Joke, I carefully took it apart, removed the power on button (to be replaced with Lamptron Vandal switch, the LED (to be replaced with something to match the button) and check why the fan bay doesn't work. I turned out that the push-push latch was broken (probably in manufacturing process) so I have to order a new one. Not an easy task.

Little bugger...



I placed some orders today. The vandal switch, some LEDs and a brand new Dremel 300 with some extra accessories.

 

Those panels look awesome, more great work! Well done!