I'm going to start up my very first project log. Now I don't know if this counts as a scratch build, but I'm not using any case components so, we shall see what you all think. This may be a little bit slow to update, as I just secured a temp position at my bloomin DREAM job and I'm working my arse off to get a permanent position. My new job is working for a wine company. Result. I've been an avid wine enthusiast since well before legal drinking age and working with one of the very best companies in the world at the moment in the wine industry gives me goosebumps and at the same time I'm bricking it every time i go into work. But what is also new to me is looking forward to going to work. So, the brief: My buddy is at University in Nottingham, and I want to go and play games with him. We play online on PC, so not a console session. I need a PC and I can't afford a laptop or anything of the sort that can run games. We pretty much only play Warframe, or old games atm. Nothing demanding. So what I've decided to do is build a little portable mATX LAN rig for as cheap as friggin possible. After all until 2 days ago I was unemployed and near penniless What I have: Wine. mATX MSI AM2 with Athlon X2 7750BE (which im happy to OC until it dies) A half decent cooler, freezer 7 pro rev 2 HD6850 (there was so little interest in selling this until i had already decided to make this build) 1TB Seagate HDD Op Sys. What is coming: 4GB DDR2 RAM is coming from Jinq-sea. He kindly had a rummage through his stash, when he was ill, what a gent. 120GB SSD also coming from Jinq-Sea 500W EVGA non-mod PSU from Scan. (3 year warranty on an EVGA built PSU for £33? why not i say.) Building supplies etc. This way, I can whack an HDMI into my mates TV, and play games in his living room while he's on his laptop. With ales. I plan on getting all of this into a wooden wine box with a custom lid/top panel. Kind of like these ones: Also to buy (will update): Dremel wood cutting tool. Some more wine. So far everything is looking pretty nippy and more than adequate for it's age and considering it's going to be a LAN rig for under £100 minus tool costs. Not too shabby. Though the PC might be a bit shabby...chic.... ehhh no Let me know thoughts! EDIT: Wine box is here. Pictures imminent
I've seen PC's put in toasters, microwaves, dustbins and just about anything else you can think of , so why not a wine box
He's busy emptying all the wine out of that box, so it could be a few days before we see him or any pics. Hmmmm. Maybe I need to mod a beer barrel. Better head over the pub and start emptying one.
Hello all, I have an update for you, a small one but a little bit picture heavy. So that box arrived, and the PSU came too, but they delivered it to the wrong neighbour. Bit of confusion there!! I'm sorry it's all a bit late but I've been working my tits off at my new job to make a good impression. I'll let you all know if I'm still employed in the New Year. so, PICTURES you may remember this: and the GPU : and here we have the cooler I should be able to fit in: And now the wine box! Not the best one, but not the worst either. It should work. Measurements will come later, but I can tell this is going to be VERY tight, maybe too tight!!! Looks more fitting for my woodsman stuff PSU, RAM and SSD, and HDD pictures coming soon, then I figure out how to fit everything in!!!
Couldnt resist whacking the PSU pics up already. This thing feels so solid, has 3 year warranty at £33 delivery free from Scan. 500W just can't argue. If you can see in this picture some decent heat sinks are peeking through, nothing like the crap you find in a CiT.
Update. Sorry guys, things have been crazy, new job, house problems, budget problems, drinking prob...nah I'm kidding but I do work for a wine company now because I get paid to do what I enjoy. Sweet! EDIT: Upgrading to AMD Phenom 9650 Quad-Core, 2.3ghz, going to do a moderate OC. CPU is waiting at the PO to be collected right now. Will flog my Athlon if anyone wants it lol. SO these bad boys arrived: http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad252/ceryni1/PC stuff/WP_20141124_002.jpg http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad252/ceryni1/PC stuff/WP_20141124_003.jpg And you'll see why in a minute. The board is a tight fit. But I am too tired to post pics and explain, so for now some beauty shots: Courtesy of Jinq-Sea: SSD http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad252/ceryni1/PC stuff/WP_20141124_005.jpg Much lighter and smaller than the older OCZ SSD in my main rig. Main rig might get jealous. And RAM: http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad252/ceryni1/PC stuff/WP_20141124_004.jpg Is it a good idea to get rid of the ugly stickers? They don't still have warranty do they? Sneak peak at next update: http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad252/ceryni1/PC stuff/WP_20141124_011.jpg This project is dead! Update 02/10/15: I tried to complete this over summer. A wine box is not made to have so many holes cut in it. I cut for the I/O shield and one 120mm fan and the box was allready worryingly wobbly. Not a chance it would stand up to having all the components inside, let alone as a portable LAN rig. A scratch built box with some aluminium or steel reinforcement might work, but wine boxes don't work all that well. Not these cheap modern ones anyway. Maybe a quality hardwood box, but still will need some reinforcement. Another problem is the staples and nails were constantly in the way of saw/dremel and had to pry them out and replace them. Not ideal. Don't cut corners, just build the box from scratch. A ready built cheapo box won't cut the mustard. I bought a £25 case off amazon that did the job wonderfully. Sorry all. Better luck next time.
