Modding Suggestions needed for my Netfinity 5000

[g3n3tiX]

Hi all !
I just got hold of a monolithic Netfinity 5000 for free (yay!)
I stripped it myself of its innards (was p2 350, 160 Ram and 2* 9.1GB cheetahs uSCSI and a 20GB tape drive) and now I wish to adapt it so that it can house my soon to be gaming rig..

It's a great case :
removable Mobo tray
HDD bay with 2 trays (3 are just empty)
2* whooshy fans, mounted on rubber grommets
solid and heavy.

As you've seen, I wil have a couple things to do.
Questions :
Some extra screwholes on the mobo tray might be problematic and will need to be cut/insulated)
I need to buy and mount a SATA backplane on it.
I have to adapt the fan and LEDS/PWR connectors. (Will the fan fry the mobo : they are 12V 3.2 W ??)

I've made pics so that you can suggest ideas/ways of doing what I want. I'm not looking for watercooling or the likes, although the case it beig enough for it. ^^










Will I have to make the PSU hole larger for better airflow with a modern meshed PSU ?



A couple more pics at http://g3n3tix.free.fr/files/Pics/IBM

[nitrous9200]

This looks like it's going to be cool. I just got an old Dell P3 server at my store that's about 60 lbs and is probably 2 ft x 4 ft, I'm sure it would make a great project.

[g3n3tiX]

It will surely be nice, but will need work. I also have to find a decent backplane to use the hdd rack properly. Any tips ? ebay only sells self contained ones, I need the bare circuit.

[barry99705]

Originally Posted by g3n3tiX

It will surely be nice, but will need work. I also have to find a decent backplane to use the hdd rack properly. Any tips ? ebay only sells self contained ones, I need the bare circuit.

Replace the one that's there with one of the complete ones from ebay. Finding just the parts you need is going to be a pain in the ass to get every thing lined up properly.

[g3n3tiX]

Thanks for the tip. I might buy individial back planes (I found some on ebay) and put one for each disk. With careful cable management it won't impede airflow that much. Or I could just plug the drives direcly to the cables, with the risk of somone wanting to remove one from the front.
Like that :
Or that for example.

What about the fans : 12V/3.5W : okay for connection to a mobo or is it best if on PSU rail ?
And the PSU hole at the back ? does it need enlarging ? (I think so) : what tools ?

[barry99705]

Originally Posted by g3n3tiX

Thanks for the tip. I might buy individial back planes (I found some on ebay) and put one for each disk. With careful cable management it won't impede airflow that much. Or I could just plug the drives direcly to the cables, with the risk of somone wanting to remove one from the front.
Like that :
Or that for example.

What about the fans : 12V/3.5W : okay for connection to a mobo or is it best if on PSU rail ?
And the PSU hole at the back ? does it need enlarging ? (I think so) : what tools ?

Hey, now that's slick! Don't know how much air that will block though. As for chopping up the case, that's what dremels are for!

[g3n3tiX]

Well I just ordered 2 individual backplanes, I'll see how they work.
The cool thing is that they have headers for LED (pwr/activity) so it can show on the rails, for individual disks. Neat.
Now I hope they'll be of correct spacing/depth. (*fingers crossed*)
I'll just have to borrow a dremel and start cutting some stuff. What do you suggest to cut steel (I'm assuming it is steel as the case is magnetized)

[500mph]

Diamond blade. They eat through reinforced disks easily, even though its possible.
I'm talking about dremels here.
If your doing something large, a grinder/jigsaw/other would be better