Scratch Build – In Progress RTX scratchlog: done, but not final update

hmmm is there anything you guys do'nt like about this? not many comments...
WEll, ill post another addition to the frame


Shot with COOLPIX P4 at 2007-07-01
pictures do'nt show it, but the motherboard tray will be resting on this. This will take a lot of the weight off of the rear aluminum.

Shot with COOLPIX P4 at 2007-07-01
Rear pics

Shot with COOLPIX P4 at 2007-07-01
front angles, this took a lot of carefull mearsuring and cutting with hack saw(blah i hate hack saw)

Shot with COOLPIX P4 at 2007-07-01
sorry for blurry pic, but the mobo tray will leterally be resting on this, then just screwed(or rivited?) into the rear panel, but i can save some $$$$ and get .8" alu for the rear instead of 1/8", and still be flimsy

Shot with COOLPIX P4 at 2007-07-01
must be getting bored with this shot lol just different angles

Shot with COOLPIX P4 at 2007-07-01
how the case stands of tonight
and viola:

Shot with COOLPIX P4 at 2007-07-01
ZOOM!

so comments and suggestions is what inspires me to get my off my a$$ and go modding, so please guys comments suggestions!

 

alright guys i need a pole, type 1 if you wan't style 1 and 2 if you wan't style 2

syle 1)


Shot with COOLPIX P4 at 2007-07-01
Havign the psu horizontal, like shown or:
style 2)


Shot at 2007-07-01
keep in mind this is a bad pic, do'nt judge the style that ways. Just picture the completed case, 1 or 2 guys what do you guys think?

and p.s. is it bad for a psu to hang sideways?

 

Looking good so far

I think I prefer position 1 for the psu.
I would paint the frame the same blue as the drive cage etc as I think thats an awesome colour and it will go very well with black.

 

I agree #1 Position. And i Agree With Prometheus about the frame being painted blue. would look k1ck455.
keep up the great work young padawan!

 

i gotta be different and go with style #2. its just one more part of the design that makes it different from other normal cases.

 

I'm actually thinking number 1, but I'm not positive.

 

yeah, hey grundle next time your over help me out, and i get the switch next week so we can start soldering.

i think #1 would allow for more 120mm fans in the rear

 

MOre cad pics: i like to cad everything in sketchup before i work for the day, so this won't be done today but here it is(except i havn't bothered to paint the frame in the drawing yet)

Shot at 2007-07-02
and heres the device from the other side:

Shot at 2007-07-02
Ill be posting more cad pics later on in the day

but no case work today as im going golfing and gettign dinner and won't be back till around 10 p.m, and id be happy to pull an all nighter on this project
but im going golfing and won't be around till its to late to use tools like i think i said earlier

 

alrighty, i want to maybe add some led's but i don't even know where to start. I found this websight:
http://shop.sickmods.net/shop/Resistors/1.4_Watt/
But where do i solder the leds to get power? im c onfused, what else do i need besides wire, resistors, adn led's? can i do it without having to risk my 330$ psu? and any other general knowledge you pros knwo that youw an't to tell me? anythign guys please

 

Read THIS and THIS.

The first link explains just about leds in general and the second links just tells you the voltages for the different wires of a Molex connector.

As for safety I'm pretty sure it would be safe to hook up an led array to your psu but you should ask someone in the modding forum how (I BLEW up my last psu from mis-use remember



If you want to be really prepared for doing an led array go HERE for more info.

 

thanks grundle! yeah i remember that hahaha

I have a 250watt psu laying next to me, without a home, and could care less if it dies. OS i identified what i need with it, and am giong to use it.
But, does anybody know how to turn on both psu's with one power button?!? And on the molex, there is 2 5v wires(on the psu) 1 is positive and goes into the led(after resistor) and the other is negative and you solder the other end of the led(that is going out) to it?

but more importantly im not going to have 2 psu's if i need to reach behind my computer every time to turn it on so please help here guys

 

alrighty! i got it figured out:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=186&products_id=21193
that!
Ill order that and some other stuff from PP-C's pretty soon

so ya! a tiny update this afternoon

but say, if i wan't multiple LED's i should wire 3 of them to the 12v? not more obviously, so for 1 molex 12v ill wire 3 led's, but if i wan't more i gotta switch to another molex 12v?
btw the 12v is the yellow, no?

 

yes the yellow is the 12v wire. if your trying to wire more LEDs why not run them off just molex and calculate the resistors off of that setup, or did you already buy the resistors? to a awnser to an earlier question, i would also reccomend you buying heatshrink tubing for your connections when soldering the wires.

 

k. I havn't bought anything, nor plan to for a little while. What do you mean by run them off a molex and calculate the ressitors? i think thats what i was planning to, to get the 12v wire in a molex, and solder the resistor and multiple led's to that?

 

First, you have to get 12v somehow, so given that the most common LEDs have a forward voltage of 3.5-4 volts, one LED + 470 ohm resistor will work, or 3 LEDs in series is close, but a small resistor would be prudent. 4 LEDs would be fine, but might be a little dim.

So, we'll call any combination from above a "string".

You can run as many strings in parallel as you want as long as the total amperage doesn't exceed what the PS can supply on that rail.

 

wait, so if im runnign the same type of LED can i run them not in a paralell? and i only need 1 resistor per type of led and string of led(of same type)?

 

Look at this calculator and it will show you a diagram of how you can maximize the number of LEDs for a circuit.

If you run all of them in parallel, you'll either need a 1/4 watt resistor for each LED or a single resistor rated for the wattage of all LEDs combined.

<EDIT> I should mention I have never seen it done any way except for a separate resistor for each string. The above calculator says 3 3.6v LEDs with a 68 ohm resistor. 1 3.6v LED with a 470 ohm resistor. Try specifying input voltage of 12v, drop across LED of 3.6v, current of 20 milliamps and see what is shows for 1,2,3,4 and 5 LEDs.</EDIT>

 

Update time!!!

Frame is completely finished, including all the support things and everything...
So after a couple of hours and my arm really tired, i made this:

Shot at 2007-07-03
i cut it al lwith hack saw, et cetera. Its not complete, but i had to change from original designs to hold 2 psu's.

here is a good pic of the frame, but bad pic of the psu mounting

Shot at 2007-07-03
Here, the psu support is not rivited in, its just held on for measuring

up! whoa what is here!?!?

Shot at 2007-07-03
My riviter broke(wtf!!?!?!?!?!?) so i returned it to lowes, and while there i bought some other things. I have been doing drilling on my drill press(duh) but wehre i can't reach with drill press(which is more places then you would think!) i have had to drill with my dremel! so i bought a new hand drill. Also got some cheap plexiglass(youll find out later!)

Shot at 2007-07-03
and a litle more aluminum, for fan grills.
didn't buy it this time, but hadn't showed you before, its a 114mm hole saw(closest to 120mm in america you can buy)

Shot at 2007-07-03
and my baby.

Shot at 2007-07-03
man she drillls through 1/4 inch aluminum before you can cound to 6!!! literally! and im not going from job site to job site, so i didn't really wan't cordless and non cordless is way more power for the money. She will really speed up the process on this! as with dremel each hole took 10 minutes, litearlly and theres like 6 holes per corner... and also i was burning it out

Anyways,


Shot at 2007-07-03
ZOOM!

Shot at 2007-07-03

Shot at 2007-07-03
where i am at end of today

Shot at 2007-07-03
with 2 psu's i had laying around to test it, its a little off(hardly noticable) and it will all be fine, so im not goign to worry about it

So im really happy! another long, hard day in the shop(aka the tiny corner in the garage with my tools in it lol) tommoro i start painting! well, actually isn't tommoro the fourth of july? so maybe not tomoro but at least the day after!


commetns suggestions welcome!

 

ill give you a hint of the next update:
painting(durr)
and somethign cool with psu

 

i finished priming, waitign for it to dry and then ill post pics