Case Mod - In Progress Project PC3 - Updated 20th Feb

Yeah PC3's snappy My first sub!

 

Good name on a very promising mod, I'll follow this.

 

I vote PMC !
Oh wait its not up there

 

P laystation M edia S server?

 

oh god... i can just see it now... but shouldnt that be an xbox 360 being named PMS (because of the RROD)?

 

Thanks for the comments and the lulz folks

Alright, in the interest of keeping people hooked, here's a little hardware update. I've done precious little work because the board is still on its way from Amazon and I need to buy a DSLR so I'm a little short on cash.

Anyway, pics:

A wee hand drill. Since I'm trying to keep everything around M3 size, this should do fine.


Some cheapy stick-on feet to replace the tiny rubber nubs on the PS3.


A PS3 power/eject button PCB. I am trying to keep the original's functionality intact so this was essential. It's going to be fun getting it to work with a PC though


WD Scorpio Black 320GB WD3200BEKT. Fastest sub-$100 drive I could find.


Got nothin' till the board comes in, so I'm just sitting tight here.

 

I was done leveling up like crazy in Borderlands so I tried to give some thought to mounting the HDD. Surprise update!

I decided to stick it below where the PS3's card reader would normally be.

I laid the drive where it was supposed to be, marked the holes with Sharpie, scratched out rudimentary 'pilot crosses' so the bit wouldn't wander and drilled them out. Then I tapped them to M3 for some extra grip from the bolts.

This is what I ended up with:







It's held in place by only two M3 button heads, and it seems fine. What I'm worried about is whether hanging off two screws, even if it seems stable now, might bugger up the drive in the long run. I might glue in a hanging a plexi support on the inside if I can squeeze in the extra space but it's because the build is cramped that I have to compromise in the first place.

More as I have it.

 

be careful when you add the SD card reader, make sure to add some keflon tape to they dont touch and short each other..

 

Oh, I don't plan on adding a card reader for now. I can't find one that fits the PS3 and the original reader uses some odd cabling to communicate with the motherboard, not serial or USB.

 

maybe its 8-pin usb in a flat cable?

 

I have no idea - the cable is pretty tiny. It's the card reader and power/eject that are giving me the most heartache. Integrating them into the build is going to be a real fun task

 

Sleevin is here!

I got some nice stuff in the mail today:



Yup, Nils sent across the MDPC-X sleeving.



Grand Bleu - my new favorite color



Small sleeving in black, SATA sleeving in Grand Bleu, small heatshrink in blue, SATA heatshrink in blue and jumbo heatsink in black. Also included were some black 3-pin fan connectors for this build and Project Styx.

Anyway, I couldn't just let the stuff lie there, so I did some sleeving on the Molex connectors of the PSU and the slim ODD adapter.

 

Must....Subscribe.....For.....More....Awesomeness.....!

 

Sweet project stoned! I will be tuned in for further updates

 

thanks!

Means a lot coming from you Bill! Thanks!

On a related note, I found something that has given me hope for the card reader:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How_to_use_the_internal_PS3_Memory_Card_Reader_as_/

 

The MDPC-X sleeving looks lovely, can't wait to see the complete build

 

I come forth bearing another update today

I received a small-ish box in the mail today. Wonder what it could be?



I kid you not, I nearly **** myself when the motherboard popped out. Seriously, McMaster shipped me my bolts, keys and tap in a bigger box that this!

Anyway, it's pretty tiny. For an SFF first timer, I'm already mighty impressed.



Well, now that we have a motherboard, what's left but to mount it up?

So I drill and tap the holes for the standoffs:




And mounted it up with some M3 button heads:








Once I popped in the PSU, I began to appreciate how much of a tight fit this build is going to be.



No matter, we'll cross those bridges as they come.

Before heading out for the nightly coffee, I did some sleeving on the 4 pin to SATA power converter and a SATA data cable:

 

Why are you using a huge psu???

It ocupies too much space that could be used for something else , it would be cool to see a pc3 watercooled =)

 

I know, I'm contemplating going for a pico-PSU. But they're expensive

I got this one for $20
Let's see, if next week brings some cash, I might spring for a pico.

 

I approve of this