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First Effort: Imperial ClearPC

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by SharkBait, 13 Oct 2003.

  1. SharkBait

    SharkBait What's a Dremel?

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    By Popular Request...

    More audience participation! :D

    There's been lots of feedback in this project log regarding my choice to use an aluminum fan on my radiator shroud instead of the original black plastic fan. Many of you liked the "industrial" look of the black fan. I haven't heard much praise for the aluminum fan.

    So, I snapped some pics of the two fans...you get to decide which one I use. (For the record: I like them both. It's a win-win situation for me!)

    Here's the original black fan design:

    [​IMG]

    And here's the aluminum fan design:

    [​IMG]

    Let me know what you think! :dremel:

    SharkBait
     
  2. SharkBait

    SharkBait What's a Dremel?

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    Minor Update: Southbridge Heatsink

    Thanks for the feedback on the southbridge heatsink. Funny, though...at first I thought the Microcool heatsink fins were too big to break off. Then I turned the 'sink 90 degrees and it didn't seem to be such a big deal.

    So, I got to use the heatsink I wanted, although it required some modding to fit. Basically, I had to trim two rows of fins like so:

    [​IMG]

    And here's the end result. It's a close fit, but the heatsink doesn't touch the soundcard:

    [​IMG]

    And I also went ahead and mounted the MOSFET heatsinks I bought as well:

    [​IMG]

    Weekend's coming up...hopefully I have some more substantial updates for you afterwards.

    SharkBait
     
  3. Acid Burn

    Acid Burn ..look but don't touch..

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    looks good :) I have those mosfet heatsinks and that SB Heatsink my self, have just not installed them yet :) are they any good? did you just break the fins off, ir did you use a dremel?
     
  4. SharkBait

    SharkBait What's a Dremel?

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    I don't know how they'll do performance wise; still re-assembling the case. I decided to include them because they're good eye candy...they cover the MOSFETs and ICs nicely. It's the "clean industrial" look I wanted...reminds me of all the Imperial toys in Star Wars. Clean, polished, but industrial.

    I broke the second (inner) row of fins off with a pair of needle-nose pliers...wasn't too concerned about the finish (I just filed them smooth) and couldn't reach the bottom of the fins any other way. The first (outer) row of fins were dremeled to 13mm in height, then filed smooth.

    SharkBait
     
  5. Acid Burn

    Acid Burn ..look but don't touch..

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    ok :)

    BTW I really like the way you go with the starwars theme :) I totally agree about the pollished industrial looks :thumb:
     
  6. SharkBait

    SharkBait What's a Dremel?

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    Minor Update: Case Back

    Well, I'm still waiting for a few acrylic parts to arrive...so I started looking at the back of the case. I wasn't happy with it: the solid chrome backplate, a chrome PSU, and chrome PCI covers and cards were a bit much. Plus, you could see the motherboard, the "tabs" on the PCI cards...all in all, not something I was happy with. :grr:

    [​IMG]

    Plus, I needed to take the insides apart to give the case a thorough cleaning...it's really dusty here. (Remember my radiator?) So, I used this weekend to address both concerns!

    I liked the look of the fan grill on the back (though I really wanted larger holes to improve the airflow) so I got some modder's mesh to make the entire back more uniform and "industrial". First test, on the PSU (it was the most straightforward piece, with the fewest cuts).

    The results of about an hour's work of measuring, scribing and cutting:

    [​IMG]

    A few coats of primer and paint later, I mounted the mesh. Much better, in my opinion! :D

    [​IMG]

    Encouraged, I went forward and cut out a new fan filter, as well as a new backplate and PCI cover. I decided to make these two separate pieces in case I decide to get a new mobo, or add/subtract cards. (Less cutting later!) About a day's work later (and a few miscuts), I had this test fit:

    [​IMG]

    Surprisingly, the motherboard fits much better with the new backplate! Before I had to apply a bit of force to get it to sit on the mounting screws. Now, it just drops into place. Even better, the space between the case and the mobo/PCI cards is about the thickness of the modder's mesh. The mesh is held firmly in place without adhesive! :thumb:

    I have some more ideas about the mesh--the openings are just begging to accumulate dust (see my aforementioned radiator!)...I just need to figure out how to implement. For now, though, just a brief update to let you know I'm still moddin' away!

    SharkBait
     
  7. my58vw

    my58vw Plexi Expert

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    I really like the back of the case, it just makes the theme look better and better. How are the pci cards held in? It looks like they are screwed into a plexiglass rod, but that might just be my imagination.

    Thanks


    Oh ya... I like the aluinum fan more than black... :D
     
  8. nicke

    nicke What's a Dremel?

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    looks damn COOL :hip:
     
  9. Romirez

    Romirez What's a Dremel?

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    Very nice work, particularly with the logo on the side and the painting, and I really love the mesh on the back! :thumb:
    Can't wait to see it once it's finished :D

    /subscribed
     
  10. SharkBait

    SharkBait What's a Dremel?

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    You're pretty much right on...there's an acrylic bar with pre-drilled holed that the PCI cards screw into. Unlike other cases, this one doesn't have "slots" for the PCI card "tabs" on the other end to slide into...they just rest against the edge of the motherboard.

    Thanks for the good words...and, yeah, I'll be keeping the black fan. :)

    SharkBait
     
  11. my58vw

    my58vw Plexi Expert

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    Interesting... thank you for the info... I am going to be rebuilding the back for convergence but your design does look awsome...

    Good choice for black on the fan... :rock:
     
  12. ehrnam45

    ehrnam45 What's a Dremel?

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    I just found this one and WOW! This is some really great looking stuff. nothing fancy or overdone, just a clean simple mod. I'd stay with the blue lights inside. The actual color for the imperial logo is blue. the rebel bird thingy is red. most of the ambient lights in the imperial technology is blue too, i.e. drive lights, interior lights etc. only the weapons systems were really red, i.e. blasters, cockpits and the like. Since this is a piece of hardware, and not a direct weapon, blue is more appropriate.

    the black fan does look better, if only because it doesn't have the notches that the alum one does. It's amazing that just a few pieces of hardware can look that cool when "cobbled" :p together.

    The tubing on the inside looks great too. I keep seeing the TIE-interceptor pilots' helmet tubes when i look at them.

    Anyway, keep up the great work!
     
  13. SharkBait

    SharkBait What's a Dremel?

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    I stumbled on the ideal material to help reduce the amount of dust that flows through the mesh:

    [​IMG]

    Yep, a plain old portfolio (this one is Mead's "Envelok"). :) The paper is treated with what seems like plastic, so it won't fade. It's nice and thin, so I don't have to worry about the amount of space it'll take up. And it's easy to cut!

    Again, I went back to my trusty ol' PSU for the initial test:

    [​IMG]

    With the exception of the cut around the power cord plug, it's exactly the look I wanted! :rock: I'm going to the store tomorrow to buy some spray adhesive to mount the plastic/paper to the mesh for the backplate and PCI slots. I'll let you know how they turn out!

    SharkBait
     
  14. SharkBait

    SharkBait What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks for the kind words, ehrnam. I like your rationale for using the blue lights (that and I tried the red lights...didn't like them)...now I have an explanation for when people ask "why blue?" :thumb:

    SharkBait
     
  15. SharkBait

    SharkBait What's a Dremel?

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    Minor Update: Light Controller

    Still waiting for the acrylic parts to arrive. :sigh: So, more minor modding to keep the project moving forward.

    At the start of this project, I purchased a Vantec Nexus 3-1/2" bay fan & light controller. I liked that everything I'd want to do was in a handy little package...it made putting the fanbus and lights in a breeze!

    Well, except the CCFL wires weren't long enough to reach the Nexus from where I wanted them in the case. :duh: I tried lengthening the cables...but all that did was to dim the CCFLs. Moving the Nexus a little allowed one of the CCFLs to reach, but not the other.

    I decided I needed another inverter (which I had from a previous case). But I wanted both inverters to be controlled by the knob on the Nexus. "Simple!" I thought, "just find where the 12V feed to the Nexus transformer is, and solder a lead from that point to the other inverter." I dusted off my multimeter and began tracing the circuit...

    ...and apparently shorted across the inverter. A brief spark, a quick whiff of ozone, and the Nexus fan & light controller became just a fan controller. :duh:

    I was much more careful with the second Nexus I bought. (On the plus side, I now have four CCFLs!) This is what I found:

    [​IMG]

    The Nexus can control three fans, but I'm only using two. I decided the unused fan controller would serve as the feed for the second inverter. I used my trusty Dremel to break the original 12V feed to the header:

    [​IMG]

    A quick test with an extra fan--yep, the circuit's broken. I then used a short length of wire to connect the 12V feed to the transformer to the 12V feed to the fan header:

    [​IMG]

    (I used a small length of heatshrink to ensure the wire doesn't short across the transformer circuit...I stripped a bit too much of the wire sleeve.)

    I then snipped off the switch from my old inverter circuit and replaced it with a female fan header:

    [​IMG]

    And the moment of truth:

    [​IMG]

    Eureka! It works! :rock:

    On a whim, I decided to see if the circuit could handle four 12" CCFLs. So, I installed my original CCFLs on the circuit and...

    [​IMG]

    Excellent! (You might notice the second-from-bottom CCFL is a bit dimmer than the others. That's the one I did the most wire modding to...so I wasn't too surprised to see it shining dimmer than the others.)

    Everything's ready for final assembly. Now all I need is the acrylic pieces I sent away to be cut. Once they're in, I'll post my final update.

    SharkBait
     
  16. my58vw

    my58vw Plexi Expert

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    Yah!!! I works...

    Nice to see more progress on the project, cannot wait to se emore.
     
  17. SharkBait

    SharkBait What's a Dremel?

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    Finally Complete!

    Just a few pictures of the finished mod I've been meaning to post, but just haven't had the time to do a proper write up!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I'll do my best to get my final write up on this project done and posted this weekend!

    SharkBait
     
  18. Bandit_zoraK

    Bandit_zoraK What's a Dremel?

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    Out of nowhere! I remember reading this project and getting a little inspiration for my first star wars mod, different, but also Empire-based. Yours is much cleaner than mine. Gotta love closure.
     
  19. AngelOfRage

    AngelOfRage Minimodder

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    thats looking pretty well done. i was thinking the Black and Blue scheme had been dono to death, but yours is still looking fresh as a black and blue daisy! keep it up son!
     

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