Modding Brainstorming Project Duality (Initial Concept Pic, Dec 29, 08)

Sometimes insanity is a sneaky thing. When I started Project Rogue, it was supposed to be a fairly easy and quick mod. NZXT wanted something to show off, and I was happy to oblige. What followed was something far beyond anything I had first envisioned. So, here I am, 10 months later. The Rogue is completed and I'm not content to sit still. I've decided to fully embrace my insanity, and start planning my next mod.

It goes without saying, everything I do, must be better than what I've previously done. Considering how the Rogue turned out, that doesn't leave me much room for growth... or does it? I do have a few great ideas, and some idea of exactly how I want the case to look. I'll fully sketch this one up beforehand, but don't get too eager, actual modding may be about 2 months away.

I've laid out some basic criteria to follow. Being the guy that I am, I'm sure you can assume it will be another SFF case. I'm hoping for about half the size of the Rogue... and much lighter. An LCD screen is a must. Although, it will be bigger, and touchscreen. Watercooled? Hell yeah! No TEC this time however. I want it to be lighter, remember? Two systems? You bet! This time around pico-itx isn't going to cut it though. I need much more power! Materials? How about anodized aluminum and carbon fiber? Yeah, now we're talking!

This is just for starters, and I'll update this thread with my mindless ramblings when I get a chance. This is gonna be big!

Oh, and if you're wondering about the color scheme, the pic below pretty much nails it (ignore the green in the screen)....

 

Ahh, that's a nice phone, both my brothers have one, while I have no cell phone at all. This sounds very interesting, and I can't wait to see how it goes.

 

I can't understand how you will be able to watercool and have 2 systems in half the size of rogues

 

i would love to see what you could do with a lian li VB-300 0r VB-350. or a H20-Go from mountain mods

 

Sans the orange that's pretty much my phone.

Good Luck BTW!

 

so basically it's gunna be a radiator with two PCs in it?

How will you save the space you need? integrated graphics? MXM modules from a laptop (not sure that's even possible)?
Is this going to be two equal systems? And half the size... i know of no such case, will you fabricate yourself?

 

A lot of what I'm planning won't be clearly understood until I throw my first sketches up. Hopefully in the next few weeks. I'm just running through the craziest of ideas right now. Granted, not everything will make the cut, but I've got to start somewhere. The biggest key to making this case work, will be non-traditional placement of parts. I've got to get creative if I want the case to be compact. Also, the inside of the case must be clean. I want every single wire hidden if possible. As far as the systems go, no, both won't be of equal power. Although the second system will be Core 2 Duo capable... It's not finalized yet, but I may use a mATX board this time as well. As much as I love the Rogue, it weighs 80 freaking pounds! The case will be a scratch build. It's the only way I can get the form factor I want. I'm also looking in to laser cutters...

 

I'm happy that you're planning another mod there, Craig. Sounds like its going to be a lot better than Rogue or your Sugo mod. Cool. I'm so exited to say your first sketches (show me first! show me first! )
I also started to plan my next mod, even when I haven't finished my cube yet It is hard to decide what to build right nw, when Nehalem system are coming out soon and new mobos will be available next year. Hard to say what Nvidia will do with SLI and X58. My new build planned to use full ATX mobo, but if that rumor about mATX SLI mobo from DFI is true, there won't be opint to make a big case then. I wish we could get a nice mATX mobo with perfect scaling SLI and Nehalem socket, but noone knows if that will happen anyway.So it ay be to soon to ask, but wanted to know - do you already know what system you are gong to use? I said "mATX maybe" - does it mean DFI crossfire or sth else? IS ti going to be SLI/Crossfire setup? What CPU? Share some ideas here!

 

I just can't sit still. My mind is always wandering. I've got the Rogue sitting here beside me as I type this, and it does everything I designed it to do. It's a gaming beast, and the pico system is an excellent file server. I've also now got every podcast I want, automatically downloaded and synced when I get up in the morning. However, as much as I live the Rogue, I want to head in a slightly different direction.

In the new project, size will matter most. It's still going to be packed full of cool stuff, but I need it much smaller. So, mATX will be the most likely option. Since it's a scratch build, I can build around a smaller motherboard. Sure, I could find a way to get an ATX board to fit, but then I'm going to give up space that I don't want to lose. As far as which motherboard? DFI is really the best option right now. I'm open to either Crossfire or SLI. I plan on watercooling the videocards this time... I'd even go with an AMD CPU if it was the best choice at the time. I won't make any hardware purchases until I know what I want. I've also got a little time here. I've got 11 months until Nvision 2009!

 

Okay, so I'm still working out my options, but I thought I'd give you all an idea update just the same.

Idea 1.) Touch it. You may have noticed my inquiry into a projective capacitive touch screen in another thread. This could end up being a key component for the case. I'm looking for a sleek front to the case, and the look I want can't be achieved with a simple resistive touch screen. The idea is this, I want a single piece of tinted glass on the front of the case. I want complete stealth when the case is off, but when the system is on I want all the goodies underneath to show through.

Idea 2.) Video surveillance. Yeah,it's a little crazy, but if the Rogue had it, some dillhole wouldn't have 'borrowed' my Razor mousepad at Nvision. I'm exploring a few really fun ideas right now.

Idea 3.) Duality. Some of you may have been speculating on the name of the case. Well, here's the answer. There will indeed be another system in here. In fact, it will be a dedicated game server with a 16 port gigabit switch. Yes indeed! It will be truly a (LAN)party in a box.

Idea 4.) Clean. The Rogue was a great 'case' study in space utilization. However, I want Duality to be even cleaner. As part of this, I want all wiring hidden. Yep, all of it. I also want no airflow restrictions beyond what is absolutely necessary. Also, everything will be watercooled. Video cards and the cpu will possibly be on two separate loops. Here's the kicker though, I will have a pair of triple radiators in there.

Idea 5.) Swap in seconds. That's right. I want to be able to pull all parts out in less than 30 seconds. Whether it's a hard drive or a video card (even watercooled), I want it to be completely painless to troubleshoot and swap. While this may not be that big of a deal in most full-size cases, I believe it will be unique for a case of this size.

That's it for now, but I'll update soon!

 

Masohist !!!
So many things to be done, planning will kill you!!
Joking of course... cool stuff - I'll keep my fingers crossed for all your time you will spend on planning, most important [art of modding.
Great ideas you have there, Craig! I'm with you man!

 

30 seconds is a little insane for a watercooled system. How about making all the parts mounted on sliding rails -even the powersupply. Or you could mount everything on one panel and make the rest of the case break-away.

 

Idle hands are the devil's work, but I prefer idle hands = a lazy modder.

Interesting idea, Craig. And I have no doubt you'll pull it off. Your projects are always top-shelf work. Good luck, man!

 

If rogue is anything to go by you have got my attention

Josh

 

talk about a chanellege!

Shame there couldn't be an alarm if any USB devices are pulled from a port, well i think iv got an idea on how to do it, but would require modding copper rings onto your USB devices..

 

Okay guys... I've spent the last two weeks sketching my case design. I've got most of it finalized pending a few details. I've ended up revising a few things. The truth of the matter is this, as good as I may be at cramming things in small spaces, I'm still limited by component size. I ended up with a case a little smaller than the Rogue, only to realize that if I was willing to go slightly bigger, I wouldn't have to limit myself to scarce mATX boards. So, where does that leave me? Well, the new case design is about the same width and length as the Rogue, but it is a fair amount shorter. Since I'm not limited to an existing case, I'm free to play Tetris with all my components. I've managed to find room for 6 hard drives (maybe 8), in their own chamber. I'm also bringing a Pico-ITX motherboard back in the the picture. So, that makes for 3 separate, but connected systems... I'm taking everything I loved about the Rogue, and refining it to my kind of perfection. As the wife pointed out, it even resembles the Rogue a bit. Yes, why yes it does. Damn, this is so much fun!

 

LOL. The master at work. We're all watching, man. And looking forward to where you go with it.

IMHO, a little more room isn't going to hurt. And you can't ignore the fact that there are some nice full ATX boards available, aside from the fact that there are some solid mATX boards too. Having the room for them would be nice too. But then again, It's not my system and I don't know what you have planned for the final system's purpose(s).

 

Thanks E.E.L., you're too kind!

I can't help but think ahead. I really wanted to go smaller, but I had been questioning it's practicality. I should have known I would, it was one of my biggest motivations for modifying the Rogue to fit ATX. I want to be able to drop anything in at any time. I want dead simple maintenance and upgrade simplicity. That's where my part change in 30 seconds comes in to play. I'll see of I can get the sketches I have, posted sometime this week. I'd love to have feedback on the design.

 

cant wait!

 

More revisions... I almost feel like I'm toying with all of you. I say a few things, promise pics, then revise and delay... Lol. For all I know, I could end up doing this in perpetuity. For what it's wort, my internal layout isn't changing. Neither is the basic shape of the case. Where the challenge lies, is in all the exterior details. Right now, I have a ribbed theme going, but I'm not sure I'm convinced that this is the direction I want to go. It does look good, but I'm not sure it's "holy hell!" good. In fact, like with the Rogue, it seems a little unassuming until you take a look inside. Bah, I've got more thinking to do. I'll get a picture of my current design up soon, although it's subject to revision.

As long as I'm rambling on about revisions, I've discovered that with a little design modification, I can fit a 15" widescreen LCD and touchscreen in the front of the case...