Scratch Build – In Progress Casdon 379 BACK ORDER SUCKS! Feb 26, 2008

It comes with 512 but I have another one for the recase project. Running gOS(based on Ubuntu) works well at 512 but 1 Gig is the plan. For video, audio, and torrents it's speedy enough now with no video dropouts, etc. They say the new VIA pin compatable CPUs will run Crysis but I don't game so I'm fine with the C7.
John

 

LMAO! No dude the Everex.
John

 

Warranty Voided

I think I may have voided the warranty! Crack me up warranty on a $200 PC with a $59 motherboard! LOL.
OK. All respectable(?) parts out of Everex case. Some small surprises today.
The motherboard comparison:

The new VIA 2500G motherboard on the right is really NOT that much smaller than the thin client HP P3 board.
It adds an audio tower and the 2 slots but isn't much bigger. In fact most of the screw holes are the same. VIA calls this a "Reference Series" board?
The new C7 board itself:

What is interesting to me is that the CPU cooler is this little spring mounted thingy that is not attached by glue or Arctic Silver. Remember this is a 1.5 Ghz CPU and all the slower C7s come in fanless versions. My board does not match any pictures I could find on Google images. It is a 2500G and it has a finned heatsink but the 40mm(yes 40) is mounted vertically to blow across the fins.

New Tech HDD:
The donor has a Seagate 7200.10 80Gb drive. PATA but you have to see the diffence!



The last picture shows the difference in the electronics side. Minimalism.

DVD:
Nothing you haven't seen before. Full height vs slimline.

Fitting in the case:
From the back looking to the front.

Yes it crooked. Couple reasons. The new motherboard has the audio tower and the 2 PCI slots.
From the outside:

The audio tower wont fit on the right side.
Another reason for crooked:

The bottom bracket for the CPU "cooler".
The PSU is the same with the exception od having SAT connectors.
Now I'm seriously leaning to removing the whole back and leaving a small lip to hold the parts in. Maybe a plexi version of a Lian-li v300 motherboard with only two slots?

For the G5 people:
Where it was going to go and maybe it's clone will go:


Tomorrow
John

 

looks like you can get 2 or 4 of them mounted in the G5 case

 

Actually the motherboard and hardrive with 200w PSU(Case removed) will fit the bottom where the Apple PSU was leaving the whole case empty except for the optical up on top.
John

 

Hiya jhanlon30 nice idea you have here and nice work your doing keep it up *subscribed* oh yea good luck with the mod of the month.

 

Today's up date. I spent the evening working on a new interior for the Casdon. I had an idea to make a plexi box within a box. So I did some measuring(actually a lot of measuring) and grabbed the foam core board and came up with this.
Dremelled out a nice square opening in the back.


From the front.

Right side view.

Left side with the little wash powder holder.

I'll shorten up the notched out piece to just fit the back of the wash powder bin and give more room inside.
Back view.

Top view. This shot shows where I can get more interior space better.

Sliding it into the case.

Fully installed. Does that fit nice or what?

Doesn't seem like a lot for one evening but the measuring took up a lot of time.
Oh and before I forget. A shot of the mesh installed behind the door opening.


More later today with the pics of the hardware installed.
John

 

Keep up the good (and suprisingly quick) work

 

Total surprise to me! I didn't think many people were watching my first log. Thanks to everyone on bit-tech. I learn a lot here.
John

 

Separate CPU and NB heatsinks... I thought you got one of those boogers with the one piece sinks. Totally do-able! Drop in a powersupply with a top-mounted 120mm fan, (in your case, side.) and have lots of airflow. The 80mm fan would be pointless.

 

Some more foam mock ups tonight and I start cutting the plexi - clear for the first mock up. Keep an eye on the front fan hole and the space behind the wash powder bin. Surprises may come.
John

 

Verbal update for now. The foam core mock up for the interior acrylic takes up/wastes too much space. The components hang out the back. I am eying the original layout with just the factory case. The main problem is that the new motherboard has re-located the main PSU connection and the IDE connectors to the front. By using just the original case, I save enough room to fit the new motherboard. Some trimming on the internal front piece(the grey piece that the DVD is sticking out of in the first pictures) I can get the clearance I need for the IDE and power. I'm trying to save some extra space for a surprise. The new HDD being thinner will require a new mount since the DVD won't sit level without the old fat IDE drive. The HDD and the DVD will get a custom mount to hold them in place and level. I'm not a packaging engineer, just putting a bunch into a half bunch space.
John

 

Oh, man. Well...that's what modding's all about! I'm guessing the surprise, if it's not a reservoir, is a built-in USB-powered TOASTER!

 

You've been taking to Cheapskate. Come on - fess up.

 

For Cheapskate

You said I didn't need the 80mm fan in the front. A couple pictures here:
Old skanky 80mm drive mocked up from the front without the front fascia.:

put the pretty back.

Fascia installed and fan visible. Yes, a 120mm will fit here but it won't fit inside. An 80mm and still doesn't take up any of the interior space. What are we going to do with the inside space? HUMMM.
John

 

BACK ON TRACK!!!

I've been shopping today and got a sheet of 0.080 Optix clear plastic 32" x 44". It's my wife's birthday so I haven't gotten to sit much. I'm marking out a piece 6 3/4 " by the 44 inch length of the sheet. I will be bending it tonight to make a U shaped piece that will be for the bottom and the vertical sides. Time to get the heat gun and the camera ready!
John

 

Quick update.
I have made a proof of design test piece. I setup the workmate with an aluminum(aluminium) angle piece.

Took my long strip and inserted from the bottom, got out the heat gun and oven mitt and bent a structure for the inside.

No pictures of bending this one as hands were full with gun and glove.
All bent out of shape! Oh, Noes it's crooked. I use that word a lot in this log.

Slap that rascal in the case for a trial fit.


Humankind cannot long exist with clamps!
One last shot and then I need to explain some.


The trick part is I have to stay below this top of the internal ribs. The dark grey piece uses these ribs for support. Why they had to go all the way is probably just structural stiffening since the case is only a little thicker than a car model kit.
What I will do is glue several acrylic spacers the thickness of the ribs to the original inner cabinet and screw a better made example of this liner to these acrylic bits. Now I have a removable inner liner to attach my PC parts to. Oh, before anyone asks, the right side in the pictures is shorter than left on purpose. It may nee to be shorter - we'll see.
John

 

While the camera is charging I'll post a quick update. I made a clear acrylic motherboard mount. I'm using clear for all the temporary "Proof of Concept" pieces until I decide what color plexi to use. Made a support for the HDD and have been cutting 2 1/2 inch wide strips the height of the inner ribs to glue to the case for the inner liner to screw to. I'm trying to decide on actually cutting the front for the slimline DVD or use the original drive and let it come out the back. I'll be making a complete new back anyway. I finished removing all the parts from the Everex case - I/O shield, the front usb and audio that was in a 3.5 slot. I removed the original DVD/CD-rw optical and the power button and LED panel from the case. Pictures soon.
John

 

It APPEARS - learned that word from Bell Labs, DOD, IBM, etc. Never say doesn't work or you could lose the patent rights LMAO - that the Kodak battery pack in my camera has gone to the Happy Hunting Ground - won't charge anymore. If you look at the picture counts from Photo Bucket it had a long and well spent life doing pictures for my wife's eBay store. Pictures tomorrow, promise. In the mean time I would like to document how I spent the evening. There are some people both on this forum as well as home that seem to think that an actual reservoir with water behind the opening door would be the way to go. A couple thoughts would be just a sealed res with some water and washing powder maybe air from an aquarium pump to provide some bubble effect. The second thought would be a res with water to watercool the CPU. But remember it's a VIA C7-D 1.5 Ghz (I'm a little better than a fanless) CPU. No waterblocks available and a custom would cost more than the whole computer, limited space so probably 1/4 tubing, the pump would draw more power than the motherboard, where to put the radiator and still keep it inside.
Where's the challenge in this??????????????? Please let me know your thoughts before I go to far. There's an oxymoron for modding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
John

 

Great tight bends on the acrylic. I hate doing that. You always feel like it's going to just start bouncing around or something!

LOL @ the fish oven mit!