Project│Red Nineteen :: Custom PC, Readers' Drives - 23/10/06

Blue PC Project Log 07 - 4th June 2006 (Wheels)


^ Oooh, another instruction!


^ I marked out all of the holes for the wheels, using a centre punch/hammer.


^ The first set of holes cut, marking up the second set...


^ There! Two sets of holes, for the first two wheels...


^ Here's a shot of the front two wheel holes - so many holes, it'll end up as a cheese-grater.


^ A shot showing the back of the case - note the bolts holding the wheels in place.


^ Another shot...


^ The window, with the wheels poking out from underneath.


^ Wheels! Clever instructions.


^ The front pair of wheels - stolen from my Yeong Yang.


^ I put the two wheels with locks on opposite corners. Should be the best placement?


^ Another progress shot...


^ Again, another progress shot!

I'm not 100% happy with the wheels. They make the case more imposing, which is a good thing - but they've also affected the stability of the whole thing. Hopefully when it's full of hardware and the wheels are 'locked' then it should be stable. Though it's toppled over once or twice whilst moving it around on the carpet.

 

Blue PC Project Log 08 - 4th June 2006 (Fans)

Now to test fit the fans, just to give you all an idea of how it will look.


^ The front-lower 120mm AKASA Amber series fan - rated @ 18db


^ Test fitting the two front 120mm fans, the DVD-RW, fan controller and HDD.


^ The rear figure-of-8 fan cutout, for the 80mm versions of the AKASA Ambers.


^ The front-upper 120mm fan - notice anything behind it???


^ OK, it's a dead 40gb, but I reckon the hard-drive could sit in here - perfect for keeping it cool, hidden and out of the way.


^ I've stripped down the fan controller. Notice the clear LEDs? They light up blue. I'll be replacing them with some red ones hopefully.


^ The 2 x 80mm fans mounted at the rear. They took ages to fit, as the nuts/bolts are very fiddly.


^ The fans from the rear, with fan-guards in place. I may change the colour of the guards, but I like the standard style of them.


^ The front again, with (broken) disc drive and hard drive in place.


^ One final picture for this log. Showing 3 of the fans in place.

Lots still to do! Sometime this week I hope to start (and finish) all of the soldering/wiring. I've ordered the first lot of hardware for this rig too:

* 530w Tagan 2Force EasyConnect PSU
* NEC DVD-RW (black)
* Samsung SpinPoint SATAII 250gb
* Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000

I was originally going to get another 480w Tagan, as I use in my server - but I decided on the 530w for a little more headroom on power and also opted for an easy-connect version, to aid cable-stealthing.

Stay tuned for more updates over the next week or two - and feel free to post any feedback too!

 

Forgot to mention, my TFT has arrived - an Acer F-19 19" Ferrari Monitor. It's currently at my parent's house, so I'll take pics of it once I pick it up in a fortnight. It has inspired me to change the colour-scheme of this project - I'm thinking black/red, with black cabling, red internal, black exterior. This kinda ruins the project title, but hey!

 

looking god...

your demel must love you....

 

just one little question on this setup???? how the hell are you gone wire the hard drive that way... I mean you could do 90 degrees s-ata conectors fine their... but the power?????... besides that i'm looking foward to see the new paint setings... nice work
it's inspired me to mod the server... just ordered a 3r 102b aluminum case to you man

 

Perhaps...call me crazy... he could cut holes in the side of the bay slot for the connections?

 

You're crazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzy!

Yes, yes I am going to cut holes in the side of the drive bay - the opposite side to the window, making the cables easy to stealth.

 

Hey, I like what you're doing here!! Love those fans they look sweet. I wonder if they have them in red? Keep up the good work!!

 

Thanks! AFAIK they only come in amber/clear colouring - though akasa stock many different styles, check their site here.

 

Blue PC Project Log 09 - 6th June 2006 aka. 06/06/06, or 666...

Just a short update, to show you what arrived this morning:


^ I didn't order any D-Link networking equipment, but just as I was leaving the house for work, a CityLink driver handed me this...


^ I opened it up to find a nice shiney new Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000. Thanks to bit-tech for reviewing it (here) - I'm left handed, so needed a left handed gaming mouse for this new rig.


^ Another shiney product, this time a Samsung SpinPoint 250gb SATAII hard drive.


^ Finally the PSU, a Tagan 530w 2Force EasyConnect job. I'm a bit disappointed as the manufacturer's website stated that it was between 21-24db rating, but the packaging shows 26db+. I'm just hoping it is still as silent as my other Tagan, this PC NEEDS to be quiet. And it will be!

I'm currently waiting for another order to arrive from Kustom PCs. It's the final lot of modification stuff, so I'll post some pics of what I ordered. Should be exciting!

 

How does your fiance like you stealing the drive out of her PinkPC?

Clever positioning of the HDD. I may have to use that in my new mod (credit where due of course).

 

What type of LED's (size, voltage, etc.) are you using to replace those in that fan controller?

 

3mm 3v Red LEDs, available from Kustom PCs - here.

I'm hoping they should work for a straight swap - they look identical and are the same proportions.

My friends asked me the exact same question... I showed them the finished Pink PC, as it now has a Sony DVD/CD-RW in black. I think I mentioned somewhere in the log that after I had finished making it pink, the mechanism for opening it had broken. It's annoying, as I spent the most amount of time modifying it...

I stumbled across it by accident. I originally planned to put it on the case floor, on some risers - but when I was messing around with fitting the fans, I slotted the hard-drive into that position and it fitted.

It will either go as shown (left to right) or length ways. Either way - it will be mounted on an acrylic shelf, to secure it and keep it in place. Would also allow for some extra lighting opportunities...

 

Blue PC Project Log 10 - 7th June 2006

Another quick update, to show you the rest of the orders that arrived yesterday...


^ From Kustom PCs I ordered a set of 2 ACRyan red cathodes; 5 x 3mm/3v Red LEDs (for the fan controller); a case mod sleeving kit (carbon) for sleeving the usb, switch cables etc. and I also got 2 Vandal Proof switches, in red. One for the power switch (with power LED) and one for the reset switch (with HDD activity).


^ 2 sheets of acrylic also arrived, one 3mm thick and one 8mm thick. I'm not 100% sure which will be used where, but I reckon the 3mm will be better for the front panel, as the switches are quite small - leaving the 8mm for the window and other bits.


^ They're bright, the edges light up nicely in natural daylight... case feet, HDD shelf?


^ I didn't have time to unpack the PSU in the morning, so spent a good 15 minutes going through the box. It's quite a large box and they fit a lot into it.


^ 530w, modular PSU.


^ They give you a lot of modular cables with it! I'm afraid I'll only be using one or two of them though, seems a waste.

Now for the reason this mod has a delay:


^ I've spent the past two evenings 'stealthing' all of the cabling. The most annoying thing about having a PC on a surface, is all of the cabling, power adapters and so on, that goes with it all.


^ I could write a whole project log on it, but I wont. The cable modem and router are hidden below the desktop now - along with various power adapters and many cables. My sub is in the cupboard alongside with the speaker cables being hidden too. Nothing really interesting, but once the 2 PCs are back in place (along with 2 x LCDs etc.) the cabling wont spoil it.

Tonight I've got to put everything back in the bedroom, as I removed it all to 'stealth' the cabling. Once that's done I should at least get the side-window cut out of the acrylic if I get the time. Otherwise it might be left until the weekend. I've got a lot of mess to clear up before my fiancee returns at the weekend!

 

Awesome, thank you very much. I'm looking forward to seeing if these work ok for you (I will be doing something very similar).

 

Can't wait to see whats next...........

 

I have a question. That moulding on the outsides of stuff, is that the blowhole moulding from xoxide.com? I bought about 10 feet of similiar or the same stuff, and I was worried it may not hold on to the window edge as well has I had planned. I haven't tested it out yet, but I was wondering if you have any trouble with it popping off fairly easily. I may glue it down if I have problems with mine.

 

I got mine from Kustom PCs, but the stuff doesn't pop-off easily. I was expecting it to, but it holds its shape well. I've had the stuff on there for about 2 weeks now and it hasn't moved, though I may glue the corners in tight.

 

Cool, it looks like the same stuff pretty much.

 

The wheels are a great add on, and the rubber tubing around the dual fans at the rear of the case is also a cool idea and borders the fans nicely, it was quick and easy, just thought up in a second and sometimes they are the best addons and mods, spur of the moment stuff.

And that wiring, wow, and I thought i had wiring troubles...