Scratch Build – In Progress Project: OSIDIAS - Carbon fiber and 3D printed SFF (Jan. 2, 2020)

Hey, you said it yourself!

 

B U M P!

 

Good luck with that

 

Oh hey guys… So yeah, it has been a while. It’s funny how time gets away from you. As a few of my past posts have alluded to, I have been busy with other projects (not all modding related). I’m happy to say that the finished MPD-01 scratch build, was the Intel Lanfest 2013 overall mod winner for the year. Also, Jeep-Core.com has been keeping me very busy as well. I also managed to finish another Android tablet install in my Grand Cherokee.



That’s all well and good you say, but what about OSIDIAS? Well, it’s a bit of a bad news/good news scenario. When I first started planning the original concept, everything I wanted made sense at the time. It was very ambitious, and some of the concepts I had in mind were pretty original or rare. As time went on, there are certain aspects of the original vision that could be achieved more easily via other methods. An Android tablet (as on the finished MPD-01) made more sense than the Viliv on Osidias. I’m now running a dedicated home server instead of needing the file server in the case itself. With the advent of some killer GPU’s, SLI wasn’t a huge priority any longer. So, a lot of the original aspects of OSIDIAS seemed a little excessive. Now, anyone that has followed my previous mods knows that I don’t shy away from complication, but it has to serve a practical purpose in my mind. Complication for complications sake just isn’t a road I want to head down. I’ll over-engineer anything if it suits my end goal. That said, I came to the realization that OSIDIAS as originally designed didn’t align with my new priorities. I thought long and hard about what to do, and ultimately decided not to continue the project in its current state. Bummer, right? Well…

There were a lot of things I learned during the MPD-01 project that really helped me understand what I could live with, and what I could live without. As of now, even mATX is too big for me. It’s all about ITX. It’s all about portability and durability. Although the original design was very compact for the amount of hardware it contained, it needed to be smaller yet. A lot of the design styling I was still very fond of, so I decided to forge ahead with a 2.0 design that better fit my needs. It will retain the OSIDIAS name, and yes, it will still be all carbon fiber. It will also use the removable core design of the original project, as well as MPD.

Below is an unfinished pic of the direction I’m headed. It’s evolved a little since this, but it’s still pretty close. Please note, that I haven’t even started on the design for the front panel of the case, as I’m unsure of what to do yet.



So, there you go. I know it’s been a while, but I will be back. Modding is still in my blood, although I’ve not been around much. I would say that I’ve been lurking in the shadows, but even that’s not accurate. I’ve been doing my own thing, away from the influence of others. It’s been refreshing to get design perspective from other places, as I think I got mod overloaded for a while. I’ll be better about checking in now…

 

Holy crap, he lives!

Looking forward to the mITX redux mate, mod on!

 

Yes, he is alive, but he moved out and took all his stuff.

 

Haha, thanks man. I've still got some designing to do, but it's getting close. Close enough that I'm trying to narrow down potential hardware choices.

That's an interesting way of putting it. I don't know if I moved out, so much as covered everything in drop cloths and mothballs, and then took an extended vacation. I did move in real life this past year, and started a new job too, so I've been settling into a new routine. I'm working on getting some normalcy back, and modding is part of that.

 

oh hell..he has come forth! Great to hear from you man. I kept this thread sub'd in hopes the SFF modding bug would bite you again, was just a matter of time.

 

Haha, I just realized one of the tags on this thread is rick-roll... Considering it's been almost 2 years since I posted here I suppose it's appropriate. The fact is, I've never been so happy with a mod as MPD. It's been my faithful daily rig for almost 2 years now. I've never used one of my projects so long, so I obviously have been satisfied. It's only now that I'm thinking about hardware upgrades, that a shiny new project is in order.

 

I assume you're going for one of the 170mm (Mini-ITX) long GTX970s?

 

Wait, what?! Bump?! What bump?!

...
Craig? You're alive!!!

Good to see you back with this project. I'm sure all changes will be for good for your Osidias.
ITX all the way!

 

Not at this time. It will fit a full size GPU, as well as a full size PSU. I bounced around the idea of using smaller components, but thought it would limit upgrade potential compared to the amount is space saved. I'm not aiming for the smallest ITX rig around. I just want the smallest rig that fits my needs. I'll post a pic of the interior layout later.

 

Hey Mike! It has been a while, but I'm most definitely alive.

 

Well guys, as I said a few posts ago, this project is headed in a slightly different direction. I'm choosing to build on this thread, as opposed to starting a new one. A lot of the original ideas are still relevant to the revisions I'm making, and I'd like to comment on what/why I'm changing as work progresses. As a testament to that, I've been constantly revising even since I posted the last teaser.

I've been really trying to find a way to justify a lot of the shiny Aqua Computer gear I bought for the first revision. The Aquaero was one of the components I was hoping on keeping. However, it seems that due to the new simplicity of the internals, it's likely complete overkill. A grand total of 2 fans hardly seems Aquaero-worthy. Sure, I could still use the flowmeter and pump controller, but I'm not sure it's worth it. What I do know, is it seems I can't build a mod without a LCD screen in the front. The new revision is no different. I'm aiming for a 7" screen, and while the Viliv I bought years ago was cool for it's time, now it's all about the Raspberry Pi. As such, I'll be implementing the Pi for system monitoring. I'll add more details as I get them worked out. For now, how about a new teaser pic of the changes in progress?

 

m-ATX is huge anyway.
Welcome back - not sure I fully understand the need of ditching the Aquaero for a Raspberry. Seems like much more work to get the Raspberry configured for monitoring purposes, whereas the Aquaero is already fully configured for that?

 

Great to see this is still moving !!!

 

Thanks man. In v.1 I had 7 fans plus the watercooling components. There were also technically three separate systems in play. One was the Viliv out front, but the second was pico-itx that acted as an always on file server. The Aquaero was also responsible for some level of control there. With v.2, we're down to 2 fans and a pump. It just seemed a bit overkill to keep it. That said, the Pi seemed like a good alternative. Even that might change. I might bring back the pico, or I might consider an Android alternative. There is an Android OS in development for the Pi, but it seems progress is slow.

Thanks Nate! In just trying to get things finalized so I can break out the fiber in a couple of months. I'm ready to get back at it.

 

And... just like that a decision has been made. I was contemplating the Raspberry Pi and a few other options as mentioned just one post back, and I ended up going with none of them. I actually just purchased an ODROID-C1. It should fit my needs perfectly, and still be very discreet once placed in the case. It's dimensions are virtually the same as the Pi. So close in fact, that I'll be using a Pi model in the CAD design. I don't know how long it will take to get here, but I'll post about it once it does. I'm going to use the Android OS. This allows some pretty cool options when it comes to monitoring apps.

 

Very good work with carbone. I also used carbon for my mod

 

D'Oh!