Worklog: TBD's Computer Brain Transplant Thread :)

[The Boston Dangler]

Nice, I see that mobo fits the fan.

i was wondering which one would spin

nice project!

if u need posts removed which dont relate to your worklog, let me know.

i'm a bit surprised more people haven't offered comments or questions. i must be doing a hell of a job

Love the 2nd one. Love your attention to detail. MANY people lack that ability. Now if only if can find a good way to figure that out during an interview...

the 2nd what?

 

[The Boston Dangler]

i had slightly more luck removing pins than this guy, but only slightly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fxTnrxxcus

i suggest trying paper clips, metal tabs, or whatever before spending money on the pin removal tool. if the power supply had normal connectors, i wouldn't remove any damn pins and just get new plugs.

if your success rate is anything like this, you can kiss my ass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdim0FE7Jd0&feature=player_embedded

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

post a pic, plz. i want to see all those hd's jammed into that box

I'll post pics later tonight. Unfortunately I switched out the mobo and stuff from AMD x2 black edition with 4 gb ram to a Core i7 920 with 6 gb ram, and the mobo isn't as friendly with this case. The edge connectors made me make this a gross build internally, and I'm not happy with it. But for now it's going to stay that way (until I upgrade it to SB most likely).

I can still post pics though, but it looked better before ... I will post some pics of some of the stuff I did tough (like custom 7 connection SATA ribbon)

photos of the next stage will be up soon when i get a photobucket account. by the way, should i reduce the size of my mega-pictures? any questions or comments? somebody's reading this...

edit:
photos are resized and re-hosted

edit:
some photos are being linked rotated

I like em big

 

[The Boston Dangler]

i think i've found a much better method of twisting these wires, short of a $10000 machine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRNPCr5_qsk

i think i can scale this up to a drill and 18 awg by making some kind of T to stick in the drill. originally i wanted to use a hole saw and tie the wires to the symmetrical holes in the sides, but scrounging 1 up with holes has proven difficult and i don't want to buy 1.

edit:

i thought the spacing on the rotating end would provide consistent results. wrong. wrong. wrong.

the best method for twisting 2 wires (for a home project or 2) is:
securing 1 end - i used a clamp for speed and minimal waste, but you could just tie them off

stretch them out about 15 feet - any more and the wires start to flail

cut the wires evenly and stick them in the chuck of a cordless drill - keep tension on the wires, and you can go to max speed on the drill for most of the twist

once again, the simplest solution is the best solution.

*not responsible for bodily harm caused by following my advice

 

[The Boston Dangler]

the case is now $79 on newegg.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

the case is now $79 on newegg.

Whoa. That's well worth it. I am really happy with the case at $110.

PS, sorry I haven't gotten to pics of my system in that case yet. I got my new case (FT02 WRI) for my main system and have been messing with stuff on that since I got it. I am going to do a lot of work on this case as well to make everything look really clean and stuff, but I need a new mobo for that. The edge mounted ones won't work in this case if you want to use both HD cages. So I had to switch them around and it's pretty ugly in there. If I get a new system for Christmas (I did ask for one) then I can start fixing this case to look better. The system used to look a lot better when I just had an AMD x2 Phenom 2 based one in there, but then I got my Core i7 920 system back from the gf and threw that in it . In the mean time though, here they are:

 

[The Boston Dangler]

nice, max that thing out! i see what you mean about the plugs. well done squeezing them all in though

 

[The Boston Dangler]

update:

due to some good deals on newegg, the project has some fundamental changes coming. i'm rebuiding my silverstone gd-02 with the existing drives, ceton and power supply, and leaving the pc-a04 as a stripped-out game machine. this will let me crank maximum fps out of the system while isolating all other pc stuff in case of conflict or damage. so, volume 2 of this thread will be the htpc build and volume 3 will be a short one, with most bases already being covered.

at $79, i can't not recommend this box.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

it's alive!!!

or maybe this

htpc build and worklog in progress

 

[The Boston Dangler]

gimme some video games!

 

[The Boston Dangler]

htpc as-built parts and software:

case - silverstone gd-02s
cpu - intel i3-2100
mobo - gigabyte z68mx-ud2h-b3
ram - 2x 2 gb pareema
psu - seasonic x650
heatsink - scythe big shuriken
fans - 2x nexus 80 mm, nexus soft mounts, 3-pin splitter
ssd - intel x-25m 80 gb
hdd - 2x wd 2 tb ears
odd - samsung dvd burner
other - ceton infinitv 4 pci-e
other - antec veris ez
peripherals - logitech dinovo edge, performance mx, harmony one

win 7 home premium x64
wmc for tv, netflix, hulu
foobar for music playback
mpc-hc for video playback
vlc (as a backup)
shark007's codec packs for x86 and x64 (just for thumbnails)
opera, firefox
itunes (just to load my car's ipod)
dbpoweramp
mediainfo
imgburn
bit che
µtorrent

 

[T_Yamamoto]

htpc as-built parts and software:

case - silverstone gd-02s
cpu - intel i3-2100
mobo - gigabyte z68mx-ud2h-b3
ram - 2x 2 gb pareema
psu - seasonic x650
heatsink - scythe big shuriken
fans - 2x nexus 80 mm, nexus soft mounts, 3-pin splitter
ssd - intel x-25m 80 gb
hdd - 2x wd 2 tb ears
odd - samsung dvd burner
other - ceton infinitv 4 pci-e
other - antec veris ez
peripherals - logitech dinovo edge, performance mx, harmony one

win 7 home premium x64
wmc for tv, netflix, hulu
foobar for music playback
mpc-hc for video playback
vlc (as a backup)
shark007's codec packs for x86 and x64 (just for thumbnails)
opera, firefox
itunes (just to load my car's ipod)
dbpoweramp
mediainfo
imgburn
bit che
µtorrent

such a bad person, torrenting them games and music!

 

[The Boston Dangler]

silverstone gd02s:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=175&area=en

overall, a pretty nice box. the center mounted dvd is aesthetically pleasing, but you pay the price in an engineering sense. silverstone lists 70 mm as the max height for the cpu cooler, 120 mm without a dvd. the scythe big shuriken heat sink was recommended on the spcr forums, and i'm not disappointed. the power button is a bit unsubstantial, the reset button is nice, and the front panel connectors are clean and easy to wire (i have removed the firewire cable). the dvd button cannot be pressed while the drive is open, but the drive door action is pretty smooth.

on my example, the case is not square and there's a little warping to the lid, but neither were noticeable once fully assembled. the lid can resonate like a soundboard, so i usually had a book placed on it to dampen that. another option would be rubber or felt between the dvd bracket and the lid.

clockwise from the top:
the dvd bracket sits above the cpu. the slots for mounting the dvd are notched, making it a pain to get the depth just right. i might file them down to slide the drive into position and tighten in place.

the 3.5 bay is most useful as a place to tuck extra wires. that area is so tight i didn't want to mod a mount for the ssd there. since the bay is normally covered, it's a poor choice to locate an ir receiver too.

the hard drive bracket holds 2 drives on side mounted grommets. the bracket clips into 2 slots towards the side and gets 1 screw towards the center. there is a little play left in the slots i'll try to take out with a shim. the drive data and power cables will be right on top of the power supply cables, so i find its best to flip the drives over and route cables out of that mess.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

here's the z68mx-ud2h-be, and with a name like that how can you not love it? i underestimated the differences between this and my other board. firstly, this board is not a suitable choice for matx sli/crossfire, since pci-e slots 1 and 4 are wired for 16x / 8x-8x. this means a 5th slot is required by the case and the entire right edge would be covered by the second video card (making those connections a hassle if not impossible). there is only 1 additional 4-pin pwm/dc fan header (in the center of the board???), with no speed control whatsoever. the on-board video is working flawlessly, giving excellent seek performance in videos where there was always a lag using a discrete card. the on-board audio is a bit confusing to me - hdmi output seems to require both the realtek and intel audio devices, with intel being default. there is an intermittent, loud ringing coming from the motherboard. without further troubleshooting, it could be the ram, the board, or 1 of the additional devices built into the board. i'm not sure if it's worth returning just to get another that rings as well.

the ram is 2x 2 gb pareema ddr3-1333 9-9-9 1.5v. i've never heard of pareema, but newegg displays several identical sticks under different brands and colors, all with decent ratings. for $20 i said "hello mr. pareema".

warning: this could be you!

i choose to mount the ssd in an unused space rather than jam it in with the hard drives. the ssd is friction-fit above the dvd, shimmed with a couple post-it note pads.

functionally assembled, for now. the hard drives fit best upside down, and my custom sata power cable makes things much easier - again. overall, it's a pretty tight squeeze but when it's done, it's nice. when i had a full-size video card in there that was really 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag.