Modding Xaser III

nice job bchur.

Nice hole cutting, bc.
They look nice and round with no ragged edges.
Have you noticed a drop in temp/noise level?

@DOH...
Still waiting for pics of this fabled H2O rig- DO NOT make me stop this car, young man.

Bchur83,my favorite color BLUE,Very nice, Bro .Ok since Clocker has a extra window bring on the hole saw.Water cooled of course.Good idea on the blow hole finger guard.What did you use to cut the plastic cover with? Clocker when is that window going to be available? Nice work,everybody! THE FANMAN

I need some plexi/lexan for my other cooling project too, so I was going to try and source some tomorrow.
Depending on cost I may do the window mod right away, but it is definately a second priority to my central cooling mod so we shall see.
There is a big plastics supplier near me and I usually just buy scraps from their cutoff bin ( CHEAP!), so it is a matter of what I can find there.
Are you interested in the window?

Not really .Not yet! I was just pulling your leg. If I cut the hole and the window cracks,I'll get another piece of material to replace it.Thanks, for the offer!What are you upto today,on your rig? THE FANMAN

Just trying out a new semi-different set up in preparation of my next big change. So far things look very promising. After 5 hours of folding I'm holding steady at 36C...

I have a new cooling scheme as well.You made me think when you spoke of not having the fans on the side of the case.(smell the smell of wires burning).I'm thinking!! I took the fan holder on the side off.With the fans still attached as is,and gently manuvered it it the case in front of the HDD cages.The flow is to the rear.Its about halfway inbetween the HDD cages and the starting edge of the mobo.For test puposses I took a piece of corrugated cardboard and cut a door to simulate a door.Taped it up and began testing.Folding and Prime 95 toture test,cruising the forums and AIM.Max Load Temp was 36° C. Ambient was 23° C.The front door was open in the test.This is 1° C cooler than with the fans in the side door position.Now I'm running where I was with the side door off,or cooler.In theory this is like a compartment or mid-case fan setup. THE FANMAN

PS: Now I need new pics!!!!!
CLOCKER, you know anybody good at etching plexi-glass?
A scene of MOBYDICK and captain ahab would look trick<^>

I have done a fair amount of glass etching ( sandblasting, basically), but plastics are much more difficult because they are more resilient. Rather than cut in or frost the surface, the media tends to just bounce off.
Maybe acid etch?

Archilochus,

Great minds DO think alike apparently.
Your latest cooling mod is eerily similar to mine with one major difference.
Your mid-case fans must be drawing air from the front quadrant of the case, fed through the two stock front fans ( which are fed through the HDD bays still, right?).
My plan is to draw air from the center of the case floor.
This naturally meant yet another hole in my case. It is beginning to resemble a piece of Emmenthaler cheese at this point.
Poor baby.
So, for the upteenth time she was stripped naked and my nibbler went to work.
While I was at it I decided to enlarge the roof vents. Partially this was done to help the natural convection flow, partially to accomodate the upcoming radiator mount for water cooling and partially to standardize the look of all the vents. The outside now looks like this...

No comments about Bunn coffeemakers please.
The opening for the floor fan was also cut and temporarily a grill was mounted while I work on the new fantower.
The plan is to have a 120mm fan laying on the floor with a plexi ( hopefully) tower rising up and terminating with two 80mm fans pointing directly at the HSF unit. This ( anticipated) blast of air is then expelled out the stock rear fan openings. I shall try it first sans fans on the back wall...they can be added if necessary.
Here is a bad shot of the floor vent. I was too lazy to remove the sidepanel and set up a good picture as I am running a stress regime to see how she's running with this setup (Folding and 2hrs of Burnin test) before I continue work tomorrow.


Told you it was bad.
Sprocket's saga shall continue...

DOHCrazy said:

nice job bchur.

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Thanks DOHCrazy

clocker2 said:

Have you noticed a drop in temp/noise level?

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Definately a drop in noise levels from the top fan and way better air flow. I'm not sure about the temps though, but if its blowing hot air out, it must be doing some good.

archilochus said:

What did you use to cut the plastic cover with?

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I just used a hole saw on a drill press. I'm not sure what size it was, but it was a little smaller than the fan.

All this modding makes me want to get a bigger case again. Then thinks back to when I had to drag around that 40lb mammoth of a case every weekend. Dang wish I could to more with my case without spending loads. Got one of those CompUSA 3 window cases (179.99 if not mistaken thats what it is now).

Well guys no more HDD cages.Took them both out,leaving the platform in place.I put a 92mm Enermax in the front bottom fan
hole.The stock fan is still in the upper hole.Clocker my backs sore.
Been working on this beast all day.I put the majority of the wiring
behind the mobo.The HDD is standing with the wiring up,in front of the 92mm fan,sideways to allow for air flow.Its stuck to the platform with double sided sticky tape.I put my spare Hardcano 9
temp. monitor in to read ambient temps and what ever temps I decide.Now I need new pics.Looking good guys,keep the flow up!
THE FANMAN

PS: I still have the temperary cardboard side door on.
NO window!

EDIT:I now have a window!! I took the glass out of a picture frame.Cut a hole in the cardboard and put that glass on there to
eye my work,for improvements.

come on more pics, you don't have to leave the thread THAT uncluttered

nice job fanman. its coming along quite nicely. and congrats on this thread, its huge, very popular, 8 whopping pages! WOW!

I just used a dremal at it highest speed and very slowly pushed a drill bit throught the side window so that the plastic melted and then worked my way around the inside of my outline for the hole, then filed the edge back too the line has gone. Never had a problem with the plastic cracking. Just have too take your time with it and keep pulling the plastic off that builds up on the bit. I just let it harden(a few seconds) and then crack it with a pair of pliers.

Well Archi, the joys of geezerhood are many and manifest are they not?
My right hand has two nice big blisters from that nibbler work yesterday. Whoever designed that SOB obviously never actually used it...
So the HDD bays bit the bullet today, eh? After all that work modding 'em just last week too. Not to mention the pro pics.
C'est la vie.

We had a bit of a storm this morning here in God's country. No real big deal, but it did slow me down for several hours, so I was unable to get as much done as I'd hoped.

Phase two of version 6, revision 10, level 4 of my case interior did happen tonight however. I really have to semi-finalize the layout of the HDD and it's fan(s) in order to continue with the prototype of my ultimate cooling tower.
*SIGH*
Newly in place is the 120mm floor fan, the angled HDD front fan and another revision of the HDD mount...

Here is (my pathetic attempt at) a close up of the HDD mounting.
What we have is a 60 to 80mm fan adaptor mounted in the stock front lower fan hole. Then a 60mm fan ( stock AMD HSF ) sandwiched between the adaptor and a modified HDD belly cooler. Although I admire the simple elegance of your double sided tape solution Fanman, I personally enjoy making my life as difficult and complicated as possible...

I stumbled upon some interesting material today...going to play with it tomorrow and if it proves as cool as I think, I'll post some more pics...

Congratulations rafjr00 on the first reported successful cut in the side panel window. You are a braver man than I.

Clocker ,I was tired,my back was sore, I saw the tape. One advantage with this tape is its thickness.It works as a damper on the HDD vibes.Stealth. lol Now it is starting to look like a industrial coffee maker! My HDD setup is temporarly permanent.
Just kidding Clocker,its looking good.When are the donuts served?
THE FANMAN

When are the donuts served?
THE FANMAN

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Were I to ratchet the FSB multiplier up another couple of notches, with this junk HSF I have I probably could deep fry some doughnuts.
Not as good a Krispy Kreme though...

Edit: I warned you guys about coffee maker jokes...

Nice setup there clocker. Man you guys really make me want to experiment more on my setup.

Moving to Montana soon,gonna grow some dental floss....Oh,Next phase,getting 1/4" thick plexiglass to make mid-case fan/ partion panel..I was looking at the hole I cut in my doors lower fan position,and saw a light.A blue one that say,s Thermaltake. I took the front door,blue plate with light and mounted it over the fan hole in the side door.It took a little additional cutting and drilling,but it sure is pretty.After I get my mid-case panel in I can put the side door back on. Now I need to cover the holes in the window. Just a little up date..Yea DM20 Break out the aviation tin snips and sutch.You'll have more time later. It keeps the cabin fever at bay! THE FANMAN

Clocker,,We are always looking to the front and rear panels of the case for intake air.You have brought a new concept to intake.There is usualy room on the floor for such needs.