PROJECT LOG Project Freezer Burn - LN2/Dice Benching Platform

This project will be an open case design dedicated for LN2 and Dice benchmarking. The challenge this build will present will be scheduling and budget. I have a benching meeting scheduled in mid May and I want this project completed well before then for trial runs. Also I'm in the process of updating my benching rig to the Z97 Platform so most of my disposable income will be tied up in that. Because of the set budget roughly 0$ (lol) I've decided to utilize scrap and re-purposed items. What's nice about this concept is it will prove that you don't need to throw money at a project to make it worth-while. With that said this build will be a function over form build, however, I think I'll be able to make it look very presentable even on this very tight budget.

The goods.

Old donated Dell(?) Case (was garbage bound)
Scrap 3/4" MDF Particle Board
Old Busted Dresser (again garbage bound)
1/2" or 3/4" Closed cell foam (price TBD)
Misc hardware

The Work.

So to start I took the old discarded case and chopped out the portions that I wanted for this build. I used a Reciprocating saw to make the work faster and easier. I'll go back with the Dremel at a later date and clean up some of these cuts. But for now here's the 3x5.25" and 1x 3.5" bay, the PSU mount, the PCI support brace, and the plactic feet.

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Drive bay. I wanted a minimum of 2x5.25" and 1x3.5" so this will work just fine. Besides I still like having a Optical drive available even though they're a little dated now.

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PCI Support brace. Benching on air there's little need for bracing the GPU, but if you plan on mounting a pot you'll definitely need one. This was originally an eight slot but I lost one in the cut.

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PSU mount. I find it much easier to mount the PSU to a steel frame than a wooden box so this was a nice addition. The PSU I plan on mounting in here will be MUCH larger than the 200W unit that it used to house. Opening up the exhaust hole was a must.

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Case Feet. Because nobody like their case to slide around.

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That's all I have for now so stay tuned for the next update which should be soon as I want to get this done promptly.

Nice, I'm always to lazy to go that far, I either use a motherboard box or my old stacker mobo tray and scatter everything else lol. I did buy an external cd/DVD drive for benching purposes and actually it my only optical I have now

Hard core man

typically just use a piece of plywood

Hmmmmm..... I have an old Dell Inspiron system just sitting here taking up space....

I'm with mandrake, popcorn time.

Update!

Today I managed to sketch the layout and cut the Front, Back, Top and sides out. I've had it in my head for a while but I feel it's always best to draw it up full scale so you can see how much room you'll have for wiring and other necessities.

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I was also able to make the cut-out for the drive bays and do the initial fit test. I'll need to do some "adjusting" on the top of the opening. My jigsaw got a little squirrely at the end there. No problem, it just needs some smoothing out.

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I'm not a fan of the look of MDF so I have a plan that will make this baby look SWEET when she's all said and done, time permitting of course.

For today's update I managed to cut out the back panel for the PSU mounting plate, drilled holes for mounting the plate to the back panel and attached the 4 sides together. It's fairly strong right now but I think I'm going to add some corner gussets for added stability. I just don't trust the strength of MDF.

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This is what the final layout will be when all's said and done. This benching table will support ATX(shown), mATX, ITX and mITX. I just didn't see the need for EATX at this point.

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Thanks for looking,

Blaylock

Wow, that looks cool bro, how heavy did it turn out using MDF ?

What color are you painting it ?

It's a 14"x14"x9" and will weight about 5lbs without any hardware on it. No doubt heavier that a std case, but I love the portability and compact size that it's going to have.

The "planned" finish will be a stained veneer with black accents. This is still subject to change though.

Bringing it with you in May ?

Purple FTW

Yes it is and I can promise you it will not be purple. LMAO

Nice Blaylock.....since you're against Purple how about Pink

Purple gets a bad wrap

Mandrake4565 said:

Nice Blaylock.....since you're against Purple how about Pink

Click to expand...

LMAO no not pink either. I can also promise there will be no cartoon unicorns running on a friggin' rainbow either.

I have sub'd to this!

Just a quick update tonight. I used the router table to take off 3/16" where the hinges mount. Mounted the Mobo tray and the support arm. Tomorrow I should have a bigger update.

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Can't wait to see a pic of that with the pot on top Painted in rainbow colors of course.

Looking awesome , dig the hinges, are you going to have a receiver that locks in place or simply gravity ?

May even consider magnetic ?

Just gravity for the time being. The support arm is fairly stiff and will hold the tray closed even when upside down.