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Non-case solutions!

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QuietIce

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Joined
May 7, 2006
Location
Anywhere but there
Cases are a waste of money! :D

I've been keeping track of the "Caseless" thread and found many others like me - not exactly running caseless but certainly not running inside a full case either. I've now "assembled" my third "non-case" rig and was curious what other solutions are out there. Always looking for new ways to save money on the DC farm, yet have a running 365/24/7 rig. The main idea here is that the machine be not only 100% usable & running but also be secure in some way. Components scattered over a desk or thrown into a big box don't count - that would be truly caseless. This is for "non-case" solutions that will remain in this configuration for several months or even years. But that still leaves a lot of open ground and unique computing solutions. :) So here are a few simple rules for "non-case" rigs:

1. The motherboard needs to be secured somehow. It must either be attached to something using some form of fastener (screws, nails, rope, wire, etc.) OR be confined by walls made of any (semi-) solid material allowing only small amounts of lateral (side-to-side) movement OR non-skid "feet" on a non-skid surface. Again, this is "non-case", not caseless.

2. All other components (PSU, HDD, Etc.) must be mounted/confined in a similar manner to the motherboard. This usually means the PSU has to be mounted to something since the fans/cooling would be limited by walls - but if it works (see #4) it's good! Minimal components would be motherboard, video (if not on-board), and PSU. HDD is optional as long as you have another booting solution like USB/thumb-drive or network boot. "External" HDDs required to run the system must be mounted.

3. You have to have some easy way to turn on the motherboard using either a switch of some type (crossing wires is OK) or direct access to the motherboard header power switch connector (manual on/off is OK as long as you can get to the connector! ;)).

4. The rig in the above configuration must be able to start and run 365/24/7 stable. All components enclosed in a box or shelf must have enough circulation to avoid over-heating.

5. Lastly, a picture is worth 1000 words! Relevant comments and stories are welcome but a rig doesn't count as non-case if we can't see it.



That's it! Any solution that provides a stable running computer and physical stability (non-case) is what this thread's about ...
 
I'll start off the posts with a few non-case rigs I've got around the house.

NC-1: Picasso
My first shot at a non-case rig. 1/2" plywood main with the side of an old AT case as a motherboard mount. The PSU is mounted to an aluminum L-channel screwed to the plywood. CD-ROM is mounted directly to the plywood using 1" screws through the board. The HDD was originally mounted this way but continued to over-heat - the plywood was acting as an insulator. I bought a couple of 1/4" aluminum spacers and remounted. Problem solved! On/off is provided by a remote on/off/reset switch mounted to the right edge of the plywood. The on/off is used for this rig, the reset is used as the on/off for NC-2. ;) The water supply is shared with my main rig - a case sitting on a desk to the left. The rad is to the right.
PicassoH2O.jpg


NC-2: Hesse
I needed a simple and cheap solution for Hesse and decided to hang it! The yellow is 20AWG stranded wire. After the HDD over-heat problem I had with Picasso I felt the need to keep this HDD away from the wall. So I attached the wire to the "upper" screws of the PSU and attached the HDD to the same wires, keeping it suspended ~1". The PSU exhaust is barely warm so I have it blowing across the HDD as well.
Hesse.jpg


NC-3: Quadary
The latest and probably most elaborate solution so far. The other rigs are AMD 939 machines and don't need a lot of chipset cooling. Since this is an Intel Q6600 I decided on a little more active cooling. The motherboard is mounted to 2 sides of an old AT case (left-overs from Picasso ;)) and the L shape allowed vertical positioning, which reduced the footprint. On the left is a sheet of 1/4" foam-board added to keep all the air flowing across the motherboard. The WC unit (rad/shroud/fans) at the bottom cools the CPU with water and the boards with air, which is barely above ambient. The only curve I needed in the water tubing is doing double-duty as a "mount" for the MCP-355 pump. :) The WC unit is loosely attached to the metal and foam-board with 3M packing tape for a little stability so I can scoot this around on the workbench. On/off is manual for now.

I must admit, though, this rig is not 100% non-case as yet. Originally I attached the PSU and HDD to the metal above the motherboard but the PSU made the whole thing top-heavy so I removed it. I could mount it there again if I find a way to really mount the WC unit to the metal OR I can attached the PSU to the top of the WC unit. Decisions, decisions ...!
Q6600_NonCase.jpg


That's all the things I've tried so far to save money on "cases". I also saved desk/floor/shelf space in the process, since two of these are hanging on the wall! Most of the materials were already on-hand so very little was spent on mounting these three rigs.


I'm looking forward to some of the unique solutions the rest of you have come up with ...! :)
 
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Farm017.jpg

Folding 24/7 (down right now though) That is screwed to the wall if you can't tell. It is the one connected to the display in the following pic.

Farm007.jpg
 
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A perfect example, Godfather! :):thup:

Solid mountings, good air flow, and clean-looking, too! I admit I'm a little abashed since I wasn't the first to come up with wall mounting but I guess great minds really do think alike! :p


Keep 'em coming ...! :)
 
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I did my first.. erm, "caseless" mod in 2004.

Instead of a wall I attached everything to a 1/2" thick piece of plywood and then mounted the plywood to the back of a desk (desk had wheels on it, so I could take it out on the deck when I djed) lol

Really not safe.

Now that I always have expansion cards I always use some type of mounting mechanism when running caseless, be it a motherboard tray or a homebrewed support system (I love pipestrap :) )





 
I don't do this because of the amount of construction related dust in my area, but if I did...

I'd get a large HDPE cutting board from Target, Costco, etc. Then put your parts on them in the best way that they can fit. Mark down the mounting holes, etc. Then drill 3/16" holes through the plastic and use 6-32 bolts to hold the botherboard and other parts down. You can even mount the HDs this way by screwing into the bottom threads. Use three 6-32 nuts between the cutting board and whatever part your mounting in place of stand offs. Luckily enough, three 6-32 nuts happen to be just as tall as a brass mounting stand offs.

This is how I mount all my motherboards, case or no case ;).

For cable management, if space allowed, I'd those square cable tunneling you can buy at office supply stores thats intended for mounting to walls.

The nice thing about cutting boards is that a lot of them have handles on one side so it makes the PC easy to carry. If you ever feel like putting a top on it, you can make a top out of some L channel and acrylic.
 
I'd get a large HDPE cutting board from Target, Costco, etc. Then put your parts on them in the best way that they can fit. Mark down the mounting holes, etc. Then drill 3/16" holes through the plastic and use 6-32 bolts to hold the botherboard and other parts down. You can even mount the HDs this way by screwing into the bottom threads. Use three 6-32 nuts between the cutting board and whatever part your mounting in place of stand offs. Luckily enough, three 6-32 nuts happen to be just as tall as a brass mounting stand offs.
I think if I were going that route a LOT (and didn't have stand-offs) I'd get some cheap 3/8" vinyl tubing and cut it to fit. Really cheap solution since one foot would go a long way and the vinyl would give slightly so a perfect length match wouldn't be required ...
 
When I first started my mini folding farm, I wanted to keep them hidden from the folks, since they don't really understand the need to have more than 1 computer. Heh.

I had found out the the underside of my desk could hold 6 MATX boards, 7 if I sqeezed it in, and Shuttle XPC PSUs. A handfull of self-tapping screws and some zipties later, I had a fully functional, very hidden, folding farm.

I also had a low profile no-name networking switch down there, so the cabling was kept to a minimum.

The only part that was odd, was trying to explain what the little black RadioCrap project box with 6 switches on it was for.
 
How could I not post on this thread?


It's a full case, no wait it's a benching station!


I specifically designed this mod to have a benching station, but also have the option of quickly converting it into a full enclosed case.


Looks like a cube case:


Fullonnice.jpg




Pull 3 quick pins, and the lid comes off:


Lidoff.jpg






And now its a benching station:



Nakedupfront.jpg






Pull 2 more pins, and the whole thing comes apart:



Triumvirate.jpg
 
My next visit to benching stations was a project to build a Low cost DIY Benching Station with parts primarily from Home Depot.


Station5complete2.jpg


This is my latest version.


The thread is pretty informative, because I include my methods (down to part numbers) for everything from mounting the motherboard, all the bracketry, and my nice little switching panels.
 
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