PROJECT LOG Katana

[kwong]

(sorry for the chain of posts).
I just read the 20 page post I linked in the last reply - and it is a long wild goose chase with no clear verdict. Some bad combination of features combined with an imperfect SATA spec.

Sadly, ADATA offers no firmware updates, even if that was enough.

 

[Coreyoliseffect]

So something interesting just happened. I have completely disconnected my SSD and running off of my HDD. Seems that my HDD is now showing the same symptoms as my SSD was. Any thoughts?

 

[kwong]

Is this still the original BSOD where you no longer see a SATA drive in your BIOS/won't boot until you reset/power?

My crashes are pretty infrequent after my original driver update. I did delete the program Intel Management Engine yesterday and no ill effects so far (was mentioned in the OCZ thread). The 20 page thread was kinda leaning towards a general SATA bug, perhaps related to some power down or sleep mode? So maybe it can happen with HDDs too.

Sorry no real help

 

[Coreyoliseffect]

Limited Success

I have been reluctant to report that I have had limited success with my most recent wipe and reload. I just loaded the drivers that I needed and nothing more. None of the utilities were installed. I did not install any of the storage drivers or such. it seem to be working thus far. I have only had one hiccup and everything was fine after that. I have not flashed the SSd to 2.11 FW yet as things have been doing alright.

 

[Coreyoliseffect]

A New Begining

Long time no update, sorry about that. It is nearing that time of year where I get older again and it makes me wish for greener pastures. I have always been a fan of change so I figure why not roll with it. I have officially begun the journey to out my 360 rad into the top of my NZXT Phantom. I originally got the idea from Dooms101; who recently purchased some HDDs from me. Thanks! I picked up the NZXT looking for a white computer case. As most of you know there are plenty of black ones out there and since I am not the best with spray paint nor do I have a means to have a case painted by someone else I have to go with what is available on hte market. The Phantom was especially luring because of the intergrated fan contraller. Who doesn't like things that come re-installed? Don't answer that, you get the idea
As you can see from the first set of pics, drunk as I may have seemed, they are from when I first got the case and all of the hardware. I have had some trials and tribulations since then if through the thread. A few days ago I finally got around to upgrading the firmware on my OCZ Vertex 3 to 2.13. With any luck I will not have BSODs in the future as I have been running steady for about a week now. Fingers crossed. /headdesk
Anyway now to the point that you may have been waiting for. The pictures of the tear down from the original setup. If you stick around I promise that it is worth your time.
Oh and if you haven't already go out and buy yourself a 6 pack of Red Hook Late Harvest. I promise it will be worth your effort.
Someone stole Katana!
The case as it was.
Back side. AKA Rats nest.
Stripped and naked. Stop looking you perv!
Turned to show you the other side.
The power and rest button assembly.
LEDs for the power and HDD activity. Im the coming mod I want to replace those LEDs with purple ones.
Covered with some tape just for good measure.
Switch to turn off the LEDs on the fans. There is only currently one fan that has LEDs on it. I am thinking of getting rid of all LED fans and going with LED case lighting that I can turn on and off using that switch. It rests nicely on the back side of the case.
Removed the top filter/cover. Turns out this is held in with little plastic push buttons. I despise anything that is plastic because it turns to dust in my hands. Every time I mess with a vehicle, usually while installing a system, I will break the one clip that holds the entire piece of molding on... figures.
I am not sure why this is constructed this way either. You can remove the entire top piece as it is just screwed in rather than riveted. There isn't anything else on the case that you can just unscrew and remove. It is almost like NZXT wants you to add a 360 rad to the top of their case.
On to the interesting part. I am really quite proud of myself for this. Not sure why really as it has been done may time before. I guess it is because this is the first time that I have done it and I love the way that it turned out. Well, on with the show!
What's this? A mobo box laying around. Could I use it for something?
Yes! I figured that I would install the I/O plate just to keep it classy.
Now I didn't take any pictures of the "build". I can't be giving away all of my secrets after all. I can assure though that it was all planned out and I knew exactly what I was doing. Anyway here is the portion that you have been waiting for.

Spoiler

Yea I did it. That's right.

Right
Left
One for Mr. DeMille.
Ok I know what you are thinking. "WOW!!!! That is totally awesome!" So you might not actually be thinking that. lol I can assure you however I was once I got the fan attached. I actually loled... Everything works just like it would have in the case. It just isn't in the case. I can't come to grips with it for some reason. Anyway I think that it is pretty cool. Thanks for looking!

I will be updating the original post with some details if you care to look.

 

[Coreyoliseffect]

Fans - At the Mercy of the Wind

I have reached a little conundrum right off the bat. My intention is to use the rad and the fans that I had previously. I have three Panaflo U1 Ultra Performance 120 x 38mm. Since they are 38mm tall/wide I am pretty sure they won't fit in between the top plastic bezel and the metal case.
Correction, I have been measuring and there is ~25mm of clearance between the top of the case and the metal inner case. I think that I can make it happen. That usually means that something bad is going to happen.
What is the best 25mm tall/wide fan for the money? I would describe best as:
Highest CFM
Lowest Noise (Not really a big deal)
Moderately priced i.e. not above $15
I am figuring after getting three of them go ahead and get everything setup and installed. If the Panaflos don't work, due to tall/width, then purchase three more of the suggested.

 

[Coreyoliseffect]

Mounted

I got the rad mounted a little while back. I just haven't had the motivation to share it with all of you. I took plenty of pictures and have been looking a the task of actually getting it posted. Anyway, I have a little free time and I think I will go ahead and dive in. As I said I am working on getting the 360 put into the top of the Phantom. I got the idea from Dooms101 and used his thread as a springboard. I have to say that Dooms was right about the fan, well sorta. You can get three fans on the top of the rad but you end up losing on on the botom near the mobo connections; go figure. I could try to fin a 17mm thick fan that would fit there but I am not sure that the advantages of having one there would justify it. Well here are the pics.




I was just getting everything mocked up here sot hat I could see if it would actually work for me. As you can see I had the rad slid all the way to the back here. Later you will see that I moved it forward some because I was trying to line up the holes for the mount.



So the template turned out pretty well. There are pics later of where I had to drill out the holes a littler better to make some wiggle room. You can't see the holes on the finished mount so no harm no foul I'd say.





This is where Dooms said that there was an issue. Now i had mounted my rad further back than he did. As you can see it is still going to hit the I/O ports on the front. I was a bit worried at first.



As you can see the top cover was not snapping on just right. I found out that on the screws that holds the top screen on was in the way. I removed it and checked what it actually effected. Good news! The screen is being held in place with more screws that you could imagine.


Removed like a friend on Facebook that spams you with game invites!

I also went ahead and removed the area of metal that was keeping the fans from mounting flush. i was hoping this would save me some room.


Much better fit now.




As you can tell there is no visible difference in the I/O ports. I had to modify the plastic underneath but there wasn't anything else that was in the way. I little further forward however and there would have been trouble.


Panaflos mounted. I tried them on the top and it was a no go. There is only 25mm of clearance between the top of the plastic bezel and the rad. i will have to buy new fans and say bye bye to my Panas.


From this you can see what I was saying about the mobo connections. There is about 20mm of space between the bottom of the rad and the first mobo connection. I have been debating a fan there but I am just not sure if it is worth it.

Overall I call it a success. I will lose a fan on the bottom left but there is already a back exhaust fan. I might turn it into an inlet fan because the rad is there. I am also debating on how many fans I actually need. If the three on top would be enough for the entire case that would be awesome. I will have to see though. I have some more research and money gathering to do before my next post and I am really just out of hardware. If anyone has any hardware that I could use laying around I am not opposed to buying used equipment from OCF folks.

 

[Coreyoliseffect]

Paint

One word: Photobucket...

Anyway, decided to update this thread. I am still plotting to get this rig the way that I want it. I just have not messed with getting it WCed as other items have been more pressing on my to do list. I have however been tossing around ideas on how the case should be painted. I am thinking air brush. The computer name is Katana. Colors will be US/purple and white. Any thoughts?

 

[benj1290]

Do you still have the images? if you do, you should upload them as a attachment on here so they are forever on ocforums

 

[Coreyoliseffect]

Do you still have the images? if you do, you should upload them as a attachment on here so they are forever on ocforums

I am pretty sure that I have them somewhere. I would have to relink all of them. It is worth it though. I just need to stop being lazy.

Found them on my DropBox. I am not sure that I can upload them all to OC If I remember correctly there is a limit. :/ I will find out!

 

[pik4chu]

I am pretty sure that I have them somewhere. I would have to relink all of them. It is worth it though. I just need to stop being lazy.

Found them on my DropBox. I am not sure that I can upload them all to OC If I remember correctly there is a limit. :/ I will find out!

I think its just 10 images per post so you may have to spread them out a little.

 

[darkpyro1]

Papa Likes! Looks great, man!

 

[Coreyoliseffect]

Papa Likes! Looks great, man!

Thanks! It has been so long since I have had time to mess with it. It is depressing that I have gotten the rad mounted and haven't gone back to mess with it. All the same thanks for taking a gander.