Modding Xaser III

[mtb856]

Here's a pic that I found

Not much air moving through that.

 

[archilochus]

Cut out the section below the door and use the weiner grill material and filter media like I did..I'm refering to the center bottom section in the pic thats infront of the intake fans...The case material needs to be trimmed back to allow better flow too.
Drill a hole large enough for the hacksaw blade..Drill it towards the center and cut towards the edge of the part to be removed..Don't get to close to the edge, so you have materail to file smooth..Is your AIM broken?

 

[mtb856]

Well, I'm at work now... which doesn't have AIM. I'll make sure to sign on this afternoon and see if you're there. I'm lifeguarding at night from 4:30-8:30 now, so I'm not home in the evenings. Zach and I are kind of workaholics during the summer.

I'll have to try the grill mod... I would like some better airflow and it's easier to totally get rid of the grill that slowly mod it. BTW, where did you buy it? I did a search online and got nothing except a lot of joke websites :\

 

[archilochus]

Wal-Mart the modders store..The grill material is in the Garden/BBQ Dept. and the filter media in the hardware dept.
GRILL TOPPER by: OSCARWARE comes round or rectangular shaped $0.94 ea.
Natural Air : FOAM, Kwik cut window or wall room air cond. filter...15 X 24 , 2 per pack..less than $2.00

 

[mtb856]

Huh, couldnt find at their website so I'll drop by the one near us after work and see if they have it. Thanks, arch

 

[mtb856]

WOOT!!! FIVE STARS !!!!

 

[archilochus]

CONGRATS..MTB856...

 

[archilochus]

The filter media is held in place with a piece of coat hanger wire cut a little longer, as to wedge it in place against the filter media..This way I can wash the media and reinstall easy.. Might have to make an extra foam piece, so the other can dry after washing.. A spare.

 

[psikoticsilver]

The filter media is held in place with a piece of coat hanger wire cut a little longer, as to wedge it in place against the filter media..This way I can wash the media and reinstall easy.. Might have to make an extra foam piece, so the other can dry after washing.. A spare.

VERY intuative arch!

I like that idea!

 

[clocker2]

As promised....
The new Sprocket.

Here she is in all her fully dressed splendor.
I really tried to avoid making the case look like it had been modded, but some additions were unavoidable.
The hole in the sidepanel is for a 120mm fan (visible later).
The upper bays house two optical drives with black alloy CoolerMaster faceplates and a fanbus ( soon to be replaced with a custom panel).
In the floppy bay opening is a LED temp readout (cobbled from a HDD cooler, it cycles between two sensors- currently reading case ambient and radiator exhaust) and right next to it is my "Clear CMOS" button.
Centered below is the volt guage from a Volkswagon GT-I, it reads from the +12v line on the PSU.
At the bottom ( below the Gateway logo), are the USB ports that I added and in the base is the floppy drive (which I was forced to install so I could load SATA drivers and now think is pretty cool down there).
I'm trying to work out a door to cover the USB ports but haven't come up with anything I like yet.
Movin on ( or in, actually...)

The full side view.
This shot gives a good impression of how tall this case is (23").
Above the motherboard, where the radiator now sits, is the original location of the PSU.
In it's stock form this case had a caddy above the PSU which would house three more HDDs.
I removed this bay ( it was screwed in, very nice) and relocated the PSU to the top of the case.
Trimming out the now vacant PSU opening allowed me to mount two 92mm exhaust fans on the back wall which pull air through the radiator ( and from the case in general).
The crossbrace which holds the side 120mm fan ( intake) used to be higher up, I drilled out the rivets and drilled/tapped it for 6-32 screws and moved it down the case.
Originally this was to accomodate the SilentTower HS I was trying, now it positions the fan to blow over the passively cooled video card and provide outside air for the fans on the north/southbridge.
The grey plastic box in the lower right corner holds the modified water pump and serves to muffle the pump noise ( it works!) and also to contain any possible pump leaks. This box is an electrical junction box from Home Depot.
Two semi-closeups...

Again, I must apologise for my lack of photography skills, hopefully you can glean any detail info you like from these shots.

I love this case.
The steel is probably 25% thicker than more modern cases and the ABS front bezel is correspondingly sturdy.
Fit and finish is superb and the design is growing on me daily.
Airflow is very good, the design of the front bezel is far more condusive to air intake than most modern "performance" cases. The center section that the volt guage is mounted on stands proud of the rest of the bezel by about 1/2", kind of like that weird obelisk on the front of the WaveMaster case, ( not easily visible in my bad photos) and is completely unobstructed behind, so intake is excellent.

Admittedly, these are idle temps, but they do show that this case and configuration works pretty damn well.
The absence of exterior holes makes Sprocket very quiet ( no, NOT silent, but very tolerable).

Attention-***** that she is, Sprocket craves all comments/criticisms, so have at her.

 

[archilochus]

Impressive Clocker.. Can you give some detail on the hdd cooling setup..I can't make it out clearly..Excellent attention to detail as usual.. The pump enclosure a is spiffy idea. Damn, Sprockets looking sharp..Is she ready to start courting again..
Floppy in the base, is that the stock location? It looks custom to me.

 

[clocker2]

TY, Arch.

The floppy location was my idea.
When I discovered that I needed to use a floppy to install drivers I just opened her up and ran the cables externally. After I was done I thought I'd try to see if I couldn't make it a permanent install.
The HDD was already mounted in the standard floppy location and I didn't want to move it again, so I scouted around for a suitable spot and the base turned out to be it.
I needed to cut a hole in the casefloor to run the ribbon cable through (it, like the custom power cable, runs behind the motherboard) and trim an opening in the plastic base.
The floppy drive itself is held to the metal casefloor with Goop ( my new, favorite modding tool!) and seems quite secure.

The HDD is mounted in the stock floppy tray and has a fan with a spacer mounted on the bottom. The fan blows up onto the bottom of the drive.
I'm working on a cardboard template of a new mount...I'd like to use the rubber isolator feet on the HDD to decouple it from the main case structure.
(WD drives whine alot and that is probably the loudest noise escaping the case), but it hasn't been a high priority project yet.

My current main project has been a panel to fit the upper two drive bays.
This will house the fan controls and also the voltage controls for the PSU ( as detailed in ComputerPro's excellent guide), plus any exta switches/ gizmos that I can think of.

I am also thinking about adding some sort of device to visually confirm waterflow through the system, as the pump is now inaudible, but that will require some research.

Yes, Sprocket's forced celibacy of the last few weeks has left her randy and ready for some hawt action.
She is on the prowl...

 

[arabarabian]

This is the biggest thread I have seen to date. Very good job on the mod by the way.

 

[mtb856]

I am also thinking about adding some sort of device to visually confirm waterflow through the system, as the pump is now inaudible, but that will require some research.

Something like an electronic flowmeter perhaps? My pool uses one to control how much water is going up to the water slides, so maybe there are smaller versions out there. Perhaps something like this LINK ... and just extend the wiring on the lcd so you can install it in the front of your case?

Excellent job on the case, by the way, You did a hell of a job on it.

Do you have any UV ccfl's to make all that UV reactive stuff glow... although without a window, I guess there's not much point... just adds heat. Answered my own question I guess

 

[clocker2]

Yup, MTB something like your flowmeter would be ideal.
Even better if it weren't $400, of course.

 

[SewerBeing]

I think she needs a nice paint job, black would fit. Then hmm yeah def needs lighting. But I love what you've done to her, great job, very good attention to detail, very nice ideas. But yeah, she deserves to look better, the outside counts, not as much as the inside but still.

 

[mtb856]

Yup, MTB something like your flowmeter would be ideal.
Even better if it weren't $400, of course

Oops, I didn't check the price .


But 400 bucks is nothing, right?

 

[clocker2]

Oops, I didn't check the price .


But 400 bucks is nothing, right?

Right.
I don't have $40, so $400, $4,000, $4,000,000, no difference at all.

 

[archilochus]

At least when the pump rattled you knew it was running, Clocker. See what silence can cost you.. Nice looking SLEPPER! Go into "run" and type ipconfig and turn off your connection every night..Other wise Sprocket will be on the prawl. I'll unplug my phone line tonight...

 

[archilochus]

Awesome service...I received my new Delta 92mm HHE in the mail today...Ordered it Thurs....Sidewindercomputer gets my vote...I might test the fan out tomarrow if I have time..