2006-08-31, 11:57 AM
A few people have expressed interest in my latest project, and I told them I would post my results and pics here in the forums for them to see. Well... here they are.
![[Image: 003.jpg]](http://rowleys.us/003.jpg)
This is the entire inside of the case. Machine is not quite done here, wiring is still messy and not complete. It is a micro ATX board, that will give you an idea of how big the case is. I really like the layout, and the compartmentalization of the case. I went with rounded IDE cables (to aid with cooling) that and I had them laying around as leftovers from other peoples builds. The single expansion card is my PVR150MCE and just to the right of that is the output header for the GeForce 6150 on board video.
![[Image: 004.jpg]](http://rowleys.us/004.jpg)
Here is more of the motherboard compartment, along the right you see both of the 120mm fans that do 90% of the cooling for the case. They are both 3 speed fans, and right now they are both set to "low"... which is you guessed it, SILENT! A little more motherboard detail and the Zalman cooler. When I was readying the machine it was sitting in my spare bedroom/computer room (which is where it is in this picture). With AMD's "Cool 'n' Quiet" enabled, it was idling about 27*C with the Zalman spinning at ~1800RPM's, which was silent. The case is so quiet, that 6 feet away, I can't ever hear a defrag running!!! Again wiring is not complete, but you get the idea. The other 10% of the case is cooled by a single 80mm fan in the power supply. Certainly does an adequate job, as the optical drive doesn't make much heat (idle 99.9999%) of the time and there is very little load on the psu to heat it up much.
![[Image: 007.jpg]](http://rowleys.us/007.jpg)
Back of the case, on the right is my PVR150MCE and on the left is the output header for the GeForce 6150. The board as has 4 USB 2.0 ports on the back as well as firewire. There is 3 USB headers on the board as well as another firewire header. Plus there is a bracket in the motherboard box that would let you add 2 more USB ports, I didn't really need them, or want the extra wiring in the case. Its not too often that you see DVI on a motherboard either! The output header has S-Video (which I am currently using) as well as Component Video out. The wires you see running out between the header and the capture card go to the Zalman fan mate, lets me change the speed of the CPU externally.
![[Image: 019.jpg]](http://rowleys.us/019.jpg)
Of the 4 DVD-RW drives that I have, every single one is BEIGE! Most of my cases have doors to hide the optical drive. I didn't want something that ugly fouling up the good looks of my new case. Not to mention all the logos on the door of them anymore. I pulled the faceplate and door plate off of one of them, went out side and put 5 or 6 light coats of silver spray paint on them. I should also add that I didn't want the logo's showing through the paint, so my first two coats were white. I didn't sand it, or use an adhesion promoter. I was worried that the silver might chip or flake but it hasn't so far. The drive blends well with the case, the spray job is not perfect, but unless your within 12" of it, you can't really tell. Plus, having the drive match helped the Wife-Acceptance-Factor.
To be continued...
This is the entire inside of the case. Machine is not quite done here, wiring is still messy and not complete. It is a micro ATX board, that will give you an idea of how big the case is. I really like the layout, and the compartmentalization of the case. I went with rounded IDE cables (to aid with cooling) that and I had them laying around as leftovers from other peoples builds. The single expansion card is my PVR150MCE and just to the right of that is the output header for the GeForce 6150 on board video.
Here is more of the motherboard compartment, along the right you see both of the 120mm fans that do 90% of the cooling for the case. They are both 3 speed fans, and right now they are both set to "low"... which is you guessed it, SILENT! A little more motherboard detail and the Zalman cooler. When I was readying the machine it was sitting in my spare bedroom/computer room (which is where it is in this picture). With AMD's "Cool 'n' Quiet" enabled, it was idling about 27*C with the Zalman spinning at ~1800RPM's, which was silent. The case is so quiet, that 6 feet away, I can't ever hear a defrag running!!! Again wiring is not complete, but you get the idea. The other 10% of the case is cooled by a single 80mm fan in the power supply. Certainly does an adequate job, as the optical drive doesn't make much heat (idle 99.9999%) of the time and there is very little load on the psu to heat it up much.
Back of the case, on the right is my PVR150MCE and on the left is the output header for the GeForce 6150. The board as has 4 USB 2.0 ports on the back as well as firewire. There is 3 USB headers on the board as well as another firewire header. Plus there is a bracket in the motherboard box that would let you add 2 more USB ports, I didn't really need them, or want the extra wiring in the case. Its not too often that you see DVI on a motherboard either! The output header has S-Video (which I am currently using) as well as Component Video out. The wires you see running out between the header and the capture card go to the Zalman fan mate, lets me change the speed of the CPU externally.
Of the 4 DVD-RW drives that I have, every single one is BEIGE! Most of my cases have doors to hide the optical drive. I didn't want something that ugly fouling up the good looks of my new case. Not to mention all the logos on the door of them anymore. I pulled the faceplate and door plate off of one of them, went out side and put 5 or 6 light coats of silver spray paint on them. I should also add that I didn't want the logo's showing through the paint, so my first two coats were white. I didn't sand it, or use an adhesion promoter. I was worried that the silver might chip or flake but it hasn't so far. The drive blends well with the case, the spray job is not perfect, but unless your within 12" of it, you can't really tell. Plus, having the drive match helped the Wife-Acceptance-Factor.
To be continued...
NPVR Rig: HP Laptop, 3rd Gen i7, 8gb DDR3, 250gb SSD (OS), Records to 6tb array on my server, Silicon Dust HDHomeRun PRIME
To Purchase:
Current Projects:
![[Image: 016.jpg]](http://rowleys.us/016.jpg)
![[Image: 013.jpg]](http://rowleys.us/013.jpg)
They are of my niece and nephew, one is my sister in law. Sitting in the Entertainment Center, it does run a little warmer. CPU is about 38*C, which is fine. Under 100% load for a few minutes, it will warm to about 41*-42*C. Which I can live with, the old pvr ran 45*C all the time.
