PC Modding

slyheron13 said:Look, I’m in the exact same boat. I’ve been running a non-modular power supply myself, and honestly? I just made it work. Could it have been a cleaner build? Sure. Could it be better? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, it does the job, and that's what matters. It is what it is.

I’ll probably spend all day tomorrow trying to get my cable management sorted out. Yours is looking almost invisible—honestly, I'm a little jealous. 👍

slyheron13 said:PS: redmason, why on earth are you still rocking a CRT instead of just picking up an LCD? If my eyes aren't deceiving me, it looks like you're still running a CRT setup!

I’m not exactly swimming in cash for an LCD right now, but I’ll try to scrape some money together. Once I have enough, I'm going to grab a 20-inch model... honestly, that would be the most useful setup for me in any case. ☕

By the way, that Blue Orb FX looks absolutely killer. 👍I honestly can't tell if that's just some clever marketing fluff from the cooler manufacturer or if the thing actually delivers on its cooling promises.

redmason said:btw Blue Orb FX looks awesome 👍, I just can't tell if it's all visual flair from the cooler or if it actually performs well

Well, its primary purpose should be cooling 😍,
let the owner explain why they even bought it...
☕

redmason said:btw Blue Orb FX looks awesome 👍, I just can't tell if it's just for show or if it actually cools well

The Blue Orb FX definitely outperforms the stock cooler!👍👍
My CPU idles at about 35°C and hits maybe 47°C under load, but that rarely happens since my processor almost never pulls more than 60% usage!😁☕

redmason, what kind of case are you running there?
Did you actually customize that Razer setup yourself, or...?
http://img127.imageshack.us/my.php?i...2008142qr5.jpg

The case I'm running is an AeroCool AeroEngine 2 👍... and as for this sticker, I actually snagged it along with my Razer mouse 😍

Alright

Well folks, summer has finally arrived and the temperatures are starting to climb... seriously...
Once school wraps up soon, I’m diving into another PC Modding project—I’m planning to pick up a new case (though that might include some fresh components if I can scrape enough cash together)
The game plan is to install a transparent side panel, swap out the CPU cooler, grab a few extra fans, and maybe snag some decals from Best Buy. I’ll be sure to post photos once everything is finished!
And who knows, maybe I'll even get an AC unit installed so I can actually cool myself down—right now, I'm just trying to survive the heat with a massive 250mm fan pointed directly at me, haha
LET'S GO PEOPLE! WAKE UP! It's been almost a month since the last post!!!

Terry Wilson3 said:... a new cooler for the CPU....

😂

Terry Wilson3 said:WAKE UP PEOPLE! WHAT ARE YOU ALL SLEEPING THROUGH? THIS THREAD HAS BEEN DEAD FOR ALMOST A MONTH!!!

Testing...🙄

Terry Wilson3 said:...maybe I'll pick up some stickers from that link and send over some photos ...

I wouldn't recommend doing that; just grab some adhesive vinyl sheets, print whatever you want on them, and make your own custom decals.
____________________
*make sure they aren't glossy, otherwise the ink won't dry properly

I'm not sure if this is the right thread for this—don't want to start a whole new one if I don't have to...
I need a recommendation for a quiet fan—it's going on the front panel of my case—either 80mm or 120mm. My budget is pretty firm at under $70--$27. If there's anything decent in that price range, let me know.

If you're looking at 80mm fans, I’d definitely go with the Cooler Master Airflow. For 120mm, maybe check out Corsair? You could always grab a Nexus or Scythe fan if you wanted, but man, those things are pretty pricey...

Anyone else have thoughts? The Scythe Slip Stream is sitting at about $23, which isn't exactly a steal. My main concern is the noise levels—I see the 1600 RPM model is rated at 33dB, which feels pretty loud to me. I know those specs aren't always reliable, but still...
Oh, and one more thing—I forgot to mention—I’d ideally prefer to grab a fan from ADM, Discounter, or Protis, though I'm open to suggestions from other retailers too.

Don't let those decibel ratings trip you up (especially since they're just numbers on a page anyway). You can always just dial it back using a potentiometer or tweak the wiring to slow those fans down...

Btw, those 120mm LED fans from Cooler Master are actually killer. Honestly, better than most standard 120mm fans out there.

So, this two-headed beast of mine (affectionately known as my Tiger) runs pretty hot during the summer—honestly, all year round—and the fan noise is getting ridiculous. As a total noise freak, it’s driving me nuts... I need way better cooling. Way better. I thought about picking up a Sharkoon Rebel9, but those are pricey, and trying to fit it would be a total nightmare since I barely managed to squeeze my current 18.5cm wide case into my setup.

So, I decided to just build my own wooden PC case. My plan is to integrate it right into my desk. Basically, I have these two cabinets under my desk with doors. I’m going to seal off the back, and instead of just having a shelf, the case will sit there, making it somewhat mobile and easy to clean. I really want to keep the original cabinet doors on the front, which means air has to flow in and out through the back side.

I’ve attached the floor plan here, but let me walk you through it. The dark hatched areas are the supports, and the drives are suspended on rubber mounts. That 120mm fan is sitting outside the PSU because I'm modding an old power supply and it just won't fit inside—tried it, didn't work. There’s a divider (in gray) separating the drive/PSU area from the section where the DVD-RW and other stuff go. The arrows show the general airflow. All dimensions are exact; the cutout in my desk is 36x50cm (yeah, I left a little breathing room).



The aesthetics shouldn't matter too much once everything is tucked behind the desk doors, and the whole project should be pretty cheap and easy to pull off. I've got ten solid wood supports and some plywood/particle board pieces about 4-5mm and 10mm thick. The cuts are simple, too—mostly just rectangles, except for one circular hole.

Now, I'm throwing this out to the community to see if this actually makes sense or if there's anything I should tweak. I had this idea to mount the PSU on the side ("above the drives") to avoid the headache of a short ATX cable, but IMHO that would mess up the cooling since the PSU would be sucking in all that hot air from the drives, which is exactly what I'm trying to avoid.

Suggestions, praise, insults, or constructive criticism—bring it on.

placidcanyon2 said:Don't let the rated noise levels fool you—those are just measurements, after all. You can always dial back the fan speed using a potentiometer or some other wiring trick...

By the way, those 120mm LED fans from Cooler Master are actually great. Honestly, they outperform a lot of standard 120mm fans out there.

Yeah, I checked those out too—they don't look bad. I'll keep looking, though. A bit more Googling and then I'll decide. Thanks for the help, anyway.

@placidcanyon2/">@@placidcanyon2
I’m a little concerned about this airflow setup, honestly. You might want to try cutting some intake vents right underneath the PSU and the hard drives, just so you can pull air across the motherboard toward the back of the case.
Maybe just rotate the fans 90° to the left and cut some slots on the bottom side so they stay hidden from view.

You think the PSU is gonna struggle to pull enough juice? I didn't quite catch your drift, so maybe walk me through my design a bit more...

The thing is, I can't really put any holes anywhere except for the back. :/ Everything else has to stay sealed up tight.

EDIT: steelsailor3, how's that wooden case coming along?

placidcanyon2 said:The issue is that I can't drill any holes anywhere except in the back. :/ Everything else is completely sealed up.

You might be able to cobble something together based on that idea—try creating some kind of >air tunnel<. Basically, use a flexible ducting tube, connect it directly to the exhaust, and then rig it so that the tube has two or three side vents. At the very end of the tube (wherever that hole in the back of your desk or whatever is located), you just attach a high-quality fan. (Something like this) would act as an adapter for the tubing)
Now, the obvious question follows: what kind of flexible material should you even use, or does it even need to be flexible? You’d probably have to ask a plumber or someone in a similar trade to get the right specs.

I’m not entirely sure, but I have a feeling we might end up creating some kind of unwanted air vortex here
basically looking like this:


The simplest way to fix that would probably be something like this:


As for my own build, it's currently sitting in limbo because I have zero interest in just scavenging a motherboard tray from some random old PC case
I really want to go with a full-wood aesthetic instead, which—let's be honest—is turning out to be a much bigger headache than I anticipated.

Hmm... I’d definitely go with a partition if I were building strictly according to this sketch.

I've also been kicking around some new ideas: maybe mount the PSU right above the CPUs and over a 120mm exhaust fan, then cool the drives using two 120mm fans together. Or, what if I put the PSU above the cards so it pulls air in and pushes it right over the cards toward the drives?