Hello fellow modders!

I've been building PCs for 15+ years now, but started modding recently, so let me know what you think and where it should go -- I'd appreciate constructive feedback.

This specific project:

I'm working on a PVR (personal video recorder) PC to replace my use of a TiVo. This is a budget PC that is dedicated to just video recording and playback through an app such as MythTV or GB-PVR. Since I'm building this system from scratch and have an interest in modding, I thought why not start a mod? Only now I know why I should have avoided this practice: it's addictive!

Since I've started, my little budget PVR that was only going to cost me around $400 is now approaching $850. I had plenty of spare components around to make the PVR, but now I found myself purchasing new components and mod parts to complete it. How do you guys (and gals) deal with your mod obsession? lol. I should have just pretended to be happy assembling everyday PCs.

(edit: I ditched the anti-TiVo logo theme)

I would be great to get this etched in the side window I'm installing, but I'd need some advice on where to get artistic acrylic etching done. I'm not talented enough to do this.

Budget components so far:

• Slightly older Antec steel mid-tower case w/ 350W PSU
• Gigabyte 478-socket ATX mobo with i865PE
• Celeron D Prescott 330 CPU
• 512MB OCZ DDR-400 Enhanced Latency
• Silver Stone Nitrogon CPU cooler
• Zalman ZM-MFC1 fan controller
• 3 Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm fans
• Sony 16X DVD±R DVD burner
• Scythe SQD-1000 5.25" HDD silencer
• Western Digital SE16 250GB SATA2 HDD
• Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 500 MCE (dual-TV-tuner card)

Original case...


Some budget goodies ready to install...


Mod and design goal:

A super-quiet PVR PC. This will be a PVR after all, so it will need to be powered on 24/7 to record programs on a predefined schedule.

I'll use three 120mm case fans running at 7 volts or less with a direct airflow-design to keep that hot Prescott core cool even when overclocked. I'll still have the 80mm PSU fan. However I plan on controlling its voltage manually and positioning the PSU at the bottom of the case so it doesn't assist in cooling the PC, just its own transistors.

Also, the video card I bought has a small fan, but I will most likely add a fanless Zalman cooler to it in the future.

Desired mods:

• (Complete) Flip mobo mounting from ATX to inverted ATX (pseudo-BTX) for easier cooling
• (Complete) Remove HDD and 3.5" bays for easier cooling
• (Complete) Cut hole in top of case for a 120mm exhaust fan and add trim

Painted case structure with Rust-Oleum's Royal Blue (I may paint the sides, top, and bottom panels another color or leave them black... still unsure)...

• (Complete) Remove PSU and paint
• Convert PSU to modular cabling
• Mount PSU to avoid vibration and noise
• Create custom length power cables with speaker-quality wire, then add sleeving

PSU wiring rerouted and cut in anticipation of a modular design...


I initially painted the PSU with the Royal Blue, but decided I wanted a different shade of blue for other case components. Here, the PSU case was stripped and then sanded to ensure a good grip for the pain...


I went with a Rust-Oleum metal-flake blue for the PSU...


Here's the PSU cover with its final paint (a total of 3 thin layers of metal-flake blue)...

• Install components without hosing paint job
• Design and mount a fan cover for top of case: I'm up for design suggestions

• CPU Cooling: I already purchased a hose that can act as an air duct. I'm planning on moving cool air from the front 120mm case fan directly through the air duct, over the CPU cooler, and out through the rear 120mm case fan. There will be a break in the air duct right over the CPU cooler fins to allow some fresh air onto the Northbridge and RAM. To make the hose match up with the 120mm fans, I also got a couple of plastic funnels I'll cut to size. This goal was the primary reason for removing the HDD and 3.5" bays.

• Mod case front cover to allow access to fan controller even when front cover closed
• Mod the boring front cover some more... again, suggestions welcome
• Mod the case side panel and top panel to include windows
• Etch windows with a design
• For fun, throw in any other mods along the way as they pop into my head

I have some sleeving and other goodies arriving this Thursday, so I'll post progress on this project at that time. Thanks for taking a look! I'm looking for suggestions, so please post and let me know what you think.

Specifically, I need some advice and help with the window etching: I'm almost clueless there. I know others have used a Dremel to etch, but I prefer to either get mine done professionally or buy the proper acrylic etching tools myself and learn the art-form myself.

I also need some ideas for the cut-out design (plain 'ol rectangle windows get boring sometimes). I purchased an acrylic panel and had it cut at my local hardware outlet to 11.5" high by 15.5" wide. My clearance between the side panel's tool-less locks are exactly 12", and the clearance between the front and back of the panel is exactly 16". So I probably have up to 11x15 inches of creative freedom for the cut-out design.

It's certainly fun to mod this case now that the PSU is at the bottom. This makes for a really nice top-window and fan layout, with plenty of space to direct airflow and see internal components.

whats the front of the case look like?
if you show me a picture I can work my magic and come up with some ideas

You might try etching it with a pen-knife. Believe it or not, it's not hard and the results can be decent, especially if you use something like a foil wrap to channel the light into the plexi.

This is my etch:
http://forums.gideontech.com/vps/sho...00/ppuser/4322

I did that with a pen-knife to do the fine cuts, and the areas which are "solid colour" were sanded in with a broken and folded-over emery board. It looks a little weaker in real life than the photo, because the long exposure increases the contrast of lit areas.

If you browse the gallery it's in, you'll see the shapes I've tried for windows.

There are a variety of options other than dremel for etching plexi. You can use a sandblaster and follow this handy pcApex tutorial http://guides.pcapex.com/modding/lok..._technique.php

orrr you could just tape off the area you don't want etched and very carefully use sandpaper and a sanding block to achieve a frosted/etched look.

Everyone, thanks for the etching tips!

Quote: Originally Posted by DavidVaini whats the front of the case look like? if you show me a picture I can work my magic and come up with some ideas

David, the case is an Antec Solutions Quiet series model SLK3700-BQE.

Here's a pic of the front taken from a site:



Here's a pic of the top open to show the drive bays, taken from a site:



Here's Antec's pics of the case:
antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=93703

Just make sure you take the Windows XP + Media Portal "route" or the Linux (& Myth TV) "route",
instead of Windows MCE....

TDR

ps. PM me Anytime on this matter..

Dragon, I'll go with either 1.) Windows XP and GB-PVR or 2.) MythTV and Debian Linux. If I was running this on older hardware, I'd be forced to go with Linux (the Windows kernel is a bit bloated). Thanks for the offer to PM... I might take you up on that if I run into a problem with the software.

However, I have a few server apps I'd like to run in the background when the system is idle, and unfortunately they only run on Windows. It's not crucial, but it would be nice, so I'm leaning towards WinXP kernel with stripped down services.

On another note, I'm almost done with the PSU mod, and will post pics tomor... errr... today. It's late, my fingers are sore from removing molex pins from their connectors, and it's time to get some sleep. Thanks again for the post.

I thought something over recently: this mobo supports dual channel mode for the RAM, but just has one module. My main PC's mobo doesn't support dual channel, but I have a dual channel kit in it. So I'll soon swap my 2-3-2-6 DDR-400 Kingston 1GB HyperX RAM dual channel kit into this system and take out the OCZ, order another 512MB to 1GB OCZ and add it to my main PC. Since I have dual channel support, I might as well use it where I can. Do you guys know if a Celeron D will make decent use of the performance boost of dual channel or is this more of a boost for CPUs with larger L1 and L2's?

On Thursday, I received some more goddies. Whoot! This includes some sweet Scythe 120mm fans with fluid filled 'bearing' areas, an HDD noise killer, a Zalman fan controller, some sleeving, anti-vibration mounts, and some el-cheapo Molex lights, and a super cheap OEM Sony DVD+/-RW.



I also pulled out my hose (no innuendo intended) to be used as an air duct. This type of hose insulates better than the air duct hose specifically sold for PC mods. I'll work on the air duct system next week sometime. And yes, this is a "sewage" hose typically used for RV applications...



On the mod front, I've completed most of the PSU. After painting, I removed the rpm signal wire and internal connector on the PSU fan, then attached it to a 3-pin fan connector and routed it out of the PSU. It will now connect to my fan controller instead, where I no longer care about rpm monitoring.



Soft, foam weather-stripping was installed just under the PSU fan to stop vibrations (since it almost rests on the bottom), and the metal screws were replaced with silicon case fan mounts.

... a bit tricky to install since the mounts were designed to be used in a reverse direction of the screws. With limited clearance inside the PSU, this equates to a lot of poking, proding, pulling, and forcing. Call it either perseverance or brute force as a result of frustration, but I managed to get it installed...



I went old-school on the modular setup to use a barrier strip with #6 ring and spade connectors. I was lucky enough to have a nice strip of thin acrylic around to modify and create a protective shield for the exposed terminals. I can easily push it aside a little to get to the screws without having to remove anything, so I'm very happy with the results. Also, I didn't sleeve the wires from the PSU to the barrier strip so that I can easily spot the wire voltages by color.



Here's a shot with the sleeving complete at the PSU side...



I'm still waiting for blue UV connectors (ordered them today) before I finish the sleeving on the 20-pin and 4-pin connectors. Sorry for the slightly out of focus pic, but my camera has a tough time autofocusing on the wiring sleeves...



I might work on the drive installs this weekend, so of course, more to come. I ordered some more parts, including a Zalman fanless VGA cooler, some cold-cathode UV lights, UV paint, a Zalman fanless northbridge cooler, UV molex and ATX connectors, etc. I should get them by the middle of next week.

Thanks for reading, I'm enjoying my first real mod. Without your interest, this project posting is all for naught.

Dragon, I'm switching gears in my mind and thinking more MythTV/Linux now. I'm still not certain, but it might be a waste to run GB-PVR after all this modding I've done. MythTV might be the proper send-off to this mod.

I like the direction you have gone with that PSU. It looks like this project is well thought out and you have every detail planned. Good luck

Thanks SnowMan! I hope it goes well, but when I think I have every base covered is usually right when I remember something I overlooked.

Very cool PSU mod. This is looking great...good work!

Update: Fanless AGP 6600GT

I purchased a Zalman fanless VGA cooler for this system's nVidia GeForce 6600GT card as the stock cooler is way lame and far too noisy for a PVR. It was quite a pain mounting this thing because it was never really intended to be installed on an AGP 6600 card due to the extensive distance between the GPU cooler's mounting holes.

Still, I really wanted the Zalman on there, so I went the distance like any pcApex modder would do.

Fortunately, the Zalman fanless VGA cooler kit came with scads of parts and extra pieces, so the only item I needed that wasn't included was a very thin 10mm bolt and two small nuts (or several washers) to link two heatsink blocks together.

Here's the problem if you try to mount the cooler according to the instructions... the heatsink block sits at an angle just to get the brackets to fit the mounting holes, causing the final heatsink plate to mount crooked...



To correct this, I needed either one bracket a little less than twice as long, or both a little longer. Since I wanted to use as many parts from the Zalman kit as possible (to show you can get this to fit on an AGP 6600), I decided against fabricating my own brackets out of spare steel I have laying around.

Here's my first attempt (mostly to get the positioning correct...



The problem with this is that the bracket is too low on the card-mount end, resulting in less force applied to the heatsink mount on that side. Also, the rubber washer absorbs too much of the desired tension. I needed to raise the bracket to match the height of the first bracket, and add a couple of nuts to retain the desired tension...



I remove the stock, poor-performing GPU heatsink and fan...



The thing was mounted with really low-quality heatsink compound (the semi-solid, sticky kind you find on stock CPU coolers). I removed all of that crud just for the heck of it. Notice how dried out it is and imagine what this stuff would be like after the video card has been used for a year...



After removing the stock cooling, I prepaired the surfaces for new heatsink compound (I use either Silverstone, Zalman, or Thermaltake heatsink compound, whichever is close by, as they all work equally well)...



I dremeled the top of the stock AGP to PCI-Express conversion chip's heatsink to co-exist with the Zalman, then removed all the gold paint on the bottom and polished it for better heat transfer performance. I'll keep this on the card since the Zalman supplied BGA heatsinks are too small for the task.

Here's the heatsink mount with the extended bracket on one side...



I had to increase the tension used on the longer bracket to balance the force achieved with the shorter bracket. Without this difference in tension, the heatsink mount would not sit flat upon the GPU...



The back of my 6600GT is full of resistors, making it prone to damage if I use the Zalman supplied non-conductive sticker on the rear heat sink mount...



Therefore, I added my own super-lightweight, non-conductive weather stripping that crushes almost flat with very little pressure...



After a lot of heatsink compound and confusion (not a good mix at all), I got everything mounted properly. This cooler requires so much heatsink compound for the heatpipes that it went everywhere on me. I used QTips and napkins to wipe up any excess oozing out of heatpipe channels, but I still managed to find some on my workbench hours later, lol.

I guess getting this stuff all over the place is a sign of good quality heatsink compound.

In the next post, I'm including pics of the completed video card cooler...

The result is a Zalman cooler that sits a little high on the card. This is a good thing if you have the clearance in your case for it, as it draws more heat away from the rest of the card. However, this makes mounting the card a little odd, since the weight of this massive cooler is now off center from the card. When I install this card, I will have to add a special mount for it to support some of that weight.

Here's some different views of it fully assembled. I flipped the Zalman logo tag so it's facing outside the system (my case is a flipped ATX)...






The comparison...

I installed my HDD into the Scythe silencer almost a week ago, but didn't get around to putting up pics of it until now. This was my first time using one of these, but it was intuitive and super-simple to install.

I used a WD 250GB SE-16 SATA2 drive for backing up my home and work PC, so I had it mounted in a Vantec external case. Since this PVR PC is a priority for me, that's getting yanked!



Ah, nothing like saving some money by yanking components. I'll have to buy another HDD for my backups, but may be a 500GB this time so I can also backup my MP3s and such.

I like the design of Vantec's external HDD enclosure, especially since it's an easy install/removal. However, I have no idea how reliable their components are -- I've only used it for a couple of hours so far to do backups. A nice 250GB I don't have to add to the budget of this already expensive project...



Here's what you get in the Scythe Quiet Drive HDD Noise Killer kit...



As per the instructions, I mounted the HDD in a small aluminum case that covers the top, bottom, and sides of the HDD. Then I preped the top and bottom, and applied Scythe's gel-like heat transfer pads. These things were tricky to peel apart from the protective plastic sheets, but only on one side. The other side was a breeze, go figure. BTW, these are really HUGE!...



Also, those heat transfer pads really smell -- if sniffed long enough, I'm sure I'd get an instant headache. Next, I hooked up the supplied SATA connectors since I won't be able to attach anything to the drive once it's sealed in there...



I then gently reseted the unit inside the larger case with the noise killing foam...



Sealed it all up and voila, one noise-free HDD with cooling...



The 5.25" mounts for this are positioned to mount the HDD upside down. I'm not sure why. Even though the HDD will operate just fine upside down or sideways, I always feel a little weird mounting it that way. So, I reversed it and mounted it right-side-up. Coincidently, this also helps give me some extra clearance between the motherboard and HDD enclosure at the cost of sticking out a little more in the front. Bonus.

As this project gets closer to a testing phase, I'll let you know how the enclosure performs to reduce HDD vibration and noise, as well as removing heat. For now, it looks like a big black 5.25" brick that's acting as good HDD armor.

This project is coming along nicely. Can't wait to see what you have in store next.

Some little things...

I added little molex LEDs to help with overall light inside the case since the only other light source will be two UV cold cathodes. These will add just a faint glow at the molex connections:







I also made a small rod to hold 5.25" rails apart since my fan controller is not meant to mount in a rail system. It works just fine, but can anyone guess where I got this part from? ...



The rod adds a little bit of force, pushing the rails out...



After dremeling the front a bit (completely chopping it in half while experimenting, lol), I've decided not to go down the bondo path for a custom front, but rather completely scrap the front plastic. You'll never see this again...



Instead I'm going to use expanded metal to make a 1 and 1/4 inch thick front panel, with a size change in the middle and cut-outs for the 5.25" drives. I'll finish off the 'cage' front with foam air filters that will be wrapped in a black or blue mesh. I will then lay down a couple coats of primer on the mesh front, the top, bottom, and the side panels, and finally paint it all Chrome! lol.

I was really debating on my color scheme and decided I want a neutral color outside. I am bored with the black exteriror right now; as it doesn't bring out the blue inside enough. I have most of the cage already formed, so I'll post more pics of it soon, but for now, here's an older pic right when I started a couple of days ago. I used wood boards in between the expanded metal along with a rubber mallet to get a sharp bend, and only the wood table, clamps, and hand bending to get a more rounded edge...

Looks great. I like what u did to the video card.

Thanks for the comments, guys. Now I can focus on some real Dremel action, lol. Time to get creative now that this stuff is out of the way.

Every piece of hardware is ready to install, but I'm holding off until I finish the front cage and paint the exterior. Hopefully I'll find time to work on it this weekend and post some pics on Sunday night.

Since the previous week and weekend, I've made some progress, even if things seemed to move slower. Most of the lag was due to creative thinking. Dang, I can burn up hours trying to design the next piece in my mind.

So, to help the creative process, or rather to beat the snot out of it... I needed to stock up on modding supplies. You'd think I'm an alcoholic or something with all that, but this is my spare fridge.


The Lowes in my town just moved from a somewhat adequate building to a huge facility with fifty some super-wide isles. It's wasn't really open to the public when I went (grand opening today on 7/21), but they let contractors in to make purchases. I was still able to get in, and when checking out they automatically gave me a contractor's discount. Sweet! It was cheaper than ordering online.

Oh, their Dremel isle was also VERY well stocked!

I kinda like this new dremel ez-lock method of mounting cutting discs. They can wobble a little at low speeds, but at high speeds (which I use exclusively) they're more stable than regular mounted discs. I upgraded my old dremel, and after testing it out, I have to say: wow, what a difference!



Some aluminum parts I also picked up for the front panel and future projects...



In the mean time, I went ahead and lined up my top fan and its laser-cut grill to drill the holes...



The nasty steel burl created on the exit side of my drilled metal...



I cleaned up that burl with a round, metal rasp.

Back to the front panel:

I ended up using only one of the two 1 foot by 2 foot sheets of expanded metal I bought a week ago. I guess I'll save the second sheet for another project. After lots of bending and cutting (some with dremel, some with sheet metal snips), I have something that resembles an all-mesh front panel. I made the edges 1" wide, and the back parts a half-inch wide (with hangover for a neater cut int he future).

I split the front expanded metal into two sections so I can get a tapered look (bottom slightly larger than the top). Here's the bottom half...



Top half with cut outs for the 5.25" DVD+/-RW and 5.25" fan controller front...



I was thinking of custom mounting my fan controller, but decided against it. I really want the controls on the front, not anywhere else on the case, and I need the lower half of the front panel free for ventilation. Here's both pieces together...



This expanded metal doesn't comprise the entire front panel. I needed a night smooth edge by which to mount it to my case. I thought about taking aluminum sheet metal and bending out a frame for it, but I went with a much cleaner solution...

(continued in my next post)

I mounted the expanded metal front panel inside some aluminum L-shaped beams. I love working with aluminum... it's easy to cut, it's super malleable (only gold beats it there), it doesn't spark like mad when cut, and it transfers heat better than any other common case metal.

Here's the aluminum beams after they're cut and ground down until moderately smooth on the ends...



I then drilled holes to mount the lower half of the expanded metal panels...



I had a ton of old washers to use, but many of them are tarnished over time due to storage in a garage that can go from a dry 30 percent humditiy at 10 degrees F in the winter to a humid 85 percent humidity at 100 degrees F in the summer. I miss my life in California when each day was sunny and mild, but then again, I enjoy seeing and feeling the difference between the seasons here on the East Cost.

So, I sanded these washers down with an electric detail sander (pyramid-shaped sanding surface)...



After mounting everything, here's the near-final front panel (before detailing and painting)...



I'm pretty happy with it so far. Here's a list of what stills needs to happen with the panel:

• Cut and install foam to completely cover the inside of the panel that will act as a filter
• Surround foam in a breathable plastic mesh to aid in future cleaning and create a better looking filter
• Mount piano-hinge to the left side aluminum rail for a swing-open front panel that allows easy filter cleaning
• Design and add a toolless fastener on the right side aluminum to keep the front panel closed
• (complete) Soak expanded metal pieces in a mild-acid to remove galvinizing and prep for painting
• Cut the top of each aluminum rail at a 65 or 70 degree angle to match slope on the very top of the expanded metal panel
• Add door trim around 5.25" bay cut out, cutting the trim neatly at 45 degree angles (yes, I accounted for the extra width needed to add trim before cutting the bay area)
• Discover the best way to mount the top expanded metal to the aluminum rails (it is attached to the bottom half with the two bolts and large washers in front, but not yet attached to the rails). Suggestions anyone? I might not want to attach it with bolts to the sides because it won't look as clean, and I don't want to attach it with bolts to the rear of the rails because I need a flat surface to mount against the case.
• Paint (primer will be a necessity for this)
• Attach power/reset switch and LEDs.

On to the side panel:

Time to design my side panel's cut-out area for the acrylic window I'll install. I tried out a few different patterns and designs on paper. I didn't want a dragon or some tribal pattern as they are just overdone (ie: too popular to be unique). I also didn't want my anti-Tivo theme in the cut in case I decided to change this modded system's purpose in the future.

I was playing with a few until I decided upon a single design. This one is semi-artistic without drawing too much attention away from the PC, and not overly professional or amateurish looking (in my opinion at least). I didn't want it to look like something that was a template. And of course I didn't want it to look like a hack job, either, lol.



I wanted it a touch gothic, a touch web-like, and a touch curvy, yet with a defined shape. May be it's an odd combination, but I like the results. I decided not to use the small bottom right cut-out as this wouldn't fit with the rest of the design.



A little sanding after, but not too much as to remove all the black paint. I'm going to do something with the curved right side because I'm worried that visually, it the metal will stand out more than the cut-away negative space. I want curve lines that go inward, not necessarily bulge out.



I sanded off all the paint where the metal is supposed to be ice dripping down. I will not paint these the same as the rest of the case, but instead apply a UV reactive clearcoat that will glow blue, mostly around the edges to give it more of an ice look...



Some 1000 grit sandpaper to give it a really smooth finish...