02/19/02

With Celtic Spirit again being placed on indefinite hold, wanting to put together a small sever (Yoda?s SMN), and bring DreamCatcher into the realm of AM2, it looks like BluHaz reDux will now be a v2.0.

What changed (Bold - Italic) and what didn?t (see sig) are listed below, with other minor tweaks and mods covered later.

CASE: akasa Blue Acrylic mATX
PSU: Enermax Liberty ELT400AWT 400W
MOBO: Biostar Tforce 6100-939
CPU: AMD Opteron 170, CCBBE0615DPMW
HSF: Zalman CNPS7000B-CU LED
NB Cooler: Noctua NC-U6
GPU: On Board 6100 (3850 / 3870 Future?)
MEMORY: 2GB G. Skill F1-4000USU2-2GBHZ (2 x 1024)
HDD: Raptor 74 GB, SATA II w/ Cooler (Raptor X Future?)
Optical Drive: Plextor PX-716A DVD+RW
FDD: standard 1.44

For reference these are the main pieces (case & mobo assy.) and a close-up of the mobo stuff.



BH rDx v2.0?s function really shouldn?t change > backup, LAN, & folder. The primary changes have been cause by bringing over DC?s ?x? mobo assembly. However there are currently several other considerations that I would like you comments on.

1. HDD? currently I?m running the 74GB version of WD?s Raptor series. Left over from CS?s demise is a 150GB Raptor X (windowed version). My choices are to sell the unit or use it for v2.0. Considering the ?puter?s usage ? would this be a ?useful upgrade? or more under the heading of ?bling (window) and bragging rights??
2.GPU? in keeping a 8800GT for DC, thought as money allows it would be kinda neat to make this an ?AMD family affair? and use a 3850 / 3870 as this is supposed to be a backup/LAN gaming machine. ?Course that brings a potential problem therefore number 3 here.
3. PSU? while it has been brought to my attention the ELT400AWT does have two 20A rails ? this may not be enough for the gpu and the rest of the stuff. Besides what is listed above there are 2 x 80mm LED fans, 1 x 60mm LED fan, illuminated temp gauge, a ?running? LED memory mod, and the twin 40mm fan hdd cooler that I can think of.

The Plextor is another ?leftover? from CS and being a wee bit shorter than the ?original? LG seemed like a good idea as the area of the case associated with the PSU is tight. Started painting it yesterday in between wind gusts as we had a usually warm day and hope to get the clear coat on in the next day or two.

What will be of interest also is wither I can shoehorn the 7000 hsf into the same area as the Sandy?s Opty 175 hsf/Tt SmartFan 2. The top fan is very close to the CPU area of these Biostar mobos.

The Opty 170 and the G. Skill PC-4000 (again from CS!) were changes to DC while on several OC?ing binges.

As usual I?ll bore you with pictures as this gets rolling in the next few days, but for now got to get on with ?other things?.

02/22/08

With things going a little slow here, it was a good thing I decided to re-read the instructions on the Metalcast paint can. I Wanted to hit the Plextor parts with a clear coat to slow chipping and scratching. Thought I only had to wait 24 hours before painting; however the instructions stated ?7 days? for curing. Boy would I have been p****d with the crinkles!! This picture shows the size difference between the LG and the Plextor units mentioned earlier



Got around to seeing if the Zalman hsf would fit and the following pictures answer that question!



Now some tough engineering questions have to be addressed. Sadly the ?bling factor? is a major consideration with this. It seems I have two options:

1. The cheapest but, biggest impact on ?bling? is to keep the 7000 and sit the exhaust fan on top. To even marginally look ?finished? I think I would have to some how enclose it with blue acrylic pieces (sources?).
2. Of course option two is to change the hsf. Here is where I wonder if the Opty 175 stock cooler with a Tt SmartFan2 would be enough??? I know that fits as that was what was on the Sandy before. The heat pipe design moves the fan down just enough to fit.

This shows any early test fit before the Tt fan was mounted



Another ?engineering? issue that is left over from the original reDux version is the orientation of the PSU. When akasa located the PSU at the bottom they just ?dropped it straight down? leaving the exhaust fan of my Liberty about an inch off the bottom. I have been toying with the idea of ?flipping? the unit over so it might assist in removing hot air, especially from the GPU area. It is realized at a minimum the mounting holes would need to be re-drilled. An earlier ?test fit? also reviled that the power switch will hit the edge of the cutout. Another thing noted was that would then be the lower left mounting screw could not be used.

The first pic shows the stock layout while the second is just a 180 of the first to show the mounting holes.



I would thing that since there is a standoff pad for the PSU on the bottom panel and it being one of the bottom mounting screws, three shouldn?t be a problem. My only concern, again a ?bling? only issue, is how nasty my ?hammer, grind, or file to suite? would look. But then again who looks at the back, right?!?

And since we?re discussing the PSU, any input on my earlier question concerning the 400W Liberty being enough with a 3850/70 (HIS IceQ3 STD or Turbo) added later?

Now considering the earlier question concerning going from the 74GB Raptor to the Raptor X??? after ?thinking about it?, my thoughts are this (showing my laziness!). If I transfer the Raptor X from DreamCatcher I would not have to reload/format the OS as I would be using the same hdd / mobo assy. ? correct? Then I could use my ?new? Raptor X in DreamCatcher and format that with XP Pro left meant from Celtic Spirit. Make sense?

Well that is for now, so I wait for y?alls? comments and suggestions!

I have no suggestion, but it sure looks nice. I like the way people are putting the PSU down at the bottom to alleviate top-heavy cases.

I also never had a motherboard that needed such extreme northbridge cooling.

Quote: Originally Posted by Merkwurdigliebe I also never had a motherboard that needed such extreme northbridge cooling.

Most if not all of my "extreme" NB coolers started out 50% "bling" and 50% prep for overclocking. The NB could get to be a limiting factor back when I started trying to figure it out OC'ing (still haven't!) in the SKT A days.

Okay I deleted the useless picture of the PSU rotated 180. Below in the crudest of forms is a Paint markup showing the approximate locations of the new mounting holes, switch, and power plug (RED) and some idea of what would have to be cut out (YELLOW). Think I need to invest in ?easy? CAD program!



I?ve had mixed luck with when working with this acrylic and am open to suggestions. My cutting has been done with a coping saw, grinding, and then sanding. On drilling should I start with a pilot hole and then the clearance hole size or go for it all at the same time? Also high or low speed?