After suffering from one too many BSOD's in one year of having my Sony PCV-RXA842 because I added one freakin' Radeon 9000 Pro video card, I've decided to do something about it. Now I realize that I could do just as well if not better by building my own computer from scratch. However, waste not want not and as I'm not willing to sell off the first born (if I had one, I'd think about it though), I'm going to try and salvage what I have.

Here's the setup on my RXA842...

1. ASUS A7N226-VX motherboard with an AMD Athlon XP 2400+ and nVidia nForce 220 IGP. As much as I can tell, it's just a small variant of the ASUS A7N266-VM model that was manufactured for OEM. The VM I believe has the Duron and GeForce.
2. 512MB PC-2100 DDR (I added another for 1024MB).
3. Internal Seagate 80G Ultra ATA/100 HD (since then made the slave while a new internal Maxtor 80G Ultra ATA/133 at 7200RPM has been made the master).
4. OEM DVD/CD-RW/Floppy/Memory Stick drives...blah, blah, blah. They work and I'm happy with them.
5. Radeon 9000 Pro operating at 275MHz and 128MB DDR (550MHz)
6. NMB MJPC-270A1 power supply with a maximum 270 watts output. This is the primary reason for my initial exposure to modding.

Apparently, the BSOD message I got (Page fault in a non-paged area) along with the error code of 0x00000050 led me to believe that I had overtaxed the PSU, which then in turn underpowered the hard drive causing the error. Sony tech didn't help and Windows support (awesome support, believe it or not) helped me gain some ground. I don't know if underpowering can cause corruption of the ntfs.sys file, but the end result was the same.

In my attempts to correct my problem, I spent $190 on two Kingston 512MB PC-2100 DDR (because the error message 0x0000050 can mean a faulty or bad RAM) which wasn't the problem. Then, I bought another internal hard drive (Maxtor), thinking of making it the master and hooking my old one up as the slave in an attempt to save some important data. Unforunately, my dumb butt forgot to move the jumper pins and kept getting all types of system disk errors so I eventually ended up reformatting both hard drives losing everything.

After this little problem, I began to look at my system and realizing after talking to the computer gods that roam here that many pre-packaged computers contain power supplies with just enough output to power what it has. Add a video card in my case (along with using 6 USB's at the same time) and you start running into some serious issues. If I ever have a chance to talk with someone about purchasing a computer, I'll always recommend building your own (or a very competent local vendor!).

Today, I begin my modding days by changing the power supply. I measured the dimensions of my old power supply, figured my wattage needs (thanks Johnny English!), spent a butt load of time on the phone with Sony, ASUS, and AMD about the propriatary issues, and selected an Antec SL400 with 400 watts of output.

I'll post a page on the net detailing my adventures in modding once I'm completed with this project. It feels next to impossible modding a manufactured PC tower but I'm quite stubborn when it comes down to it.

Quote: Originally Posted by mtmanrob I'll post a page on the net detailing my adventures in modding once I'm completed with this project. It feels next to impossible modding a manufactured PC tower but I'm quite stubborn when it comes down to it.

If anything gets in your way, hacksaw/dremel it away. Good luck.

Quote: Originally Posted by mtmanrob It feels next to impossible modding a manufactured PC tower ...

I feel your pain, but hang in there man. Not as bad as i imagine a Vaio is, but I have one of those radioshack transluscent purpley type bezel Compaqs from a few years ago (right before they got bought out by HP IIRC) but i managed to cobble together a baybus and a few other mods and light it up real good. I'll have a gallery up sometime soon. Best of luck with this.

Lateronmly, you got a hacksaw handy?

It appears that the new Antec power supply is just a little too large (about 1/4 inch). However, Sony uses a casing around the power supply to hold it in place. If I mount the new power supply lower, it will be about 1/8" away from the top of the Radeon board. I can't mount it higher because the CD-Rom is in the way. I might try to mount it just a little bit outside the back of the case (so the intake fan is still inside).

Damn you, Sony....damn you.

Nothing wrong with that, I had one beater computer that I had to move the PS about an inch out the back in order for it to fit. I just ran a slender screw with two nuts and a lock washer on each corner to hold it in place.

You can pick up a decent case at newegg.com for under 30 bucks.
Here is one right here.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...145-026&depa=0

Slap a few 5 buck fans in there and give it a paint job and you have got a decent case. Here is another one you might like and the price is right.
I have modded several of these.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...5246&sku=DRG-P

ill concur on the chieftec, but dont waste your money on a premod. Buy an open canvas of beige type case and a bucket of bondo.

I think you should try and find an Enlight 7237. That is a great case to start with and it has tons of mod potential. I have seen them on ebay for as low as 19 bucks.

Project VAIO has been revived.

A buddy of mine, who I didn't know was a closet modder, has a bunch of extra stuff that he sold to me extremely cheap on the condition that he gets to help out here and there.

I revisited the power supply issue and again, I measure wrong. The power supply that Sony used for this tower is about 1/2 inch shorter on one side and about 1/4 inch shorter on the other, plus modified cable lengths to just exactly what it needs to reach where it needs to go. The new power supply won't fit inbetween the side panel and the fan on the heatsink and between the video card and the middle (?) plate.

My only option with this is to mount the power supply externally unless anyone has any ideas on how to shorten the PSU cords. The tower is incredibly tiny so these cords are not going to look at all like they belong there. The distance from the old power supply to the mobo's ATX connector? About six inches. Imagine jamming in a three foot cord when it's only supposed to be one foot long.

Anyway, for less than $60 total, I'm going to proceed on this as an experiment. Many suggested that I get another tower and that's probably what I should have done, but I'm going to give this one a unique look. Ever seen an OEM tower modded?

The side panel is, believe it or not, just under 14" by 14". I'm going to install a 10"x10" window, use a cardboard stencil and UV spray paint, and put the VAIO on the window with 2 UV blacklights stuck in there somewhere. Change all the flat cables out for rounded cables, drill a hole in the bottom of the pc and install an intake fan with an outake fan in the top panel rear (a PCI slot fan is going inbetween the video and audio card). Where the power supply used to reside...well, I'm going to come up with something very interesting to put in it's place to make it unique.

Mounting the power supply externally out the back? Yeah, probably not "pimp" but even if I don't mod the computer, it's only place I can put it where it won't be resting against something it should be.

So, give me a month or two and I'll have pics to post and everything. What makes this extremely unique is the fact that this will be the only pc of mine that I'll mod that is also built by a major corporation whose sole purpose in designing these is to get the most money out of the consumer. Here are some facts on that...

My computer needs a minimum of 255 watts to run exactly what it's got WITHOUT any extras (even using one USB port). They installed a 270 watt power supply while also allowing for an AGP slot and three more PCI slots to be used...not to mention an extra bay for an additional hard drive and six USB ports. This is what is commonly known as "let the consumer burn out their computer so they'll buy another one!" tactic.

The old power supply nearly sits on the video card while leaning against the cpu heatsink fan. Crappy air circulation. The cpu fan pulls the hot air off the cpu directly into the power supply (heating it up in the process) and the power supply works extra hard pushing it out the back. Oh, no intakes whatsoever. So, it burns.

Space is money. The larger the pc tower, the larger the box and the less you can shove into a warehouse, not to mention the space you buy when you have to ship these things. So, let's sell consumers on the idea that smaller is better!!! Yeah, let's cram all this propriatary stuff into a tiny, tiny box with no airflow!!!



What am I doing here? I'm preaching to the choir.

Many of you right now are either a) screaming "Rob, screw that crap and build your own!" or b) saying "Why even bother?". Well, option a is going to happen next year at tax time. This is simply a warm up before the big game. Option b is why not? I may be banned from here for eternity but even after all the crap I went through with Sony Tech support and messing with propriatary, I have to say that I like the looks of the VAIO's and I've never seen a modded VAIO ("because no one's dumb enough to do it, Rob!").

So, here goes...........

(pics and link to web page to be added later).

Quote: Originally Posted by mtmanrob Ever seen an OEM tower modded?

Yes, i have, check out my gallery. I've been following your project, knowing the pain of trying to mod with limited space/weird parts. Once again, good luck with all this.

Hey Cyno,

Well, at least your OEM has the power supply in the right place. On my Sony, take your PSU, turn it 90 degrees (so the fan on the heatsink is blowing directly into your PSU's intake fan) and put it where your LED fan is. The new PSU is about 1/4 inch wider (which puts it up against the heatsink fan) and 1/2 inch taller (which butts it up against the top of the video card). That's why I have to mount it externally.

I'm trying my best, though. I am going to install my own window into the side and for some crack-addict based reason I'm going to use the VAIO logo on the plexi-glass. Parts are starting to come in, so give or take five weeks, I'll have it done to post.

Rob

I don't think there's anything wrong with mounting your PSU externally. Make it part of the art. I'm glad that someone else belives in my favourite theory, "mod what you've got". You've got a PC laying around? Mod it! Who cares if it's a little bit ghetto. If it works, and it looks good, it's cool!

I wouldn't listen to jedco2, I mean after all, his avator is of Windows ME, the crappiest edition ever... I'm kidding. :p There isn't anything wrong with an external power supply though. I had one inside and one external on a fileserver I had. I duct taped it to my case... But it was inside a closet...

I modded a wee HP - my DVD Ripper. Not radical, just some paint, a blowhold, led fan and a grill I got from Spc Forces Bob. Looks better than it did and thats what I was going for. If it makes YOU happy then thats the point.

I think the question should be 'has anyone ever seen a SONY case modded?' I haven't...keep on it bro...try pulling the guts outta the PSU and mounting them on the floor of the case...or in the space where the external drive bays are...just watch your fingers when your working on your computer...those currents can be lethal, but I bet you already know that don't you?

Good luck on your mod...sounds interesting...got any pics of the case as it is now? Let's see 'em!

haha im modding a sony case too...wen i was down in florida i picked it up for $1 at some random computer place by this place were we had lunch...

those things r damn heavy, already cut some holes in the steel chasie.

Well, tomorrow begins my attempt to mod my VAIO. I've finally got all the parts in except for a RAM heat spreader and I can put that in later. I'm going to be taking it apart piece by piece and boxing it up to take on vacation with me to my dad's house because you just can't have tools sitting around in a city apartment (that you can use, anyway).

Here's some of the mods I'm doing...

1. Cutting a window in the side and putting in a piece of plexi-glass.
2. Drilling a hole in the bottom front to suck in air from underneath (plenty of airflow from underneath).
3. Mounting the PSU externally so it's not so obvious from the front.
4. New rounded cables.
5. PCI slot fan.
6. Replacing the northbridge heatsink with a Thermaltake Crystal Orb.
7. Replacing the crappy OEM cpu hsf and replacing it with a Thermalright SLK-900A and an 80mm Panaflow fan.
8. Cutting some access holes through the horizontal metal divider to increase airflow.
9. Cutting a hole for an 80mm fan outtake through the top back.
10. Cutting a hole for the UV light switch in the front.
11. UV stuff
12. Trying a new idea using vinyl tubing from Home Depot to make a split loom that's been treated with UV paint.
13. ...and a secret (but probably not original in any way) mod that will seal it.

So, for the next week, it's all laptop'ing it while the pc gets dismantled. Official project start date is 08 June 2004. I'll take lots of pics to post so you guys can pick up my obvious nOOb mistakes afterwards.

Oh, forgot the Thermaltake Active Memory Cooling Kit that has a fan mounted on it. I know it's only eye candy but why not? My buddy gave me it for free.

Wish me luck!

Rob

P.S.
Remember, no matter how badly I screw this up, it's only an OEM and it's like a practice for the big game.

Finally, all the gear is in and I'm ready to start sugury...anybody got any mantra's I could use? Any good luck charms or amulets? My first real attempt at modding so the victim may not live.

Rob

P.S.
This might be my last post before I begin surgury as I won't have access to the Internet for a while (I live in a rural area...ask Aaron, he can explain it better). First pic is a pic of most of the gear that I will have.

WARNING: GHETTO ALERT!!!

What you are about to see may cause adverse reactions to the modding individual. This photo may contain images that can invoke vomitting, quesyness, dizzyness, and outright disgust. Others may experience uncontrolled laughter and finger-pointing.

View the second photo (of the victim) at your own risk. Be reminded he is merely surviving on life support as we speak until the surgury is completed.

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I'm not repulsed. I see modding potential.

Looks like you got everything you need lol, I would take all the parts out and start sanding and cutting away.