Project - Mega Amp

[Mysteriphys]

Well Hello there TBCS, It's been about... 4 years? :-P

I started working on this a few days ago, and I've been taking pics, so I figured why not come back to the place that gave me so many ideas, and pay tribute with a worklog!

Well some things haven't changed much in 4 years, I've got a few more tools, but I'm still broke all the time, so aside from the money I'm being forced to spend to build a new system (very tight budget) you may notice a few things that look a little shody, but it's pretty much lack of funds so you'll have to cut me some slack ;)

the system:
-Biostar mcp6p m2+
- AMD 5000+
- RAM 2GB corsair value
-Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500-Watt PSU
-Sony Optiarc 24x DVDRW SATA OEM
-Hitachi 500gb 3g/s sata
-X2 Red 120mm LED fans
-Zotac gt 240 (given as birthday gift)

story: 3 days ago, I'm taking the garbage out, and find a MegaAmp GL-30B laying on it's back in the hut (Apartment building community garbage) took it home, and hey! it works! 1 problem... I don't own or know how to play a guitar :-P so what to do...

a few bits of info:
-Basicly on this build so far for tools I've had a hunting knife, a philips head screwdriver, my drill, a stapler, a level, a hot glue gun, wire cutters, a utility knife, and a swiss army plyer/knife/saw thing.
-As well as the guitar amp case I've also torn down an old atx case that used to house a PII I've had sitting in my closet for almost 2 years. and thats pretty much it for metal parts except for a few pieces off the amp, which I'm going to use cleverly later.

Step 1 Teardown - I didn't really get many pics of the teardown unfortunately, but anyone who has pulled apart a wooden box knows the procedure

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/4407/p110323002u.th.jpg (http://img21.imageshack.us/i/p110323002u.jpg/)

Step 2 Fitment - This didn't go so well at first, I had ideas, but as you can see by the exposed bit of wood there I didn't really think it through at first, or rather I was thinking too hard about preserving bits I didn't need

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/3772/p110323003.th.jpg (http://img831.imageshack.us/i/p110323003.jpg/)

Step 3 Forget Fitment, Make it work! - At this point I'd decided using the metal back off the case I was sourcing would give me a touch more space, which I sorely needed. I also decided where I wanted to put my power button, which also came from the other case, but looks to me like it fits right in :).

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/5218/p110323004.th.jpg (http://img687.imageshack.us/i/p110323004.jpg/)

Looks like Step 3 is going to take a while, I've got a few materials that need cutting and such, which I have to do elsewhere, but in the mean time I decided to fit an old dead cd drive, I haven't decided whether or not to flush mount it or not, if I do I'm going to have to get some paint or something so that it doesn't look like crap around the opening.

http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/1343/p110324005.th.jpg (http://img855.imageshack.us/i/p110324005.jpg/)

Well that's it so far, Let me know what you think~! I'll update as I do more.

p.s. Sorry for being gone so long, I had a lot of fun talking to many of you in different bits of the forum, I guess my work-life took over and I dropped a lot of my personal hobbies to try to catch up. I'll be around now though!

** PSU changed due to connector limitations, good thing I noticed before I went and ordered it... plus I won't have to paint this one :-P

[xr4man]

i'm diggin' it.

[billygoat333]

I love that the case fits into the amp so perfectly... with so little tools. +rep!

[Mysteriphys]

haha! thanks :) I wouldn't say perfectly though, I'll have to take some more "in depth" pictures soon. I get payed tomorrow, so I'm hoping to either buy the mobo and cpu, or at least a new dremel so I can work on the side panels, and the front without tearing it to bits like I had to for the cd drive opening. 2 hours of chipping and sawing with a crappy swiss army saw blade thingy... not fun lol. as a matter of fact, I've got a few free hours before work now, I think I'll take some quick pics of my jimmy rigging and post them up for laughs :)

[Mysteriphys]

Not exactly clean cuts to shorten the 5 1/4 bays
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/5871/p110328001.th.jpg (http://img135.imageshack.us/i/p110328001.jpg/)

This used to be flat all the way down, :-P but I decided to bend it there so I could put a screw on the end (silver shiny kind of out of focus) it actually serves to square the case back up, after I ripped the back of it off and had to hot glue the back plate on in addition to the screws :-P (reffer to img 4)
http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/7949/p110328002.th.jpg (http://img600.imageshack.us/i/p110328002.jpg/)

Not exactly Professional bracketry there, and it's a bit of a pinch to get the screws for the cd drive in there, though I have a few ideas to help that along so it may be a non issue later.
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/427/p110328003.th.jpg (http://img16.imageshack.us/i/p110328003.jpg/)

and finally the back, to be honest, I didn't have a psu to test fit, so I may be completely out of luck when I get around to ordering it :-P
http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/881/p110328004.th.jpg (http://img816.imageshack.us/i/p110328004.jpg/)

but all in all I don't think I'm doing too bad, for my first wood meets metal mod. Just waiting on a warmer day, parts and tools. then I'll throw some updates :).

[x88x]

Interesting. Are you going to put the stock front (of the amp) back on when you're done?

[Mysteriphys]

good question :-D

Short answer is no, I thought about it, but after dealing with some of the space issues and otherwise racking my brain about options for airflow and such I came up with something else to use the original front for, plus the electrics from the amp seem to work, and I have a friend with a broken amp, so I thought I'd help him out. it's obviously a lot more work to do it this way, but his amp is also a lot smaller, so it works out better for my project this way :-P. if I had photoshop on here I'd mock up my idea for you guys but I think it will be more fun to see reactions once I've actually followed through with my plans :)

also added - Cooler Master R4-L2R-20AR-R1 R4 Series Case Fan - 120mm x2 to build list, already ordered and on the way! ** hint toward whats happening to the original front lol

[Mysteriphys]

Update!

It's sunday so i decided to make some noise :-P

I forgot to take work pics again, but here's a few of the work i did so far today
back plate is cut and covered with black vinyl.
http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/3391/54211104.th.jpg (http://img849.imageshack.us/i/54211104.jpg/)

Tool of choice for today's cutting... :-P I said I made some noise lol angle grinders make very quick work of the metal :)
http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/576/34123358.th.jpg (http://img861.imageshack.us/i/34123358.jpg/)

put it up near the light to give a better look at it - there are definitely gaps, but I'm working on some ideas to tighten it up. you can also see that I've pulled more vinyl off the front... more clues!
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/4559/70872518.th.jpg (http://img19.imageshack.us/i/70872518.jpg/)

from the back, I'll be glad when I get the chance to paint it up some, that grey annoys me.
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/4638/99986072.th.jpg (http://img145.imageshack.us/i/99986072.jpg/)

[Mysteriphys]

Quick update:

Parts!!! these will look pretty cool where I'm putting them :)
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/8012/54759916.th.jpg (http://img98.imageshack.us/i/54759916.jpg/)

I decided to fit the proper drive just to check it out for looks, also dug out the wood to fit it flush, much better !
http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/7140/67075369.th.jpg (http://img848.imageshack.us/i/67075369.jpg/)

that's it for today, I wanted to do more but I'm off to **hopefully** get the results from my girlfriend's Ultrasound today :-D

[Mysteriphys]

And so begins my clever use of the original front... well clever to me I guess :-P

Cutting out a big square hole, close up of the flush mounted sata dvd/cd drive
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/5456/17550420.th.jpg (http://img20.imageshack.us/i/17550420.jpg/)

Ok this one fits! onto the next step!
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/638/26709926.th.jpg (http://img820.imageshack.us/i/26709926.jpg/)

ok I admit, once I get rolling on something I kind of forget to take pics... so in order I 1. Cut out for the second fan 2. beveled the front to take the grill I cut 3. decided to use fresh marine vinyl for the front 4. re-used original hardware to bolt the grill on. and test fitted the fans with the new vinyl in place
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5581/70316363.th.jpg (http://img402.imageshack.us/i/70316363.jpg/)

A dark shot, because I love how they look behind the grill :)
http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/2091/57413172.th.jpg (http://img576.imageshack.us/i/57413172.jpg/)

Tools used this time around, Power drill with 1/4" bit, pocket knife, scissors and my handy hot glue gun.

I still need to get to the painting stage, but for now I figured the mock ups are nice enough to show and whats a worklog without mock-ups :)

Also, once it's done, or at least mostly done since I have a few new plans that will have to wait until after the interior system is built, I will be stealing my girlfriends HD cam to take better pics.

[Mysteriphys]

pieced it together a bit waiting for the dremmel still and paycheck day to get a can of spray, just one pic this time...

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/8072/p110410001.th.jpg (http://img535.imageshack.us/i/p110410001.jpg/)

[Mysteriphys]

Just entered this in the CM comp, not that I expect to place well, if at all. but i thought it would be fun ;)!

[Mysteriphys]

http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/SkuImages/gallery/large/C283-1220-02.jpg

The last piece to check fitment is ordered and on it's way, the rest is slap in and crank it up goodness :-D

[Mysteriphys]

PSU Just arrived, checked fitment and I'm about 3mm off... I'm still waiting on the dremmel I'm supposedly borrowing, so it might be a while before another update.

[Mysteriphys]

Big update, well... kind of, not really a progress update as much as bits and pieces of yay and huh? lol
I guess part one is my mother finally decided to visit, and brought me a bunch of goodies. So of course being the eager beaver I am I set straight to chopping the top of the case up to fit the psu.

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/163/62063549.jpg (http://img98.imageshack.us/i/62063549.jpg/)

now the tool I ended up getting from her is some kind of sudo dremel wannabe thing, but came with this neat little paper thin saw blade deal, which i used to cut the square i wanted down to the proper depth, and then I used my handy hunting knife to chisel it out.

http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/8835/29481024.jpg (http://img809.imageshack.us/i/29481024.jpg/)

next up "the hual" my mother also has a habit of hoarding computer parts... there is some stuff in this picture that could go in a museum as far as i'm concerned. one box that I forgot to open until after i took these pics even had a 56k external US Robotics dial-up modem... >.<

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/3539/74091161.jpg (http://img690.imageshack.us/i/74091161.jpg/)

now here is the reason I'm building myself a new computer... this is going to my grandmother, with the insides of the computer I'm using currently (on loan from my mother) not a bad looking case, which is why i bought it for my mother 4 years ago :-P

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/5384/23ahc.jpg (http://img43.imageshack.us/i/23ahc.jpg/)

the insides before I swapped them out... P4 celery 2.00ghz ddr1 ranging from 2100 to 3200 totaling 1.5g of mismatched ram :-P some of which went into something else next in this update.

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/4105/23bfn.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/i/23bfn.jpg/)

Lanparty NF4 by DFI AMD 3500+ cpu with one working stick of ram lol. (out of the 3 from the other pc) and yes, thats an intel cooler ontop of the cpu tied on with wire :-P everything I got was possibly DOA so I had to rig something up to test it, turns out it works pretty good as is, haha.

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/3128/95334735.jpg (http://img801.imageshack.us/i/95334735.jpg/)
http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/2716/18483781.jpg (http://img585.imageshack.us/i/18483781.jpg/)

last pic of the stuff my mom brought over, my old gateway monitor, I've owned this thing for round about 8 years, when i got it, it was busted, I twiddled and fiddled till I got it just about right, the color is still a bit off but it's worked flawlessly for those last 8 years otherwise :)

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/8157/14026192.jpg (http://img834.imageshack.us/i/14026192.jpg/)

well it was a good test monitor, and treated me well, but it looks like there is a new contender as of tonight, and if this keeps up I think I'm going to have to rename my mod "Trash to Treasure" :-P I found a 19" acer LCD sitting out by the Garbage shed tonight, works great accept for the exact same problem as the gateway, the color is off :-P! ha

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/2821/23448369.jpg (http://img84.imageshack.us/i/23448369.jpg/)

and yes thats ubuntu ultimate fiesty, I haven't gotten around to burning off the newest version to DVD yet.

as far as the lcd goes, I'm probably going to tear it down to try to salvage the Cathode inverter board for a LG 22" wide screen that I have stored away currently. which will be my test monitor/ bedroom tv/monitor if it all works together. if not, I have my trusty gateway Behemoth so no big loss ;)


Oh and just so we're sure why this isn't a progress update, none of the motherboards I currently have will fit into the case I'm building :-P lol... so I'm pretty well stuck buying a new motherboard for an old cpu, I'm debating whether or not to just continue my original plan. I'll update as I make progress though. so stay tuned!

[Mysteriphys]

not that there is any interest in my project :-P but I just figured I'd say a few bits to sum up progress since i last updated

the specs currently are as follows:
Coolermaster 500W psu
2x120coolermaster red LED fans
sony optiarc 7260S sata (if anyone has info on issues with this I'm having problems getting it to burn dvds, keeps comping up as a cd drive with blank dvd's in it)

the rest is not by choice, I needed it up and running and I got some of the parts out of the computer I had been lent to keep me up to speed instead of going backwards

Biostar mcp6p M2+
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+, 2612 MHz
2g Corsair DDR2 unbuffered
1g Corsair DDR2 buffered :/
ASUS brand Nvidia 7300se/7200gs

those are the specs currently, but they will eventually change. I'll get some new pics up soon too. things have been hectic trying to get the other pc build/working/dealing with life :-P

catch you all on the flip!

[Mysteriphys]

Decided to do some wire-management today, thought I'd take a pic and update the parts list!

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/3502/profilevt.jpg (http://img191.imageshack.us/i/profilevt.jpg/)

Zotac GT 240 (with HDMI) got it as a combined birthday/fathersday gift in advance from my eventual brother in law

hitachi sata 500GB HDD got it from my mother, took over 12 hours of recovery and "exercising" but it works great :) (she gave it to me because they thought it had bad sectors)

anyway, thats all, I'll update some day when I actually do something worth posting about :-P