Htpc/nas

[Stonerboy779]

Decided to treat myself for my birthday which was on the second of Feb.


Here are the parts I will start with.

Case - SilverStone LC10-E Black (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=12122) - Perfect case with 7 internal 3.5" bays which will accommodate my NAS (planning on going with 3x 2TB HDDs) as well as backup drives (will mod some, well 3x 2TB usb 3.0 WD external drives. SO they are mounted in the case but plugged in via their usb cables at rear, so when not in use they will be simpily unplugged. They will just be straight clones of the media drives and updated when necessary). The case also has a great seamless finish to the front with a nicely integrated OP drive cover which will look great no matter where it sits.

CPU - Intel Core i3 2100 (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=16725) - Perfect low power CPU that will happily manage some light gaming (I am contemplating putting one of the 560s in this and using switchable graphics so the 95 of the time only the HD2000 graphics will be used)

Mobo - ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 Motherboard (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=18137) - Has all the connections I need, decent cooling for 24/7 running and may as well go for an ATX board my case will fit it with ease.

CPU Cooler - Noctua NH-U9B SE2 (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=12959) - Noise is a huge thing as well as cool running and considering the prices of other low profile coolers there really was nothing to stop this being a great choice.

PSU - Corsair CX-600 V2 Power Supply (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_354&products_id=17374) - Overkill... maybe but it will run dead silent once i mod it and it will easily handle the 7770 I plan on installing in the future and come the end of the day when it is time to replace things I could remove every part of the build and make a decent low-mid end gaming rig.

OP Drive - Pioneer DVR-219L DVDRW OEM (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=16397) - Pure Black unlike many other OP drives so that alone was enough for me to spend an extra $4 on it.

RAM - G.Skill F3-10666CL9D-4GBNQ (2x2GB) DDR3 (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=13598) - RAM is RAM is RAM and this suits my need perfectly and cheaply.

Case Fans - Noctua NF-R8 80mm Fan (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6248) - Again noise is a huge thing.

TV Tuner - Hauppauge HVR2200 MCE PCIe Dual Hybrid (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6793) - Already have a Hauppauge remote and this will work perfectly for recording and watching HD TV.


To be added later.

- New HDDS

- Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1 2G (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=16247)



The Case

http://www.pccasegear.com/images/LC10-E-silvestone_small.jpg

[Stonerboy779]

15/02/2012

Stuff is here now and the build can begin soon

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7036/6878850241_2488634a07.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6878850241/)
Big pile-o-crap

The case

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7193/6878854169_ee8b8e3fc6.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6878854169/)
Pretty face

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7183/6878858321_dbb2dfa0f7.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6878858321/)
PSU vent and buttons, connectors ect.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7185/6878863163_acf66925b0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6878863163/)
The rear, plenty of expansion contemplating modding four of the brackets for an exhaust fan

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6878868041_e73e548b45.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6878868041/)
CPU vent

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7206/6878873175_2edd8bf276.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6878873175/)
Very solid bar across the case you can even lift and move the whole case with it, everything is rather thick and it means there is a decent bit of weight to it.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7194/6878877857_2134ce5c4e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6878877857/)
The front fan slots need to remove the covers first

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/6878882461_e6b0392358.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6878882461/)
A shot of the front stealth vents and the rubber feet

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7208/6878886561_7346ae8d59.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6878886561/)
Ohh a box of goodies what is inside

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7042/6878891009_af334e768b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6878891009/)
Brackets to mount a HDD in one of the 5 1/2" bays. more screws than you could point a dead cat at as well as a replacement rubber rin for the feet.
The more important thing howevet is what was found in the little brown paper square. A lovely piece of black aluminium to make the DVD drive stealth and a strip of 3M double sided tape.


The Cooler

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6878896441/in/photostream/
Ummmmmm it should fit :lol: if not there is a pc at the front door in desperate need of a new cooler it only has an intel stock cooler.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7037/6878901227_16b4605d1e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6878901227/)
Exceptionally well packed very happy

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7208/6878905889_6ef7c57c3e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6878905889/)
Every part of it expresses th quality with which it was made however the sleeve on the fan is rather sticky

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7185/6878910299_9d3ef43ba5.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6878910299/)
All the mounting hardware, lna and ulna adaptors, instructions and the second fan


More to come tomorrow no time to build now because off to go get dads new car soon.

[Aldersan]

Nice case, cant wait to see it all together!

[slaveofconvention]

Nice cooler - I reviewed a different Noctua cooler recently and said the same thing - every part of it shows the attention to detail they put into the thing :)

[Stonerboy779]

Nice cooler - I reviewed a different Noctua cooler recently and said the same thing - every part of it shows the attention to detail they put into the thing :)

Mhmmmm it is real nice can't do much work today although I do have something.

Modding the PSU

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7182/6883508779_ee9ff7a113.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6883508779/)


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/6883515583_bc5bf06964.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6883515583/)
Goodbye warranty

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7193/6883521173_ab2f703ed1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6883521173/)
All complete now and yes I did the paper clip test before modding. It still works now and runs very quiet pulling lots of air. it will be used to exhaust some heat from the case. I could have had a better PSU than this Corsair 600watt but I knew I would be modding it.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7051/6883503311_bdb0294d0c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6883503311/)
And a look at the stock Yate Loon fan


Off to buy american honey and coke party time for no other reasoon than a party.

Will try do some more tomorrrow.

[Stonerboy779]

Some fans in

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7197/6899301343_30ca14f2e4.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6899301343/)
Here is what is going in some Noctura R8 80mm fans

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7177/6899306507_6d83ca2328.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6899306507/)
Had to remove the supporting bar to get to the front fans, this is because the HDD bays needed to come out.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7177/6899312341_5cfe128c36.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6899312341/)
If you look at all the pairs of holes on top of the different bays you can see that Silverstone has design the entire series of cases so that the main chassis and internals are all interchangeable. meaning they can manufacture more cheaply and give more product for your money. The holes line up with the supporting bar.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7181/6899317963_92fa272d7e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6899317963/)
One bay out, I will need to remove them again when it comes time to install HDDs which is rather annoying. Now to remove that piece of metal in my way.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7045/6899323633_aaca4c26fe.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6899323633/)
With it gone you can see where the power on/off reset buttons and io ports are.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7068/6899329091_c3701493ed.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6899329091/)
Started to install the fan and realised wait I am never going to make it work like this not enough room.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7066/6899335071_e174bbea46.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6899335071/)
Much better with the mount removed from the cage instillation is very easy.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7193/6899344953_dbfc95164b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6899344953/)
Did the other one too

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7070/6899339611_2e382e5c40.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6899339611/)
Popped out the mesh on the side intake and then u was stumped

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7191/6899597577_d09d1b5cdb.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6899597577/)
The holes are not large enough for the anti vibration mounts or the screws they are way too small. First negative I have with the case.


Motivation for the day disappeared :lol: and now I need to find the battery charger for my cordless because using the corded drills is a little silly.

[Stonerboy779]

First Boot

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6906450609_280ef8d2fc_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6906450609/)
Installing the power supply, turned out to be bit of an issue.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7197/6906456481_f8064d625e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6906456481/)
Had to completely remove then put back in the PSU power plug just so I could get it passes the case when it was reverse mounted.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7042/6906477905_9af9f45a87_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6906477905/)
Installed

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7070/6906463647_9a4f2f4894_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6906463647/)
Rear fans installed too, decided for now the side fan will stay out.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7063/6906486477_140fabb546_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6906486477/)
The motherboard....

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7196/6906493619_d3b8b3c3fe_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6906493619/)
....and the CPU that now make it 3 2nd gen intel CPUs in the house all from Costa Rica

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7061/6906500661_447da17a24_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6906500661/)
A little comparison of the two heatsinks beside each other... no prizes for guessing which I like more.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/6906508051_1a21d072b7_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6906508051/)
It is in and it fits so very, very happy :D

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7186/6906514387_5c188ec2ba_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6906514387/)
Shot of the clearance

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7066/6906521865_c224b5768e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6906521865/)
The RAM now to make it fit under the cooler.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7185/6906557495_f9902f215c_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6906557495/)
As you can see the RAM fits and everything does turn on just a bit of a mess atm.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7063/6906548953_89c71496ac_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/66427543@N07/6906548953/)
It is a massive mess of cables but it turned on with all bar two fans spinning. It seems two of the mobo fan headers don't want to play nice, I switched fans around and it is the headers but until i boot up properly with well a monitor attached :lol: I cannot determine what needs to be done to make them spin.

[Fuganater]

Too bad you couldn't get a modular PSU. That would greatly clean the case up. But you could (should) cut the cables to the lenth you need insteand of trying to stuff them somewhere. Cut out the ones that are not needed in the PSU housing and then just sodder them back in later when/if you need them.

Just some suggestions.

[Stonerboy779]

Was already planning on doing so considering the warranty is entirely void :D

Any further work on this will have to wait unroll I can get a couple of HDDs on special, which may leave me waiting for some time :/

Although I have in talking with a friend, that owns the LC13B-E, come up with another part of the project that I was still unsure on. This bit will need to wait for a little while though, until I settle into my new uni course which starts up Monday.

Here is the plan though if it makes sense.

http://m.flickr.com/lightbox?id=6900437097

What I hope to get done this weekend is build my new bed and desk.

[Fuganater]

PM TGS about some HDDs. I picked up some 2TB ones and I think they were like $75ish each.

[Stonerboy779]

PM TGS about some HDDs. I picked up some 2TB ones and I think they were like $75ish each.

I saw but I am in aus and even though I wouldn't mind paying the shipping it is more that I don't trust a mechanical drive to be shipped. SSD sure but not HDD.

Thanks though wish i could get a $75 2TB HDD in aus before the floods the best prices on trusted brands was $80 that I saw.

[Stonerboy779]

Okay I have seriously neglected this and it has sat inside my a/v cab for ages now doing nothing hasn't even had an os installed or anything haha

When I get my SSD back from its RMA I will be installing the remaining stuff and selling this in a few months time once I am allowed to use the OCAU marketplace.
Due to my current circumstances I will not have any use for this whatsoever and holding onto it will be pointless which is a bit of a shame but ahh well **** happens.

[Stonerboy779]

Ahhh times change :lol: I got the SSD back and it went straight into my Arcade Cab build which will be seeing progress at some point. Birthdays, work, and other things have gotten in the way. I have a free day tomorrow and I know what I am working on. I will also be keeping the htpc in some form even if I won't use it properly for some time.

Wonder if anyone can work out what I will be doing tomorrow from this crappy phone pic.


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8315/7960814948_cbb4cbc983_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7960814948/)

[AmEv]

Technics sound system... nice!

Setting up surround sound?

[Stonerboy779]

Technics sound system... nice!

Setting up surround sound?

Nope the technics set is a 2ch set up haha however if you look closely you'll notice one of the reciever/amps is missing a few knobs. It was something I was modding well over a year ago but the pentium II system that I put in there gave up the ghost on the first power up.

I need to find where I stashed the knobs grrrrr

Ahhh but it is lovely to have a working technics amp and more importantly the rest of the matching stack to go with. The entire thing was given to me for free yesterday and I am over the moon :D

So now I plan on moving the htpc into the gutted technics reciever/amp (it died when my sister spilt a drink in it while it was running) Need to pick up a Silverstone 450watt small form factor PSU, a auzentech x-fi forte 7.1 soundcard and a vertex 4 120gb ssd later this week to finish the build.

I chucked some mobo standoffs into the case this morning.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7967074846_ba4876a958_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7967074846/)

And put the mobo in. Naturally I had to go back to the stock cooler as there was no hope of the noctura one fitting.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8297/7967032308_0815f87cf0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7967032308/)

Hmm its going to be tight. Well good news is it all booted up the CPU, RAM and mobo all seem fine. However the never before used stock cooler has annoying faint click sooooo I will hack it apart and attach a noctura 80mm fan on top with some double sideds foam tape haha.

Will also have a 120mm noctura fan mounted apove the CPU that will pull air in from the vents on the top of the case and will blow it down onto the CPU and chipset. Will likely externally mount on 80mm fan to get air flowing on the other side of the case more.

Will mod the new PSU too and replace the stock fan with a noctura 80mm fan that will run always on and every fan will have a ulna adapter and run at a permanent 6v.

I have only one issue with my technics stack and that is one fried resistor grrr. It blackened casing is making it difficult to make out the bands. So when I have time i will need to fully dissemble the cd player and desolder the resitor and give it a look at under a magnifying glass. However since I got it for free and had been looking for one for the longest time I cannot really complain.

[AmEv]

Ah. Was thinking you could do 4-channel audio, with 2 amplifiers.

But you know how much of a sucker I am for stealth HTPCs.

[Stonerboy779]

Just found the knobs so its looking almost perfect stealth needs a bit of a clean. Will mod the hole where the surround button used to be so that it becomes the additional ir reciever for my haupenguage remote.

Then I am going to try source an LCD display to go where the old one was. Can't get too much done till I get the psu and soundcard. Then I will cut all the holes on the rear panel at once when I see it all fit.

[Stonerboy779]

Well I cut the stock heatsync up haha

So I was left with this

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7974448521_293ab717c3_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7974448521/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8309/7974449402_ce32da1059_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7974449402/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8182/7974450042_ec70f413b6_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7974450042/)

Not too much clearence haha a bit more than you see in this pic though because the case isn't sitting as high as it should in the photo.

Also afer looking around at displays I have decided I will get something very much like this made.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8322/7974460020_17c9f4f943_n.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7974460020/)

I will put a lot more effort and detail into the proper one and will need to talk with TLHarrell about what he can do as it will probably need to be a etching in a coated piece of plexi. Hopefully he will be able to do it because this would make the sweetest power on light for the stealth htpc.

I am already going to use the stock power button to turn the htpc on and off. Will need to mod it to make it momentary though.

[TLHarrell]

Ha ha. I saw that. That display can be done pretty easily. Hard part will be matching up the lighting color so it looks like it's supposed to.

[Stonerboy779]

Ha ha. I saw that. That display can be done pretty easily. Hard part will be matching up the lighting color so it looks like it's supposed to.

lighting colour is white which will be easy enough to do will also have some red accents here and there which is just crepe paper layers.

Hard bit is really going to be the plexi colour. I can with time acurately get a sketchup pic with mm perfect lines but then the piece that needs to be cut will be a biatch.

Here is a good example of the screen lit. When I have my CD player open next for repairs I will work out how much of the colour comes from the fact the window is like the plastic on IR receivers.

http://images5.okr.ro/auctions.v3/700_700/2011/08/17/a/9/600320908967203928818965-1825019-700_700.jpg

Hmmm I think i make the cd led my hdd activity light :lol:

[TLHarrell]

It's slightly bluish white. Don't think you can match it 100% perfect, but you can get pretty close with some very slightly colored lighting gels.

[Stonerboy779]

It's slightly bluish white. Don't think you can match it 100% perfect, but you can get pretty close with some very slightly colored lighting gels.
Trust me in person its white haha

I have done a bit of thinking and well I will need some pieces made for a light box. clear front and white plexi for the rest with holes cut for leds to mount in may make separate zones for red and white not sure still haven't made a design haha but laser cut would be much better than trying to hand cut suck a small piece.

And then use a vinyl sticker to mask what i don't want on the clear plexi.

[TLHarrell]

Yep. What would it cost to send a small fat envelope to you?

[Stonerboy779]

Nothing I wouldn't mind paying for haha use 3180 victoria australia for a shipping estimate and about 200x200 of 3mm plexi and one of those fan templates if you are still making them :D

Factor in whatever you reckon you time and materials would come to and give me an estimate.

I am working tomorrow but possibly have thursday free to measure and get all the dimensions and design done. Will send you everything when I have it ready. Also no rush on anything, it is a really cosmetic thing.

[Stonerboy779]

It's alive :D

Lots of pics to come later

[Stonerboy779]

So I was able to get some parts today and may I say it has made me very happy haha

I picked up a Silverstone 450watt SFX PSU, an Auzentech X-Fi Forte 7.1 soundcard and a Vertex 4 SSD which means the final specs of my HTPC are as follows.


CPU - Intel Core i3 2100
Mobo - ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3
CPU Cooler - Modified stock Intel Cooler with a Noctura 80mm fan
PSU - Silverstone ST45SF 450W SFX PSU
RAM - G.Skill F3-10666CL9D-4GBNQ (2x2GB) DDR3
TV Tuner - Hauppauge HVR2200 MCE PCIe Dual Hybrid and Hauppauge Media Center Remote
Soundcard - Auzentech X-Fi Forte 7.1
SSD - OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD

Case - Stealth modded Technics SU-X301 reciever/amp

The case is entirely guttered, still need to mod the power switch to turn the HTPC on, mod the light for the CD to become the HDD activity light, at a later point the headphone jack will again become a headphone jack for the X-Fi Forte front panel headphone output. The LCD that is gone will be replaced with a shallow plexiglass lightbox with a vinyl sticker on the front of it designed in a style to match the old LCD and the LCDs of the other gear in the Technics stack. Besides having STONERBOY779 in segmented digit style other smaller details of words like HTPC will be incorporated. This static mock LCD will become the power on light in effect.

At a later point also I may look into audio control with the existing knob and naturally some different pot of sorts behind. Final mod to the case will be where the missing surround button is, it will be filled in by a small iece of IR plexi and behind it the additional IR receiver for the Hauppauge Remote will be mounted.

Tomorrow I make the final cuts on the rear panel for the IO ports, TV tuner and soundcard as well as holes for air flow and the PSU. Then the case will be sealed for a while.

Tomorrow I also plan to pull apart all my gear, my turntable, CD player, tuner, reciever/amp, casset deck and dual zone amp/tuner. To get a full parts list for a complete recap of my Technics gear as well as a clean and some possible OP amp upgrades.

Some more ****ty phone pics and tomorrow once I have the rear cut I promise I will get the camera out and take a bunch of decent pics.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8458/7981944641_6235c866aa.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7981944641/)

Beside my rather small antec 600watt PSU the Silverstone SFX unit looks tiny. But still packs 450watt of 80+ bronze goodness.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7981945269_50a0745e99.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7981945269/)

Booting up no issues to install windows on the SSD.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7981945893_1593d1e69c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7981945893/)

It had been running a few hours install, updates, new programs etc and I decided hmm it's getting a bit toasty so just dumped some noctura goodness on top :lol:
Looking at this pic now I think i can get a really good 80mm side intake on the case and will definately be considering it after I see just how muc space I have up front after the PSU is all installed properly.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7981946407_c36c45c4d9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7981946407/)

Pretty tight in there :lol: PSU is just sitting there to show the space, when installed it will be about 10mm off the PCI slots and 10mm clear of the soundcard components.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8322/7981947051_68d18f40f9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7981947051/)

Should keep the CPU well cooled as well as the VRMs and RAM too.

[Stonerboy779]

Took some before pics of my Technics gear before I give it a clean and go through the long process of identifying and replacing all the caps in all of it. Wont bother recapping the casset player though. Will definatelly get both amps and cd player.

This arvo I will cut the rear panel because mum would freak if she found I went ahead and started using a jigsaw to cut metal with no one around. And then I shall do a photo shoot of the HTPC.

Some pics first though.

Technics SL-J110R Turntable

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8170/7984254078_ce443fbb32_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984254078/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8320/7984253250_c79e3f3c1a_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984253250/)

Technics ST-X301L Tuner

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8311/7984254756_3ca45d4d55_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984254756/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8457/7984246837_ca580e5fd1_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984246837/)

Technics SL-PJ26 CD Player

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8173/7984251480_b20e481165_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984251480/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8460/7984242656_67749cf932_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984242656/)

Technics RS-X301 Casset Deck

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8306/7984258444_7a27718439_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984258444/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8314/7984252079_24ca9eeda5_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984252079/)

Technics SU-X301 Receiver/Amp (Exact same case as that of my HTPC)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8173/7984260428_0317ab59a6_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984260428/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8042/7984253975_a8688e48bb_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984253975/)

Technics SA-120 Tuner/Receiver/Amp

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7984250979_c82b38f29e_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984250979/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8458/7984250157_9234e64a03_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984250157/)

Also thought it would be cool to show the tuner in action so to speak

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984250702/

[Stonerboy779]

Well pretty much finished the base of the HTPC lots to do in regards to tidying it up and making it pretty but it is now a fully fitted and functional case.

The guts

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8042/7984942012_2356a9a281_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984942012/)

SSD mounting (double sided foam tape FTW)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8170/7984940656_41491584f5_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984940656/)

Still a bit to do here

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8039/7984939424_e2179a1220_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984939424/)

Hacked to pieces, needs a sand and respray flat black

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8313/7984938430_e2c286d4cf_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984938430/)

But before a spray just to neaten it, some funnily appropriate stuff

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8454/7984937226_812efd3d9f_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984937226/)

Think I may have done something wrong and looks like power warnings and speaker output line up :lol:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8170/7984936072_3e1bb7f527_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984936072/)

Pretty tight in there

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8322/7984934780_4a97510ae9_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984934780/)

Room back here though

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7984924705_fe5763f0b1_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984924705/)

From the back

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8029/7984932482_93098ddd73_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984932482/)

Some cleaning and organizing is in order :lol:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8172/7984931484_d62d2b33a2_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/7984931484/)

[Neodymium]

Looks good! Haven't followed your mods for a while, but have a quick question...any reason you stayed away from liquid cooling the CPU instead of air cooling?

[AmEv]

Probably space reasons, and the fact that it's going to be for HTPC/NAS purposes only, not high CPU usage, so low heat.

[Stonerboy779]

You did see how much space was in there right?

No matter how inventive you get trying to get watercooling into a case which is just over 80mm high with only 50-60mm of useable space above the motherboard which takes up 90% of the base of the case.

Just not happening hahaha

Besides its an i3 2100 and its temps where chilling at ~10C above ambient with the 80mm noctura
running inaudibly at 7v

Also that PSU is only 60x120x100mm haha and just because you don't add watercooling a sleeved spaghetti doesn't mean it ain't still a mod :P

Also I promise I will make some progress on the arcade cabinet soon.

[Neodymium]

You did see how much space was in there right?

No matter how inventive you get trying to get watercooling into a case which is just over 80mm high with only 50-60mm of useable space above the motherboard which takes up 90% of the base of the case.

Just not happening hahaha

Besides its an i3 2100 and its temps where chilling at ~10C above ambient with the 80mm noctura
running inaudibly at 7v

Also that PSU is only 60x120x100mm haha and just because you don't add watercooling a sleeved spaghetti doesn't mean it ain't still a mod :P

Also I promise I will make some progress on the arcade cabinet soon.
LOL...I don't disagree! The whole idea is modding and the spirit...looking forward to more!

[Stonerboy779]

Will be doing measuring and playing around in sketchup today so I can give details to TLHarrell want to make the light box as small as possible because space is very very limited.

Will need to design the fake lcd too if I can pull myself away from Black Mesa haha

[Stonerboy779]

Did some more work with the HTPC namely tidying it up. Cut, extended, soldered, heatshrunk and taped up PSU wires. Cable tied them out the way and they take up next to no room at all now and run out of the way.

Noise levels are very very low qith the noctura fans and ULNA adapters in the future I may consider cutting into the casing so it moves to 100% airflow vs the ~40% it is atm :lol: got a few pics to hare in a bit of the tidied up insides. I will unfortunately need to crack t open again because one of the fans isn't properly pushed in which means I dont have an 80mm fan blowing air down past and between the sound and tuner pci cards. It is also the only fan that would actively force air out of the case so I better get on top of it haha.

If cupid is displaying right then my browsing temps on the CPU are a lovely ~5C over ambient which has me fairly happy.

[Stonerboy779]

This is the inside after I finished cutting, extending, soldering, heatshrinking, taping anf tidying up the wires. I replaced the 80mm fan on the cooler with the larger 92mm one and move the 80mm one so it blew air straight through the pci cards and out of the case.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8458/8001659202_90dd881439_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/8001659202/)

and the additional 92mm fan added in behind where the PSU sits

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8315/8001655961_75e1258d15_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonerboy779/8001655961/)

If I didn't have a 1megabit upload I would upload a longer video but well yeah haha. Glad I have sub 20second boots. Also you may need to turn it right up to notice the change in background noise when the PC is turned on.

http://youtu.be/P2TMxHNm5PI

[Stonerboy779]

embedding seems broke for vid hmmm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2TMxHNm5PI&feature=youtu.be

[AmEv]

P2TMxHNm5PI

There you go :)

You just need the stuff between the "v=" and the next "&", if any.