Project: The System

[Xtrykr]

hey! thats a real interesting design and a real interesting fabrication too! I have a question, what did you use to weld the angles together?

[Tavarin]

I have a question, what did you use to weld the angles together?

Actually I didn't weld them together at all. What I did was rivet the side bars to the cross beams, so the sides actually aren't attached to each other at all. It may sound like this would be weakening to the structure, but it's actually not. this frame is incredibly strong, and very light as well.

And thanks for the front page guys.

[Xtrykr]

Interesting, thanks!

[gntlkilr]

I got a questions, how heavy is that thing? and what are the measurements of the entire case? Its looks long as all get out. Either way, I love the way this is turning out.

[Tavarin]

I got a questions, how heavy is that thing? and what are the measurements of the entire case?

Well I'm not sure of the exact weight old the case. It feels about the same as the case that I bought for the mobo tray, so it's around the same weight as a standard ATX case. The aluminum turned out to be really light.

And the dimensions of the case are 24" (61cm) long, 14" or (35cm) tall (without the power supply) and 8.75" (21.5cm) wide. So it's more along the size of a case turned on it's side. I wanted the extra width as well so I could fit a fan over my CPU cooler.

[gntlkilr]

Ah, it just looks Ginormous. keep up the awesome work!

[Tavarin]

So I don't have an update, but I do have a rather amusing picture of my system for you all. As I mentioned in a previous post I'm moving, tonight actually, so last night my house was completely empty, no furniture at all. But like any true computer modder, my computer remained.

This is my room last night around 10 pm, right before I packed it:

This is the last thing I packed, and for good reason; I needed to get some TBCS time in.

Cheers

[jdbnsn]

HAHAHAHHA! I totally understand man, last thing in the boxes, first thing set up in the new. I'm just as bad.

[The boy 4rm oz]

I also know what you mean lol. We are painting our house and I made sure my room would be last so I don't have to unplug my PC until the last second. Great to see it up and running mate, keep up the good work.

[Tavarin]

I am still alive, and so is my build. The system hadn't been worked on for the past several months since I spent that time moving, and working. It also housed my computer making working on it "riskier". But I grabbed a new case and power supply and moved the computer over so that System would once again be empty to work on.

Update 15 - New

So not really an update on the case itself, but an update on the components, and on my plans for System.

As I mentioned I bought a new PSU and Case:

The PSU is a Tagan BZ800 and the case an Enermax Phoenix

The Tagan modular PSU. A very attractive PSU, and I am so far pleased with it.

And the Case. I really like the monster fan on the side. this case will get modded in a future project once I'm done the system. For one thing it needs a window.

So here are the system and the Phoenix side by side:

System is still a mess, something I hope the modular power supply will help with in the future.

So to keep cables organized I passed all of the phoenix's cables through the back:

It was a tight fit but really helped with cable management.

Here are the parts, minus the motherboard:

I will be replacing the video card with an Radeon 4870 X2. Also I will be picking up a velociraptor when I get the chance, and the cash.

So here is everything in the phoenix case:

Not too messy, but given it's a mid tower I still expected to be tight on space.

But the computer wouldn't even turn on. Here's the reason:

The 20 pin cable is missing the -5V cable, which my motherboard needs.

So, considering that that mobo had caused many problems and I just got paid, I got a new motherboard:

Still in her packaging.

And out she comes:

Isn't she beautiful, and crossfire enabled.

So the old mobo next to the new:

Before.

After.

I didn't take a picture of this board in the case since it looks very similar to the old mobo.
I had no trouble getting this running. just had to reinstall some drivers and validate Vista and I was good to go. No hard drive formatting or loss of data. Everything's perfect.
But I did take a picture of the system up and running:

So that's where it sits right now.

As for the system case, it needs a lot of work. I have to reattach many of the supports that fell off, this time with bolts and rivets instead of glue. I'm also going to remake the front and top panels out of the same black plexi I used for the side panel. The aluminum doesn't fit in very well and isn't attractive. So I will begin that once I move my tools into my new apartment, of which I'll post pictures once I get everything sorted out.

Cheers and thanks for reading

Tavarin