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Loading ...Waiter, theres a robot in my soup..
dnam1x
In the last post, I had finally gotten the enclosure up on the wall and all the components installed. The cooling pump had been primed and everything was up and running. Yet again, however, I didnt really have an idea of how I was going to implement a few things before I started building. Basically, it was a matter of crossing that bridge when it came up, now I had reached that bridge: In this case, Im referring to the power+reset switches and the power and hard drive activity lights. No pre-wired ones here since this case was being built from scratch.
After sourcing a couple of push switches from Maplin, I took a look at the front panel and decieded on a location for them. 3 quick holes later and I had this:
Now for the power and HD activity Leds. Hmmmmm, just drill some holes and pop them in?….Nah, that would be a bit boring. then it hit me !!……..
‘Evil’ Bender
During the planning stage, I had a thought that the inside of the enclosure would be big enough to house a model figure or model car of some sort, if only just for a bit of added interest. I still had the idea in the back of my mind during the build, but it wasnt until I came upon the need to place the Leds that I put the 2 together: And the plan for Evil Bender was hatched.
He is evil because is eyes would be replaced by 2 glowing red Leds and the tip of his antenna could be the HD activity light.
I chose Bender because he fit the bill for what I wanted to do. He had the right eyes, and wasnt too complicated like some of the other superheroes/video game characters I considered.
I also love his sense of humour in the Futurama series.
So first up, after a quick search online I found what I was looking for: At Forbidden Worlds. Luckily they have a branch in my area so I popped down there and found the wobble head figure I saw online. These are the type that sit on a car dashboard and wobble or nod with vibration (sort of like that annoying ‘Ohhh yes’ Churchill dog).
The first step was to disassemble him, so with a bit of brute force, I pulled him apart. Out popped his springy spine. Then Bender took a drill bit up his……ahhh yes, I had to route the wires up to his head somehow. Luckily he was already relatively hollow but nothing that a little brain surgery wouldnt fix!
I drilled out the eyeballs with probably the smallest bit in my possession. and widened out the opening in the body for the wires to pass through. The holes in the eyes were just big enough for the 2mm Leds to fit snugly, but it was impossible to push through 2 sets of insulated wires for them. I solved this problem by stripping the insulation of one set of each pair. 
Now, the eye transplant was ready. I soldered the wires to each Led. In order for the wires not to touch, I used wood glue to hold them in place as close as possible. Hopefully the connections would remain intact when I pushed the lights back into their sockets
For the HD activity light, I hollowed out the antenna the best I could. Because its rubber and so small, it was very difficult not to split it. Its not perfect, but that explains why I dont earn my living as a surgeon. 
But, I do think the desired effect has been achieved.
In order to fully hide the new wiring through Benders body, it was time for some leg surgery. Using a progressively bigger drill bit, I managed to hollow out his left leg. The wires could then be passed down into his base and onto the headers on the motherboard
.
So With the Leds in place, and the robot reassembled, I give the world Evil Bender (cue mad scientist laughter)
.
(He did come out of surgery with a bit of a limp, but I think its added to his gangster credentials)
So thats it, I can now turn on the PC without having to touch 2 bare wires together, and the Leds are in place. Just a few more things to finish off:
A black painted acrylic strip to hide the wooden batten at the back of the shelf. Also added a matching usb hub/card reader above the shelf for easy access
Mesh strips to tidy up the right end of the enclosure (mesh used to allow the ventilation of the playstation 3, Wii and PC PSU).
On the subject of ventilation, the PS3 and Wii have their veltilation slots on the right. Theres also space at the back of the PS2 to allow heat to escape. The PC is cooled by a 120mm fan in the base with the rad fan also sucking air out at the left side. Also in use are the Asus supplied fans for the northbridge heatsinks around the cpu.
With all the components housed in the box o tricks, I inevitably had a mass of spaghetti coming from everywhere! I tried to cable tidy, spiral wrap and trunk as much of it as I could but it still looked messy! So grabbing a panel of perspex I had lying around, I made up a cover to hide the wiring underneath the enclosure. I made cutouts in it for easy access to the mains plugs and router. Heres some before and after pics of that process:
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And at last….. My box o’ Tricks is complete….
So here are the final pictures:
Both PCs (mine and the wifes) are connected to the 40″ TV and the 19″ Monitor. The monitor is a standard Iiyama 19″ job. The wires are run in trunking over the door. Her PC is behind the desk with the monitor.
Here are some night shots:
So There it is, my custom built PC. Im really glad how its turned out. I play games across all platforms (although Im a Crap player), so integrating my consoles and PC into one central location was my main task. Its acomplished my goal of creating something unique and visually stimulating, and I’ve got an extra shelf to put stuff on . It was fun making the idea into reality. There were times that I thought that this will never be finished, but it was well worth it in the end. It isnt the most highest spec, multi GPU’d, supercooled monster thats generally seen on these pages but hey, I do think that it is something different from the norm.
Right now, the system is running at stock speeds, but I will be attempting a little overclocking tweaks in the near future. I also need to get the noise level down a bit. Will be adding some right angled usb leads to the Playstations so I can access their usb ports too. I’d like to thank custompc mag for the reviews and recommendations that helped me decide which components to buy.
I hope that you enjoyed following the plog. Please feel free to leave any comments or questions about it.
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Component List:
- Asus P5K Premium Wi-fi Ap motherboard
- Intel E8400 3GHz Dual core CPU
- 2Gb Corsair XMS Dominator 1066Mhz DDR2
- Samsung HD753LJ Spinpoint F1 Sata 750GB Hard drive
- corsair HX-520 520w Modular PSU
- XFX 9800 gtx graphics card
- Swiftech h20-120 compact watercooling kit
- Optiarc Litescribe 7201s SATA DVD recorder
- Optiarc Slot load AD-7630A DVD Recorder
- Zalman ZM MFC2 Fan controller
Rated: 80% (1 votes)
Loading ...Go ahead…make my PC
dnam1x
After the test fit, all seemed well, so I was ready to mount it in position:
I had predrilled 9 holes in the MDF back panel. Marked them out on the wall and drilled the wall and fitted rawlplugs. (Please note, anyone doing this, make sure you check for electrical fixings and pipework before you drill walls!!)
Im happy how all the pieces of equipment fit, and that thankfully, the weight of them isn’t an issue. The Playstations are relatively heavy and I was worried that as soon as I placed them in the enclosure, everything would come crashing down, but so far, so good. Feels quite sturdy !!
With the enclosure finished it was time to start putting in the PC components:
DVD Drives:
The plan was to use the original 5.25” mounting bracket from the cannibalized case to mount the DVD and fan controller. However, a better (I think) alternative was to use some bendy metal perforated strips (From Halfords- used for car radio mounting)
Picture shows my test fit.
This is simply attached to the side of the DVD, and bent up around the slot load drive to keep it in place. Not the most elegant solution, but it works !!
PSU:
That little hole on the right of the PSU is to pass through the cable for the power meter which comes with the fan controller. It was the main feature that attracted me to use this controller. It sits between the mains power plug and PSU and measures and displays the power being used by the system.
Motherboard tray fixed in position:
The tray is on spacers at the back so that I could hide some of the cables behind it, especially the thick IDE cable from the slot load DVD drive. I also mirrored the areas at the top and bottom of the tray to keep it uniform.
Checking the front panel fit:
Next, fitted the radiator:
Then the case fan in the bottom panel:
A quick view of the underside: Dust filters 
Motherboard:
After wiring up and tidying the wiring from the drives, fans and controller,The Motherboard was installed. The Swiftech pump was temporarily mounted in position so I could cut the tubing to the required length. I used clear tubing instead of the black ones that originally came in the kit because I am using Fesser1 UV coolant. No use having funky colours if you cant show it off huh !! :). Another reason for it is so that I can be sure that there are no air bubbles trapped in the loop. Also in use are the 2 Asus fans that clip to the motherboard heatsinks around the CPU
So with the motherboard in position, I turned my attention to the hard drive. I actually had no idea where I was going to put it before the build. At first, I thought about putting it on where the case fan was, below the motherboard, but with the fan already there, not much space was left. Other locations that were candidates were either above the DVD drives or below the Playstation 2. Luckily the width of it was the same as the vertical panel housing the PS2. Again, those perforated metal strips were used to hold it in place.
I think this is a relatively good place for it as it should be getting some cooling from the fan mounted in the bottom.
Filled the cooling loop and tested, had one small leak which was cured with a tighten of the tubing clip.
One of the last things to do was put in the cold cathode tubes. One went at the top of the motherboard, the other at the bottom front of the enclosure. (I tried to extend the cables on them by about 7 inches, but for some reason, they would only half light: could be something to do with the resistance of the added wire or my dodgy soldering perhaps???). So I reverted to the normal wiring and all was fine.
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So everythings all wired up and installed.
And so in keeping with my ‘we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it’ mantra, the next post will show what he’s \/\/ doing here.
Thanks for reading !!
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Loading ...Taking shape
dnam1x
….So far, the basic form of the enclosure has taken shape:
This is where we’re at:
Access holes were cut out for connectors to all devices:
These openings were an absolute necessity in order for me to be able to route and hide the cables. I made them roughly where the backs of the consoles/fan controller lie so that things could be plugged in and out without really having to remove the units themselves.
A hole was cut out for the psu outtake fan in the bottom panel. Another hole for the main PC fan will be located more centrally just below the motherboard.
Next, It was time to tackle the problem of the PSU location. As mentioned in the previous post, I had intended to mount the PSU above the motherboard, but I got my dimensions wrong and didnt have enough space for it then!!
Luckily, there was space for this just below the Playstation 2
With all the MDF panels in place, it was time to think about its cosmetics.
As you may know, MDF can be quite hard to paint. I first put on several coats of MDF primer. Then came a beech effect coat for the outside. The 2 main outside panels are the bottom and component side, so not much painting required.
For the inside, I planned to spray it with fleckstone pain. It’s a great way to cover anything (including MDF) quickly and easily. And as the inside is relatively cavernous, I wanted something that would give good coverage and look more appealing than standard paint.
However, I had a lightbulb moment and have now actually gone with mirrored acrylic. After a quick search on ebay, I found what I was looking for.
Ordered, received and cut to size:
Ive used the acrylic to cover the inside back and bottom.
THE FRONT PANEL
The Perspex front window not only shows of the internals of the PC but acts as a frame for the other bits of kit. I used to do car stereo installation when I was younger, and built a few speaker boxes and amp racks using bits of Perspex, so I did have a fair idea of the possibilities and limitations of this material.
To brush up on my knowledge and get some advice I surfed around, especially on custompcs website and got some useful tips for working with Perspex.
For this project, after the main enclosure was finished, I set about positioning the consoles and disc drives so that I could know how big this piece would be.
I would like to stress the importance of planning and measuring properly when working with Perspex.
With the overall shape sorted, it was time to make the cutouts for the drives, etc. This was probably the most time consuming aspect of the build, since I had to make each cutout smaller than the kit then dremel, file and sand them bigger while checking for proper fit. As you can see, there are a few cutout areas on the panel which are quite close to the edge (namely on the right sides of the playstation 2 and wii consoles). I had to be doubly careful while sanding/dremeling as one false move and I could crack it and have to start over !!!
With the cutouts complete, did a quick polish of the edges using a dremel and polishing compound, drilled the screw holes .I then framed a border with masking tape and painted the underside black to hide the mounting battens on the enclosure.
I began this project in late spring, but the point at which I started working on the front panel, it was starting to get cold !! So all this work was done in the kitchen… I could sense the wifes anger building ! It was also slow going too due to work and having to take care of our 6 month old baby too. It was literally wait till babys napping, go cut a piece of wood/dremel some acrylic/paint a doodah, clean up, feed baby, wait till babys napping…etc.etc
Well, thankfully, got it all completed and was really looking forward to the next stage of putting it all together. And the wife was happy because I could finally clear up the bomb site of a kitchen. (No more dirty looks !!!)
So, till the next post, Heres a pic of the test fit where it would be mounted:
Thanks for reading so far!! Please feel welcome to ask anything or leave a comment !
NEXT POST: The Meat Of The Matter ….
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Loading ...Construction (Part 1)
dnam1x
The first step was to plan the setup.
As this incorporated all the equipment, I needed to get the dimensions right, the location of the TV screen, how long the shelf was, how big each piece of equipment was etc.
I measured up the wall on which everything would be situated, then measured each piece of equipment.
To make it more manageable, I then scaled all the dimensions to fit a piece of paper. Cut out some scaled boxes to represent the equipment and then played around with the positioning till I got it right. 
The above picture was my first shot at trying to get the positioning right:
The largest green box is the TV, directly below is the Playstation 3, Sky Box, DVD Recorder and AV receiver respectively. To the left is the Playstation 2. The long thin bar represents the shelf.
I intended to mount the Playstation 3 vertically with its DVD slot facing upwards. I wanted to do this to save space, but considering the heat that it puts out at its rear vent, I decided not to as the heat would be going back up into the unit.
After I felt confident in the plan of attack, the real work started !! Firstly, the TV was mounted, easy enough on a wall bracket.
(On a side note, I recommend to anyone needing a wall bracket for your flatscreen, always try online first ! I was amazed that I got one for £35 online, when similar ones retail for at least £80).
Also, in the meantime, I mounted the other bits of AV equipment, I wanted to achieve a floating effect so made 3 shelves slightly smaller than the equipments footprint. I think it worked quite well, as from most angles, you wont see the shelves
The end results are shown here:
With all the preliminaries out of the way, it was now time to start on the PC enclosure itself:
First, was to check the positioning and depth of the shelf. Unfortunately, the shelf wasnt the required depth needed to make everything flush, so I had to increase the depth by adding a piece of wood and MDF behind it. This MDF panel would also become the back of the PC chassis and hold up the rest of kit.
I cut out the basic shape of the back panel, next were the shelves for the playstation 3, Wii, disc drives and the Zalman fan controller. As you can see, the PC drives and wii are basically the same size, so it was quite easy house them on the same level.
(The above pic shows two 5.25″ ‘old’drives which I just used for placeholders for the fan controller and Optiarc DVD drive) 
Turning my attention to the PC housing,
The first layout I thought off was having the psu above the motherboard. Unfortunately, I miscalculated the length of the back panel and cut it a bit too short !!
Not to worry, after a bit of a think, I relocated this to the right size of the motherboard (More on that later)
My initial plan was to just place the motherboard on a cut out tray and have a wood or metal beam running vertically to support the cards. This may not have been practical as it may have been hard to align them. I decided to keep the back plate off the old case.
Picture above shows Tray in its rough position and panels for side and bottom of the case (not joined yet).
I would be using another swiftech compact h20 120 in this project – As it fit my current needs and wasn’t too much of a hassle. So cutouts were made on the side panel for the fan/radiator and backplate.
I needed somewhere to put the playstation 2 as it still gets some use. In my first draft, I had it mounted vertically, but as I had to relocate the PSU, this wouldn’t be able to fit anymore, so it now lays horizontal
So, now the main overall shape of the box oTricks is finished !!
…Part 2 to follow
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Loading ...Introduction
dnam1x
Hello and welcome to my Plog!
This is my first foray into Plog writing and my first actual custom PC mod although I have built quite a few PCs over the years.
Hopefully you will find it interesting!
First things first, heres what I set out to accomplish:
I wanted to create an integrated look for my PC, audio/visual and gaming equipment.
I wanted something different from the usual PC components in a box with a side window and lights methods.
Ive seen some readers build their PC into a desk and wanted to take it a step further.
A little background:
Having had my current family PC for over 4 years, it was time for an upgrade. My wife had always complained that I was hogging the PC, after all I was on it every night, either surfing, tinkering, playing a game, etc.
Its still a very capable machine, but because it was all stuffed in a HTPC case with not much ventilation, its innards got quite hot and it kept shutting off and giving over temp errors!!
Enough was enough, to get things back on track, I deceided to rebuild this PC, giving it a new lease of life. The Asus P5wd2 Premium Motherboard would be retained but housed in an antec nine hundred case. Joining this motherboard was a Swiftech compact h20 120 watercooling kit (my first experience with watercooling!!) and a newer graphics card- out goes the Club 3d 6600GT and in comes a ATI 3750. (I also had to make this change because for some reason, the Nvidia card didn’t work with Sims 2 which the wife loves playing)
Since the wife was always complaining, this revamped PC would now be hers, thus giving me the perfect opportunity to built myself a more up to date one capable of running the latest games.
Not one to do things conventionally, I set about envisioning the project in my mind.
2 PCs in the living room, hmmm, how could we accommodate using 2 PCs simultaneously. How could I get the best out of my future rig? Its positioning etc.
Well, we also bought a 40” LCD TV and I knew I wanted to using this with the PC. But there was so much other equipment which we had to cater for- TV, DVD recorder, Set top box, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii., AV receiver
Wiring all this would be a nightmare.
After months of planning and brainstorming, the plan was to house all of it as neatly and smoothly as possible. The PC would be the central focus of it all, I wanted to show it off but in a less conventional way.
The case:
There would be no case for what I exactly what I wanted to do, While surfing the net, I came across a picture of an AV setup that someone had posted in a forum. It was a clean looking installation, with a shelf to the bottom left of the TV, and cabinets underneath. I loved the look of it, and similarly wanted a setup like this. However, my PC would be housed where the cabinets were. I could simply stick a standard windowed case there and call it a day, but that’s not me. Better, still, I could build a case directly under the shelf, it would have a Perspex window to show the internals of course.
So building a case to hold the motherboard and PSU, how could I access the DVD drives?
I looked at my PS3 and Wii, theyre essentially drives, so why not incorporate them in the design! I wanted 2 PC drives, for easy disc to disc burning, and to keep in theme with the games consoles, chose a slot load for one of them.
Next step was to experiment with the positioning of these drives.
As the design evolved and I thought why not use the same Perspex window to frame the PC drives as well as the games consoles. During this time, I came across a zalman mfc fan controller which I thought would be a perfect addition to the setup.
So with a basic plan in mind I got round to sourcing the equipment:
Motherboard : Asus P5K Premium
CPU : Intel E8400 3GHz
Memory : Corsair dominator 1066
Hard Drive : Samsung HD753LJ 750GB
Graphics : XFX 9800gtx
PSU : Corsair HX 520w modular
Optical drives : Optiarc Lightscribe DVD
Optiarc slot load drive
Cooling : Swiftech compact h20 120
Noctura NP12 120mm Fan
Zalman Multi Fan Controller
Other necessary things were:
The shelf of course (From Ikea)
MDF for the chassis of the case/rack
Perspex
Old PC case (for the motherboard tray)
Cold cathode tubes
Next Post: THE CONSTRUCTION:
Please stay tuned…….
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- Go ahead...make my PC (80%)
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