Shuttle SN85G4V2 Modding Journal - Quiet SFF *Update 03/23*

[Dark Green]

Hello all,

This thread is posted at SFFTECH, but I thought I'd post it here too because most of my mods are noise related, and I've learned most of what I know about silencing computers through this forum. Let me know if you have any suggestions or comments.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

With the help of these forums and some others, I've been modding my Shuttle SN85G4V2 with 3 goals in mind:

1) Minimum Noise
2) Decent Temps
3) Pure Beauty

This is my first attempt at any case modding/silencing. Just bought a Dremel last week :cool;
Here are the mods on the list so far:

FINISHED MODS:
- Cut out ICE Grill and remove inner grill.
- Stealth DVD Drive using velco.
- Install Artic Cooler on 9800 Pro and Dremel hole in case for fitting.
- Install hard drive foam bed to minimize noise/vibrations.
- Remove pre-installed Cable holder that was on NForce heatsink.
- Re-seat ICE unit using AS5.
- Replace original ICE fan (80x15) with Zalman ZM-OP1.

COMING SOON:
- Cut out 3.5 inch slot in front reflective panel, Install Nexus NXP-305 BK Fan controller.
- Install 120mm Yate Loon Blue LED fan on ICE unit using blue 80-120mm adapter.
- Install 2 12 inch Blue Cold Cathode lights controlled by Nexus NXP-305 BK.
- CONSIDERING putting a fan on unit's left front side, possible another ZM-OP1.


Here are the pics:

Used a Dremel and a file to cut out the ICE Grill





Installed a Zalman ZM-OP1 using Vantec dampener, removed inner grill.





I then stealthed the DVD Drive using some stick-on foam padding from Home Depot. This cost around 4 dollars (CAD) I believe. I had to use a few layers of duct tape to bring the padding up a bit. I attached some velcro pads to the dvd tray and the cover so that I can take it off when I have to remove the drive cage. Seems to work pretty well, but it isn't quite flush with the case, so I might drill some new holes in the drive cage in order to mount the DVD drive further back.





Here is a shot of the foam padding I used for the stealth mod and the following HDD foam bed.





This is what the foam HDD silencing system ended up looking like. I had to cut the foam to make it thinner for the sides of the cage, and also bend the cage slightly so that it wouldn't put too much pressure on the HDD. This ended up reduced the noise from my HDD way more than I thought it would. Very highly recomended mod. The HDD temps only went up a couple of degrees, since all the airflow holes in the cage are not covered by the foam.





Here is a shot of the HDD sitting in the new foam bed.





Due to the mangled drive cage, I needed to Dremel out a couple of tabs on the front end of the chassis so that it would fit properly in the case. Here is a shot showing the tabs already removed. They were just on the outside edges of the 3.5 inch opening.





Next up is the Arctic Cooling VGA silencer for my 9800 Pro. Attaching it to the card was no problem, but it was obviously not going to fit in the shuttle, so I bought a Dremel After a lot of measuring, I cut the hole with about 1 cm clearance all around the unit, with some additional space near the bottom right. This was neccesary because of the way the shuttle case cover must be installed/removed, and because there is a protruding screw housing on the silencer that need the extra breathing room. The case installs quite easily now. I used a black Sharpie marker to make the metal edges not stand out.





Due to the way the Artic Cooler expells it's heat, some metal on the chassis corner post had to be bent to accomidate airflow (below pic). You'll also notice on the above picture that I created an air flow guide within the case cover as well. I did this by cutting about one cm past the back ends of the hole, and bending the resulting metal flap inwards to about 45 degrees. I used the dremel cutting wheel to score the inside of the case where I needed it to bend, so that I'd have a straight line instead of a curved bend. This pic below is of the chassis bend, which I did NOT score, and looks bad. I might fix it up in the future, but it is completely invisible when the case cover is on.





I then installed the AC Silencer's fan speed switch in my PCI slot opening. Normally this switch/cover would go in the slot that the Silencer is taking up, but luckily there was just enough wire to install it in my free PCI slot. I was quite happy about this.





Finally, here is a shot of the Shuttle to date.










Phew!!!

That was a lot of pics and posting!!

Well the results so far are very impressive. The AC Silencer has made my videocard noise obsolete, and I think it looks great. You can really feel the hot air blowing out the back of it, and it seems my "scored tab" idea works well, allowing all the air to get out of the case.

The HDD mod is also functioning very well, and I've now been using the HDD for a week or so (including a full system defrag) without and melting/warping of the foam. The noise difference is incredible, and I'm very happy about that since HDD seek noise makes me want to murder someone:|



NEXT UP:
I just ordered a 120mm Yate Loon Blue LED fan, as well as a blue 80-120mm adapter for the back of my system. I'm not sure whether I'll keep the OP1 in the Ice unit once I have the Yate Loon on there, it'll probably just get in the way.

I also ordered a Nexus NXP-305 BK Fan controller kit, which I plan to install above the hard drive. As you can see in one of the pics above, the chassis already has a hole for a 3.5 inch drive, so I should just have to cut a slot in the reflective plexi. This also works out great because I'm not using the card reader and would like to get rid of the holes for them. The new slot should remove them perfectly. The Fan controller is black with Blue rings around the knobs, so it should look great.


Okay this post is getting way too long so I'm going to stop now and I'll post more info as I think of it.
Oh and here are my current temps from speedfan:

PWM: 47
CPU: 40
Mainboard: 40
HDD: 41

These are probably about 5 degrees lower overall than before I completed the mods. Once I get the 120mm Yate Loon in there, I expect them to drop even more. The system is very quiet already, and should only get quieter (and sexier) with the upcoming additions.

Thanks for all the advice and inspiration!!

-Dark Green

[scotty6435]

Looking good man!

Did you put any supports on the cover when you cut the hole for the arctic cooler? I'm planning to do the same for a rev. 5 and as it's bigger, structural weakness is going to be a problem. I'm considering the cheap option: cut in half metal ruler two-parted to the inside of the case on either side What d'ya think?

[Dark Green]

No my setup really doesn't need any extra support. The hole in the side just affects the cover, and any weight put on top of the computer would really be supported by the chasis underneath.

The ruler idea sounds good for your setup though.

[daba]

I think I've seen this mod or one similar to it before. The cut for the AC Silencer made it memorable. I'm sure you've posted this on other forums.

Either way,

Welcome to SPCR.

My suggestions:
1. WD is loud. WD gotta go if you want a real silent system. I had WD 200GB SATAs -- way too loud; try Samsung Nidec Spinpoints.
2. Power supply fan? Is that just the Super Red fan or what's it called? I have one at my mother's house and it's rather troublesome. See what can be done!

Good luck!

[Dark Green]

Yeah I mentioned on my first post that I had started this same thread at SFFTECH. I just figured most people from this forum don't read the forums there.

1) I've been thinking about getting rid of the WD. I'm just not really sure how to make sure I get a Nidec... I'm waiting for FrontierPC to get some stock in so that I can ask them for one. I live in Calgary, AB, (Canada for you non-geography majors) so if anyone knows a good spot for ordering Nidec Spinpoints, let me know.

2) I've also been looking around for another PSU fan, but it is 60x10, and I haven't seen many fans around that are that size and quiet. I've been thinking of mods I could do to use a bigger fan, but so far haven't been able to come up with anything, short of flipping the PSU around and having a fan on the outside of the case. Anyone know any good quiet 60x10 fans? Papst has a 16dB 60x15, but that means I'll have to do some ugly modding to the PSU. I'd rather find one that I can fit in there.

[scotty6435]

You can probably replace it with a 80x10mm fan to make it a bit quieter. They're hard to find but I've got an evercool from my stock 45G which I will be using to push air from next to ICE fan -> PSU -> 90 degree duct -> outside of case.

[Dark Green]

So how are you placing the 80mm? Are you just placing it beside the 60mm hole and hoping that you get as much airflow as possible? Or do you have an adapter?

I'm not sure I understand your setup... is the 90 degree duct before or after the air goes through the PSU?

[scotty6435]

The 45G has a front to back 40mm fan setup but the mod I'm planning will have an 80mm fan blowing air through the PSU from the ICE fan end to the front where it goes through a duct to a vent on the case front. The fan will be external to he PSU case. Hopefully I can lower case and chipset temps with the increased airflow without pushing PSU temperatures too far. A similar setup could be achieved with yours. Does the 85G pull air to or away from the ICE fan and does the air go to a rear or front vent? I will be modding this weekend so hopefully I'll have pics up shortly after that.

[Dark Green]

I think I understand what you're saying. Two questions though:

1) Does the duct come out the actual front of the case, or just the near the front on the side?

2) Is the 80mm fan inside the case or outside? I don't see how it could be inside.


The SN85 (v2) uses one 60mm fan in the middle of the PSU that blows air outside the front and back of the PSU. The air out the back leaves the case, while the air out the front stays in. It pulls air from the same area that the ICE fan does (you can see it on the second pic of my original post).

[scotty6435]

As my mod will have the fan further back than the 85G, the rear vent will be blocked off and all air will come out of the front of the PSU. The vent will bend 90 degrees and actually come out of the side of the case. The 80mm fan will be basically in the same position as yours but the fan will be on the exterior of the PSU (no clearence room on the inside).

You many be able to exchange your 60mm with a 10mm thicknss 80mm fan as long as there isn't any obstruction inside the PSU as it will reduce noise substantially (more available airflow=lower fan RPM ).

[Dark Green]

I finally received my packages today containing the following:

- Nexus 305 Black fan controller
- 120mm Yate Loon Blue LED fan
- 80mm to 120mm Blue fan adapter

I decied to install the Nexus first, since I still need to get some long screws for the 120mm fan mod.




Here is a pic of the Nexus 305 Box. As you can see it comes with 2 12 inch cold cathode tubes, which you can control with the 4th knob (on, off, or sound activated). This controller fits into a 3.5 inch bay.






But wait you say!!! The SN85 doesn't have a 3.5 inch bay!!!! Then we must make one. As you can see by this pic, the SN85 chassis already has a convenient hole for a 3.5 inch drive, despite the fact that there are just two little slots for the card reader on the faceplate.






In order to fit the Nexus in the faceplate, I had to dremel (and file) out a bit of plastic, making the hole big enough. Remember that this is the faceplate WITHOUT the front reflective plexi. We will deal with that later. These are before, during, and after shots.








Next I had to cut out a rectangle in the reflective plexi. This makes me happy because I had previously removed the card reader, and therefore didn't need the two slots for the cards. The cut I did removed them, and made room for the Nexus at the same time.






After some filing to make both the faceplate and the plexiglass holes flush with each other, here is how the Nexus fits in.







After putting the Shuttle back together, here is the finshed mod.









You might be asking yourself where the underglow is coming from... Well I'm using the two cold cathodes as standing rails for the Shuttle, which works pretty well, but they are a bit too long, and stick out the back . I'm thinking about buying some 8-10 inch cold cathode tubes to use instead. That way I can assure that the box is seated securely. The tubes that came with the Nexus also have triangular ends on them, and if I get shorter ones, they will have square ends, again to help stability.

The cathodes can be turned on and off with the controller, and can also react to music :music; :music; :music; :music;



Well so far the mod is working great, and I'm controlling my ICE fan with the Nexus. Tomorrow I will be adding the 120mm fan (which also works with the Nexus). Here are a couple of parting shots of the fan. I chose it because it is extremely quiet, and because of the LEDs.





Please post if you have any comments or suggestions.

[Aleksi]

NICE WORK!

Always a pleasure to see someone having guts (and the skills of course) of ripping a case apart and really working on it.

It's always when I see detailed log like this, that I go at some point "Hehe, now that guy is screwed " which turns a few mins later into a "Damn, that's nice! "

[Tephras]

That cut-out for the VGA Silencer is a great idea, apart from the fact that it makes the cooler fit it also brings good cooling performance and a nice high-tech look to the case.


Am I the only one having problems with this thread? As soon as the images start to load my processor ramps up to full load and it can only be stopped by closing all browser windows.

[scotty6435]

Works fine for me.

Amazing work once again man! should have my mods posted some time next week as I've been too busy and too lazy to give it a go

Scotty