minix 780G with hybrid crossfire in case with 120mm fan

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Spare Tire
Posts: 286
Joined: Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:45 pm
Location: Montréal, Canada

minix 780G with hybrid crossfire in case with 120mm fan

Post by Spare Tire » Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:39 pm

CPU: athlon II 250
heatsink: dynatron a46g, 1U server cpu heatsink for amd socket am2
GPU: radeon hd2400
motherboard: minix 780g
ram: 4gig ddr2 800mhz sodimm
PSU: PW-200-M
power brick: a dell version of the Delta ADP220AB
hdd: seagate barracuda 7200.9 250gig i think
fan: yate loon D12SL-12C slim 120mm*120mm*20mm
case: apex MD-100


A minix 780G mini-ITX motherboard in hybrid crossfire with a HD2400, that is unfortunatly not passive. I just had the videocard laying around but for the performance increase i'm not quite sure if i'd go through the trouble of making another hybrid crossfire build if i had to start from scratch. Still it helps for some older games. In fact, this system is made with using spare parts in mind.
Two biggest problems with this build is the power supply and the 120mm fan. Components needed at least 150W to be on the safe side, and no power brick exist with the right plug. Had to do it myself with instructions provided by Aris here. 120mm fans were too tall, the only slimmer 120mm fan available is the YateLoon D12SM-12C and D12SL-12C. Ordered the medium speed one thinking when i'll slow down its speed with the little thing that comes with noctua fans, it'll be just right, but unfortunately it didn't start at all. The YateLoon D12SM-12C is not silent right now so i'm waiting for the D12SL-12C that's on the way, should be here next week. Also, even at 20mm thick, the YateLoon still didn't fit well enough, had to grate away some of the frame. I haven't put a slim CD in yet, but that will also need more grating of the fan frame to fit in. Also i had to do some chasis modding to mount the fan, had to cut through the steel sheet and that was not easy either, as you can see in the pick, i've scratched the piano black finish and the hole was slightly too large, a cosmetic failure.
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Last edited by Spare Tire on Sat Aug 01, 2009 10:23 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Spare Tire
Posts: 286
Joined: Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:45 pm
Location: Montréal, Canada

Post by Spare Tire » Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:45 pm

Keep it on topic mate! :D

LodeHacker
Posts: 628
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2008 1:25 pm
Location: Finland

Post by LodeHacker » Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:55 pm

Spare Tire wrote:Keep it on topic mate! :D
Heeeheehee I'm known for the most unusual replies, so be prepared :P

Or maybe I had one *ahem* too much and can't think clearly? :mrgreen:
At any case, that DAC is beautiful and so is the passive heat sink on your CPU. Great project, but are you going to work on it or leave it as it is?

Spare Tire
Posts: 286
Joined: Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:45 pm
Location: Montréal, Canada

Post by Spare Tire » Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:03 pm

Once the new fan arrives, it'll be back to grating off some more. Then i'll put in the optical drive (maybe later a bluray if they become cheap). I'll replace the barracuda with maybe a samsung F2 or a WD green as storage and an SSD as OS drive. Asside from that, it's pretty much done. Draws around 150W at peak from the wall as of now, might go higher once i put in the optical drive. CPU is idling at 24. Haven't stress tested the system yet.

I'll give full system specs soon, right now i need to eat. Haven't eating anything today, was busy soldering the powerbrick and such. It's my first time soldering, hope nothing meltdown!

LodeHacker
Posts: 628
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2008 1:25 pm
Location: Finland

Post by LodeHacker » Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:05 pm

Spare Tire wrote:Once the new fan arrives, it'll be back to grating off some more. Then i'll put in the optical drive (maybe later a bluray if they become cheap). I'll replace the barracuda with maybe a samsung F2 or a WD green as storage and an SSD as OS drive. Asside from that, it's pretty much done. Draws around 150W at peak from the wall as of now, might go higher once i put in the optical drive. CPU is idling at 24. Haven't stress tested the system yet.

I'll give full system specs soon, right now i need to eat. Haven't eating anything today, was busy soldering the powerbrick and such. It's my first time soldering, hope nothing meltdown!
What time is it there? For me it's already time to sleep :lol:

Don't go for Blu-ray... save the money and buy something else (invest in a more expensive SSD?). You know, there are alternative ways to get HD movies... I'm talking about perfectly legal ways here :mrgreen:

Spare Tire
Posts: 286
Joined: Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:45 pm
Location: Montréal, Canada

Post by Spare Tire » Mon Jun 29, 2009 7:40 pm

Well, i'm basically sending this home to my parents. I doubt they'll be able to play around with the alternate ways of getting HD movies! DVD for now at least. Bluray if they ever come down to the price of DVD drive today, i'll consider it.
I like the two front USB, might plug in two gamepads and play some hockey games or stuff like that! Or some old emulator games! It's the size of a console, pretty cute machine if it weren't for the scratches to the top panel.

Here's the power brick. A power brick worthy of the name!
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LodeHacker
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Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2008 1:25 pm
Location: Finland

Post by LodeHacker » Mon Jun 29, 2009 8:24 pm

Just curious, what's up with the IDE adapter or is that SCSI?

Spare Tire
Posts: 286
Joined: Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:45 pm
Location: Montréal, Canada

Post by Spare Tire » Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:58 pm

Oh, that's IDE to 2.5" drive. When the machine was open top, i used it to fix my laptops and the such.

Spare Tire
Posts: 286
Joined: Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:45 pm
Location: Montréal, Canada

Post by Spare Tire » Thu Jul 09, 2009 4:46 pm

Upgraded CPU to athlon II x2 250. Added optical drive and changed the fan (now satisfactorily quiet).All that's missing now is a nice SSD to serve as the OS drive and upgrading the HDD to a large 5600rpm drive would be nice.
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Fan frame was cut to allow room for the wiring up of the optical drive.

Also, i just realised i opened this thread in the wrong forum.

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