Cheers for the replies
Ralph: The case has been through a number of different setups. The original being the first (messy wiring) pic with the stock antec case fan and a 92mm panaflo (5v) underneath the hdd. Temps were usually around 33c for the case and 43c for the cpu at idle.
When I switched to the Nexus psu, at first I had that as the only case fan ( no intake or exhasut) to see what it took for the fan to ramp up, and surprisingly it never did or not noticeably. Case temps were around 2c higher at around 35c, which i thought was ok due to the lack of fans. CPU temps were lower than previously but that was due to an heatsink upgrade.
The latest incarnation which consists of nexus psu with cables braided and tidied and a 120mm Nexus case fan exhausting. With the weather getting hotter here (british summer time started last week) case temps are now around 30c, so overall a 3c drop and a huge decrease in noise.
sthayashi: The process went something like this:
1. Ordered Nexus 3500 psu. Received PSU, tested it for 10 mins, left it for a little while and then opened it up.
2. Traced the wires from the 6pin aux connector back to inside the psu and cut them before insulating with heatshrink. The same was done with one of the 4 molex harnesses ( As I dont need that many at the moment, and additional ones can be added if need be).
3. The braiding then began. The braiding I used was from RS components
This is polyester braiding making very stretchy and doesnt fray as easily as the vantec kit stuff ( which I used on my previous PSU).
I used the 5 (nom) 3 (min) 10(max) braiding and 8mm heatshrink for the 4 pin wires. The braid was a very good fit, snug but not too tight, meaning the weave on the braid isn't stretched which makes it look transparent.
For the 20 pin ATX I used the 15 10 25 braid, I did try to used the 10 6 18 stuff but it was a struggle to get it over all the pins which were quite bulky after taping them together to prevent them snagging on the braid. With a little better effort with the pin taping I assume this braid would be perfect as the 15 10 25 is a little saggy but not overly so.
4. The reason the psu was opened was, apart from cable snipping was to allow the braid to go inside the psu and secure with a cable tie ( for a neater look) This was made slightly easier after removing the aux and extra molex cables however I was unable to get the 20 pin braid inside the psu due to nexus making the cable exit hole very small and the braid being slightly saggy. So I had to settle for heatshrink which looks ok. The heatshrink was 1/2" or 5/8"..I cant remember off hand.
5. For the pin extracting I bought the syringe type extractor for the 4 pin molexes which made the job very easy. A small screwdriver does fine for the floppy connector. Howver the 2 ATX connectors were a nightmare. For some unknown reason hardly anywhere (in the UK) stock the extractor tool required for this ( apart from digi uk who charge expensive shipping).
After reading round on the web I found a site where the author used staples to remove the pins.
6. After acquiring staples (2 quid from my local B&Q) I was p*ssed to find that even staples were too thick. Solution: Using my dad's bench grinder, I ground 1 of the staples down slightly at the end, giving it a wedge shape.
Then the unground staple was put into the connector and wedge staple was inserted into the other side. Using needle nose pliers, the staples were pushed down to close in the retaing tabs. I initially used my fingers but the staples were prone to bending. After the tabs were pushed in the pin is still held in place due to the tightness of the staples ( that need to be left in to keep the tabs closed) then a 2.4mm precision screwdriver (perfect size to fit in the connector hole but not go inside the pin possible damaging the crimps). With a bit of force the pin can be pushed out. Don't pull the wires to pull the pin out (which I did for the 1st 3 wires and pin 3 being a thinner wire pulled out of the pin
requiring me to buy a new pin and recrimp it.) It works ok for the thicker wires but you have to ensure the staples are fully inserted and the tabs fully pressed in. I'd still always use the screwdriver method tho.
7. Number the wires as you remove them ( I used masking tape which I wrote the numbers on) also dont' forgot to underline the 6 and 9 to save any confusion. I forgot to do this and was a little worried when it came to reinserting the wires, fortunately the way I draw a 9 is quite unsual so made determining the wires easy.
8. The serial ATA connectors were easy. The psu originally had to 2 connectors ( a 90 degree pass through and straight end connector) I cut the straight connector and added 2 90 degree connectors allowing 3 hard drives to be powered, which is more than enough for me. The 90 degree was very easy to fit/remove as they are just push-fit connectors. A small precision screwdriver is used to prise off the back plate and then the wires can be pushed into the terminals with the same driver.
Think that about sums it up. Sorry for the massive post, I wish I had taken some pics of the process it would have made explaining the process a lot easier to convey.
One last thing...I highly recommend the purchase of the atx pin extraction tool. Next time I braid a PSU I'm definately going to purchase one. Also the female molex pin extractor is very useful and makes the job a lot easier and quicker. For male pin extraction, an extracted femal pin can be inserted over the male, closing the tabs and allowing it to be pulled out safely.
