My latest wood case

McBanjo · Post by **McBanjo** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:46 pm

This is my laterst build, it isn't 100% done yet. I need to create another holder for my HDDs and a duct for the CPU from the backside.
I will probibly do something cosmetic as well, a tribal of aluminium on the front, possibly some LEDs and glasfiber as well. But mainly it's done and I'm acctually satisfied.

Thanks Bluefront for inspiration and aid

It's positive airpressured

Assembled:

Inside graphic with the former HDD-holders:

On the outside:

A close up on the beautiful start/reboot and LED holder (forgot the english word for it) that my brother did:

Sorry for the dizzy pics, I shot them with my phone. Will fix bether pics when I update my site

Edited: Title

ronrem · Post by **ronrem** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:49 pm

Nice,good switch panel. Is the mobo sideways with the jacks up top?

I like the floor fans,a good place for them to be quiet.

McBanjo · Post by **McBanjo** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 3:19 am

ronrem wrote:Nice,good switch panel. Is the mobo sideways with the jacks up top?

I like the floor fans,a good place for them to be quiet.

Yep thats correct. Makes it very easy to connect all cables

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 3:32 am

Looks good so far, sort-of like a similar design I envisioned. Although your turning the MB is completely unique. You need to get some better photos....I can barely make out the pieces.

McBanjo · Post by **McBanjo** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 6:59 am

Bluefront wrote:Looks good so far, sort-of like a similar design I envisioned. Although your turning the MB is completely unique. You need to get some better photos....I can barely make out the pieces.

I'll take and upload a highres pic later today with a proper camera.

Those overview pictures doesn't get good with my phone while most closeups are good enought

McBanjo · Post by **McBanjo** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:32 pm

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 3:38 am

I'm still somewhat puzzled about this setup. You have fans blowing inward, an exhaust hole directly behind the Ninja, but is the top left open? If not, just how did you seal around the cables, etc. You need some internal pressure to force airflow through the Ninja....but I cannot see how you're achieving this.

This is one setup where the pictures don't tell the whole story.

Edit....maybe there isn't an exhaust vent behind the Ninja. The exhaust goes straight up perhaps. If you're using this case without a top, it probably cools well, but I would worry about accidents.

ronrem · Post by **ronrem** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 4:42 am

I'm not sure I like the airflow plan...or even have it figured out yet-but I do like how everything is in the most unexpected place,and yet it probably works pretty good,especially in terms of not letting much noise out.

Ther's a fan on the Ninja,and I think the top's over to one end. Don't see how the cables exit-but I guess that's doable. For an under-desk setup the top cables make sense.

regal196 · Post by **regal196** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 8:31 am

This looks much like the case I built earlier this year. (Link is in sig if you want to see it).

I am not familiar with the PSU, so how do it get air flow?

One last thing, where did you get the switch panel? I'm digging the metal.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 8:54 am

McBanjo, so you don't have any problems with the Noctuas blowing upwards?

McBanjo · Post by **McBanjo** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:11 am

Bluefront wrote:I'm still somewhat puzzled about this setup. You have fans blowing inward, an exhaust hole directly behind the Ninja, but is the top left open? If not, just how did you seal around the cables, etc. You need some internal pressure to force airflow through the Ninja....but I cannot see how you're achieving this.

This is one setup where the pictures don't tell the whole story.

Edit....maybe there isn't an exhaust vent behind the Ninja. The exhaust goes straight up perhaps. If you're using this case without a top, it probably cools well, but I would worry about accidents.

No exhaust behind the Ninja, but I will move the fan on the Ninja and create an intake behind it. So I'll have 3 fans blowing inwards.
Exhaust is all straight up, it's nothing there that need cooling

Currently there is no roof what so ever on it. I'm having a few ideas but we'll see if it gets any roof.
The case is below my desk so accidents isn't a problem

ronrem wrote:I'm not sure I like the airflow plan...or even have it figured out yet-but I do like how everything is in the most unexpected place,and yet it probably works pretty good,especially in terms of not letting much noise out.

Ther's a fan on the Ninja,and I think the top's over to one end. Don't see how the cables exit-but I guess that's doable. For an under-desk setup the top cables make sense.

Basicly from the bottom and straight up so far

So far it's easy airflow, depending on some tinkering it might be a bit more complicated
The cables isn't a problem but a hole with foam cut in an X would work (or simular solution). I had that on my former case, works nicely.
But now the inside/top will for sure be open anyway

regal196 wrote:This looks much like the case I built earlier this year. (Link is in sig if you want to see it).

I am not familiar with the PSU, so how do it get air flow?

One last thing, where did you get the switch panel? I'm digging the metal.

Yea that's rather simular.

The PSU is a straight throught so it gets the airflow from the back (or currently from it's bottom).
Behind the DVD is only empty air and cables.

I was nagging my brother until he made me that switchpanel just to shut me up. Works every time

He totaly lack imagination but he is a skilled worker. I love that switchpanel.

jaganath wrote:McBanjo, so you don't have any problems with the Noctuas blowing upwards?

Nope, haven't notice anything. I do get a lot of windnoise when the speed gets up but that's all
Anything specific I should listen for?

ultrachrome · Post by **ultrachrome** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:21 am

Nice job. Pics of the case with the top on would help clarify the design.

I've day-dreamed of a case with the same motherboard orientation. I would use a removable lid that was positioned about an inch above the top of the case. The gap would be for exhaust and cable routing. Access to connectors would be much easier.

Back in the early 90's Dell made servers with the same motherboard orientation. There was a removable hood that covered the connectors. The cables made a 90 degree bend and exited out the back under the hood.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 11:29 am

Anything specific I should listen for?

One review mentioned a grinding noise when in a horizontal orientation. Anything like that?

McBanjo · Post by **McBanjo** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 1:06 pm

ultrachrome wrote:Nice job. Pics of the case with the top on would help clarify the design.

I've day-dreamed of a case with the same motherboard orientation. I would use a removable lid that was positioned about an inch above the top of the case. The gap would be for exhaust and cable routing. Access to connectors would be much easier.

Back in the early 90's Dell made servers with the same motherboard orientation. There was a removable hood that covered the connectors. The cables made a 90 degree bend and exited out the back under the hood.

As I stated before, there is currently no top. Did some test with a <-style top, 0mm at the front and 100mm at the back. Didn't be any use neither sound or cooling.
So for now the straight bottom to top airflow is good

It's really a dreamcase to work with, exchanging cables on the back is really easy and since I can open the front and remove the back I have basicly an open tray to work with when I Install a system

McBanjo · Post by **McBanjo** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 1:09 pm

jaganath wrote:
Anything specific I should listen for?
One review mentioned a grinding noise when in a horizontal orientation. Anything like that?

Nope, not even on 12V. At that speed I can hear the motor slightly but that sound is drowned by my 2 noisy Samsung Spinpoint P120

Besides that it was only the massive rush of air I could hear.

EndoSteel · Post by **EndoSteel** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 2:00 am

McBanjo
Have you tried running the system with the bottom fans swtched off? Somthing tells me there won't be much of a difference

.

regal196 · Post by **regal196** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 6:18 am

Can you you post some pics of just the HDs. Or a drawing of how it works?

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 6:41 am

Bluefront critique of McBanjo case mod....heh. This case is a good example of thinking outside the box....so to speak. If you design a case with enough internal room, you are not constrained by the standard sized components all of us need in a computer. McBanjo used his large case to achieve a really good airflow......bottom to top. Twisting the MB means the large video card is no longer blocking this airflow, plus he can sit the drives on end with an intake fan blowing right over them. They'll run cool with minimum airflow....I'd estimate those drives are <35C with the fan @5v. A minimal top with airflow around the edges is probably all that is necessary.

Cons with this design......the optical drive is located in an awkward place, and unless it is a slot-type, it would be difficult to use...for me anyway.

Overall....nice setup, with the potential of being very quiet.

McBanjo · Post by **McBanjo** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 6:12 am

EndoSteel wrote:McBanjo
Have you tried running the system with the bottom fans swtched off? Somthing tells me there won't be much of a difference .

Tryed that and you are correct, atleast when it comes to idle. Only 2-3 degrees difference with fan on resp off. But it climbed a little to fast with CPU-burn fo my liking. But with a little less powerful computer (mainly no Prescott) it would most likely work flawless.
I started to think about some sort of duct to see if the fans draw air from inside of the case.

regal196 wrote:Can you you post some pics of just the HDs. Or a drawing of how it works?

Only had the phone here but is it good enought?
http://hem.bredband.net/gabsta/dator/Case2/DSC00495.JPG
The black/gray is foam that came with a DVD or HDD

Bluefront wrote:Bluefront critique of McBanjo case mod....heh. This case is a good example of thinking outside the box....so to speak. If you design a case with enough internal room, you are not constrained by the standard sized components all of us need in a computer. McBanjo used his large case to achieve a really good airflow......bottom to top. Twisting the MB means the large video card is no longer blocking this airflow, plus he can sit the drives on end with an intake fan blowing right over them. They'll run cool with minimum airflow....I'd estimate those drives are <35C with the fan @5v. A minimal top with airflow around the edges is probably all that is necessary.

Cons with this design......the optical drive is located in an awkward place, and unless it is a slot-type, it would be difficult to use...for me anyway.

Overall....nice setup, with the potential of being very quiet.

Thanks for the comment Oh mighty Guru

The HDDs rarely hit +30C, 28-29C is normal. Might be diffferent on a couple of Maxtors ofcourse.
The DVD is a little low but I rarely use it anyway and placing it somewhere else would require a larger case and one of my goals was to keep the size down to a minimum.
A laptop-DVD would be easier to place

McBanjo · Post by **McBanjo** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 4:09 pm

jaganath wrote:
Anything specific I should listen for?
One review mentioned a grinding noise when in a horizontal orientation. Anything like that?

After moving one of the fans to my newly created for the cpu (and thereby normaly mounted) I've started to hear wining. And anything over 5V creates a massive wooosh-sound of rushing air, might be a design error from my side tho