Project: N.E.U.N.B.

HaxEJxuK

Gawd
Joined
Aug 28, 2007
Messages
696
Project: Never Ending Unfinished New Builds

I have built many computers before but was never able to complete them (I guess it will never be) and all were missing something. Most were running but in skeleton case if you know what I mean. That’s where the project name comes in hoping that this build will be actually finished!

With limited room that I have now (actually none) with wife, kids and Mother-in-Law, and maybe taking my PC to brother’s house to play some co-op games, I’ve decided to move my main PC to Mini ITX. What I usually do is that I buy parts when they were expensive but couldn’t complete the build and let it sit there to depreciate in value.(Really good process, huh? :() I’ve only use them once to test out to see if it works or not and sold most of them cheap to raise money for new one. Let me thank everyone who bought them and hope it works great for you!

Here are specs for my ITX build:


*Intel Q6600 VID 1.225v capable of 3.6GHz and higher
Zotac GF9300 G-E
Corsair H50 Push/Pull
*G.Skill Pi Black 2x2GB
*MSI GTX260
*WD 74GB Raptor
Silverstone SG05
And some other small parts.

One’s with * are the parts that I have from my previous computer and all others were ordered already.

This is basically what I’m trying to build and hope it doesn’t end up like project name.

Hope this goes well and wish me luck! :)
 
Well, this project started like 2 weeks ago already and I went through some hassle. All came on Friday which was good thing considering they were all ordered from different places. Bad thing started to happen when I opened SG05.

Immediately after opening SG05, I've noticed 2 small scratches on them and little dent. Oh well, I'll RMA and get it replacement so let's move on. :( Then I started setting up all the internals and started to install windows. Shortly after installing windows, I see cloud of white smoke from motherboard and it won't power up. :( VRM fried and had to RMA it. Sucks but what can I say, I'll just have to wait till it comes back.

Couple of days passed and saw DFI Mini-ITX MI P55-T36 was just released! Emailed and had them immediately stop the exchange of Zotac and have them switch to return instead. No way I'm sticking with Zotac when there's DFI i5!(going to be tough for me to tweak BIOS as I've never had DFI and heard there are too much options)

Another day or 2 passed and got replacement SG05! I said Let's start modding thing for my HX620 and GTX260 since I don't have other parts but what do you know!!! Left of the case had indent on it like someone put staple on it and stomped on it. No way I'm keeping this paying full price! :( Another RMA but this time it's return, not exchange!

:( Close to month that I have to wait for DFI...........sad but I guess I have to play waiting game for now since there's nothing I can do during this down time.

I figured it's better that way since DFI won't release their motherboard till 12/10/09.
 
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Well, this project started like 2 weeks ago already and I went through some hassle. All came on Friday which was good thing considering they were all ordered from different places. Bad thing started to happen when I opened SG05.

Immediately after opening SG05, I've noticed 2 small scratches on them and little dent. Oh well, I'll RMA and get it replacement so let's move on. :( Then I started setting up all the internals and started to install windows. Shortly after installing windows, I see cloud of white smoke from motherboard and it won't power up. :( VRM fried and had to RMA it. Sucks but what can I say, I'll just have to wait till it comes back.

Couple of days passed and saw DFI Mini-ITX MI P55-T36 was just released! Emailed and had them immediately stop the exchange of Zotac and have them switch to return instead. No way I'm sticking with Zotac when there's DFI i5!(going to be tough for me to tweak BIOS as I've never had DFI and heard there are too much options)

Another day or 2 passed and got replacement SG06! I said Let's start modding thing for my HX620 and GTX260 since I don't have other parts but what do you know!!! Left of the case had indent on it like someone put staple on it and stomped on it. No way I'm keeping this paying full price! :( Another RMA but this time it's return, not exchange!

:( Close to month that I have to wait for DFI...........sad but I guess I have to play waiting game for now since there's nothing I can do during this down time.

I figured it's better that way since DFI won't release their motherboard till 12/10/09.

Wow that sounds like a huge pain in the ass. I hope you aren't paying the shipping back and forth for that case
 
What a start huh? SG05 was free shipping from Amazon and both issued me pre paid shipping label(hope it stays that way and I don't see any surprise later.) so that's OK. I only wasted time for them. Zotac in other hand, I had to pay for shippng but they were nice enough to issue me pre paid shipping label. So I lost like $10 for nothing there.

Now I'm think if I should wait til I get more detail about this Lan Gears new ITX case since I have to wait at least till 12/10 if not more.

I'll think about it if I hear more detail about it. If I don't hear anything about it, I may give try with SG06 rather than SG05 as I want system to be quite.

Update on my plan:
If I go with SG05/06, I'll be doing push/pull with H50 and 120mm exhaust on top so that all hot air from H50 wil be exiting out as son as it passes through H50.

I had same idea as 2red's mod with his/her PSU. I just didn't know which PSU extender to get but he/she confirmed me it's from NZXT Rogue and I'm already in process of buying it from one of forum member.

Wow that sounds like a huge pain in the ass. I hope you aren't paying the shipping back and forth for that case
 
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sorry to hear about the troubles. never any fun... anyway i checked out that board and it looks awesome! are you planning on i5 or i7 for it?
 
It can change when I actually go buy it but for now, I'm thinking 750 as I live fairly close to microcenter and they sell it for $150.

sorry to hear about the troubles. never any fun... anyway i checked out that board and it looks awesome! are you planning on i5 or i7 for it?
 
OK, here's new parts list due to unintended change.

Intel i5 750(maybe i7 860?)
DFI Mini-ITX MI P55-T36
Corsair H50 Push/Pull
G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2GB DDR3 2000 F3-16000CL9D-4GBRH
*MSI GTX260
*WD 74GB Raptor
Silverstone SG05(Maybe)
And some other small parts.

One’s with * are the parts that I have from my previous computer and all others were ordered already.
 
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you can get a good price for that Q6600 since youre not using it. good vid on that one. it should come within $20-30 of paying for that 750. :)
 
I don't know. I might give that to my brother or put it in HTPC/2nd gaming PC or maybe put E6600 in HTPC and not give to my brother and sell it make some $ :)

you can get a good price for that Q6600 since youre not using it. good vid on that one. it should come within $20-30 of paying for that 750. :)
 
Sold my other Q6600 and it will only be $30 difference(well actually more cause of tax :() It's hard to hold myself back not to get the case. I hope Lan Gear reveals little more detail about their ITX case so I can decide. Hopely by the time DFI is released, if not I'll just get SG06.
 
Goodluck on getting it all setup. I'd be interested to see how this comes out as I'm thinking of something similar.. :D
 
Thanks to SarverSystems, I should be getting Rogue PSU extender for SG05/06 sometime next week. I should pick out which case I want soon. This would be much easier if I get little more detail about Lan Gear's new case that suppose to show up next spring. :(
 
Thanks! I also wanted to some pictures of progress but can't since there's no case to show! :(
I would have just picked SG05/06 if it wasn't for Lan Gears new case which supposed to accommodate 2x120mm fan, long GPU(I don't have to mod SG05/06) and there's still space for full size PSU(again I don't have to mod SG05/06) All these plus other extras and about 10% reduction in size.
That is winner in my book. Of course unless I really hate how it looks. If it wasn't for that, I would pick up SG05/06 right now. Well, I still got at least 3 weeks to go for DFI release so hopely they will release more info on this new case.

Goodluck on getting it all setup. I'd be interested to see how this comes out as I'm thinking of something similar.. :D
 
Little update but no picture yet. I've received NZXT Rogue PSU extender from SarverSystems and I thank you again selling it so cheap! :)

I also ordered case today. I really wanted to wait till Lan Gear releases some more info about their mITX case but my wife was going to buy me a case and without any info on Lan Gear, I didn't want to give up on free case and bought it before she changed her mind. :p

So what case did I get? SG06! Yes! after 2 disappointed SG05s, I got SG06. I really didn't have much option since there's no other case I can get for what I need. I went with SG06 since it will bit little quieter than SG05. I hope this one doesn't have scratch or dent on it like last two.

One thing I also notice is that there's little bulge on side near rear vent right above PCI slots. I've noticed that with 1st one and 2nd one. It kind of bothers me but it looked more like that's defect of manufacturing process and every case is like that. Hopely next update will have some pictures since I've got something to work on!

Update:

I've just placed an order for RAM since there's 10% cash back. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321&cm_re=gskill_eco-_-20-231-321-_-Product This is the one which uses 1.35v!!!! Ripjaws didn't have looks I wanted but it looks better than this plain looking ECO. I'm going to hate the look of this RAM but It's kind of hard to beat [email protected] though. Hope this is compatible with DFI since I've heard so many horror stories about DFI and RAM.

I just need to get i5 750 and DFI and I'm good to go!
 
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Little photo update here.

I've recently received some parts I've ordered. Luckily, SG06 didn't have any scratches and dents like last two SG05 so that's good. I'm kind of dissapointed by Silverstone quality though. Two things I've noticed is that buttons, USB ports etc. doesn't match up with opening of front panel. Everything is right up against left side of opening. Second thing is that switch isn't clean. It has some light scratches which most people wouldn't mind but it kind of bothers me but not enough to send it back since it's not major.

Here is a shot of SG06, G.Skill ECO and H50 that I've received.
100_7927.jpg


I'm still waiting for DFI to be released and I'll get i5 750 right after I order DFI. As I've mentioned in earlier post, I really wanted to get Ripjaws but ECO's [email protected] was just to hard to give up for looks.

Here is a shot of SG06 30 minutes after I've opened it brand new.
100_7933.jpg


I didn't have chance to finish the cut but this opening will be for my GTX260 that I've bought new about a year ago and haven't used.(Did I've ever mention that I buy stuff and never use them?) I still have to cut opening for HX620 which will be harder than this since room on back is very limited. I'll probably have to cut back of top cover to accommodate PSU extender too. Also, I have to measure it just right to make it fit to which is going to be little tough.

Supposedly, DFI should release tomorrow so I'll wait and see.

Also, update on parts. I will have to get everything and do test fit but I don't think there will be room for Raptor. I'm thinking about using two 2.5" 80GB 7200RPM raid 0 for HD at this point. I want to try SSD but those are just too expensive for me and I had these two drives so no additional cost to use them. :).
 
Another picture update here since I've got all of my major parts now. I'm building my daughter a PC so mine will be pushed back a little but I'll continue working on it. I know it's kind of childish of me to do this but I've always wanted to do this :)
100_7937.jpg

These are not all parts but just major parts. I haven't included things like fans, PSU bracket etc.

Also, as I was working on case I started to wish Silverstone used thicker steel for case. The case kind of feels flimsy especially when you want to take out cover. I tried to take out cover one time and hold side with my palm and pushed back of the case with my thumb. Well, my right thumb was on PCI slot and bent it little. I was able to bent it back to where it was but I've never had this issue with other case. Oh well.
 
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I finally had chance to test major parts. It's something that I had to do to make sure everything is in working order so that I can exchange them in case they don't work

Here are some shots with CPU and RAM installed.
100_7965.jpg

100_7974.jpg


Here is a shot testing.
100_8019.jpg


Here are some shots with major parts installed for testing.
100_8023.jpg

100_8025.jpg

100_8027.jpg

100_8028.jpg

100_8038.jpg


Now, I need to take them all apart again and file little more and make more cuts. It seems mounting PSU extender will be more PITA than I thought it was going to be. It looks like I have to cut back of top cover to mount PSU extender. I'm almost starting to think about Silverstone 450w PSU again and maybe swap out fan to make it quieter than mount HX620.

Also, people who get this motherboard and H50 with i5 750, you have to cut backplate to make it fit. I'll try to take a shot of it when I take everything apart again.
 
those g.skill eco are beautifullll.
but i couldn't get myself to pay extra $30 for them over the ripjaws =b
i wish the ripjaws was black instead of blue though.
oh well. i'll just have to upgrade later =)
 
Maybe Ripjaws you are talking about is higher latency ones? Ones that I was going to get was black and red.


those g.skill eco are beautifullll.
but i couldn't get myself to pay extra $30 for them over the ripjaws =b
i wish the ripjaws was black instead of blue though.
oh well. i'll just have to upgrade later =)
 
Just a short update.

I had little time to run Prime95 and took screenshot. I'm thinking about making plate for front to mount H50 side ways and mount it low so that I can still use bracket for optical drive. Also I'm seriously thinking about getting new 450w PSU from Silverstone and maybe do sleeving/shorten wires and replace fan to quiet it down.

Prime-1.jpg
 
I really love the idea of using the H50 in such a small case, as it competes with the best tower coolers on cooling and noise, while not being too terribly expensive (sub $80 last I checked). The hard part you mentioned above, though, gives me pause, as I'd like to be able to use all three drive mounts in an SG-05/6/7 case. I know that means that I want to have my cake and eat it too, but it's hard to pass up the possibility of having a Blu-ray player, 2TB drive for storage, and an SSD for the OS and main programs/games.
 
Yeah, I think H50 is only option for small cases at this point as all good air coolers are too tall for almost all small cases and defintely for SG05/06. Story changes with SG07 but too late, I've got SG06 already. Also, if you shop around you can find them for $60 easy.

You can use all 3(not recommanded when aircooled as 3 1/2 blocks too much airflow) by doing what I'm thinking about doing. Of course you have to mod but I'll be using push/pull with H50 and use HDD/ODD bracket. I just need to get my lazy butt to find plate and start measuring and dremel. Only major thing I have to do now is cut front panel more and make plate for it then use jb weld and rivet it and stick heatsink for PWMs. Also, there are more than 30 heatsinks that I have to do and I think more than 8 of them are something that I also have to mod to put them on. After that, it's all just put them together type of things so those are easy.

I'm also leaning towards getting new 450w from Silverstone instead of HX620 because I'm fine with cutting back of the case but it seems no matter how I measure it, I have to cut back of top panel so it can slide in. That means there won't be any back parts around where PSU goes on top panel which would really hate to do. Sure nobody looks on back of the case but it still annoys me that there will be some gap. :( I know, I had to be anal about those. :(


I really love the idea of using the H50 in such a small case, as it competes with the best tower coolers on cooling and noise, while not being too terribly expensive (sub $80 last I checked). The hard part you mentioned above, though, gives me pause, as I'd like to be able to use all three drive mounts in an SG-05/6/7 case. I know that means that I want to have my cake and eat it too, but it's hard to pass up the possibility of having a Blu-ray player, 2TB drive for storage, and an SSD for the OS and main programs/games.
 
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Here are updated parts list.

Intel i5 750
DFI Mini-ITX MI P55-T36
Corsair H50 Push/Pull
G.SKILL ECO Series 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600 F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO 7-8-7-24-2N
*MSI GTX260
160GB 2.5" Hitachi HDD
Silverstone SG06
And some other small parts.

One’s with * are the parts that I have from my previous computer and all others were ordered already.

Basically I had to buy everything new other than GTX260. That's some change compared to my original parts list.

I figured I'll use 160GB 2.5" for now and get SSD for my birthday which is in July. Then use SSD for OS/Games and use 160GB for data. It would be nice time too as I was thinking about painting and painting in below freezing point is never good. Swap HDD and painting in summer time would be nice. So I guess this won't really finish till late July but other than those two should be done by end of Feb.
 
yeah i painted out in my garage when it was about 45F and raining (super moist air.) didnt work out too well. worst parts are behind the mobo and other places you cant see, so i got lucky. definitely better to wait and do a good job if you can. get some more work done soon so we can see moar pics!
 
You don't have to mod H50 itself but you do have to mod backplate if you are using DFI Mini-ITX MI P55-T36. You have to trim two places which it's really easy to do. I forgot to take picture when I did but I'll take picture of it when I take out mobo to install heatsinks for PWM.

Hello,

Did you have to mod your H50 or Backplate to make it fit perfectly on the mobo ?
 
Yeah, I learned that when I was painting car parts when it was really cold outside about 6-7 years ago. It almost looked like I sprayed frosted paint or something. I want to work on it as soon as possible but I'm starting to get interested in SG07(already looking for new case :() It seems like I can install Magahalems in it or even Noctua NH-D14 by looking at some SG07 photos. Also 450w PSU from Silverstone won't show at least till March instead of planned January release and don't know when they will release SG07.

This basically means I can't finish this build till March if I want 450w PSU or mod SG06 with HX620 as I planned if I want it done now. Which I do not want to at this point because I have to cut backside of top cover(I would do this right now if I don't have to cut back of topcover) Easier way out for me is to wait for SG07 which requires minimal mod(seems I can mod back side to place 120mm fan and place huge air cooler instead of H50(I love huge air cooler :)) and put HX620 without modding case(It looks it supports ATX PSU) All that for cheaper than SG06+new PSU.

Decisions decisions:(

yeah i painted out in my garage when it was about 45F and raining (super moist air.) didnt work out too well. worst parts are behind the mobo and other places you cant see, so i got lucky. definitely better to wait and do a good job if you can. get some more work done soon so we can see moar pics!
 
yeah sometimes you just gotta cut your losses. sorry to hear that. i hope they release their stuffs soon for your sake!
 
Yeah, if I decide to go with SG07 I don't want to mod SG06 anymore so I'll have easier time selling it. But at same time, I like smaller size of SG06 but that damn 450w PSU!

I might just put everything as it is for now with 300w PSU that came with SG06 and just put 9600GT from my HTPC for time being. At least that way I can take it to my brother's house and play with him now than let parts just sit collecting dust. :)
 
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yeah thats a good idea. that way you can have something in the meantime. its hard to live without a working gaming computer. i have my 4850x2 RMAd right now and using my old 8600gt, so i know how that is. :) it plays tf2 just fine though. i really miss having all 4 monitors hooked up, and being able to crank up settings in all my games.
 
Well, here I go again changing my mind and I've decided to sell SG06 and wait for SG07. I figured I might get bigger graphics card than my current GTX260 later so SG06 out of question. Will I really get bigger card? I don't know but I guess at least I'll have option to if I do. Other benefit would be that I can finally use my HX620(maybe used like 10 times to test new builds and I bought this like 2 years ago) with SG07 or any other ATX PSU if I need more power. I really like size of SG06 though :( Actually I wish SG06 is little longer and lower so it's smaller but can fit ATX PSU and longer graphics card.

It's a shame that I'm selling my SG06 cause it's pretty much brand new(like most of my parts :() minus cut to front panel to accommdate GTX260. No scratch, no finger print(I even put away front panel so it doesn't get dirty) and no dent. Yes! no dent! I had to go though two SG05 just to find current SG06 that didn't have dent or problem with the case. All that work for nothing. :(

Well, I guess there won't be much update till March or April. Damn it! I'll try to put mosfet heatsinks in mean while and have small update with picture though.

Also, I might give up H50. Rough measure using current pictures out there for SG07 tells me I can fit Megahalems(One that I've sold to build this one :() and maybe~~~ Noctua NH-D14. Yeah, I like big heatsink on small Mobo! :)

With that said, here are updated parts list.

Intel i5 750
DFI Mini-ITX MI P55-T36
Corsair H50 Push/Pull (Most likely change to Megahalems or Noctua NH-D14 once I confirm it fits after getting SG07)
G.SKILL ECO Series 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600 F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO 7-8-7-24-2N
*MSI GTX260
160GB 2.5" Hitachi HDD (Most likely will change)
Silverstone SG07
*Enzotech BMR-C1 and MOS-C1
And some other small parts.

One’s with * are the parts that I have from my previous builds and all others are new. Damn, how many times am I updating this list! Damn new parts!
 
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Update time!

No pictures this time but there will be soon. Anyways, here I go again changing my mind again! While waiting for SG07, my need have been changed since I have built my brother his 2nd gaming computer. Basically, I no longer need small computer to carry around but I need fast computer for HD video editing I wanted to try out for editing video of my kids.

I decided to sell everything and go ATX and use A05B that I never got to use and collecting dust. After about 2 weeks of research of what to get and trying to sell, I realized I don't want to go through selling stuff again and SG06 build is enough. I don't need SG07 because I'll most likely never get really long video card like HD5970 and I can still fit HD5870(if I decided to get it later) with like mod in SG06, small case is good, I can give up 600Mhz by not going ATX and SilverStone 450W PSU is coming very soon.

So, now that I've decided to work on SG06 again, I started to work on it last night. I've made rough cut of front plate so now it's not just opening for GTX260 but almost entire front is gone. I'll be making front plate to cover it and use JB weld(never used it but heard good things about it) and maybe rivets just to be on safe side to hold it.

I thought about mounting H50 side ways and move it close to where power switch is so I can still use 2.5" and optical drive and still able to use my GTX260 but that seems too much work. What I have decided to do is just mount H50 vertically but mount it so that it's sits on bottom. I have to mount the fan lower than H50 little bit but this way, I can use ODD, 2.5" and still use my GTX260 without too much work.

Hopely, I get all this done before they start to sell PSU so all I have to do is just mount PSU when I get it :)

Maybe I'll paint the case black too since weather is pretty nice :)


Once again, here's updated list!(hope this is the last one.)

Intel i5 750
DFI Mini-ITX MI P55-T36
Corsair H50
G.SKILL ECO Series 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600 F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO 7-8-7-24-2N
*MSI GTX260
160GB 2.5" WD Scorpio Black
Silverstone SG06
*Enzotech BMR-C1 and MOS-C1
And some other small parts.

One’s with * are the parts that I have from my previous builds and all others are new.
 
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Little Photo update.

I haven't done much and won't work on it this week either because I'll be taking a day off on Friday to take my family to see Cherry Blossom Festival.

Anyways, here are couple of pictures and excuse me that it's out of focus. I was little too tired to think about it.

I had to trim socket 1156 backplate of H50 to make it fit on DFI P55-T36 which I have done it almost 3+ months ago
100_8111.jpg
100_8113.jpg


Basically top 2 holes had to be partially trimmed so it doesn't touch the parts on back of motherboard.


Here are shots of front that I've mentioned before.
100_8114.jpg
100_8116.jpg


I thought about placing H50 sideways so that all ODD and HD brackets are usable but meant lot more work while just lowering H50 pretty much did same thing. I won't be able to use 3.5" bracket but I'm not going to use 3.5" drives anyway so that doesn't matter. Only down side of just lowering H50 if you call it downside is that I have to mount fan little bit lower than where it should be mounted. I thought about using JB weld and Rivet to put front plate on but I've changed my mind. JB weld would be more of permanent so if I would to change my mind later, I can't reverse it. Now I'm thinking about just using silicon to glue it together and rivet to finish it off.


Here is donor for front plate which is side panel from Supermicro server case. Also comparison shot with SG06.
100_8117.jpg
100_8121.jpg


Hope I can get front plate made soon.

To be continued...
 
Well, I couldn't get anything done because I had to take my wife to ER on 4/7. She had to get her appendix removed which would have been simple but she had allergic reaction to IV dye for CAT scan and another one day after. First one, she had hives every where, her face was swollen up pretty bad and couldn't breath because her throat also swollen up. Thankfully, she was ok after some medication. Next day, she got her appendix removed but after hour or so after she got back she had another allergic reaction which was worse than night before. she had all the symptoms and was paralyzed for about an hour or so. Find out later that her uncle died doing pretty much same thing last year. There were lot more happened during 6 days stay at hospital but I won't go too deep. :) She's back now and getting better other than one infection. Well, that plus herniated disc and hyperthyroidism she has before this happen.

Now back to my project. I tried to use nibbler to cut out front plate but I gave up. Side panel from Supermicro was thick and it was making loud noise every time I cut and I probably have to cut like 200 time or more. I don't think that will go well with my wife. I'll most likely go to my brother's house this weekend and use dremel to cut what I need and possibly opening for video card and H50 too.

Forgot to add one thing.

I know there's that ticking or noise that comes from H50 which I read from many sites and I personally experienced it. I bought H50 and had noise coming from pump so I exchanged it but haven't tested it out yet. Then I came across a thread in SPCR that by using Speedfan and slowing down pump, some people were able to make it quiet as it should and still cooled CPU. That's probably what I'm going to do as my build(remember! never completed!) were mainly concentrated on fast and quiet. I don't know if there will be any ill effect though so I've asked water cooling section so hopely someone will reply to that.
 
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it rly intrigues me how you have almost the exact same parts as me. down to the mos-c1
i was wondering. where did u put them on ur mi t36?
i haven't decided yet.. even after 4 mths =P
 
Ha! I checked your sig and found out you also had P5E-VM HDMI! :) I still do and it's being used as my HTPC now.

Back to your question, I'm lazy and being busy also doesn't help but I haven't put it on yet. Basically I modded H50 1156 bracket early Dec last year when DFI came out and thought about placing heatsink on there that I had from previous build but never got around. Then I found this early this year which basically what I was going to do. http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/reviews/28012-dfi-lanparty-mi-p55-t36-mini-itx-living-review-23.html Hope this helps as this is basically what I'm planning to do. Well except little bit less as I don't think you need that much copper on it where some don't even need them.

As for update, I cut out front plate but haven't drilled or made opening for H50 yet. I also had to hammer case(hammer you say???) and file front plate. I guess another trip to brother's house this coming weekend to make opening for H50 and drilling. I'll be doing measuring work from home though, so I just have to cut and drill when I get there.

I'll try to upload pictures of hammered case and front plate either tonight or tomorrow.

it rly intrigues me how you have almost the exact same parts as me. down to the mos-c1
i was wondering. where did u put them on ur mi t36?
i haven't decided yet.. even after 4 mths =P
 
OK, here's couple of photo update. I did best I could as far as cutting for front plate without test fitting and all so naturally it's little off. I need to file more to get it right.

Here is front plate on SG06.


This is what I was talking about using hammer. :)


And some more shots of front of the case.
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As you can see, I originally didn't think about making front plate and using drive tray so I wasted much metal from front unnecessary. If I would do this again, I know what and how much to cut. Well, it's too late now and since I made front plate from thick server case, it should be strong to make case solid.

Right now, I'm thinking about if I should make vent right below CPU to cool VRMs. I originally thought about doing it but hated idea of cutting painted surface. I have couple of ideas but I'm not sure if I should do it or not.

I'm also thinking about painting unpainted surface black after everything is completed as far as case goes. I thought about flat black or any black paint but also thinking about epoxy as it's much durable(I hate chipped paint!)

More to come....... hopely by end of this week.



P.S. I can't believe it's already been more than 5 months since I started this!
 
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Short update:

I just bought Silverstone SF45SF. 450w PSU that is same size as stock. I thought about getting it later but it's been out of stock from Newegg twice since it was released not too long ago and last time it was out, stock date was 6/7 and Amazon's been out of stock since it was released. I didn't want to take chance that it will be out again when I need it so here we go, waiting for PSU. :)

P.S. Ha! It's out of stock again! Good thing I bought it. :D
 
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Picture update!

H50 bracket is about 90% completed. It just need holes drilled and mounted.
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I had to dremel little pole/stick or whatever you call it so GTX260 fits.
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This is what I talked about USB port and power switch not aligning.
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Shots of new PSU from Silverstone. I'm surprised that it's sold out in Newegg and possibly discontinued and discontinued in Amazon in matter or like week or two. I guess when they said limited run, I really meant limited run.
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