soundx98

Been running the latest Prime 95 v25.5 for 7 hours (Thanks, Praz)
Also looping a WMP file at the same time. Both cores at 100%.
CPU Temp fluctuating between 43 and 45 degrees LOAD!
Nothing to whine about at all.



Lots of work and touching up to do still.
Jebus there are a lot or wires with 3 HDDs and intrnal USB connections for M.O.s and top USBs.
Need to find a place to cut the window panel.
Think I need more light inside the case as well.

OK, so I just got it all together and I need some work on cable management.
But honestly, I am very surprised I can get all the wires in and still have it looking decent.

Those are some OCZ *extenders" for HDD and GPU thst I used on the NEC DVD and HDD.
Basically tucked the wires underneath the HDD while I await shipment of the 6" SATA cables.

Looks a little "clunky" in the upper right hand quadrant but I have a couple of ideas.

So no laughin' as it's still a work in progress.
(It really does look awesome in person)\













A big chunk of "Ultra Flat Black" came off the DVD.
I'll be re-painting it AND using Primer this time.

soundx98

system info

soundx98

The cable that connects HDD LED, RESET, and PWR SWITCH to mobo is at least 3 inches short for proper cable management.
USB cable about the same amount.
(In fact, all the cables should be longer.)

There is no easy way to hide cables with this case.

But I can live with this while I try to figure out the window panel.

Spent a lot of time on cable management without using the hidden side (right).
Virtually impossible to do with this PSU, 2 Matrix Orbital displays, 3 HDDs.
(Man I wish I had a Corsair 620 to put in here, someone give me a link to any hot deals on it)

I really like the case but the re-build has been tough.
Started having issues with the NEC ND-3550A (I've used like 6 of them and never had ANY issues).
Just wasn't reading and writing like it should.
It's been flashed to the Liggy and Dee 1Y3 firmware for a year and been just awesome.
Just stopped reading anything yesterday.

Swapped out the black version with the silver version from rig #2 and of course it worked perfectly with the silver one.
I realized immediately that somehow the paint had gotten into the device. (fug)
I would have sworn that I covered every single hole to make sure it didn't happen.
But as I opened the drive I saw some tiny flecks of "Ultra-Flat Black" paint.
Very tiny, but something must have gotten in and clouded the lens (or it just died after two years which I doubt)
Gonna be a long project to try and clean this. Doesn't even seem worth it.


With the rubber "U"/"C" channel molding on it doesn't look like the AC Ryan Mirror2 is going to work.
Just not enough room to use 3M 4010 tape to secure it to the side panel.

Here is the side taped and ready to cut



AC Ryan two-way mirror panel and checking dimensions



Now if I add the rubber molding I just don't see how I can use the 3M 4010 tape to secure it on the sides.



options I see are:
1) forgetting about the rubber molding
2) securing the sides of the AC Ryan panel in a different manner
3) cutting a slightly narrower window in the "solid" panel (Side panels on the Antec 900 are reversible).
(You can order a new "solid" side panel from Antec for $13.95 USD plus shipping)
4) Forget about the AC Ryan mirror 2 and go get a standard piece of plexi
5) Try superglue between rubber molding and AC Ryan mirror2 (probably kill the side panel, Mirror2 and rubber molding in the process)
All of the above seem like valid approaches to the problem, just not sure which way to go.
Using the standard window is NOT an option (I'm stubborn)

Dang, I though I had this all planned perfectly.

(And I still need to extend all the leads from the top I/O panel)

Any ideas or thoughts let me know.

Yes, I realize you were expecting more of a success story but hopefully it may prevent someone else from making similar mistakes.

soundx98

<shrug>
No guts no glory I guess
I'm cutting the biatch NOW!

Window cut and side molding applied.
Looks good (But this was the easy part)



Here is the reverse side with the Mirror2 panel.
There is NO overhang at all.



The Mirror 2 doesn't weight much at all.
I was going to use 3M 4010 between side panel and Mirror2 (clear, up to 2 pounds, and designed for interior use and no-porous surfaces).

Gonna run out and get some 3M 4311 (grey, up to 5 pounds, exterior and porous surfaces) and use it to "sandwich" the Mirror2 to the side panel.
May hold better as I know the rubber molding will be "pushing up".

It should like this except a mirror.

soundx98

Should look like this when I am done.



I can see (just a little) with all the sunshine behind me.
Hopefully It will be "ohsofrigginkewl" at night.
(If not I guess I'll be adding some CCFLs in the future.)

EDIT:
Good News. The temps have dropped at Idle with the side panel on. w00tala

Hellisforheroes

Fantastic all-round case. Itll be the home for my next rig for sure. Whenever that is

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soundx98

Lil teaser here. Grabbed a 15" logisys blue CCFL out of the soundx98 stash box.
I'd want the CCFLs hidden of course so I need to go with dual 12" to clear the rear fan.

I know the pic is crap but it does look very, very good to me in person.
Pretty dang hard to shoot a mirror without getting reflections.





Not looking forward to hassling with more cable management but I think this is gonna be worth all the pain.

soundx98

Sun is down and it's night now.
But I'm not camera savvy enough to get a good shot with this mirror.
LOL, great shot of the blinds off the window.
I can see the entire inside now and it's very sexy (Yeah baby)
Really kewl effect.





I think I can hide the 2nd CCFL near the HDDs but I'll be taking some stuff apart again to get it to fit.

Since the SkyHawk 620 PSU is moular (6 pin molex like a vid card), I'm thinking it will be easier to make custom cables then sleeve existing ones.

And one of the oldfaht his badself



The 3M 4011 tape worked great. The Mirror2 is going nowhere.
I absolutely love the "big" window.

Outside is done and I'll tackle more on the inside next.

Watchin' some football with some buds.
They are lovin the new case.
Does look pretty good doesn't it?
Matrix Orbitals reading the memory.



Ordered the A.C. Ryan 12" "Overburst" Dual CCFLs from Frozen CPU

wire

Wow. Looks really nice. I'm considering putting just a regular clear or uv side panel on my 900. My current window is kind scratched up and doesn't look that nice anymore.

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soundx98

thought I'd show you where I am with cable management.



here is a big mofo pic of it
http://premium1.uploadit.org/soundx98//inside1.JPG

The 24-pin cable on the SkyHawk 620 is too short to route through to the other side of the case.
Hale, it barely even reaches at this point.
But the SkyHawk PSUs have an "always on" molex for the DVD Writer/CD-Rom.
I like the fact that I can "eject" the tray with the PC off.

The Molex connectors in the upper right hand corner (next to the 24-pin) bug me as well.
(I may just remove the molex connectors and hard wire the cable)

I relocated the mobo cables for PWR/Reset/HDD LED.
Sorta sandwiched them in between the SATA connectors.
(gave me a chance to neaten those up a bit in the process)
Just not up to disassembling everything, taking the top off and then lengthening the wires.
If I need to do all that I may as well make an "especiale" six conductor cable and run it under the motherboard.

The fan cable for the Zalman VF900 is plugged into fan 2 on the mobo and you can see it on the left side of the pic.
Not sure if it is worth the effort of replacing (the FanMate2 controller is nowhere to be found)

The AC Ryan 30mm Dual Overburst CCFLs came in the mail.
Unfortunately they are two and a half inches too tall. (fug)
But I already snuck one in near the HDDs and it lights up the area nicely.



If I can remove the other one of the CCFLs from the plastic tube (without breaking it) and then mount it "nekid" (without breaking it) it MAY fit and clear the rear fan (window side).
(Course I will probably break it the first time I move my case)

Got a couple of other ideas in "da haid", so stay tuned if you are a glutton for poor photography