3 motherboards in 1 case

What i would like to do is build a silenced case with 3 micro Intel motherboards in it, with 2.8 P4 cpu's, onboard sound, graphics etc, 2 x 300 GB hard drives and 2 x 20GB hard drives.

Essentially, they would be 3 setups just occupying 1 case. I for general use, 1 for a firewall, 1 for a web server, and sitting on the desktop.

Would they need separate power supplies or could i run them off 1 power supply (400 watt).

I doubt that you could run all that off 1 powersuply, i would recommend 1 for each system to be on the safe side, 2 different systems in one case will require a lot of cooling, it would be safer to use 3 different cases and somehow conceal them, i think it would also require a lot of engineering to do that, unless you made it into a rack mount server setup which would make more sense, but be more expensive.

You'll need different PSUs plus I'd recommend water cooling. It'll get hot and noisy in there so you'll need the water cool. Post a pic when you've done making it we'd like to see that rig!!!

It's a neat idea, but it would be very difficult to make, it it can be done at all. besides the obvious size issues, cooling would be very difficult to control.

1. you would need 3 power supplies. while it is theoretically possible for one PSU to power everything (it would have to be much more than 400w), ATX PSUs use a "soft on/off". you could not get the 3 boards to power on/off in sync with each other. you would essentially have to hard power them down which is very bad.

2. you would need a full tower ATX case, and would have to make significant mods to it.

3. you would need to use mini-ITX boards (they are less than 7"x7"), anything else is too big and would not allow sufficient cooling because the boards would have to

you would need to build some sort of mounting system to secure 3 mobos and 3 PSUs to the case. and you may have to remove the PSUs from their individual cases to fix it all in, and that would cause even more heat issues.

To be honest, I don't think it's even worth trying. it would be possible to make a singles case/2 mobo system, but 3 is pushing it too far. if you want 3 separate machines but don't want 3 big honk'n cases, then you should consider buying 3 of these and stacking them on top of each other

Maybe three desktop cases on top of each other. I think it is very possible but its gonna require construction.

what construction would it require? you just stack them... that's it :rolleyes:

but he obviuosly doesn't want 3 big cases, which is why the goal was to put them all into 1 case.

the picture I posted was a SFF (small form factor) barebones computer. 3 of them stacked would be about the same height as a full tower ATX case.

they are very small and already have a PSU and CPU cooling built in. they will never be high performance machines, but it doesn't sound like that's what he's looing for anyways.

When i said construction i meant if he wants to build his own kind of case. Sorry for not being clear there. You are one of the arrogant ones here on Techspot.

i do want to build my own case and a wooden one at that.

i had planned on mounting anything that vibrated on neoprene mounts.

Sound and vibration dampening would be the goal rather than total silence. (I saw some silenced cases and they are BIG).

As for cooling i am going to experiment with fan types including those centrifugal types you can get in some fan heaters. I had a look at the Fluent website and it shows the patterns generated by some fans so, rather than the ropey ordinary fan, i thought i would try sheet cooling and see if that made any difference.

Maybe i could make an enclosed box with a thermometer inside and some sort of heat source (incandescent light globe?) then try attaching different fan types and seeing what effect they had on cooling. I suppose that one would really need analog heat sources equivalent to those on the motherboard and devices. Hey, maybe a pseudo computer cases with sliding panels that emulated the most ordinary types of venting. Most likely, though, i will just stick it all together and see what happens.

i did think about using a car radiator fan to be set on one side, somewhat bigger than the Thermaltake case side fans, but i do not know how quiet they are and, again, their cooling pattern is circular rather than a sheet.

As for motherboard size, i already have the micro boards Socket 478 and the Shuttle case that was shown is nice but not what i want.

The mini-itx boards would be great but, alas, paucity of funds necessitates being creative - which is a lot more fun!

I can live with 3 power supplies all in a row, sectioned off from the rest of the case and having a blow through fan in addition to the little one they have. Hmm, maybe take them out of their cases and make a special case using the 3 fans they have so that the airflow overlapped - that ought to be more efficient.

The using of the onboard devices (graphics, audio, etc) means keeping things cooler and, with them being networked maybe i would only need to leave space for card slots on the primary board only. The idea being to make sure that the case only has openings where it will be best for the airflow and cooling thus avoiding unnecessary eddies and vortices (i must read too much sci-fi). Again, i want the air to come in, pick up the heat then carry the hot/warm air straight out; i don't want the air buggerizing around in corners and heating up other components.

Hmm, sounds like mounting the boards vertically don't you think? Heat rises straight up rather than pushing up against the under surface of the next board above.

Feels like i am heading for a case with 3 compartments; 1 for the power supplies, 1 for the mother boards, 1 for the hard drives and cd/dvd drive(s).

How am i doing so far? More feedback would be appreciated.

that sounds like it's going to be a cool and very unique rig

i would tend to think that one big chamber (as opposed to 3 separate chambers) would be much easier to make. that way you don't have to create a cooling solution for each chamber individually. also, if you leave the PSUs in their cases you will have 3 fans (or 6 fans depending on the PSU models) exhuasting hor air.

that car radiator fan idea sounds interesting. positioned as an intake fan at the bottom of the case blowing up through the vertically mounted boards , or as an exhuast fan at the top (same idea and flow pattern though) would seem to be a pretty effective solution. i'm not sure about the noise, but I suppose you could adjust the speed pretty easily.

another thing to think about would be the case material itself. have you considered using plexiglass instead of wood? Plexiglass is easy like wood to cut and drill, and in the end gives a cleaner look (i think it does at least) and besides... after all the work you put into it, don't you want to show off what's inside it

A couple years ago I built my own plexiglass case for a socket-A system. if i can find it, i'll post some pics to show how I made it.


And IBN... I was not rude or disrepectful to you, there was no need to insult me. you can think whatever you want of me, you're entitled to your opinion. but your personal opinion of me has no place in this thread. next time keep it to yourself.

If you read over the posts you have done previously you will come to the conclusion that i have.

Kiss and make up please. Or just metaphorically shake hands.

Oh, the case sides would be perspex or similar - i am recycling old record player case tops. The mountings for the hard drives and the dvd players are being made from pieces stamped/cut from those neoprene bakeware - the neoprene being able to withstand high temperatures. Some of the mesh for the fans will be made from those cheap waste baskets. They will be formed to shape using wooden formers and a rubber mallet.

It's a matter of looking at existing things with a different eye.

The notion of the 3 compartments is to allow for 3 cooling solutions - straight across and out for the power supplies; vertical for the motherboards; straight across for the hard drives and dvd players. Of course, one could have a series of fans at the front that could blow straight across all of the components, but i would still like separators between the different types of devices. In particular, i like the notion of the weight of the power supplies being in the case base in order to provide a low centre of gravity and a stabilizing mass but as the power supplies generate quite a bot of heat i would prefer that was not allowed to mix with the the other components but kept as isolated as possible - in, cool, out.

The divisions need not be anything heavy, just slide in panels for which the slots would be easily routed.

Hmm, power supply and monitor connectors at the back. USB, Smart cards, keyboard amd mouse connectors at the front. Boards internally networked via small hub (D-Link DFE-904). I am trying to use what i have to hand. Lordy, but it is fun even though i am just at the planning stage with separated case components around me - gotta keep away from the power drill else i will remove more rivets.

Maybe MDF laminated or veneered with wood.

Oh, that is another reason for removing cases wherever possible - weight reduction. Also combining the 3 micro power supplies into one compartment or one case acting as a compartment is a safety thing - as in, "Hey, what's this big round black thing do...ZAAAAP!" Well, that's yer electrolytic capacitor and it holds electricity inside it...but i guess you found that out already".

Hmm, making a sheet metal bender out of some angle iron a couple of hinges and a tube. What i need is to borrow the neighbours welder. I wonder if i could encourage him to buy a MIG welder?

Dear me, there are so many possibilities.

I have nothing against the guy. All I'm saying is that hes arrogant. BTW nothing was broken to makeup.

Ok guys, let`s keep it civil please.

I don`t want to have to start deleting posts.

Regards Howard

@ KingCody

That would be good to see, the plexiglass mod that is.

I took notice of the soft off power supply issue as well, thanks for that.

howard

you are in Lancashire? Real Lancs or posh Lancs? (Ah wur born in Preston and lived in Kirkham until ah wur 13. Eee eck lad artagoinon then?

Diffinitely the real Lancs mate.

Nowt posh round ere lad lol.

Regards Howard

woah.. nice project you're attempting to do.. please, post us pics when you do start to make it, its very interesting stuff...

Alas you've thought out everything so detailed for me, i'm at a loss of suggestions to give to you.. however, i've been reading up on a couple of places of people making their own DIY cases (in particular silenceing aspect), and came across this, which may interest you, well, maybe....

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article237-page1.html

have fun

N3051M

i actually had a look at that site

Have you noticed that despite all the mods that folks seem to do, relatively few try to isolate vibrating or noisey parts. Instead they still use the same drive mounts etc. Well it occurred to me that by cutting out some disks of neoprene rubber from the floppy cake trays that we could overcome the vibration problems, rather like making engine mounts. The trick is to have a neoprene disk on either side of the drive mount cage, with a smaller disk in the hole and in that a small collar so that the screw/bolt passes first through a washer (smaller than the neoprene disk), then through the collar, then through the last neoprene disk between the cage and the drive. The idea being that neither the screw not the drive touches anything buy neoprene.

The same thing could be achieved by using grommets but getting grommets small enough and inserting them would be very fiddly and i reckon it is of more use to have a largish area of neoprene between the drive and the cage; this will give a better dampening effect over a greater surface area, plus less chance of wearing out as neoprene seems a lot tougher than grommet material.

As for cutting the disks and the holes. One of the cheap leather punches works well - the sort that you can use on paper and cardboard which has a rotating wheel with different sized tips. The tool is used like a pair of pliers. They are often found in the cheap tool bin. As for the larger disks between 1 cm and 1.5 cm's i thought of using a wad cutter - it's a type of punch.

Oh, the little collars you can buy at electronics shops as spacers, they only need to be 2 or 3 mm high though it depends on the thickness of the neoprene you can find and the cage wall thickness. In my case, pun intended, i am still tossing up between using an existing cage extracted from another case or using wood. If wood, then it ought to be hardwood rather than pine, for obvious reasons in terms of wear and tear and drilling clean firm holes.

If wood, then the cage would need to be slightly different in that additional neoprene could be used along the runners. Not sure about this yet.

Oh, something i came across the other day was in relation to venting the case and that was the use of baffles to quiten the airflow without lessening the volume output. Rather like what you find in a car's exhaust system. Most of you would have heard the difference between a car with a muffler on and one without a muffler or fitted with a straight through muffler. Well, it would appear that the same thing applies to a computer case, which was something i hadn't thought of but it makes sense.

Another point relating to the parallels bewteen exhausting a computer system and a cars engine is what happens when the exhaust system gets leaks. Have you ever heard a leaky exhaust system? It occurs to me that the same thing appliies to all those holes in a computer case where all the bits and pieces fit together, we are just used to all the noise and i am wondering if we actually need to put up with it?

Hey, let me know if you think i am just burbling. Also, please let me know if i am talking a load of garbage because sonetimes i get what i think are good ideas that turn out to be a load of rubbish

Also, please let me know if this is of any interest to you as i think and fiddle my way through things.

Once i get really underway i must plug in the camera though i am not sure what quality the pictures will be.

Tell me, you've worked with cars before havent you...

Fair enough.. what about ripping out a cage and building around it? or at least salvage the motherboard trays from them. Even so, you'll need some sort of template for where the holes are going to be on the wood etc.

Are you going to use drive rack mounts like the ones on your standard cases or make your own? You'll need to get the hole a little bit bigger to be able to fit the spacer in, since i think the screws that are used for the drives eg dvd drives are designed to just fit through the slots.. as well as the actual spaceing inside the racks and the length of the screw. You are talking about something like this right (001.jpg) excuse my drawing lol..

My case currently built under the "windtunnel" theory, and while it does work, its starting to cost my sanity.. and hence why i've been looking up to redesigning my case when it gets its quater yearly cleanout. You've pretty much thought of most of my ideas on silencing the drives (and possibly the fans too) with neoprene, while i was thinking of some sort of rubber or dampening material and reducing the amount of "sound leaks" in the case but the baffels you talk about do interest me.. can you possibly illustrate it and how are you going to impliment it?

Btw.. my family has two cars... one with a punctured muffler and the other without, so i do know what you are talking about there...

i don't think that would really make it quieter...

the sound from a car's muffler is the sound of constant explosions inside the engine (and even with a very quiet muffler, you cannot silence the engine itself). a computer has no explosions, or at least it's not supposed to . it just has small electric motors. as you already mentioned, the noise from the fans and drives are caused by vibrations, and I think you already took care of that problem with the neoprene.

but it still sounds like a cool idea, it sure would look cool (or weird :rolleyes: ).