3 motherboards in 1 case

i haven't stopped. i am aquiring bits. My timing has been abysmal they have all been throwing away the stuff that i could use and now most have nothing. Bugger! Anyway, i got 2 broken cd players (for the cases); i have tracked down some sources for the centrifugal fans (the long fans like rollers, not the axial fans we are used to). You can find these fans on old photocopiers and they can be 12, 24 or 240 VAC. Needless to say i am after the 12volt fan. They are usually given away as they are normally thrown away these days. So you can check out the office equipment and supplies techs - get into the garbage and look at all those parts waiting for you. Don't forget the large pieces of plastic that can be cut up and heat shaped with a hair drier.

Oh, needing a smokey perspex side to your case? Ever though of using the lid off an old record player? Nice and thick too and the cost is a lot less than a new piece of perspex, plexiglass or whatever it's called.

I have also been reading and looking at more diagrams and pics and getting overloaded.

It occured to me to look beyond computers to car doors and other automotive parts and audio studios and speaker boxes - all of which have problems with sound and vibration intruding. The other area to have a stickybeak into is OH&S and what is done in that field - things like antivibration gear on chainsaws - how the handles and grip are mounted in relation to the motor - the rubber or neoprene mounts used.

Anyway, think of the metal case side as a drum skin. There is really nothing to stop it having a little thrum or two - same with car doors - how do they silence the car door panels? Yes! But is the material suitable for a computer? I come across tarry compound stuff, hmm don't think that would be too good. More detective work.

I have seen folks bunging pieces of carpet inside the case. Didn't impress me. But looking at what folks have been trying and doing is very useful in helping me figure out what it is i am doing. So what am i doing? Well, reducing to a minimum vibration and noise whilst gaining the most efficient and effective heat removal.

Notice i didn't say cooling, i am told that cooling and heat removal are different - like a fridge removes heat, it doesn't cool - if you don't believe me then check out the rear of the fridge and feel the heat rising from it via the radiator.

Once of the things that i have seen in most of the modded and commercial cases is the fact that many components are bolted in metal on metal which is not exactly the best way of reducing vibration or stopping it reaching other components.

Something else i have been pondering on is cases are really poorly fitted together with holes everywhere. How in heavens name can you get good airflows if they are squirting out all over the place. Those holes also let the sound out as well.

The trouble is that shop-bought cases have to allow for many different types of component fitting so all the pre-drilled holes. Then there are the poor tolerances in making the cases themselves - if the tolereances where to a thou then we wouldn't be able to afford the cost of a case, so we have to put up with low quakity and tell ourselves that a few lights will make things better. Hmmpf!

Whereas making your own case using your own components and allows you to keep holes to just those that your gear needs and no more. I am not even sure about using drive cages from the old case because mounting the hard drives can lead to the most ridiculous sights that look like the hard drive is bungee jumping. Maybe we need gimbals of some sorts? Nah, just decent grommets and no metal to metal contact other than earthing wires.

Oh, when you take dead cd drives apart you can get 4 nice grommets out of them, plus screws, LEDs, little motors (not sure what i will use those for) and screws (straight into the assorted tin).

Someone said why bother putting 3 computers in 1 case - well, the hunt for information for one thing and recycleable parts for another! Then there is consideration to what else can be included, such as a radio tuner, perhaps a NAS (which i hadn't heard of before), though adding a NAS might make it too big.

My posts will be irregular, i have to get used to some new meds.

Check out P2P for woodworking and metalworking howto's including some really low, low cost improvisations.

Just think of making your own cases out of 1/4" thick plastic - well, maybe not. But you can vacuum form using just a heating element for a stove and adapting a vacuum cleaner - yeahhh for you own parts and Darth Vader masks.

The other things include very simple sheet metal bending gear - now i will have to convince the neighbour to weld the bits together.

Oh, and how about baked enamel cases or metal parts? 200C in the oven. It does tend to stink the place up though for a while.

Getting back on to the cases. I am going to see if i can dummy up a case in such a way that i can have movable vents to find out where the best place is to put them on the real thing.

You write a lot.

That's true, the idea being that the detail may be of a help or an inspiration to someone else. This way we get to share our experience around. Of course, there are some folks who haven't the patience to read it all, but they don't have to unless it is of interest.

ahh.. so this is going to be a full homebrew case? unfortunatly for my level of skill and concentration i think wood's the furthest i'd go in building something for now lol... but thats just me

NAS (network administrated storage i think is the full name) is something like a network device where you can plug in various storage devices in to share.. but if you already have some sort of file server with an OS then that idea is quite obsolete, seing that its just another form of easy access plug-in-plug-out device like the router was to the pc acting as a Internet gateway/server (pc with the ICS on it).

I think as one of the important peices to building such a silent setup is the gear thats going to be inside it. I was on and offline for the past few days doing some maintainance and modding my case a bit more (its all in my blog). Replaced the stock P4 HSF with a Zalman cpu cooler and my case was considerably more quieter than the stock.. adding that to a PSU with its own 7v Fan line its very quiet.. Of course, if i switch to full passive cooling setup (just heatsinks and cool pipes, no water) then definatly 1dB of sound - only sound would be the hdd and the optic drives.. but for controlled cooling i'd stick one huge 120mm fan above the main heatsink to keep it cool..

One more thing to consider, if you have active hdds that are going to stay on for the most part of the day (or 24/7) then adequate cooling is sugested. i found that my WD hdd (which holds winxp, data, programs) goes about 54-57`C since its running nearly all the time my pc is on, while my seagate hdd (holding the bulk of my media, in this case brand didnt make a difference, as my previous seagate hdd died of a heatstroke..) which doesnt get used untill needed sits on 35`C, then jacks up the temps when it gets used.. now with the addition of a hdd cooler and relocating one rear fan to the front of the case where the hdd is its down to a stable 52`C continuous.. but thats with 2 opened 5.1/2" bays (probably a bit more cooler when i can seal off and direct the air flow properly)

Where would your blog be then N3051M and is it accessible?

The process i am going through is a bit rough and ready. But there are some givens and they are:

1. Using what i have for computer hardware by way of motherboards (4 micro atx, 1GB Corsair RAM each. Using my existing hard disks rather than buying new ones so rather than 3 x300GB i will stick with what i have which is 1 x 250GB PATA Maxtor, 1 x 150GB SATA Maxtor (i think), and a choice of 2 x 20GB Seagate and 1x30GB PATA Maxtor, 10GB Seagate, and a 4.12GB Seagate.

Anyway, i thought:

1. 250GB PATA for main
2. 150GB SATA for second
3. 10GB for firewall
4. 30GB for Web server.

Does that sound ok? remember i don't know very much as i am one of those who acquires knowledge as i need it.

I can either use the onboard graphics with them all or i can use a Radeon 9200SE with the main and onboard graphics with the others.

The main use of the secondary one will be to have tutorials and the like on whilst i use the main to operate the programs, e.g. graphics.
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The case will be wood because i like wood, but i am thinking of an inner and an outer case or an outer case with an inner layer that stands on neoprene feet as well as having the neoprene as buffers against the sides, front and back. Remember, i am just thinking about the dual skins.
What is a given is the outer case being wood and i want the least possible number of holes so i end up with directed air streams.

The hard drive cage ought not to be metal as i think metal on metal anywhere is undesirable as far as transmitting noise and vibration go. If it proves to be absolutely unavoidable then there will be neoprene between the parts - remember neoprene stands up to high temperatures (i am cutting it from bakeware). But the cages would have to be made so that there is space for the neoprene rather than jamming parts in too tight.

As for the motherboard base, perhaps plywood or hardboard - not metal. Again large areas of sheet metal tend to resonate, vibrate etc so they would need damping (like car doors etc). But if a material is used that is pretty dead as far as sound goes then maybe would would be better - any ideas?

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I thought i would have 1 metal case for the 4 power supplies. The PS are small, micro atx size. Would it be safe to wire them up to one input socket, inspead of having 4 power leads draping down the back?

The PS would also be separated from the rest of the case and have a straight through front to back cooling via a muffler at both inlet and outlet.

Given the weight of the PS's they ought to be at the base of the case.
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Views, notions, advice please. I might not take all of it but i will certainly appreciate it.

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The 250GB hdd is running at 34 degrees currently. (handy little program Speedfan, isn't it? I especially like the price $0.00).

NAS actually stands for "Network-attached Storage" and basically it's a server that only provides file sharing across the network. This lets you share data across networked computers without having the media in a separate computer. The NAS does not have to be in your rig. It just has to be hooked up to your network.

NAS is an easy way to add more storage to your network without having to shut down your main server.