# Wooden ITX box



## Vario (Aug 31, 2013)

This is a concept I have been working on and have discussed in a few other threads.

I have a set of late 80's Infinity RS2001 speakers.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





This design is inspiring this build.

I am going to be making a perfectly smooth wood box with rounded edges with ITX, overclocked 2550k and a 7850 2GB.  Cooling will be an H100.

These are the parts so far:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

*CPU:* Intel Core i5-2550K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($266.59 @ NCIX US) 
*CPU Cooler:* Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 
*Motherboard:* ASRock Z77E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
*Memory:* Corsair XMS 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($120.99 @ Newegg) 
*Storage:* Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($122.99 @ NCIX US) 
*Video Card:* XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card  ($173.98 @ Newegg) 
*Case:* Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($35.99 @ Microcenter) 
*Power Supply:* Silverstone Strider Plus 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply  ($74.99 @ Amazon) 
*Total:* $1025.51
_(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)_
_(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-30 20:14 EDT-0400)_

I am using the Coolermaster Elite 120 because it is the ideal chassis.  Here is the naked chassis picture:






Here is mine, I bought the white edition for $35 after rebate and coupon code. 






The yogurt and lighter are for size comparison.

I have already cut a 92mm cooling hole in the bottom as the main intake.  There will be NO front panel on this case.  Just a smooth wooden edge.


Heres the cut:









Air will intake from a 92x38mm fan and then be ducted into the main compartment with that cougar 120mm.  The stock front fan will not be there.  Remember, completely smooth wooden face.  I will probably make a curved duct that routes the air up and to the back straight to the 120mm cougar.  I want to keep the stock drive bay system incase I add harddrives though.

I haven't picked the fan yet, probably a 92x38mm atleast 40 cfm fan.  It must be capable of operating in the horizontal position, I don't want to have it die if its a sleeve bearing, so probably a ball bearing fan like this one:

http://www.coolerguys.com/840556097556.html



> Sunon 92x92x25 Med speed 3pin 12V fan KD1209PTB2
> 
> Sunon 92x92x25mm Fan is an Medium Speed 12V fan. Comes with a 3 pin/3 Wire connector.
> 
> ...



I wonder how well this fan runs at 7-9v.  Might get the noise down a good bit with a rheostat.


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## Vario (Aug 31, 2013)

This is another fan I am considering:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...-_4000_RPM_FG00-0041-AKS.html?tl=g36c435s1101

Fan Size: 	92 x 92 x 38mm
Bearing: 	12V DC Sleeve Bearing
Rate Power: 	12V DC rated
Wattage: 	7.56 watts
Fan Speed: 	4000 RPM
Air Flow: 	79.81 CFM
Air Pressure: 	9.42mmH2O
Noise: 	46dBA
Connector: 	4-Pin Molex


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## Vario (Aug 31, 2013)

I ordered my fans, going with a japanese made Sanyo Denki Mini Ace 92mmx38mm.  I ordered a couple of them, they will likely be used in other locations on this case because of the strange form factor and I want a fan that will scale really well noise to pressure.  These dual ball bearing server fans should do that very well.  Ebay auction indicated they are rare and the best 92mm fan available.  We will see how they scale.  I may be able to fit two 92mm fans in that front area below the drive cages and then build a curved plexiglass cowl that will funnel the air into the main ITX area.


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## Nordic (Aug 31, 2013)

Vario said:


> I am using the Coolermaster Elite 120 because it is the ideal chassis.



I disagree, but frankly that is a matter of opinion and not relevant... Yet I say it anyways. I like wood cases. I am eager to see what you can do and if you can possibly even change my opinion.


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## Vario (Aug 31, 2013)

james888 said:


> I disagree, but frankly that is a matter of opinion and not relevant... Yet I say it anyways. I like wood cases. I am eager to see what you can do and if you can possibly even change my opinion.



I'd like to know the reasoning you have and which chassis you would have picked?  I don't ask this to start an argument, but because I am eager to learn more.

This will be flipped so it is a vertical tower similar to the speakers I showed in the OP.  Power supply and IO panel will be on the bottom.  It will not resemble the elite much once it has its wood skin on.

I will first build the case with the components (waiting on a few more) then dissemble it and start making the modifications and cut the wood.  I am still not sure if I am retaining the drive bays.  It depends on how well it all cools with the bays in. If I take the bays out I could even shorten the case by a few inches!


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## micropage7 (Aug 31, 2013)

Vario said:


> I'd like to know the reasoning you have and which chassis you would have picked?  I don't ask this to start an argument, but because I am eager to learn more.
> 
> This will be flipped so it is a vertical tower similar to the speakers I showed in the OP.  Power supply and IO panel will be on the bottom.  It will not resemble the elite much once it has its wood skin on.
> 
> I will first build the case with the components (waiting on a few more) then dissemble it and start making the modifications and cut the wood.  I am still not sure if I am retaining the drive bays.  It depends on how well it all cools with the bays in. If I take the bays out I could even shorten the case by a few inches!



nice idea, and its pretty challenging since most of mini ITX cases has limited space


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## Vario (Aug 31, 2013)

Cleaned up the hole a bit and put the screw holes in.  I used a few factory 92mm fan cutsheets and one from mnpc so I am very sure the holes will match up.  If not, I cut the whole bottom off that area and lexan it.  Things will be slow like this until I get more parts.   This is a very large case for a microitx but I do need airflow around the components and places for wiring so its not a downside to me.  This will sit above my TV between my infinity speakers.


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## Vario (Aug 31, 2013)

Man I am having second thoughts about the wood part of this.  Lets just see how things bolt in first.  I really do want the H100 installed since I have it lying around though and I love woodworking.

The white paint on the case is just so damn pretty...


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## Nordic (Aug 31, 2013)

I will repeat this here, from my pm. You can try and have both wood and paint. How can you blend them and make it look good. Maybe wood accents?

If you do decide to try and fit the h100. Try and be creative in how you mount it.


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## Vario (Sep 1, 2013)

This is my leading idea.  Wood roof, white sides.  H100 on top.  The wood would be routed down smooth so it joins with the white of the case seamlessly.

Rear of the h100 (case-rear 120mm mount location) is exhausting down from below and out the back from the flipped powersupply.  The front of the h100 is exhausting up from below.  There are no fans on top of the h100.  The h100 top is what you see when you look down on the case, no fans, just radiator.  I would cut a hole in the bottom of the 5.25 fan bay so that a 120mm fan could be put there and blown straight up into the h100.


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## Vario (Sep 1, 2013)

Fan will fit at the top of the 5.25 bay blowing up into the radiator.  I don't want to de-rivet the drive cage because I want the strength it provides and the drive storage.












next step is figuring out how the hell I am going to route the tubing for the h100i as well as have that fan there...


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## Vario (Sep 1, 2013)

The more I think about it the more I think about just derivetting the damn drive cage.  Then I could moount the h100 nicely no kink hose big fans etc.  I just wanted a nice solid drive cage but I am only going to be running a 240GB SSD which could pretty much be attached anywhere.


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## Nordic (Sep 1, 2013)

After you have thought everything out, put it all together, and it is all said and done. You will feel good. I am excited to see what you can do.


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## Vario (Sep 1, 2013)

james888 said:


> After you have thought everything out, put it all together, and it is all said and done. You will feel good. I am excited to see what you can do.



Yeah I am just really wondering if the H100i is really worth all this aggravation.  The damn thing grinds as it is.  I could make it a whole lot smaller without the h100i and go with my all wood design again.


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## Nordic (Sep 1, 2013)

Size is important to me. Really depends on how much cooling you want.


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## Vario (Sep 1, 2013)

james888 said:


> Size is important to me. Really depends on how much cooling you want.



This 2550k supposedly is capable of 5.0ghz (received in a trade), so I wanted to try for that in the smallest package I could.  I also have this here Asetek AIO cooler that I am currently water leak testing.






The build quality appears higher on the Asetek over the h100, especially the radiator, but the unit is probably from 2010 or 2011.  It was on a friend's Phenom X6 that I replaced for him with a 3570, and therefore acquired a few months back.


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## Vario (Sep 1, 2013)

Made a simple fan shroud to enhance the performance of this Asetek.  So far no leaks on it, its probably good for another 3 years.


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## Vario (Sep 1, 2013)

F-CK YOU drive cage:






Simple de-rivet job.  It could be reinstalled in minutes with screws or poprivets.  Recommend doing this to anyone who buys this because now I could probably put a beast-ass radiator in here.  I still haven't received my amazon order for the mobo and power supply so its all speculative stilll.


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## Vario (Sep 1, 2013)

This case is huge without the drive bay and the best part is the 5.25 is still there! Also the 120 rad fits up front push pull front exhaust using these little m3 screws and a really tiny screw driver set! Pics to come. James888, you might want to reconsider this case because its monstrous inside without that dumb cage.








To come:

Probably cut off more of the bottom and then replace with lexan (so I can see inside from the bottom and run different fan configuration and feet for the case).  I want to have intake from the bottom and exhaust out the front.

Replace the white with wood.  I already cut the damn cage out, might as well go all the way now.


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## Nordic (Sep 2, 2013)

Too monstrous for my desire. Although I could fit one of those square 480 rads in there.


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## de.das.dude (Sep 2, 2013)

sub


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## TheSchnitzelkiller (Sep 2, 2013)

Cool little build, subbed


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## micropage7 (Sep 2, 2013)

Vario said:


> F-CK YOU drive cage:
> 
> http://i.imgur.com/Y4ak0dp.jpg
> 
> Simple de-rivet job.  It could be reinstalled in minutes with screws or poprivets.  Recommend doing this to anyone who buys this because now I could probably put a beast-ass radiator in here.  I still haven't received my amazon order for the mobo and power supply so its all speculative stilll.



umm i guess you need to take a tripod or something stable to get better pics


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## Vario (Sep 3, 2013)

Okay so I am changing things back to original plan.  The Asetek radiator is going to exhaust straight down (expanding the 92mm hole I already cut to a 120mm hole.  Then the front is going to be featureless smooth pretty wood, probably 1/4" oak.  The sides and top will probably be 1/2" oak.  I will have two buttons only on the front in the corner (maybe upper right), the rest is wood.   The 5.25 bay will not be accessible from the exterior.  

As far as the 5.25 bay, I may use it for a fan controller turned backwards to run some fans at low voltages or I may use it to cram all my wiring.  Still don't have a SSD or HDD, but that may be contained in the 5.25 bay if theres no where else to put stuff.  

 I ordered two chrome/silver momentary switches, a larger one with a green backlight for the power and a smaller one for the reset.  Not going to have USB or audio ports or anything on the front.


There won't be any cool pics for a few more days because I still haven't received my power supply, wiring, or motherboard.  Still waiting on the fancy san ace fans as well. Therefore, I do not want to make too many more modifications until I have an idea of how it will all play out.  Likely I will run 92mmx38mm intake fans along the right side and have a vented left side for the videocard with intake slim 120x12mm fans.  This will give me positive case pressure and let the exhaust be the asetek downfiring and the power supply blow out the back.

This new layout will probably reduce the front dimension by an inch (no need for a vent or io panel).  I may be able to shift the power supply in more so that will reduce the back by an inch as well.


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## Vario (Sep 4, 2013)

Horizontal radiator mounted and testing for leaks: 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	





The fans for the sides:  San Ace Denkyis Japanese 92mmx38mm


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## Nordic (Sep 4, 2013)

You should get some non shaky, better light, sexy up close pictures of those fans and post them in the up close sexy hardware picture thread.


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## Vario (Sep 4, 2013)

I have a family member with a Nikon D40.  I was planning on getting the Cosmos photographed in a more professional manner and will probably do the same for the wood cube once I get the wood paneling on here.  

Right now I am using my galaxy 2 and its so small its hard to hold steady!

And yeah, the fans are sexy: got them for about $8 a piece off ebay!


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## Nordic (Sep 4, 2013)

I have an old cheap canon a100 point and shoot. I have taken some pretty good shots. All you need is steady hands and good lighting. Example here. That galaxy 2 has a surprisingly good camera. You can rest your hands on something, especially if your getting a close up.


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## micropage7 (Sep 4, 2013)

james888 said:


> I have an old cheap canon a100 point and shoot. I have taken some pretty good shots. All you need is steady hands and good lighting. Example here. That galaxy 2 has a surprisingly good camera. You can rest your hands on something, especially if your getting a close up.



And one more most phone camera give you kinda crappy result on low light so make sure you have enough light to get better result


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## Vario (Sep 4, 2013)

micropage7 said:


> And one more most phone camera give you kinda crappy result on low light so make sure you have enough light to get better result



The button you push on the screen for the phone camera makes the camera shake


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## t_ski (Sep 4, 2013)

Does it have a timer?  I use the timer on my camera when taking pictures on the tripod because of the same thing.


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## Vario (Sep 4, 2013)

t_ski said:


> Does it have a timer?  I use the timer on my camera when taking pictures on the tripod because of the same thing.



Good point.  I'll be doing some more cutting and grinding today.  I'll get some better quality pictures of all the gear by friday when my Z77E board, power supply show up.  Then we can get the good stuff 



Krylon Ultra Flat Black Interior / Exterior Spray paint is a 90% match on color to the factory paint.  I just sprayed the cuts with minimal prep to hide mistakes and gouges etc.  It looks pretty good up to about an inch away. Also the stuff dries in like 10 minutes and the odor is gone in about 3 hours.  Its great. All of that is going to be inside the wood anyway so it doesn't matter.  Main difference is factory texture is rough, this is a bit smoother.  Wanted to protect the bare metal a bit better and hide some of the dremel bites.

Okay guys, just for the FAN CLUB, I got some better pictures of the fans.  This time I used timer mode.  Apparently thats the way to get good pictures with a camera that weighs about the same as a feather.











The dual ball bearing on these fans is amazing, soooo smoooth

Here is the radiator install









I am hoping that the ITX board will not hit the end of the radiator.  If it does, I will need to move the screw holes forward   Still waiting on the damn board to arrive, its been like 2 weeks.  Thanks amazon.

Naked, this box is now all ready for its new, beautiful wood skin.  I will start the wood working this weekend assuming the itx board and power supply arrives Friday and the watercooler doesn't start leaking or the thing doesn't explode or something.  Bought the Asetek mounting kit from Corsair for $9.  Not bad, since I got this AIO loop for FREE!  This Asetek is essentially a first generation Corsair H50.

The fan that will exhaust downwards from the radiator will be a Koolance 120mmx25mm dual ball bearing (basically a server fan).  I am running all dual ball bearing fans because I want maximum reliability and don't want to open this thing up very much.  Its going to be incased in wood and it might not be easy to open.  I will probably modify all the fans to run at 7v.


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## Vario (Sep 4, 2013)

Ok guys... Bunch of pix inbound.  Built it in about an hour and got to bios.  Ill post pix in an hour, got a ton.


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## a_ump (Sep 4, 2013)

can't wait to see finished product. I did some quick modding on an old Gateway 2000 case to use for recording box for camera's. never used a dremel before but you learn quick lol. Not too pretty, your work looks nice so far buddy


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## cdawall (Sep 4, 2013)

Subbed


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## Vario (Sep 4, 2013)

Mounted the Z77E Board
Notice I had to trim away portions of the Corsair/Asetek mounting bracket so it would fit around small components on the backside of the ITX PCB.








2550k Installed








Phanteks/Noctua Thermal Paste Compound




Asetek/H50 Installed





Finished:













Neighbor's cat





Done:





The XFX 6850 will probably be replaced with my XFX 7850 2GB DD but it must be removed from a family member's pc first.

Bios Picture:





Ghetto turn on:










See guys!  It boots! Its ALIVE!!!! Idle was around 32*C!!! the orange fan will be replaced with a dual ball bearing, I've heard that cougars don't like horizontal.  I was so worried the end of the radiator was going to hit the MOBO or prevent the 24pin from plugging in...


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## a_ump (Sep 5, 2013)

only thing, mess of cabling in there lol, be bad airflow. are you going to use some mini zip ties? they're my favorite


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## Nordic (Sep 5, 2013)

I like the layout. Mitx cases are hard to cable manage. I would suggest looking at the fractal node 304 and try to mimic how it handles cable management. In might help some, but mitx can't be helped much.


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## Xenturion (Sep 5, 2013)

It's good to see that you're modifying the case. I had to admit I was a little worried on the first post when I saw the plans for watercooling and then "Elite 120" and "ideal chassis". I've got an HTPC build using one. It's really not the most well thought out case. Probably why Cooler Master recently announced an updated version, the Elite 130, which is largely identical, except that they replace the whole front panel, including the plate which sits directly in front the 120mm fan, with mesh. They also removed the hard drive cage in favor of a mounting bracket and mounting points on the bottom of the case and underneath the 5.25" bay. With the Elite 130,you can install a 120 radiator in push/pull on the front intake. They've got a video of assembly on YouTube that shows how easy it is. Makes me want to get it even though my HTPC is far from a performance machine. Too bad they won't offer a trade-in program.

Anyway, looks as if you've corrected the cases shortcomings. I look forward to seeing the final result. I love SFF builds.


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## Vario (Sep 5, 2013)

Xenturion said:


> It's good to see that you're modifying the case. I had to admit I was a little worried on the first post when I saw the plans for watercooling and then "Elite 120" and "ideal chassis". I've got an HTPC build using one. It's really not the most well thought out case. Probably why Cooler Master recently announced an updated version, the Elite 130, which is largely identical, except that they replace the whole front panel, including the plate which sits directly in front the 120mm fan, with mesh. They also removed the hard drive cage in favor of a mounting bracket and mounting points on the bottom of the case and underneath the 5.25" bay. With the Elite 130,you can install a 120 radiator in push/pull on the front intake. They've got a video of assembly on YouTube that shows how easy it is. Makes me want to get it even though my HTPC is far from a performance machine. Too bad they won't offer a trade-in program.
> 
> Anyway, looks as if you've corrected the cases shortcomings. I look forward to seeing the final result. I love SFF builds.




Still waiting on my short wiring kit from silverstone.  When that comes, expect cables to be reduced 30%. I can also move this power supply forward an inch, which will reduce overall dimensions!  The mess of cabling you guys see is I put all the cables up in the 5.25 bay (not used).  Theres no cables elsewhere   You guys are also seeing the clump of turn on wire and case headers that I threw there.  The only front panel header to be connected is power and reset.  So that whole bundle is going going gone.

I am a cable management fanatic.  I was just so excited when I opened the box from amazon and it had my PSU and MB at 4PM that I had to get it booted by 5PM!!


Edit update: cut backplate hole, getting the wood and a few other things in a few to make the enclosure for the chassis.


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## Vario (Sep 5, 2013)

Today i accomplished:
Cut backplate hole in the motherboard to make it easier to service the cpu backplate.
Painted bare metal cuts and dremel scars on chassis flat black.

Received:
hdd wd blue 1tb
Koolance 120x25 rad fan

Bought:
2 sheets of beautiful flat, smooth, knot free pine
T nuts, fasteners
3.5 to 5.25 adapter for the harddrive.


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## Vario (Sep 5, 2013)

What do you guys know about tnuts?  This is to attach the top clamshell to the wood base (the elite 120 chassis frame is bolted to the base)

Gonna hammer it in (countersunk hole, pack full of gorilla).  Never had a whole lot of luck with tnuts when I tried them once before with a subwoofer build.  Its going into the end part of a solid pine 3/4" wood piece.  Not the flat side, the end side.  I can't draw it in with the bolt because its going into the end piece of the 3/4" pine wood sheet.  I want to have all my fasteners only visible from the bottom side.

I personally dislike gorilla glue, especially with carpentry but it has this nice expansion property which I figure will work well with locking a tnut into a hole.  I don't want my tnut to free spin.

The wood sections are just going to be butt-joints with tite-bond-2 and clamps, no visible fasteners.  I have built a few subwoofers with this method.

Should I be using hurricane nuts?

Size I picked are 6-32 t nuts.  I want to actually be able to remove the wood if I have to LOL.

My fear is it will free spin and I won't be able to separate the wood.


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## Vario (Sep 6, 2013)

Vario said:


> What do you guys know about tnuts?  This is to attach the top clamshell to the wood base (the elite 120 chassis frame is bolted to the base)
> 
> Gonna hammer it in (countersunk hole, pack full of gorilla).  Never had a whole lot of luck with tnuts when I tried them once before with a subwoofer build.  Its going into the end part of a solid pine 3/4" wood piece.  Not the flat side, the end side.  I can't draw it in with the bolt because its going into the end piece of the 3/4" pine wood sheet.  I want to have all my fasteners only visible from the bottom side.
> 
> ...



Okay so got all the wood measured out and ready to cut.  Cutting tomorrow probably (Radial armsaw).  The big thing is its gonna be about 2" wider and taller than the stock elite 120, its no small cube but its gonna be so purdy!  The wood isn't flush against the elite 120, actually theres a 1/4" space in each dimension around the chassis.  This might help with the cooling, wiring.  Mostly its because it makes the wood work easier and thicker wood is easier to get nice smooth router curved action.  I am doing all simple 90 degree butt joints, glue, clamp.  Not doing fancy carpentry.  I come from a speaker/subwoofer car audio background so I am not a fancy carpenter.


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## Vario (Sep 6, 2013)

Got all the server fans rewired for PC mode.

These puppies are quiet! No need for a fan controller.  For a 92mm, they move about the same amount of air as a medium speed 120mm and are barely audible.  Supposedly they have some kinda temperature sensor that boosts speed automatically? Idk.

Love em!

Process was:
1. Cut off server connector.
2. Remove insulator.
2. Twist wire into a thick strand.
3. Stick into the fan pin.
4. Needle nose the fan pin's clamps.
5. Put a tiny drop of solder on the insulator to first crimp area just for strength.
6. Stick into the black plastic fan plug.
   Colors from the side with the two bump guides, left to right: Yellow Red Black.
7. Back-push them with a small screw driver.
8. Verify they work.


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## Vario (Sep 7, 2013)

Wood is coming along now:

Radial Arm Saw is a useful tool to own, this is my father's.






Wood floor mounted to case with 1/4" bolts and nuts









Clamshell design roof/front/sides is glued and clamped:





All joints are butt joints, glued and clamped.  No nails. screws, pegs, mitered, etc.  I am a simple man and not much of a carpenter, more of a former car audio enthusiast who used to build subwoofer enclosures.

I am now 16 days post operative from the spinal cord surgery (detethering of tethered spinal cord), love being able to do stuff and the strength in my arms is returning thanks to this project (used to be a weightlifter).  I am no couch potato now! Sadly I had to move back home at age 27 while I await recovery but love access to my dad's wood working equipment, particularly the saw.  Most of the other tools besides the saw are mine however.


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## Vario (Sep 8, 2013)

So it finished gluing enough for me to start the finishing work:

Filled all the inevitable thin gaps in the butt joints with wood putty, got almost 90 degree joints so it ended up very nice when installed.  Some of the putty is still caked thick and I need to do more sanding.  But for now its pretty good.  

Heres two pics, one with the clamshell on and one with it off:











The front overhang is deliberate: it hides some of the fasteners when viewed from the front and compensates for any height addition from tnuts if I go that route.

I wonder about a way to make it open up like a corvette: the front could hinge forward.   Not sure how that could be accomplished.  The gluing seems strong but at only 8 hours of drying time I am not ready to test it's strength .

I will be cutting two horizontal openings on each of the sides and adding modders mesh, this will provide the intake airflow for the system.  I will probably run 3 92mm fans on one side and the other side will just be ambient air intake for the 7850 2GB.


After a month of operation and I am satisfied with its cooling etc, I will be applying a cherry minwax stain.

If you guys have any ideas on a hinge that would give me a corvette style forward hinging clamshell, please let me know.


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## micropage7 (Sep 8, 2013)

looks good so far
just watch the clearance dont make it too tight that may give you some difficulty when installinv or removing things


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## Vario (Sep 8, 2013)

micropage7 said:


> looks good so far
> just watch the clearance dont make it too tight that may give you some difficulty when installinv or removing things



I am on it  I got about 1 cm between the wood walls and the metal chassis on all sides except the back which is open!


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## Vario (Sep 11, 2013)

Things slowed down for 2 days because I had to trouble shoot components, it ended up being the mobo which is being exchanged with Amazon.  The computer would just turn off randomly, especially when presented with a high cpu load.  No overclock and its not like my CPU's are power intensive.  Thought it was PSU, but that was fine with phenom2 965, i5 2550k, and the xeon 1230v2 with p95 and ibt and 3dmark and all kinds of other situations.  Needless to say, its resolving.  So thats good.  Probably defective VRM or something.  All the pins were fine though.


Heres the modders mesh progress:
http://www.staples.com/Brighton-Pro...Mesh-Square-Wastebasket-44-gal/product_592648





Flattening it out


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## Vario (Sep 12, 2013)

left and right are fairly square.  Need to sand and woodfiller sand the cuts to get the smoothness I want then the mesh will be bent and flush fit to the sides.


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## Vario (Sep 14, 2013)




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## MT Alex (Sep 14, 2013)

That is looking really nice.  Don't forget to use a wood conditioner, Minwax makes one that is alright but Daley's Benite is the really good stuff.  Put a coat of Benite on, let it dry, then hit it with some 220 grit and your stain will go on like glass, and none of the nasty blotching that is inherent with soft open grain woods.


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## Nordic (Sep 14, 2013)

That gpu looks cool just like that. Forget the mesh ... unless you have small children or cats that can and will stick something in there.


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## Vario (Sep 14, 2013)

MT Alex said:


> That is looking really nice.  Don't forget to use a wood conditioner, Minwax makes one that is alright but Daley's Benite is the really good stuff.  Put a coat of Benite on, let it dry, then hit it with some 220 grit and your stain will go on like glass, and none of the nasty blotching that is inherent with soft open grain woods.



Thanks I really appreciate the tip.  I am encountering some bumpy grain as well as the front's beautiful knot encounters the top of the front board, its all been hand sanded from 60 to 120 to 150 to 220 so far, interior just roughly 150.  Might not try to correct this because it could just get worse and its kind of neat.  I rounded the front corners with a medium sponge.

Pretty happy how it turned out so far, especially for a simple butt-joinery project.

Will that benite interfere with the filler (Elmers) I used? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001T4YU7K/?tag=tec06d-20


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## Vario (Sep 15, 2013)

Tried cutting a switch panel, first drilled the hole into the box and it fucked up the front of the wood so I decided I'd just mount a switch blank and drill that (steel, $3 blank from home depot).  I'd need a drill press to get through this shit for a 16mm and 14mm switch so I gave up on that after turning out two plates so far both with dissatisfactory oblong holes all bent and twisted and scratched.  My dewalt cordless li-on drill warped the crap out of them, even with cutting oil and stepping up my bit sizes, I really would need a drill press to do it.

Luckily the MPNC switch plate with dual 22mm's fits the hole I already cut out on the case, BARELY, and so I am waiting on that to arrive.

I am going black switch plate, black switches, the power switch will have a white LED ring that turns on.  The LED will probably wire off a molex connector pins in the 5v and ground rather than the LED turn on since case headers are a PITA.  Had to really splurge on this and its the most expensive part of the build really but if I am gonna be staring at the front of this box and the switch plate is glaringly horrendous looking I will be pissed off at it every time I look at it.  I think some of you fellow modders know that feeling.


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## Vario (Sep 21, 2013)

Hey Guys bunch of stuff was completed over past few days:

Ended up with the MNPC 22mm Dual Switch Plate and two 22mm vandal switches.  This meant I had to redo a bit of my switch opening so you'll see a picture of the plug I put in.  I also had to cut the metal out a bit on the left side facing the front of the case so that I could fit the wiring for the switches.











Ran out of good isopropyl, this stuff is 95%, beat that  Don't drink this stuff guys, its poisonous!





cut the metal out then another coat of the flat black paint to hide the cuts:





Clamshell ready to go in with the powersupply:





Clamshell on and stability testing.  Found that this time my mobo was good (had to RMA the Z77E, which sucked  and had a bad stick of ram this time around.  Now its finally 100% stable after 24 hour memtesting the remaining 1x8GB stick





The LED is a nice faint white, enough to know its on but not obnoxious or anything so great for the home theater media box / portable lan box theme.  Bought the MNPC stuff and the vandal switches from Performance PCs, they gouged me on shipping as always but they have the best inventory ever!

I still haven't figured out how I'll run my 92mm intake fans but my temps are great even without any intake! I will probably zip tie one fan only out of the five because theres not much space.


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## Vario (Sep 23, 2013)

Everything's running solid but I am using a single stick of the Cosmos's Hyper X ram and the Xeon 1230v2 to test stability and temperatures at the moment.  When I get my new Samsung Green modules I'll stability test those, then overclock them, then put in the 2550k, overclock that (cherry picked 5ghz chip, so probably run at 4.8 ghz) then get the ram nice and optimal and stability test the crap out of it, get a few fan potentiometer controllers and hide those at a nice optimal noise level (probably 9v volts ought to do) it in the front somewhere before I button it all up.  

Right now I want to test my cooling.  I ran prime 95 with *no intake fan *for 26 hours straight and temps never cracked 65*C, typically averaged only about 52*C.

I added a 92mm San Ace server dual ball bearing fan as an intake.  Heres how the setup looks (visibly not much different from before because most of my changes were rerouting the cables for better cooling, I'll photo this when I put in the Samsung Green):





 (the single fan is a bit high so its not optimal, its mounted on zip ties and so its not really finalized, I lost about 20% of the fan's surface area because its so high up)

Looks the same as before from the front:





Side view of the happy 7850 pulling in room ambient air through its own custom sized slot:




Heres my idle temps





25*c to 35*C average core is pretty solid!

idle graphics 





29*C average, used to average about 40*C idle in my Antec300Two, so what a difference having its own big ass cooling slot makes!

Fully loaded CPU and mobo sensor temps:









1 hour into Unigen Valley stock clocks: 7850 860 core 1200 memory, max temp is 70*C.

I should add that the base is completely unsanded unlike the top so it doesn't look very pretty compared to the top (smoothed to 150 grit).  I might hit the base with 80 grit to bring it even with the sides (sort of warped a bit like every clamp glued butt joint box) today to get it all squared up.  When its all said and done it will be 220 grit then I'll put on the pre stain conditioner, then 220 grit that, then stain it cherry, 220 grit, then stain again, then probably repeat until its nice looking, then maybe 320 grit that.


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## t_ski (Sep 23, 2013)

If you have the funds, you can dress it up a little with some radgrillz:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=59_457_362


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## Vario (Sep 23, 2013)

t_ski said:


> If you have the funds, you can dress it up a little with some radgrillz:
> 
> http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=59_457_362



Yep I was thinking about that.  The holes are just slightly too large for 120mm but 140mm rad grills would fit.

Though I'd go black, heres an option:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...adiator_33512.html?tl=g30c637s519&id=D6fvq8Ju

Got the fan controller installed (Evercool Twister), cut the tabs off, put a fan splitter on it, shoved it in an unused corner of the box and ran it off a molex connector and now the temps are cooler!!!! and the volume is less.  I guess the high powered server fan on my 120mm rad was generating too much turbulence because now I don't really crack above 50*C in prime.


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## Vario (Sep 26, 2013)

Installed the Samsung 30nm ram.  Memtesting it.  Came up with a new name for this pc: Ballista.
1) Its wood 2) its fast and lighter weight 3) its a "siege" engine.




The 7850 can get up to 1300mhz core, I just know it.  I just can't keep temps down.  It gets to 1250 easily with 1.25vcore but temps approach upper 80*c  The i5 is capable of 5.0ghz and the ram is the infamous samsung green.  Its too bad its a 7850, I can't justify watercooling a 7850, maybe a 7950 but not a 7850.


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## Nordic (Sep 26, 2013)

After market cooling of gpu?


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## Vario (Sep 27, 2013)

IDK might be the memory chips that XFX uses or its the cooler doesn't work right covering the memory improperly.  I doubt I can get it any cooler unless I use a full waterblock, the Double Dissipation cooler gives better core temperature results, after I did new thermal paste, than most 7850's I have researched.

I ran the system for 24 hours prime 95 stable with 4.4Ghz 2550k @ 1.280volts and ram at 2133 cas9 1.50v, max temps the core saw was 75*C during that run.  Heres my 3dmark11 without videocard overclock: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/7226638
 ScoreP6368 with AMD Radeon HD 7850(1x) and Intel Core i5-2550K Processor

Graphics Score
    6002 

Physics Score
    8584 

Combined Score
    6850

Now I will work on making a nice 24/7 7850 setup, probably do 1125 core with stock memory clock.  Then make a custom bios for it so I don't have to use sapphire trixx.


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## Vario (Sep 27, 2013)

Used vbe7 and made





stock voltage


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## Nordic (Sep 27, 2013)

I was suggesting you get aftermarket cooling for the gpu. Such as these.

Read this for peoples opinions on that xfx cooler:
http://www.techpowerup.com/191541/xfx-radeon-r9-280x-double-dissipation-pictured.html#comments


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## Vario (Sep 27, 2013)

james888 said:


> I was suggesting you get aftermarket cooling for the gpu. Such as these.
> 
> Read this for peoples opinions on that xfx cooler:
> http://www.techpowerup.com/191541/xfx-radeon-r9-280x-double-dissipation-pictured.html#comments



yeah I am aware but it looks sexy contrasted with the wood.

new bios: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/7227143

 ScoreP7599 with AMD Radeon HD 7850(1x) and Intel Core i5-2550K Processor

Graphics Score
    7389 

Physics Score
    8550 

Combined Score
    7973

Valley gets it up to close to 90*C only 77*C on 3dmark11, maybe I need a more conservative 1050 mhz and undervolt it slightly.


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## Nordic (Sep 27, 2013)

It does look sexy


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## Vario (Sep 28, 2013)

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/7227308

1050 bios with undervolt.  Temps dropped 10*C and it seems more stable.  I'll have to experiment more.  I really hate software overclocking and the new VBE7 program that a forum member darkhmz made is simply brilliant.

 Score P7360 with AMD Radeon HD 7850(1x) and Intel Core i5-2550K Processor

Graphics Score
    7114 

Physics Score
    8540 

Combined Score
    7771


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## Vario (Sep 28, 2013)

Undervolting the GPU allowed me a nice stable default "factory" oc setting (as far as catalyst is concerned, new max in CCC of 1250) of 1050 base with 1.17vcore and a 5 watt bump in the tdp (basically more power limit).  Awesome.  I hate using software GPU overclocking, seems like it fucks things up sometimes with the driver, I'd rather have my GPU preloaded.  Thanks so much to darkmhz for the VBe7 Software!

Read more about how asrock's load line calibration and other things operate and its a bit different from gigabyte in nomenclature; level 1 is actually more load line calibration than level 5 WTF!!!  I set it to 4 and now my overclock is way way more stable.  I hate LLC and always use a bit more offset to accomodate vdroop instead. Nothing wrong with vdroop IMO for a 24/7 usable system.  Temps are down to only 75*C at 4.5ghz so I squeezed another 100 mhz out with this.  It was 85*C IBT at 4.4GHZ.  What a difference!!!!!!


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## Vario (Sep 28, 2013)

4 hours of tribes ascend no problems this thing is a tank max temp only 68*C on the 7850.  50 loops IBT at max.  24 hours of prime blend.  24 hours of memtest.  IBT can't get over 75*C


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## Vario (Oct 2, 2013)

Okay heres where I am at on the computer end: finished.  On the box end I need to mate the two pieces and sand then sand then sand then sand
















*
Heres my results: Remember guys, this is 24/7 screwed together rarely opened except to dust PC so I went conservative on all my settings.  This processor can do 5.0ghz at ~1.48v and the GPU can do close to 1300 mhz if I could get the cooling down a bit better. Ram won't go over 2133 due to bios option not available for this cpu.*
*CPU VALIDATOR:* http://valid.canardpc.com/fc3i3l




*GPU VALIDATOR: *http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/u79k/




*Superpi 1M*




*3dmark11:  ScoreP7388 with AMD Radeon HD 7850(1x) and Intel Core i5-2550K Processor
Graphics Score
    7126 
Physics Score
    8684 
Combined Score
    7797 
*
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/7251257


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## Vario (Oct 13, 2013)

Okay so Its been awhile.  I am finally working on finishing the wood base.  I hooked the system up to the 42" tv and played grid 2 on a Xbox 360 Wired Controller and it felt awesome.  Ran it naked because the wood isn't done yet.  Love this little rig.


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## Vario (Oct 22, 2013)

I attached the sides/top to the bottom tray.  It now looks like a solid hewn block of wood.  I love how the grain lines up.  I am hitting it with 80 grit sandpaper.  I will post pics after I get a few more hours of work on it.  Its going to be fantastic.  I'll work it up to 220 then put the prestain conditioner, then the stain,etc.


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## Vario (Oct 27, 2013)




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## Vario (Oct 28, 2013)

shoop da woop


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## t_ski (Oct 28, 2013)

Looking better!


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## Nordic (Oct 29, 2013)

I was looking at this thread for the second time because you pm'd me about it. I love the kick ass computer next to the old appliances. Made me laugh at the contrast, and then I laughed harder because it is the same thing for me. My fridge is so old I am taller than it.


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## Vario (Oct 29, 2013)

next step put that shit inside the toaster lol


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## t_ski (Oct 30, 2013)

Vario said:


> next step put that shit inside the toaster lol



Are you thinking like this?


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## Vario (Nov 17, 2013)

t_ski said:


> Are you thinking like this?
> 
> http://www.ninjalane.com/files/dfi_wallpapers/toaster-1600x1200b.jpg



yep haha






How it will bolt on.  Might do two fans here, I got two orange cougars... If they fit.  Lots of sata ports on the other side of that fan.

Full mock up: 





bread loaf for comparison.  its a big itx case thats for sure.  Basically imagine a elite 120 then increase its overall size by 1 cubic inch.  3/4" wood with a 1'4" gap basically.  I could go smaller but I'd have to cut into this ITX a lot and I like how modular this is.  The goal is to have it blend in with some stereo speakers as a 1080p TV gaming computer for games like GTA 5.   I got a xbox wired controller that works great with steam.

Might improve my carpentry/joinery technique in the future and just build a new wood exoskeleton with 1/2" or even 1/4" oak plywood, that would get me nominally .25" (closer to .15") cubed with the 1/2" plywood.  This is just butt joints, slather some glue on, and clamp it, no screws ... I was really careful to pick grained wood that matched the joins.  It is however, very strong.  Titebond2 is a pretty strong join.  I made a 4 cubic foot 18" vented subwoofer with 3/4" oak plywood and the thing was such a tank.  Everyone underestimates the strength of wood, especially oak plywood.  It weighed almost 100 lbs.  Carrying it around was such a nuisance each move and I never could really crank it so I gave it away.


I've been sanding, can't really see improvement in the pictures but thats the biggest change in the past few weeks.  I didn't see any bennite conditioner so I'll be using some minwax. I have grits 85 150 220 and 320 so I'm at 150 now.  All the corners are way more rounded off.  I also have the top bolted to the  bottom now so its functionally done.  I just need to finish the wood prep for staining.


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## Vario (Nov 23, 2013)

Okay so screwed together and powered her up on the TV for a test run.  Max temps were 65*C videocard, 60*C CPU.  Really nice cooling.  Big box for itx though, it really got big... thats the nature of pine, has to be thick to be strong.  But it runs nice and it looks great!















Still need to sand more and then put the pre stain on.  Its getting there but its slow because of other priorities.


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## Vario (Dec 1, 2013)

Heres the first coat of the stain.  Its kinda blotchy maybe, I used the minwax prep stuff I think its just the wood and the nature of the stain.  I am happy with it though, it looks sort of vintage and rustic.

I am sure with more coats it will even out.  It was brushed on and the excess wiped off.










Basement lighting with an incandescent is hard to really show it anyway.  I'll get it looking spiffier.


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## t_ski (Dec 1, 2013)

IIRC, pine often needs a conditioner to allow it to absorb the stain evenly.

http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/preparation/minwax-prestain-wood-conditioner


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## Vario (Dec 1, 2013)

Yep that is the very same prestain I used, coated it with one even coat.  Gave it 45 mins to dry then painted on the stain.


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## t_ski (Dec 1, 2013)

Good to hear!


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## Tallencor (Dec 16, 2013)

Dude. Good job on the mitx. Inspiring. Did you get it smooth? Fine grit sand block and then a power wax buffer?


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