Ghetto Mods

Tulatin · Mar 14, 2023

freeagent said:
It’s not really a mod.. but it’s a little ghetto in the looks department. I stripped the crossbar on my first FC140, so I took the one off of my TRUE Black

This reminds me of the X bracket for the TRUE - If you stuck a nickel between the bracket and the sink, temps would drop by a few degrees.

I have a bunch of content for this thread, I just have to dig em out. In the meantime, have an X800 AIO that came to me. Tested it the first time, blackscreen. That KT4 board is hokey. Switched to a K8V that's known working... A VRM decided to release the magic smoke.

Count von Schwalbe · Mar 14, 2023

Canned Noodles said:
The keyboard sounds doable. The monitor… not so much
I’ll see what I can do

Active converter to USB-C and a portable monitor?

It would be amusing at the very least.

oobymach · Mar 14, 2023

Saw this on PC Master Race group on fb. It's the $10 2tb drive from aliexpress

Gmr_Chick · Mar 14, 2023

oobymach said:
Saw this on PC Master Race group on fb. It's the $10 2tb drive from aliexpress

View attachment 287828

Oh lawd!

These things are also floating around on Amazon too. Tom's did a story about it a few weeks ago. Basically, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, but people be falling for it anyway.

nomdeplume · Mar 14, 2023

Canned Noodles said:
The keyboard sounds doable. The monitor… not so much
I’ll see what I can do

My first thought was wondering if you actually went so far as mounting a 80mm intake fan feeding fresh air to the cpu cooler by means of a port formed from plastic binder stiffener. Not sure you have the height to a run it with the stock Intel cooler pulling air from the top.

Lei · Mar 15, 2023

Canned Noodles said:
The keyboard sounds doable. The monitor… not so much
I’ll see what I can do

Look at this:

Amazon.com : portable monitor

Arco · Mar 15, 2023

80251 said:
That videocard must get plenty of ventilation.

Oh, its a Fractal Torrent with 2x180mm fans.

80251 · Mar 15, 2023

@Arco
That case is bomb for videocard cooling.

Do you get discounts when buying gas with that 'nick?

Arco · Mar 15, 2023

80251 said:
That case is bomb for videocard cooling.

Do you get discounts when buying gas with that 'nick?

Sadly not. They would not accept the free advertising deal...

Macro Device · Mar 16, 2023

My first here.

It was XFX RX 6700 XT Speedster SWFT309 and it became a bizarre frightening beast.

Pic 3 is original temps.
Pic 4 is current temps.

I'm happy I didn't screw my GPU up.

But I will de-ghetto this some day.

"Overstrøm" is Danish for "overcurrent" if you're interested.

R-T-B · Mar 23, 2023

Bluetooth modded 1991 IBM made Model M powered by 4 AA NiMH cells. Integrated OLED battery meter / voltimeter with current reading.

Runs around 10 hours with 4 eneloop pros.

I could probably fit all but the battery pack inside the Model M Chasis but that would be a destructive mod. This is a thing I can rip off this historical kb anytime.

80251 · Mar 24, 2023

The old IBM PS/2 keyboard. I remember back when the all still living cast of MASH did a commercial for Big Blue and the PS/2!

R-T-B · Mar 24, 2023

Playing "How Low can it go" Limbo right now with it's power source.

PS/2 Spec is technically 4.5-5.5v. Technically usb is only 4.75V to 5.25V, but the bluetooth controller and PS2 converter both can tolerate a wider range at 3v-12v, so we are really only limited by the keyboard. I already know the keyboard is a little "wide range" because it will run on 6volts with 4x AA alkaline batteries in a pinch, but my NiMH cells can go as low as 0.9v each without degrading... 0.9volts x 4 = 3.6volts. Doubt the keyboard will run that low, but curious how low below 4.5v it will tolerate.

If it dies from low voltage, that'd possibly be the lamest IBM death ever. I don't think that'll happen. These things tend to be overbuilt with somewhat insane tolerances...

EDIT: The answer is 3.3volts. The batteries will actually harm themselves slightly before the keyboard shuts off, lol.

Interestingly, this probably means you could run a PS/2 keyboard off of a 3.3v power supply line, just barely, as long as it was not under spec much.

Still, to be nice to the cells, I'm switching to a regulated Panasonic made 4xAA -> 5V 1A output powerbank I bought a bit ago. Should be safer, if a bit less capacity from the conversion and MCU.

Excact part number of the power bank is BQ-CC87, it has a charger built in too. Order one on amazon if you like:

https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-BQ-CC87ABBA-Advanced-Individual-Technology/dp/B07WVVXQX7

80251 · Mar 24, 2023

R-T-B must REALLY like those IBM PS/2 keyboards. I can't remember if they were mechanical or not or if they could do n-key rollover.

R-T-B · Mar 24, 2023

80251 said:
R-T-B must REALLY like those IBM PS/2 keyboards. I can't remember if they were mechanical or not or if they could do n-key rollover.

They are mechanical in the sense that they are durable and feel every bit as good if not better than a modern mechanical. Very tactile. But technically the actual keyswitch is a membrane at least partially.

They do not support n-key rollover, but I never really had a serious need beyond 2KRO and they do that fine (if using modifiers it's more like 4KRO).

If I was a hardcore keyboard "gamer" I'd worry about the loss of timing resolution (PS/2 is like close to 1000hz because it's interrupt driven, bluetooth "polls" at like 250hz at best) but I'm honestly not that worried because my reflexes are far worse.

My main thoughts are "battery life could be better" but I'd need a bluetooth LE controller for that and they cost more than I'm willing to throw at this for probably marginal gains. I've heard some people have had luck replacing some of the old electronics, or applying internal resistors, but I don't want to mod the keyboard.

LabRat 891 · Mar 25, 2023

Tulatin said:
This reminds me of the X bracket for the TRUE - If you stuck a nickel between the bracket and the sink, temps would drop by a few degrees.

I have a bunch of content for this thread, I just have to dig em out. In the meantime, have an X800 AIO that came to me. Tested it the first time, blackscreen. That KT4 board is hokey. Switched to a K8V that's known working... A VRM decided to release the magic smoke.

View attachment 287805

Okay, you got me to post one of my recent works. (huge contrast in 'finished look' :laugh:

)

Yes. That's a 120x38mm 1.9A 12VDC 4-pin PWM 'Server Blower' (affectionately named: 'Blowymatron')
Yes. It is powered and auto-controlled by the card. (which, is built to support something like a 3.9A 12VDC 'Squirrel-Cage Screamer')

PS: 'Not-WX9100s' (Reflashed MI25 AKA: The Poors' Vega 64 16GB FE) will do multiple displays via an MST hub. Caveat: No FreeSync, and I'm not spending $50-90 on a hub that claims FreeSync/VRR/G-Sync over DP. I'll just shove my 6500XT in my X570 along with it, somewhere, somehow... That alone will make for another great 'ghetto mod' OC.

joemama · Mar 27, 2023

Just found an old photo of cutting a hole out of my laptop case to maximize airflow, it reduced the CPU temperature by 5 degrees celsius

silentbogo · Mar 27, 2023

joemama said:
Just found an old photo of cutting a hole out of my laptop case to maximize airflow,

At least it's functional and makes sense. For some reason our local "DIYers" simply snip the plastic grill on the side, and then blame "tight hinges" for their cracked lower chassis

All you need to do now, is add a piece of metal mesh, and it'll be better than factory ))))

80251 · Mar 27, 2023

Wouldn't it be better to at least filter the intake for that laptop?

LabRat 891 · Mar 28, 2023

joemama said:
Just found an old photo of cutting a hole out of my laptop case to maximize airflow, it reduced the CPU temperature by 5 degrees celsius

View attachment 289427

silentbogo said:
At least it's functional and makes sense. For some reason our local "DIYers" simply snip the plastic grill on the side, and then blame "tight hinges" for their cracked lower chassis
All you need to do now, is add a piece of metal mesh, and it'll be better than factory ))))

I wonder if I have any pics of the 1st gen i7 Toshiba I did the same procedure to. Toshiba either purposfully or accidentally used a lower chassis from a Pentium/i3-equipped unit; the intake was 100% solid plastic with 'fake grates'.

I cut out the area w/ a dremel(rotary tool) and JBwelded(2-part knead-able epoxy) in a snipped-down fan grille.
It immediately 'fixed' every issue I had with that laptop and I sold it soon after (fully disclosing the modification)

maxfly · Mar 31, 2023

Not exactly a ghetto mod but mounting it to anything today would require some serious innovation

If I can figure out a way to secure one to an m.2 with some thermal tape...anyhow.
I found these badboys while digging through some long lost boxes and thought you all would appreciate it.
A blast from the past for sure! It's so old Thermalright doesn't even have it on their website anymore lol!

Kwadratowicz · Mar 31, 2023

maxfly said:
Not exactly a ghetto mod but mounting it to anything today would require some serious innovation
If I can figure out a way to secure one to an m.2 with some thermal tape...anyhow.
I found these badboys while digging through some long lost boxes and thought you all would appreciate it.
A blast from the past for sure! It's so old Thermalright doesn't even have it on their website anymore lol!

Zipties?

80251 · Mar 31, 2023

Thermalright used to be really innovative in things like videocard cooling and VRM cooling. They had all kinds of interesting heatpipe coolers for videocards. One of them (sidewinder maybe?) could even be mounted in two different orientations.

silentbogo · Mar 31, 2023

My ghetto filament holder for my 3D printer.
All it took is a spare steel rod, tension coupler, phone holder to keep it from moving too much, and a shoelace to prevent the spool from falling off(that one is not in pic, but I added it later after knocking it off with my head yesterday during an emergency nozzle cleaning).

Just a temporary solution, before I print a normal holder

Magic Cube · Mar 31, 2023

maxfly said:
Not exactly a ghetto mod but mounting it to anything today would require some serious innovation
If I can figure out a way to secure one to an m.2 with some thermal tape...anyhow.
I found these badboys while digging through some long lost boxes and thought you all would appreciate it.
A blast from the past for sure! It's so old Thermalright doesn't even have it on their website anymore lol!

View attachment 289899

I had these on some DFI AMD Motherboard, I don't remember motherboard model anymore. I did sell motherboard+Cpu+these Thermalright vrm heatsinks. But I do miss these. Too bad these are so hard to get these days. If I had one of those cheaper motherboards with no VRM heatsink, I would try to mount something like these to board.

Only bad Thermalright product I owned was HR-02 with it's base, which was skewed and did take couple hours of using sand paper to get to the copper base. Nickel base it had was really bad. Temperatures dropped about 10 celsius with this operation, if I remember correctly processor was Q6600. After cpu was lapped temperatures where about 20 degrees lower. So lapping is good thing sometimes.

Processor	Sempron 2500+ / A64 3200+ Venice / 530J / 3800+ AM2 /
Motherboard	Foxconn 754 / DFI SLI-D / ASUS P5WD2-E Prem / ECS KA3 MVP
Cooling	RX-K8 Silent Boost / Corsair Nautilus 500 / Full Custom Watercooling / Mini Typhoon With A Delta
Memory	2x1GB Ultra Value / 2x512MB GX @ 252 / 2x1024 Super Talent @ 1000, 44410 / 2x1024 Super Talent
Video Card(s)	Nvidia 6800GT / PCI / PCI / PCI (lol)
Storage	WD 250-16 SATA / 2x80GB Maxtor SATA, WD 250 PATA / 80GB WD / 80GB WD
Display(s)	IBM P160
Case	Ultra Products Microfly / ICute 0508 / Test Bench / Test Bench
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Ultra X2 550W / Enermax Liberty / V-Series 400 (Temp) / V-Series 400 (Temp)
Software	Custom XP Pro Installs

System Name	Work Computer \| Unfinished Computer
Processor	Core i7-6700 \| Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard	Dell Q170 \| Gigabyte Aorus Elite Wi-Fi
Cooling	A fan? \| Truly Custom Loop
Memory	4x4GB Crucial 2133 C17 \| 4x8GB Corsair Vengeance RGB 3600 C26
Video Card(s)	Dell Radeon R7 450 \| RTX 2080 Ti FE
Storage	Crucial BX500 2TB \| TBD
Display(s)	3x LG QHD 32" GSM5B96 \| TBD
Case	Dell \| Heavily Modified Phanteks P400
Power Supply	Dell TFX Non-standard \| EVGA BQ 650W
Mouse	Monster No-Name $7 Gaming Mouse\| TBD

System Name	New compy
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5800x3D
Motherboard	MSI MPG x570S EDGE MAX WiFi
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15S w. FHP141 + Xigmatek AOS XAF-F1451
Memory	32gb G.Skill Ripjaws V Samsung B-Die Dual Rank F4-4000C16D-32GVKA
Video Card(s)	ASUS TUF GAMING RTX 4070ti
Storage	17tb (8+4tb WD Black HDD's, 2+2+0.5+0.5tb M.2 SSD Drives) + 16tb WD Red Pro backup drive
Display(s)	Alienware AW2518H 24" 240hz, Sony X85K 43" 4k 120hz HDR TV
Case	Thermaltake Core v71
Audio Device(s)	iFi Nano Idsd Le, Creative T20 + T50, Sennheiser HD6Mix
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova G2 1000w
Mouse	Logitech G502 Hero custom w. G900 scroll wheel mod, Rival 3 + Rival 3 wireless, JLab Epic Mouse
Keyboard	Corsair K68 RGB + K70 RGB + K57 RGB Wireless + Logitech G613
Software	Win 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	https://valid.x86.fr/s2y7ny

System Name	The Captain (2.0)
Processor	Ryzen 7 7700X
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X670E-A
Cooling	280mm Arctic Liquid Freezer II, 4x Be Quiet! 140mm Silent Wings 4 (1x exhaust 3x intake)
Memory	32GB (2x16) Kingston Fury Beast CL30 6000MT/s
Video Card(s)	MSI GeForce RTX 3070 SUPRIM X
Storage	1x Crucial MX500 500GB SSD; 1x Crucial MX500 500GB M.2 SSD; 1x WD Blue HDD, 1x Crucial P5 Plus
Display(s)	Aorus CV27F 27" 1080p 165Hz
Case	Phanteks Evolv X (Anthracite Gray)
Power Supply	Corsair RMx (2021) 1000W 80-Plus Gold
Mouse	Varies based on mood/task; is currently Razer Basilisk V3 Pro or Razer Cobra Pro
Keyboard	Varies based on mood; currently Razer Blackwidow V4 75% and Hyper X Alloy 65

Processor	Intel i5 8400
Motherboard	Asus Prime H370M-Plus/CSM
Cooling	Scythe Big Shuriken & Noctua NF-A15 HS-PWM chromax.black.swap
Memory	8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport LT DDR4-2400
Video Card(s)	ROG-STRIX-GTX1060-O6G-GAMING
Storage	1TB 980 Pro
Display(s)	Samsung UN55KU6300F
Case	Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 3
Power Supply	Super Flower Leadex III 750w
Software	W11 Pro

Ghetto Mods

Tulatin

Count von Schwalbe

Moderator

oobymach

Gmr_Chick

nomdeplume

Lei

Arco

Attachments

80251

Arco

Macro Device

Attachments

R-T-B

80251

R-T-B

80251

R-T-B

LabRat 891

joemama

silentbogo

Moderator

80251

LabRat 891

maxfly

Kwadratowicz

Attachments

80251

silentbogo

Moderator

Magic Cube

Processor	3900x - Bykski waterblock
Motherboard	MSI b450m mortar max BIOS Date 27 Apr 2023
Cooling	αcool 560 rad - 2xPhanteks F140XP
Memory	Micron 32gb 3200mhz ddr4
Video Card(s)	Colorful 3090 ADOC active backplate cooling
Storage	WD SN850 2tb ,HP EX950 1tb, WD UltraStar Helioseal 18tb+18tb
Display(s)	24“ HUION pro 4k 10bit
Case	aluminium extrusions copper panels, 60 deliveries for every piece down to screws
Audio Device(s)	sony stereo mic, logitech c930, Gulikit pro 2 + xbox Series S controller, moded bt headphone 1200mAh
Power Supply	Corsair RM1000x
Mouse	pen display, no mouse no click
Keyboard	Microsoft aio media embedded touchpad (moded lithium battery 1000mAh)
Software	Win 11 23h2 build 22631
Benchmark Scores	cine23 20000

System Name	Firestarter
Processor	7950X
Motherboard	X670E Steel Legend
Cooling	LF 2 420
Memory	4x16 G.Skill X5 6000@CL36
Video Card(s)	RTX Gigabutt 4090 Gaming OC
Storage	SSDS: OS: 2TB P41 Plat, 4TB SN850X, 1TB SN770. Raid 5 HDDS: 4x4TB WD Red Nas 2.0 HDDs, 1TB ext HDD.
Display(s)	42C3PUA, some dinky TN 10.1 inch display.
Case	Fractal Torrent
Audio Device(s)	PC38X
Power Supply	GF3 TT Premium 850W
Mouse	Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard	Steel Series Apex Pro
VR HMD	Pimax Crystal with Index controllers

System Name	DLSS / YOLO-PC
Processor	i5-12400F / 10600KF
Motherboard	Gigabyte B760M DS3H / Z490 Vision D
Cooling	Laminar RM1 / Gammaxx 400
Memory	32 GB DDR4-3200 / 16 GB DDR4-3333
Video Card(s)	RX 6700 XT / R9 380 2 GB
Storage	A couple SSDs, m.2 NVMe included / 240 GB CX1 + 1 TB WD HDD
Display(s)	Compit HA2704 / MSi G2712
Case	Matrexx 55 / Junkyard special
Audio Device(s)	Want loud, use headphones. Want quiet, use satellites.
Power Supply	Thermaltake 1000 W / Corsair CX650M / DQ550ST [backup]
Mouse	Don't disturb, cheese eating in progress...
Keyboard	Makes some noise. Probably onto something.
VR HMD	I live in real reality and don't need a virtual one.
Software	Windows 10 and 11

System Name	Pioneer
Processor	Ryzen R9 9950X
Motherboard	GIGABYTE Aorus Elite X670 AX
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon and Corsair Maglev blower fans...
Memory	64GB (4x 16GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-6000 CL30
Video Card(s)	XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310
Storage	Intel 905p Optane 960GB boot, +2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs
Display(s)	55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display
Case	Thermaltake Core X31
Audio Device(s)	TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W
Mouse	Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless
Keyboard	WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches + PBT DS keycaps
Software	Gentoo Linux x64 / Windows 11 Enterprise IoT 2024

System Name	Sleepy Painter
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard	Asus TuF Gaming X570-PLUS/WIFI
Cooling	FSP Windale 6 - Passive
Memory	2x16GB F4-3600C16-16GVKC @ 16-19-21-36-58-1T
Video Card(s)	MSI RX580 8GB
Storage	2x Samsung PM963 960GB nVME RAID0, Crucial BX500 1TB SATA, WD Blue 3D 2TB SATA
Display(s)	Microboard 32" Curved 1080P 144hz VA w/ Freesync
Case	NZXT Gamma Classic Black
Audio Device(s)	Asus Xonar D1
Power Supply	Rosewill 1KW on 240V@60hz
Mouse	Logitech MX518 Legend
Keyboard	Red Dragon K552
Software	Windows 10 Enterprise 2019 LTSC 1809 17763.1757

Processor	i5-9600K
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z390 Gaming X
Cooling	Scythe Mugen 5S
Memory	Micron Ballistix Sports LT 3000 8G*4
Video Card(s)	EVGA 3070 XC3 Ultra Gaming
Storage	Adata SX6000 Pro 512G, Kingston A2000 1T
Display(s)	Gigabyte M32Q
Case	Antec DF700 Flux
Audio Device(s)	Edifier C3X
Power Supply	Super Flower Leadex Gold 650W
Mouse	Razer Basilisk V2
Keyboard	Ducky ONE 2 Horizon

System Name	WS#1337
Processor	Ryzen 7 5700X3D
Motherboard	ASUS X570-PLUS TUF Gaming
Cooling	Xigmatek Scylla 240mm AIO
Memory	4x8GB Samsung DDR4 ECC UDIMM
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio
Storage	ADATA Legend 2TB + ADATA SX8200 Pro 1TB
Display(s)	Samsung U24E590D (4K/UHD)
Case	ghetto CM Cosmos RC-1000
Audio Device(s)	ALC1220
Power Supply	SeaSonic SSR-550FX (80+ GOLD)
Mouse	Logitech G603
Keyboard	Modecom Volcano Blade (Kailh choc LP)
VR HMD	Google dreamview headset(aka fancy cardboard)
Software	Windows 11, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

System Name	DadsBadAss
Processor	I7 13700k w/ HEATKILLER IV PRO Copper Nickel
Motherboard	MSI Z790 Tomahawk Wifi DDR4
Cooling	BarrowCH Boxfish 200mm-HWLabs SR2 420/GTX&GTS 360-BP Dual D5 MOD TOP- 2x Koolance PMP 450S
Memory	4x8gb HyperX Predator RGB DDR4 4000
Video Card(s)	Asrock 6800xt PG D w/ Byski A-AR6900XT-X
Storage	WD SN850x 1TB NVME M.2/Adata XPG SX8200 PRO 1TB NVMe M.2
Display(s)	Acer XG270HU
Case	ThermalTake X71 w/5 Noctua NF-A14 2000 IP67 PWM/3 Noctua NF-F12 2000 IP67 PWM/3 CorsairML120 Pro RGB
Audio Device(s)	Klipsch Promedia 2.1
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus PX-850 w/CableMod PRO ModMesh RT-Series Black/Blue
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Black Aluminun Mechanical Clicky Thing With Blue LEDs, hows that for a name?!
Software	Win11pro

System Name	Ryżem
Processor	AMD ryzen 2700
Motherboard	MSI b450 tomahawk
Cooling	Silentiumpc grandis 2
Memory	2x8gb corsair venegance
Video Card(s)	Zotac gtx 1070 Ti mini noctua industrial 140mm fan
Storage	500 GB Samsung 970 Evo plus, 3tb Toshiba p300, 1tb WD blue
Display(s)	Dell 21 inch fhd
Case	SilentiumPC regnum rg4t
Audio Device(s)	Integrated
Power Supply	Seasonic focus plus gold 550
Mouse	Logitech Mx master 2s, g100, corsair dark rock pro rgb
Keyboard	Motospeed ck104
VR HMD	HTC vive pro
Software	Windows 10 ltsc

System Name	NoName
Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 7950x3D
Motherboard	Msi Tomahawk X670E
Cooling	Silentium PC Dual tower cooler
Memory	G.Skill 6000MHz Hynix M-die
Video Card(s)	AsRock Challenger Arc 750
Storage	Kingston KC3000 1 TB, PNY 3030 512GB
Display(s)	Lenovo 31,5" 1440p 144Hz
Case	Fractal Design Meshify Window White with white bequiet fans
Power Supply	Seasonic 750W
Mouse	Basic Logitech "silent" mouse
Keyboard	Logitech Mx
Software	Linux