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Nikola
Hung Like a Flea
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
Posts: 790
Location: Edmond, OK
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Project Zero-Point
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Well, I originally wanted to call it Project Space Heater or Project Hot Box but I think that Zero-Point sounds more awesome.
Anyways, this is parts from Project Subtlety mixed with some GTX 480 SLI and a different motherboard. Different motherboard so that it could fit into my lovely new Lan-Gear Da Box 100 Blackheart mATX case.
Specs:
Asus Rampage II Gene - New!
Intel Core i7 920 C0 - Old chip that has done 4.4ghz rock solid!
3x2gb Corsair Dominator DDR3 1600mhz - Old!
(2) Gigabyte GTX 480 SLI - New!
300gb VelociRaptor 'OS' Drive - Old!
1tb WD Black 'Stuff' Drive - Old!
Lan-Gear Da Box 100 Blackheart case - New!
CoolerMaster UCP Ultimate 1100w - Old crappy psu with six 12v rails at a total of 128 amps
This case is pretty much the pinnacle of Micro ATX design for those that want to pack serious power with a small-ish footprint. I was nearly set on a Lian Li v351 which had a much less appealing layout when I saw this on HardForum. Placing the power supply at the front of the case makes a drastic difference in the amount of airflow and power you can fit in a case this size.
There's a problem though, the case is just wide enough to fix the mATX spec which means that the excellent repositioning of the PSU leaves very little room between it and a long video card in the first PCI-E x16 slot. Combine that with a PSU that is longer than standard ATX size and you have a problem.
My plan to overcome this is to flip the power supply and actually cut the casing of the power supply back to allow the GTX 480 to fit comfortably. In addition removing all the extra leads that are unnecessary in a conceivable mATX build.
I'll be allowing for two 8-pin, two 6-pin, three SATA, one Molex, one EPS 12v 4+4-pin and the 24-pin ATX connector. We have literally cut off about half of this power supply! It's lost some serious weight!
This will gain more than that though as we'll be able to route everything but the 8-pin and 6-pin through the side of the PSU to greatly reduce the need to route the wiring. Of course we'll also be trimming the wires since they are currently at least twice as long as they need to be. This should also allow for enough room for an 80mm fan to take over cooling duties.
After all of that is done, it will likely be the majority of the modding done to this case as I would like it to be fairly easy to work on and upgrade in the future. There will likely be a software-controlled fan controller like I made for Cobalt but it will be a smaller, simpler version. _________________ Failure is just success rounded down.
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Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:06 am
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