My Rig! (56k warning)

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jun 28, 2006, 05:36 PM

Well everyone else does one of these, and now that I've gotten off my lazy arse and found out how to use my ISP's webspace I'm gonna do it so (I find these interesting)

So. This is my typical workspace (bit of a mess, still have to wall mount my speakers and unpack the rest of my hardware from the move in December

). The desk I made myself out of Canadian maple to support the two monitors (it even holds me and a friend as well

)

This is the side panel of my case and where I jack into the world. On the other side of the wall is the crawlspace, which I have my server in and all the LAN run throughout the house. I put 2 LAN ports in this wall socket as well as an RJ11 for phone and a coax for my AiW when it works. Note the shiny-ness

This is the inside of my system. Believe it or not I cleaned it 1 month ago, but with this much airflow.... it never stays clean

This is what it looks like with the flash off and the blue cathodes on. 2 years ago if you told me I'd have a glowy system I'd have smacked you and called you a liar.

Bad shot here but I painted the two 5.25" hard drive fans to be the same colour as the case... couldn't find plastic paint in the same colour as my case so I just used the metal paint which came out OK.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jun 28, 2006, 05:36 PM

Glamor shot of the AiW X800XT and the VF700

(with an Audigy 1 gamer and a few USB brackets). Again excuse the dust, I just did it a month ago...

This is where all the airflow is. At full blast I have 200+ CFM running through this area alone

The top blowhole and a shot of the modular cables... up until 3 months ago I had no fan guards on the inside and when tooling around I'd cut my fingers badly cause I was too lazy to turn the fans off

This is where the rheostat connections come out. $8 bucks at Canadian Tire and I got some automotive heatshrink tubing which helped clean up the cables really nicely and as a side effect insulates them nicely.

The northbridge fan (which, though the smallest fan, can still be heard even with the Tornado around 60%), as well as the shiny RAM

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jun 28, 2006, 05:37 PM

This is what it looks like with the side panel on. I didn't use plexiglass for the side window, nor did I just leave it bare (which is what it looks like), there is actually a piece of glass I have glued on there with ultra adhesive from Home Depot. Its way nicer than plexiglass, doesn't scuff or look ugly after a while, and has better thermal properties.

This is what it looks like from the side. The painting I did in the middle of the mighty Canadian winter in my garage... I had two old haggard style heaters keeping it above 0 (not much above), the paint I brought inside to dry overnight. The wet sanding and such took a while, when all was said and done it took 5 days to complete. I followed the guide in Maximum PC almost to the letter, except instead of using a rubbing compound and glaze at the end, I used Turtle Wax polishing compound... and it worked WAY better I think.

Finally, a shameless view of the front with all my case badges

. The rheostats are all hooked to fans, yes there are alot and it is kind of ridiculous but it allows very good noise control/airflow control.

Any questions

?

SexPistoL · Jun 28, 2006, 06:56 PM

Looks great m8,
Do you have to sit with headphones on, when all of those fans kick in ?

atilover48 · Jun 28, 2006, 08:15 PM

Looks nice. But why is there so much dust. Sorry didnt read your post right lol. Overall its nice.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jun 28, 2006, 08:15 PM

Actually I've gotten used to it...compared to the 3000 CFM furnace blower I have behind me it isn't that bad

atilover48 · Jun 28, 2006, 08:18 PM

Does it get very loud?

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jun 28, 2006, 08:19 PM

The furnace blower can... its got a jumper board so I can tune how loud it is but I usually keep it on full and yeah that gets loud but its not as high pitched as some of the PC fans its just a really loud whoosh

SexPistoL · Jun 28, 2006, 11:12 PM

Hey Hex,
where are the intake fans, are they at the front in the top ?

kn00tcn · Jun 29, 2006, 10:17 AM

nice closeups

i've been lazy but soon you all will see closeups of my zalman... being installed..... & the iceberq

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jun 30, 2006, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SexPistoL

Hey Hex,
where are the intake fans, are they at the front in the top ?

The front has an Enermax fan there. The rest gets drawn in the side vents near the video card, helps vent the heat out (The Tornado is helpful in that capacity)

BWX · Jul 14, 2006, 05:24 AM

I got that same mouse pad from years ago.. 3M.. not a bad mouse pad but it tore up my knuckles and slid around.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jul 14, 2006, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWX

I got that same mouse pad from years ago.. 3M.. not a bad mouse pad but it tore up my knuckles and slid around.

Mine doesn't slide....the table top is pretty gripp-y.

How did your knuckles get torn....

BWX · Jul 14, 2006, 08:35 AM

Well not torn really, just I have a smaller mouse, and the joints of my pinky finger and the finger next to it slide on the mouspad a little, just because of the way I hold the mouse. I'm left handed, that's probably why. Anyway, the mouse pad is really rough, so it basically just gives my calluses.

I needed to use double stick tape to hold it down, but I used it for at least 2 years.. it has a really nice surface for optical mice.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jul 14, 2006, 05:09 PM

Ah. Being ambidextrious and having big hands and a big mouse... never noticed it.

My hands are wrecked anyway from other things.... playing drums without gloves gave me calouses on my thumbs so I got little feeling there

riles9262 · Jul 14, 2006, 05:22 PM

Nice setup. I like how shiny your case is, even with the dust problem

I don't think I could've guessed what the shininess was in the second pic if you didn't say so.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jul 14, 2006, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riles9262

Nice setup. I like how shiny your case is, even with the dust problem

I don't think I could've guessed what the shininess was in the second pic if you didn't say so.

Thanks

Actually all the shiny bit takes is just flatness... the more flat the surface is, the shinier it will look. The polish just adds to the effect and makes it look a little nicer overall

reineken · Jul 14, 2006, 10:34 PM

nice system you got, just wondering how much is your electirc bill every month?

but really cool system tho'.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jul 14, 2006, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reineken

nice system you got, just wondering how much is your electirc bill every month?

but really cool system tho'.

Thanks... the bill well I prefer not to disclose that but it can be a doozy depending on how much A/C and dehumidifier I use

... that and the furnace blower is always on so that adds to it (but its a DC blower so comparatively its ok)

Customgamer1 · Jul 14, 2006, 10:48 PM

Maybe you should wax it lol.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jul 14, 2006, 11:49 PM

I am. Turtle Wax polishing and scratch removal compound

CDsDontBurn · Jul 15, 2006, 01:15 AM

long live the tornado!

i've got two

reineken · Jul 15, 2006, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H3X4D3C1M4L

I am. Turtle Wax polishing and scratch removal compound

lol

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jul 16, 2006, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

long live the tornado!

i've got two

Yeah, I get used to noise anyway. Frequently, its left on full and yet I can sleep on the couch next to the PC.

CDsDontBurn · Jul 16, 2006, 08:16 AM

i used to leave both of mine at full, but now i can't really take the noise anymore. especially from my 80mm tornado. the fan grill that sits in front of it draws in the air weird and gives it a really high pitched whistling noise on top of the blowing noise of the high CFM from the fan itself. the 92mm tornado i have isn't as bad, but i couldn't deal w/it anymore like i used to.

now i just run my 2 tornados when i'm gaming, OCing, or benching.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jul 17, 2006, 07:16 AM

Yeah... I had to cut the 2nd fan hole and move the 1st one up (at the rear)... but I always cut the stock grilles out and put in a wire fan guard... they offer virtually no air resistance and still keep my fingers blood free

And theres none of that annoying noise whistling crap

CDsDontBurn · Jul 18, 2006, 02:00 AM

the only thing good about my fan grill on my side fan (80mm vantec) is that it filters out alot of the dust and dirt. mind you, some still gets in, but from what is filtered out, it sure is alot less than what would get in.

niceguyrichy · Jul 18, 2006, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

the only thing good about my fan grill on my side fan (80mm vantec) is that it filters out alot of the dust and dirt. mind you, some still gets in, but from what is filtered out, it sure is alot less than what would get in.

cut squares of pantyhose and stretch and stick it over the inside of the fan.

won't unduly block airflow, will catch lots of the crap that ends up in your case.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jul 19, 2006, 04:28 PM

I just wait till it gets REALLY bad then vacuum it...which is monthly - bimonthly.

BWX · Jul 19, 2006, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H3X4D3C1M4L

I just wait till it gets REALLY bad then vacuum it...which is monthly - bimonthly.

That is bad for computer parts.. Vacuums produce a lot of static and can cause damage to sensitive electronics. Best to hold the vacuum nozzle a ways away and then blow out the dust with canned air and suck the dust out of the air with the vacuum.

I never get the vacuum within 2 feet of my PC. That's something I have heard and read many times. I guess it depends on how humid it is on your area though, if it's really humid, it probably won't damage it, but if it is dry, you are asking for trouble.

Jun 28, 2006, 05:36 PM	#1
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	My Rig! (56k warning) Well everyone else does one of these, and now that I've gotten off my lazy arse and found out how to use my ISP's webspace I'm gonna do it so (I find these interesting) So. This is my typical workspace (bit of a mess, still have to wall mount my speakers and unpack the rest of my hardware from the move in December ). The desk I made myself out of Canadian maple to support the two monitors (it even holds me and a friend as well ) This is the side panel of my case and where I jack into the world. On the other side of the wall is the crawlspace, which I have my server in and all the LAN run throughout the house. I put 2 LAN ports in this wall socket as well as an RJ11 for phone and a coax for my AiW when it works. Note the shiny-ness This is the inside of my system. Believe it or not I cleaned it 1 month ago, but with this much airflow.... it never stays clean This is what it looks like with the flash off and the blue cathodes on. 2 years ago if you told me I'd have a glowy system I'd have smacked you and called you a liar. Bad shot here but I painted the two 5.25" hard drive fans to be the same colour as the case... couldn't find plastic paint in the same colour as my case so I just used the metal paint which came out OK.

Jun 28, 2006, 06:56 PM	#4
SexPistoL DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: UK Posts: 604 Rep Power: 0	Looks great m8, Do you have to sit with headphones on, when all of those fans kick in ? __________________

Jun 28, 2006, 11:12 PM	#9
SexPistoL DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: UK Posts: 604 Rep Power: 0	Hey Hex, where are the intake fans, are they at the front in the top ? __________________

Jun 29, 2006, 10:17 AM	#10
kn00tcn DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Posts: 649 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	nice closeups i've been lazy but soon you all will see closeups of my zalman... being installed..... & the iceberq __________________ http://www.kn00tcn.net/site/ati-catalyst-profiles/ http://www.kn00tcn.net/FPSLimiter.rar

Jul 14, 2006, 05:24 AM	#12
BWX unplugged Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: USNY Posts: 19,669 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	I got that same mouse pad from years ago.. 3M.. not a bad mouse pad but it tore up my knuckles and slid around. __________________

Jun 28, 2006, 05:36 PM	Thread Starter #2
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	Glamor shot of the AiW X800XT and the VF700 (with an Audigy 1 gamer and a few USB brackets). Again excuse the dust, I just did it a month ago... This is where all the airflow is. At full blast I have 200+ CFM running through this area alone The top blowhole and a shot of the modular cables... up until 3 months ago I had no fan guards on the inside and when tooling around I'd cut my fingers badly cause I was too lazy to turn the fans off This is where the rheostat connections come out. $8 bucks at Canadian Tire and I got some automotive heatshrink tubing which helped clean up the cables really nicely and as a side effect insulates them nicely. The northbridge fan (which, though the smallest fan, can still be heard even with the Tornado around 60%), as well as the shiny RAM

Jun 28, 2006, 05:37 PM	Thread Starter #3
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	This is what it looks like with the side panel on. I didn't use plexiglass for the side window, nor did I just leave it bare (which is what it looks like), there is actually a piece of glass I have glued on there with ultra adhesive from Home Depot. Its way nicer than plexiglass, doesn't scuff or look ugly after a while, and has better thermal properties. This is what it looks like from the side. The painting I did in the middle of the mighty Canadian winter in my garage... I had two old haggard style heaters keeping it above 0 (not much above), the paint I brought inside to dry overnight. The wet sanding and such took a while, when all was said and done it took 5 days to complete. I followed the guide in Maximum PC almost to the letter, except instead of using a rubbing compound and glaze at the end, I used Turtle Wax polishing compound... and it worked WAY better I think. Finally, a shameless view of the front with all my case badges . The rheostats are all hooked to fans, yes there are alot and it is kind of ridiculous but it allows very good noise control/airflow control. Any questions ?

Jun 28, 2006, 08:15 PM	#5
atilover48 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 23 Rep Power: 0	Looks nice. But why is there so much dust. Sorry didnt read your post right lol. Overall its nice.

Jun 28, 2006, 08:15 PM	Thread Starter #6
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	Actually I've gotten used to it...compared to the 3000 CFM furnace blower I have behind me it isn't that bad

Jun 28, 2006, 08:18 PM	#7
atilover48 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 23 Rep Power: 0	Does it get very loud?

Jun 28, 2006, 08:19 PM	Thread Starter #8
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	The furnace blower can... its got a jumper board so I can tune how loud it is but I usually keep it on full and yeah that gets loud but its not as high pitched as some of the PC fans its just a really loud whoosh

Jul 14, 2006, 08:35 AM	#14
BWX unplugged Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: USNY Posts: 19,669 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	Well not torn really, just I have a smaller mouse, and the joints of my pinky finger and the finger next to it slide on the mouspad a little, just because of the way I hold the mouse. I'm left handed, that's probably why. Anyway, the mouse pad is really rough, so it basically just gives my calluses. I needed to use double stick tape to hold it down, but I used it for at least 2 years.. it has a really nice surface for optical mice. __________________

Jul 14, 2006, 05:09 PM	Thread Starter #15
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	Ah. Being ambidextrious and having big hands and a big mouse... never noticed it. My hands are wrecked anyway from other things.... playing drums without gloves gave me calouses on my thumbs so I got little feeling there

Jul 14, 2006, 05:22 PM	#16
riles9262 Driverheaven brewmaster Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 4,842 Rep Power: 72 System Specs	Nice setup. I like how shiny your case is, even with the dust problem I don't think I could've guessed what the shininess was in the second pic if you didn't say so. __________________ A beer a day keeps the doctor away.

Jul 14, 2006, 10:34 PM	#18
reineken DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Portsmouth, United Kingdom Posts: 24 Rep Power: 0	nice system you got, just wondering how much is your electirc bill every month? but really cool system tho'. __________________ Emachine 5210 (i know not so great ey) p4 2.5ghz Processor with HT tech rs3m - il motherboard 1.5gb 400mhz corsair ram 1x250gb maxtor 7200rpm HDD 1x120gb WD 7200rpm HDD 2x80gb WD 7200rpm HDD 1x320gb WD 7200rpm External HDD sapphire x1600 pro 256mb cheap 550 watts PSU

Jul 14, 2006, 10:48 PM	#20
Customgamer1 Fell off the tech wagon Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 2,273 Rep Power: 74 System Specs	Maybe you should wax it lol. __________________ Asus Laptop: 2.5 Intel Core 2 Duo, 4gigs DDR 2, Windows 7 64bit! Windows 7 > OSX!

Jul 14, 2006, 11:49 PM	Thread Starter #21
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	I am. Turtle Wax polishing and scratch removal compound

Jul 15, 2006, 01:15 AM	#22
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,805 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	long live the tornado! i've got two __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Jul 16, 2006, 08:16 AM	#25
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,805 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	i used to leave both of mine at full, but now i can't really take the noise anymore. especially from my 80mm tornado. the fan grill that sits in front of it draws in the air weird and gives it a really high pitched whistling noise on top of the blowing noise of the high CFM from the fan itself. the 92mm tornado i have isn't as bad, but i couldn't deal w/it anymore like i used to. now i just run my 2 tornados when i'm gaming, OCing, or benching. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Jul 17, 2006, 07:16 AM	Thread Starter #26
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	Yeah... I had to cut the 2nd fan hole and move the 1st one up (at the rear)... but I always cut the stock grilles out and put in a wire fan guard... they offer virtually no air resistance and still keep my fingers blood free And theres none of that annoying noise whistling crap

Jul 18, 2006, 02:00 AM	#27
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,805 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	the only thing good about my fan grill on my side fan (80mm vantec) is that it filters out alot of the dust and dirt. mind you, some still gets in, but from what is filtered out, it sure is alot less than what would get in. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Jul 19, 2006, 04:28 PM	Thread Starter #29
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	I just wait till it gets REALLY bad then vacuum it...which is monthly - bimonthly.