NeverBackDown
AMD Enthusiast
Hate to be a downer, but the graphics are located on the CPU chip nowadays, not on the motherboard's chipset
Uhh no dur? I said capabilities not chipset. It can support the cpus Igpu.
ZEUS (Fractal R4 | blue/black | internal UT60 Rad) - by alpenwasser
- Thread starter alpenwasser
- Start date
Uhh no dur? I said capabilities not chipset. It can support the cpus Igpu.
alpenwasser
New member
PSU - Sleeving & HDD Tower
Ok, now that that's settled, on to other things. :lol:
I've requisitioned my dad's EOS 600D and ordered some proper studio lighting (haven't
gotten it yet though), so I hope to provide some better quality pictures (and maybe videos)
in the future. For now I'm just experimenting with the camera and familiarizing myself with it.
[size=+2]Sleeving - Part One[/size]
I'm not yet done by any stretch, but I've managed to cut the 24 pin to size and sleeve it as well
as the EPS 8 pin.
Opening the PSU
I'm sure you all know that opening a PSU is not a very good idea if you don't know what you're
doing. It's not magic of course; as long as certain precautions are taken it's perfectly safe
(how else would a manufacturer's technician do maintenance and repairs?
), but people
who do not take those precautions leave themselves open to being nominated and possibly
awarded a Darwin award.
Anyway: It's not a terribly impressive PSU, but it doesn't need to be. It just needs to do its
job, and do it well. Going by BQ's reputation, that should be the case here.
Feel free to mock me for the terrible hideousness to the left of the PSU. :lol:
Cutting Unneeded Wires
Since I will be needing neither the PCI-E auxiliary power cables nor all of the SATA and
Molex power connectors, some of the wires have been cut and their remains kept inside the
PSU. I've left enough wire to have something to solder on to should I ever need to do that
for whichever reason (unlikely, but not impossible). The brownish stuff on the red wires is
just tape residue, not a burned wire, for those worrying.
I've numbered them and written down what connects to what in case of restoration.
Cable Lacing
I have to admit: I'm not terribly fond of zip ties. They look ugly, it's much too easy to over-
tighten them and crush a cable's mantle, and they are terribly wasteful with all that remaining
plastic being chopped off and binned.
Therefore I started to investigate alternatives to zip ties a while ago, and stumbled upon the
ancient art of cable lacing. Before the advent of zip ties, this was how cables and wires were
organised. Since it's rather time consuming to do this properly, it has fallen out of favour in
many areas and been supplanted by zip ties. However, there are still areas where cables
are laced instead of zip tied, most notably the aerospace industry (NASA has a rather nice
manual on it somewhere).
Those of you who have worked in telecommunications will probably have learned and used
this, depending on how old you are. Personally I've only learned about it recently, so I'm still
very much in the early stages of developing my technique.
These are my first experiments. Once I have a process that's actually satisfactory, I'll post
more information on it, these pictures serve more as a documentation of my learning process
than anything else.
Front side of my very first try during the process:
Same try, later stage:
The back side of that wire group:
24 Pin
Ok then, let's try this on a double layer cable with a bit more wires:
Notice that the 24 pin is rather short at this point. This makes it a bit tricky to get it neat
and tidy. This is not the end result; I'll post pics of that once it has actually achieved its
final form
[size=+2]HDD Tower[/size]
Since the top of the HDD tower (or however one chooses to call it) is anchored to the 5.25"
bay enclosure in the case's standard config and said enclosure has been discarded in this
build, I've had to devise a new plan to make sure the HDD's stay in place and everything looks
right.
I've decided to anchor the HDD tower's top place directly to the underside of the PSU. So,
let's make a few holes:
HDD Tower - Overview
The tower is pretty much straight now, its top end is 0.5 mm further away from the case front
than its bottom part. It's measurable but not really noticeable.
SATA Power Cable
Let's make this nice and straight, shall we? The remaining bits of wire at the bottom will
of course be cut off. The PSU is still open at this point because I still need to make a few
adjustments to it.
Current Overview
I've placed the pump in for taking some measurements, and I've moved the fans between the
back panel and the radiator. Notice that the cable lacing on the 24 pin has changed, but since
it's not yet in its end stage I haven't taken a separate picture of that.
RIP - Trusty Friend
After more than seven years of loyal service my lighter has given up on me. It's a jet flame lighter,
so it's actually pretty well suited not only for melting paracord, but also for heat shrink since
it's possible to quite accurately regulate the heat output getting to the heat shrink (also, it
does not leave any black residue).
I originally bought this during my army time for officer candidate school; it was very well
suited for lighting those pressed charcoal sticks you use for warming your hands (it was rather
cold and we were outside a lot :lol: ). It's served me extremely well during the years, although
I've not used it all that much as a non-smoker.
I've taken it apart to see if I could fix it, but it seems the valve for the Butane tank is defective,
so I'm not hopeful
That's it for today. Next up I need to get a new lighter ASAP, and then I'll finish the PSU.
Once that's done I'll be able to start with the W/C loop and putting everything together for
the first time to test it. After that I'll take everything apart again for painting those bits that
need painting (the back panel's radiator opening, most notably).
Thanks for visiting.
Ok, now that that's settled, on to other things. :lol:
I've requisitioned my dad's EOS 600D and ordered some proper studio lighting (haven't
gotten it yet though), so I hope to provide some better quality pictures (and maybe videos)
in the future. For now I'm just experimenting with the camera and familiarizing myself with it.
[size=+2]Sleeving - Part One[/size]
I'm not yet done by any stretch, but I've managed to cut the 24 pin to size and sleeve it as well
as the EPS 8 pin.
Opening the PSU
I'm sure you all know that opening a PSU is not a very good idea if you don't know what you're
doing. It's not magic of course; as long as certain precautions are taken it's perfectly safe
(how else would a manufacturer's technician do maintenance and repairs?
), but peoplewho do not take those precautions leave themselves open to being nominated and possibly
awarded a Darwin award.
Anyway: It's not a terribly impressive PSU, but it doesn't need to be. It just needs to do its
job, and do it well. Going by BQ's reputation, that should be the case here.
Feel free to mock me for the terrible hideousness to the left of the PSU. :lol:
Cutting Unneeded Wires
Since I will be needing neither the PCI-E auxiliary power cables nor all of the SATA and
Molex power connectors, some of the wires have been cut and their remains kept inside the
PSU. I've left enough wire to have something to solder on to should I ever need to do that
for whichever reason (unlikely, but not impossible). The brownish stuff on the red wires is
just tape residue, not a burned wire, for those worrying.
I've numbered them and written down what connects to what in case of restoration.
Cable Lacing
I have to admit: I'm not terribly fond of zip ties. They look ugly, it's much too easy to over-
tighten them and crush a cable's mantle, and they are terribly wasteful with all that remaining
plastic being chopped off and binned.
Therefore I started to investigate alternatives to zip ties a while ago, and stumbled upon the
ancient art of cable lacing. Before the advent of zip ties, this was how cables and wires were
organised. Since it's rather time consuming to do this properly, it has fallen out of favour in
many areas and been supplanted by zip ties. However, there are still areas where cables
are laced instead of zip tied, most notably the aerospace industry (NASA has a rather nice
manual on it somewhere).
Those of you who have worked in telecommunications will probably have learned and used
this, depending on how old you are. Personally I've only learned about it recently, so I'm still
very much in the early stages of developing my technique.
These are my first experiments. Once I have a process that's actually satisfactory, I'll post
more information on it, these pictures serve more as a documentation of my learning process
than anything else.
Front side of my very first try during the process:
Same try, later stage:
The back side of that wire group:
24 Pin
Ok then, let's try this on a double layer cable with a bit more wires:
Notice that the 24 pin is rather short at this point. This makes it a bit tricky to get it neat
and tidy. This is not the end result; I'll post pics of that once it has actually achieved its
final form
[size=+2]HDD Tower[/size]
Since the top of the HDD tower (or however one chooses to call it) is anchored to the 5.25"
bay enclosure in the case's standard config and said enclosure has been discarded in this
build, I've had to devise a new plan to make sure the HDD's stay in place and everything looks
right.
I've decided to anchor the HDD tower's top place directly to the underside of the PSU. So,
let's make a few holes:
HDD Tower - Overview
The tower is pretty much straight now, its top end is 0.5 mm further away from the case front
than its bottom part. It's measurable but not really noticeable.
SATA Power Cable
Let's make this nice and straight, shall we? The remaining bits of wire at the bottom will
of course be cut off. The PSU is still open at this point because I still need to make a few
adjustments to it.
Current Overview
I've placed the pump in for taking some measurements, and I've moved the fans between the
back panel and the radiator. Notice that the cable lacing on the 24 pin has changed, but since
it's not yet in its end stage I haven't taken a separate picture of that.
RIP - Trusty Friend
After more than seven years of loyal service my lighter has given up on me. It's a jet flame lighter,
so it's actually pretty well suited not only for melting paracord, but also for heat shrink since
it's possible to quite accurately regulate the heat output getting to the heat shrink (also, it
does not leave any black residue).
I originally bought this during my army time for officer candidate school; it was very well
suited for lighting those pressed charcoal sticks you use for warming your hands (it was rather
cold and we were outside a lot :lol: ). It's served me extremely well during the years, although
I've not used it all that much as a non-smoker.
I've taken it apart to see if I could fix it, but it seems the valve for the Butane tank is defective,
so I'm not hopeful
That's it for today. Next up I need to get a new lighter ASAP, and then I'll finish the PSU.
Once that's done I'll be able to start with the W/C loop and putting everything together for
the first time to test it. After that I'll take everything apart again for painting those bits that
need painting (the back panel's radiator opening, most notably).
Thanks for visiting.
Mysterae
New member
Looking good alpenwasser!
Man, cable lacing, that takes me back a long time! Years ago I used to cable up control panels for all sorts of things; heating and boiler plant, processing machines and lifts - lacing was the way. Trunking and as you said cable ties put an end to that. Velcro straps are an alternative but they can be bulky and don't hold so well.
Man, cable lacing, that takes me back a long time! Years ago I used to cable up control panels for all sorts of things; heating and boiler plant, processing machines and lifts - lacing was the way. Trunking and as you said cable ties put an end to that. Velcro straps are an alternative but they can be bulky and don't hold so well.
alpenwasser
New member
Yeah it's really quite awesome imho. Once I've achieved a satisfying result I'll post some
info on how I achieved that, but at the moment I'm not really there yet. I'm compiling info
from lots of sources and trying to get a result that is functionally good as well as aesthetically
pleasing to my personal tastes (others might of course not like it, but it's my build after all).
Velcro is pretty nice for some things, but it's not really compatible with paracord (fraying),
plus you can't really make a nice flat bundle of cables with it. Nice thing about lacing the
wires is that I can achieve a nice flat and tidy 24 pin bundle, which is one of the reasons
I wasn't really interested in doing this with zip ties.
Thank you!
Permafrost
Compo Whore
alpenwasser
New member
Yeah why add clutter if you don't need it?
Having said that, opening a PSU is not necessarily something I'd recommend to just anyone.
This one's a rather small unit, but in a large PSU you can have quite a few massive
capacitors which have to be rendered safe (i.e. earthed). Otherwise those things can in fact
kill a person since there's a possibility for residual charge to be on them for quite a while
even after the PSU has been switched off and unplugged.
I actually did a school project (final project for our equivalent of high school) where I and
a buddy built a rail gun. We had a capacitor bank which had ~ 4 kV on it with about 20 to
30 rather large capacitors (considering our restricted budged; large caps are pretty expensive).
I don't recall the overall capacitance though.
Our teachers made sure to supervise us when we used that thing. One wrong move and
zap, one dead student (or two).
:lol:
Thanks guys, the support is much appreciated!
alpenwasser
New member
If you could get the wire lacing in the same colour as your sleeving, I think you'd be on to a winner. Unless you want your hard work to be seen
Hehe, yeah that would be something. The cord is waxed cotton. Got recommended to me by
an old school telecom tech, and I'm very happy I listened to him. It works rather well, especially
for tightening and knotting. Since it's not as slippery as Nylon for example, you can make
multi-stage knots without having the first stage unraveling while you're doing the second one.
Also you don't have to fear your knots becoming loose over time. Once you tighten them down
they will stay that way. But I'm pretty sure you're well familiar with it.
I also have some much thinner black Nylon here (the cotton is the thinnest I could find) which
I might try out, but it's probably going to cut really badly into the paracord and will be a pain
to make knots with (and I'm pretty sure I'll have to glue the knots to secure them). We shall see.
Part of the reason I'm trying to get the lacing as perfect as possible is indeed because it will
be seen. I don't think I'll find matching color cord, and I'd rather have a clear contrast with black
cord than have a blue cord that almost matches but just not quite. So the best alternative I see
is to make the things that are visible as nice as possible I think.
And another thing: I'll be doing the same with HELIOS, and most likely I will be doing mixed
colour sleeving, so I couldn't hide the lacing cord on that one anyway (not completely, at least).
But yes, next stage will be trying out the Nylon and seeing how the two cords compare. Then
go on to improve my technique. Maybe I'll find another product and try that out as well. But I'm
pretty happy with how the cotton cord handles to be honest.
alpenwasser
New member
Yeah it's definitely rather niche today. Thank you!
definitely looking forward to this build and that lacing guide, i would love to try that on my 24 pin connector to get all the cables in a nice straight line and not overlapping each other
Thanks! I'm thinking I'll probably do a video tutorial; makes it much easier to follow than pictures.
But that means it will have to wait for quite a bit. For one thing I haven't yet gotten my studio
lights, and I can't really do video editing on my laptop so I'll have to assemble a proper rig first.
I also need to figure out all that video stuff, never done that before. Ah well, I'm all about broadening
my horizons.
alpenwasser
New member
Well the concept might be simple, but the execution is rather laborious I'd say. :lol:
But yes, it works pretty well indeed, thanks!
Kei
Member
I'm liking the lacing too. Definitely agree with your points on cable ties. I've gone through so many with my pc that i've practically run out. (had a big box of them) I always chop them as close as i can to the locking part so that i can reuse as many a possible. I had read somewhere that some people actually stitched their cables together using a needle and cotton thread, but that is probably too permanent a solution.
I intended on doing the custom sata power cables back when i had 6 disk drives, but obviously i had to sacrifice 4 of them to have the second radiator. Nice to see it come together.
I intended on doing the custom sata power cables back when i had 6 disk drives, but obviously i had to sacrifice 4 of them to have the second radiator. Nice to see it come together.
alpenwasser
New member
alpenwasser
New member
Looking great dude
Thank you mate!
[size=+2]PSU Sleeving - Continued[/size]
So I went out and got myself a new lighter today. As an outdoorsy type I would have loved
something like a Wenger Clava, but I didn't have time (or rather: was unwilling) to wait that long. This one was 20 bucks and works quite well so far. It has a nice focused blue flame.
SATA Power Cables
While the 90 degree SATA power connectors allow for extremely neat wire routing, they are
not really well suited for sleeving. I am not yet 100 % happy with the result, but it's better
than before (or let's say: I like it better than before). I can always redo it later if I get some
clever idea about how to improve it and make it truly perfect.
To give you an idea of how I went about this problem:
And the current state of affairs on the HDD tower's back side:
Pump Power Delivery
Obviously the pump can't run without some voltage goodness.
This is not the final cable routing, but it shows the rough idea.
Fan Power Delivery
Remember those clipped wires I mentioned yesterday and how I left some cable to solder
on to in case I ever needed them again? Good thing I did that. Originally I was going to run
the fans off the same cable as the pump, but then I realized that I would have to do double
wires inside the crimp connectors, which I really don't like. They're almost impossible
to crimp unless you have very thin wires (I don't), and they're an absolute nightmare to
sleeve.
So I've decided to to a dedicated fan cable. This is where I soldered the new wires onto
the remains of the old ones:
Overview:
And this is how I plan to connect the fans (at least at the moment :lol: ):
That's it for today, thanks for stopping by.
Permafrost
Compo Whore
wow this is epic! where did you learn to do that?
