New PC tower design
-
Built my own computer few years ago. Much more important than the outside look is the inside.. You have the power supply, the cabling and the PIN outs, most have the EMI shields and the foot print holes for the industry spec mother boards, drive rails, all the cooling tunnels etc.and the all the mounting hardware( 100's of parts). I bought an ANTEC SonataII and think it has a nice look when the door is closed. This can be a huge design under taking
-
@pixero said:
Just a question, wouldn't the "waist" make it hard to fit the motherboard and fan for the processor?
Also I believe it might reduce airflow inside.Mate the actual box is BIG! The tummy band is the same width as a normal box! The drive bays arn't in proportion! This overcomes a lot of Mac1's concerns too! Ample room is allowed for all!
Dave R, mate I did on the weekend play further to simplify the whole legs and outer case setup and also to consider how simply it could be made from really simple sheet work and much of the internals modded from another case.
The WS case (second version posted) I consider I'd love to house s cheap simple sandybridge render node/s later - all in the one case - hence the size!
-
@pixero said:
Just a question, wouldn't the "waist" make it hard to fit the motherboard and fan for the processor?
Also I believe it might reduce airflow inside.Mate the actual box is BIG! The tummy band is the same width as a normal box! The drive bays arn't in proportion! This overcomes a lot of Mac1's concerns too! Ample room is allowed for all!
Dave R, mate I did on the weekend play further to simplify the whole legs and outer case setup and also to consider how simply it could be made from really simple sheet work and much of the internals modded from another case. I like the timber idea - though has it's issues. I like the idea of such a case sitting next to a RedBull F1 car in the pits hence a little it's case design.
The WS case (second version posted) I consider I'd love to house s cheap simple sandybridge render node/s later - all in the one case - hence the size!
-
Are you building a computer or furniture??
IMO designing then building the computer is the first effort. You can then jazz it up with a fancy enclosure if you so desire with fans, ups retractable tops etc, etc. I made my design big to start with for several reasons. PC junction temp is the driver for life so good cooling to keep the delta T down is most important. Second I wanted to be able to modify easily so when our MS, Intel friends make changes and OEM guys want us to buy a new PC mine is just an upgrade. It is getting old now, about 5 years, but had a 3.2GHZ CPU for that time. No PCI express so that maybe the next step or wait for next major step which will probably be to get rid of all the cables and have one optical interface=> not external cable races etc. HEY!!! Flexibility should be the name of the game. -
Mate I understand all you are saying!!
Here is a bit of an evolution on the design, with slide out dust filters and slide out cable store.
Also a crap rendered version with the cover in plastic to see the interior layout 1366 socket board left / 1155 socket right (render node) - Radiators centre.
-
I like it. SO it is almost the size of four PC cases? Lots of room for expansion and cooling.
-
Dear Richard,
Don't forget to look here for bits and pieces:
Regards,
Bob -
@dave r said:
I like it. SO it is almost the size of four PC cases? Lots of room for expansion and cooling.
Yes Dave it is BIG - not quite as big as 4 mids but not that far off!
-
@watkins said:
Dear Richard,
Don't forget to look here for bits and pieces:
Regards,
BobWow thanks Bob! That's a great resource! Rich
-
Why not perforations for the venting? So much easier to fabricate, thus reducing cost, and a cleaner look.
Looks good though
-
@richard said:
Mate I understand all you are saying!!
Here is a bit of an evolution on the design, with slide out dust filters and slide out cable store.
Also a crap rendered version with the cover in plastic to see the interior layout 1366 socket board left / 1155 socket right (render node) - Radiators centre.[attachment=1:wq8lzf6s]<!-- ia1 -->AutoSave_NEW-PC1.jpg<!-- ia1 -->[/attachment:wq8lzf6s][attachment=0:wq8lzf6s]<!-- ia0 -->CASE-explode.jpg<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment:wq8lzf6s]
Love your work, but just a suggestion raise or lower your view point to keep the horizon line from aligning with strong edges in your design. It really messes up the perception by "pulling" said elements bact to the horizon.
-
@unknownuser said:
Why not perforations for the venting? So much easier to fabricate, thus reducing cost, and a cleaner look.
Looks good though
Thanks mate! The vents are actually cheaper funnily enough, as they are both commonly done and the tooling permits them to be pressed in easy!
Perforating would required the drilling of each hole!
There are two reasons for going this way - one to get just that bit of industrial look to it and second to aim the vents in the direction of air flow dragging in cold from low and pushing out air from high with some added noise reduction effect in theory!
-
@roger said:
Love your work, but just a suggestion raise or lower your view point to keep the horizon line from aligning with strong edges in your design. It really messes up the perception by "pulling" said elements bact to the horizon.
Your spot on mate! Not such an exercise at producing a nice picture at this stage, just lazy - I should have set up a studio scene though couldn't be buggered really at this stage! Dam that lazy!
-
Here is that case a little more developed!
The concept is generally to maximise air flow, cooling and functionality of modular spaces to maximise opportunity for upgradeability! Also given each space is same sized, the option (with some clever considerations) to reorganise the layout or change use configurations might exist.
-
I ordered a new computer recently and while doing research I came across this case which might offer some ideas about arranging components:
http://www.slashgear.com/thermaltake-level-10-pc-case-with-bmw-designworks-0636768/ -
arail1. That's a cool looking tower but I see a lot of time spent dusting.
-
@dave r said:
arail1. That's a cool looking tower but I see a lot of time spent dusting.
Yeah I've always thought that of the level 10 dave! Plus I just dont see how it can be so designed for airflow and cooling, sure it has some features though those features themselves create these limits!
-
@richard said:
@dave r said:
arail1. That's a cool looking tower but I see a lot of time spent dusting.
Yeah I've always thought that of the level 10 dave! Plus I just dont see how it can be so designed for airflow and cooling, sure it has some features though those features themselves create these limits!
I don't understand cooling with the Level 10 either. It shows up on acousticpc.com - a site dedicated to quiet PC components - so maybe it just gets hot! You'd almost have to have a fan sitting next to it, blowing at it from the side, to keep it cool.
Your overall design is much sleeker and way cooler. I only posted the Level 10 assuming it might be worth looking at for the arrangement of the components. But your base, the symmetry of your design, the upgrade ablility - all blow the 10 out of the liquid cooling water.
-
You might consider the option of splitting your tower vertically so a buyer could choose to have a smaller computer with just the front two components but when it was time to upgrade he could then add the back two components.
I just ordered a computer from Maingear (excited!) and went back and forth between their small form factor PC and a mid tower, I went with the mid tower so I would have the option of upgrading later on but I would have much preferred to buy a smaller computer now with the ability to increase the size of the computer down the road. Your design would lend itself to that sort of thing.
-
richard
FYI for what it is worth:
The CPU , at least mine, has a self contained fan that mounts directly over it's top and is part of the Intel p4 I bought. The case has a tunnel that is height and sided to side adjustable so it can be position accurately over the CPU fan.( Inter change ability).Of course it is adjustable to marry to the rest of tunnel also to allow mother board, CPU and slot access etc. The case I have has two fans and another slot for a third. At the present time temps are:
Processor Zone 154 F, System Zone 1 114F, System Zone 2 138F. Processor Fan speed 3426 rpm( think this is full on) and rear fan 1355. The room temp is about 70 F so have a ~90F rise. Don't know dissipation off the top of may head.
Advertisement