Hello everybody,
I have joined the guild of the Mac pro 2013 replicators, with what seems to be a different approach than everybody else.
I have ordered my dust bin from ambientedirect.com on the 19th of January and it should arrive in Bratislava in the following days. From Bratislava i will have it shipped to Romania, this being the location i currently reside in (this is the cheapest shipping method). Meanwhile i have worked on the main chassis, electronics for motion and light sensor and the DIY thermal core, yes i want to replicate the thermal core technology in the mac pro.
The basic design is simple, have a large 120-150 mm server fan ( 120 - 225CFM ) at the base that runs at 1000-1200 rpm and is decently silent. Over this server fan have the motherboard ( Asus P8h67-i PRO ) installed with an adapted sk 771 copper passive heatsink with the fins oriented parallel to the airflow. On the back of the motherboard i have installed, using a 30cm pci-e extender, my GTX 260 GL+ GPU card ( still in trial as i have a feeling it will eventually be to large to fit the dust bin ). The GPU card also has a modified sk 771 passive copper heatsink oriented parallel to the airflow. Above the motherboard i have placed the PCB of my PSU (Intertech 700W) with only the required cables for this setup. Above my psu there is a 1200 mm fan that revs at 700 to 1200 rpm depending on the temperatures of the psu ( i have attached a sensor to PSU's heatsink).
I have run my setup for a few days now and the temperatures have gone down about 5-10 degrees, especially on the GPU. The whole setup is dead silent and runs smooth.
I still have a problem with space, since i haven't received my bin yet, i am not sure everything will fit nicely. I also have a problem with the bottom plate, i guess i will go with Sascha's approach because i couldn't find a 3d printing service where i live. Also in my design, i planned on having every mobo connector laser cut out in the back or vertical drilled to specifications. Upon testing laser on thick ABS plastic i discovered that the finishing product looks rough and bulky so i will go with vertical drilling, slow and steady. As i mentioned before, i want to add the motion and light sensor function in order to lit the back panel whenever the light conditions are dim or i rotate my hack-mac. I have the electronics setup ( i used the sensors from a watch lamp, which has an led and light sensor incorporated, i bought the motion sensor and board from a local shop), my main problem in this part is that i cannot laser cut the icons of the external connector in the back panel without ruining the plastic, as i have seen in John's pics the plastic is pretty thick.
My final setup would be, black case with a small apple logo cutout in the front backlit by a power on white led, with a backlit back panel for each connector.
I will post pictures of my progress as soon as i get my rig reassembled maybe others will soon follow.
Thank you!
