A case of G4 Cube fever

[minihack]

I would imagine that the weight of these should be within spec of what the motherboard can take. Have a look though and see if it covers that point in the specification that Neilhart linked you to.

 

[spence4]

Cube arrived today - case isn't bad, but not as nice as I had hoped. Why I was thinking I would be getting a mint cube for 50 bucks on craigslist I don't know. Anyway, took it apart and I already hate the thing. I see what both of you guys were saying about the lack of space and how it will be basically impossible to get the proximity switch to function properly with a mini ITX board in there. I have had one outside the box idea; at lead, I think it is outside the box, maybe someone else has tried and it didn't work. But here goes... In the picture below you can see a standoff that is in the slot that holds the handle. What if I got a standoff that was long enough so that the board was essentially flush with those two quarter curved aluminum legs that are in each corner? Normally, I would have to get a piece of perspex or something, place it on those legs then mount the board on top of that, however if I go the other way so the standoffs are actually on the upper side of the board with the screws below it will save me a few millimeters (not much but in a cube every mm seems to count) My question is will this be somehow bad for the board? My gut tells me no, but I am very inexperienced with putting together computers and I know that usually the standoffs go on the bottom and screws on top. So maybe there is something potentially catastrophic in flipping it around, but I am thinking it should be ok. I mean the board barely fits, not like all of the weight will be on the standoffs anyway. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.

 

[Gus]

Cube arrived today - case isn't bad, but not as nice as I had hoped. Why I was thinking I would be getting a mint cube for 50 bucks on craigslist I don't know. Anyway, took it apart and I already hate the thing. I see what both of you guys were saying about the lack of space and how it will be basically impossible to get the proximity switch to function properly with a mini ITX board in there. I have had one outside the box idea; at lead, I think it is outside the box, maybe someone else has tried and it didn't work. But here goes... In the picture below you can see a standoff that is in the slot that holds the handle. What if I got a standoff that was long enough so that the board was essentially flush with those two quarter curved aluminum legs that are in each corner? Normally, I would have to get a piece of perspex or something, place it on those legs then mount the board on top of that, however if I go the other way so the standoffs are actually on the upper side of the board with the screws below it will save me a few millimeters (not much but in a cube every mm seems to count) My question is will this be somehow bad for the board? My gut tells me no, but I am very inexperienced with putting together computers and I know that usually the standoffs go on the bottom and screws on top. So maybe there is something potentially catastrophic in flipping it around, but I am thinking it should be ok. I mean the board barely fits, not like all of the weight will be on the standoffs anyway. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.

Don't think it will matter, since both the top and the bottom of the board's mounting holes will be earthed. Both are just bits of metal touching the board, screw on top brass standoff underneath.

Interesting idea though. Remove the pillars, mount the board then push the pillars back into place. The only thing is inside the pillars, there is a pin that is pushed up into them to secure them. So the pillars have a block on the end, not the curved hollowed out all the way. Which would stop them being flush. Or stop you from being able to mount the mobo first then replace the pillars.

 

[spence4]

Thanks for the feedback Gus. Yeah, I noticed the pins in the bottoms and screws in the top of the 4 legs. It is because of those that the thin Perspex try would have to be mounted to them then have the standoffs on top of that then board. With my proposed plan all I have is the head of a screw then the bulky ends of the leg... Like I said, a few mm . If the screw is in contact with the legs is that a problem? If it is, will a thin piece of insulating tape solve that problem?

 

[minihack]

Hi Spence,
If you want maximum room but want to keep as standard as you can I strongly suggest you look at what 61mg73 did with his Cube mod. Yes, it is a tight fit (always is) but he had some good ideas on how to maximise the chances of using the Cube switch. It involved flipping the internal latch mechanism and then using the side with more room - in other words a "double flip" to keep it externally looking very stock with a useable handle but also giving as much room to work with as possible. Also to maximise chances still more he flipped the actual switch to a higher position.
It's good reading and even if you take a different route will give you some ideas. I think a combination of his ideas should, with the low profile intel board, give you enough room.
Here is the thread: http://tonymacx86.com/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=42738&start=0

 

[spence4]

Well, I spent most of the weekend, fiddling with the cube. Like one of those badass military guys that can take apart a gun and put it back together all with their eyes closed - I can do the same with a cube now. I made a scale sized piece of cardboard to represent the motherboard and did all kinds of goofing around. Also bought myself a dremel since it seems that I would need to cut the back plate and likely the heatsink sooner or later. Following everyone's advice I have not cut yet as I want to make sure I was sure before doing something irreversible. So here is what my mobo looks like in the cage. I decided to flip the switch around as that was very easy and not as complicated as 61mg73 double flip which I know I would have messed up. Since the little shield thing can't be screwed in following the 180 flip, I just used electrical tape to hold it in place. Is this going to be a problem? I now have enough clearance I think for the USB headers to not interfere with the power switch.
photo.JPG

minihack, I know we discussed going with the Noctua 80 mm fan but it appears to be 25mm high and all not fit unless take a dremel to the heatsink ( I could just carve a small chunk to get the extra clearance) or remove the fan mounting on the bottom of the case and mount the fan directly to the bottom the way you did on your clear cube. As I am lazy an unskilled I would like to go with the option that requires the least amount of cutting as evidenced by my mobo solution. What do you know about this fan?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835226001

It is only 15 mm and would fit onto the bottom fan mount and have enough clearance under the heatsink. If you know any better 15 mm tall 80 mm fans I would of course appreciate the guidance. Also would appreciate any feedback on my mobo/switch solution. Thanks.

 

[spence4]

I'm starting to wonder if I would get more love on here if my posts had more pictures. People like pictures. Last night I got Lion installed and running on the DH61AG (big thanks to everyone over on neilhacks thread on this board). Only issue I have is that wifi is not working. I pulled a card from a first gen AppleTV, which is the same Broadcom card as is in a bunch. Of the computers. It's the 21, not the 22. Thought it should st worked plugged into the mpcie slot. Guess not. That is not a huge issue as I have an Ethernet cable right next to where the cube will sit, but I am obsessed with making everything work. The old MacBook Air 2010 SSD works like a charm. I got a somewhat disappointing 6800 geek bench score but it is the 32 bit version and I am only running a 2105. Next step is to either start with the switch mod or dremel the case. Both are intimidating.

 

[minihack]

Hi Spence,
I had a 25mm thick 80mm fan in my real Cube - this guy over on Cubeowner explains it as best as he can.....
http://www.cubeowner.com/forums/ind...pid=95246&mode=threaded&show=&st=&#entry95246. Its not hard to get it to fit.

 

[spence4]

Hi Minihack,

As always, appreciate your guidance/advice. I just tried what it sounds like the cube owner guy is describing. I think I may have to take a bit off of the Noctua in order to get it in there- just some of the casing that is near the screw holes. My one question would be whether this would negatively impact the quietness of the fan. Probably a silly question, but I figure it is possible that the designers factor in case thickness and all this other stuff when designing a product and altering it in any way could introduce some performance change.

The cage just barely fits into the can with the power switch flipped like I have it. I did have to remove the little black grill that sits under the top vent, but I have seen that a lot of people's cube mods have that piece removed as well so I figure it won't be too much of a problem. Next up is the power switch wiring setup... should be an adventure.

 

[minihack]

Hi Minihack,

As always, appreciate your guidance/advice. I just tried what it sounds like the cube owner guy is describing. I think I may have to take a bit off of the Noctua in order to get it in there- just some of the casing that is near the screw holes. My one question would be whether this would negatively impact the quietness of the fan. Probably a silly question, but I figure it is possible that the designers factor in case thickness and all this other stuff when designing a product and altering it in any way could introduce some performance change.

The cage just barely fits into the can with the power switch flipped like I have it. I did have to remove the little black grill that sits under the top vent, but I have seen that a lot of people's cube mods have that piece removed as well so I figure it won't be too much of a problem. Next up is the power switch wiring setup... should be an adventure.

Hi Spence,
I never found squeezing in impacted on the quietness and also the guys on Cubeowner were fitting the same fan in the same place and they found it fine too. As long as you follow their guide on getting it in there it should go fine.

Yeah that black grill does nothing. In some builds too I have trimmed the plastic insert with the fin type things that goes in the top (no idea what the real name is!), basically do what you need to to make it fit but still work!

Good luck with the switch flip. Make sure to read everything carefully and many times before you wire that sucker up.....and watch out for the "missing earth" gotcha - I mean if the thing goes into a spiral of restarts it is because you forgot to attach a ground wire to the board of the touch switch.