advice

[shelbyone]

Hi there! just signed up because I finally got a cube that I can use to bring it back to life and read a lot about existing case mods on this forum.Unfortunately, I cannot send personal messages to the creators of my favorite mods since I need to have 50 posts before I can do so...( ) therefore, I need to ask all of you for help:
I want to built my own cubemod and was wondering if anyone can help me with a list of things I need, including information about lasercutting services and templates of plexiglass parts I would need.
I cant just buy parts from any list without knowing where and how to get plexiglass templates cut and how much it would approx. cost.
so if I wanted to build my own cube that has an i5 or i7 processor for a moderate price ( it does not have to be the fastest cube! ) could someone send me a detailed list from a to z of what I COULD buy that all fits together and evolves into a new cube - I would appreciate it!
thanks

 

[albertodlh]

Hey shelbyone! Glad you joined the cube-modding club!

To answer your question, the first thing you have to do is decide on the hardware you want to include in your cube. You can build a very budget-friendly and lightweight cube that only has board, processor, and a hard drive (you'll have room to spare); or you can go the hard route and try to cram as many components as possible, which is what I did. It all depends on your needs.

A few pointers: A mini-itx board is obviously a must. Most cube modders use Pico-PSUs to power their builds. Depending on the placement of the ATX power connector in your board, you could need an ATX power extension cable too. It's better to buy a processor with low power consumption (you'll recognize them because their serial numbers end with the letter S) because not only they draw less power, but don't get as hot. You'll have to find a low profile cpu cooler too, such as the Noctua NH-L9i, or the Prolimatech Samuel 17 (some modders have even reused the original cooler). It's possible that you might need short SATA cables. And if you plan on adding a dedicated video card, you'll probably need one that doesn't draw much power and is as small as possible, and a PCIe extender.

After settling on the components, the fun part begins. You need to decide how to put everything inside the cube. Most modders reuse the cube's internal frame in very clever and interesting ways. I decided not to reuse it, but to do an entire new frame. It all depends on your components, really.

Let me know which components do you plan on buying, and I'll try to advice you to the best of my knowledge.

 

[shelbyone]

thanks for your fast reply!!and I appreciate your help getting me started !

Here's what I want to do: I want a medium priced cube and keep the original handle , top and bottom, if possible and internal PSU and replicate ( with the edison switch ) or keep the functionality of the original power switch.
it does not have to be the fastest machine ( i7 quadcore) it can well be a nice i5 with 8 or 16GB of RAM.plus internal wifi& bluetooth.
it should have the a Radeon Card with 1GB of VRAM, HDMI&DVI Port, room for a regular drive and a future ssd.Sony Optiarc slot in drive and infrared receiver ( for remote) .I like how SLEPPEK incorporated plexiglass - I wanted to send him a message and ask for a template and advice on where to go get it lasercut. the way sleppek set up his internal space is how I want to do it...with plexiglass. cant wait to start this project and place it next to the oldschool cube with 10.4.11.
cheers
jim

 

[shelbyone]

so I need 75!!!! posts to even be able to send personal messages - this really makes so much sense, guys! who came up with this brilliant way to ask for help!

 

[neilhart]

shelbyone welcome to the forum. This is the best place as you will find many of your questions already answered ( use the search function and read the many project threads).

I would like to point out the “thin mini-itx” for consideration. A good number of us used the Intel DQ77KB thin motherboard in cubes and other small box builds. One of the attractions of the “thin mini-itx” motherboard is the on-board DC to DC PSU. This means that an external power brick is used similar to the original cube.

The Intel DQ77KB is out of production and is not very available. However there are current vintage thin boards such as the GigaByte GA-H87TN (see: http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-SO-DIMM-DualBIOS-Motherboard-GA-H87TN/dp/B00FU85LRY ) that will accept Haswell CPUs and should be a fine motherboard in a cube hack.


Anyway enjoy your project and be sure to post a build log with photos.

Good modding,
neil