[BUILDING] The HaswellRise mod

[JuanLobo]

Wow, that is a tight vertical margin!

Good luck!

I was about to say the same.... dj, are you taking into account the CPU plate on the back of the motherboard that is going to raise the whole assembly up, and push the GPU higher up? I wouldn't be shocked to find the base of the gpu card fingers will be about 10mm off the deck of the case.

Might consider a cross-flow fan in a case like that... with a large copper sink.

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?scase=c_crossflow&pid=123&area=en

http://www.dynatron-corp.com/en/product_detail_1.aspx?cv=1-4-281&id=190&in=0

 

[dj_aris]

I was about to say the same.... dj, are you taking into account the CPU plate on the back of the motherboard that is going to raise the whole assembly up, and push the GPU higher up?

You are right, but I hope this cooler will be sufficient: http://www.zalman.com/global/product/Product_Read.php?Idx=790

It is 27mm high; this means that the motherboard itself is already higher (i.e. the audio interface in the back is about 40mm). Now, if we add another 10mm for the CPU plate and maybe another 15 for the motherboard and the CPU then we have used a total of approximately 50mm. There is still plenty of headroom.

About the GPU, you may be right. That is exactly why I have to place the motherboard as low as possible. I have some ideas but will get back to this in a few days after some more tests.

My test GPU is exactly 69mm:


while the case has exactly 78mm of space!



Yes, it will be super tight!

 

[JuanLobo]

Ahh, yeh, I think it will clear just fine.

 

[Mumblr]

Might consider a cross-flow fan in a case like that... with a large copper sink.

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?scase=c_crossflow&pid=123&area=en

Do you think you can mount one of those fans vertically?

Thanks for the tip.

 

[JuanLobo]

Do you think you can mount one of those fans vertically?

Thanks for the tip.

I don't see why not. I have no idea how loud that fan is BTW, but coming from silverstone, I would expect it to be quiet.

 

[Koalaman]

This is pretty cool! Reminds me of the ultra mini.

 

[dj_aris]

Update: n2power in the house!

Today's mail had my AC-DC power supply. Behold:



size comparison to a normal ATX PSU:
(that's what I'm talking about, 160 watts should look like 160 watts!)



and finally, placed in the case:
(a super tight fit, but a FIT nonetheless!)



Next days I'll try to figure the wiring, power inlet and the PSU master switch (since it's not ATX).

PS: I've heard that Intel's 9-series chipsets are soon to be released... Maybe I could wait for that while I prepare the rest of the case. 9-series is rumored leaked to include PCIe storage which lifts the SATA 3 cap (at last) and the Haswell refresh CPUs (still 1150 though) are expected to have better thermal behavior (quite important for a case so small).

 

[kiwisincebirth]

Update: n2power in the house! Today's mail had my AC-DC power supply.

Next days I'll try to figure the wiring, power inlet and the PSU master switch (since it's not ATX).

now I am confused, I thought that PSU had ATX options, so why not get the ATX version and connect directly to the MB, no pico PSU. also the other issue with non ATX, according a to the specs (pdf file from the website) is that you don't get the full 160w on a single output, each voltage output has an upper limit, which combine to give you 160w

My current build uses a arduino to control an ATX PSU that powers a nuc (with single ;12v DC input), turning the ATX PSU off, when the nuc is turned off.

 

[dj_aris]

now I am confused, I thought that PSU had ATX options, so why not get the ATX version and connect directly to the MB, no pico PSU. also the other issue with non ATX, according a to the specs (pdf file from the website) is that you don't get the full 160w on a single output, each voltage output has an upper limit, which combine to give you 160w

My current build uses a arduino to control an ATX PSU that powers a nuc (with single ;12v DC input), turning the ATX PSU off, when the nuc is turned off.

You are absolutely correct about the combined power of 160 watts from all outputs. In fact, the 12v rails only provide 72w... I discovered that earlier today and I was really frustrated. However, I ended up with another solution: I ordered a 160w LED driver for a mere 5€:



It's a cheap and low quality part but if testing goes well I'll replace it with something better. However, I've been using a similar 50w adapter for a led strip in my house and it works flawlessly for quite a while now. I think that if you don't stress these adapters they run cool and work reliably. So, if I achieve a total power draw of approximately 40w idle - 90w load (that's my aim anyway) I think it will run smoothly in the long term. If not, it's only 5€ anyway...

About the AC-DC + picoPSU combination, it was picked so as to avoid cable clutter in the case. it would be messy to wire 24 different cables from the adapter to the ATX connector. But now with the new AD-DC there isn't any option.

 

[kiwisincebirth]

Not wanting to bring more bad news, but the new PSU you pictured, is a mains voltage AC to 12v AC Transformer, it needs to be DC output to work with pico PSU.