Project Oenone Reloaded

[mashie]

Well folks, it's time again to build a little computer. Actually it is more rebuilding than building to be honest.

The canvas to start from this time is the now 18 months old Oenone case (http://www.mashie.org/casemods/oenone01.html), a SGI O2 converted to a PC.

Last time it was posted online it it looked like this:


http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/oenone_081.jpg

http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/oenone_080.jpg

http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/oenone_071.jpg


But that was 18 months ago, this is how it looks like today:

http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/reloaded_002.jpg

With all hardware removed to be used in the Asteroid case (http://www.mashie.org/casemods/asteroid1.html) it wasn't much left of the old case to rip out. The PSU you see there is the main reason for this change to occur at all, the noise it produced drove me crazy. With the installation of a normal silent PSU the Carbon Fibre chassis will become useless as well.



http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/reloaded_003.jpg

So here we have the parts that will be reused in addition with the name. The CD player is not the original Toshiba DVD but a noname 52X CD burner / DVD reader that was installed a few months ago. If you wonder where that pretty VFD display is I can tel lyou it was ripped out a year ago, what a useless POS doing nothing but taking 50% of the CPU. So as you can guess it will not return either...



http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/reloaded_001.jpg

If you wondered about the size of an SGI O2, well here you can see it next to a Lian-Li PC-71 (Project Udat coming soon)...


As for design plans, nothing exist on paper yet except my scribbled measurements of the shell.

But to describe briefly:

The new internal chassis will be made from aluminium sheets and "L" shaped profiles riveted together.

Seen from the front the the mobo will be mounted to the far right, the PSU at the upper left corner and the HDD will be mounted verticaly just behind the front.

The exterior look is not decided yet, except for the fact a 92mm JetGrill will be mounted where the VFD once were located. The other major issue with the old design except noise was heat, it did overheat after 30 min of gaming if the top was on. Now the cooling will be a silent 92mm fan sucking in air right under the videocard. With the videocard and PSU sitting so close to each other they will create a tunnel forcing all the air forward over the HDD and then back over the RAM and CPU and finally out via the 120mm fan in the PSU. Well that is the plan at least, if it will work only time will tell.


As for the new hardware:

ATI 9800XT
AMD64 3400+
Gigabyte GA-K8VT800M
2 x 512 MB OCZ PC3200 low latency (2-2-2-6)
36GB WD Raptor (no need for bigger HDD when the server shown further up is operational 8) )
Intel Gigabit NIC
Nexus NX3500 Ultra Quiet PSU

[mashie]

http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/reloaded_004.jpg

The lower section of the shell wasn't in a very good condition, the missing piece at the upper left corner was done by the original owner when he manged to drop the case with a system inside on the floor somehow... And the reason this case was sold on eBay :)



http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/reloaded_005.jpg

Well, broken stuff is annoying so bye bye with that together with most of the internal structure wasting space.



http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/reloaded_006.jpg

Sci-Fi books are good for a few things, inspiration for computer names and weights to hold down pieces that you are guing with epoxy are a few of them. Under all the books you can see the bottom piece of the shell being attached to a sheet of aluminium.



http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/reloaded_007.jpg

After the Epoxy had set the excessive aluminium was trimmed away leaving the bottom shell ready to be measuerd once _again_ for the internal structure...

[mashie]

http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/reloaded_008.jpg

The first piece to make of the chassis is the rear panel. It is made from 1mm aluminium sheet cut to shape. L-shaped aluminium profiles will be used to join the sheets easily and to add a lot of strength.



http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/reloaded_009.jpg

After measuring, drawing, erasing and measure again a few times the cutting with the hand nibbler could start. Two of the PCI slots are still waiting to get cut but the hand needed a short break.



http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/reloaded_010.jpg

This is the first mod I make with a custom rear panel that will use a standard IO shield. Future upgrades will be a lot easier and it saves a fair bit of work when you don't have to cut a hole for each connector.



http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/reloaded_011.jpg

The cutting of the rear panel is done including a frame out of L-shaped aluminium profiles.



http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/reloaded_012.jpg

It was a bit of cutting and tweaking to get the corners as planned. Now it's time to make the other panels before riveting it all together.

[medicman5000]

Looking nice so far. Cant wait to see what you cram in there.

[killernoodle]

Why use rivets? I think it would look nicer and be a lot sturdier if you could find someone to TIG weld it for you.

[gordy_hand]

Why use rivets? I think it would look nicer and be a lot sturdier if you could find someone to TIG weld it for you.


Bcos its cheap , simple to do and is sturdy enough :)

[rogue_jedi]

looks nice so far. keep us posted.

oh, and hot DAMN that is some nice hardware.

[Little Grabbi]

That pic with the hamilton book explains the name... cool choice.

The pics are good so far, /me wants moar!

[Garage81]

always something to learn from a mashie worklog,

lookin good.

[ErrOnReq]

lookin good so far!

I thought you did a good job the first time around, but going with aluminum this time makes a big difference in my opinion. The carbon fiber was cool and fancy and all, but I like what you have done with the aluminum (so far) quite a bit more.

[thevampirelord66]

case looks good

AND UR FUCKIN NICE ASSED HARDWARE LOOKS BETTER

cant wait to see all the shit u cram in that thing

[penguin]

*sniffle*
For the first time... a Mashie worklog thats not on Pheaton too. :(

Nice work so far though :)

But still depressing :(

But nice work :)

[mashie]

*sniffle*
For the first time... a Mashie worklog thats not on Pheaton too. :(

Nice work so far though :)

But still depressing :(

But nice work :)
Nope, had one before this as well as you can see here (http://www.gruntville.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7131&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=)...

Anyway, time for a little update of this log.


http://www.mashie.org/hardforum/reloaded_013.jpg

First off a mobo tray has been added, just an aluminium sheet with stands. The AGP/PCI slots got a profile added for attaching the hold down screws. After some minor adjustments the rear and the mobo tray were riveted together. The whole chassis is attached to the bottom is by screws and threaded holes in the profiles allowing it to be detached later on if needed.

[ness1469]

Gotta admit, I almost shed a tear when I saw you were dismantling the old Oenone. But then I saw that it's not even near complete and it already looks 5 times as badass.

[ufokillerz]

nice work ;)

can i have one :p

[bobsaget]

its gonna be sweet!

is that mATX? if not, what is it?

[mashie]

its gonna be sweet!

is that mATX? if not, what is it?
Thanks, the motherboard is mATX and the PSU is full ATX.

[CrimandEvil]

I'm going to have to show my little sister this PC, she'll think it's the cutes thing!

[nomar]

Mashie you never cease to amaze me. Good stuff man!

[ameoba]

Do you plan on leaving the aluminum the way it is or you going to get it annodized when you're done?

[mashie]

Anodising is out of the question now when it is riveted together with stainless steel rivets. In case it was attempted the rivets would be evaporated in the process. I will just brush it to get rid of scratches and prevent fingerprints.

[GlobalFear]

Looks sharp, can't wait to see the finished result. :D

[Xbrid]

why hasn't mashie updated this thread with the final result? give us pics

[JessAlba452]

Go check out his website www.mashie.org theres a worklog on it and its finished.

[mashie]

Please don't bring up threads that has been happily dead for ages.

No the rebuild of Oenone was never completed, Doom 3: Hell Inside (http://www.mashie.org/casemods/d3_01.html) was built instead.