Project: SuperCube

[Petra]

Last Updated: 4/18/05 - 11:20PM PDT

Hey everyone! To start things off, I was kinda hesitant about posting this (especially since I didn't bother to make a worklog for what I did to my gaming rig most recently), however, I figured 'eh what the hell...' I'm a computer geek (meaning all platforms/operating systems/hardware) and I'm pretty sure that quite a few of you guys are the same way. So, keeping that in mind, here's what's going on...

History: Okay, quick bit of history... Basically, the G4 Cube has intrigued me since its release several years ago. Small case, totally silent (aside from HDD noise), cool looking, etc. Last month I spotted an 'incomplete' Cube on eBay for a reasonable price (was just missing its HDD and the HDD mounting hardware) so I bought it and began to plot and scheme. Getting Apple parts cheap was no big deal because I used to work as a tech at a service & repair place that specializes in Macs.

The Project: Essentially, I'm planning on "modernizing" this particular Cube while still keeping it in its original enclosure--my final goal being a dual 1.4-1.5GHz (or higher) G4 Cube with a 120GB HDD, 2x DVD-RW, 1.5GB RAM, and a Radeon 9800Pro. Actually achieving this will be rather interesting primarily due to the power and cooling limitations of the Cube's design (If you are familiar with the Cube, then you probably know about the VRM (Voltage Regulator Module) that converts the 28v from the external PSU to the 12v, 5v, and 3.3v that most of the components use. Put too much load on it and it'll fry, get it too hot and it'll fry. In both cases, when the VRM fries, it usually takes the HDD and optical drive along with it...and sometimes other stuff too.) The project will be broken into 2 phases... by the end of phase 1 the Cube should have its VRM replaced with a standard mATX PSU to work in conjunction with the Cube's standard PSU, 120GB HDD, 2x DVD-RW, a temporary (single) 1.4GHz PPC 7455 G4, and a Radeon 9000Pro or something. I could go into more detail right now but I don't want to bore you guys with a bunch of text right now... I can just explain stuff as I go along. :rolleyes:

The Victim:
Alright, here's the Cube that's to be operated on! I've already put in the HDD and the DVD-RW but it's all gonna have to come out before I can make some modifications to the chassis.
http://homepage.mac.com/alexvenz/macPhotos/trinityCube.jpg

I've already started the mATX conversion (mainly to test it and stuff) so here's a quick rundown of what's been done and what's currently in progress. Also, please excuse the crappy pics... I don't have access to either of the S2 Pros at the moment so I'm stuck with this shitty Sony DSC-W1.

First, I started by cutting off the key tab thing on my 30 pin ribbon cable:
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/ribbonCon.jpg

Then I shaved down the two little nubby things inside the socket on the mobo that the VRM normally sits in so that my 30 pin connector would actually fit in there properly:
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/moboPinIn.jpg

Next I cut, separated, and stripped (not shown) the needed wires on the ribbon cable:
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/ribbon1.jpg

After that, I began making the wiring setup to power the HDD and DVD-RW out of a couple of male 3 pin connectors, some wire, and some male molex pins:
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/perifConn1.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/pins1.jpg

While I was pounding pins out of a male ATX connector (like the one you would see on a mobo) with my T10 Torx and a set of wire strippers (used as a makeshift hammer), I managed to get one of the pins stuck in the connector so I decided to use some pliers to pull it through... However, when the pin came out, it managed to make a short but rather deep gash in my left index finger that actually started bleeding enough to drip all over the place. Eh, minor wound... I usually document the first injury sustained while working on a project. (Hmm.... the color is a little off... damn camera.... too lazy to correct it in Photoshop...)
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cutFinger.jpg

The tiny desk I'm working on for now:
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/desk1.jpg

The whole idea here is to make the mATX PSU conversion easily reversible, which is why I'm going through all of the extra trouble to make connectors and stuff rather than just directly soldering things. Anyway, more to come... once I make some more progress :rolleyes: :D

[em00guy]

This shouk be kewl as hell. Mod on baby

[rogue_jedi]

looks like that is gonna be fun. now i wanna put a mATX PC in one of those... too bad they don't make cheap mATX x86 duallies... that'd rock:D

good luck!
http://www.mentallyretired.com/h/index.cfm/u_rogue_jedi (http://www.hardfolding.com)

[Petra]

Sorry for the total lack of updates lately but the last several days have really been hell for me and I've had very little time to do much of anything (including work on this). However, I should be able to put up a decent update with some notable progress within the next day or so... as well as answers to some of the questions that I've gotten via e-mail about the project.

For now, I'll leave you with a few shots of what that 3" section of ribbon cable has turned into. (I still need to heat some of that heatshrink)
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/ribbon2.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/desk2.jpg

[XeRo_Dark]

a red spidery mess of yuckyness? why not just use rounded cables?


pssssh... mac modding so silllly :p

[Petra]

a red spidery mess of yuckyness?
Well, the white Flexo wire sleeving that I bought should do a pretty good job of cleaning up the mess...oh, and there are black wires in there too :p (gotta have some super easy way of telling the ground wires from the others ;) )

why not just use rounded cables?
Because this crazy mess of wires isn't going to be carrying data... it's going to be carrying power and, last I checked, rounded data cables don't use 18 gauge copper wire (3 inches of the thiner wire shouldn't really cause any problems but, since the total wire length is about 27 inches, standard ribbon cable wire for the full length of the power connector's wires is totally out of the question). The only reason that ribbon cable is in there at all is because I'm using it for it's 30-pin connector.


As a side note, I'm planning on having an update in the works for tomorrow night. :)

[Smititty]

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/ribbon2.jpg

this pictured turned me into stone

loks like a nice mod so far......keep up the good work

[DRJ1014]

nice job. that same pic i was like whoa

[diredesire]

is that uATX power supply that powmax? Does yours smell funny when it's running? Mine does.. Pisses me off actually. There are some cool sites around that have 1u and uATX power supplies that are high quality and not too expensive (sub $40). If you want i can do a bit of digging and look around for you!

[Petra]

Igor, it's ALIVE!! MuHAHAHA! :D
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/aliveWhole1.jpg

That's right! It works! Woo-hoo! *ahem* Anyway, yeah, the photo above shows the mATX PSU VRM replacement being tested (running AltiVec Fractal Carbon for some medium load testing, incase you were wondering). Here are some detail shots:

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/aliveHail.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/aliveRight.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/aliveCloseRight1.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/aliveCloseWires.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/aliveFront.jpg

Sorry for the crappy pics but I'm stuck using the digi cam feature on my video camera for now. :( (The lens that I need to use for close-up work with the S2 had to be sent to Nikon for repair because it isn't focusing properly at certain ranges...again... and the little Sony DSC-W1 that I was using before went on vacation with my grandparents.)

Anyway, I haven't actually put the ATX and Molex connector on the pinned wires yet because I need to sleeve them first (I don't have the proper tools to remove the male ATX and Molex pins from the connectors without destroying the pins) which is why all of the pins are taped up and jammed into the PSU's ATX and Molex connector. Not a nice solution but good enough for testing :rolleyes: . I'm going through all of this pin and connector madness because I want to make the ATX PSU conversion easily removable and I want to make it so that I can plug any normal ATX/mATX PSU into the Cube without modifications being needed.

I'm pretty tired right now and I have work tomorrow so enjoy the pictures... I have a 3 day weekend coming up so I should be able to make some progress (that is, if I don't end up killing all my time reviewing the sticks of Crucial Ballistix that I just got in this afternoon). The next step for the SuperCube project will be totally disassembling the Cube, doing some chassis modding (mainly just an 80mm hole in the bottom to allow unrestricted airflow for the Panaflo 12L @ 7v that is going to be in the bottom of the Cube as an intake fan), modding the stock heatsink assembly to make way for the copper skived fin heatsink that I'm planning on using for the new CPU (the copper HS is from a Volcano 7+), and then comes cleaning up all of the wiring. Oh, and let's not forget the new video card...need to get that still... heh :rolleyes:

If you have any questions, just post 'em.

BTW, diredesire, yeah that PSU is the little 230w Powmax mATX and it does seem to smell a little odd if you get close to it. Usually I would never buy a Powmax PSU but this one was small and only cost like $20... definitely better than around $80 for one of those Shuttle SFF 250w PSUs, though.

*edit* I just noticed something... If you look at the first photo in this post, you'll see the Cube's VRM sitting just above the keyboard.

[FrostBite]

Holy crap! Nice wiring, and great job.

[emorphien]

looks cool so far. Dual G4s make me sad :( wish you could fit a G5 in to one of those. Maybe with the G5 iMacs coming out the boards will be smaller.

[diredesire]

Yeah. I haven't had any explosions from my PowMax either, but i've had some bad experiences with the brand... I've seen some Sparkle PSU's around the net that are decently priced...
http://servercase.com/miva/miva?/Merchant2/merchant.mv+Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SC&Category_Code=1U+PS
http://servercase.com/miva/miva?/Merchant2/merchant.mv+Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SC&Category_Code=Special+Power
Another good site was in that NES thread that i can't seem to find... Good luck anyways! progress is looking good :D

[DRJ1014]

ok i just lost it.... whats with the IDE cable going to the power?

[Petra]

ok i just lost it.... whats with the IDE cable going to the power?

For starters, it's not an IDE cable (IDE cables are usually either 40-pin 80 wire or 40-pin 40 wire. This particular cable is a 30-pin 30 wire.)... That aside, I'm really only using it for its 30-pin connector. To put it simply, the connector that is attached to the DC/DC VRM board which usually is seated there is, for the most part, identical to the 30-pin connector on the end of that ribbon cable. By using a short section of the ribbon cable and its connector, rather than soldering the wires directly, I can more easily make this portion of the mod reversible and transferrable to other Cubes. Though, the ribbon cable also happens to bend around corners more easily than that big clump of 18 gauge copper wire does (which will allow me to run the large bundle of wires through the chassis on the CPU side of the mobo because the flat ribbon cable can easily make the bend around the mobo while still leaving clearance for a larger video card).

BTW, diredesire, thanks for the links but I think I'll wait and see how well this PSU holds up under the final phase 1 load before I go out and get a different one and, since the Cube will be able to use pretty much any normal ATX/mATX PSU, I have a lot to choose from. I'll probably end up taking this PSU apart and putting it into a nicer enclosure (with some mods) which more closely matches the style of the Cube and its standard PSU (though, I'll probably stick a Panaflo 12L (L1a) into it rather than keep its stock fan which is kinda loud).

I'm considering going for a partial disassembly of the Cube over the weekend just to do some load testing with the new CPU before I strip the whole thing down and start cutting....

[diredesire]

Hey no prob, just wanted to let you know there are other compact options out there that don't have "Pow" in the name... ;D
That smell just irritates me, and i really wonder why it smells like that. I agree the supply fan is loud though. You're goign to have enough room in that sucker to fit a normal ATX PSU? Impressive.

[OKANG]

Hey no prob, just wanted to let you know there are other compact options out there that don't have "Pow" in the name... ;D
That smell just irritates me, and i really wonder why it smells like that. I agree the supply fan is loud though. You're goign to have enough room in that sucker to fit a normal ATX PSU? Impressive.
I think you totally missed the boat. The PSU will be external. Read the reply before yours and you'll see that he's going to transplant the standard ATX PSU into a more attractive casing. The cube isn't much bigger than a standard ATX PSU, so it'd be impossible to fit it inside.

[diredesire]

I think you totally missed the boat. The PSU will be external. Read the reply before yours and you'll see that he's going to transplant the standard ATX PSU into a more attractive casing. The cube isn't much bigger than a standard ATX PSU, so it'd be impossible to fit it inside.
ah, i seem to have glossed over that point when he started the project with a uATX PSU. hah.

[Petra]

Again, sorry for the lack of updates recently but I've been rather busy with some of my other random projects... Anyway, on with the pics and comments... heh

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cube450.jpg
Here, you can see a quick photo of the, now removed, stock 450MHz PPC G4 processor card. That big black rectangle just above the CPU is one of the L3 backside cache chips (there's another one on the other side of the module).

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cube14cpu.jpg
Here's a shot of the new 1.4GHz PPC G4 processor card for phase 1. As you can see, the PCB is a lot more cluttered than the original but the L3 cache chips are in about the same place. The jumpers in the lower left control the CPU multiplier :D

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cube14Stock.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cube14StockClose.jpg
Here are a couple of shots of the Cube running with the 1.4GHz G4 processor and the card's stock heatsink. As you can see, I had to remove the Cube's mobo from the chassis to install the CPU card and run it with the card's stock heatsink installed. For whatever reason, the fan on the heatsink didn't turn on when plugged into the fan header on the processor card so I had to plug it directly into a PSU with a 3 to 4-pin adapter. The Panaflo 12L, in these photos, is in place mainly to provide a little extra airflow over the HSF as well as push some air underneath the mobo to where the video card is. All pretty simple at this point, really.

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cube14ss.jpg
Here's a quick shot of the "About this Mac" window showing the Cube running a 1.4GHz PPC G4 CPU with 2MB of L3 cache and a mere 320MB of RAM (which I will soon bump to 1GB). As an interesting side note, that AltiVec Fractal Carbon app that I mentioned previously also happens to display the processor's computational abilities in megaflops (which varies from fractal to fractal--kind of a 'test by test' results thing). With the stock 450MHz G4, the Cube topped out at about 1600-1700 megaflops (that's right, 1.6-1.7 gigaflops with a 450MHz CPU :D ). With the 1.4GHz G4, the Cube topped out at about 6100 megaflops (I do believe I remember it hitting 7 gigaflops on a few fractals but I'm not totally sure).

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubeHS.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubeHS2.jpg
Here are a couple of shots of the copper HS from a Volcano 7+ that I cut a set of fins off of each end with my Dremel to allow for a better fit on the processor card. I'm planning on using this HS instead of the card's stock HS and in place of the Cube's stock HS.

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubeClip1.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubeClip2.jpg
The retention clip that came with the HS happened to be a little too long and it also was meant to latch onto all 3 of the socket lugs on a Socket A mobo but, for this use, I had to cut down the clip to latch onto just one center tab that's in the PCB of the processor upgrade. I also had to do a bunch of bending to reduce the pressure that the clip applies and add a piece of dense foam under one side of the clip to distribute the pressure more evenly over the CPU die because the center of pressure for this clip is just to the left of the die (which would have caused the HS to sit crooked and not make proper contact with the CPU die).

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubeModHS1.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubeModHS2.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubeModHS3.jpg
The first photo above shows my original test setup (a Panaflo 12L @ 7v sitting on top of the HS and a high-flow blower to cool the video card and other components on the bottom of the mobo). Unfortunately, this setup led to the CPU getting hot enough to cause instability.

The lower 2 photos show my current testing setup where I just reversed the blower and the 12L. This setup seems to keep the CPU in the high 30's while under load (in a room that was like 80F at the time). It quickly occurred to me what the problem was/is with this heatsink... The fin pack is too dense. Simply put, there are a lot of fins packed very close together. The end result of this high fin density is that the HS requires a large amount of air pressure to work effectively (not really a large amount of air flow, just pressure). Because this will eventually have to work inside the cube chassis with just a 12L @7v, I believe I may have found a solution... bend the fins. I'm pretty sure that if I just reduce the fin density by bending the fins further apart (think of the old Zalman passive/semi-passive 'flower' heatsinks) then the HS should be able to work a lot better in a low pressure situation. I have yet to give this a try, however, I'll be sure to post results as soon as I do.

I'll bet there are a few of you who are wondering why I don't just use the Cube's stock HS as it's pretty big to start with. Well, basically, the stock HS really isn't that great and, to use it, I would have to fabricate a custom heatspreader plate to allow the CPU to make proper contact with the HS (similar to the stock plate which I'll post a pic of tomorrow).

Well, that's it for now.

Quick Edit: At this point in phase 1, all I really have left to buy is some RAM (no big deal) and a Radeon 9000 Pro Mac Edition. I can get the 64MB version for about $85-$100 shipped on eBay or the retail 128MB version for $135.44 shipped (according to PriceGrabber). As for phase 2, well, that leaves me wondering wether anyone happens to know someone who works for ATi or Powerlogix who may be able to get me a deal because the Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Edition 128MB runs about $314 (not counting shipping and tax) and the Dual 1.3GHz G4 upgrade from Powerlogix is about $749 :eek: (I'd prefer dual 1.4's, though) Needless to say, this is going to be interesting... :rolleyes:

[dave1323]

The Cubes are alright but have always had cxooloing issues at one point I had 8 of them in my lab

[Petra]

Here are a few photos of the Cube's stock heatspreader/heatsink mount plate:

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubePlate1.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubePlate2.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubePlate3.jpg
I was kinda surprised to discover that this plate is made of solid copper (then again, it is pretty heavy for a "heatspreader" :rolleyes: ). Normally, this plate is mounted to the top of the CPU card (over the CPU) and then, when you put the mobo back into the chassis, it screws into the main heatsink with 3 spring screws which go through the back of the mobo, through the CPU card, through the heatspreader, and into the heatsink. You'll notice that the top of the plate has on it what looks like a thick foil coated in paraffin wax stuff (used as TIM between the plate and the heatsink). Now, there is no way that this kind of heatsink setup could be very efficient but, if you're just using it for a 450MHz CPU, who cares! :D This design, however, can start running into trouble with hotter processors, however.

I decided not to use Apple's cooling setup for 2 main reasons:

1) It may work fine for an old 450MHz CPU but current Cube-specific upgrades with low power/heat 1.2GHz PPC 7457 CPUs, in my opinion, really push the Cube's cooling setup to its limits--even with the addition of a fan... and I'm trying to stick a 1.4GHz PPC 7455 CPU into the Cube (significantly higher power consumption and heat output).

2) The replacement CPU card that I'm using doesn't have the proper holes in it to allow for the plate to mount (some of the components may also have trouble clearing the plate) and I don't want to have to try fabricating a totally new heatspreader plate thing just to use this CPU with Apple's stock heatsink.

Anyway...back to the whole bending fins thing...

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubeHSFlower1.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubeHSFlower2.jpg
Looks quite a bit different, doesn't it? It really does remind me of those old Zalman heatsinks... Basically, all I really had to do here was attack the poor heatsink with flat-blade screwdrivers of various sizes and *poof* instant mini-Zalman for a fraction of the price :D . Though, I had to do a little more grinding work on the mounting clip to make the ends fit between the fins (not a problem).

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubeFlowerT1.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubeFlowerT2.jpg
With the changes made to the HS, I went ahead and tried my original test cooling configuration again (blower underneath to cool video card and Panaflo 12L @ 7v on top to cool the CPU). I ran AltiVec Fractal Carbon on the Cube for about an hour and everything seemed to work fine. CPU load temperature leveled off at about 42C according to my multimeter's thermal probe, which you can see inserted into one of the rather deep holes in the base of the HS, (the room was about 78-80F) and the computer worked without issue.

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubeFlowerT3.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/cubeFlowerT4.jpg
Next, I went ahead and tested the other cooling configuration that I had previously been working with (12L blowing under the mobo and high-flow blower aimed at the side of the HS). With this configuration, the CPU load temperature leveled off at about 37C.

It is pretty obvious that bending the fins further apart really made a difference in how well the heatsink performed. Now knowing that the CPU won't nuke itself when being hit with just a Panaflo 12L @ 7v, I'm a lot more confident that this is going to work when placed into the Cube's chassis and case--I just have to do some cutting. :)

[em00guy]

I'me having trouble figuring out whats going on here but damn it looks cool.

[neosen]

how on earth is all of that going to fit into that cube

[lentic]

If u do fit it all in that case how are u going to get any airflow for those fans or that heatsink?

[SpasticTeapot]

As an (ex) Mac-Fanatic, I am amazed at what you have done with this thing. The Cube is still a cool machine to own, and your setup has just tripled the clock speed.
I have an idea for my own mod: Take an old Fruity-style imac and gut it. Put a 14"-15" LCD where the CRT was, and put a normal ATX board, etc. etc. etc. into the resulting cavity. Chuck in a few 120mm fans, and you have an easy-to-carry lanparty system!
(yes, this is a dumb idea, and I know it.)

[TheCowOfNow]

a red spidery mess of yuckyness? why not just use rounded cables?


pssssh... mac modding so silllly :p

I agree with both of these comments

[em00guy]

I'd be careful trusting those thermal readings. Most thermal probes rest on the die itself where as your multimeters probe suffers from the insulation of a few mm of copper and your thermal paste.

[CrimandEvil]

Pretty cool guy. You should know that some Cubes won't work with Dual CPU upgrade cards, something to do with the firmwire I think (I don't really remember since it's been sometime since I last checked). How about building a little watercooling setup for that Cube instead? Now that would be really awesome to see. :D

[Matt Woller]

Very impressive HSF mod, Petra. And hey, if you need a spare Volcano 7+ (heatsink, fan, or both) let me know, I've got one lying around. ;)

[TheMostWantedPolishTwin]

you got some mad skills.. I'm looking forward to seeing updates on your project..

[MERKMAN]

Very nice mod! Keep up the great work! ;)

You have my utmost respect with your wiring work. I'm modding some molex connectors and power supply cables for use in a project, and rather than having to solder, etc... I simply bought some "quick splices" yesterday from Lowes and saved myself some work. Here's hoping that does the trick!

In the meantime, a buddy has a spare Apple Cube chassis, so he's watching with great interest as well. And while my only Apple is a 1GHz 12" Powerbook, I wanted a Cube case before he did. Believe me, we are not only amazed with your work, we're DEFINATELY looking forward to the finished product. You the man! :D

[Petra]

O......M.....G.... I can hardly believe that this made it onto the [H]'s homepage :eek: Woo! Super cool :D To be honest, I didn't think that anything I did would ever get onto the homepage...unless it happened to be some crazy computer related stunt/test/project to promote the Tech site that I'm trying to get going (site isn't done yet).

Okay, anyway, sorry for the lack of updates but my internet connection at home has been totally FUBAR for the past 3 days :mad: (this is actually the first time it has worked long enough to post something). I'll post a more complete update as well as comments/thanks/answers to most of your posts once Comcast gets their act together.

...Damn you people, though! You now have me considering wether or not to fall back onto my original ideas for watercooling the Cube--not really because I need it but because it would be freaking awesome!

As a side note, I've decided to sell off some of the Cube's original parts to help fund the project. The original VRM that I no longer need will be the first part to go (mainly because it is one of the most valuable parts of the Cube, aside from the motherboard). This one part alone should pay for almost the full cost of the Radeon 9000 Pro or a sizable chunk of the watercooling parts that I may end up going for.

More to come once Comcast gets things working again...which may be a couple of days :rolleyes: (hopefully everything will be resolved by Monday)

BTW, you guys rock!

[yoyo13131]

Ya, Im Petras brother. Petras going to be water cooling the cube with a septrate unit. It will be so cool! :p

[CrimandEvil]

Any pics, something or a small update? I almost forgot about this mod.

[yoyo13131]

Umm.. ya my brother petra is kinda bussy so it will be a few days befor he updates this thread.
Right now im cutting away at this metal part for petra in my metals class, I dont know what the part is, but my brother said its coasts like $200, and I better not screw up because they dont make the part anymore. So thats what we are doing to the cube right now.

(the part is going the the core of the hole computer, id be nice if my brother petra gets home so I can ask him what it is. But in my metals class im trying to cut of these heat sink fin things off so he can put a fan in there or somthing.) :(

[bobwrong]

I'm not a mac fan but I'm very interested to see how this turns out.....update please....

[SanchoMB]

Very intreaging. Seriously considering having ago at putting a real pc in one of them. How is the apple logo applied, would it be possible to get off?

Looking good anyway, keep up the good work.

[CrimandEvil]

They use some sort of adhesive to the little Apple logos, you'll have to soak them in alcohol and then take a putty knife to it.
Very intreaging. Seriously considering having ago at putting a real pc in one of them. How is the apple logo applied, would it be possible to get off?

Looking good anyway, keep up the good work.

[Petra]

I'm baaaaaaaaack http://thenexus.petrastech.com/forum/images/smiles/icon_twisted.gif

I regret that the SuperCube project had to be put on hold like that but I'd rather not go into the myriad of events which prompted its postponement (after all, this is a worklog...not some whiney, bitchy blog :rolleyes: )

Anyway, without further adieu, back to work! :D

Lets see now, where did I leave off... Ah! Right, I was just about to gut the rest of the cube chassis. Okay, here is the Cube's stock heatsink...

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/cubeHSuncut.jpg

As you can probably guess, those heatsink fins have got to go to make room for some of stuff that's going into the Cube. However, I can't just chuck the whole assembly because the whole Cube is practically built around the damn thing. It houses all of the latching mechanisms which operate the handle which allows you to pull the Cube core out of the Cube's case and the parts that actually hold the Cube's core inside the case when it is upright.

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/cubeHSfins1.jpg

I quickly realized that something that, at first glance, seemed quite simple really wasn't. The above image shows the result of about an hour of Dremel work and a few million cutoff wheels. The aluminum that was used for this heatsink is really soft which makes it quite hard to work with. It clogs up just about any tool you use (like my tungsten-carbide cutter bit and the big table grinder I have). So, I decided to make a few cuts in the bottom to make space for a CPU cooler to stick through as well as save the portion of the base plate that has the original mounting holes in it (because I didn't feel like having to make something later that needed to line up perfectly when Apple already did it for me).

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/cubeHSbottomOutline.jpg

Now, back to those heatsink fins... It's really useful having a younger brother who happens to go to the same high school that I graduated from several years ago... Basically, he was able to indirectly hook me up with the equipment that they have in their metals workshop and, a few days later, *bam* the fins were gone. (I find it rather amusing that in his post he somehow misinterpreted the importance that I placed on not screwing up as meaning that the part had a high monetary value... eh, kids :rolleyes: )

The results:

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/cubeHSmilled.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/cubeHSmilled2.jpg

Aside from a little cosmetic damage, I'd say that looks pretty badass :D

[Petra]

With that done, I decided to add another level of complexity and [H]ardness to the project by throwing in a 9800Pro that I flashed & taped, watercooling everything, and building a cool external unit to house the watercooling parts, extra PSU, and a few other things (the latter two are still a work in progress, as you will see below).

First up, a few quick goodies from DangerDen (http://www.dangerden.com), SVC (http://www.svc.com), FrozenCPU (http://www.frozencpu.com), Fry's, my electronics closet-o-mystery, and good 'ole Orchard Supply Hardware.

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/cubeCPUwb1.jpg

That's the Koolance GPU waterblock that I'll be using to cool the CPU... and, I do realize that I bash Koolance a lot but, for this project, the overall size (or lack thereof) of their blocks and the 1/4" ID tubing that they use happens to be just what I need. Yeah, you can try cramming 1/2" or 3/8" ID Tygon into that Cube... I think that it's still gonna be a tight fit even with the 1/4" ID Tygon that I'm using. Gotta love how crazy reflective the bottom of that block is--doesn't necessarily mean that it's flat but it sure is cool to look at :rolleyes: .

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/cubeVPUwb1.jpg

...and there's the very low profile waterblock that I'll be using on that 9800Pro.

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/cubePump1.jpg

Nifty little Eheim S1000 submersible pump. 1000LPH (~264GPH) with a max head of 2m (~6.6 feet) should be enough to get the job done when paired with this nifty BlackIce Micro and either one or two Zalman ZM-F2's

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/cubeRad1.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/cubeRad2.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/cubeRad3.jpg

Now, the strange duct thing I have going on here probably won't end up in the final external watercooling unit... I was just experimenting with a push-pull setup and noise levels. Though, the final design of the unit is kinda up in the air at the moment... I'm thinking of making it out of 1/4" Plexi with the res and submerged pump on the lower level and the radiator, PSU, and other stuff on an upper level inside the unit. All in all, I would prefer it not to be larger than the Cube (in terms of height and width) and I was thinking of painting the inside of the upper portion white to kinda match the Cube (maybe sick one of those Apple logos on there?).

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/cubeRadeon1.jpg

The 9800Pro is probably a little overkill....but at least it will give the Cube support for CoreImage under the upcoming release of OS 10.4

I'll bet you're wondering what happened to that triangular section I removed from the Cube's stock heatsink... Well, I'm going to use it as a CPU waterblock hold-down plate (along with some [soon to be modded] DD Maze4 mounting hardware that I picked up). As you can see, it looks pretty bad...but aesthetics really don't matter for this piece as it won't be seen. I still have some trimming to do to it before the CPU's waterblock will fit over the CPU die properly but I plan on addressing that after work tomorrow.

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/cubeBlockMount1.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/cubeBlockMount2.jpg

...all of this junk sure made a mess of the only part of my desk that doesn't have computers on it...

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new/roomDesk1.jpg

Though, shortly after taking that photo, I cleaned it off to take this photo...

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/hlbox.jpg

Ah... sources of such sweet, sweet happiness.... :D

Anyway, more updates to come! (and, no, you won't be waiting 2 months this time :p )

[Alex41290]

2 copies of half-life 2? no wonder it sold out so fast...:rolleyes:.....:p

[CrimandEvil]

Very nice, yeah I notice how little brothers tend to screw up alot (I have one too, lol),

[altec]

well i'm sold i mite just get a mac just to mod it lol ;) ... :D

[Atragon]

What, no G-Man? ;)

Mod is looking really good so far. Keep it up! :D

[XeRo_Dark]

quick question, not meaning to sound like a dick or anything.... how do u expect to play hl2, and doom3 with a 1 button mouse?? i would find that completly unbarable, and i would probably shootmyself to be stuck with a 1 button mouse for gaming :D

[XeRo_Dark]

i prefer my 7 button mouse :D

[Petra]

quick question, not meaning to sound like a dick or anything.... how do u expect to play hl2, and doom3 with a 1 button mouse?? i would find that completly unbarable, and i would probably shootmyself to be stuck with a 1 button mouse for gaming :D

The only single button mice I have are hanging on my wall... all of my Macs use dual button Logitech optical scroll wheel mice (because OS X has native support for multi-button mice... just that Apple doesn't sell said mice with their computers).

...besides, I do all of my gaming on my main gaming rig (in sig) with my spiffy MX700 (I love that mouse) :D

[altec]

i like track ball mice but for gaming i have my xbox controller only way to play ;)

[Kurlon]

What did you do to supply the 28V feed the DC/DC board used to pass through from the external brick to the motherboard? I've heard rumors you can just feed it a lower voltage as long as you don't use an ADC display, is this true?

[Petra]

What did you do to supply the 28V feed the DC/DC board used to pass through from the external brick to the motherboard? I've heard rumors you can just feed it a lower voltage as long as you don't use an ADC display, is this true?

Well, at the moment I am running with both the Cube's external brick and the extra PSU connected at the same time. From what I've gathered, the 28v feed that the mobo uses to standby and sleep doesn't pass through the VRM, it is drawn directly from the brick--which is why I continue to use the Cube's brick in conjunction with the extra PSU (so that I can start up the Cube normally and use the enable pin on the mobo's VRM pin-out to kick over that external PSU and so that the Cube can sleep and wake up without issue). As to how the power for ADC is routed, well, I haven't taken the time to figure that one out because I won't be using an ADC display (since the 9800Pro doesn't have an ADC connector). Though, now that you mentioned it, I am rather curious...perhaps if I find a little extra time I'll look into it :)

[GrayGhost]

sweet project, any updates?

[Petra]

Well... I know that it has been a while; however, over the past four months (actually, the past several weeks) I've found time to get back to this cool little project of mine. Progress has been made, parts have been fried, and more money has been spent... So, here we go in chrono! (bad inside joke involving listing things in chronological order and bad Japanese TV)

Well, I'm sure that everyone has had moments when they have felt kinda like this poor guy... I've had several

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00533.jpg

Anyway, moving right along... I had to use a hole saw on the bottom portion of the Cube's inner chassis to allow nearly unrestricted air flow for the Panaflo 80mm 12L which I put in there to help keep things cool. As you will see a little later, I wired up the fan to run at 7v full time--once the Cube's inner chassis is inserted into its acrylic case, you can't even hear the 12L.

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00540.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00566.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00567.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00572.jpg

After that, I moved on to finishing up that adapter cable which is being used to link the cube into a standard ATX PSU to eliminate the power restrictions that the VRM causes. Basically, as the next few photos show, I modified a standard male ATX connector with my Dremel to accommodate for the bundled wires that had to fit into it--pretty simple stuff, really.

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00549.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00564.jpg

Up next came some modifications to the temporary Cube case that I'm using to allow the Radeon 9800Pro to fit somewhat properly. Oddly enough, my tungsten carbide cutter bits have proven to be the most useful and versatile Dremel bits I've ever purchased. Only bad thing about them is that they have a tendency to try and 'run away from you' sometimes and they make a horrible mess. On low speed, I used them to cut away a small section of the acrylic case so that a couple of capacitors on the end of the card wouldn't get jammed up against the top of the case (causing the Cube's inner chassis not to fit) and to make a small notch in the side of the video card vent hole because the edge of the 9800's PCB was coming in contact with the acrylic case causing the same problem that the capacitors did. The section cut away for the capacitors isn't very noticeable under normal circumstances because it doesn't go all the way through the case. The notch for the PCB, however, is pretty noticeable but, thankfully, not really much of an eyesore.

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00583.jpg

The next step was to cut and fit the tubing for the Cube's watercooling system and preform a preliminary leak test.

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00584.jpg

Thankfully, the 1/4" Tygon I picked up is crazy flexible and can do everything I need it to without a single kink :)

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00590.jpg

[Petra]

At this point, the wiring for power still isn't in place but everything seems to be fitting rather well.

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00593.jpg

A look through the top (grille removed)...

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00596.jpg

W00t! Leak testing! With a bucket! :D Here, the custom external watercooling enclosure hasn't been finished (and still hasn't) so I settled on using a bucket and a gallon of distilled water with a touch of UV Blue dye for the submersible Eheim mini-pump (which works great...though, DangerDen doesn't seem to have them any more :( ).

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00599.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00600.jpg

The power wiring was the most recent work done to the Cube--both good and bad things came as a result of this... Anyway, as mentioned earlier, a little soldering and I had the inner chassis cooling fan wired up to run at 7v right from the back end of the hard drive's 90-degree Molex connector.

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00606.jpg

Then I went about solving the problem of supplying auxiliary power to the 9800Pro... Basically, because the card wouldn't fit into the acrylic outer case properly (or at all) with a standard Molex connector plugged into the card's aux. power input, I decided to solder power leads directly to the posts on the bottom of the card. Sounds like a nice, clean solution, right? Well, it turned out to be easier said than done...like pretty much everything else associated with this project.

My main problem was that I couldn't get my soldering iron to really melt the factory solder job on the posts which created a minor problem... However, I went ahead and soldered the leads onto the remaining, exposed portion of the posts. The joints ended up solid but not nearly as clean as I would have liked (usually this isn't a problem for me but, for whatever reason, this card was a real bitch to solder anything to). You'll hear more about this in a little bit...

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00608.jpg

Routing and plugging the main power cable into the VRM's usual resting place on the motherboard...

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00624.jpg

There are a few things I don't have pictures for...but, even if I did, they wouldn't really show much.

[Petra]

At any rate, disaster struck late last night as I decided to do a full power-up test... I plugged everything in, hit the power button, it flashed, and then everything started to power up but died after about a second. "How odd," I thought and pushed the button again... same thing. I started looking around, checking connections, making sure that none of the electronics were in direct contact with the steel chassis parts--everything looked good; though, I had a suspicion that something was grounding out and causing the PSU to shut down as a result. I hit the button again and got about 3 heart-wrenching, torturous seconds of power while the Cube emitted an increasingly high pitched whine. The PSU cut out again shortly thereafter and The Burning Smell of Doom™ began to fill the room. After a bit sniffing and feeling, I noticed that the video card's power wires/connector were warm and that the smell was, indeed, coming from the back portion of the video card. Toast? Perhaps... Dead? Not quite yet...

After removing the card, cutting off the soldered power leads, trimming, and de-soldering as much as possible I decided to plug power into the Molex input and give it another shot. It worked...for a while. The Cube experienced numerous Kernel panics and narcoleptic-like failures (simultaneous loss of video feed and all computer functionality without the Cube ever powering off or restarting) as a result of whatever damage had been done to the video card. The failures being attributed to the video card were verified when I installed the old Rage128 (everything works fine with the Rage in there). Below are a few photos of the (running) Cube with the 9800 installed while it was on its last leg. The Cube hasn't been able to power up with the 9800 since...

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00625.jpg
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00626.jpg

Currently running trouble-free with the old Rage128 installed... Rest in peace my dear friend :( *cry*

http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/DSC00629.jpg

*sigh* ... well... I'm currently working on tracking down either another suitable BBA 9800Pro or a 128MB 9800Pro Mac Edition to replace my flashed, modded, and now deceased card. On a lighter note, however, I have a nice, shiny, new, undamaged Apple OEM acrylic case for the Cube to fit into once I get the whole video card issue resolved. :D

Between this project, setting up a testbed system for my upcoming tech site, getting said tech site built, dealing with reduced hours at work, as well as other general living expenses... I am, for lack of a better way of putting it, bleeding to death somewhat quickly. Though, I'm sure that I'll still manage to pull all of this off with my usual spirit and style...all without loosing my shirt :rolleyes:

Also, I have a few parts for the cooling unit arriving soon so I should have an update in about a week as I shift focus to that aspect of the project while waiting on an eventual resolution to the video card issue (basically, I have to buy another one...as I have only myself to blame :( ).

*EDIT* I forgot to mention... this entire update (including the photo resizing/editing) was done on the Cube

[harmlesskils]

sucks about the card man
but the rest looks pretty good
keep up the good work

[rogue_jedi]

i'd almost forgotten about this thread... but a very nice update. sucks about the video card, but maybe you could find a smaller one that wouldn't require as much modding to fit?
http://www.mentallyretired.com/h3/index.cfm/u_47426 (folding.stanford.edu)

[TSS Modder]

i also forgot about this thread. excellent work! :D

[Nikola]

I feel for ya on the card man.... tought luck, but badass mod still...

[em00guy]

excellent work so far. The death of a video card is always a sad thing :-(

[altec]

Look on ebay for the card thay got really good deals on them.

[yoyo13131]

Look on ebay for the card thay got really good deals on them.

As my brother says (Petra) "you never buy any video card off Ebay because most of them dont work" (and no warranty)

[yoyo13131]

My brother Petra was so worried that the video card might be dead, and he was asking my friend and I if we smelt anything burning lol, and of course the video card is dead when he said that.

Iv been telling my brother to try to get all of the soder off of the back of the video card and try to send it back to get a another video card for free. (because he has a warranty on it, but what he did to the card kinda made the warranty uh, void... lol) But its worth a shot, they might accept it, you never know. :cool:

All he needs to do, is take off ALL of the soder on the back of his video card and send it back. (the picture shows where he needs to take off the soder.)

http://www.petrastech.com/simon/images/card.jpg

[em00guy]

They sell excellent pneumatic solder suckers at radio shack that might work. You could also get the solder off and burn the adjecent area abit with a lighter to make it look like an electrical malfunction. Happened to a motherboard i owned. However, this is fraud and may very well be illegal so maybe not.

[Unknown-One]

As my brother says (Petra) "you never buy any video card off Ebay because most of them dont work" (and no warranty)

how about the $0.99 Athlon 64's that seem to have sprung up all over eBay? :rolleyes:

[Petra]

As my brother says (Petra) "you never buy any video card off Ebay because most of them dont work" (and no warranty)

WTF? I got the Radeon 9800 that's in my gaming rig (in sig) on eBay...and why would I care about items not having warranty coverage? I usually void the warranty within the first two hours of owning hardware anyway :rolleyes: As to the solder issue, as I mentioned previously, I removed as much as possible with the tools on hand; however, my soldering iron simply won't melt what remains. I could simply borrow a friend's soldering station, do some tinkering, and then send it in to ATi for replacement... But the fact of the matter is that I killed the card--the failure had nothing to do with any kind of defect on ATi's end and, as such, I'm not willing to RMA the card. It is the "I broke it but the manufacturer/reseller should give me a replacement anyway" attitude that has caused wonderful places like NewEgg to start enforcing a 'warranty service through manufacturer only' policy which, frankly, sucks ass because it usually takes significantly longer. At any rate, I really wish I could keep him out of this thread...

Back on topic, I have been cruising eBay for a replacement card as well as checking out other options. Video card aside, I've also been brainstorming layout/design ideas for the external cooling unit and should be able to get a preliminary design sketch posted later tonight.

w00t! New radiator from DangerDen is due to arrive on Thursday :D

*edit* Okay, looks like those design sketches will have to wait until this afternoon/tomorrow afternoon (depending on how you wanna look at it as far as time is concerned).

[Joni Nitro]

Well not to go off topic but I bought my Gigabyte X800XT from a guy on ebay. It has worked flawlessly for about a year now.

[Petra]

Well, I have a bit of a mini update for everyone... The radiator (looks to be a Chevette heater core or similar) arrived from DangerDen on Thursday. I realize that this radiator is extremely overkill...but since when has anyone around here ever complained about something like that? :D I also found a suitable replacement video card for the Cube over at NewEgg (who would have thought that they would be cheaper than eBay :rolleyes: ). Just a plain, simple Sapphire/ATi OEM/Bulk Packaged Radeon 9800Pro (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-362&depa=1) for a mere $149 (+tax) with free shipping--should arrive by this Thursday. Just needs a quick flash and a little modding and it should work without any issues.

Going back to cooling for a moment, I was able to spend some time yesterday finishing up a rough diagram for the Cube's external cooling unit/PSU enclosure. I plan on building the unit out of 1/4" Plexiglas and, as you probably noticed by my choice of fans, my goal is to keep things as quiet as possible. The 92mm 12M will be running at 7v and I'm pretty sure that I'll run the 80mm 12L at the same...and, depending on how things sound, the 120mm Stealth may also end up receiving the 7v treatment; though, with this much stuff running off the old 7v wire trick, I may switch over to using resistors on the fans in the external unit rather than offloading the excess into the 5v rail--I highly doubt that the 'ole wire trick would cause any real problems, however. Also, I plan on powering the USB hub with the DC from the PSU to eliminate the need for a brick.

Questions/comments/general feedback is very much appreciated.
(Note: diagram is approx. 1/2 scale in centimeters. There's an actual scale indication in the lower left corner.)
http://www.petrastech.com/gfx/superCube/new2/PTscan005.jpg

In other news... I'm putting Linux on my gen.2 20GB iPod. Why, you ask? ... well, why not? :p

[zapperfish]

In other news... I'm putting Linux on my gen.2 20GB iPod. Why, you ask? ... well, why not? :p
does it still work as an iPod? if so how do you do it and can you take it back to the original "Apple" system?

[Petra]

does it still work as an iPod? if so how do you do it and can you take it back to the original "Apple" system?

The distro I'm using includes a nifty boot loader tidbit which, basically, makes it so your iPod can dual boot into either the Apple iPod UI or into Linux. It's pretty cool, actually, and despite the iPod's limitations (like not having an FPU, among numerous other things) the guy(s) who are working on the project have made some pretty good progress.

More info: http://www.ipodlinux.org

So.... how about that watercooling unit...? :rolleyes:

[Petra]

The new video card arrived yesterday and I had a chance to flash it this evening... everything seems to be working fine with the new [flashed] 9800Pro installed. I should note that I got the Cube to power up again using the old 9800Pro but it causes the Cube to lock up after a little while... and I discovered what the real cause of all of the video card problems was; however, I find it too embarrassing of an oversight to really mention it in any detail. Actually, let's put it this way: 1) It turns out that my soldering job wasn't to blame. 2) When choosing a PSU to test a system with, make sure it isn't the PSU you regularly use for fan testing...because it can kill a video card :rolleyes: (I really should get more sleep to prevent these little problems from occurring) *cough*damnsevenvoltmod*/cough*

Anyway, now that all of that is sorted out, I should start cutting Plexi for the cooling unit. Though, first, I'll give the local TAP Plastics a call to find out what they would charge to bend Plexi--rather than cutting a bunch of sections and gluing them together, why not save some work and have the top and sides made from one piece of bent Plexi, eh?

[zapperfish]

you can bend it at home, with a hot air gun and a template for the angle you want. iv dont it and it works fine

[yoyo13131]

this log is getting kinda old

[Egg]

yeye to bad, cause I'm really interested in the result...

[yoyo13131]

well my brother (Petra) did finish his water cooled cube... but he hasent taken any pictures of it yet... (the water is no longer in a bucket of water lol) :D