Gauging interest for motherboard trays for benchers

nice mobo spotswood :p

great to see some progress. Can't wait to get mine!
 
I know I might be TERRIBLY late for this, but put the hdd on its side and make it hold 2 total hdd's.

This will decrease the side a bit, but make room for people like me who use their folding rigs for other things as well. Heck, make it so it holds a 3 bay caddy or something like that, so its essentially a 2x5.5" bay, I dunno, just an idea!

I would hope that these will eventually evolve into full-blown test stations with the addition of, like you suggested, HD racks/cages, radiator and pump mounts, etc.

Building the tray from t-slot extrusions offers unprecedented opportunities for customization via the ability to bolt-on anything anywhere. Stay tuned! :D
 
For those wondering (and that couldn't tell through this thread), Rick is pretty awesome at communicating thoughts on the chassis and is pretty darned flexible. Great to work with thus far.
 
+1 pjkenned, from this thread one should be able to tell that he's flexible.
without any sizable quantity of people asking for it he was able to modify the design for BTC miners, and takes everyone's points into consideration.
 
For those wondering (and that couldn't tell through this thread), Rick is pretty awesome at communicating thoughts on the chassis and is pretty darned flexible. Great to work with thus far.

2nd'd
We've been passing ideas back and forth since we started.. Cant wait to get my final product.
 
Are you still thinking about the same on prices? Any ETA on when these will be shipping out?

Would love to get a stackable 5 gpu one.
 
Are you still thinking about the same on prices? Any ETA on when these will be shipping out?

Would love to get a stackable 5 gpu one.

I will only be building just enough for those that stepped-up and PM'd me for one.

I grossly underestimated the amount of time it takes to build one of these beauties, so prices will have to go up. I'm currently figuring these will need to be more like $95 and $110, but we'll see.
 
those prices still sounds pretty good to me. Any idea what shipping runs on these bad lads?

If you get around to a second batch let me know and ill order one or two :)
 
I think I may be defenitly be in for one!
 
You should talk to Kyle about getting you setup with a Stickied DC FS/FT thread for selling these.
 
laser etch [H] on it and your good ;)
 
I'm quite pleased with how well these turned out.


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Bitcoin/floating GPU support:

4pTraywBitcoinSupport.jpg
 
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That looks great!

It's a shame they would get hidden in my garage. I would have to get a window ac just so I can show them off in my office lol.

Send me a PM or let us know when / if you are getting ready to build more. I'm in for sure.
 
yeah, ill likely be in for a 3rd if spots continues to make them.

My case arrived at my house today, and im at work till 11.. But when I get home tonight.. Its on!
Will gets pics for people once its fully loaded.
 
Evil Juggalo has come to deliver as promised!

Here is the end to end build of my new open air case created by the allmighty and all talented, Spotswood.

Starting off, inventory of the parts for my double stack ATX frame.

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Another inventory pic with all parts removed.
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After taking inventory of all the parts, and looking at the daunting baggie of hardware, The depth of this project seem to kind of hit me, and my final vision of the product began to seem like this..
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I have a knack for creating homer-esque productions, but if legos taught me anything.. If you keep digging, youll eventually find that piece you need... while there were no instruction included, I was VERY thankful of the final pictures spotswood posted of the 4U and my case and they were my only guide and reference to complete this. Everything in the box was prepped perfectly, just enough to hint to me what each parts was for since they are not labeled.

The best part is that the bases came pre assembled and were labeled so I know exactly where to start, and the current orientation.
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Figure Id start building from the ground up..
I first affixed the feet to the bottom..
Popped in the mobo spacers
then mounted up the first round of legs.
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I completely forgot about the extra pieces I had him add for me which allowed for better fan mounting. Specifically this was there for my H50 res because without the extra rear bar I would have had difficulty figuring out how to mount it.

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While installing parts I noticed a few details that I did not originally notice, and turns out that added more function to the case.. The front video lifter bar is actually 2 pieces which can pinch down on the lip of your video card, they dont work exactly and I needed them, but ended up being perfect once zip-tied down.

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After getting the front of the cards mounted, got my fans mounted in the back, I found one critical flaw in the design of the case vs the video cards.. Most of the video cards have the power plugs on the side, and with thick cables on the high power PSU's these would stick up much too high for the 2nd one stacked on.. So using the nifty rear support, I raised the front and dropped the back (Which I also had to slightly bend the front slot lip), but it ended up working out nicely, with just a PERFECT amount of clearance.

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That pretty much wrapped up the lower case so I went ahead and built the entire 2nd level..and attached it.

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when I started laying the the video cards I realized I was 1 adapter short.. all my other adapters are pcie1x to pcie16x.. Got out ye old trust steel file and shaved down the side.. and once I got done, I realized I did the wrong side, so I just leveled out the other side leaving a small piece of the center notch in place to keep it aligned properly

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The lower case I installed 3x 5830 Extremes, mostly squared off on the back and held on with a ziptie, but the 3 cards in this care were all different, and unique with issues.

1st) Reference Sapphire 6950.. Flat back keeps it sitting still, but no way to mount it.. The front is pinched down with the bar but the ass end can move around and I dont want it vibrating out of place.. Genius idea, attached a zip tie to either side, and clipped it down to about 1/2 inch, just enough to where teh card cant walk.

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2nd) Sapphire 5830 (Non-extreme).. Rounded back, but not too hard.. Zip tied ass end to the rear level bar.Done

3rd) XFX 5850 .. the HSF does not even extend to the end of the card.. Required a little more crafty work with zipties, but all seem to be pretty solidly in place..


I didnt quite keep the exact design, I ended up relocating the HDD to the back left corner to keep it from getting burried with PSU cables.. Currently its laying upside down, but I plan to either make a small tray for it, or just put some rubber matting underneath it.





Heres the final flyby once done.

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Total Project time was about 3 hours w/ 1x 5 minute break..

Need to knows:
This is not just for the case, but for the builder too.. Spotswood has been great to deal with on this. He did a fantastic job with fabrication with a lot of attention to detail and making sure everything worked as planned.

- Case are VERY sturdy and do not weight a ton.. well, until you load em up.
- Could easly be converted from a single to a stack in about 5 minutes
- The front video card rise is 2 pieces that can clip onto the front lip of the card
- The dept of space in the back is perfect for wrapping up all your cables.
- Could easily support 5-6 cards spaced appropriately.
- Came with 2 sets of assembly tools.. They do get chewed up in the process.


Ideas for future builds:)

- The overall height may need to be increased by 1/2 - 3/4" to make up for the height of the power plugs on the video cards. This is also true for the height above the mobo for your HSF.. My H50 is pretty low profile and I had to work around it.
- Didnt come pre-assembled :D
- Since top remains open, nothing can be set on top.. May just need to buy/build a top cover.
- If more people end up mounting their HDD in the same place I did, holes+plastic standoff should be added so HDD's have a home.. I just cannot bring myself to leave it sitting on bare metal..OR, if proper screws could be added to mount the HDD into one of the rails standing upright.
- Not sure if they make em, but black end covers would be a nice finishing touch.. I got bit a few times by the corners
- The front video riser needs more holes for clamping down on the card lip.. I had to use zip ties or it would bow up in the center. altho this would be difficult to make up for as the bends would offset the screw hole placement.. Zipties may just be required/
- Needs and L shaped bracket for holding the PSU in place, or maybe a few small pieces of double-sided sticky tape.
- Hardware was somewhat separated but required some digging to find the right length screws (This kinda scared me as I ALWAYS screw up when trying to use the right screw) .. I luckily has a small tupperware container to dump it in for better access. The Screws become self explainable once you start building.



THOUGHTS:

I am incredibly happy with this purchase.. Am already saving up to get a 3rd one + cover if he plans on making more.. This thing goes together very easily even with no instructions. I'm the kind of guy that build and entire iKea desk and then realizes have the parts are on backwards.. There is none of that with this.. Spots left the screws and hardware in most of the posts, and just by glancing at the picture I could immediately understand how they were supposed to go together..

Final product looks and feels incredibly professional, and I dont really thing my shitty cell phone picture do it justice.. But for bitcoins, bench testers, and home server makers, YOU NEED THESE CASES.. They are effin amazing, and you cant beat the price, service, or quality...

And remember, these cases are modular, you can add to them at will..
 
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Wow! Thanks for the kind words.

I intend to remedy the bending of the clamp bar by switching from a 1/8-inch thick to a 1/4-inch thick piece of aluminum.

All of your other suggestions were great and I'll try to incorporate them in the next batch.

EDIT: Oh, and it turns out I can get covers to go onto the tops of the posts.
 
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Awesome review Evil and well done Spots!

I hope you start taking orders for a second batch soon :)
 
i was wondering for 4p boards if we put the psu next to the board as shown in pics above will the cables be long enough to reach the power sockets if there are four tall HSF on the cpus?
 
i was wondering for 4p boards if we put the psu next to the board as shown in pics above will the cables be long enough to reach the power sockets if there are four tall HSF on the cpus?

depends on the board.... and the psu...you can get psu extension cables if you need them...
extensions do increase vdroop and increase the line dirt..

For the g34 boards... the psu would be best on the other side from where it is now...
 
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depends on the board.... and the psu...you can get psu extension cables if you need them...
extensions do increase vdroop and increase the line dirt..

This case shouldn't be any worse than a normal tower with a top mounted PSU.

For the g34 boards... the psu would be best on the other side from where it is now...

Assembling the tray with the PSU area on the left hand side wouldn't be a problem. :D
 
If there is ever another run of these, I am seriously considering a double or triple-stack of these for my folding farm. Standard ATX, no need for floating GPU support, and maybe a couple of extra tabs for my H50s... :)
 
Hey Spotswood, any word on your current backlog??

Interest is gaining on these.. I knwo I wanna get my next set before this becomes your next FTJ :D
 
Hey Spotswood, any word on your current backlog??

Interest is gaining on these.. I knwo I wanna get my next set before this becomes your next FTJ :D

I will definitely be making another batch of these trays, but before that can happen I need to finish two other custom cases (see work logs here and here)

After I fulfill those two obligations, then I'll start on other batch of trays.

I'm hoping to finish those two case in 4-6 weeks.

Believe me, I'm as anxious to build these as you. :D
 
I will definitely be making another batch of these trays, but before that can happen I need to finish two other custom cases (see work logs here and here)

After I fulfill those two obligations, then I'll start on other batch of trays.

I'm hoping to finish those two case in 4-6 weeks.

Believe me, I'm as anxious to build these as you. :D


Someone needs to clone you...
Or send you like 4Lbs of meth.. :D
 
Just wanted to chime in that I got my 4p tray from spotswood and I'm very pleased with it. I intended to do a full review but unfortunately my 4p mobo bit the dust :mad:

I just wanted to suggest that any further 4p users flip the orientation of the tray so the PSU and hard drive are on the right side of the motherboard when looking at the IO ports. Mine is oriented so the PSU and mobo are on the left side of the motherboard and the PSU and SATA cable runs are extremely long.

Other than that I am very happy.
 
I just wanted to suggest that any further 4p users flip the orientation of the tray so the PSU and hard drive are on the right side of the motherboard when looking at the IO ports. Mine is oriented so the PSU and mobo are on the left side of the motherboard and the PSU and SATA cable runs are extremely long.

i already had suggested that in one of my prior posts , i realized it once i saw the pics.
but it seems you can switch the partition to the right side if you are okay drilling new holes for the MB.
 
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