Bringing my vintage(ish) Vinster M@X back from the dead...

Silas1128

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Joined
Jun 19, 2012
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So a little over 10 years ago I was at the NOR'Easter LAN tournament with my CS team and saw a booth with this case. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. It was VERY compact, especially for that time, yet used mostly standard parts. It measures just 11.5 x 11.5 x 5.5 inches. Custom made by a guy in Mass, only a few hundred ever made from what I remember. I just HAD to have one. I've done a few builds in it over the years and even posted here before. But I decided I wanted to move my rig into it again and make some real changes

Now, I've had no need for an optical drive for quite some time, and I wanted to give it better cooling and a bit more modern look, sort of. So I dremmeled/cut out the optical bay, 2 80mm fan spots, and the floppy drive. It conveniently was just a bit bigger than 240x120mm. My current GPU, and most I've measured, are just over 10.5", this left very little space between the front of the GPU and and where the 2 case fans would be. I would either need to get slim 120x15mm fans or have them stick about 10mm out the front of the case, which is what I did (I also had 2 new Corsair 120mm fans, so why not). I grabbed a $10 mesh trash can from Home Depot and cut out a grill with tin snips and just glued it in place with some GOOP. Kind of half assed, not the cleanest bends, but it was more a proof of concept. That was my excuse anyway, it'll probably stay this way for a while.

So here's the build (not the latest tech, but works for my gaming needs):
i7-4790k @4.9ghz, delidded, cooled with Noctua NH-D9l (this cooler was a god send, as it fits the case by mere millimeters)
24GB DDR3 @1600mhz
ASUS Gryphon Z97 mATX
EVGA GTX 1070 SC (some pics show 980ti, swapped it for a 1070 because it's much more power efficient)
1tb m.2 SSD, on pci-e adapter board
Seasonic 500W 1U PSU, some customer wiring to eliminate what isn't needed.

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Is that some sort of foam underneath? I would be concerned about air flow behind the board.
 
Yeah, it's the foam that comes with a MOBO. I don't know how needed it really is, but the power cables routed back there could be rubbing against the board, so the idea it to prevent a cable from shorting out. I know it kind of insulates the back, but there really isn't any airflow back there anyway. It hasn't caused a problem in any of by builds so far anyway.
 
yeah your not supposed to do that. probably makin it nice and toasty. ive never had wires wear through either.
 
its ok....what ever makes you happy. Im not so much into ghetto'ish mods these days and prefer a more factory finished product, but It looks alright for a ghetto mod!:) The wires on that supply makes me wonder what kind of quality it is on the inside
 
Thanks. I know the grill could be better, that's why I haven't more permanently attached it, until I get a proper one made up. Like a mentioned, proof of concept.

I'm not trying to show off my "cool ghetto mod" with the fans/grill. The fan grill is literally the only mod I've done to it. I was more trying to show off an early example of a compact SFF case, well before it was much of a norm.

And it's a Seasonic 1u server PSU. I dont question the quality of it at all.
 
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Thanks. I know the grill could be better, that's why I haven't more permanently attached it, until I get a proper one made up. Like a mentioned, proof of concept.

I'm not trying to show off my "cool ghetto mod" with the fans/grill. The fan grill is literally the only mod I've done to it. I was more trying to show off an early example of a compact SFF case, well before it was much of a norm.

And it's a Seasonic 1u server PSU. I dont question the quality of it at all.
got ya......been a while since i have seen the old school multi color leads is all
 
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