Black X-QPACK w/ X-Fi, CCFLs, painted drives

D

dderidex

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Oct 31, 2001
Messages
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Never did post pics of this, and I'd sold it off a few weeks back, BUT...here ya go!

(Note that I've used multiple case badges at various points, and moved them about some to try different looks)

System is an Aspire X-QPACK (black, windowless) with a Jetway A210GDMS-Pro motherboard. This is the model with the onboard ram to boost integrated graphics performance (and it definitely does - I broke 2k in 3dMark03 with the integrated graphics). There are 2 fan regulators in the system - a rheostate device for the CPU fan, and a 4-way splitter for the 120mm fan (it takes a 4-pin molex and divides it into 2x 3-pin 12v fan molex adapters and 2x 3-pin 5v fan molex adapters).

Case Pictures



sm_front.jpg

Front









Note that I have performed a case mod (well, three, actually):
  • The grill over the rear 120mm fan I have removed. Purpose - the 120mm fan 'stock' was an exhaust fan. This sucked air in the side vent holes, and got everything dusty as HELL. No good! I changed the 120mm fan to an intake, and removed the metal grill to put in place a plastic grill/filter system (the filter is easily removable and cleanable). The interior of the box is now at positive air pressure, and as the only intake is through the filtered grill....well, it stays a LOT cleaner!
  • A simple plastic duct is mounted over the PSU exhaust blowing it up. Not much of a 'mod', as it simply mounts via the PSU's mounting screws, but it helps keep the 120mm - which is now an intake - from sucking in hot exhaust freshly blown out the back.
  • I also snipped away some of the metal framing around the case where the video card would slide in. That way, if you have a video card with an Arctic Cooling Silencer on it (which I did), the thing will go back together!!

And some basic painting:
  • The Lite-On DVD/CDRW and Mitsumi 7-in-1 reader have had their front bezels painted to match the gloss black of the case front (and X-Fi I had at the time)

System last was (at time of sale):
  • Aspire X-QPACK Black/windowless w/ stock 420w PSU
  • AMD Athlon64 '3200+' (Winchester) @ 2.5ghz
  • 1gb (512mb x 2) PC4000 PQI Turbo ram (CL3-4-3-8)
  • Powercolor Radeon X1600XT (440/1600)
  • Jetway A210GDMS-Pro Socket 939 motherboard
  • X-Fi Platinum soundcard
  • Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu LED
  • Lite-On DVD-ROM/CDRW
  • Mitsumi 7-in-1 floppy drive/memory reader
  • 10cm and 30cm UV CCFLs
 
And, for the curious, pics of previous X-QPACKs I had:



  • Aspire X-QPACK w/ Enermax Noisetaker 420w PSU
  • AMD Athlon64 X2 '4200+' @ 2.5ghz (233 * 11)
  • 1gb (512mb x 2) OCZ Gold Rev 2 PC4000 (CL2.5-3-3-10)
  • ATI Radeon X800XL 256mb GDDR3 (436/1146)
  • Jetway A210GDMS-Pro
  • Integrated Realtek ALC880 'High Definition Audio'
  • Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu LED
  • Lite-On DVD-ROM/CDRW
  • Mitsumi 7-in-1 floppy drive/memory reader
  • 10cm red CCFL, 30cm blue CCFL



  • Aspire X-QPACK w/ Enermax Noisetaker 420w PSU
  • AMD Athlon64 X2 '4200+' dual-core CPU
  • 2gb (1024mb x 2) Corsair PC3200 XMS DDR SDRAM
  • BFG GeForce 6600GT PCI-Express video card
  • Foxconn nForce4 vanilla motherboard
  • Creative Labs Audigy 2 Value PCI soundcard
  • Lite-On CDRW/DVDROM Optical drive
  • No overclocking options on mobo :mad:
 
IanG said:
I'm seeing nothing but red x's
Click to expand...

Check your privacy settings. My host does not allow browsers that do not provide referrer information (Norton Internet Security blocks that on any browser, too, FWIW).
 
Nice room and Qpack. I really like the windowless case and plan to make that my next build. The simple mods you mentioned are well thought out. I think I may incorporate them into mine. Thanks for the pics.
 
M4rk said:
That was my initial reaction too. Nice QPack too though. Like 'em, eh? ;)
Click to expand...

In fact - no! LOL. :p

What you see above is me going through three different configurations trying to find one I was REALLY happy with. Just never happened. The solid black one definitely came closest, but....it's just too big! Even Shuttle P-chasis was really too large for my tastes, but more workable.

Happily using an ST20G5 at the moment. Onboard DVI + buckets of overclocking options.
 
whow man the black one looks really good
im starting to hate the windows on mine really...
 
Looks great, dderidex! Black is the way to go. ;) Love your setup, too. One suggestion to others would be to flip that duct on the PSU over, as it drastically reduces noise when you drive it downward. ...not that there is probably much noise coming out that section of your case, but you would be surprised...
 
The Enermax Noisetaker put out pretty much *no* noise, so it wasn't really a problem. I pointed it up since - well, as we all know, hot air rises. It didn't have much force of exhaust from the PSU - the hot air was pretty much just drifint out, so if the duct was pointed down, the hot air would be blown down just a bit before heading up past the sides again...and getting sucked in the 120mm intake.

Plus, the duct was cut in such a way as to be a *perfect* fit that way - even allowing easy access to the PSU fan control knob.
 
I definantly like windowless. my black one is coming. i think i have become too sophisticated for a windowed case. Did they change the front area of the qpack? cause on newegg the front is not shiny, kinda matte. But this guys front is very glossy. what gives>?
 
goodcooper said:
his old qpacks are matte as well....

did he paint that as well?
Click to expand...

No, the black X-QPACK is not matte. It's glossy - I painted the drives to match the case, as flat black drives with such a glossy bezel looked....off.
 
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