case[less] mod

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wastrel

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Jan 8, 2006
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i recently got pieces to upgrade my old computer (yay!) and would like to build a second one out of the scraps in my living room. i'd like to install the mboard, hd, powersupply etc directly into a bookcase.

does the mboard need to be grounded? is this an incredibly bad idea because of fire risk or something? i'm not totally sure what questions should be asked here, but you get the idea...

anybody have any other tips on case[less] mods? i'd really appreciate some educated feedback on this idea before i burn down the house!
 
I'm not an expert, but I do know that as long as you do it right, your computer will run fine. So go ahead and plan your caseless mod, many [H] goers have been running out of the case for years...

As for the mobo, I remember reading something about someone putting theirs on a phone book or something. Just use standoffs IIRC.
 
thanks for the responses & the link.
i went through that whole thread; some of those naked pc's are really impressive.

it'd help me to back up a second, though. what is "the right way"? without getting stoopid, i just need to know a few things. like, can i just screw the mboard into my bookshelf? what are these standoffs IIRC that you mentioned? some of the naked pc's are grounded; some don't appear to be. i assume it's better to ground--why not--but is it necessary?

sorry to belabor the point; i'd really like to do this & i want to make sure i don't screw it up...
 
Stand offs, those copper(I think) screws that you screw your mobo into in the case. Just put those in the ATX layout on whatever you're going to attach it to, and you should be fine. I would personally just find yourself a motherboard tray and use that. Either buy a 20 dollar case and cut it out, or buy a 25 dollar Lian-Li motherboard tray. I don't have the link for that, but someone here will post it after I say that.
 
ive had an old k62 system screwed directly to a peice of plywood withj drywall screws for like 3 years now (its my AD controller). I even took the power supply outta the case and screwedc it to it aswell, none of its grounded and ive never had a problem with it so id personally say meh go for it should be fine. just make sure you dont have any shorts and its not somewhere you woiuld spill something on it by accident.
 
The stand offs don't have to be anything special, just something to hold the bottom of the mobo off the surface so things can't accidentally short out or be damaged by being touched. Rat Shack sells aluminum ones, but for my Colossus Project (page 8 in the above naked comps link) I just used polyester stands offs from the local hardware store parts bins.

Grounding isn't really an issue - the psu power cables take care of everything sharing a common ground. There used to be some talk of certain mobo's requiring a power ground connection to the ring around the screw holes, but in all my years I've never ever seen one mobo that required that, and in fact I think that requirement would go against the atx spec that mobo manufacturers have to follow. I personally wouldn't worry about it, I chalk that up to urban rumor.

Really there's nothing to it, just mount everything securely so it can't move around and short out, especially if for example a cable gets tugged. My system's never had a problem, and I've even got my psu open (though I don't recommend that for any system that is within arms reach).
 
Agent is right on. PSU handles the grounding so as long as you use it with any old standard PSU and use a three prong power cable into a three prong outlet with a working ground line, it should work just fine without issue. But secure the things down as much as possible to prevent that accident waiting to happen otherwise... Good luck...
 
great--thanks a lot for all the feedback. i think i'm feeling emboldened enough now to just bolt the stuff in...

if i start a fire, i'll let you know for future reference!
 
In my homemade case, I used plexiglass to build a motherboard support using 3/4 inch length screws and nuts. I cut the plexi the same size as the board, lined up the holes and popped them open to install the supports. Then I used velcro tape so that the boards can be removed when necessary. Worked pretty good so far, about 1 year:

DCP_6920.jpg
 
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