Post your "Ghetto Mod" pics

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I disassembled this old Mpac machine and used the triple fan setup from the bottom of the chassis in my main rig.
I was thinking about that machine the other day and I should have tried to repair that Mpac since it was a neat looking portable machine.
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That's too nice to be ghetto. No duct tape, no loose ty-raps, no scotch tape = no food stamps.
 
12th floor means high rise apartment building. Which generally means relatively dense population. Which means likely in a city of some sort.

Most cities have high power radio and TV broadcast antennas on the tops of the skyscrapers.

I'd say you probably ARE close to a broadcast antenna.
 
Trying to clean up my desk top area, needed a place to store a wireless keyboard for my second computer that doesnt get used much for now, screwed a cardboard box into the VESA holes behind the monitor for that computer and it seems to be holding good so far
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A quick google search seems to show no market for boxes or baskets that sit behind a monitor.
 
My two TV tuner boxes (HD Homerun Prime) in my un-airconditioned basement were getting a little too hot and resulting in artifacts in the recordings (at least this is what I think causes it) so, I have a couple of low power PSU's and lots of fans kicking around...


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Those are green gardening twistie ties threaded through the 140mm corsair fan holes and then twisted around whatever I could find in the ceiling of the basement.

The 150w PSU that I pulled out of an Antec ISK case is sitting right behind the black fan on the left, with a paper-clip trick keeping it powered on.

how do you like the hd homerun?
 
how do you like the hd homerun?

It's a good device, but it is not without its issues.

DRM is an issue. Most channels on most providers are broadcast with the “copy freely” tag, which means they work with any software. If – however – a channel is broadcast with the “Copy once” flag, that channel will only work in software with licensed DRM, which right now is for all practical terms limited to Windows Media Center only, and as we all know WMC is going away after Windows 8.1 is retired, as it was dropped from Windows 10.

I use MythTV to handle my live TV watching and DVR recordings, which means I can’t watch or record any channel tagged as “copy once”. For the longest time that was only HBO, so it didn’t matter much to me, as I’ve never subscribed to a premium channel in my life anyway, but more recently Fox demanded that cable companies broadcast all of their channels (except the open air ones) as “copy once” which has meant I’ve lost more channels.

Even if you have WMC, the “copy once” flag prohibits playing back recorded streams on any other computer than it was recorded on, which means you can’t have a single DVR server and play back on multiple screens in the house, at least for channels with that flag. Many people have had problems with their WMC box being hosed and rebuilding it, only to find that it is not detected as a different computer, and can no longer play back any of its recordings.

It’s really frustrating and means that once again DRM is only hurting legitimate paying users, while pirates are easily circumventing the DRM.

This isn’t really the fault of the device though. The same thing will happen with any cable card device. The only two cable card devices I am aware of that currently have the required DRM license are WMC and Tivo.

Other issues include a poor management interface that is not very tweakable.

For instance, you can’t manually configure network settings. They use DHCP and DHCP only. They also “announce” themselves to everything on the local network, which is great if you are just using them to watch live TV over the network, but if you have them assigned to a DVR-type backend which expects to be the sole user of each of the tuners, random users can accidentally “steal” tuners from the backend, causing their recordings to be interrupted.

I solved this by putting them on a separate network from my main home network, and directly connecting them to my MythTV backend server using a dedicated NIC. I also run a dedicated DHCP server on my MythTV backend server that assigns static IP’s to the devices based on their mac addresses.

All that being said, don’t let me sound too negative. I love my setup. It means I don’t pay for any rental fees from my cable company (except the two cable cards), and unlike the stock DVR I used to have from FiOS, I have nearly unlimited space for recordings (I record to my 48TB NAS), and play back to any one of my three HTPC’s in the house, or any computer, tablet or phone on my network (at least those that have supported apps).

And one of the best features (at least with MythTV) is that it automatically searches the recordings for commercial breaks and skips them automatically on playback, so you never have to see any ads. I went this entire election season without seeing a single political ad :p (except for that one time I watched something live, and it reminded me how annoying ad breaks are)

I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s just that they do have some small issues any potential buyer should be aware of.
 
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you should check out the WMC for Windows 10 - I currently have it running great with my Windows 10 + HDHomeRun HDHR3 - a group of great modders has modified and released WMC as a windows 10 store app (and it works great for me so far)
 
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oh and I need some +irony props for the aio that is from an AMD processor :D

Couldn't keep a fx 9590 cool (not that anything really can) but great for the 780ti
 
It's a good device, but it is not without its issues.

DRM is an issue. Most channels on most providers are broadcast with the “copy freely” tag, which means they work with any software. If – however – a channel is broadcast with the “Copy once” flag, that channel will only work in software with licensed DRM, which right now is for all practical terms limited to Windows Media Center only, and as we all know WMC is going away after Windows 8.1 is retired, as it was dropped from Windows 10.

Ever thought of going with a Hauppauge HD-PVR2? My cable box has component-out so none of my recordings are affected by DRM.

Mind you the HD-PVR2 greatly prefers Windows - I have it running on an ESXi VM using Win7 and NextPVR backend w/Emby acting as a streaming server, plus Kodi as the 10ft interface on my HTPC.

I'm lucky that I live in a city (Toronto) where you can buy cable boxes so no monthly rental fee, just pay for the channel packages.
 
You stained the wood and didn't use a hatchet to cut them, plus screws? really?? Oh ya ZER0 FOOD STAMPS FOR YOU!!!


BTW, looks good though
 
Somebody gave me a bunch of free stainless steel so I thought ok, that will be my new PC switch panel. I cut it, shaped it, bend it, and was just about to apply the final touches like drilling the holes and that's when shit hit the fan. I spend 50min drilling a pilot hole, tried carbide, hss, regular drills and it just won't go through (and there was like 8-9 holes to drill. Threw it all in the trash realizing why it was free and why I never use stainless steel or aluminium for anything. Here is the new ghetto switch after I got fired up and did a speedrun. Build it under 20min

http://i.imgur.com/LzTvLAH.jpg
 
I'll give to tree fiddy food stamps for the jagged edges. But you used nice screws to hold it together. Perhaps, if you had used some bent nails or push pins, I would've awarded you 5 food stamps.
 
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Not an original idea, but wired into the usb port. Too lazy to take my whole network down to solder it into the main. 20° temp drop. Only 5v so its super quiet.

Alao, I hadn’t seen this thread getting enough love lately so I thought I’d give it a bump. :)
 
I'm going to call shenanigans on that mod. Heat shrink tubing... come on, pro level work there. Nice fan, should be some POS you dug out of a free case on the sidwalk. No duct tape, no jagged hole sticking out from under the fan, who are you trying to fool here? :)
 
I'm going to call shenanigans on that mod. Heat shrink tubing... come on, pro level work there. Nice fan, should be some POS you dug out of a free case on the sidwalk. No duct tape, no jagged hole sticking out from under the fan, who are you trying to fool here? :)
mis matched dolphin connectors?

haha. Nah. not too ghetto, but I'm getting better at my electrical plans. Plus I have a larger junk pile to pull from than I used to. :)
Cut up usb cord with reasonable gauge DC supply wires.
Connect a 3pin adapter to be able to test various fans to see which had the best throughput at 5v
find short screws that will go into the vent holes in the router
...all in, from idea to execution, 10 minutes tops and $0.00 invested. (all from misc junk laying around)
 
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After about a week my powerline adapters we’re getting super hot and locking up. Added some headsinks to the “cpu” and a 5v fan for active cooling.

Electrical tape holding the cat 6 cable in because the little click tab broke off. I’ll remake the end later...

This little 40mm fan was my first noctua, and now I totally understand the hype. An awesome little 5v fan that’s perfect for this particular project. I had some other 40mm fans, but none would spin at 5v.
 
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After about a week my powerline adapters we’re getting super hot and locking up. Added some headsinks to the “cpu” and a 5v fan for active cooling.

Electrical tape holding the cat 6 cable in because the little click tab broke off. I’ll remake the end later...

This little 40mm fan was my first noctua, and now I totally understand the hype. An awesome little 5v fan that’s perfect for this particular project. I had some other 40mm fans, but none would spin at 5v.

Creative,

+4 Food Stamps
-1 Food Stamps for not using Duct Tape

:D
 
When they don't publish heatsink widths and the GT 1030 has a much bigger heatsink than the GT 630 it replaces, and wont fit in the small ass Streacom fanless case, so you decide to do something about it.


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Fits perfectly now, and doesn't look ghetto at all with the lid back on (bottom right) :p

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When they don't publish heatsink widths and the GT 1030 has a much bigger heatsink than the GT 630 it replaces, and wont fit in the small ass Streacom fanless case, so you decide to do something about it.
Haha! Nothing wrong with that. I had to do something similar with an older radial cooler just to fit it into an htpc case.
 
When they don't publish heatsink widths and the GT 1030 has a much bigger heatsink than the GT 630 it replaces, and wont fit in the small ass Streacom fanless case, so you decide to do something about it.


View attachment 78008 View attachment 78009 View attachment 78010 View attachment 78011

Fits perfectly now, and doesn't look ghetto at all with the lid back on (bottom right) :p

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+3 foodstamps for doing crappy saw job. +1 Foodstamps for not resorting to a dremel.
 
+3 foodstamps for doing crappy saw job. +1 Foodstamps for not resorting to a dremel.

I actually tried the dremel first.

Maybe I was using a brand new diamond cutting wheel off of Amazon, and it was having a terrible time getting through the heatsink.

It wasn't clear from the store page, but when I got them they weren't Dremel brand. They were probably really shitty.
 
Reminds me of the time I had to take a hacksaw to my HD6990 - it was the Dell OEM version with a big rail at the end, wouldn't fit in my case until I chopped it off.
 
I actually tried the dremel first.

Maybe I was using a brand new diamond cutting wheel off of Amazon, and it was having a terrible time getting through the heatsink.

It wasn't clear from the store page, but when I got them they weren't Dremel brand. They were probably really shitty.

Thats odd. In any event, I would have been too afraid to put that card in a vice! lol.
 
I think this could fit in here, altough the first iteration wasn't that getto:
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But it just overheated like hell,, and the outside surface of the case got up to 60C°

So I took drastic measures:
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And then abandoned the whole small gaming PC project. Now it's just a home server / HTPC with a GT1030. And a Xeon E5-2670 at stock. Without any protruding parts.

You can find the story here.
 
I think this could fit in here, altough the first iteration wasn't that getto:
View attachment 84365 View attachment 84366 View attachment 84367 View attachment 84368 View attachment 84369 View attachment 84370
But it just overheated like hell,, and the outside surface of the case got up to 60C°

So I took drastic measures:
View attachment 84371 View attachment 84372

And then abandoned the whole small gaming PC project. Now it's just a home server / HTPC with a GT1030. And a Xeon E5-2670 at stock. Without any protruding parts.

You can find the story here.


Is that a shuttle SFF?

I had one of those for my Core i7-920. I hated the built in cooler and was considering doing something like this, but was limited from doing what I really wanted by th esmall form factor PSU, so I decided to sell it and get a full tower instead.

I learned my lesson to never go small form factor again, back in 2010. It's just too limiting, and in the grand scheme of things has no benefits, as there is always plenty of space under the desk for a large case.
 
Is that a shuttle SFF?

I had one of those for my Core i7-920. I hated the built in cooler and was considering doing something like this, but was limited from doing what I really wanted by th esmall form factor PSU, so I decided to sell it and get a full tower instead.

I learned my lesson to never go small form factor again, back in 2010. It's just too limiting, and in the grand scheme of things has no benefits, as there is always plenty of space under the desk for a large case.
I think this could fit in here, altough the first iteration wasn't that getto:
View attachment 84365 View attachment 84366 View attachment 84367 View attachment 84368 View attachment 84369 View attachment 84370
But it just overheated like hell,, and the outside surface of the case got up to 60C°

So I took drastic measures:
View attachment 84371 View attachment 84372

And then abandoned the whole small gaming PC project. Now it's just a home server / HTPC with a GT1030. And a Xeon E5-2670 at stock. Without any protruding parts.

You can find the story here.
These two posts reminded me of something amazing and terrible I did way back with my i7 920 :D

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Is that a shuttle SFF?

I had one of those for my Core i7-920. I hated the built in cooler and was considering doing something like this, but was limited from doing what I really wanted by th esmall form factor PSU, so I decided to sell it and get a full tower instead.

I learned my lesson to never go small form factor again, back in 2010. It's just too limiting, and in the grand scheme of things has no benefits, as there is always plenty of space under the desk for a large case.
Yes, it is. But it's an X79.

I don't know why, but I just like to experiment with small / unique form factor cases. I've had so many over the years, all filled to the brim with hardware. Before this one I used a Node304 and fitted 9 HDDs in it. I had an Aerocool M40, a PointofView M2 Station, and a Thermaltake Bach in the past 10 years.
 
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