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http://www.bp6.com/board/album_personal.php?user_id=10
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Before I outline the modifications I have done, a little about my BP6 computer:
2 x Celeron 366Mhz @ 500MHz
ABit BP6 Motherboard
768MB PQI PC133 RAM
Promise TX2 Ultra ATA/100 Controller
Quantum Fireball 40GB ATA/100 7200RPM HDD
Pioneer DVD-ROM DVD-500M DVD
Mitsumi CR-4804TE CD-RW
Netgear EA201 NIC
Creative 3D Blaster TNT2 Ultra
Creative SoundBlaster Live! Value
Creative External ModemBlaster
MS IntelliMouse With IntelliEye
Standard PS/2 Keyboard
2 x GlobalWin FEP32M CPU Cooler
GlobalWin LAC08 Northbridge Cooler
3 x 80mm Intake Fans
2 x 80mm Exhaust Fan (One With 4 Blue LEDs)
1500uF 6.3V Capacitor at EC10
Meridian 300W PSU
This computer has been running BeOS almost exclusively for over a year now, and was running Windows NT derivatives in the 3 previous years. If you're interested, I jumped the MS ship because of their unethical business practices, and was pleasantly surprised by the responsiveness and stability of BeOS. Today I would use nothing else. But that's a different story...
OK, the case is a Cooler Master ATC 710-GX2 based on the standard Chieftec chassis that you see a lot of these days. It is very easy to work with, and includes quick-release drive rails for the 5.25 inch bays. It is supplied without a window, PSU or cooling fans. The blue power LED is particularly bright and eye-catching.
I would love to say that I installed the window myself, but I'd be lying. I bought a whole replacement side panel which had a window pre-installed by Chieftec, and included an 80mm intake fan which blows cool air over the GPU. The finish is extremely professional, and was sent with a protective plastic sheet. I have attempted my own case-mods before, but my dremel skills are worse than useless. Some will say it's cheating, but I'm just not cut out to cut out.
The blue LED fan is a perfect compliment to the case's power LED. The fan has a speed control, and is set to the slowest setting. All the other fans are run on a reduced 7V supply (they are rated for 12V). This quietens the noise significantly, while making negligable difference to cooling efficiency. See http://people.freenet.de/s.urfer/7vtrick.htm for more information on the "7V Trick".
The video card has a Blue Orb cooler attached to it with Arctic Silver thermal epoxy. It was originally used to cool the BX northbridge chip, but it fell off. I then realised the contact surface was far from flat, so I lapped the Orb before fixing it to the GPU. The original cooler from my video card was then attached to the Emu10K chip on my soundcard, which I noticed had been getting very hot.
All in all, the case offers excellent ventilation. My CPUs average at 34 degrees celsius under normal load, and anywhere up to 55 degrees celcius under extreme load. Due to the excellent SMP optimisations of BeOS, the CPU temps are always within 1 degree of one another.The 2x80mm front intake fans cool my hard disk drive, and the 2x80mm rear exhaust fans draw out the hot air from near the top of the case.
The case and replacement side panel were purchased from www.overclockers.co.uk with whom I have dealt with many times in the past and can wholeheartedly recommend to UK purchasers. The case costs £90.53 (UK) and the side panel £34.08 (UK).
I hope you are inspired by my tricked-out BP6, and maybe some of you will attempt something a bit out of the ordinary and post the results on BP6.com.
InactiveX.
(Thanks to Sam Lane for taking the photographs.)
so I can't test it myself.
