[Project Log] BLACK OPS III

[nez]

Its been 9 years since the BLACK OPS II mod. [Project Log] BLACK OPS II

There was a 2.0 version when i upgraded the hardware. Wanted to change the casing then but front hard disk access is like non-existant

Anyway, a user recommended me a case when asking for recommendation for hard drive hotswap bay accessible from the front of the casing.
3-4 days later, Lazada delivered to my house back in January. The Silverstone CS380
Actually completed transferring the hardware over with basically an upgraded graphic card (there is a reason why the previous one CMI)
Although still waiting for PSU cables to be ready & tidyingup the cables.
So this will just be a log for version III. I am although less ambitious then the previous due to time & other commitments.

So finally we have the BLACK OPS III

The Core ideas will be the same:-

Black
I love this colour. Sent to David for powder coating as usual. He told me he has not done PC case for 10years already.
I am likely the first & only person to powdercoat a NAS casing

Covert
Added some insulation form, hopefully to, help however minimal, minimize noise but actually more to prevent the metal case to be less clanky but ultimatly less noisy overall.

Conceal
Cable management.
The plan is still to route most of the wiring/cables such that it stays hidden from view.
Unlike the P182, this CS380 is 1/4 smaller & much more challenging.
So this time round, I opted to not spent too much time to route the sata/psu cables & fan wires into the nook & cranny of the case.
To make it easier, also ordered custom sleeve cables for the psu to give it a neater, clean & minimalistic look. So this part is a work in progress

Operative
Apart from minimal concealing of the wiring/cables, it need to provide ease & flexibility for upgradability & change of hardware.
Due to not hiding the psu cable & custom sleeve cable, any future psu upgrade should be a breeze.
With front hard disk access, I do not need to take the casing apart. (Unfortunately most casing do not have this feature so I am limited to silverstone CS380)
I have many frustrations previously in this area so really glad for this feature to be available. The P182 is not designed to but partially works but I had to sacrifice 1 front intake fan.
So basically I have to mod/route it efficiently to minimize the effort when removing or upgrading parts.

To be continued......

 

[nez]

The case: Silverstone CS380

After powdercoating
Not sure why I did not take a full image

What I like about the case
- ON button can be access without opening the front panel door
- Front hard drive access
- Metal door hinges
- Front panel although plastic, are secured to the case by screws instead of plastic clips

What i dislike
- Due to the smaller case, more challenging to work
- Due to the smaller case the length of the graphic card selection is somewhat limited
- The case although seems reasonably better made, feels just like an ahove average casing, with the hot swap bays feature, like an afterthough, thrown in & called it a NAS storage case.
- Similar to the above point, most better made, mid range casing would have a coloured interior instead of a bare metallic unfinished look. Which reinforce my opinion, just an average case with the hot swap feature forced in. Period. No question about it.
(not having it colored just because of whatever, is not an excuse)
Although many negative points, the front hard drive feature is something i need to have.

 

[nez]

Some minor mods

Read that due to the plastic piece would block the air from the intake fan. So.....

I chisel it off. Tip: Don't use dremel or saw. Fastest & cleanest is to use a chisel

Added insulation mats to the top, both side panels & at the front panel (sandwich between the 2 pieces)

Removed filter from the inside of the side panel for the intake fans.
Reason is it is troublesome to remove it as well as needing to remove side access panel just to clean filter. Currently paste the filter at the ouside with tape.
Need to decide a permanent soloution of fixing the filter

 

[nez]

The cables finally arrived. Wow! It made the space alot more tidier.
Actually 1 of the power cables seller got the length wrong so waiting for replacement.

 

[yusoffb01]

gxgx .

 

[shaver]

nice, all matt black

 

[nez]

nice, all matt black

Thanks. It’s my favorite colour.
But due to laziness, the dvd rom not black.

 

[nez]

Have not resolved how to attach the side filter. Currently using masking tape to tape over.
Cheap but effective solution but super ugly.

 

[nez]

Been running a 250gb intel SSD as a boot drive for around 5 years I think & its been pretty fast except size has been pretty tight. Been procuring a 860 evo 1TB but was unsuccessful. Except for the idiot seller for wasting my time, it did turn out to be better so far. So I got a MX500 for $85 from Qoo10 which is alot cheaper. My initial 1TB plan for the boot drive is way overkill.

Waiting to be slotted into the hot-swapped bay rack
That's the beauty of a hot-swapped bay rack.
Just screw & slot in.
Pang Kang Liao

 

[nez]

Windows 7 installation was a breeze.
So far so good.

So what did I do for the 250 intel SSD.

During the planning phase, I got a usb sata enclosure.
So initally I wanted to get this 1TB samsung SSD or pehaps a slim backup plus. But with this unused 250gb SSD I might as well put it to good use.

Just slot in

Done

My first portable "hard drive"

 

[nez]

For couple of years, every now & then the sound cracks, followed by a high pitch tone then went dead. I need to switch off the speaker then after a few seconds turn it back on. The sound would return back to normal.
Is this speaker fault or sound card issues?

 

[nez]

OMG. Its been 1 year already. Damm thats fast.

So far casing has been running well. No issues. It has been a godsend for the hotswap bay feature. Its super convenient to be able to plug the harddrive in & out in 1 second. Currently running with 6 hard drive.

Recently installed Windows 10.
Unable to get drivers for the Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1 soundcard. So I made do with motherboard sound. So far so good. Soundcard is still inside though.

Till the next update

 

[nez]

Bummer!!

Today PC cannot start.
Changed CMOS battery also fail.
And it has to be during circuit breaker
Worst is cannot find what the problem is

 

[nez]

Bummer!!

Today PC cannot start.
Changed CMOS battery also fail.
And it has to be during circuit breaker
Worst is cannot find what the problem is

Finally got the rig to start after getting a new PSU.

The old PSU fail on the exact same month the 7 year warranty is over

The zotoc card seem dead. Warranty over as well.

Both spoil the exact same time

 

[nez]

Got the GALAX GeForce® GTX 1650 Super EX (1-Click OC).
Overall fan noise is minimal.
Even during gaming it is much quieter & cooler then zotac 1070.