LCD displays

[icel0rd]

Anyone have any experience with LCDs? I was wondering how well parallel LCDs work with what is out there on Win XP.

Serial LCD screens are pretty easily supported, but parallel ones seem to be a lot less supported. I was wondering because I saw a nice Maxorbital VFD and considered getting it, and I ran across the parallel ones that I are way cheaper than serial couterparts. I just don't know if its worth the trouble to try a parallel.

So, anyone have LCD experience out there? I'd rather save some time and money and not buy something that is not going to work very well.

Thanks

-Ice-

[WebMasta33]

Go here... Read the forums. There's nice instuctions in the forums that tell you how to convert a Parallel To a serial LCD.

http://www.crystalfontz.com/

[Lonely Raven]

Or, if you can spring for it, check out the ones at
MatrixOrbital.com

I just ordered one for my PC last night. You can make it do stuff
like a digital doc, and also turn your CCFLs on and off and stuff.
So it sounds just geeky enough for me!

But $85 does hurt...

[WebMasta33]

yup... that's why you get a 25 buck color 4x20 lcd and a 15 dollar serial -> parallel conversion kit... Much cheaper

Or, you get a 5"Color LCD TV that's made for cars, and a cheapo pci display card, and do this:

http://www.l33tpeeps.com/caffeine/article_lcdmod_02.htm

[Lonely Raven]

Yeah, I've thought of that, but....Where are your photos of
the finished Mod?

You show some cutting, some pics of parts, and some killer
screen shots with great ideas...but not one finished mod pic?!?!

[WebMasta33]

It's not "MY" mod... I just had it as one of my favorites under my "Mod's I wish I had the money to do"


Here are some pics I found of it on other parts of the guys site:

http://www.l33tpeeps.com/caffeine/images/lcdmod/gt3withcase.jpg

http://www.l33tpeeps.com/caffeine/images/caffeine_lcd_front.jpg

[Lonely Raven]

Wow! That looks nice!

You should have lied to me and told me it was your mod!

Hmmm...I think I need to re-examine my case...(grabbing tape
measure)...

[icel0rd]

Wow, that thing is around the same price range as the MaxOrbital one. Imagine the possibilities..... hmmm

This was certainly an eye opener. I think I might forget about the other LCD idea and go with this. I just wonder how well my system would do running two pci displays at once.

Who cares! Its cool. I gotta have one now.. heheh. My cube arrives tomorrow, so I can plan out my mod using a display like this.


This is going to be a really interesting project. I'm going to look for more LCDs on the web. I saw quite a few out there before and I wonder how well I can do with finding a great deal.

-Ice-

[Lonely Raven]

Shhh...don't mention too loudly how that screen is a better deal
then the Matrix Orbital. I might hear you (I just orderd my
Matrix Orbital two days before I saw this thread)!

Are you getting the YY Cube, or some other cube?

If your getting the YY Cube I'd like to compair notes with you
about the possibilites of putting this screen in it!

Damn, and I thought I was getting near finished with this damn
mod!! Hehe...

Get back to me on this!

[icel0rd]

Yeah, I'm getting a black YY cube in the mail tomorrow :) That case is large enough that I'm sure there should be plenty of room for the 5" lcd panel.

I got mine from:

http://www.caseoutlet.com/Server/YY-cube/default.htm

I specified black so I would save some time with painting.

By the way, I found another source for the same panel for $120 (the 5" TFT). I am ordering one today :)

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&User_ID=4499897&st=2083&st2=66522498&st3=-65880717

As soon as I get my cube in tomorrow, I can size it up and determine where and how to install the LCD screen. This will be pretty cool.


-Ice-

[icel0rd]

Raven, I got my black YY cube today !!! This thing is a picture of excellence! This is the PERFECT size. Its not to big, not too small, but just perfect.

With this beauty I can do some awesome work. When my LCD tv display gets here in a day or two, I'm going to work on designing a bracket to hold it in middle bay slots since I have very little use for 5/14' bays anyway.

Idea #1:

The bay is close to 6 inches wide, which should be pretty close to what the screen is. I plan to make a little enclosure that has rails that will allow me to install it so that it comes out to a perfect fit among the other bay covers.

Idea 1a:

I thought about modifying the door on the cube and installing a window in it so that I could see the display behind it.

Idea #2:

Remove the face panel from the cube altogether. I could simply design a very neat housing that I can put the screen in, which will fit in the middle 5/14" bay slots. I would have to paint the face underneath the face panel if I decided to go with that route for a neat, consistent look.

This case turned out to be a lot nicer than I thought it might be. Even the drive bays in the rear are easily removed, so that makes plenty of room for my radiator and PSU.

The 1 thing I wish was different was the PSU placement. Its at the bottom and I wanted to put my res on the bottom incase of a leak. I dont want my res above the PSU. I may just put the res on the floor of the unit infront of the PSU. The are stamped elevations to hold the PSU from touching the botton anyway, which makes me think less about the danger of a leak. My water circuit could probably drain 100% and it wouldnt be an issue.

This black YY cube rocks. IMO, there isn't a better choice!!. I cant wait to design the display enclosure.

-Ice-

[Kevin]

icel0rd, I love my YY cube as well! It is WAY too covered in H2O coolin gear to possibly put an LCD in there as of now, but if would have kept the cooling system a bit more low key, I was thinking the best place to mount it would be on the top of the case (like dremel a hole where there would normally be a blowhole). My YY cube sits on the floor and it would be cool to have the LCD playing winamp visualizations on the top while I surfed the internet. Anyhow... just throwing the top out as idea regarding where to put it.
-Kev

[RickCain]

Yeah Kevin,

Do you have any current pictures of your case in a finished and working state? I found your post and it only showed the motherboard mounted with no gear inside. Just curious how you configured the inside.

You guy really might was to look at the Chenbro cube as well. I went to these guys shop yesterday Servercase.com (http://www.servercase.com) and he pulled out a YY case and the Chenbro so I could see them side by side. The Chenbro is a bit larger (more 5 1/4 bays) and has a much more finished feel to the inside. In talking with the owner of this shop for awhile he said that the YY case has not changed in 10 years and the Chenbro was made to go head to head with the YY. I stood there for 30 minutes taking both apart and debating but ultimately left with the Chenbro. I give two thumbs up to this site only because he didn't have to let me come down to his warehouse and make the poor shipping guy take both out of the box for me. That's great customer service!

[Kevin]

RickCain, check out my article for the most recent uploaded pix. Part II will have much more revealing pix in it, and those are currently on my computer @ home. I'm gonna try and get Part II done over spring break.
-Kevin