remember that old nag i was trying to convert?

[g.l.amour]

work has advanced, could use a couple cold cathodes and thats that.

obj to keep evertyhing cheap has been met. case cost me nothing.
-10$ dremel wheels
-lots of tubing (for all the failed routing)
-riveting pliers (great tool, go grab one)
-piece of plexi
-some drill bits
-double sided tape (almost at the same height as duct tape)
-a new dremel, my old one quit on the job
-lots of hobbyist glue
-moms tupperware for res(clean thoroughly, u don't want spaghetti for coolant)
-teflon tape

if u add it all up, it still cost a lot, but alot of that stuff should last me 10's of mods to come.

i'm sooooo glad i didn't buy some fulltower, god knows it came close. in the end nothing touches a good cube for clean cable and tube routing.

note the switch on the front bezel, it allows me to clear cmos without opening the case and fumbling with a lighter on my knees to reset bios.

think i'm gonna paint the bastard some day, but thats stuff for the future.

inside is:
-two full size heatercores
-eheim 1250
-maze2
-2l res
-the usual amd xp ddr stuff

note the intel inside, pentium pro sticker on the front bezel, how camp can i get, i ain't gonna remove it; feel like a museum.

[mfpmax]

Speaking of...

Did you ever finish converting that case

[Crazymofo]

Is that an MSI KT3? If so are you planning on overclocking? Good luck, I can't even get over 133 fsb on my KT3 and have yet to see anyone get over 151.


Props on the case job, you've made me consider getting a new case I love the cmos clear switch on the front too. Gonna have to figure out how to do that!

[ambient]

come on with some pics of the inside, and some temps. is that neoprene underneath the mobo? looks nice, I new you could pull it off with a case that big.

[Puzzdre]

YES, nice work on the component side !
Show us the other side, lemme see that multi rad configuration!

Btw, I see you use the same tubing I use (italian made, if I'm not wrong, said something like cristallo extra on it...and have glass and fork symbol aside)...are you satisfied with it?

[g.l.amour]

i love the cristallo tubing. but, u gotta go with the flow on it, bending it in other directions can make it kink a little. it is fairly strechable, can pry it over the 15mm barbs on the heatercores (heat it with a lighter).

the componentry on the inside has always been cheapest xp cpu until i break it , i am now at a 1800+. with latest drivers (especially nvidia) got me from 9000 over 10000 3dmarks.
the ti500 was first passively cooled , not overclocked, by the heatsink of a globalwin fop38 (huge). installing a compunurse at the core made me realise i was getting 50-60°C temps. installed a 5000rpm silent cpu cooler @ 5V on it, u cannot hear that over the pump. started overclocking, giving it 1.8V; got at 275core, 592memory. temps of the ti 500 30-40°C.

@ the moment i still have sligtly (3°C) higher temps with case panels off (before i installed the plexi + 92mm fan sucking air out of case, so should be a bit better). case ventilation could be a bit better. anyway, i have no trouble keeping the temps under 40°C at practically inaudible soundlevel (pump and HDD loudest). vcore at 1.85 xp1800 @ +/-1830MHz.

Crazymofo has a huge point on the KT3 ultra, stay away from that board!!!i used to have an 8kha+ that would have cold boot problems over 152MHz, some beta bios fixed that. same problem on the kt3, after clearing cmos, setting fsb at 133, reboot, then set fsb at 162; everything works fine. turn off the pc, nomore boot, clear cmos again. thats why i felt the urge to make a switch at the front, for i was tired of getting on my knees for that pc a couple of times a day. anyway, u say u cannot get over 151 ... try this, jump from 147fsb, directly to 153-154. always works, at the 153 mark the 1/5 divider kicks in (got that trick from amdmb forum).

anyway, see the pic below for some fine mspaint art. u can see that it isn't that high tech. the middle pin of the ccmos always stays the same it is pin 1 and 3 that define ccmos or not. perfect situation for the standard switch. will add some more pics later that will hopefully clear it up some.

[MadDogMe]

I was thinking of doing a 'reset' button mod to my C~Mos , the recessed push kind, but they're only two pin that I can find...
PS, heard a tip the other day about putting a spring inside tube and plonking it in a pan of boiling water for a while, then hold it to desired shape and stick it in a sink of cool water ...
Don't know where you'd find a suitable spring to hold the tubes shape open though...

[g.l.amour]

that might indeed be the trick, i find the silicon and tygon tubing a bit scammy.if u could bend the tubing at any wanted form, that could save some huge $. anyway, as said, i can bend the 12mm ID over 15OD barbs, so don't know why i would need tygon, xcept for bragging purposes.

[MadDogMe]

I thought abit more about it, maybe rope could be put inside to hold the tube open?, or sand like they do with copper pipe?...
PS I would'nt use a lighter to warm the tube, I roll it in my hands or sqeeze it, or hot water ...

[g.l.amour]

heh, i know the hot water trick is the best; but practicality has to be considered, what do u like most, moving that huge mf pc to the kitchen, or run upstairs with the water every 5 mins? a lighter is a bit more 'portable'. the thick rope trick might work, although prolly not as good as a spring. sand will be ok, lot of work though, but if we didn't like alot of work , then why on earth would we be spending all that time modding. ;-)

[mfpmax]

My problem is I don't have a spring big enough to fit around 5/8 tubing. But I do have a heat gun for heat shrink and I tested some 3/8s tubing with it. Worked okay.

[g.l.amour]

some more pics for the ones interested

this one shows the speakercable going to
a) ccmos sw
b) 5V molex pwr source


the green/white/red cable goes on all the ccmos jumper positions
black one is temp probe for ti500
black/red/blue is pwr source for ti500 fan


here u can also see the original 5V molex being splitted at the destination to plexi fan, and ti500 cooler, means only 1 cable going to molex


here's my cheapass custom sound dampening, works great for 0$


here's full view of the other compartment, needs some cleaning up...

[MadDogMe]

The spring is supposed to go 'inside' the tube ...
No reason why rope stuffed inside should'nt work, as long as it's a snug fit. imagine totaly round tight bends in PVC! W00T!! ...
Polysyrene sheet that builders use is OK for sound insulation too, get thin or thick stuff depending on your Delta ...

[airspirit]

I've got up to 182 on my KT3, *shrugs*. I get better results keeping it lower and bumping the crap out of the multiplier, though, imho.

[mfpmax]

Originally posted by MadDogMe
The spring is supposed to go 'inside' the tube ...

Someone said outside on another board, and...

Also, they have metal pipe bending kits that use Springs...you put the pipe inside the spring and bend it and it doesn't allow kinks...which is the method I would've used. But I don't have springs big enough. I believe both methods would work.

[Crazymofo]

Originally posted by g.l.amour

Crazymofo has a huge point on the KT3 ultra, stay away from that board!!!i used to have an 8kha+ that would have cold boot problems over 152MHz, some beta bios fixed that. same problem on the kt3, after clearing cmos, setting fsb at 133, reboot, then set fsb at 162; everything works fine. turn off the pc, nomore boot, clear cmos again. thats why i felt the urge to make a switch at the front, for i was tired of getting on my knees for that pc a couple of times a day. anyway, u say u cannot get over 151 ... try this, jump from 147fsb, directly to 153-154. always works, at the 153 mark the 1/5 divider kicks in (got that trick from amdmb forum).

anyway, see the pic below for some fine mspaint art. u can see that it isn't that high tech. the middle pin of the ccmos always stays the same it is pin 1 and 3 that define ccmos or not. perfect situation for the standard switch. will add some more pics later that will hopefully clear it up some.

Man if only I could get my system past 133 I would be happy!!! Ever since I replaced my memory with Corsair XMS 2700 I cannot get past 133. It'll go to 134 but once I reboot I have to clear the CMOS. Before the new mem I had Geil and that would post all the way up to 151 fsb after that it was a memory hang in the post and I'd have to start all over again

I want a new board but I am having the hardest time deciding what to get!

[g.l.amour]

io crazymofo, u got some weird stuff going on, might consider posting on amdmb.com. do'nt want to get in the details, kt3 is like a mother in law, needs lots of looking after, but no post beyond fsb 134 is a bit too much. if u unlock your cpu, that can help you find the hotspot easily, mem or cpu.

@ maddogme, like your idea dude, when i get to cleaning and flushing in a couple of months, might try it out, there's 1 or 2 bends in my tubing that could use some custom treatment.

[Crazymofo]

Originally posted by g.l.amour
kt3 is like a mother in law, needs lots of looking after

ROFL oh man that was too funny!! Absolutely true though Can't wait to get a new board along with my new water-cooling venture. Since the unlock is pretty much free I think I'll give it a shot this weekend!

[ambient]

Originally posted by MadDogMe
I was thinking of doing a 'reset' button mod to my C~Mos , the recessed push kind, but they're only two pin that I can find...
PS, heard a tip the other day about putting a spring inside tube and plonking it in a pan of boiling water for a while, then hold it to desired shape and stick it in a sink of cool water ...
Don't know where you'd find a suitable spring to hold the tubes shape open though...

Try using a Turbo switch from an old AT box. They're like an AT switch always on or off which ever position they're in. So it should work for a CMOS clear switch. I learned that one by trying to use it as an ATX power switch, it would just turn on the computer for 4 seconds and turn it off again.

[Puzzdre]

Whoa, not only tubing is the same as mine, but also the noise dampening material ! Don't tell me that that yellow blobs holding the air bubble sheets is UHU-tack cos' (guess what), thats how I fastened mine onto the case sides...

Is that mobo 266pro2a? I have one, but cannot go higher fsb than 148 with 256 mb of Twinmos 266 CL2 ddr...just tried the trick with 153 or 154 MHz, but mobo wont post.:shrug:

[g.l.amour]

hahaha, lol @ puzzdre

the sound dampening material works surprisingly well against the vibrating from the eheim 1250. and the glue is courtesy of the gf, pattex from henkel; real hobbyist stuff; used it for getting the pump-res junction leakfree, and tons of other stuff.

[Puzzdre]

I actually managed to stretch 1/2' ID cristallo over my 19 mm pump intake...It didn't look too pretty so I changed it to 16 mm ID ordinary (shitty) stuff, just for the part from flow indicator to pump intake...
Cristallo is good, but a little too much on the memory effect side for me...but it's dirt cheap here (1/2 euro per m for 1/2 ID tube)...

And, I heated mine over the gas stove, after I measured and cutted the right length...

[g.l.amour]

damn that is pretty slick, i can hardly shove those tubes over 15mm OD barbs, 19 is superman stuff, must be some pretty potent spinach u got over there in Croatia.

i like the pvc tubing alot, can't justify spending 10 x the money on tygon or silicone tubing, thats a bit too crazy.

someone gave me a good tip for those bitchy msi's; search highest stable booting fsb, set in bios; use a software fsb prg in windows to take it higher (cpufsb/fuzzylogic). crappy method, but it's effective.

c y'all

[Puzzdre]

damn that is pretty slick, i can hardly shove those tubes over 15mm OD barbs, 19 is superman stuff, must be some pretty potent spinach u got over there in Croatia.

LOL, actually, I used several different dia inserts to gradually widen the tube, and as far as I remember, still needed good force to slip the tube onto intake...Hehe, spinach is not one of my favourites, but the Olives...

i like the pvc tubing alot, can't justify spending 10 x the money on tygon or silicone tubing, thats a bit too crazy.

Im 'monkey see - monkey do' kind of a man, so I just can't resist to see for myself. I'll be ordering some small amount of tygon soon to 'see all the goodness of the good stuff a wc'er can see'...Yes, I spend money too easy...:shrug:

Thx for the info on MSI's, yes they are weird mobos (first one came broken - brand new, second one I broke myself fastening the wblock (crack, crack - look ma, no post ), and now I have third one finally working...

[g.l.amour]

well, believe the hype, i had to rma my broken 8kha+ to the shop where i bought it, and they couldn't get me the same board, so i had to get the msi. have gotten every brand of motherboard in the last 2 yrs. abit, thumbs down ; asus, too expensive for what it is ; msi, works ok normally for ok price; epox, low price for super performer.

next mobo will be epox again , and did i mention gr8 tech support (bios, emails answered,...)