At 22:14 -0500 03/18/2002, Christian Carpenter wrote:
>So is there anyone out there who has managed to drop the guts of an S900 >into a PC Full Tower ATX case? I you have can you tell me the following: > >1) What case did you use? >2) If you've done it, do you have a step by step process on how to do it? >Are there links to resources that go into this in detail? >3) Were there complications? Did you have to give up on any functionality to >accomplish this? >4) What were the benefits in doing this? I have an S900 in an ATX server tower case. 1) I used a cheap 6 X 5.25" bay case I picked up from Computer Geeks for under $50. This was definitely a budget project. But there are some really nice cases out there and any ATX case should work. You might check Directron's web site for a nice selection of larger cases. The Yeong Yang black cube is kind of cool for under $200. 2) Nope, I don't have a step by step. Nor time really to write one right now. If I had a digital camera it's be easier to document this stuff. But it should be pretty easy for you to work out on your own. See below. 3) Here are the complications: A) Power Supply--Either use a Umax power supply which will bolt in an ATX case without complications or adapt an ATX Power Supply to the S900. The advantage of the former is simplicity. However, then you are limited to the 250 watt stock power supply. The advantage of the latter is that you can use larger capacity power supplies and if you need a replacement it's easy to get an ATX PS anywhere. Instructions for building an ATX to S900 power supply adapter cable are here: http://www.io.com/~trag/Umax_ATX_PS.sea.bin. B) Rear IO ports--The SCSI port, ADB ports and rear Sound Out port occupy the space where the ATX case has the I/O Gasket or EMI Shield. I've seen both names used. You'll need to decide how to handle that. You can leave the whole rectangle open, which doesn't look very good, but it's in the back so who's going to see. However, that probably allows some EM interference out of the case. Or you can steal the I/O Gasket from an S900 or J700 case and adapt it to your target ATX case. Or you can get some sheet metal and a dremel and cut your own. If you do the latter, I highly recommend drawing a paper template and revising it until you get it to fit just right. Then use the paper template to guide your sheet metal cutting. You may be able to get these folks http://www.calpc.com/html/options-acc.html to sell you a 6a6C11 "Umax Storm Surge Gasket" . When I called them (about a year ago) they had over 100 left and they only wanted $5 each for them. I think they only sell to companies rather than to individuals, so if you have a company front you can use you may want to try that. This will get you a chunk of sheet metal with the correct holes cut in it. You may need to do a little bending, cutting and drilling around the edges to mount it in the back of the specific ATX case that you choose, but the difficult part will be done for you. C) Floppy Drive--The floppy drive should mount in any front accessible 3.5" bay, but you'll probably need to cut a custom front bezel for it. I took one of the plastic covers that came with my case and cut a slot where the floppy disk would emerge after careful measurements. Then I used an Exacto knife to whittle a wider hole at the middle for the two fingers that grip the floppy disk. It looks better than it sounds. You may need a longer floppy cable. You can purchase the bulk ribbon cable and end connectors at places like Altex Electronics or Digi-Key and make your own if you need to. It basically just takes a pair of pliers. D) Front Sound ports--This is the toughest part IMO. If you have the Venus Sound Board, you can just figure a way to mount it in the front of your ATX case and drill a couple of holes in the bezel for the jacks. If you don't have the Venus board you're out of luck on the Microphone jack unless you care to experiment with either building your own Venus board or trying to install the microphone jack on the blank position at the rear of the motherboard. If you do not have the Venus board you can get the rear audio port and speaker to work properly as I described near the end of my ATX PS adapter article. E) NMI Switch. Your ATX case will probably have a reset switch but no NMI switch, so unless you install a second push button switch in your case, you're not goign to be ablel to hook up the programmer's switch. For most people this is not a hardship. If you really want the NMI switch you can get a second reset switch (RSW) from http://www.addtronics.com/part-list.shtml for $1 plus shipping. They also have a variety of other hardware. Of course, you could just salvage a switch somewhere. 4) Benefits--Hours of fun. :-) Great experience with a Dremel tool. A much larger case with room for the three 5.25" and five 3.5" devices I wanted to install without any crowding. I was able to put three of the 3.5" drives in front accessible 5.25" bays and then add bay cooler fans to those bays to keep the 3.5" drives extra cool for increased life and reliability. The bay coolers blow air from outside the case front over the drives. I was able to add a large 400 watt ATX power supply and the drive mounting cage isn't sitting on top of my motherboard battery. Jeff Walther -- SuperMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... 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