- Oct 1, 2011
- 83
- 14
- 18,635
I recently completed a build (my first) and learned a lot from this forum. Thanks, y’all!
I decided to post a few random techniques I used that helped things along for me:
FYI, the case I used was a Lian Li PC-9F.
Since my only storage was a 2.5” SSD and I wanted to maximize air flow in my case, I removed the HDD cage (very easy to do). Said cage was supported at the bottom by a non-removable (riveted) aluminum bracket. I zip-tied the SSD to this bracket:
The case was generally well finished, but had several sharp edges on the inside, some of which would be coming in contact with my wiring. On these, I applied some Gorilla Tape:
Ugly (like me), but highly functional and brute-reliable (just like the around-the-world motorcycles I’m building)! If you have a window on the side of your case and want the world to see how awesome your build is, you probably don’t want to do this.....like I said, it’s ugly.
The case features two USB 3.0 ports on the front, but my mobo has no USB 3.0 headers. Lian Li was nice enough to supply an adapter cable that allowed me to connect the cable feeding the USB 3.0 ports to a USB 2.0 header. They were not nice enough, however, to supply any guidance on connecting said port cable to said adapter cable. I puzzled it out using a VOM and the supplied pinouts:
For search purposes, Lian Li calls this adapter cable a USB3.0 to USB2.0 converter. You will find this connector orientation information nowhere else on the Internet.
While Lian Li’s tool-less 5.25” drive bay attachments work fairly well, I felt the need to shore things up a bit when I mounted my ODD:
Overkill? Certainly. Will the ODD be going anywhere? I don’t think so.
Finally, I would not dream of doing this job without a pair of flush cutters:
There are various versions of these things out there, mine are made by Klein. These little beauties are crucial in neatly trimming the excess ends off of your cable ties, leaving behind no sharp ends.....and sharp ends equals bloody hands. Motorcycle work involves lots of cable ties and I use these flush cutters all the time....a must have, IMO!
Here's a look at the completed build, from the starboard side:
and from the port side:
Finally, for the small minority of you out there that are as anal as I am when it comes to avoiding ESD damage to sensitive (and expensive) computer components, I will soon be posting my grounding rig in this thread:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/325867-31-good-ground-anti-static-wrist-strap
I decided to post a few random techniques I used that helped things along for me:
FYI, the case I used was a Lian Li PC-9F.
Since my only storage was a 2.5” SSD and I wanted to maximize air flow in my case, I removed the HDD cage (very easy to do). Said cage was supported at the bottom by a non-removable (riveted) aluminum bracket. I zip-tied the SSD to this bracket:
The case was generally well finished, but had several sharp edges on the inside, some of which would be coming in contact with my wiring. On these, I applied some Gorilla Tape:
Ugly (like me), but highly functional and brute-reliable (just like the around-the-world motorcycles I’m building)! If you have a window on the side of your case and want the world to see how awesome your build is, you probably don’t want to do this.....like I said, it’s ugly.
The case features two USB 3.0 ports on the front, but my mobo has no USB 3.0 headers. Lian Li was nice enough to supply an adapter cable that allowed me to connect the cable feeding the USB 3.0 ports to a USB 2.0 header. They were not nice enough, however, to supply any guidance on connecting said port cable to said adapter cable. I puzzled it out using a VOM and the supplied pinouts:
For search purposes, Lian Li calls this adapter cable a USB3.0 to USB2.0 converter. You will find this connector orientation information nowhere else on the Internet.
While Lian Li’s tool-less 5.25” drive bay attachments work fairly well, I felt the need to shore things up a bit when I mounted my ODD:
Overkill? Certainly. Will the ODD be going anywhere? I don’t think so.
Finally, I would not dream of doing this job without a pair of flush cutters:
There are various versions of these things out there, mine are made by Klein. These little beauties are crucial in neatly trimming the excess ends off of your cable ties, leaving behind no sharp ends.....and sharp ends equals bloody hands. Motorcycle work involves lots of cable ties and I use these flush cutters all the time....a must have, IMO!
Here's a look at the completed build, from the starboard side:
and from the port side:
Finally, for the small minority of you out there that are as anal as I am when it comes to avoiding ESD damage to sensitive (and expensive) computer components, I will soon be posting my grounding rig in this thread:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/325867-31-good-ground-anti-static-wrist-strap
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