My SN41G2

[DaftpuNk]

Well now that I have the shuttle with some seriously high spec components in it, I began to realise that it needed some decent cooling to match! after looking around the Internet at what other people had done to their shuttles, I got the idea of the blowhole 80mm fan. This fan sits at the top and sucks the air into the case, allowing colder air to blow over the radiator, which cools it down quicker. To begin with, I needed a way of mounting the fan without being attached to the case lid, as it would be too hard to disconnect the fan whilst taking the cover off.

Sorry to whoever came up with the bright idea, but I can't remember where I saw it...



After cutting up this old DVD packet from a magazine coverdisk I was able to thief some of the black plastic to act as a kind of little shelf to sit on the back of the shuttle. As you can see the shape of it lends itself very well.

Next, I cut the hole for the fan itself to blow through and also made the screwholes for it to be fixed with!



I'm sure you'll agree that it looks really well suited to its' job sat in the shuttle like that.

The next step is where GiB|Spawny came in (www.gibtek.co.uk). After arriving at his place I proceeded to threaten him with evil-doings until he modded my shuttle. Ok, ok, I actually asked kindly! And a really good job it was indeed, a nice clean hole into the shuttle with some nice blowhole trim around the edges to neaten it off. With a really stylish fan grill with the "Unreal" logo added, the blowhole was complete! Look at it in all of its' glory...



Next: Oh dear god that 40mm PSU fan is loud & lets do something about that beige drive!

[DaftpuNk]

Right, that CD writer/DVD combo has looked rough for ages. I want a nice finish to match that of the rest of the shuttle, to compliment its' good looks. The coolermaster bezel had to be the one, and luckily it's just about compatible with my drive!



The instructions were scary, but eventually I worked out what they expected you to do. The flash makes things look a bit ugly, but it really matches well.

Next, i've been after a window for ages and so I finally marked out what I wanted the shape to be on the graphics card side only. Thanks to XTR for advising some nice rounded corners using a 1p coin looks a lot better than if I had gone for right-angled corners I think you'll agree!

Here she is:


And closer:


All sorted! But still that power supply fan problem. Time for some cunning plans!

[DaftpuNk]

As you can see, i've had the shuttle under the desk for a while. Now that I am planning to sell of my main system and move to having just the shuttle, it's time to go on top of the main desk!



The 21" CRT is going to go soon, so i'll be getting a TFT instead. This desk is going to look great when i've got all the new toys

I also bought a couple of the 40mm ADDA fans from www.quicklyshop.com but unfortunately the airflow was not sufficient, and the PSU was getting cooked! I advise anyone with similar components in their shuttle as me to think carefully about the ADDA fan replacement - it might not pay off as in my case. Time to get the Silent X 250W PSU!

Here's my shuttle spec too:

* AMD Athlon XP 2500+ @ 3200+
* Hercules ATI Radeon 9800SE AIW 128MB @ 9800 Pro
* 1GB Corsair XMS3200 RAM
* Samsung Spinpoint 160GB HDD (ooooh so silent!)
* Nvidia Nforce 5.1 surround sound
* Lite-On DVD (16x)/CD-RW (52x48x52) combo
* Microsoft Intellimouse Optical
* Standard Keyboard
* Creative Labs DTT3500 Digital Speakers

[Shad]

Very, very nice

[GJUK]

what a good idea for an extra fan never thought of that one looks good

was think of putting a 60mm fan in the side but that a job for another day

[pritsey]

Really nice. I have an SN45G and have been thinking of doing the same things (fan & window). I've already got the coolermaster bezel on my DVD R and it doesn't look that bad, even with the SN45G's plexi front.

Nice job!

[DaftpuNk]

Thanks guys

[Swafe]

that does look really nice, well done

[scootter720]

that is one sweet xpc. but i would like to know more about how managed to put the window in on the video card side of the case? i too have a sn41g2 and would like to be able to show off the Tachyon G9800 PRO-M i just bought (the blue PCB/HS&F combo is too cool not to be visible).

[DaftpuNk]

Well I just got a bit of perspex/acryllic (whichever you prefer to call it) and I currently have it sellotaped in! As long as it stays away from the back edge so that you can still slide the case on, it's fine. There's still a good 6-8mm between the perspex and the 9800SE AIW's heatsink.

I think I bought 2mm thick perspex, super thin!

**UPDATE**

I've also got the Silent X 250W PSU in now to replace the standard 200W Achme PSU, and things are great! Thanks go to Marc^ for grabbing me one (crazy microdirect wanted £35 postage to the channel rocks!), my shuttle is now nice and quiet, and still has basically the same temperatures. Just need to get this CRT gotten rid of and I will have a really nice looking desk.

Watch this space!

[Gohan]

Looks sweet that! Given me some idea's for cooling my SN41G2.

[MiniMarc]

Nice one m8, glad to hear it arrived nice n quick The guy at the post office screwed up his face when I told him where I wanted to send it. Very amusing.

My one is also in now and has definitely made a difference to the noise

[skatersamuk]

yeh that is 1 kik ass shuttle!!!
i like the positioning and size of the window: Just Right!
n1 m8

[jon bda]

Looks spot-on m8...

[Wurzel]

Wow! That's ace mate, well done

[Mars]

Mmmmmmmmmmm