I am trying to answer this question for my IT class. atx vs btx form factors. can you tell the diff between them without opening the pc?Is it possible to determine the form factor without opening a computer case?
I assume you are referring to the motherboard, and not the power supply or case. To put it simply, BTX motherboards are very similar in dimensions but they would look 'mirrored'. Meaning everything is pretty much flip flopped. So if you looked to where you'd normally see your IO ports, for example on a standing PC case you'd find them in the upper portion, if they were on the lower portion, that would be a good sign of this being a BTX setup. So all you'd have to do was look on the back. Of course if this case has a way to see inside as plenty of cases do, the logic wouldn't be very different as the setup looks very different to a person who is commonly building computers, which I am sure several of your students may recognize.Is it possible to determine the form factor without opening a computer case?
ATX and BTX are very similar. By looking on the back of a BTX case, all the PCI slot are on top and the I/O connection are on the bottom. So the power supply will be on the bottom. ATX is normally use by all home built computer. Both ATX and BTX are interchangeable in part beside the motherboard. Both use the same Power Supply, wiring, drives, etc.. I look at BTX as a reverse/opposite of ATX. BTX look like everything is flip around when comparing to an ATX case.
Yes - BTX boards have the I/O connectors and PCI slots in reverse order from ATX. Looking at an ATX board from the rear, the I/O ports (USB, video, keyboard/mouse/etc.) are on the left, with a BTX they're on the right.
Hope that helps,
Jason
www.onestoptechnologyshop.com
Friday, January 22, 2010
How do I open an Nzxt Hush computer case?
I need to access the motherboard to add RAM. I purchased the computer fully built, so i have never entered the case before.How do I open an Nzxt Hush computer case?
First, shut down the PC, and unplug the Power cord, the thick black cord near the fan, that leads directly into the Power supply.
Then, along the edges of the case, in the rear, on the left (when viewed from front) look for 2-4 screws, not the ones going into components, but the ones holding the back of the case, to the frame. They may be thumb screws, which require no tools, or may be standard phillips screws, which require just a simple phillips screwdriver.
Remove the screws, and then, using the indent in the case, on the left hand side (when viewing the front of the case) pull the panel towards the rear, until it comes off.
First, shut down the PC, and unplug the Power cord, the thick black cord near the fan, that leads directly into the Power supply.
Then, along the edges of the case, in the rear, on the left (when viewed from front) look for 2-4 screws, not the ones going into components, but the ones holding the back of the case, to the frame. They may be thumb screws, which require no tools, or may be standard phillips screws, which require just a simple phillips screwdriver.
Remove the screws, and then, using the indent in the case, on the left hand side (when viewing the front of the case) pull the panel towards the rear, until it comes off.
What are the basic principles of computer case design?
I want to have a go at building a new computer case for my ATX form factor computer. it's a custom built computer currently in a tower case i want to change it. The main reason is to make it quieter but how can i do this without compromising the heat dissipation? i have a 150mm (thats how far apart the screws are set in opposite corners) fan on the back and a big heat sink and fan on the Pentium 4 Prescott processor.
What materials should i avoid and do you have any recommendations for possible alternative materials. Preferably i would like to make it really interesting, if you have any reference pictures of other mods people have done that would be cool.
Has anyone have any harsh lessons from experience of what i should avoid doing?
Also from what i can tell the main cause of the noise coming from my case is the rush of air, the actual case itself has very little vibration apart from when i put a CD or DVD in the drive.
Thank you in advance for any! help.What are the basic principles of computer case design?
I can help regarding the Thermal aspects of the case design (having done this a few times before proffesionally).
Everyone knows that to keep computer components cool you need 2 elements:
1. Heatsinks (to disapate the heat *increase is surface area*)
2. A ';liquid'; way of removing that disapated heat outside the case (air/water/oil)
Many people have started to experiment with water and oil, but i personally dont trust it, and would stick with air cooling.
Lets start with heat sinks: These can be made of many different materials, but the main two are Aluminium and Copper. Copper is better at disapating heat, due to its properties as a metal. Hence silver and gold are also good fr this, but a little expensive. If you want to disapate heat more efficiently, then use copper heat sinks.
Now yes, you get all these great big heatsinks (like the zalmans etc...) which look really cool, but they take up to much space for a form factor (and they are too noisey) You are better off using a retangular heatsink (remember the more fins there are, and the thinner the fins are, the better the heatsink is at its job. Also the method of creating the fins is also important.
A bonded fin (one which is welded to the base) is not so good. Extruded fins are a bit better. But skiving fins are the best (essentially these are cut into the block of metal, so its properties are least affected). Try looking at www.dynatron-corp.com for some good examples.
So, now you have heatsinks on your components, you need to decide if you want to have lots of little high speed fans or blowers sitting on each one, or whether you leave the little fans off, and go for ';passive'; component cooling. Now thi is normally only advised if you can cool air, then blow it through the case at high speed, and suck it out the other side. but thats noisey and expensive. So i would go for active cooling (but make sure you get low-speed, low noise fans (the bearing used is important but i wont go into bearings today)
NOTE: it is not about how fats the fans spin, it is about how much air they move per second (CFM) A big fan that spins slowly will move more air persecond than a small fan spinning fast.
So get the biggest fans you can.
The more air you move through the case, the better, so make sure you have one sucking air in, and one blowing air out (set them to run at the same speed.) If you have 2 x 12cm fans spinning at less than 1000rpm, then you will hardly even hear the noise they make.
NOTE ON DUST: fans work because the blade cut through the air, and scope it/move it in a direction. If the fan blades are dusty, they will not cut air aswell, and you can decrease the performance by over 50%!!!! Keep your fans clean. Use filters only where absolutely needed.
So, case design... begin by having all your components laid out on a surface (include a PCI graphics card riser) this means you can change the orientation of your graphics card if you need to. Rotates the card port by 90degrees, very handy in a form factor.
Your Motherboard is your basic foot print, so try and fit everything into a case that is the same size as that (and only 12cm wide!!!) Try it, and if you need more space, just do it little by little. 3D modelling is an advantage here. By the way, 12cm is chosen because it is the size of the fans i recommended.
It can be done, i have built a high performance games machine to 240mm x 150mm x 50mm in the past, and had it on near silent running.
As far as material goes, i have only ever used perspex and aluminium.
Good luck.
Message me if you want some other ideas, i can send you some pics of my work.
:o)
J2GWhat are the basic principles of computer case design?
that is a small hole that you are trying to suck air through if it is making more noise than the fan. If you can you could probably cut a hole on the panel that you can remove to work the the inside of the comuter. My ultra case has a hole in the removable panel right over the cpu heatsink that has a grate over it to filter stuff out.
Check out Vadim computers' website. They have some interesting stuff.
just water-cool it. then you wont need a new case. if you really want to make a new one badly though, metal is probably sturdiest.
You can make your case quiet by changing fans to low noise and fitting noise reduction foam inside the case sides. Always remember airflow is the key so fans should suck in air from the front and blow out the back passing over the motherboard etc on the way.
What materials should i avoid and do you have any recommendations for possible alternative materials. Preferably i would like to make it really interesting, if you have any reference pictures of other mods people have done that would be cool.
Has anyone have any harsh lessons from experience of what i should avoid doing?
Also from what i can tell the main cause of the noise coming from my case is the rush of air, the actual case itself has very little vibration apart from when i put a CD or DVD in the drive.
Thank you in advance for any! help.What are the basic principles of computer case design?
I can help regarding the Thermal aspects of the case design (having done this a few times before proffesionally).
Everyone knows that to keep computer components cool you need 2 elements:
1. Heatsinks (to disapate the heat *increase is surface area*)
2. A ';liquid'; way of removing that disapated heat outside the case (air/water/oil)
Many people have started to experiment with water and oil, but i personally dont trust it, and would stick with air cooling.
Lets start with heat sinks: These can be made of many different materials, but the main two are Aluminium and Copper. Copper is better at disapating heat, due to its properties as a metal. Hence silver and gold are also good fr this, but a little expensive. If you want to disapate heat more efficiently, then use copper heat sinks.
Now yes, you get all these great big heatsinks (like the zalmans etc...) which look really cool, but they take up to much space for a form factor (and they are too noisey) You are better off using a retangular heatsink (remember the more fins there are, and the thinner the fins are, the better the heatsink is at its job. Also the method of creating the fins is also important.
A bonded fin (one which is welded to the base) is not so good. Extruded fins are a bit better. But skiving fins are the best (essentially these are cut into the block of metal, so its properties are least affected). Try looking at www.dynatron-corp.com for some good examples.
So, now you have heatsinks on your components, you need to decide if you want to have lots of little high speed fans or blowers sitting on each one, or whether you leave the little fans off, and go for ';passive'; component cooling. Now thi is normally only advised if you can cool air, then blow it through the case at high speed, and suck it out the other side. but thats noisey and expensive. So i would go for active cooling (but make sure you get low-speed, low noise fans (the bearing used is important but i wont go into bearings today)
NOTE: it is not about how fats the fans spin, it is about how much air they move per second (CFM) A big fan that spins slowly will move more air persecond than a small fan spinning fast.
So get the biggest fans you can.
The more air you move through the case, the better, so make sure you have one sucking air in, and one blowing air out (set them to run at the same speed.) If you have 2 x 12cm fans spinning at less than 1000rpm, then you will hardly even hear the noise they make.
NOTE ON DUST: fans work because the blade cut through the air, and scope it/move it in a direction. If the fan blades are dusty, they will not cut air aswell, and you can decrease the performance by over 50%!!!! Keep your fans clean. Use filters only where absolutely needed.
So, case design... begin by having all your components laid out on a surface (include a PCI graphics card riser) this means you can change the orientation of your graphics card if you need to. Rotates the card port by 90degrees, very handy in a form factor.
Your Motherboard is your basic foot print, so try and fit everything into a case that is the same size as that (and only 12cm wide!!!) Try it, and if you need more space, just do it little by little. 3D modelling is an advantage here. By the way, 12cm is chosen because it is the size of the fans i recommended.
It can be done, i have built a high performance games machine to 240mm x 150mm x 50mm in the past, and had it on near silent running.
As far as material goes, i have only ever used perspex and aluminium.
Good luck.
Message me if you want some other ideas, i can send you some pics of my work.
:o)
J2GWhat are the basic principles of computer case design?
that is a small hole that you are trying to suck air through if it is making more noise than the fan. If you can you could probably cut a hole on the panel that you can remove to work the the inside of the comuter. My ultra case has a hole in the removable panel right over the cpu heatsink that has a grate over it to filter stuff out.
Check out Vadim computers' website. They have some interesting stuff.
just water-cool it. then you wont need a new case. if you really want to make a new one badly though, metal is probably sturdiest.
You can make your case quiet by changing fans to low noise and fitting noise reduction foam inside the case sides. Always remember airflow is the key so fans should suck in air from the front and blow out the back passing over the motherboard etc on the way.
What is a good computer cases/chassis?
i am purchasing a new computer, can you recommend a good computer cases. not too expensive, not too cheapWhat is a good computer cases/chassis?
Have a look at this one:
http://www.gamegiants.net/product_info.p鈥?/a>
Have a look at this one:
http://www.gamegiants.net/product_info.p鈥?/a>
Is the cooling fan on the computer case suppose to blow air in or out?
Does it matter or will one cool better than the other? I want to know that I screwed it on the right way.
Thanks.Is the cooling fan on the computer case suppose to blow air in or out?
Front fan is usually intake, rear or top fan usually exhaust. If there is a side panel fan, it is usually intake also; blowing towards motherboard.
This might be of help (no insults intended):
http://www.overclockers.com/tips1245/Is the cooling fan on the computer case suppose to blow air in or out?
The best form of cooling is to have a fan at the bottom front of the PC sucking air in and one at the top at the back sucking air out.
You also want to ensure that all the cables are neatly tied so that the air can flow unobstructed throught the PC and over the top of the CPU fan.
the processor fan blows the air inside where as smps fan blows the air out ... chck it out which one u are lookin for
It depends which way the fan is meant to go!
The one cooling fan on the power supply sucks air in... so if you are putting ONE extra fan it should blow air out or you'll have 2 fans sucking which means they tend to cancel out.
If you've got lots of fans, I'd guess suck in at the back blow out at the front.
if the fan is in the front or the side, have it blowing in. if it is in the back, have it blowing out
out i think to get the hot air out. not sure tho
The fan will probably work better if you have it sucking air into the PC....or if you have multiple fans just mix it up...like in mine I have 2 fans in the front sucking air in and one 120mm fan in the back blowing air back out. It just causes fresh air flow to help keep the components cool.makeup
Thanks.Is the cooling fan on the computer case suppose to blow air in or out?
Front fan is usually intake, rear or top fan usually exhaust. If there is a side panel fan, it is usually intake also; blowing towards motherboard.
This might be of help (no insults intended):
http://www.overclockers.com/tips1245/Is the cooling fan on the computer case suppose to blow air in or out?
The best form of cooling is to have a fan at the bottom front of the PC sucking air in and one at the top at the back sucking air out.
You also want to ensure that all the cables are neatly tied so that the air can flow unobstructed throught the PC and over the top of the CPU fan.
the processor fan blows the air inside where as smps fan blows the air out ... chck it out which one u are lookin for
It depends which way the fan is meant to go!
The one cooling fan on the power supply sucks air in... so if you are putting ONE extra fan it should blow air out or you'll have 2 fans sucking which means they tend to cancel out.
If you've got lots of fans, I'd guess suck in at the back blow out at the front.
if the fan is in the front or the side, have it blowing in. if it is in the back, have it blowing out
out i think to get the hot air out. not sure tho
The fan will probably work better if you have it sucking air into the PC....or if you have multiple fans just mix it up...like in mine I have 2 fans in the front sucking air in and one 120mm fan in the back blowing air back out. It just causes fresh air flow to help keep the components cool.
Can someone find me a good computer case?
I've been looking through heaps of cases but can't find one I really like, can someone please get me the best case they can find, and give me a link to it.Can someone find me a good computer case?
sure ;)
http://www.testfreaks.com/computer-cases鈥?/a>
http://www.xoxide.com/
check these two !
plus you check it on amazon or ebay
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;here http://global.ebay.com/search?Query=comp鈥?/a>
i hope i helped you .Can someone find me a good computer case?
We'd have to know what kind of hardware you're using to recommend a specific case. Find out which form your motherboard is, and check out newegg for cases that fit your form. You can sort by price or popularity, if either of those are a factor to you.
I like this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as鈥?/a>
we are missing some serious parameters
ebay it dude
I DONT KNOW
www.newegg.com is a good place to start
what are you gonna be putting in it?
sure ;)
http://www.testfreaks.com/computer-cases鈥?/a>
http://www.xoxide.com/
check these two !
plus you check it on amazon or ebay
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;here http://global.ebay.com/search?Query=comp鈥?/a>
i hope i helped you .Can someone find me a good computer case?
We'd have to know what kind of hardware you're using to recommend a specific case. Find out which form your motherboard is, and check out newegg for cases that fit your form. You can sort by price or popularity, if either of those are a factor to you.
I like this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as鈥?/a>
we are missing some serious parameters
ebay it dude
I DONT KNOW
www.newegg.com is a good place to start
what are you gonna be putting in it?
How do I disassemble a laptop computer case?
An error message precedes the booting up of the computer indicating ';PXE-E61 Media Test Failure, Check Cable. The black screen then asks me to insert system disk. I used a boot disk for XP and received additional instructions, but no repair. I want to invistigate all mechanical connections within. Unit has been handled roughly.How do I disassemble a laptop computer case?
you wanna disassemble the laptop
if u do not mean taking everything apart
you should go to the manufacturers site for information specific to your laptop model about procedures to remove the case
since it was handled roughly
it could be a HDD problem
so I would if I were you get a hdd from somewhere and try it on your laptop before anything elseHow do I disassemble a laptop computer case?
use a hammer
Unscrew the screws and open the case. I can't give any more specifics without knowing what make and model laptop.
Though frankly, I think your going about this all wrong. There aren't many ';connections'; inside the laptop. That error your getting is related to PXE booting - and is normal if you don't use RIS or another remote boot service (few if any people who would be asking this question would be using such a system).
Typically, inside the laptop, you have the cables connecting the LCD, and the keyboard and pointing device. That's about it... so if you can type and the screen looks ok, then there's almost certainly nothing wrong inside that you can fix. There's always the possibility an electrical surge burned out a component, but if that's the case, it's very unlikely you'll be able to do anything about that.
There are cards - RAM sticks, possible Modems and Wireless cards, and some graphics cards, but I've never seen a laptop have those come loose - anything is possible, but even if they were lose, you wouldn't be seeing that error - the device simply wouldn't be detected by the laptop.
open all compartments %26amp; look for screws, sometimes they put them under decals, some plastic shells need a speciel tool that releases a clip in little entrance holes around the edges.
try the link below and see if this helps you do what you have to do
They are all different and all not easy. I wouldn't even do it if I were you. But go to your user specs in book that came with computer and you can associate the screws with where the parts are located if you are brave enough to do this. My question is what happens when you get down to the point where the wires connect the base to the screen at the hinges. Might blow it up! I will be interested in others answers.
you wanna disassemble the laptop
if u do not mean taking everything apart
you should go to the manufacturers site for information specific to your laptop model about procedures to remove the case
since it was handled roughly
it could be a HDD problem
so I would if I were you get a hdd from somewhere and try it on your laptop before anything elseHow do I disassemble a laptop computer case?
use a hammer
Unscrew the screws and open the case. I can't give any more specifics without knowing what make and model laptop.
Though frankly, I think your going about this all wrong. There aren't many ';connections'; inside the laptop. That error your getting is related to PXE booting - and is normal if you don't use RIS or another remote boot service (few if any people who would be asking this question would be using such a system).
Typically, inside the laptop, you have the cables connecting the LCD, and the keyboard and pointing device. That's about it... so if you can type and the screen looks ok, then there's almost certainly nothing wrong inside that you can fix. There's always the possibility an electrical surge burned out a component, but if that's the case, it's very unlikely you'll be able to do anything about that.
There are cards - RAM sticks, possible Modems and Wireless cards, and some graphics cards, but I've never seen a laptop have those come loose - anything is possible, but even if they were lose, you wouldn't be seeing that error - the device simply wouldn't be detected by the laptop.
open all compartments %26amp; look for screws, sometimes they put them under decals, some plastic shells need a speciel tool that releases a clip in little entrance holes around the edges.
try the link below and see if this helps you do what you have to do
They are all different and all not easy. I wouldn't even do it if I were you. But go to your user specs in book that came with computer and you can associate the screws with where the parts are located if you are brave enough to do this. My question is what happens when you get down to the point where the wires connect the base to the screen at the hinges. Might blow it up! I will be interested in others answers.
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