Most Powerful PSU -sort of...

PixelSpielkind · July 16, 2021

..Is that a Corsair PSU on your desk? Is that on Purpose or are you too stupid to Build a PC

The Start
It all started with an Asrock Deskmini X300 small Form Factor PC - Nice Mini but Powerful "Workstation"

The Hardware
The X300 has a rather boring case, but Support AM4 APUs with up to 65W, two M.2 NVME Slots, two SATA 3 Ports - and ONE optional RGB-Strip
It was equipped with:

Asrock X300M-STX Mainboard
AMD Ryzen 7 4750G APU (8-Core/16 Threads and VEGA Graphics)
Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 Cooler
2x16GB Crucial DDR4 SODIMM (running at 3400 MHz)
2x 1 TB NVME M.2 SSDs (Samsung / Sandisk)
2 TB Samsung 2,5" SSD.

The Idea

Don´t ask me how I got the Idea to compare them, but one day I saw that the measurements of a standard ATX PSU and the Asrock X300 were almost identical - so what could possibly go wrong . So I bought a defective Corsair RM 750x PSU on eBay and started - With a small battery powered Dremel, a 3D-Printer and no Idea if it would work out.

The Build - New Gadgets
Instead of the one supported LED-Strip form Asrock, I wanted to be a little more flexible on the RGB-Side - So I used a QL140 Corsair Case Fan and the iCUE Lighting node Core.

First Issue:
Damn you Corsair - Why did you use a 135mm Fan on the PSU and not a 140mm one... That was Hard without the right tools to "drill" the correct holes for the QL140 Fan

Second Issue:
The RGB-Controller needs SATA Power: No Issue with a standard Case, but this one does not have any Power Cables and an external PSU for the Mainboard. So now I have a PC within a PSU-Case which is Powered by 2 external PSUs - one for the Computer itself and one for the RGB :D.

Third Issue:
Space Requirements and Heat: The M.2 on the Top of the Mainboard has a Heatsink but the one below the Mainboard and the 2,5" SSD might need some fresh air too, that´s why there is an Noctua 40mm Fan - oh and to be able to add a second "2,5 Inch" SSD later, I opened the Samsung SSD and threw away the case (and the warranty obviously) - funny how small a 2 TB SSD is without the housing..

Fourth Issue:
Front IO - The Mainboard has front I/O directly on the Board. With my Tools (and lack of talent), I would not have had ANY chance of cutting clean and precise holes for these in the Front of the Case. So the funny solution was: Buying some short adapter Cables from Asia and designing and Printing an adapter. Now you can connect USB-C, USB and Audio where you would originally plug in the Power Cable. And the Power Switch is also the original one. But it does not really "switch" anymore. Still you can turn Computer on with it (the original Power Button is behind it)... Due to the Adapter Cables, I needed to move the Mainboard a few Millimeters back, so it did not fit 100% IN the Case. And I needed to Print a new Backplate

The Fun-Prints

Instead of the original metall Fan Grill, I 3D-Printed one with the Corsair Logo. I did not really had an Idea for the side where all the modular Cables were plugged in before.... but a Colleague of mine gave me the Idea to use PacMan as a Theme there as well to cover the Holes. So I 3D-Printed a PacMan Grid and glued some white dust filter behind. And since the QL140 FAN has 2 Individual adressable LED-Rings I can even Light the Back Corsair Font and the Pacman Side almost individually with the bottom Ring. Oh and did I mention? The Ghosts and PacMan above my Desk are controlled via Corsair´s iCUE Software too, since the RGB-Controller has the first 3 connectors facing the Back of the Computer, so I can connect LEDs externally

As my first every CaseMod, I´m happy...

Sure - I would have done some things differently in retrospect. But I can´t just buy more defective PSUs and continue the "trial and error"-Modding . AND this is my main Computer for Lightroom, Photoshop and some Light Gaming. It still manages Forza Horizon 4 in medium-ish FullHD Details with about 50 FPS - and apart from that, i don´t have any options anyway, since there´s no PCIe Slot

TetraSky · July 16, 2021

You built a freaking PC inside a PSU enclosure!?

God damn. The rear IO could certainly do with some extra work, but overall, it looks nice.

PixelSpielkind · July 16, 2021

3 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

You built a freaking PC inside a PSU enclosure!?

God damn. The rear IO could certainly do with some extra work, but overall, it looks nice.

Thanks... yeah the Rear I/O still needs some work, I agree...

Spotty · July 16, 2021

8 minutes ago, PixelSpielkind said:

Damn you Corsair - Why did you use a 135mm Fan on the PSU and not a 140mm one... That was Hard without the right tools to "drill" the correct holes for the QL140 Fan

Patent issues. Another company has a patent on using 140mm fans in PSUs, so 135mm fans are standard for power supplies.

Was there a reason you didn't rotate the motherboard 90 degrees so the motherboard rear IO is where the PSU modular panel is?

Nice build though! @jonnyGURU might get a kick out of it.

BondiBlue · July 16, 2021

Do you realize how seriously impressive this is? It's unreal!

Downkey · July 16, 2021

Not the RMX850? Disappointing...

But seriously, build looks exceptional, great creativity!

PixelSpielkind · July 16, 2021

1 minute ago, Spotty said:

Patent issues. Another company has a patent on using 140mm fans in PSUs, so 135mm fans are standard for power supplies.

Was there a reason you didn't rotate the motherboard 90 degrees so the motherboard rear IO is where the PSU modular panel is?

Nice build though! @jonnyGURU might get a kick out of it.

Oh that´s why they´re using 135mm, I see...
Rotating wouldn´t really have worked, the Rear I/O would not fit in the holes of the modular Panel. So I would have needed to do some cuts to fit... and on the Front I/O would have been at the grill on the Side, which would have required additional cuts... I thought it looks much cleaner with the Clear Front and the Front I/O fitted within the Power-Connector..

PixelSpielkind · July 16, 2021

5 minutes ago, Downkey said:

Not the RMX850? Disappointing...

But seriously, build looks exceptional, great creativity!

Well.. It was just a matter of "Which one I could get as a defective Device at eBay" I didn´t want to buy an expensive new one just to rip it apart...

Spotty · July 16, 2021

25 minutes ago, PixelSpielkind said:

Rotating wouldn´t really have worked, the Rear I/O would not fit in the holes of the modular Panel. So I would have needed to do some cuts to fit... and on the Front I/O would have been at the grill on the Side, which would have required additional cuts... I thought it looks much cleaner with the Clear Front and the Front I/O fitted within the Power-Connector..

I was thinking if you had access to someone with a laser cutter you could cut out a thin piece of aluminium or steel with the rear I/O layout to replace the existing panel where the PSU modular panel is.

The width of the ATX PSU is standard (150mm wide) but the length isn't. The RM750x 2018 is 160mm long. You can get PSUs that are a little longer, like the original RM750x is a little longer at 180mm length if you did need extra room. (Not actually suggesting you replace it, just noting it if you ever decide to make another).

But the problem would still be the front I/O. I can see why that would be an issue. Since you're using adapters to route it to where the power switch/plug were (super cool idea by the way!) You could still route the front panel I/O via the extension cables there with the board rotated, providing it doesn't interfere with anything else and the cables are long enough.

Sorry if it seems like I'm nitpicking, I really like what you did and I'm really interested in it.

51 minutes ago, PixelSpielkind said:

Third Issue:
Space Requirements and Heat: The M.2 on the Top of the Mainboard has a Heatsink but the one below the Mainboard and the 2,5" SSD might need some fresh air too, that´s why there is an Noctua 40mm Fan - oh and to be able to add a second "2,5 Inch" SSD later, I opened the Samsung SSD and threw away the case (and the warranty obviously) - funny how small a 2 TB SSD is without the housing

Would it be possible to mount the SSD vertical on the side of the wall of the PSU opposite of where the rear I/O is instead of under the motherboard? Have the SATA connector side facing down so you could still route the cable under the motherboard tray. That way the main fan could provide cooling to the SSD as well without needing the extra 40mm fan.

Any photos of the motherboard installed without the PSU enclosure sealed? I'm curious to see how tight a fit the motherboard is in there

Edited July 16, 2021 by Spotty

Tristerin · July 16, 2021

bruh

This is amazing.

PixelSpielkind · July 16, 2021

14 minutes ago, Spotty said:

I was thinking if you had access to someone with a laser cutter you could cut out a thin piece of aluminium or steel with the rear I/O layout to replace the existing panel where the PSU modular panel is.

The width of the ATX PSU is standard (150mm wide) but the length isn't. The RM750x 2018 is 160mm long. You can get PSUs that are a little longer, like the original RM750x is a little longer at 180mm length if you did need extra room. (Not actually suggesting you replace it, just noting it if you ever decide to make another).

But the problem would still be the front I/O. I can see why that would be an issue. Since you're using adapters to route it to where the power switch/plug were (super cool idea by the way!) You could still route the front panel I/O via the extension cables there with the board rotated, providing it doesn't interfere with anything else and the cables are long enough.

Sorry if it seems like I'm nitpicking, I really like what you did and I'm really interested in it.

Would it be possible to mount the SSD vertical on the side of the wall of the PSU opposite of where the rear I/O is instead of under the motherboard? Have the SATA connector side facing down so you could still route the cable under the motherboard tray. That way the main fan could provide cooling to the SSD as well without needing the extra 40mm fan.

Any photos of the motherboard installed without the PSU enclosure sealed? I'm curious to see how tight a fit the motherboard is in there

@Spotty

Well I have been looking for other PSUs which are Slighty bigger and don´t just look like a "box", I´ve seen that Corsair has some bigger ones, but there are not as many defective ones on ebay (whic probably speaks for Corsair Quality :D), so I bought what I could get without paying a premium

Laser Cutter was my first thought on the PacMan Side Panel - I guess If I´d knew someone with that kind of Gear I would have rethought some decisions - not neccessarily the PowerPlug I/O Idea though... But on the other Hand - the Board would probably have fitted within 1 mm in the Case, If I´d just done some Front IO cutouts...

The SATA Connector is using a flat custom connector which includes Power and Data and Asrock provides 2 Cables, which are not really long, so you´re not THAT flexible when it comes to positioning the SSD (and there´s not really space for extension cables.... But there´s no space to mount them vertically anyway...

I´ve just open the Case and took some pictures... there´s not that much space left Unfortunately, even the Adpater Cables for the Front I/O took more space than I thought, but these were the only ones I could find where I could specify length and Orientation of the 90 degree Angles connectors ... For the Headphone Connection I´ve used the Mainboard Connector instead of the Front I/O. Which mean I´m missing the Microphone - But I´m using an external Audio Interface Anyway...

Spotty · July 16, 2021

Looking at those internal pics there's less available room on the sides than I expected. Plus if the SSD was mounted to the side vertically it would be a pain every time you open the psu enclosure as you'd have to unplug the drive to take the fan/panel off.

You did well to use all of the space available.

Thanks for the extra photos, looks even better showing off the internals assembled like that.

ivycomb · July 16, 2021

2 hours ago, PixelSpielkind said:

..Is that a Corsair PSU on your desk? Is that on Purpose or are you too stupid to Build a PC

The Start
It all started with an Asrock Deskmini X300 small Form Factor PC - Nice Mini but Powerful "Workstation"

The Hardware
The X300 has a rather boring case, but Support AM4 APUs with up to 65W, two M.2 NVME Slots, two SATA 3 Ports - and ONE optional RGB-Strip
It was equipped with:

Asrock X300M-STX Mainboard

AMD Ryzen 7 4750G APU (8-Core/16 Threads and VEGA Graphics)

Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 Cooler

2x16GB Crucial DDR4 SODIMM (running at 3400 MHz)

2x 1 TB NVME M.2 SSDs (Samsung / Sandisk)

2 TB Samsung 2,5" SSD.

The Idea

Don´t ask me how I got the Idea to compare them, but one day I saw that the measurements of a standard ATX PSU and the Asrock X300 were almost identical - so what could possibly go wrong . So I bought a defective Corsair RM 750x PSU on eBay and started - With a small battery powered Dremel, a 3D-Printer and no Idea if it would work out.

The Build - New Gadgets
Instead of the one supported LED-Strip form Asrock, I wanted to be a little more flexible on the RGB-Side - So I used a QL140 Corsair Case Fan and the iCUE Lighting node Core.

First Issue:
Damn you Corsair - Why did you use a 135mm Fan on the PSU and not a 140mm one... That was Hard without the right tools to "drill" the correct holes for the QL140 Fan

Second Issue:
The RGB-Controller needs SATA Power: No Issue with a standard Case, but this one does not have any Power Cables and an external PSU for the Mainboard. So now I have a PC within a PSU-Case which is Powered by 2 external PSUs - one for the Computer itself and one for the RGB :D.

Third Issue:
Space Requirements and Heat: The M.2 on the Top of the Mainboard has a Heatsink but the one below the Mainboard and the 2,5" SSD might need some fresh air too, that´s why there is an Noctua 40mm Fan - oh and to be able to add a second "2,5 Inch" SSD later, I opened the Samsung SSD and threw away the case (and the warranty obviously) - funny how small a 2 TB SSD is without the housing..

Fourth Issue:
Front IO - The Mainboard has front I/O directly on the Board. With my Tools (and lack of talent), I would not have had ANY chance of cutting clean and precise holes for these in the Front of the Case. So the funny solution was: Buying some short adapter Cables from Asia and designing and Printing an adapter. Now you can connect USB-C, USB and Audio where you would originally plug in the Power Cable. And the Power Switch is also the original one. But it does not really "switch" anymore. Still you can turn Computer on with it (the original Power Button is behind it)... Due to the Adapter Cables, I needed to move the Mainboard a few Millimeters back, so it did not fit 100% IN the Case. And I needed to Print a new Backplate

The Fun-Prints

Instead of the original metall Fan Grill, I 3D-Printed one with the Corsair Logo. I did not really had an Idea for the side where all the modular Cables were plugged in before.... but a Colleague of mine gave me the Idea to use PacMan as a Theme there as well to cover the Holes. So I 3D-Printed a PacMan Grid and glued some white dust filter behind. And since the QL140 FAN has 2 Individual adressable LED-Rings I can even Light the Back Corsair Font and the Pacman Side almost individually with the bottom Ring. Oh and did I mention? The Ghosts and PacMan above my Desk are controlled via Corsair´s iCUE Software too, since the RGB-Controller has the first 3 connectors facing the Back of the Computer, so I can connect LEDs externally

As my first every CaseMod, I´m happy...

Sure - I would have done some things differently in retrospect. But I can´t just buy more defective PSUs and continue the "trial and error"-Modding . AND this is my main Computer for Lightroom, Photoshop and some Light Gaming. It still manages Forza Horizon 4 in medium-ish FullHD Details with about 50 FPS - and apart from that, i don´t have any options anyway, since there´s no PCIe Slot