[Build Log] Stalker v2.0 - Custom Micro PC build [Complete]

[MEC-777]

39 minutes ago, bear-in-the-air said:

I do like elementary OS, it's rather beautiful and works out of the box better than some other options.

Ubuntu Gnome 15.10 is like that. It's the most stable and user-friendly distro I've used yet. Everything "just works" and I love the Gnome UI.

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, MEC-777 said:

Ubuntu Gnome 15.10 is like that. It's the most stable and user-friendly distro I've used yet. Everything "just works" and I love the Gnome UI.

I'm not a fan of the looks of ubuntu, but whatever floats your goat

[MEC-777]

16 minutes ago, bear-in-the-air said:

I'm not a fan of the looks of ubuntu, but whatever floats your goat

You might want to check out the Gnome desktop UI. It's nothing like the Unity UI that normally comes with Ubuntu. 

 

Ubuntu is the distro, upon which you can have various different GUI's. Unity is the default, which I don't really like either. Then there's KDE, LXDE, Gnome (which is my favorite and is much cleaner/smoother and completely different from Unity), and the list goes on.

 

Main reason I like the Ubuntu distro is because it's so widely used, it's also one of the best supported. 

[Guest]

1 minute ago, MEC-777 said:

You might want to check out the Gnome desktop UI. It's nothing like the Unity UI that normally comes with Ubuntu. 

 

Ubuntu is the distro, upon which you can have various different GUI's. Unity is the default, which I don't really like either. Then there's KDE, LXDE, Gnome (which is my favorite and is much cleaner/smoother and completely different from Unity), and the list goes on.

 

looks nice, I might try it some time. I had it in my head for some reason that ubuntu was gnome by default, but I guess I was wrong.

[MEC-777]

Alright, just finished up applying the Stalker logo. Was a little nerve-racking but my wife helped me out and it came out exactly how I wanted it.  

 

 

(yes, I wanted the letters to be somewhat "splotchy" and messy)

 

 

 

Little hint of things to come in that last photo....

[Heesleemer]

is that a g5/mac pro mod i see?

[Tearass]

I'm trying to visualize the case with a bit of false weathering on the rivets, corners, and the grey bezel.. _{Might be too much.}

[MEC-777]

7 minutes ago, Rumikarimu said:

I'm trying to visualize the case with a bit of false weathering on the rivets, corners, and the grey bezel.. _{Might be too much.}

Thought of doing that, but decided against it in the end. As much as I admire the work and effort that goes into that kind of a paint job, I'm nowhere near that talented to pull it off, lol, and I still prefer the clean painted look in the end anyways.  

[MEC-777]

17 minutes ago, Heesleemer said:

is that a g5/mac pro mod i see?

Maybe... 

[mr.squishy]

It came out wonderfully. I'd say a total success. I look forward to seeing more of your build logs in the future!

[MEC-777]

9 hours ago, mr.squishy said:

It came out wonderfully. I'd say a total success. I look forward to seeing more of your build logs in the future!

Thanks.  

 

How's your project Iota coming along?

[mr.squishy]

7 hours ago, MEC-777 said:

Thanks.  

 

How's your project Iota coming along?

It's on hold for now, school takes priority. I'll come back around to it eventually though.

[Socky]

Dude this is the same case I have! Check out my build its the same case but we have different original specs, mine is the a4000. This is really cool though, keep up the good work.

 

[MEC-777]

23 hours ago, Socky said:

Dude this is the same case I have! Check out my build its the same case but we have different original specs, mine is the a4000. This is really cool though, keep up the good work.

 

Awesome build so far! Subscribed!

 

Looks like you've got a bit more horsepower in yours (and cooling).   

[Retrorockit]

On 11/9/2015 at 0:36 AM, MEC-777 said:

This is the next evolutionary stage of a custom build I did earlier this year; Project Stalker, which you can find the original build log for here: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/365996-build-log-project-stalker-complete/ and my first dive into major custom case modding/building.

 

Been thinking about what to do as my next project and thinking I'd love to try doing some more "heavy" case modding. Was sitting around one day a couple weeks ago, looking at Project Stalker with the side panel off thinking of what could be done to improve this PC. One thing that struck me the most was that there was a considerable amount of wasted open space inside. One of the main functions of Stalker was for it to be a portable PC - easy to carry around. Well, making it much smaller would make it a lot more portable. After spending some time messing around with a tape measure and moving things around, came up with a plan to remove 4.5" from the height and 4" off the depth. The result would be a very small PC 10" tall x 10.5" deep x 6.5" wide.

 

Just a reminder of what this PC actually started out as: 

 

 

Which was then gutted, pained and transformed into this:

 

 

 

Specs have changed a little since the original Stalker was completed and are now as follows:

 

CPU - Pentium G2358 @ 3.8

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-H87N Wifi mITX

Memory - AData XPG 2x4GB 1600

Storage - Hitatchi 400GB 7200 HDD

GPU - Asus GTX 460 1GB GDDR5 DCU-Top (brand spanking new)

PSU - Cooler Master V650 Gold Semi-Modular

 

Just a few quick tags: @mr.squishy @tmcclelland455 @dragoon20005 @AlwaysFSX @Antibull

 

Now, I could have just taken a hack saw, made some marks and started cutting. But this wasn't going to be that simple to pull off. I had to think about how the top, sides, bottom and front/back ends would all "fit together" after cutting sections out. Also had to think about how each section would be fastened to one another. Eventually figured it out (for the most part) and started taping off where to make all the cuts. I wanted to keep the clean face panel which means that has to be cut down as well. Turns out the section with the two 5.25 bay doors and the weird HP drive bay section, could be cut out completely and the rest will line up almost perfectly (at least in theory... lol, we shall see.).

 

 

 

 

 

There are a lot of rivets to be drilled out and precision cuts to be made. Thus, the tools of the trade. Went through about 10 of those little cut-off discs and they aren't cheap, unfortunately. But they are perfect for making thin, straight, controlled cuts in sheet metal.

 

More updates and pics to come soon.... 

 

Thanks for looking. Any tips/suggestions for doing this type of case modding is welcome.  

There are 2 types of nibbler. One that pulls small wide rectangular chips out., and one that make long cuts by pulling out a thin strip of metal. No discs, and no metal dust getting into everything. The first one is good for opening up areas, and making corners. The 2nd one for making long straight cuts.

http://www.digikey.com/catalog/en/partgroup/nibbler-tool/1721?WT.srch=1

http://www.amazon.com/Draper-35748-Expert-255Mm-Nibbler/dp/B0001K9TGU/ref=pd_sim_469_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=31zt784fsPL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=1G15H0VRQ4H6DB37FJ62

[Retrorockit]

On 11/9/2015 at 0:36 AM, MEC-777 said:

This is the next evolutionary stage of a custom build I did earlier this year; Project Stalker, which you can find the original build log for here: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/365996-build-log-project-stalker-complete/ and my first dive into major custom case modding/building.

 

Been thinking about what to do as my next project and thinking I'd love to try doing some more "heavy" case modding. Was sitting around one day a couple weeks ago, looking at Project Stalker with the side panel off thinking of what could be done to improve this PC. One thing that struck me the most was that there was a considerable amount of wasted open space inside. One of the main functions of Stalker was for it to be a portable PC - easy to carry around. Well, making it much smaller would make it a lot more portable. After spending some time messing around with a tape measure and moving things around, came up with a plan to remove 4.5" from the height and 4" off the depth. The result would be a very small PC 10" tall x 10.5" deep x 6.5" wide.

 

Just a reminder of what this PC actually started out as: 

 

 

Which was then gutted, pained and transformed into this:

 

 

 

Specs have changed a little since the original Stalker was completed and are now as follows:

 

CPU - Pentium G2358 @ 3.8

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-H87N Wifi mITX

Memory - AData XPG 2x4GB 1600

Storage - Hitatchi 400GB 7200 HDD

GPU - Asus GTX 460 1GB GDDR5 DCU-Top (brand spanking new)

PSU - Cooler Master V650 Gold Semi-Modular

 

Just a few quick tags: @mr.squishy @tmcclelland455 @dragoon20005 @AlwaysFSX @Antibull

 

Now, I could have just taken a hack saw, made some marks and started cutting. But this wasn't going to be that simple to pull off. I had to think about how the top, sides, bottom and front/back ends would all "fit together" after cutting sections out. Also had to think about how each section would be fastened to one another. Eventually figured it out (for the most part) and started taping off where to make all the cuts. I wanted to keep the clean face panel which means that has to be cut down as well. Turns out the section with the two 5.25 bay doors and the weird HP drive bay section, could be cut out completely and the rest will line up almost perfectly (at least in theory... lol, we shall see.).

 

 

 

 

 

There are a lot of rivets to be drilled out and precision cuts to be made. Thus, the tools of the trade. Went through about 10 of those little cut-off discs and they aren't cheap, unfortunately. But they are perfect for making thin, straight, controlled cuts in sheet metal.

 

More updates and pics to come soon.... 

 

Thanks for looking. Any tips/suggestions for doing this type of case modding is welcome.  

There are 2 types of nibbler. One that pulls small wide rectangular chips out., and one that make long cuts by pulling out a thin strip of metal. No discs, and no metal dust getting into everything. The first one is good for opening up areas, and making corners. The 2nd one for making long straight cuts.

http://www.digikey.com/catalog/en/partgroup/nibbler-tool/1721?WT.srch=1

http://www.amazon.com/Draper-35748-Expert-255Mm-Nibbler/dp/B0001K9TGU/ref=pd_sim_469_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=31zt784fsPL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=1G15H0VRQ4H6DB37FJ62

[MEC-777]

5 minutes ago, Retrorockit said:

There are 2 types of nibbler. One that pulls small wide rectangular chips out., and one that make long cuts by pulling out a thin strip of metal. No discs, and no metal dust getting into everything. The first one is good for opening up areas, and making corners. The 2nd one for making long straight cuts.

http://www.digikey.com/catalog/en/partgroup/nibbler-tool/1721?WT.srch=1

http://www.amazon.com/Draper-35748-Expert-255Mm-Nibbler/dp/B0001K9TGU/ref=pd_sim_469_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=31zt784fsPL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=1G15H0VRQ4H6DB37FJ62

Yeah, I think you already posted this on the last page. But thanks again for the suggestions. Will definitely look into getting one of those for future projects.

 

Also, just so you know, the nest time you quote someone's post with a lot of pictures, you should delete the pictures from the post. Makes it easier for people with slower internet connections and saves us from having to scroll past them.  

[Retrorockit]

You mentioned getting a Dremel. There is a cable drive attachment that let's you get into tighter places than the tool can go. With the PSU out I've run the cable in there and can reach most of the inside of the case.

I wonder how many peripherals like speakers you could build into it. Subwoofer out the back and midrange speaker out each side? Smartphone for wireless keyboard stuck in the top?

 

Sorry about the photos. I'm new here and didn't see them when I was entering text in the box. I guess I didn't preview.

[MEC-777]

5 minutes ago, Retrorockit said:

You mentioned getting a Dremel. There is a cable drive attachment that let's you get into tighter places than the tool can go. With the PSU out I've run the cable in there and can reach most of the inside of the case.

I wonder how many peripherals like speakers you could build into it. Subwoofer out the back and midrange speaker out each side? Smartphone for wireless keyboard stuck in the top?

Yeah, I have the right-angle attachment you're referring to for my rotary tool and a Dremel quick-release cutting disc attachment as well. With this I can get in to very close and tight spaces quite well. The Dremel cutting discs seem to work a lot better than the cheap ones I was using before. They last a lot longer and put off much less dust. 

 

[Retrorockit]

You mentioned getting a Dremel. There is a cable drive attachment that let's you get into tighter places than the tool can go. With the PSU out I've run the cable in there and can reach most of the inside of the case.

I wonder how many peripherals like speakers you could build into it. Subwoofer out the back and midrange speaker out each side? Smartphone for wireless keyboard stuck in the top?

 

The cable is about 3 feet long and has a working end about the size of a Sharpie.

[MEC-777]

11 minutes ago, Retrorockit said:

You mentioned getting a Dremel. There is a cable drive attachment that let's you get into tighter places than the tool can go. With the PSU out I've run the cable in there and can reach most of the inside of the case.

I wonder how many peripherals like speakers you could build into it. Subwoofer out the back and midrange speaker out each side? Smartphone for wireless keyboard stuck in the top?

 

The cable is about 3 feet long and has a working end about the size of a Sharpie.

Ah ok, now I know what you mean. Something like this: 

 

Yeah, that could definitely come in handy! 

 

Don't think I could fit any speakers or anything else into this build. It's pretty small now and there isn't much space left.  

[Retrorockit]

It will hold cutting discs also, not just dentist tools.