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Planning Project: OSIDIAS (SFF taken to the extreme)

Cold Storm

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Long time no post!! Glad to see that stuff is coming in man!! really glad! can't wait to see it all come in and off to modding! nice stuff! Looks like what MK was getting for his set up...
 

YinYang.ERROR

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Wow... that is the best lanbox design I have ever seen.
 

craigbru

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Long time no post!! Glad to see that stuff is coming in man!! really glad! can't wait to see it all come in and off to modding! nice stuff! Looks like what MK was getting for his set up...

Lol, yeah, it has been a little while. Things have been a little hectic around home, but I think I'm finally caught up now. The carbon fiber should be exactly like what Mark is getting. He even bought it from the same supplier.

Wow... that is the best lanbox design I have ever seen.

Thanks man! That is mighty high praise indeed!
 

Cold Storm

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Lol, yeah, it has been a little while. Things have been a little hectic around home, but I think I'm finally caught up now. The carbon fiber should be exactly like what Mark is getting. He even bought it from the same supplier.

Hey, I'm glad that everything is good now man. Glad to hear it!
 

craigbru

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Hey, I'm glad that everything is good now man. Glad to hear it!

I'm actually ready for the cooler weather. I know some hate the thought of winter, but it's really the best time for me to mod. It's too freaking cold to do anything else!
 

Cold Storm

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I'm actually ready for the cooler weather. I know some hate the thought of winter, but it's really the best time for me to mod. It's too freaking cold to do anything else!

ME, I can spend hours and hours in the work deep freezer working in there... I guess it's because I love being quite.. But I do love the cold weather. TO bad, I live in a Tropical Climate... lol
 

craigbru

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Now, this is completely off-topic, but how many of you have visited my site lately? Not only is it always updated first, but I posted about an upcoming experiment... I'm getting set up to do live streaming from the workshop. I'm not entirely sure how successful it might be. Heck, it might even be a complete distraction. I thought it sounded like fun though. For now, I'll send out messages via my @craigbru twitter account when I stream. My plan is to be tested and tweaked in time for the beginning of this project. Stay tuned!
 
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ignorant n00b question, what is the picoITX for? btw yes I have visited your site briefly. it gives me visions of my life descending into an orgy of compulsive modding
 

craigbru

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ignorant n00b question, what is the picoITX for? btw yes I have visited your site briefly. it gives me visions of my life descending into an orgy of compulsive modding

There's no such thing as an ignorant question man! ;)

The pico-itx is used as a secondary system. In my last mod, I used it as a dedicated file server. In OSIDIAS, it will have multiple roles. It will be a file server, as well as being dedicated to control and monitoring of the main system. The touch screen on the front belongs to the pico. Fan speeds, temps, HD space, CPU usage, lighting, and even main system power and shutdown will be controlled and monitored by the pico.

As far as the orgy of compulsive modding... just give in and do it!
 

CyberDruid

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I gotta get some render experience. Is that Solidworks?
 

craigbru

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I gotta get some render experience. Is that Solidworks?

The images were rendered by my friend Dark~3nergy at bit-tech. To be honest, I don't recall what he used to render them. I've used Kerkythea and the render engine in Shark FX myself, but I'm pretty noob at it.
 
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The pico-itx is used as a secondary system. In my last mod, I used it as a dedicated file server. In OSIDIAS, it will have multiple roles. It will be a file server, as well as being dedicated to control and monitoring of the main system. The touch screen on the front belongs to the pico. Fan speeds, temps, HD space, CPU usage, lighting, and even main system power and shutdown will be controlled and monitored by the pico.

Wow, just thinking of trying to set all that stuff up gives me nightmares. How will you network it to the main system? What OS will it run? Do they both run off the same power supply?
 

craigbru

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Wow, just thinking of trying to set all that stuff up gives me nightmares. How will you network it to the main system? What OS will it run? Do they both run off the same power supply?

It will be networked internally via USB ethernet, and I plan on running Win 7 assuming it plays nice with the Via hardware. Otherwise it's going to be running good ol' XP as it is now. It's really a great candidate for Linux, but software compatibility issues arise...

I'll have an Aqua Computer Aquaero and multiswitch that are handling most of the monitoring and switching duties. Both systems will be run off the main PSU. This will allow the watercooling system to run separately of the the main system.
 
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Hmmm sounds cool, OK I'll take your word for it.

(off topic - sorry) Regarding running XP on the Via board, my Via nano-ITX board is on its way and planning to load up XP initially, anything I need to watch out for, driver issues that you may have had, etc? (see my sega P-log)
 

craigbru

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Installing XP was pretty straight forward. I just grabbed the newest drivers from Via's site, and was good to go. You don't need to go to any other vendor site, so that's convenient.
 

craigbru

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Despite the lack of 'real' work done on this project, I've still been collecting a steady stream of parts. One of the most anticipated of these parts arrived in a box from Aqua Computer in Germany. Inside was the electronic heart of OSIDIAS. These parts will be responsible for monitoring almost every electrical aspect of the case. From fan speeds, to temp monitoring, to lighting, and even powering up and down. Although I've got much detailed planning to do to make this all happen, I'm looking forward to the challenge.

So, what did I get? Here are all the parts laid out for inspection.



One of the most critical parts, is this Multiswitch. It is controlled via USB through the Aquasuite software. This will be the electrical switching station for anything having on/off requirements. The lighting would be a good example of this.



Next up is the new Aquacover for the DDC pump. All specs aside, it was just too damn good looking not to throw in the system.



Now we have the new flow sensor and inline temperature sensor. Both of these parts are very high flow, and low restriction.



And finally, we have a VFD Aquaero. This is really the brains of the operation. Everything starts here. All monitoring and control runs through here and the Aquasuite software via USB. The Aquaero will be linked to the secondary Via pico-itx system, and a touchscreen LCD. These components working together will allow seamless and automated system control and monitoring.



One last thing worth mentioning, is the Powerbooster modification made to the Aquaero. This addition is a special cooling block and a small hardware modification of the Aquaero which will allow you to use a Laing pump on fan channel 1. The other three channels will be able to handle 15W instead of 10W. This increases the available overall power to 45W. It's more than enough in my case.



Now, to go play with some hardware...
 
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Damn, that stuff looks pricey! But very high quality. I take it with the software evrything is programmable through the multiswitch? Maybe you can have the lights go on when it reaches a certain temperature stuff like that? I like...

BTW, I did what you said and downloaded the VIA drivers, had some issues initially but I think that was to do with service pack installations so I tried again and it all worked the second time, took some messing around to get widescreen res going (had me worried for a while! no widescreen = shit!) but all good in the end. And I am rather surpised just how capable the VIA C7 system is, all round very responsive and great media playback
 

Cold Storm

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Looking good man! I'm going to have to shoot ya a pm on the multiswitch.

:respect:

Can't wait for it to start coming together.

:toast:
 

craigbru

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There's a funny thing that happens when you are planning a project way longer than you had anticipated. Changes. Changes happen. Many changes actually. Although I've stood by the basic form factor I had first envisioned, things have been in a constantly evolving state. A tweak here, a tweak there, in the ongoing pursuit of perfection. Every last detail is being planned and thought out in advance. Just when I think I've got it nailed, another idea pops in to my head, and I'm revising again. Now, I can't keep this up forever, and I'll soon have to commit to a design plan, but until that happens I'm going to have a little fun.

So why the rambling intro? Well, I've got another idea. This one is slightly more costly, slightly more unique, and way more insane. In fact, this sort of thing wouldn't even have been very economically feasible even a year or two ago. What sort of thing am I referring to? UMPC's... Yes, why stop at 2 systems in a single machine, when you can have 3. Do I have your attention now?

Here's what I'm thinking... As OSIDIAS stands right now, I've already got a 7" touchscreen on the front. This screen was to act as the control interface for the pico-itx system, which in turn monitors and controls almost every aspect of the main system. If I replace that touchscreen with a UMPC linked via a wireless connection to the pico, I can retain the same functionality through software. The biggest advantage then, is the ability to remove the UMPC and control the system remotely. On top of that, I've got still got all the original functions of the UMPC itself. Overkill? Nah, there's no such thing! So, stay tuned for updates as the plan gets revised and implemented. Insanity has reached a new level...

I suppose you want to see the UMPC I plan on using, huh? :D



http://www.myviliv.com/eng/product/x70ex.asp
 

craigbru

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I really need to make an update here! The Viliv has arrived, and I'll be doing a video review of it shortly. In the meantime, I've been playing with other ideas. You see, with the addition of the UMPC for system monitoring, I needed a reliable way to relay information to it. I have been toying with bluetooth, but have a 2 device limit on networking them. So, wi-fi was the next obvious choice. That brought it's own set of issues. The pico must always be on and networked, the main system may not always be, and the Viliv must also always be networked. I also want to ensure the Viliv and pico always have internet access. Not that big of a deal, right? Well, Samurize needs static IP's for relaying information, and while that is great for home use, what about when I go to a LAN? The IP's are subject to change, and that would throw everything off.

So, what's the fix? How do I get static IP's? The easiest way is to use an access point, in this case, a wireless one. Everything is wireless capable anyway, so I can assign each adapter it's own IP, and they won't change regardless of where the system goes. That's where this comes in to play... It's the smallest AP available.



Okay, with that out of the way, I have 3 devices inside of OSIDIAS that need ethernet connections. The main system, the pico, and the access point. That leaves the need for a switch. This unit from Bytecc is the absolute smallest I could find. Everything must be internal!



Believe it or not, I've found room for both of those components inside the case without inhibiting airflow... When I get a chance I'll get some updated pics posted. Stay tuned!
 

craigbru

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I had a little time over the weekend, so I thought I'd make something special for everyone that has been following this project. This is a video walkthrough of OSIDIAS. It explains how some of the components fit together, and I cover some of the design basics. Although I've left out a few details, I think you'll understand the project a little better. Enjoy!

http://www.vimeo.com/8832516
 

Bo$$

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very nice
 
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It will be networked internally via USB ethernet, and I plan on running Win 7 assuming it plays nice with the Via hardware. Otherwise it's going to be running good ol' XP as it is now. It's really a great candidate for Linux, but software compatibility issues arise...

I'll have an Aqua Computer Aquaero and multiswitch that are handling most of the monitoring and switching duties. Both systems will be run off the main PSU. This will allow the watercooling system to run separately of the the main system.

I dunno what chipset it is, but my old Jetway VIA C7 board was perfectly supported by win7. Much better than by winXP.

(and yes, this is a sneaky way of saying "subscribed")
 

craigbru

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I dunno what chipset it is, but my old Jetway VIA C7 board was perfectly supported by win7. Much better than by winXP.

(and yes, this is a sneaky way of saying "subscribed")

Although this thread isn't that long, I posted that quite some time ago. I did install W7 on the pico, and it did indeed tun very well. Amazingly well, as a matter of fact. I did run in to a few issues with the MIMO touch screen drivers however, and had to revert back to XP. I've since ditched the MIMO for the Viliv UMPC and it's changed my whole internal network idea. So, I'll likely switch it back to W7.

(Thanks for subscribing!)
 
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