Cuzza's Sega SC-3000H Nano-ITX Mod

[Cuzza]

a couple of pics if anyone is interested

keyboard with no stupid stickers, also rearranged some keys into more standard layout:

and here is the key matrix sheet, someone said it is reminiscent of a golf course, i'm not so sure

 

[morpha]

Youve got M and N around the wrong way in that picture.

 

[Cuzza]

oops, f*ck, i thought I would probably get some keys wrong when i put it back together! good spotting

 

[Mark_Hardware]

lmao

 

[Cuzza]

Had another idea.

See this hole in the side of the case? That's the cartridge slot. I was going to leave it open for cabling access (specifically network cable) but I think what would be better would be to get a small wireless mouse that slots in there, and can live there as part of the computer.

So I went searching and found this on ebay

This mouse is the perfect dimensions to slot into that hole. I imagine it is a shit mouse, but that's what you get from no-name chinese manufacturers. Should be good enough for my purposes.

So if anyone has seen a similar product let me know just so I can have some options. It has to be less that 24mm (1 inch) tall and less than 88mm (3 1/2 inch) long. width no big deal.

Quick update on the other bits, track-and-trace says my package in in NZ customs. Almost here!!

 

[MKmods]

good idea...
I wanted to say thanks again for inspiring me to do this to the Vic-20. (mine just showed up today) Lucky for me the Vic-20 is a thicker housing so there is more room to hide parts.

 

[Cuzza]

np dude. Are you going to be keeping a log on here for the vic-20 project?

 

[Cuzza]

New parts! Exciting....... !!!

Got a package today all the way from California:

After paying NZ customs $56 tax! Grrrrr /tax gripe

Anyway, must be worth it because here is my swish new Via Nano-ITX board

Here's the pico-PSU

Got it all hooked up, and installing XP

So it all works fine. Now just need to fit it all in the Sega case, going to be tricky. The heatsink needs to undergo some serious mods.

Only thing that is annoying me is that I found out now that this board doesn't do widescreen resolutions! What is that about? I just naively assumed it would. Thanks a lot Via, time to get with the program.

 

[MKmods]

Nice job on getting the new mobo, I have a similar Pico PS as well and its amazing how well it works for being so small.

np dude. Are you going to be keeping a log on here for the vic-20 project?

after I get the CF and get the Qpack mod done I will do a log on the Vic-20 (finish yours first)

 

[Cuzza]

lol, yes I have been procrastinating!

I've been searching around, looks like I can mod the BIOS on the Via board to get widescreen, I'm pretty sketchy about doing it though, so that can definitely wait. Don't want to brick my brand new board.

Got some more pics to show but TPU image hosting seems to be playing up? might try again later.

Also, going to have to choose between the integrated-mouse idea and putting the power brick inside the case. What do you reckon?

 

[m4gicfour]

Well, looks like you've made some progress since I last checked in

I've been randomly looking around the house for that old sega joystick-adapter I mentioned way back when and I can't find it, sorry. Come to think of it, I may have given it away when I gave my Sega Master Systems (x2) and my Genesis W/32X away.

Oh well. Its not like its hard to build or buy that sort of thing so if you really did want something like that I'm sure you could work it.

 

[Cuzza]

more pics

so I had to make a mess of the heatsink so it would fit. here's the underside, nice chewing gum under there, thanks for that crap via, soon to be replaced with arctic silver.

here's the naked board

After a lot of dicking around with pliers and angle grinder I managed to mangle it into this:

looks like this installed:

freakin ugly but oh well, can't see it while you're driving.

I maxed out ATItool to get some heat into it, seems to cope OK.replacing the thermal pads probably made up for loss of surface area and less favourable fan placement....

BTW, i got average 17 FPS on the 3dview on ATItool, S3 unichrome FTL!

Fantastic news! I can get widescreen resolutions afterall, just had to disable the mini-LCD output, which I'm not using anyway. Should probably share this finding with other suckers on the Via forums who thought they had the same problem... or maybe let them suffer lol

 

[1Kurgan1]

Looking good, but when you reapply Thermal Paste go with something diff than AS5, that eventually will wear out and need to be replaced. MX-2 or OCZ Freeze are both good, but not sure on prices where you are at.

 

[MKmods]

Also, going to have to choose between the integrated-mouse idea and putting the power brick inside the case. What do you reckon?

Honestly I wont know what I will do till I do it (im not much of a planning kind of guy)

Looking good, but when you reapply Thermal Paste go with something diff than AS5, that eventually will wear out and need to be replaced. MX-2 or OCZ Freeze are both good, but not sure on prices where you are at.

+1, I havent tried it yet but I got a tube of MX-3 the other day, If ur gonna get one look for it

BTW, i got average 17 FPS on the 3dview on ATItool, S3 unichrome FTL!

While the intergrated video on the Intel/Atom mobo I have is ok for surfing and barely ok for Netflix I wish I had waited a bit and got better onboard graphics. I am thinking of getting a 9500GT (PCI) but havent decided if its worth close to $100

 

[Mark_Hardware]

Looking good, man, nice hardware! Makes me impatient to get my stuff. cept I wont be using mini itx after all

 

[erocker]

I like the bent-up heatsink. You could lightly sandblast it to make it look nice, but yeah it really doesn't matter. Looking good!

 

[Cuzza]

Looking good, but when you reapply Thermal Paste go with something diff than AS5, that eventually will wear out and need to be replaced. MX-2 or OCZ Freeze are both good, but not sure on prices where you are at.

Wear out? Why? How soon? How bad will it get? Obviously I haven't had much experience with different thermal pastes, it was the only one I could find locally. I think I have some generic stuff somewhere that shipped with on old Athlon I bought a while back, would that be better?

Developments: Decided not to bother with the mini-mouse idea, can't be bothered ordering it in from China, and it would be a shit mouse anyway.

@erocker, I don't have the equipment for that, hell I don't have any equipment. I really need a Dremel. could have made the heatsink look respectable if i'd cut it with a precision tool rather than my stone age methods

@MK, nah I don't think it would be worth it for the 9500, id say put that towards a better motherboard

 

[Cuzza]

We're rocking along now



Today's mission was to mount the motherboard. I had to go to the local recycling centre where I found some plastic cupboard handles.

I cut a slice of these to make some feet for the motherboard to stand on, and glued them to the case.

Here it is mounted

I had a good time routing the IDE cable under the board, it looks very good IMHO

So once I plugged everything in I started finding several clearance issues, the killer problem was the mobo power connector which jutted up too high.

Solution? pull the plastic connector right off the board, because it is only a shroud for the pins, and the plug will slot directly onto it. Also get ghetto and slice some plastic out of the top so the wires come out more laterally. This saves about 5mm in height (damn should have taken a "before" pic!)

After a lot of cocking about I managed to get the picoPSU and the HDD in position to clear the underside of the keyboard:

So all is going to plan. The major item left is cutting the case to fit USB, VGA and PS2 plugs, and fitting the power brick. Stay tuned.....

 

[h3llb3nd4]

wow, going as planned I see
nice work cuzza

 

[Mussels]

Wear out? Why? How soon? How bad will it get? Obviously I haven't had much experience with different thermal pastes, it was the only one I could find locally. I think I have some generic stuff somewhere that shipped with on old Athlon I bought a while back, would that be better?

Developments: Decided not to bother with the mini-mouse idea, can't be bothered ordering it in from China, and it would be a shit mouse anyway.

@erocker, I don't have the equipment for that, hell I don't have any equipment. I really need a Dremel. could have made the heatsink look respectable if i'd cut it with a precision tool rather than my stone age methods

@MK, nah I don't think it would be worth it for the 9500, id say put that towards a better motherboard

AS5 lasts several years

i cant recall exactly when it was, but i built a PC back when i went to london (2005 i beleive) with AS5 and that AS5 has dried up in the last few months - that poor athlonXP runs at 65C idle now and i'm having to show a girl how to regrease her CPU over webcam.

you should look at a laptop touchpad or a trackball

 

[MKmods]

Nice work making the wiring lower profile

 

[Cuzza]

At this rate I'll have it done in a few days, then what the hell will I do?



Today was time to mod the case itself some more.

Cut hole in the back for the power plug. Looks rough but don't worry, polish that up with brasso, wil be mint

Here's the power brick in place and plugged in:

unfortunately I had some more clearance issues and had to cut a chunk off the corner of the power brick

So I taped it up and put it back, and it squeezed in, just!

The good thing about mounting it here is it blocks up the cartridge slot, so no ugly eexposed wiring (sorry crap photo)

Then I cut some more holes in the side and mounted the USB sockets

Good times.

@m4gicfour, thanks for looking for that stuff dude, I'd kinda forgotten about that Sega-emulation type stuff. Too busy just getting it going as a regular puter.

 

[Cuzza]

Also cut a hole and mounted the VGA plug in the case

 

[Cuzza]

Wow, this is almost over, rather pleased with myself



Carrying on.... I went down to the electronics store today and bought some switches wires and buttons.

Here's the one I'm using for the power switch

And mounted in the case

I rigged up a reset button as well. Had to jam wires onto mobo headers as had no connectors for the tiny pins. Damn you again VIA

So here's what that looks like from the back

And this is the lead I made to put an audio jack in the back of the case

If you are following the pattern here you probably know what pic is coming next. Note dodgy wires jammed onto headers in background. oh BTW the orange "reset" button on the keyboard is now wired directly to the mobo power on header. the wee button on the rear of the case does the reset function.

So, yeah that's about it. Just had to wire up everything, and find a way to get the cables to fit. I did it, it's not terribly pretty but there ain't no side windows in this puppy....

And again....

Screw her together, plug her in, switch her on, TADA!!!!!!!

OK, so it's 99% done. Still have to wire in the power LED, and maybe a HD LED if I can be bothered. Then get a USB wireless network adapter. That just needs plugging in. And maybe a wireless mouse. And would also like a SD card reader. Maybe I should find a way to get another fan in there, it seems to run pretty hot... to much to think about. And I thought I was finished? Maybe you never finish modding.

Right, I am proper shagged. Going to watch F1 qualifying and go to bed. Will post a case gallery at some stage. Spot you later gang. Peace. Cuzza.

 

[Frick]

Nicely done!