Ghetto Mods

[MachineLearning]

Patient was a Gigabyte 750Ti Windforce OC, presenting with an extremely annoying rattle in the right fan's bearing and no cooling for the VRM or VRAM. I attached some aluminum thermal-adhesive heatsinks to 2 VRAM chips, gave thermal pads to the other two. VRM got a slightly larger single aluminum heatsink, barely visible in the last photo on the right.

Fans are Foxconn 80mm ball-bearing (left), Delta 80mm FDB (right), both are massively loud at full blast and must be mobo controlled (for now)

This is one of those mods that's really commonplace and honestly a rite of passage, but hey it's cheap as chips and execution is as important as the idea

 

[lexluthermiester]

I used to do this all the time! It's a great way of improving cooling and reduce noise on old GPU's without spending a fortune. As we can all see it works great on more modern GPU's. Nice mod!

 

[witkazy]

Had some down time , so i did little custom job for meself

Crap on the left lasts maybe month if you lucky . Stainless steel piece will serve me till retirement most likely (12 more years ,ughh) cheers.

 

[micropage7]

adding 2nd hand TL-WA901ND wire heatsink
after several trial maybe it's a good form

 

[ThaiTaffy]

Threads about Ghetto mods... I call them home made mods for penny pinchers!

Or sometimes we can just do better.

100w Bluetooth speaker made from 2x car stereo speakers, a bit of 6.5inch drainpipe, 4x Panasonic lipos and a zk mini Bluetooth amp

 

[Ahhzz]

Or sometimes we can just do better.
View attachment 234238
100w Bluetooth speaker made from 2x car stereo speakers, a bit of 6.5inch drainpipe, 4x Panasonic lipos and a zm mini Bluetooth amp

interesting.....

I've actually got 2 tower Infiniti speakers upstairs... Wonder if I could remember which pieces are blown, and do some creative rearrangements....

 

[ThaiTaffy]

Those zk amps are a bargain for what they are and come in many variations

Need a good idea how to fit flat speakers to a curved surface.

So done most of the fitting now still need to pad out the tweeters and seal any gaps before I cover it in material.

Just noticed the driver was damaged in the photo thankfully all it needed was a fresh kiss

Might put some sturdy fan dust filter material over the speakers before I wrap it

 

[MachineLearning]

The ugliest test bench since 2004 (probably). Shoutouts to MSI for making terrible VRMs on AM3 so I can use their busted board as a test bench with some standoffs. This airflow is jank but optimal, memory gets massive airflow from the GPU fan overhang, CPU fan feeds right into northbridge heatsink. Featuring an Antec Earthwatts EA-500, Seasonic platform from like 2006, somehow still running without any re-capping. I screwed in the front panel section of an old NZXT case to the MSI board for some USB/audio on the other side, and one part of that same case serves as power/reset switches for boards that don't have them.

My only problem is getting USB mice and keyboard to work on this, I have to use a PS/2 keyboard to get into BIOS or do anything and I have no idea why. USB keyboard / mouse are enabled in BIOS, I'm probably missing something obvious.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

It's a ghetto blaster

 

[cvaldes]

Ghetto mods aren't part of my normal approach but here we go.

NZXT H1 with external custom cooling loop for GPU (Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER Founders Edition 8GB):

The cooling loop consists of

• Alphacool Eisstation VPP (I think)
• Noctua NF-F12 PWM chroma.Black.swap fans, x2 (with finger guard grills)
• XSPC EX240 radiator
• Alphacool 11738 Eisblock Aurora Acryl GPX-N RTX 2080/2080Ti FE (not visible in this shot)

Curiously the NZXT H1's back grill cover has holes drilled to accommodate the 105 mm screw placement for the radiator. I did not have to mod the back grill cover by drilling new mounting holes.

This motherboard (MSI MPG B550I Gaming Wifi) does not have a thermal sensor header so I am basing GPU radiator fan curves off of the MOS temperature which operates is a pretty narrow range.

It doesn't look so ghetto from the front.

The mishmash of cooling loop fitting finishes: black, dark nickel, silver, even brass are barely noticeable from the front. There's a brass 90° fitting on the GPU waterblock that I wish were black but I'm not going to bother hunting down a replacement.

GPU temperature maxes out at 55 °C during a Heaven benchmark run. The two externally mounted GPU radiator fans max out at 875 rpm. The overall system noise is less than when there was a Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 550 2GB card in the GPU bay.

There's still a little bit of gurgling from the Eisstation pump-res combo but it should work out the bubbles in the next 6-12 hours.

The center of gravity isn't an issue. Yeah, the Eisstation has some weight but a lot of the weight (radiator and coolant) are very close to the back grill. I deliberately mounted the Eissation on the lower fan.

Also the GPU waterblock is pretty heavy and also has a fair amount of coolant. It does not feel like it is going back. The two GPU radiator fans are also directing air toward the back (in a "pull" configuration).

I had envisioned this build in summer 2020 but it wasn't until I recently acquired a 3060 Ti that I could shove it into the NZXT H1. The 2070 SUPER Founders Edition stock cooler is noisy as hell so I'm glad I could mod this case to accommodate a mini custom loop.

The NZXT H1 drives a 4K/60Hz monitor but it's not a gaming system. It's my daily driver desktop PC.

 

[MachineLearning]

Had this old mATX Dell XPS 8100 case laying around, and decided to do something nefarious with it...

That old NZXT front panel segment from my "test bench" is of course strapped right to the front. This is for a couple of reasons: it looks cool (in a terrible way ), and also the power switch and LED for these Dell systems is on a dedicated cable which looks identical to a USB internal cable. Not compatible with a DIY board, at least not this one. For Dell OEM boards of the era (usually Foxconn) these connectors are all nicely color coded on the motherboard too so installation is foolproof. But it does add a small hurdle for weirdos like me who eventually strip it down.

I'm leaving the front plastic airflow restrictor off, because generally I like my airflow unrestricted. There are some vent holes in the side panel too which is nice.

Specs:
- ASUS M3A78-EM, unfortunately as of yet I can't find core unlock in BIOS soooo maybe this doesn't have it. This is annoying but until I cool the VRM I guess it doesn't matter much. Maybe I can crossflash, it does have a socketed BIOS chip in case I mess up (love that). Repasted with MX-2, small heatsinks for the VRM on the way soon.
- PHII 960T BE (for now)
- SK hynix Gold S31 500GB, the board is very upset about this drive for some reason and during POST reports that there's a generic malfunction. Well, it works just fine in another computer, so I'm chalking this up to SSD compatibility issues with either this southbridge (?) or this motherboard in particular.
- Seasonic Core GM-500, I'd like this 5x more if I had realized it had a sleeve bearing before I received it (my fault), I'll probably replace the fan in a couple of years just to be on the safe side. It should be reliable / fine for a while after that. At least it's quiet, and I was able to get it half price
- Arctic F9 PWM PST 92mm FDB exhaust fan, hooked up to the CPU fan header because for some reason, the motherboard thinks the CPU fan has failed otherwise, even though it spins just fine here and my AM3+ boards have no issues...
- 4x2GB G.Skill DDR2 1066, CL5-5-5-15, 2.1-2.2v (no clue what it'll actually end up at)
- Old FX-8350 stock cooler, ca. 2014

Cable management is hell in a case like this, I'm kind of used to it from dealing with prebuilts more often years ago but it needs a lot more work here. I basically stuffed it all in the front, although still better than stock airflow I suppose...

I'm thinking of taking a huge hole out of the side panel and installing either a fan directly on it, or adding a bit of mesh to give even more openings. We'll see how thermals end up once I figure out the small quirks and get windows installed!

 

[micropage7]

View attachment 235431
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View attachment 235435

Had this old mATX Dell XPS 8100 case laying around, and decided to do something nefarious with it...

That old NZXT front panel segment from my "test bench" is of course strapped right to the front. This is for a couple of reasons: it looks cool (in a terrible way ), and also the power switch and LED for these Dell systems is on a dedicated cable which looks identical to a USB internal cable. Not compatible with a DIY board, at least not this one. For Dell OEM boards of the era (usually Foxconn) these connectors are all nicely color coded on the motherboard too so installation is foolproof. But it does add a small hurdle for weirdos like me who eventually strip it down.

I'm leaving the front plastic airflow restrictor off, because generally I like my airflow unrestricted. There are some vent holes in the side panel too which is nice.

Specs:
- ASUS M3A78-EM, unfortunately as of yet I can't find core unlock in BIOS soooo maybe this doesn't have it. This is annoying but until I cool the VRM I guess it doesn't matter much. Maybe I can crossflash, it does have a socketed BIOS chip in case I mess up (love that). Repasted with MX-2, small heatsinks for the VRM on the way soon.
- PHII 960T BE (for now)
- SK hynix Gold S31 500GB, the board is very upset about this drive for some reason and during POST reports that there's a generic malfunction. Well, it works just fine in another computer, so I'm chalking this up to SSD compatibility issues with either this southbridge (?) or this motherboard in particular.
- Seasonic Core GM-500, I'd like this 5x more if I had realized it had a sleeve bearing before I received it (my fault), I'll probably replace the fan in a couple of years just to be on the safe side. It should be reliable / fine for a while after that. At least it's quiet, and I was able to get it half price
- Arctic F9 PWM PST 92mm FDB exhaust fan, hooked up to the CPU fan header because for some reason, the motherboard thinks the CPU fan has failed otherwise, even though it spins just fine here and my AM3+ boards have no issues...
- 4x2GB G.Skill DDR2 1066, CL5-5-5-15, 2.1-2.2v (no clue what it'll actually end up at)
- Old FX-8350 stock cooler, ca. 2014

Cable management is hell in a case like this, I'm kind of used to it from dealing with prebuilts more often years ago but it needs a lot more work here. I basically stuffed it all in the front, although still better than stock airflow I suppose...

I'm thinking of taking a huge hole out of the side panel and installing either a fan directly on it, or adding a bit of mesh to give even more openings. We'll see how thermals end up once I figure out the small quirks and get windows installed!

that case looks rocking

 

[QuietBob]

My only problem is getting USB mice and keyboard to work on this

You may need to enable +5VSB in the BIOS. In the Power Management Setup try changing Power On Function to Keyboard 98 or Hot Key.

- ASUS M3A78-EM, unfortunately as of yet I can't find core unlock in BIOS soooo maybe this doesn't have it.

This mobo doesn't seem to support core unlocking.

 

[witkazy]

It can not get more ghetto than rubber band

audio jack kept falling out ,well it ain't issue no more cheers.

 

[Ahhzz]

I wish I'd taken a picture... one of the old cards I had, I think the 9800, was seriously heavy, and I had a bit of droop on it, so I took a wooden dowel, and propped it up under the end lol

 

[lexluthermiester]

I wish I'd taken a picture... one of the old cards I had, I think the 9800, was seriously heavy, and I had a bit of droop on it, so I took a wooden dowel, and propped it up under the end lol

I did something similar. I used PVC pipe though and painted it what ever colour matched the the setup. Still do that from time to time...

 

[witkazy]

I wish I'd taken a picture... one of the old cards I had, I think the 9800, was seriously heavy, and I had a bit of droop on it, so I took a wooden dowel, and propped it up under the end lol

You should definetly get some brownie points for using biodegradable material

 

[Athlonite]

View attachment 235434


Had this old mATX Dell XPS 8100 case laying around, and decided to do something nefarious with it...

there's a better way

 

[Rock N Roll Rebel]

I have a Thermaltake view 71 RGB case and just got an Ironwolf pro 16TB HDD and mounted it to the back of the case the screw hole didn't line up so I screwed in two screws and broke out the good old black electric tape how's that for ghetto mod lol

 

[MachineLearning]

You may need to enable +5VSB in the BIOS. In the Power Management Setup try changing Power On Function to Keyboard 98 or Hot Key.

This mobo doesn't seem to support core unlocking.

I just perused through the BIOS, and it doesn't appear to have that option you mentioned. I'll look for it on my other boards that have weird USB keyboard issues (even w/ enabled in BIOS) to see if that helps, thank you.

Damn, I'll have to see if I can crossflash...

there's a better way

View attachment 235471

You're so right lol, I pretty much did the first thing I thought of before... Fixed, thank you!

CPU is connected to NB heatsink, HDD is SSD and Sys is ambient temp.

 

[Kanan]

I just perused through the BIOS, and it doesn't appear to have that option you mentioned. I'll look for it on my other boards that have weird USB keyboard issues (even w/ enabled in BIOS) to see if that helps, thank you.

Damn, I'll have to see if I can crossflash...

You're so right lol, I pretty much did the first thing I thought of before... Fixed, thank you!
View attachment 235485
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View attachment 235487

CPU is connected to NB heatsink, HDD is SSD and Sys is ambient temp.

Ugly but functional.

 

[droopyRO]

LGA 1700 mod for an old Noctua cooler. I first bought an Asus Z690 board that had those dual holes for cooling retention labled LGA1200 and 1700. But on closer inspection i found out that if i smooth out the channel that is cut in to the back plate i can then move the retention screws to fit an LGA 1700 layout. And it worked like a charm on a standard LGA1700 board.

Elegant not Ghetto at all. Preserve things = great.

Borderline ghetto i would say

 

[Kanan]

LGA 1700 mod for an old Noctua cooler. I first bought an Asus Z690 board that had those dual holes for cooling retention labled LGA1200 and 1700. But on closer inspection i found out that if i smooth out the channel that is cut in to the back plate i can then move the retention screws to fit an LGA 1700 layout. And it worked like a charm on a standard LGA1700 board.
View attachment 235500
View attachment 235501

Elegant not Ghetto at all. Preserve things = great.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I just perused through the BIOS, and it doesn't appear to have that option you mentioned. I'll look for it on my other boards that have weird USB keyboard issues (even w/ enabled in BIOS) to see if that helps, thank you.

Damn, I'll have to see if I can crossflash...

You're so right lol, I pretty much did the first thing I thought of before... Fixed, thank you!
View attachment 235485
View attachment 235486
View attachment 235487

CPU is connected to NB heatsink, HDD is SSD and Sys is ambient temp.

I would have just rewired the front panel connectors. But that's me..

 

[Mussels]

My only problem is getting USB mice and keyboard to work on this, I have to use a PS/2 keyboard to get into BIOS or do anything and I have no idea why. USB keyboard / mouse are enabled in BIOS, I'm probably missing something obvious.

Check for a USB voltage jumper near the ports, many had an option to change between 5V and 5VSB for USB - you may find the current setting and current PSU dont power them up fast enough