Homemade Motherboard / Rig Mounting

Bennah

Bennah

Bennah

Soldato
Joined
1 Jul 2004
Posts
7,223
Location
Sunny Manchester
Since waiting around for June to arrive so I can progress to the next stage of my apprenticeship and waiting for some info on a couple of Temp jobs, Ive got a lot of spare time on my hands these days.

With me always having my rig out spread across my desk, I thought I would make my own mounting for a mobo and the rest of the hardware that usually goes in a case. I find its easier to switch stuff etc. See whats going on etc.

So I went up in the loft. See what I could find. Got some MDF and some battoning sorted out. Had a general Idea in my head what I wanted.

Sheet of MDF ontop where mobo will be. 4 posts. Sheet of MDF at the bottom. Other hardware would be on that.

MoboSetup1.jpg

MoboSetup2.jpg

MoboSetup3.jpg


Got an old P3 mobo from welshtom (cheers mate ;)) for a guide line on mobo holes and the size of the mobo etc.

I measured the board. The MDF I had was just wide enough for the mobo. Length was'nt a problem. I allowed for some gaps at the top and bottom of the mobo for some slots for cabling to go through. I cut them out.

Lined up the holes from the mobo. Drilled the holes. Got some bolts. Posted the bolts from the underside of the wood. Mobo would slide ontop on the bolts, holding it into place. I allowed for some room between the MDF top and the underneath of the mobo for heatsink backplates and such like.

I had some insulation knocking about so, I used it to cover the side underneath the mobo. Just in case if anything shorted etc.
 
Here it is with the insulation on. Bolts fixed. All wood screwed together.

MoboSetup7.jpg



I was suprised actually how strong the structure is. Not that heavy overall. Nice size and height.

MoboSetup6.jpg


MoboSetup4.jpg


Plenty of space underneath for the PSU, 2 HD's and a DVD-RW.

Its a nice neat platform for me to work on / around the mobo from etc. Good for benching etc. General use too. Thinking of building a new one for a sec rig, a folding machine. Would be a lot better than 2 setup's crammed over the desk.

Just thinking about putting some insulation down to calm down the vibrations on the optical device. Was thinking about the same thing for the HD's. Might lay them flat on the wood. Heat wouldnt be a problem would it? Melting the insulation?

Thanks :)
 
Looking good :cool:

I've seen these type of things that you can buy, and most of them had a 120mm fan blowing air across the motherboard. Could be something to consider? :)
 
Hm, a good suggestion. Maybe 2 nice 120mm fans blowing onto the cpu area and gpu. Could be fixed to the front egde. Would be better to see when I get some hardware though.

Saying that, it would limit access to the mobo though.
 
Hardware normally relies on air flow through a case to keep it cool - leaving it as it is means there will be no airflow - at least not uniform across the motherboard so I recommend at least one fan somewhere :D However so far its looking good. I see you're local so I may just have to steal it :p

SiriusB
 
Hehehe, start my own production line soon :p

Just my first attempt. I would have like it to be wider, but I had to use the materials I had for now.

Something like this maybe? 120mm fans depending how tall them stand. Might make a custom mount for them. Some 92mm fans might be better.

MoboSetup4mod.jpg


Im planning on buying a XP-90C and the way its designed, it over hangs the mosfets and such. Would get air from the cpu fan. Gpu would be ok. Only worry that might be is the NB. If I was to use an Intel based setup then I woud have to get air to that.

Just thought. How about building another compartment underneath the one there is now. 3 stories high. Watercooling in the bottom one :D Tubing fead through the slots that are cut out.

Just a thought, but I aint done water before. Maybe a good challenge ;)
 
Would look awesome with water cooling! Lots of tubes coming in and out of it... ITS ALIVE!!!! MUAHAHA *thunder crash*

As for your Northbridge... could get a NB Heatsink for it?

SiriusB
 
ahh good old MDF :)
did one of these for a old Pentium 2 out of boredom,
remember that you need something to bolt the gfx card onto before it shakes itself to pieces and/or damages the AGP port/
You could try raising the board a bit off the deck and having air flowing both above and below the motherboard, but you will need some washers or something to distribute the weight, i had pretty thin screws and nuts holding it up and ended up snapping through the mobo when i pushed a IDE cable in a little too hard
 
looking really cool there mate :)
will you be keeping the PIII system on it, or switching to something more modern once you've worked everything out?

watercooling could be a solution to your cooling troubles if your not keeping the PIII :)

certainly be a lot less hastle and quieter than having a pair of 120mm fans blowing on your desk lol
 
SiriusB said:
Would look awesome with water cooling! Lots of tubes coming in and out of it... ITS ALIVE!!!! MUAHAHA *thunder crash*

As for your Northbridge... could get a NB Heatsink for it?

SiriusB
Click to expand...

Hehehe, would look cool :D

Chronictank, there is a gap underneath the mobo. Its about 12mm or so. 3 nuts width. I'l see about getting some plastic washers. Currently sitting on nuts atm. Same size as the actual metal surroundings on the mobo holes. Pretty small pressure points.

There is quite abit of play in the mobo sliding on and off the screws. When it comes to fixing on IDE cables etc I can slide the mobo up a little and put my fingers underneath. Added support, it stead of loading the board in a certain point and making it bend.

The graphics is ok ;) Once I get a proper mobo, line up PCI-E gpu slots on a SLI board. Also with an AGP board. Im going to cut little slots just big enough for the bottom of the PCI plate to slot into ;) Stoping the card jumpin about when Ive got a 120mm Delta strapped to it, taking it to the edge of its life :D


derbyjake, not sure what size diameter they are. Just some bolts that I had in the loft. Perfect size for the mobo holes. Not too big and not too small. Would be best getting a mobo then trying out some bolts.


nikebee, thanks mate :) The PIII isnt staying on there, only used it as a template. Im pretty sure there will be an Intel Presler setup on there sooner rather than later.

Im going to try out air first. See how it goes. When I get some more money, I'l invest in some decent watercooling gear. Make another box for that. Should be a nice challenge. See how it goes with air though.
 
Thanks for the Intrest again :)

Well, I got a proper normal sized mobo.

I had to make a slighty alteration to the bolt that was nearest the PCI slots at the bottom of the board.

The P3 board I used as template, had 2 holes joined together. When I used it was marker, I drilled the hole into the MDF, to fix the bolt through etc.

Well on a normal board, its the other hole that I needed to mark out from the P3 board and drill.

Anyways, I made the hole a little bigger in the MDF and moved over the bolt about 4mm over. Secured it.

The MSI skt754 board just slides on and off now.

I think thats it done for now. Mayb change a few other things or think of some additions when I get my hardware.

Waiting on the fan mounting idea for now. Im going to see whats the best place to mount some fans if I need to when Ive got the mobo, cpu and heatsink & fan in place.

Thanks...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom