XBOX Case Mod Project

[Fallscrim]

Hi all,

I started modding an old xbox a few months ago and after a few delays am nearing completion.

The quality of the work going on here is very impressive so I thought I might post my potential probs here.

I have stripped out the xbox and fitted an ASUS P5GZ mATX mobo with 2x512mb Geil RAM and a Pentium D 915 (cheap and fairly nippy). This is hooked up to a shuttle xpc 300w PSU. Having fit this all in the case, I now have to try and squeeze the HDD and DVD drive in. My only option at the moment seems to be to bung in a 2.5" HDD (literally sitting on top of the PCI slots/southbridge) and the sit a slim laptop DVD drive on top of it (so that I can use the original xbox drive slot position).

I realise I could potentially have either component connected externally, but I would really like to squeeze it all in (without having to comprimise with a mini-itx setup as I have seen on other xbox mods).

As you can imagine, space is at an extreme premium inside the case, and I will only be able to fit one small fan (although the HDD and DVD drive will be sitting next to the ventilation grills on the side of the case). The CPU currently runs at a fairly comfortable 50c (without any fans inside) but I am worried that addition of these two components will drive the temperature up too far.

If anyone has tried a similar mod or knows anyone that has, then any criticism/advice for my current proposed setup would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers in advance

Fall

[azminisk8r]

hmm sounds nice, and if you do have it sitting on top of the pci slots make sure that A its secured VERY well B the bottom is nonconductive, i personally would just use a piece of cardboard but i'm sure you have got a good imagination/creativity to think of something cool

[Daruvian]

A simple piece of masking tape over the PCI slot will work wonders... Also... I would highly recommend a notebook HD... It really helps cut down on space... And if you went with that... You might have to check just to make sure... But you might then be able to mount the HD to either one of the sides of the case (inside of course) or even the top of it...

[Fallscrim]

Cheers for the input.

I desperatley want to source a laptop HDD since it will give the best space management, but its a bit cost prohibitive atm. It also needs to be a sata one since I dont have access to the ide connector on the mobo (it is flush against the front of the inside of the case unfortunately).

If I'm taping over the PCI slots will I need a similar insulating layer between the HDD and optical drive if they end up being mounted one on top of the other?

[Daruvian]

I got my laptop HDD form newegg for pretty cheap... 160 gig SATA drive... Not too bad... Just browse around... I'm sure you can find something that'll work... Try newegg.com or tigerdirect.com... And I'm not definite on that between the HDD and optical drive, but I would do it just to be safe... And if you insulate it, you also wouldn't have to worry about things getting scratched up...