Project: Intel White Box

[Vapor]

Vapor, if the heatshrink has shrunk to its maximum, use a bigger ziptie.

This is my problem...not around the ziptie, but at the edges....stuff from P-PCs doesn't look like that (they're pros though).

[Omastar]

This is my problem...not around the ziptie, but at the edges....stuff from P-PCs doesn't look like that (they're pros though).

Bizarre. Have you tried the lighter method yet? It's worth a shot.

I have some generic heatshrink from jab-tech, I think, and it worked fine.

[Vapor]

I threw out all my lighters...only used them for stringing lacrosse heads and I haven't done that in a couple years

I'll probably pick up a butane torch soon if a lighter doesn't work....back at school I'll trip the circuit if I use a hairdryer.

[enz660]

put another shrink around that shrink, farther away from the zip tie.

[cozwin]

why not just cut the zip tie? surely the shrink is going to do the same job.

[Istasi]

What size heatshrink are you using? 3/8" should shrink enough for anything.

[Vapor]

9mm heatshrink...so a little smaller than 3/8"

No matter how much heat I put on the shrink, it's not getting any smaller That was how small it got the first time (without the zip-tie present)

I can live with how it is as long as I keep using zip-ties.

[Ar3s]

finally i can aid you in someway.

if you use zip-ties, the heatshrink has to be longer for it to shrink nicely around the zip tie. if you don't use zip-ties try to get really small heatshrinks 3mm for fan cables. 9mm is really thick more for multiple cables. if you use 1/4" fan sleeve then you can strench and slowly cover the sleeve with 3mm, 5mm would be ok but you can slide it even after shrinking. I sleeve my fans without the fan connector tho so its easier to put in smaller heatshrinks.

if you use a lighter try to move the blue portion of the flame over the heatshrink fast otherwise they will burn. yes they do burn.

[Vapor]

finally i can aid you in someway.

if you use zip-ties, the heatshrink has to be longer for it to shrink nicely around the zip tie. if you don't use zip-ties try to get really small heatshrinks 3mm for fan cables. 9mm is really thick more for multiple cables. if you use 1/4" fan sleeve then you can strench and slowly cover the sleeve with 3mm, 5mm would be ok but you can slide it even after shrinking. I sleeve my fans without the fan connector tho so its easier to put in smaller heatshrinks.

if you use a lighter try to move the blue portion of the flame over the heatshrink fast otherwise they will burn. yes they do burn.

Ah! Thank you

I'll get some 3mm and redo the fans I've done so far. No sense it doing it wrong over having the wrong shrink (and shrink is cheap).

BTW...where do I get 3mm from? PTS's heatshrink department is "Coming Soon", so should I just put in an order for 1/8" at P-PCs?

EDIT: this may seem weird, but the hairdryer is working better than a lighter so far....there's this weird 'jet' of heat that comes out at a 60° angle that is SO hot. It's not the main stream of air, it's slower, hotter air.

EDIT2: yes, I realize 1/8" is REALLY close to 3mm....but if he's recommending 3mm shrink, that means he's probably USED 3mm shrink that he likes and am wondering where to get THAT product....I don't need a math lecture from anybody.

[Ar3s]

1/8" is as close to 3mm so that would be great.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...roducts_id=206
1/8" * 2.54 = 0.3175cm about 3mm.
it just takes time to put the heatshrink over the sleeve but once you do. Try to stretch out the sleeve heat one end then stretch out the sleeve till the other end. Will look just like P-PCs pros.
i heard that about the hairdryer too just never needed a hairdryer..

these are my own sleeving

[Jimmer411]

I'm not sure if it's the heat or the heatshrink....basically, I can shrink it fairly easily, but not enough.

Have you tried a smaller heatshrink? I ran into the same problem with mine since it only seems to shrink from 1/2 to 3/8 where I needed closer to 1/4... lol


You can buy heatguns for $10~ at walmart or home depot. Ive tried with a torch but its just too hard to to burn anything. And if your using anything other than black then I would definately go the heatgun route.

[Vapor]

Getting some smaller heatshrink soon Don't know what will be here first, that, my Yate Loons (talking to Alex at PTS to see if he has any small heatshrink in his warehouse....so they might come at the same time), or my case.

After that, 2x1GB of RAM for my gaming system (have 1x1GB now because I killed a stick with 4.5V, LOL...what's more amazing is that the other survived unharmed!), my G80 and a new PSU will be coming as well.

In the meantime, I have more info on the fan controllers

1) 7W is an underestimate...I just threw 17W at a channel I didn't plan on using and it survived without getting very hot. Maybe sustaining that load for more than a few minutes would negatively affect it.

2) the rheobus controllers vary between 5.05V to 10.84V at idle and 4.92V and 10.31V on a .65A fan. Having that 5V floor is a really cool thing and a major plus over the many Sunbeams I have. The 10.5V ceiling (for most fans we'd use...FM122 is a little outlandish, but I was stress testing it, lol) is a little low for me (Sunbeam is usually at 11.3V), BUT, with 12 external fans on this case, it really doesn't bother me that much since I don't think I'll want full speed on any of the fans really

3) the paint smell is finally gone (yay!)

4) I am finally, 100% done with fan testing.

[Vapor]

Just picked up a Bernzomatic butane torch with heatshrinker attachment (cool thing that dissipates the flame but still bellows scalding air )....won't be able to use a hairdryer at school (circuit overload) so I had to

[Kayin]

You'll love that.

You know you can use that to heat tubing to stretch over barbs, too, right? Many great modding uses for that.

So what OS is going on the XBX2? I'm interested now...

[Vapor]

OS X

Also more great news today: Petras has their (awesome) Yate Loons back in stock! Time to order my smaller sleeving (hopefully he has some leftover in his warehouse), 18 YLs, and HR-03+

And yeah, I know the mini-torch has many uses, but I'm not a pyro at all, so I avoid flames and flammables when possible (that said, I do love a good flambe when cooking)

[k0nsl]

* keeping my eyes at this thread for further updates! *

[SafeFire]

Looking good already Vapor Keep up the good work

I was already thinking "u2ufo duality" when I read you were stuffing two systems in one case, and was pleasantly surprised at your choice of the white coating, very stylish

One thing though, why not the Zalman ZM-MFC1 Plus? Has a full 6 knobs and should sport the specifications you're looking for. Correct me if I'm wrong though

[Vapor]

The 12V/5V/open switches are missing

[SafeFire]

Ahh, misread your earlier post. Thought you got that one because you wanted the to connect 6 fans, which was why I recommended a controller with 6 knobs instead of 4, but I get your point now

Though, I'm pretty damn sure you could find individual 12v/5v/open switch boards somewhere, and line em up in a 5.25" bay.

*goes searching*

[MaxxxRacer]

Vapor,

Do NOT put those yate loons on thoes fan controllers. Yates absolutely hate being run on PWM controllers.

[Vapor]

It's not PWM....it's kinda similar, having the load bearing on the transistor and not a beefy resistor, but it's def not PWM. (It's the exact same thing as the Sunbeam, but at lower specs)

Yate Loons run fine on these.

[NickS]

Looking great Vapor. As for your heatshrink issue. I bought a sleeving kit from JabTech a while back when I had s939. I experienced the same problems as you, and got really frustrated. In the end, I ended up with tons of frayed sleeve, two broken fans (got angry), lots of bits of shrunken heatshrink and a room smelling of burning rubber. Now, whenever I want something sleeved, I buy it sleeved (thanks PPC's).

[Ar3s]

ah yes.. remember to use a light on the sleeve after you cut it to prevent fraying. lightly melt the end of the sleeve then tap it on a surface to cool.

[evoic]

I cannot express the number of times that my $12 heat gun from Fry's Electronics has paid for itself, over and over.

Here's the one I grabbed while it was on sale:

[Vapor]

Well, I got all my fans....

All 22 of them are right here:


I was getting fairly fed up with my attempts of sleeving (I could get it done, but damn if it wasn't taking a loooong time), so I braided all my fans. Made a wrong snip on one of the SLs and lost a San Ace during benching last night (second one...those blades are WEAK!...do not use in any environment where things could impact the fan).

20.5 fans snipped and braided:


One of the higher posts will have a bit more detail on this...tomorrow I think (busy tonight). Can you guys spot what else I've done?