**** PHINIX NANO TOWER **** Smallest and most powerful mITX rig !!!

[phinix_mike]

Thank you very much guys!

UPDATE TIME !!!

Yes, I know.. it's about time!
I was busy (well, busy killing myself by going on a diet) so spent only little time on my Tower. However, I did a pretty big progress. How big? Let's say I can play Dead Space 2 on my NanoTower
Yep, hardware is installed and going strong! Today I went through hell cause had to attach all cables in power chamber and install PSU. Guys, I'll be honest with you - power chamber is so small and tight that I couldn't add now even a single wire Of course that was the whole idea - minimalism in every inch
I'm glad all fit in nicely, no issues.

So here it is, 47 photos, summary of last few weeks work.

Here's a Tower waiting for cables...






Two weeks ago I started to cut up my beautiful PSU. I'm not gonna lie to you guys, that was heart breaking job
I started from labelling 24pin cable.




What I wanted to do was to "sleeve" those wires, but not with sleeve, I wanted them to look as thin as possible, so used yellow 2.4mm heatshrink, 8cm length for each wire, just for pieces that will come out from power chamber.






I really like the result... very nice




I also had to "amputate" most of the pre-soldered cables, like SATA line, 4pin CPU power, floppy bit. Then had to secure those wires...




Next was soldering 24 pin cable.. Jeez, it was taking ages! I was doing 8 wires per night






I used Mark's method - taping wires first, then soldering




Next I had to attach all cables firmly to PSU.








Also prepared slim SATA cable for DVD drive.




...and started to attach SATA cables inside power chamber.




Prepared power cables for drives...






... in the meantime, look what I got! My missus bought me a present on my Name's Day




Hmmm.. I don't really know what I'm doing wrong but my soldering iron is going down pretty quickly.. this iron end is ruined after few hours of work




PSU in the Tower...














That was just a try-out Then I had to attach SATA and power cables before screw PSU into the power chamber.










...and PSU installed and covered:rock::blush:











DVD installed...








That 24pin cable looks pretty....:thumb:






All done...




...but does it play Crysis???





Hell yeah !!!! :rock:








I started it without graphic card first, in case some soldering went wrong and PSU was going pufffff..... All went ok, it worked fine, so added GPU.

Changed back plate first to single slot one. Looks ugly but will be sweet after I install water block. This is GTX285 version, so no hdmi hole.






Here is the latest state of Nano Tower:







Sorry for those fingerprints and dust - I didn't clean it after installation. Glamour shots will be at the end of the project!

Now, there is still a lot of work ahead of me, so please keep an eye on this log, soon will be adding new update!

STAY TUNED FOLKS !!!

[ScottALot]

ooh oooh ooooooh!! Keep going, it's looking sick!

[matt220]

accurate representation of my reaction

[voigts]

This is looking incredible. Talk about packing a lot into a little case.

[nullface]

Make me one!!!

[barfastic]

just read the entire log!

AMAZING work!

I can only hope i even think of a design like this, cause i will NEVER be able to make something like it!

Really good job!

[Rise]

fantastic, keep it up man!!

[dacosta89]

This looks great!!!

Keep going.

[defect9]

these updates were so epic I had to wear 3 socks

[Alexandr0s]

My reaction to the update was similar to this guy's reaction to Skyrim: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9eGtyqz4gY

[phinix_mike]

WOW! Thanks guys! I'm so happy you like it!

My reaction to the update was similar to this guy's reaction to Skyrim: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9eGtyqz4gY

Haha That's funny, thanks Alexandr0s!

[phinix_mike]

Weekend update!

That was a soldering weekend!
I decided that to solder all those SMD led strips I need to do it very precisely, so I took a small trip to Maplins and bought this:




Those are VERY handy helping hands
So I cut up those strips to 3 led bits and started to solder them together so they create 3x6 pattern that will go under side "acrylic combs".




Look how nice and small these solders look. I love it




Slowly.. one after another...




First set done...






They had to be arranged to this...






As you can see, I had to cut small wire pieces for those small loops.




After few hours, I had all 4 done




I had to cover-push those sets to the panels from behind...:worried:... I mean.. from the rear... I mean...
Anyway.... I made rectangles from 0.5mm thick aluminium sheet, rounded corers and covered them with semi-clear "frost" film I got from Mark. This was necessary to make sure those leds won't conduct electricity to the panels.





I soldered long wires for later mount, glued those leds to the rectangles and attached them to the panel.
After half an hour, I had one panel done - two sets ready to go!



Now, next thing I did was to finish reset switch.
So I used old reset micro-switch, M3 dome nut and small piece of acrylic. I painted black that nut and piece of acrylic. Reset goes right above fan controller. Acrylic piece pushes reset switch and reset switch pushes this nut to the hole in the rear panel. So all nicely look like this
Of course I will add double sided tape between switch and acrylic piece that is why now it looks a bit.. wobbly...










Of course those screws will be cut to size

Here is how it looks from behind



OK! That is it for now! I hope you like it!

[Alexandr0s]

Great update! Those ledstrips look snake-like . What fancontroller are you using btw? I really like its size and simplicity .

[barfastic]

AMAZING.... everyupdate is jaw dropping!

[phinix_mike]

Great update! Those ledstrips look snake-like . What fancontroller are you using btw? I really like its size and simplicity .

AMAZING.... everyupdate is jaw dropping!

Thanks guys!

Fan controller - I don't really remember which one that is, I took it from Phinix Cube build. I think it was some simple and small 3.5" bay Scythe, but not 100% sure.

[Alexandr0s]

Ye, that's what I thought . Thanks .

[phinix_mike]

UPDATE TIME !!!

OK! So, after all those whining about, I had to re-assemble the Tower to fix a bit those wires




I have cut and painted those two small bits to hold a PCI-E cables cover.




..and this is how it is going to be mounted, using velcro pads (it has to be removable).




I have also attached watercooling to CPU...




For some reason this back-plate is always on its side...heh...:eyebrow:




There! Better? :worried:




I like how those hoses are so soft and easy to move around...

Watercooling mounted... CHECK!




DVD mounted...CHECK!




Top fan mounting.. CHECK!




You can see here how little space is left for graphic card... 3.5cm




Nano Tower resting... chilling...




I still need to do some drilling in the bottom acrylic panel, measured it all up and ready to drill...




I fit in right side panel, it was pretty dark inside, so had to use lamp for this one.




Right side panel fits in... CHECK!






Now.. today I won't be working a lot on Tower... it is time to have some cake

So, enjoy these photos and see you soon!

[Alexandr0s]

Update time?!
Update time!

Looks like you decided to go for an easier way to mount your slimline dvd player than me . Mine's a real PITA to get out of the case. Luckily it doesn't need to leave it often ^^.

Great update, thanks !

[Dahmer]

Aw man this insanely amazing, wish I had your skills and steady hands. Great work!

[theseeker]

Outrageous build!

[UrbanSmooth]

accurate representation of my reaction

ROFL! Mine toooooooo!

[phinix_mike]

Thank you guys!

Small update today - just wanted to show you how this ring cover look like.

Before that just one more photo of that really nice fan I love the color of it.




Now, I showed these before, these are small comb pieces that will hold all rings.
I glued them together with third one, straight rectangle with holes for leds.














Then I added top and bottom small rectangles.




I pushed in those rings to see how it is goign to look like - please have in mind they are only pushed here, that is why they are uneven...




I like how they glow in my hand




Then I took them out and glued them in, all straight You may notice it is missing one ring on top - I need to get one more.












After that I spent some time on soldering 10 leds, then pushed them in those holes. They come in easily but firmly, so I dont need to use glue or anything. Perfect fit.
Then I couldn't stop myself from trying them out.
So here are photos of this ring cover, lit up like christmas tree






..b&w anyone?




I played a bit with my camera and tried to get a bit darker ones - I like how you can see every edge of each piece of acrylic, like a skeleton rentgen photos






I spent a lot of time on painting stuff. I painted all aluminum hex shapes for front panel. First 3 layers of black matte paint, then clear laquer, 2-3 layers. All look beautiful.
I also designed and cut out temperature lcd holder, which will be attached to this ring cover and stick out on the right side of it. I still need to file the edges and polish it, then paint it black. This will all happen this weekend, so please stay tuned! :thumb:

[arkadur]

very nice!
but what about the missing first ring ?

[dacosta89]

Great looking case!!!

Just one question: What are your plans to cooling the vga?

[phinix_mike]

very nice!
but what about the missing first ring ?

Thanks! As I mentioned I will get ne more next week.

Great looking case!!!

Just one question: What are your plans to cooling the vga?

Thanks! Post 345 will give you the answer

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...&postcount=345

It will be water cooled, that is why I have EK pump, res and quick connectors.