[scyeige]

Open Concept Rig



First, let me say that this is not some out of this world mod/setup. It has been done numerous times before and I am no trail blazer...

This is something I did sometime in the 3rd quarter of 2005. As a result, I do not have pictures of the various steps I took (and for that, I do apologise... but this is so easy and you should not have any problems at all).

[scyeige]

I have always wanted to have a rig that I can use for testing hardware (faulty or just for kicks) without messing around with my main rig and, heaven forbid, screwing it up big time. In addition, it allows me to experiment and hone my rather limited overclocking skills.

I managed to get my hands on a Intel Pentium 4 2.4C, a micro-ATX Gigabyte GA-8IG1000MK mainboard and 2 sticks of very delicious Kingmax DDR500 512MB RAMs - all pre-owned. You might say that I ended up going just a little bit overboard for a mere spare/testing rig, and I will admit that you are probably right!

I went down to IKEA to have a look at what they had that might hold a mainboard on top and the various PC components, eg. PSU, FDD, ODD, HDD, at the bottom. Low and behold, I came across this gem of an item in the most unlikely section - kitchen accessories!



The IKEA moniker for this item is VARIERA shelf insert. And what made it even sweeter was the low cost of SGD6.50! This baby is 32cm wide by 28cm deep and 16cm tall and constructed of powder coated steel.

I already had some spare smoked 3mm acrylic and drawer knobs (from my previous home renovation), these would complete the stand for this rig.

The IKEA shelf insert would be inverted, and the acrylic fastened on top of the rectangular frames (see the IKEA shelf insert picture) originally used as support for the mesh shelf.


This is the top view of my spare/testing rig.

[scyeige]

Stand
1. IKEA VARIERA shelf insert
2. 1 32cm by 28cm piece of smoked 3mm acrylic
3. 8 mainboard standoffs and matching screws
4. 4 round flat aluminuim drawer knobs - to be used as the legs
5. 4 nuts that fit the above knobs
6. 4 round cushion pads for the knobs (don't wanna scratch that nice table of your's)
7. 2 momentary switches (Power and Reset buttons)
8. 2 LEDs (Power and HDD indicators)
9. Some non-static high density foam
10. Some cable ties

Main PC parts
A. Intel Pentium 4 2.4C
B. Gigabyte GA-8IG1000MK micro-ATX mainboard
C. 2 sticks of Kingmax DDR500 512MB RAMs
D. Verudium PowerLite 530W PSU
E. FDD: an old Mitsumi 1.44MB floppy drive
F. ODD: an old 16x CD-ROM drive
G. HDD: an old 12GB PATA hard drive

Tools required
1. A drill and some drill bits
2. Phillips Screwdriver
3. Pliers
4. Wrench (optional)
5. Superglue
6. Glue gun (optional)
8. Sissors/Wire Cutter
9. Marker (sharpie pen)
10. Ruler

[scyeige]

Modding the IKEA VARIERA shelf insert

As always, IKEA products come unassembled. In the packaging, you will find:
1 x instruction manual
1 x rectangular mesh shelf
2 x rectangular frames
4 x screws (to fasten the mesh shelf to the frames)

You will notice that the rectangular frames have a total of 4 holes, 2 on each of the longer sides. First, test that the knobs are able to fit the holes on the frames and mesh shelf. If it does not fit, use the drill and a matching drill bit to widen the holes on one side and only one side of the frame (ie just 2 holes). Do the same for the other frame and mesh shelf. When that is done, assemble the shelf as per the supplied instruction manual, BUT instead of using the supplied screws, use the knobs and matching nuts to secure the mesh shelf to the 2 rectangular frames. You will have 4 knobs (feet) sticking out from the mesh shelf... at the top of each knob, stick on a piece of cushion pad.

Invert the shelf, with knobs resting on your table/work top. Ensure that it sits nice and flat (ie all four knobs are resting evenly on the table/work top). As it is made of steel, you will be able to mildy flex and bend it to shape! Once you have confirmed it is nice and flat, it is time to move on to the mainboard base.

Here, I used a 3mm piece of acrylic, but you can use anything stiff and non-conductive for the mainboard base. The minimum size for this base is 32cm by 28cm (the same dimension as the IKEA shelf insert), again, you can make it larger if it so tickles your fancy. You need to mark out holes to drill for attaching the base to the inverted shelf insert and mainboard to the base.

Once you are certain that the inverted shelf is nice and flat (I cannot stress this enough!!!!), put the mainboard base on top of the 2 rectangular frames to create, yet, another shelf! Mark out the 4 holes to drill (note the size of the screws included in the shelf package) and drill out those holes. You will also notice that the screws supplied are countersunk. It is optional, but I recommend that you countersink the holes you made to match those screws.

Next, you need to make the holes to fit the mainboard standoffs. Here, I used a micro-ATX mainboard, but you are also free to use a normal ATX one. You just need to adjust the placement of the mainboard on the base.



Use a slightly smaller sized drill bit than compared to the standoff, this way, you will be able to fasten the standoff securely to the base. (TIP: after making the holes, use a pair of pliers to hold a standoff and make threads (aka tap) in each hole - it will make screwing in the standoff much easier.)

At this stage, you will want to also make the holes to fit the 2 LEDs and 2 switches. You will need to determine where you want to position the switches (Note: due to the size of the PSU, you will not able to position the LEDs and switches on top of where you want to locate the PSU at the bottom).

Once you have made the necessary holes and made sure that everything fits where they should, you can go ahead to wipe everything clean. The hard work is DONE!

Fit the standoffs to the mainboard base, attach the mainboard base to the inverted shelf using the screws supplied in the package, fit the LEDs and switches to the mainboard base (from the underside, of course), and finally, secure the mainboard to the mainboard base.

[ADDENDUM]
Remember the foam pieces... cut 3 to 4 pieces of the high density foam into squares of around 1 inch by 1 inch, and the thickness of the mainboard standoff you used. Place the foam in strategic locations in between the mainboard and the base. Locations such as the RAM slots, IDE ports, PCI/AGP/PCI-E slots - as these will come under some pressure when you add or remove devices/components. It will prevent the mainboard and base from cracking after several plugging ins and outs... And if you are using a ATX mainboard, you may need more than one or two foam pieces to help distribute the force of seating and reseating of PCI/AGP/PCI-E cards.

[scyeige]

Once the stand and mainboard is assembled, the rest goes in.

First off is the PSU. When you stand the PSU on it's side, you will notice that it will JUST barely fit in-between the mainboard base and inverted mesh shelf. That is the beauty of the IKEA VARIERA shelf insert!

You are free to position the PSU anywhere you like - using cable ties to fasten it down to the mesh shelf (the mesh is not just for show - it allows for different placements and adjustability), but I find that to make cable management and installation/removal of the remaining items easier, it is best placed in the following manner (coincidentally, the extra fan of the verudium PSU also helps keep things cool below deck)...



And you can then proceed to install the rest of your items - again, fastening with cable ties. I have placed the ODD at the bottom as it is a fairly permanent item, followed by the FDD on top and then the HDDs... I have placed a slab of aluminum to help dissipate the heat generated from the HDDs. This is optional though. I am currently using 2 HDDs and that gives me a little peace of mind.

Note: All the below deck items have their opening/front facing one side to allow for easy access.



At the other side of the setup, there is also some space to store any surplus PSU cables, additional (eg SATA) cables, a mouse and even the power cord when not in use.



I apologise for the poor picture quality... I have unsteady hands and really can't be arsed to use a tripod!


There, all done!



I hope you find this useful and enjoy making it as much as I did. Note that imagination is the only limiting factor in this build. You can do much more fanciful mods here... challenge yourselves! Don't forget to post them in here too!

I absolutely love this build as it is simple, cheap, adjustable and very very practical. As I have always believed, the epitome of elegance is simplicity itself!

A NOTE ON COOLING
As you most probably have noticed, I have not added any fans to the build other than those present in the stock CPU HSF and PSU. You may want to attach a fan at one of the frames to provide some airflow across the items dwelling underneath, and/or on one side of the mainboard to provide some airflow across the mainboard, RAMs and any PCI/AGP/PCI-E cards installed.

I reckon anything from 80mm to 120mm sized fans will do, there is no point going any smaller.

[scyeige]

I'd sure would like your comments and thoughts on this simple project of mine...

[catacomb]

anything that is easy to remove is nice.. just that I dun like dust collecting it

[farksy]

Wow ! Very detailed i must say ! Nice nice =D Now can wheel a computer to each room to play liaoz ! Should mount another level for the monitor !

[leader288]

nnice!

[leader288]

i'm wowed...

Originally Posted by scyeige

I'd sure would like your comments and thoughts on this simple project of mine...

Its been done commercially about 5 years ago.

Its still avaliable on the market:

http://www.highspeedpc.com/Merchant2...e=Tech_Station

[scyeige]

Originally Posted by catacomb

anything that is easy to remove is nice.. just that I dun like dust collecting it

bo pian one... this is my spare/test rig mah... if not open concept, very leychey to plug stuff in and out

But when I not using it, it's covered and kept in the cupboard

[scyeige]

Originally Posted by leader288

nnice!

thanks

[scyeige]

Originally Posted by farksy

Wow ! Very detailed i must say ! Nice nice =D Now can wheel a computer to each room to play liaoz ! Should mount another level for the monitor !

eh... cannot lah... then not portable liaoz...

[scyeige]

Originally Posted by Milspec

Its been done commercially about 5 years ago.

Its still avaliable on the market:

http://www.highspeedpc.com/Merchant2...e=Tech_Station

oh, I'm sure there are commercially available ones... but do they cost less than $10!?!?!?!? :