Re: GS in desktop case

[mhackett@alpha.vaxxine.com (Michael Hackett)]

Nathan Mates <nathan@subzero.winternet.com> wrote:

> In article <4q9256$h6i@ganesh.lm.com>,
> Matt Portune <mportune@telerama.lm.com> wrote:
> >I'm considering moving the GS into a desktop case identical to the one I
> >built the PC into, but I have some questions.  First off, since the holes
> >in the case will in no way match the ones on the motherboard, what's the
> >best way to mount it in the case?
>
> What I'd planned to do was take a sheet of clear plastic for insulation,
> and use tiedowns to anchor the motherboard on that. With that, you can
> match the hole spacing any way you wanted to.

That seemed like the best idea to me as well, but I was warned by two
different people not to do it.  Among other things, it would cut off the
air flow under the motherboard needed for cooling.

My solution was a rather convoluted one, but it worked.  I cut up a
piece of wall standard (the metal strips used for mounting shelves on
the wall) and mounted the strips on the basepan in my case,
strategically placed to line up with the most number of mounting holes
on the GS motherboard.  (I was doing this in a tower case, but this
might work with a desktop case as well.)  Then I lined up the GS
motherboard over these strips and marked the mounting holes, then
drilled the holes.  I used long metal screws with nylon washers and nuts
(the little paper ones that come with most case assembly kits are best,
but I couldn't find enough as a separate item) as stand-offs and to get
the motherboard to the proper height to line up with the opening I cut
in the back for the ports.  (Told you it was a bit messy. :-)

> >  Second, if I take the Apple 3.5 drive
> >out of it's plastic case, is the mechanism basically a normal internal
> >3.5 drive that can be mounted in a bay?
>
>    From what others who've done this before have said, I think it's a
> bit larger than a 3.5" HH drive, so you'll need a space, probably a
> half-height 5.25" space with some sort of mounting brackets.

That's probably the best option, although be forewarned that the
standard PC 5.25" faceplates for 3.5" drive will probably not line up
with the opening on the Apple drive. :-(

I found that the drive is the right =width= to fit in a standard 3.5"
bay, but it's too tall.  If you have a bay for a single drive, you might
be able to make it work.  I was able to make it fit by removing the thin
metal cover on the top, which exposes more guts than I would like, but
it was the only way.  I had to drill new mounting holes too.
Unfortunately, I still haven't got it quite lined up right with the
faceplate I cut (Dremeled out one of the "dummy" faceplates that came
with the case).  If anyone has a better solution, I'd love to hear it.

Nathan covered the SCSI question, so no need to add anything there.
Thanks for the tip on Alltech, though.  The cable I got from Simplexity
sucks and I need to get or make a new one.  I have one messy thing in my
setup, though.  My tape drive has it's 50-pin header mounted upside
down, so I need enough cable to be able to make a 180 degree twist
without putting a kink in the cable.  (I'm thinking now that it might be
better to make a short adaptor to flip the plug over.)

========================================================================
Michael Hackett       Internet: mhackett@vaxxine.com    GEnie: M.HACKETT
Some Assembly Required    Voice: (905) 687-1729      BBS: (905) 687-9987