There will shortly be lots of pictures of my nice collection of computing 'stuff' posted in this thread... ;)

THANKYOU TO PATIENCE FOR HOSTING IMAGES! :-*

More when the pictures are up... ::)

EDIT: Hey Patience! C'mon and post the pictures already! ::)

O.K., you asked and I shall answer... ;)

• Main AthlonXP/Radeon gaming rig
  
• K6-III+ Laptop
  
• Case modded XBOX
  
• Playstation 2
  
• Playstation
  
• Gamecube
  
• Dreamcast
  
• Saturn
  

And WAY too many games to count... ::)

Oh, and are the pictures ready to post yet? ???

I'll put some commentary when you've posted them in the thread... :P

SEGA SATURN! Infamous classic! ;D

Wasn't appreciated in the way it should have been! :(

MMM...Panzer Dragoon Saga on SATURN... ;D

Meaty Dragon goodness for all the family! ;)

SLURP! :P

Nice Pics!  ;D

1) Who's the person sat in the chair on pic 1?

2) The desktop looks neat and tidy  :)..... then we move onto the gaming rigs  :o ... oh dear!  ::)

3)Those machine's look like spaghetti junction in there! If you are holding onto them, I suggest some extra use of wire tie wraps!  :D

4) Fan's galore! Saying that, the machines are tightly crammed and you must need all the fans you can get because hot air must get restricted inside some of those!  :(

4) Nice XBOX!! Is that some special edition, or a home-made conversion from a PC to an XBOX? If it is, tell us how it was done, as it looks very interesting!  :)

I love the 5"1/4 floppy ;D

YAY! Thanks Patience (pics are FINALLY up!) ::)

Anyhow, in reply to janskjaer's post...

1. MY STUFF - The person in this picture is ME - Paul Psomiadis! ;D

2. I have WAY too many games to keep a 'perfectly' tidy gaming area (oh, and by the way...this IS when it's tidy...you should see it when it get's messy!!!) :o

3. Yup, lots of wires...lots of fans...lots of noise! (but I'm not too fussed...) :P

4. The reason for fans in my (silver) gaming rig is to keep the AthlonXP nice and cool.
The large fan in the Dual Voodoo 2 server is to keep the voodoos cool.
The fans in the custom XBOX are standard, nothing extra here! ;)

5. YES indeed, it IS a custom built XBOX -> PC case conversion that I did myself!
(there are WAY too many details to note down here, but I'll post how I did it when I have the time...maybe this weekend or something!) ;D

That's all for now folks! 8)

Keep the questions coming! ;)

P.S. - Thanks for the compliment on the 5" 1/4 floppy Blazkowicz...I like to keep one handy (well, you never know!) :D

Dude, that Xbox is the best! But why do you need the V2s in the server? I'd have 'em right in the main box, unless there's no place for them to fit, but I think I see two open PCI slots, or at least the things in the back of the case are open.

Also, just out of curiosity, is that 5 1/4 actually hooked up? And what does XP think of it? lol, I'll bet it doesn't have the "Designed for Windows XP" logo  :D

Some nice kit you've got there!

Paul, where did you get that card cooler fan that's cooling your Voodoo2s?  ???

Good job folks! Keep those Q's coming! ;)

O.K. - now for some more feedback! :P

"amp_man" - Yes, you are correct to notice that I have TWO PCI slots FREE in my main rig, but I chose to have the V2's in a separate machine as I usually FREQUENTLY re-install the Catalyst drivers for my Radeon. ::)
This would mean that I'd have to keep re-installing the V2 drivers as well and re-config all the settings for all of them...no thankyou! :P

Oh, and I'd like to say FOOLED YOU! ;D
You might have noticed the DESKTOP say's WinXP - But I actually run Windows Me - it's just an XP-style theme that I created cos I like the 'look' of XP, but not all of the extra CRAP that XP has with it! ;)

"procerus" - The fan 'mount' is actually a Zalman fan mounting kit (usually distributed with their 'flower' coolers, but also availabe separately) with an 80mm Thermaltake fan attached to it. Except the fan mount is REVERSED so it cools the V2's instead of the CPU area! :D

My motto - MOD OR DIE! 8)

Stay tuned for the XBOX 'chronicle' sometime over the weekend - I'll 'reveal' what it took to make my XBOX look L33T! ;)

wrote on 25.02.04 at 01:01:49:

Oh, and I'd like to say FOOLED YOU! ;D You might have noticed the DESKTOP say's WinXP - But I actually run Windows Me - it's just an XP-style theme that I created cos I like the 'look' of XP, but not all of the extra CRAP that XP has with it! ;)

lmao, I do the same thing with my 98se partition, it uses one of the cool blue XP backgrounds...

paulpsomiadis, possible XBOX2 Engineer?  ;D :D

Thanks for the compliment janskjaer! ;)

BTW, one of the images (front of the V2 server with CD-ROM ejected) is NOT up... ::)

Patience told me the reason for this is that it was "Too big..." ::)

Oops! I guess I forgot to resize it! DUH! :P

Patience - If you want to post the 'missing' image - just use Paintshop Pro (or any other image program). It should be resized to 30% of it's original size. That will make it 'small' enough to post. ;)

Anyhow, if the image DOES go up...it will show that I took an 'old' laptop CD-ROM and created a 5"1/4 case for it so that it fits into the server like a normal CD-ROM. Then I used a micro-IDE to standard IDE convertor on the back so I could attach it to a normal IDE cable...NEAT! ;D

Well, that's it for now...big update when I do the XBOX tutorial at the weekend (dammit - this SHOULD also be on "forums.xbox-scene.com"...but I'd rather have it somewhere that I know the people are more friendly - like HERE!) ;)

Nuff said! 8)

***PART1***

OKAY, here we go! ;) (THIS WILL BE LONG!) :o

XBOX - > PC case tutorial (or how to make an XBOX look L33T!)

First off you'll need to get the case for your MOD...

I bought an S-Buddie Micro-ATX case from Maplin Electronics UK (£49.99) :D

The only 'minor' problem with the case is that it's designed for MATX boards...time to PULL OUT some RIVETED screw holders...! :o

Use a STURDY pair of pliers and lever the screw holders 'left-to-right' until they are quite loose...then use some clippers to cut off the base of the rivets and pull out the screw holders. :o

Right, that done we now have an empty case... ;D

Now disassemble your XBOX into it's respective parts (you'll need some TORX screwdrivers to unscrew all of those 'tamper proof' screws...) :P

Once disassembled...line up the board in the case so that the Network socket 'lines up' with one of the PCI slot 'holes' at the back of the case. Mark the position of the board by using a permanent marker through the screw holes. :P

Remove the board and 'bend up' the bottom of the PCI slot 'hole' (now you have a hole for the network socket - it's a bit of a tight fit, but it works O.K.) ;)

Now, take nine mainboard screw holders (the little hexagonal ones you use for spacers in a 'normal' ATX case) and cut off the 'screw' part from the base of each of them. :D

Then screw them TIGHTLY into your XBOX mainboard. ;)

***PART2***

Put some epoxy resin on the areas of the case that you marked for each screw hole and place the board (with the holders STILL screwed in) down into the case. DON'T forget to line up the network socket (helps to plug in a cable to stop it from moving!) ;)

Leave to glue for at least an hour... ::)

Once it's done, remove the board for now... :P

O.K. now for the 'other' stuff you'll need...(less detail here) ;D

1. A modified Samsung SD-616 DVDROM (there are tutorials on how to do this at: Http://www.xbox-scene.com). I also built an adaptor board (see the picture - that little board at the back of the drive) to allow the DVDROM to use the XBOX's 'yellow cable' instead of altering the cable itself (harder, but worth it!) ;D

2. An Apache 1.3 Plus power convertor board (available from Http://www.tribemods.com) - this is used to convert the ATX power supply to XBOX voltages. Be sure to order the PLUS version that comes pre-soldered to a lead - and get the correct version that matches your XBOX [for XBOX 1.0 or 1.1 / 1.2  to 1.5] ;)

3. I also 'modified' the power/eject board from the front of the XBOX, so it has jumpers on it. That way I can plug it into the front switches on the case. ;)

4. I used a 2.5" 10GB HDD with an adaptor to normal IDE spec. Then I added a jumper so that it connects to the HDD access LED on the front of the case (a variation on tutorials at Http://www.xbox-scene.com once again...) :D

5. Not as visible is the fact that I replaced the CPU and GPU thermal compound with Antec silver compound. I also added the extra heatsink to the MCPX chipset to prevent overheating. ;D

6. The joyports were constructed as follows...

I. Chop up the XBOX joyports
II. Cut a square hole in a 3" 1/2 drive cover.
III. Plug a pad lead into ALL of the ports (to ensure even spacing)
IV. Use some good 'ol epoxy to glue them into place, but make SURE they are the correct way UP!(you will need a LOT here - a good 1/3 tube!)
V. When glued, remove the leads from the sockets and extend the connection leads at the back (I extended them to 3 times normal length...)
VI. (Optional) build an adaptor board to allow 'front USB' port connection (see the picture).
VII. ALL DONE! :o

7. (optional) I added an Xecutor 2.0Pro MOD chip - as it allowed me to swap HDD drives, so it was a necessary for my project. ;)

Okay, once you have ALL of this stuff...you can fit it into the case... :P

Oh, almost forgot! :o

Use the 'side fan' from the case, and glue it into position at the back of the XBOX mainboard (helps remove heat from the CPU/GPU area).

Once done, you can cut up a 5" 1/4 bay cover to fill the gap at rhe back of the case (I happened to have a silver one from my ATX gaming rig...)

***PART3***

Okay...now lift out the removable drive tray and fit the DVDROM drive.

The HDD I used was small, so I fitted it in the case UNDER the DVDROM (remember to put some electrical tape under the HDD adaptor to stop electrical shorts!)

Plug the Apache MOD into the PSU, then the MB. (tape to insulate under the MOD)

Put the modded power/eject board into the case and plug it into the MB and front switches. I also took one of the Bi-colour LED's from the board and attached a lead to it, so I could have it as a power LED on the front of the case. (Remember to insulate the underside of the board with tape again)

Plug the HDD LED into the jumper on the HDD adaptor.

Plug the ‘extended’ joypad leads into the MB.

Plug the IDE cable into the MB, then HDD – now ‘carefully’ put the drive tray into the case and screw it in, then plug in the DVD.

Plug the ‘yellow cable’ into the DVD adaptor board.

Plug the ‘back fan’ into the fan header to the LEFT of the AV socket (this is the 12v header, the other one is only 7v!)

Right – now double check all connections…Is it O.K.? YES…GOOD! ;D

Now, before putting the lid onto the case, look round the back of the case for where the AV out socket is. At this point, use a pair of STURDY pliers to bend the case as flat as possible. Then insulate with tape again. (This allows the AV lead to plug in without exerting TOO much force on the board…)

Now test the XBOX to ensure it STILL powers on and boots up fine…YES…GOOD! ;D

Put on the lid and screw it in…FINISHED! :o

PHEW! :P

(if anyone has further questions, just post them and I’ll answer…) ;)

GOOD GRIEF, I had to post THREE times...didn't think it would be this long! :o

Anyhow, hope you all enjoy my TUT on how I made my kewl Aluminium XBOX! ;D

Please post any questions, queries and if anyone spots a typo, let me know and I'll EDIT... ;)

Nuff typed already (sore fingers!) ::)

Small update...

Well, a few weeks back one of my mates tried to flash the TSOP on my v1.1 mainboard and managed to KILL it! :'(

Unfortunately, the 10GB laptop HDD attached to this MB was still LOCKED, so I lost the HDD too... :'(

HOWEVER, ALL IS NOT FORFEIT!!! ;)

I've since got myself a 60GB 'normal' size HDD and I also had a backup of my harddisk and save files (it wasn't all that recent, but - hey, who's complaining!) ::)

I've also 'reworked' various parts of the case... :P

1. Cable ties - much better! ;D

2. The USB adaptor board has been replaced with an 'insulated' adaptor cable (so no more chance of shortouts!) ;D

3. The DVD adaptor board has had the power plug removed - this was shorting out and not really necessary as I can power the DVD from the PSU anyhow! ::)

That's about all really... :P

Despite the fact I lost a MB and HDD in the process, the overall result is a FAR safer MOD than before! ;)

L8R DUDES! 8)

Yup, ANOTHER update - and it's FINAL now! 8)

The following has now been done to my XBOX. ;)

1. Integrated (hard-wired) M.S. DVD kit, with the I.R. sensor where the USB ports used to be on the front of the XBOX. :D
A 4 pole 4 throw relay is used to disable the DVD kit when a pad is plugged in, so I don't lose a controller port in the process. ;D

2. Since the front USB went the distance, I created an XBOX to USB adaptor plug that fits in ANY controller port. ;D

3. The MOD switch board that used to 'hang' out the back of the box is now attached with velcro for easy removal (so you can re-flash the MOD). :D

On a different note, I've removed the DUAL P2/V2 server from my machines list as I've now sold it! ::)

PEACE! 8)