looking through all those PC components on eBay for the "Small PSU" thread got me considering putting a G3 LB into a 1U case. Anyone out there done it?
Plus, the Q7100 pics got me wondering if a G3 would fit into a IIcx case.
Geez, it's past my bedtime! I'm getting sleepy and dopey! :/
Dan K
The biggest problem is going to be that damn personality card. Sticks up like a sore thumb, and there has been discussion in the past about being able to function without it- Sometimes it works, sometimes it works but without ethernet, and sometimes it won't boot at all. Depends partly on what operating system you run and on your personal karma and/or luck, apparently.
Otherwise, very doable.
Without a functioning 'wings' card, I could not (and still can't!) install any os above 8.1
Didn't the perch slot share its connector with the PPC nubus video/PDS slot? Perhaps a video passthrough cable from a nubus G3 upgrade could be used to flop the perch card over flat?
The other thing I notice is that the VRM sticks up pretty high. I don't have a 1U chassis here with which to compare.
Dan K
Are they documented for both slots? Sonnet tech support confirmed that the PCB in the middle of their flex cable adapter is a line driver/buffer sorta deal . . . so it probably wouldn't much appreciate P&G lines being mixed in where it was expecting to deal with A&D signals.
Check the old forums for an ooooold "Trash" post about right angle PCI adapters for 1u case swaps. The ribbon cable construction method they used might actually work for a personality card.
jt
Would pinouts matter if the cable were just straight through?
I don't know anything about the X100-G3-PDS gizmos, never had one. But even if there is some kind of electronics in the middle of the adapter cable, a bit of cutting/soldering ought to eliminate anything that's not just straight through. Eh?
This is just an intellectual exercise for now, for future reference if you will. I got thinking about it when looking for compact power supplies on eBay. I haven't a 1U case, nor any need for 1U 'puters . . . oh, and since I already have a house full of projects-in-process I really don't think I should be starting another!
:d Who am I kidding! I'll be off onto something new . . . today most likely! :d
Dan K
I intend to try this Real Soon Now. I've rough-fitted a B&W motherboard and a Radeon 7000 on a right angle adapter into a 1u case, with what looks like room at one side for a hard drive and a small PSU. I'm thinking one of the Mini-ITX DC converter boards and an external AC adapter. My other concerns would be clearance for the CPU heatsink - although you could always grind it down - and heat. I have a few exotic ideas for cooling.
. . . prolly not, if they ARE straight thru . . . mebbe they're not?
P&G lines often get tied together on their own dedicated planes in multilayer PCB layouts and any extension cable for a PDS . . . that's gonna actually work reliably . . .
. . . see the *semicoherent . . . rambling (and still not responded to, for some reason ::)) * last post in this thread.
jt
I just peeked at those piccies and then read the whole post again.
Come to think of it . . . has anyone looked at the riser/adapter cards from the 6100 for doing this kind of hack?
. . . or at hacking the stubbie terminator card from a PDS cardless x100 series, like the one that was in my Radius 81/110?
The other thing that comes to mind is that the connector/slot combo is a standard MCA compatible (actual MCA parts?) form factor. IIRC, it's present on one of the PS2 (?) risers that's hopefully also in a box somewhere around here.
jt
I had a look at PS/2 risers for this purpose last year. The most likely candidate was one from a Model 70 luggable system, IIRC but they're not very common.
Phil
I was messing with a Rev B iMac logic board and a 1U PSU. It should fix. I just didn't have time to finish it yet. Then I get this idea of a iMac DV board. With DVD support and firewire...