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It
seems like I just got this new case and it had everything
I could want, but really it doesn't...
My purpose
for the next little while is to bring a series of articles
on do it yourself upgrades and custom work you can do to make
your computer not only work better, but look better to.
Recently
I reviewed a great case from Coolerguys.com. (Check
review here). This thing has pretty much everything you
could want in a power users case. Port replicator, built in
stereo speaker system, and a whole whack of fans to keep things
cool. It really is the ultimate LAN party goers box.
I got
to thinking. Is the perfect case enough ? Nope. Of course
not. Here at Fragtopia we believe that anything perfect can
of course be made better by us. Anyhow for the next little
while IM going to write some articles on my quest to turn
this awesome case into an UBER case. The DEMI case, the CASE
all gamers should have and beg me to make for them :P First
step will be an internal amplifier for our built in speakers.
First
step, Find a need for upgrading.
One of
the few faults I had with the case was the lack of volume
from the speakers inside. Coolerguys have mounted some 3 watt,
stereo speakers in the front of the case and these are NOT
cheep PC speakers either. Their only downfall was they were
relying on the limited power of the built in amp in my soundcard,
and were trying to send sound to my ear through the confines
of the case.
I decided
I had to give them some juice if I was going to rely on them
for sound during a LAN party. Now, there are after market
items you can purchase to accomplish what IM doing here. Many
manufacturers have amplifiers for sale that stick into a 5
1/4" slot in your system, but I say, why would I ever
buy what I can make for myself ? Besides these after market
items were never intended to power PC speakers living inside
a computer as all their outputs are external.
This case design lends itself perfectly to this mod, simply
because its pre-wired, all you have to do is connect the dots.
Ill include some how too as far as setting up a case that
isn't pre wired for this as well in case your wondering.
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This
is it, well the part everyone sees anyhow. How do I make
an amplifier system that can power a couple of speakers
INSIDE my case ? Keep on reading.
Features of our little amp include Volume, tone control
and a headphone jack (Having a headphone jack on the front
of the case is extremely convenient for LANing)
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What
you need:
To make
your internal sound system you will need:
- 2x
speakers
a method to mount speakers
an amplifier
a method to mount amplifier
some wiring
A method of powering everything up
If your doing a quick disconnect install, you may need some
extra headphone jacks and such.
- 5
min epoxy
- soldering
equipment
Where
I found all this stuff:
Most
of the parts you will need you most likely already have. You
know those crapy old desktop speaker systems you've been meaning
to get rid of ? Those have 1 amp, 2 speakers, and AC/DC power
plug and all or most of the wiring needed.
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My amp is nothing more then a cheep 8 watt Logitec amp,
from a half decent set of desktop speakers.
In the large
view you can see the 5 1/4" face plate all drilled
and ready to go
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My speakers, well they came in the case, but I could just
as easily use the ones from my speaker system. The added
speakers would of course be bigger so some thought would
go into how to install them. Keep in mind, if your going
to transport your case, everything must be in secure and
tight.
What is NOT secure WILL inevitably smash up the inside
of your PC when it breaks loose. |
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My
amp "rack" or mounting method is an old 5 1/4"
Removable IDE hard drive tray and one of those clip in
front face plates that cover your 5 1/4" slots in
your case.
I had to slice off the tail end of the bay, and cut notches
in the front so that the 5 1/4" face would fit snug
and look good.
Both parts are held together with 5 min Epoxy, and the
cork is there to give it something soft and "melt
proof" to sit on. The amp is secured with screws |
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One nice
thing about this install is that the plastic cross sections
of the removable drive bay give a nice surface for the amp
to sit on and screw into. Also being designed to fit in a
5 1/4" bay, it installs as easy as any other device,
using a couple of screws.
Putting
it all together:
There
are 2 ways you can go about putting something like this together.
You can bodge it (that is just hack it all up and put it together
in your case), or you can take your time and make a pretty
nice looking, functional product when your finished.
For me
I do things the right way, IM the kind of person that really
doesn't want a fire hazard in his computer.
One optional
step I recommend is to do yourself a big favor and draw out
what your plan is before you start wiring things up. This
will save you no end of grief when the time comes to hook
everything up. It also ensures that through every step you
know exactly what you need, and where everything is going.
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decided to go the "quick disconnect route".
That is to say that all my wiring is done using those
stereo headphone plugs so that I can remove the amp as
I would any other device from my case. This is how I recommend
building this. Not only is it neater, but the lack of
hacked and spliced wires makes for a safer installation
as well. Besides, the speaker system and its amplifier
that your ripping up, most likely is pre wired with these
plugs, or something similar, so why not use what's there. |
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Plugs
from right to left on the above photo are: Input (from sound
card), left speaker output, DC power (From AC/DC converter),
right speaker output
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I
did have to add 1 headphone jack to one of the speaker
outputs. If you go this way, you will likely need to do
the same thing. The reason is because the amp on a speaker
system is usually mounted inside the left or right speaker,
therefore wiring for that speaker comes directly from
the amp and doesn't pass through a jack simply because
there is no need. Adding one is a simple matter of soldering
2 wires to a spare jack and then finding someplace for
the jack to live as I did.
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Construction Steps:
Without going into to much detail, here are my basic steps
of construction in case you haven't got it all figured out.
- Disassemble
the speakers your using for this project and take stock
of what you have. If you don't have speakers, buy a cheep
set for 10 bucks at your local PC shop. Its worth the money,
unless of course you want to build the amp from scratch
as well.
- Mount
your amplifier so that it sits in a 5 1/4" case location.
Or a 3.5" if your inclined
You have 2 options here really. You can either mount it
directly to a panel, so that the "mounting system"
for the amp when finished is nothing more then the clips
that hold in that face plate. Or you can make a tray for
it to sit in, using the plate as a "front face"
for your finished amplifier. Choice 2 is the way I went
as you can see.
- Mount
the amp and begin running wires for output.
Remember your amplifier will have a Left and Right channel
output. Often, one is a quick disconnect type for feeding
the speaker that DOESN'T have the amplifier installed in
it, and the other will be hard wired to the amp itself,
offering a direct connection to the speaker from the amplifier.
For example, the Labtech speakers had the amplifier in the
right hand speaker. The actual speaker was wired directly
into the amp, where there was a headphone jack on the amp
for where the left speaker would plug in. Run these wires
to wherever you are mounting your speakers.
- Install
and wire your speakers.
Find a nice spot to mount your speakers, whether it be in
the front panel like mine came, or somewhere else. If your
really creative, and your speakers are small enough, you
may decide to mount them into another 5 1/4" slot.
This is actually what I wanted to do, but my speakers proved
to big to fit. =(
- Run
your input wire.
Your speaker set would have come with a wire that went from
the sound card's output, to your speaker systems input.
This will still be the case here, though the wire will now
run from your sound card back into your computer, and into
the amplifier.
I skipped this step myself because the Wind Tunnel II already
had a 2 speaker system installed which was pre-wired, using
the case's port replicator system, right from the sound
card's output.
- Run
a power wire.
Your speakers would have come with an AC/DC power source.
You have 2 choices for this really. You can wire the AC/DC
adapter directly into the 110 volt section of your power
supply or you can keep it external. Because I didn't want
to invalidate my new Fortron Source power supply's warranty
I decided not to wire directly but this is a matter of personal
choice. The obvious advantage of wiring to the PSU would
be the fact that you dont't need to carry another plug around
with you and EVERYTHING in this install would be internalized.
The disadvantage of course, is this isn't something you
should do if you don't know what your doing and as mentioned,
there is no warranty on moded power supplies.
If you were to do it, the best way is to crack open that
AC adapter, and solder the 2 wires onto the 110volt in main
(what the power cord goes into), or the 110volt out auxiliary
(the other plug in the power supply). Soldering insures
your install wont come apart and fry everything in your
PSU.
- Finnish
up.
This is self explanatory. Simply install and test it. Some
things to look for in your finished instal would be:
- Wiring neat and not interfering with fans
- Amp mounted securely
- Speakers mounted securely
TIP: even though they are shielded, keep speakers as far
from hard drives as you can. Better safe then sorry.
-Amp is securely mounted without metal on metal contact
with the circuit board
-Any current carrying AC or DC wires are secure and soldered
-As much obstruction as possible between your speakers and
the outside world is removed.
Final Words:
Ok, you
wont get Movie theater surround sound out of this setup, DUH
!! But, if your bringing your system down to a buds place,
or to a bigger LAN event, having 1 less thing to carry and
one less cable to forget is a nice deal. Not only that, but
you have handy volume and tone control as well. If you don't
want to use your new amplifier, you can always plug in the
headphones, or you can unplug the amps input from the sound
card and hook it up to a set of external speakers. Remember
with this amp on the front panel, we have a headphone jack
and with it a volume controller, which means no minimizing
your game to adjust volume levels to the headphones.
Oh, one more thing, if you have a REALLY nice set of desktop
speakers, don't rip them up, they wont sound as good in your
case.
Do take
this from me though. I have brought this tower down to LAN
parties, and not only does this amp/speaker system work, but
it sounds as good as some peoples primary speakers, and sounds
allot better then a cheep set of headphones. That and I love
answering the question, just what is that in your case ?
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