·:[ Jason On A Shtick ]:·
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About three years ago, I put together a Shuttle XPC and we’ve loved it ever since.  It is small and very quiet, allowing it to sit on the desk and not clutter the floor.  I affectionately named it “Blackbird” after the little stealth BSG ship.   Over the holiday break, I decided it was time for an upgrade, so I ordered parts for yet another XPC.

With just a couple of exceptions (like the famous “BSR door” computer – but that is a story for another time…), I’ve built every PC that I’ve owned.  I was always picky about the case, the video card, the disk controller, etc.  Now days, almost everything is built on the motherboard, so there’s not much choice in that regard unless you are a hard core gamer; it is simply a hobby for me.  So, let’s get started!

The whole point of an XPC is the small form factor (here’s a shot of my hand on the open chassis for comparison) but they are actually quite easy to assemble.  A Shuttle “bare bones” package comes with the motherboard already mounted in the case.

The XPC uses a unique cooling engine that acts like a radiator to carry heat away from the CPU.  Here is the ICE assembly removed so that the processor can be installed, followed by a shot of the case with the assembly back in place.

For this machine, I installed an Intel Core2 Duo 3.0GHz processor.  I just love looking at these chips – no pins, just surface contacts.  Be sure to lather on plenty of heat sink compound!

Getting the processor installed is the bulk of the job.  I use a two screwdriver technique to secure the ICE assembly, pushing down on one corner while screwing in the opposite one.  The Shuttle chassis is well thought out, as demonstrated by having access from both sides to easily snap down the memory modules with your thumbs.

The case also contains very nice cable management.  For this machine, both the hard disk and optical drive are SATA, so I removed the ribbon cables completely.  And while the form factor is super small, there’s still room for a PCI Express video card.  I chose an Asus EN8400GS Silent model that has a large heat sink instead of a fan.  I am an occasional gamer and do appreciate something better than the standard Intel onboard graphics, but there’s no point in having a quiet PC if you are going to ram a video card with two fans into it.

Here’s the final product along with the unused Intel heat sink and fan that come with the processor.  Pretty amazing what you can pack into that small chassis!

And for those of you that live for the particulars…

• Shuttle SG31G2 black with Intel G31 chipset
• Intel Core2 Duo e8400 3.0GHz
• Crucial 4GB DDR2 (2 x 2GB)
• LG GGW-H20L 6X Blu-Ray writer, HD-DVD reader
• Seagate 500GB ST3500320AS SATA300
• Asus EN8400GS Silent (GeForce 8400 GS) 512M GDDR2 PCI Express x16

The old XPC that I am replacing is for sale… any takers?

…Begin combat report…

August 2008

Have engaged the enemy at front lines using new tactics.  Successful deployment of spikes onto enemy’s stronghold area has deterred their ability to land and bombard.  Enemy appears confused and is searching for new landing zones.

Operation “gator scare” now in effect.  Enemy is unwilling to land or remain in zones where subterfuge devices are present.  Random rotation of types and locations of devices is recommended for sustained occupation of area.

Battle front has been annexed and detoxified along entire border.  Engineering corps has reconstructed stairs with smooth handrail for mini-soldiers.  New patio area has boosted troop morale as expected.

…End combat report…

I finally installed the climbing wall for Lindsay’s swing set. It sat in the garage in its box and taunted me all winter. The only issue I had was that I placed the top board on the climbing side just a bit too high, so the cap board wouldn’t sit flat next to the floor. There was no redoing it since that would require removing and sliding down each and every board, so I just busted out the Dremel tool with the plunge router attachment and “made it work”. Another scabrication success!  Also notice the complete and utter weathering that the original wood has gone through in one short Kentucky winter – brutal!

Whoever decided that graphite powder should be used to lubricate door hinges should be dragged out and – well… made to clean all of our hinges! Just look at all of the mess you get around your hinges from that black stuff on your doors and trim, and even on the carpets below! The mess only gets worse if you ever have a reason to tap the pins out. If you take nice, long, hot showers like me and often forget to turn on your bathroom fan, you’ll manage to cake some of that crap on the doors by adding a little humidity. And to top it off, the stuff doesn’t last very long, so your most used doors end up squeaking all too quickly. Woof!

I Googled around for a solution to this problem and ended up rolling my own from a combination of sources. I went with plumber’s grease, a lube that is made from silicone and won’t break down under heat or usage like petroleum based ones. I did my best to hold the vacuum cleaner nozzle near the bottom of each hinge as I tapped the pin loose, then I smeared just a bit of the grease on the pin and put it back. If you close the door and do one hinge at a time, you can get it done without having to fight with the door or remove it.

A couple of suggestions talked about taking the pin out and cleaning it really well – yeah right, like there’s not a load of that dang powder just waiting for it back inside the hinge. If you have the time and patience to do this for each hinge, you are probably crazy anyway so just buy new doors and be done with it.

Once I was finished with each door, I wasted a bunch of paper towels and used earth-destroying cleaner to try and make things look decent. You’ll also want to wipe off any excess lube from around the hinge. It is a messy and tedious job, but things will look better and your doors won’t squeak for hopefully a long time.

And yes, this is insane attention to detail. I assure you, my affliction is as much a curse as a blessing, but attention to detail at a ridiculous level is what I do best.

The famous swing set has been a huge success. I finally got some time to finish up a couple of loose ends with it. Since I chose to use angle iron rods to stake it to the ground (as opposed to the puny stakes that it came with), I needed to do something to cover up the exposed ends of those rods.

On the swing bar end, I simply took an extra block of wood and made some small covers for the ends. It is still going to hurt if you fall and hit these, but it will hurt a whole lot less than if you were to fall onto the exposed angle iron – due diligence for today’s litigious society!

In the sandbox area, there were several pieces of angle iron to cover. Also, I had put some drainage rock in and around the base of the whole tower. I didn’t want to just dump sand right in there because it would be spilling out of the back and kids would be digging up rocks and dirt.

I found some plastic utility tubs at Lowe’s that were exactly the right size to fit the width of the sandbox. As an added bonus, each tub has a lip around the outside that allows it to sit on the edges of the sandbox while covering up the angle iron bars entirely behind the sides of the tub. I cut three of them and fitted them together to make one big tub for the whole section. A little duct tape to cover the seams and rough edges, and we’ve got ourselves a fancy sandbox!

One of the optional goodies for the swing set is a mesh cover for the sandbox area with snaps to screw into the sides. The open mesh allows the sand to air dry while keeping out the neighborhood cats.

A couple bags of sand later, Lindsay was enjoying another fun part of her swing set!