Post by sinful on Dec 31, 2014 15:33:54 GMT
VGX-XL Redux Project
This isn't a 100% how to guide so much as some tips, tricks and some suggestions. Taking up a project like this takes some creativity and skill with tools, hopefully this guide will help remove a lot of the trial and error that I went through completing this project.
Lets face it our trusty VGX-XL computers are aging, sooner or later the critical components will fail and with little to no replacement parts available we'll be left with a very elegant looking husk of a computer. My Own VGX-XL2 Hadn’t failed, it just failed to perform all of my wants and needs so I took matters into my own deviously crafty hands and created a VGX-XL powerhouse. I went far beyond the scopes of this guide, installing components that would be better suited in a larger case. I went so far as to fabricate a few of my own parts to see just how far the adventure would take me. Now that I have gone where only few have gone before (and probably a little overboard) I will try to bring it back and dial it down to a level that can be accomplished by more than just those who have access to a fabrication department to annoy with personal projects. Unfortunately I don't have photos of every step I took nor do I have photos of changes made for the purposes of this guide however I will try to be as detailed in my descriptions as possible to make this undertaking as painless as it can be.
Choosing the Right Parts
Updating the VGX-XL cases to except an off the shelf modern mATX motherboard is not as hard as it may appear. The only Modification that is absolutely required through this entire project is the drilling of a few small holes for the new motherboard standoffs, everything beyond that point is completely optional and depends on the parts selection. Care should be taken when choosing the right components depending on how far you're willing to modify the case. If a CPU is chosen that tends to run hotter that most, then you have to consider proper cooling to avoid the extra heat that can be generated from being cramped up in a small case such as our beloved VGX-XL models.
The single biggest decision to make when selecting your parts is the power supply. I and many of others have searched for a suitable replacement and as far I know nobody has found one that will drop in right out of the box. The original PSU Measures 103mm high x 73mm wide x 164mm long so when selecting a new PSU anything smaller and you should be golden. You should be able to squeeze a slightly longer and taller PSU in as I did but take plenty of measurements between the PSU and the HDD caddy to be sure it will fit. TXF Power Supplies are the closest thing we have that will fit within the VGX-XL's case. Another option are the Mini ITX power supplies, however these are considerably smaller than the original PSU so securing the power supply can be tricky. The easiest Method of securing the mini ITX would be strapping it inside to the side of the case with a few heavy duty cable ties. I know this isn’t exactly pretty to look at and you're left with a large open hole that stares at you tauntingly that used to be filled with a much larger PSU, but hey, If you want an easy no tools method then this is about it. Alternatively your other option but a bit more labor intensive would be to craft a bezel to adapt the PSU to fit allowing the pre-existing screw holes to be used. All that is needed to do this is a dremel and some sheet metal both of which can be purchased pretty cheap at about any hardware store. I'm pretty confident that this could be done by just about anybody willing to give it a try, and if you do mess up just grab another piece of metal and try again. Finally and probably very unlikely for most people reading this would be to fabricate a whole new PSU Box to house the PSU internals. I chose option C.
Another important thing to consider is that a 50cm ATX motherboard cable and a 70cm ATX 12v Cable will be required between PSU and the motherboards ATX Connectors. This means that you will probably require ATX extensions or a Modular PSU with custom length cables. I learned this the hard way when I open the PSU box only to find my 24-pin and 8-pin ATX cables where way too short to reach across the case, I had to yet again place an order for more parts. Luckily since I chose to spend the extra cash for the modular version of my PSU I only had to order wiring and connectors to make new cables
The next important decision you have to make is which motherboard and CPU to get. Most of this comes down to your own needs and personal taste, however unless you plan on installing many fans, a cooler running CPU should be chosen and with that comes the choice of motherboard chipset and form factor. A mATX form factor is about the only option we have without significant case modding. I have concluded that a full size ATX board will fit within the case however extra modifications will be necessary, the hard drive caddy for starters. This is something I won't be covering as It's not something I have tried.
Next up is the CPU cooler. Again this comes down to your own needs but while searching for a cooler that I liked I had been using a simple stock Intel CPU cooler and found that it did get the job done and I had no problems with overheating so that might work for others. I finally decided on a Noctua NH-L12 low profile cooler.
The NH-L12 is the largest cpu cooler that I found that will fit in our short cases, Its rated up to 130w TDP on Intel with both the lower 92mm and top 120mm fans running, but unfortunately our case is too short and with the 120mm top fan installed, there is ZERO space left for the top fan to move any air. I managed to not need it due to the low CPU temps of the Ivy Bridge-E CPUs and the 4 other fans I have cooling just that side of the case. There is enough room however to mount a slim fan up top but I haven't done so yet. On the plus side the NH-L12 is still rated at 95w TDP in Low Profile mode which is still pretty good and more than enough for most HTPC builds. To assist in keeping the CPU cool an additional front fan can be added. A few choice fan sizes I recommend are 60mm, 80mm and 92mm. The 60mm fan would require no modification and will fit easily under the front shelf. Don't expect the 60mm fan to move a ton of air but it should help draw some cooler air over to the CPU fan. The 80mm option will require some small modifications to the front shelf, but this can be done easily enough with simple hand tools. The 92mm fan would require a little extra sheet metal cutting to install than the 80mm fan but still remains a fairly simple install. There is also the option of running a series of smaller fans in the rear of the case above the motherboards rear ports but this may lead to some undesirable fan noise. A series of three 50mm fans of four 40mm fans accompanied by fan Y adapters will fit.
Rather than Taking this Route, I opted to expand outward and fabricate a new fan box to house two 80mm fans.
Depending on what VGX-XL model you're working with may play some part in your disc drive choice. If like me you're starting off with something that didn't come equipped with Blu-ray from the factory and you're looking to add one you have a few options. I went with a Panasonic UJ-265, Its a slimline slot load BDXL drive that is a no fuss direct fit with all of the original mounts only requiring a SATA to Slimline SATA adapter.
You also have the option to continue using you original DVD drive with a SATA to Slimline IDE adapter. If you are fortunate enough to be upgrading from a model that had a Blu-ray drive feel free to continue using it if you like or upgrade to a better drive, just be sure to pick up that Slimline SATA adapter.
The original I/O panel in the rear only has provisions for three cards, two full size cards and a single low profile card, most mATX motherboards however have four PCIe/PCI slots so to make full use of the motherboard without any unnecessary modifications, choosing a card that can be kept internally such as a WIFI adapter with panel mount antenna leads would be recommended. To connect your PCI cards located in the full size card slots PCI extension cables will need to be used such as the one shown here.
To get some rear plug action going on, panel mount USB and firewire jacks can mounted in the same locations as the originals by drilling a few screw holes to mount, these can be connected to either the motherboard headers or to the I/O jacks on the back of the motherboard providing the plug is low profile enough to fit in between connector and rear fan vents. Other options present themselves as well such as panel mount HDMI if onboard video is the plan or perhaps Ethernet is needed, a lot of panel mount cable options exist however some are more obscure than others so may take some searching to locate the cables needed. I again decided to take the more difficult path and fabricated up a new rear PCI slot frame
To give you an idea on what components you might want or need here’s the parts list I chose for my project.
APEVIA CS-01 Multi Purpose Case Screws (Kit contains the standoffs we'll be using)
ASRock X79 Extreme4 LGA 2011 mATX Motherboard
Intel Core i7 4930K Ivy Bridge-E 3.4GHz 130w 6-core CPU
Noctua NH-L12 Low Profile CPU Cooler
8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 Memory
Silverstone ST45SF-G 450w Full Modular SFX PSU (Required custom PSU box)
Custom Sleeved 50cm 24-pin ATX Motherboard Cable
Custom Sleeved 70cm 8-pin ATX 12v Cable
Noctua NF-B9 92mm Fan (Used as Front CPU Fan)
Noctua NF-R8 80mm Fan (Used as replacement internal PSU fan)
x2 Noctua NF-R8 PWM Fans (Used as Rear Chassis Fans)
Panasonic UJ-265 Slimline Slot Load Blu-ray Drive
StarTech Slimline SATA to SATA Adapter
Sapphire Radeon HD 7750 Graphics Card.
ASUS PCE-AC68 Dual Band AC1900 Wireless Adapter
Intel 520 Cherryville 120GB SSD
x2 WD Green 2TB HDDs
StarTech Dual USB 2.0 Low Profile Slot Plate Adapter
StarTech Dual USB 3.0 Low Profile Slot Plate Adapter
Dual Firewire Low Profile Slot Plate Adapter
NZXT IU01 Internal USB Expansion Hub
Wire Sleeving
Heat Shrink Tubing
x2 10-Pin Female Header Connectors
x5 2-Pin female Header Connectors
Getting Down to Business
Its all got to go. Start by removing EVERYTHING! If you need help with the teardown process a guide can be found HERE.
After removing all internal components, I recommend that you use a template of your motherboard. I used an old garbage mATX board I had laying around to reduce the amount of handling of the new motherboard to help prevent any potential mishaps. If a scrap mATX motherboard is unavailable a template can be made from a sheet of cardboard. Once you finish making your template you can begin the modifications by removing the three standoffs circled in red pictured above that will be obstructing the new motherboard.
To remove them, grip the standoff with a pair of pliers or vice grips and roll them in a circular motion until they pop off. Twisting them will mar the coating and expose bare metal and pulling them off can cause the floor of the case to bend or dent. After the standoffs are removed you may also have to remove the large rubber pad that had been under the CPU as this may prevent your new motherboard from lying in just as it had with mine. Now mount your motherboard template in the case. The template should match up with two of the original standoffs, one located at the rear of the case right at the graphics card slot and the second standoff is right in line with the first on the front of the motherboard. After your template is screwed down and secure you can begin marking the locations for the new standoffs by simply marking the floor of the case through the screw holes of the template. Once all of the locations are marked begin drilling the holes with a 2mm drill bit. Try to keep the bit as vertical as possible so that the standoffs do not screw in at an angle making motherboard placement difficult. After all holes have been drilled it's time to thread in the standoffs, a small 5mm socket wrench can be used to drive them in. The standoffs are 3mm and may be difficult to start threading due to our 2mm pilot hole however making our holes slightly smaller gives something for the threads to grip on to. When installing the standoffs that are located in the low spots of the case first lay a small washer to raise the standoff to roughly the same height as the others.
Once finished you will need to thoroughly clean the case of all metal debris left behind from drilling. After the case cleaning you can place your motherboard in and screw it down. Hopefully all of your motherboard's screw holes line up with you standoffs. If for some reason a standoff is only a little off and not lining up, don’t panic, there’s still hope. Remove the motherboard and you can use the socket wrench to gently pry the standoff in the direction needed, the screw may go in at a little bit of angle but since relocating the standoff isn't an option a small angle will have to suffice. At this point your new motherboard should be in and your poor VAIO might start looking like a computer again.
Now for some simple wire work. We need to install new connectors onto the front Power switch and LEDs. The only tool required for this job is something to lift up the small tabs holding the wires ito the connector. A small flat head precision screw driver or something similar works nicely. Just lift up each tab slightly and carefully pull the wire from the connector one by one.
The pair of Black wire are for the disc eject button, I'll be going over these further down but for now just set them aside. The Pair of Red wires are for the power switch, the three Red, Green, and White wires are for the Power LED, you may only end up using two of the three depending on whether or not your motherboard supports a power LED with sleep mode indicator. The one Orange and one White wire are for the HDD Activity LED. The Red and Green Pair are for the WLAN LED, most motherboards do not provide for a WLAN LED so more than likely the wires for this will go unconnected and tucked away. Finally we have the Blue and White Pair that are for the Optical Disc Activity LED and again this is another LED that will more than likely not be provided for so will also get tucked away. You can chose to sleeve all of these wires as I have or leave them as is, it's purely cosmetic so either way is fine. Once you have all the wires in the new connector as specified by your motherboards manual, you can go ahead and reinstall the power switch and LED light bar back into the case.
Now we can begin on some not so simple wire work. If you desire to make any of your front inputs functional such as your front USB or audio connectors, then either custom cable will have to be used to accommodate the non standard micro connectors that Sony used or do as I did and cut off the unneeded connector and solder on an extension with the correct 10-pin USB connector. The front USB wires are standard USB color coding and pinout. The Firewire connector is also set standard and color matched. When I got to this point I chose not to use the front Firewire, instead I installed a Dual Firewire Plate adater in the rear using up both of my motherboard's firewire ports.
If the composite input is to be reused then the choices are to reuse the original tuner card, which may not be desirable if the motherboard chosen has no PCI slots or a PCIe tuner card from Hauppauge can be installed and an adapter for the front composite input be made. Hauppauge offers an A/V Bracket and cable set with the connector necessary to make the original inputs fit the new tuner card. The front headphone and mic jacks can also be extended and made to fit the new front HD audio header. Be sure to cover any wires that are to be soldered with a bit of small heat shrink tubing. Wire sleeving can be used to hide any wire work that’s been done. If like me you have the original VAIO wireless keyboard and you wish to keep using it, you can adapt the CIR and RF receivers to the new motherboard. Both the CIR and RF receivers are standard USB devices so can be made to work in exactly the same way as done for the front USB.
To get the all-in-one card reader working all that’s needed is to replace the cable with a Mini USB Type-B to USB header cable but at this point I ran out of USB headers so had to install an internal USB hub.
With the Front Inputs installed you can now begin working on the front shelf so that you can install a new fan in front of the CPU. If you decided to go with a 60mm front fan, then you can go ahead and strap it down with a couple cable ties to the ventilation holes on the floor of the case. If, however you decided on a larger fan such as the 80 or 92mm fans then Installing an 80mm fan would be the easier of the two requiring only two small cuts to the hole already provided and then bending the sheet metal downward using pliers or vice grips. If you decide to go the 92mm route then a bit extra cutting is needed. For this I recommend using a dremel with a cutting disc, if no dremel is available you can improvise with some sheet metal shears and then clean up the cuts by straightening the metal and filing away any remaining burrs.
Once again make sure the parts are free of any metal dust, shavings or debris before reinstalling it in the case. Before reinstalling the shelf you may want to first connect the SATA cables that will be used for the HDDs and the optical drive. If you wait to connect the SATA cables it may be prove to be a bit of a challenge due to tight quarters. Once you have it in go ahead and install the front fans and CIR and RF receivers. The 70mm fan may or may not be blocking a couple of your SATA ports depending on the motherboard's layout.
The next step would be installing your power supply. Hopefully you chose to make up a bezel for your PSU, if you did you can just screw your bezel to the PSU and then screw the bezel to the inside of the case. If you decided to go the easy route then you may proceed to strap the PSU in good and tight. It may help to strap the PSU cables right where they meet the PSU to the side of the case as well, this should help prevent the PSU from sliding toward the front of the case when you plug in your power cord. Now you should have your motherboard in, the front shelf finished and now that the PSU is in place you are almost ready for your first boot.
Installing the HDD caddy is pretty straight forward, nothing needs to be changed and it should just drop in as before. A little finesse may be in order depending on the size of the PSU chosen and how much wire clutter there is between the PSU and HDD caddy. I found that it helps to drop in the HDDs at a bit of an angle. Make your SATA cable and PSU connections now. If space is limited as was the case for me, I made the connections before tilting in the HDD caddy making it much easier.
Install the disc drive. Much like the HDD caddy, the disc drive should be a direct fit as original only this time around you will be connecting it to a SATA port and your power supply. Unfortunately we have no place on the motherboard to connect the eject button so for now ejection can be done at the software level. It is possible to hardwire the remote eject button directly to the disc drive using the same method as described for the Windows 64-bit eject button fix.
Reinstall the side panels and face panel on to the case and if you haven't done so already, install the CPU, CPU cooler and memory and then proceed to make the cable connections to the motherboard. If you plan on using a graphics card, install that next. Before plugging in the computer and booting up for the first time double check you connections and make sure all fans are clear of any obstructions.
Now it's Time for the big payoff. With everything ready to go, go ahead and press that power switch. If everything went smoothly you should be watching the computer boot up, If it fails to boot, check your connections and try again. Once the computer is up and running you can now shut it down to tie up any loose ends you might not have done yet.
Congratulation! you have helped to foil Sony's plans of world domination through obscenely overpriced proprietary replacement parts.
Rev. 1.2
Had me in stitches.
. Notwithstanding that the cable alterations fill me with dread, I was just wondering what is still worth salvaging from my XL201?
