******UPDATED******
I have added pictures and notes on my updated setup. Things moved and improved cooling! See everything at the end of original post.
Good morning!
I had a tinker with my 2S last night as I found it annoying having a HDD trailing out the back of the box. I thought I would open it up and see what the chances are of fitting the HDD internally, I was just in luck there is enough space if you position it right but it is tight, really tight. I have done everything for ease so it may not look pretty, however that was not my intention as it is all hidden.
I did not want to have any external cables or connections so I soldered a USB cable direct to the front USB port pins on the motherboard. Quite simple just two data wires, power and ground. You can find pin out all over Google. You can see below where I have left enough wire free to move around the USB port keeping it free when the front is put back on. I chose to use Blutack to protect the soldered wires as hot glue can pull pads off circuit boards if I needed to remove it.
The next thing I did was get the HDD ready. The pictures below hopefully show what was done. I put a bit of plastic on the top of the HDD which will be facing down in the box this is just a precaution as there shouldn't be any risk of a short here. I then put electrical tape across bottom side of the HDD on the exposed circuits as this will be facing towards the box casing and has a higher risk or something touching and shorting the whole thing. The USB connector attached to the HDD is from a caddy which was a few quid of fleabay.
The final part was fitting the HDD and securing it and the USB cable. I could only find one position in the box which is shown below. Due to the design of the USB adaptor I had to have the HDD upside down in the box as if it was put the right way up it would stick too far out, this is the only way I could find where it would lay flat. You can see I have secured the USB cable using the smart card housing with a bit of electrical tape, this is simple but works well.
Now just a final image to show the box detecting the HDD. It initialised fine and has been selected as my primary drive for recordings with my USB pen my being used for EPG and other bits. This massively increases EPG speed when recording TV as the USB is not being used to do multiple things.
Like I said at the start of the thread this thing is not pretty but it is not supposed to be, it is just for convenience and to reduce the amount of things coming out of the box.
****************************UPDATES****************************
I have added a small 30mm fan to the side of the case to remove hot air and help cool the new heat sink which has also been added. The fan is one used in high performance RC items such as cars and helicopters and is rated up to 7v but this would be too high for what it is being used for, as such it is pulling power from a 2v source which makes is ran at a nice quiet speed. The fan does run quiet but the box is no longer 'silent' since it is now actively cooled. It is difficult to hear the fan, you would need to be in a silent room listening very hard and near to the box to hear anything - win!
I have moved the HDD to sit above the smart card reader as this gives a greater distance between the CPU and the HDD which together generate quite a bit of heat, too much for my liking. In order to do this i had the modify the card slot to give access to a new custom right angle USB cable I put together.
This thing is running cold! I have been testing by recording two programs simultaneously and using the system to install and uninstall software to generate heat on the CPU and HDD and I can barely feel any heat. I have noticed an improvement on the responsiveness of the box as well.
I have added pictures and notes on my updated setup. Things moved and improved cooling! See everything at the end of original post.
Good morning!
I had a tinker with my 2S last night as I found it annoying having a HDD trailing out the back of the box. I thought I would open it up and see what the chances are of fitting the HDD internally, I was just in luck there is enough space if you position it right but it is tight, really tight. I have done everything for ease so it may not look pretty, however that was not my intention as it is all hidden.
All of this really isn't necessary as it is easy to plug in an HDD and get on with it, bit I like playing and experimenting. I like pushing things beyond the specifications and this is why I have been inspired to do this. I have posted to show my work and results and this post should not be treated as a guide. If you do try you own mods results will vary box to box, person to person. If you choose to do this it is at your own risk. You will void any warranty you have by opening your box and I will offer no support if you fry your box.
I did not want to have any external cables or connections so I soldered a USB cable direct to the front USB port pins on the motherboard. Quite simple just two data wires, power and ground. You can find pin out all over Google. You can see below where I have left enough wire free to move around the USB port keeping it free when the front is put back on. I chose to use Blutack to protect the soldered wires as hot glue can pull pads off circuit boards if I needed to remove it.
The next thing I did was get the HDD ready. The pictures below hopefully show what was done. I put a bit of plastic on the top of the HDD which will be facing down in the box this is just a precaution as there shouldn't be any risk of a short here. I then put electrical tape across bottom side of the HDD on the exposed circuits as this will be facing towards the box casing and has a higher risk or something touching and shorting the whole thing. The USB connector attached to the HDD is from a caddy which was a few quid of fleabay.
The final part was fitting the HDD and securing it and the USB cable. I could only find one position in the box which is shown below. Due to the design of the USB adaptor I had to have the HDD upside down in the box as if it was put the right way up it would stick too far out, this is the only way I could find where it would lay flat. You can see I have secured the USB cable using the smart card housing with a bit of electrical tape, this is simple but works well.
Now just a final image to show the box detecting the HDD. It initialised fine and has been selected as my primary drive for recordings with my USB pen my being used for EPG and other bits. This massively increases EPG speed when recording TV as the USB is not being used to do multiple things.
Like I said at the start of the thread this thing is not pretty but it is not supposed to be, it is just for convenience and to reduce the amount of things coming out of the box.
****************************UPDATES****************************
I have added a small 30mm fan to the side of the case to remove hot air and help cool the new heat sink which has also been added. The fan is one used in high performance RC items such as cars and helicopters and is rated up to 7v but this would be too high for what it is being used for, as such it is pulling power from a 2v source which makes is ran at a nice quiet speed. The fan does run quiet but the box is no longer 'silent' since it is now actively cooled. It is difficult to hear the fan, you would need to be in a silent room listening very hard and near to the box to hear anything - win!
I have moved the HDD to sit above the smart card reader as this gives a greater distance between the CPU and the HDD which together generate quite a bit of heat, too much for my liking. In order to do this i had the modify the card slot to give access to a new custom right angle USB cable I put together.
This thing is running cold! I have been testing by recording two programs simultaneously and using the system to install and uninstall software to generate heat on the CPU and HDD and I can barely feel any heat. I have noticed an improvement on the responsiveness of the box as well.
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