Optimal fortress for the computer

Evgenie Rudometov

http://www.rudometov.com

Company Foxconn which is one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer accessories, develops and releases wide gamma of models of qualitative tanks for system units

Whether it was necessary to you, expensive reader to reflect on such questions as an estimation of the historical periods. Many, most likely, will respond negatively. Really, there are many other, more important problems. And, nevertheless, try to formulate the most important reachings of the XX-th century.

It is curious, that at the beginning of the century the majority then living would name possibly the car invention, in the twentieth-thirtieth – the plane, further – an atomic energy, space. But we, will undoubtedly respond, that it, of course, computers. Never before the person did not create to itself more interesting toys. Multifunctional, not clear and surprisingly capturing and, bessomnenija, useful. And than more difficult, "wound", especially functional and interesting. Even easier to consider the internal arrangement of such products consisting of billions of transistors, the chips distributed on hundreds, the aesthetic pleasure, that then to speak to operation of interesting and often fascinating programs gives.

However all these hardware-software riches are necessary for allocating somewhere. This role is played by system unit tank. However, the term has appeared a little after appearance of the first computers. However from it the functionality of the given component does not vary. The aesthetics of the completed construction and support of comprehensible conditions for maintenance of components of the computer system consisting of the big number of components were its overall objectives long time exclusively.

Tanks and scale-up problems

Certainly, at the beginning of a mass computerisation to pick up tank was not a problem. In days of self-made Sinclairs and RK86 (there were once such models of computers) – the main thing was to gather or somewhere to extract a stuffing, and to place it in any box was business obviously minor and did not deserve special efforts. The box – it also is a box – from metal, plastic or a tree. Would be strong.

Not essentially the situation and with the industrial products of that time presented by various products of the foreign and domestic industry, linked to high technologies, of course, high to those measures differed. Further, already in days of the primitive personal computers first still enough, aesthetic tastes of creators and convenience of mass production were the main things and, perhaps, even unique stimulus of perfection of design. As a result desktop systems were rather nice and rather compact. It, of course, in any measure did not worsen parametres of computers.

However vary not only times, but also solid-state technologies, computer accessories and their architectures. As a result of their perfection is multiple clock rates, architectural complexity of inner patterns, computational capability have grown. But together with them, despite all efforts of implementators, has increased and continues to grow energopotreblenie, and, accordingly, together with energopotrebleniem increases and teploobrazovanie.

All it should affect design of high-powered chips, and also systems used these chips. As a result of technological progress, levels teploobrazovanija for central processor units, videoadapters, units of dynamic storage, hard disk drives, etc. have essentially increased . All it has demanded development of powerful tools of cooling.

Power supply units have varied also. Their internal architecture, power and teploobrazovanie increased according to growth "energoappetita" other computer accessories.

Certainly, implementation of perspective innovations have demanded depositing of respective alterations and in design of system tanks. They should provide comprehensible conditions of service for the newest, high-frequency, high-powered computer accessories. And it is the uneasy engineering task for designers of qualitative and effective tanks. Really, despite presence of individual resources of cooling of computer components, concentration of thermal energy in small size of a system unit is high enough now and is extremely non-uniformly distributed. This energy is necessary for aligning and operatively to take away for tank limits.

The problem becomes complicated also that the modern computer accessories supplied with a considerable quantity of cooling fans, make considerable level of acoustic noise. Its rise at the expense of nonoptimal allocation of air streams and application of additional active resources of cooling is the extremely undesirable. It is linked by that already rather for a long time the acoustic noise increasing from year to year irritates users as reduces their working capacity more and more.

To all other, and an aesthetics of internal and external design nobody cancelled. But, as it is possibly clear, the beauty not always facilitates retrieval of optimal engineering solution. System tanks – not an exception. And still there are requirements of production of mass products and price minimisation, and also tendency to convenience of assemblage, upgrade and, of course, computer system maintenance.

All it is resulted for an illustration of complexity of the tasks solved by implementators of system tanks. And that above the estimation of their work when they manage to resolve numerous problems and to release worthy products.

As examples it is possible to result advanced models of the tanks released by known company Foxconn. In these products all modern tendencies are actively applied. Among them the main things are a development of constructions with effective allocation of air streams and heat output for limits of tanks, and also tendency to minimisation of usage of special tools for assemblage of systems on the basis of the given tanks. Certainly, it demands from implementators of well thought over design and high accuracy of manufacture of tanks. Besides, advanced models are supplied by qualitative power supply units rather a high capacity.

As variants, it is possible to consider products FOXCONN TW-01 and FOXCONN TS-01.

Photo 1. Appearance of models FOXCONN TW-01 (at the left) and FOXCONN TS-01 (on the right) tanks of system units

Consideration of these models we will start with FOXCONN TW-01.

FOXCONN TW-01

Key parametres of model FOXCONN TW-01 are resulted in Table 1.

Table 1. Key parametres of model FOXCONN TW-01 of tank of a system unit

The bag enters into a package of the given model with fixing accessories, a network cable, the short instruction in English on assemblage of the computer system created on the basis of FOXCONN TW-01 Is applied. Besides, the package is added by the fan installed on a back wall of tank FOXCONN TW-01.

From features of given model FOXCONN TW-01 it is necessary to mark careful reasonableness of its design providing assemblage of the computer system with minimum usage of tools. In particular, for this purpose various clips of a special construction actively use. By the way, to remove the tank cover, separating access to system unit interiors, the screw-driver is not required. It is linked by that the given cover is fixed by screws with the big corrugated plastic heads which are conveniently turned off manually.

The big attention is given a vending of hot air for system limits. For this purpose the special fan which has been built in a back wall of tank, presented on the Photo 2 is. The lattice of one more blowing fan used as a part of rather powerful power supply unit is There and then visible. By the way, in tank FOXCONN TW-01 package FSP corporation power supply unit is applied qualitative enough 300 W.

Photo 2. Model FOXCONN TW-01, the rear view

Internal arrangement FOXCONN TW-01 is presented on the Photo 3. Here it is visible, that in a package design, on its side wall, the special pipe with the filter, intended for feed of cold air from out of to the central processor unit is allocated. It promotes lowering of temperature of the processor and at the expense of an additional stream operation of other accessories is facilitated.

Warm air as it was marked above, is output by the fan on a back wall. Arrival of cold air in inside tanks is carried out, except a processor pipe, through numerous ventilating holes, a part from which are allocated at the bottom of a front wall of tank FOXCONN TW-01 (on the right on Фото3). At desire here it is possible to instal blowing fan though it and is not provided by design of this model of tank.

Photo 3. Model FOXCONN TW-01 with the removed side cover

This fan blows in maps of the extension and facilitates a temperature mode of 3,5 and 5,25-inch disk drives allocated above this fan. Installation of these disk drives is carried out without usage of tools. They are fixed by means of clips.

It is necessary to add, that on the front panel traditional units, such as indicator light-emitting diodes and the reset button are output. Besides, on the front panel (Photos 1) are allocated two USB plugs, an input terminal of a microphone and the audioplug intended for hooking up of ear-phones. Designers of tank have allocated them at the bottom. Possibly, they were guided by that the desksize system unit with a small number of disk drives and expansion cards is intended for allocation on desktop of the potential user.

For the same who plans bolshee quantity of 3,5 and 5,25-inch arrangements, it is necessary to look narrowly at tank FOXCONN TS-01 model.

FOXCONN TS-01

Key parametres of model FOXCONN TS-01 are resulted in Table 2.

Table 2. Key parametres of model FOXCONN TS-01 of tank of a system unit

The complete set of this variant of tank is similar to that, that for FOXCONN TWS-01: fixture, a cable, the instruction on assemblage, the fan.

The model saves all advantages of the previous model. However in its construction possibility of usage in system bolshego quantities of expansion cards (to seven pieces) and bolshego quantities of 5,25 and 3,5-inch arrangements (3 and 2+2), for example, such as hard disk drives is provided.

The used mechanism of the mount allows to instal and extract data 5,25 and 3,5-inch arrangements without usage of tools. For this purpose preliminary in tanks of the given arrangements regular screws twist. Further the arrangements prepared thus are installed in bays of tank which are supplied by the special locks working as latches, fixing position of arrangements.

Bays under these disk drives, and also a protective lattice of the second fan submitting air in a system unit, are well visible on the Photo 4.

Photo 4. 5,25 both 3,5-inch bays and the fan in tank FOXCONN TS-01

In a construction of model FOXCONN TS-01 the same as and for FOXCONN TW-01, the special fan, carrying out having blown hot air from a system unit is provided. It is built traditionally in a back wall of tank.

For simplification of a temperature mode of the central processor unit the pipe vozduhoduva is provided. Its construction is similar to that, that is used in FOXCONN TW-01. This useful unit of modern design of tanks of system units, by the way, supplied with the removable net filter, is presented on the Photo 5.

Photo 4. The units facilitating a temperature functional mode of the central processor unit

By the way, as well as in case of FOXCONN TW-01 to remove a side cover of tank the screw-driver it is not required. This cover is fixed by screws with the big corrugated plastic heads which are conveniently turned off manually without usage of tools.

In tank FOXCONN TS-01 package 300 W FSP corporation power supply unit is applied . This block provides qualitative energopitanie to components of the computer system gathered on the basis of tank FOXCONN TS-01.

It is necessary to add, that on the front panel (Photos 1) are output indicator light-emitting diodes and the reset button. Besides, here two USB plugs, an input terminal of a microphone and the audioplug of ear-phones are allocated. Designers of tank have allocated them in panel cent. It is convenient, as the tank of such size is quite often installed on a floor and allocation of plugs at the bottom would create a number of inconveniences for the user. Here this circumstance is thought over, as has found reflexion in design of tank FOXCONN TS-01.

Instead of the conclusion

In summary it is necessary to mark, that the considered tanks provide rather comfortable assemblage and maintenance of computer systems which structure includes the powerful accessories characterised by high level of a heat release. Carefully thought over design of tanks, and also the resources built in their construction, provide temperature maintenance at the comprehensible level not considerably exceeding an ambient temperature.

Tanks FOXCONN TW-01 and FOXCONN TS-01 have been given by company OCS (www.ocs.ru)