The computer starts with tank

Evgenie Rudometov

Aspiring to creation of the completed bar of computer accessories company Foxconn, being the world's largest the original equipment manufacturer of computer accessories, develops and releases wide gamma of models of qualitative tanks for system units

At creation of the computer system users often forget, that all selected hardware-software resources are necessary for allocating somewhere. This role is played by system unit tank. On its choice depends not only an aesthetics of perception of a computer masterpiece, but also convenience of assemblage, maintenance and the subsequent upgrade. Considering, that the tank directly influences temperature modes of the accessories allocated in it, its choice quite often influences and stability of operation of all system.

Some scale-up problems

As a result of growth of the clock rates directly influencing productivity, 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 energopotreblenija other computer accessories.

All it has 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. Among a considerable quantity of problems which should be solved to designers of system tanks, perhaps the main things are development and implementation of the solutions providing effective allocation of air streams and output of heat for limits of tanks. Besides, the problem of minimisation of usage of special tools for assemblage of systems that is not only the modern tendency is actual, but also allows to raise productivity of collectors of computers. The specified problems demand 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 that allows to realise high potential of modern computer accessories.

As variants of successful tanks it is possible to result 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

Tank 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

Form factor	microATX Mini Tower
Power supply unit	300 W
External bays 5,25 "	2
External bays 3,5 "	2
Internal bays 3,5 "	1
Ports USB 2.0 on the front panel	2
The audioplug on the front panel	1
Microphone slot on the front panel	1
Port Firewire on the front panel	No
The fan	1 h 90
The sizes (G x SH x), inches	16,5 x 7 x 14
Assemblage without tools	Yes
Air line 3ГГц	Yes

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: the given sample has been supplied by qualitative power supply unit FSP of 300 W.

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

Internal arrangement FOXCONN TW-01 is presented on the Photo 3.

Parsing the internal arrangement of tank, it is necessary to pay attention to a bell on a side wall. It provides feed of cold air to the central processor unit. It promotes lowering of temperature of the processor and at the expense of an additional stream operation of other accessories is facilitated. Except the given construction, the necessary temperature mode is supported by means of 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). If necessary here it is possible to instal blowing fan though it specially and is not provided by design of the given model of tank.

The additional fan provides having blown in maps of the extension and facilitates a temperature mode of 3,5 and 5,25-inch disk drives. By the way, 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.

Tank 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

Form factor	ATX Mid Tower
Power supply unit	300 W
External bays 5,25 "	3
External bays 3,5 "	2
Internal bays 3,5 "	2
Ports USB 2.0 on the front panel	2
The audioplug on the front panel	1
Microphone slot on the front panel	1
Port Firewire on the front panel	No
The fan	1 h 90
The sizes (G x SH x), inches	17,5 x 7,5 x 17
Assemblage without tools	Yes
Air line 3ГГц	Yes

It is necessary to mark, that the given model saves all advantages of the previous product. 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 3.

Photo 3. 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.

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.

In summary it is necessary to mark, that the construction of tanks provides maintenance of internal temperature at comprehensible level even at usage of powerful accessories.

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