Hardware Analysis - I modded my case - Whatcha think?

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

G. G. — 2008-03-19T03:16:15-05:00

Thank you very much fellas !!!

Brendan Gonsalves said:

How long did it take to complete? What tool(s) did you use to cut the square side panel window? How did make "straight clean cuts"? What material was the window made out of? How did you mount the window to the side panel?

I hope you don't mind me asking all these questions. I am thinking of doing a small mod on my "office box". I was thinking of simply cutting out a square for a side panel window. I just want to make sure I do it right.

Brendan, if you look at the original post...... most if not all of your questions would have been answered. But basically to cut a window hole in your side panel or like in my case the top..... first thing you need to do is mask off the whole lid with tape.... then determine what size and shape of the whole you want.... remember.... double/triple/quadruple check your measurements.... because once you cut... that's it.... no stopping..... once you have marked your cut lines.... get a dremel and start a cut in order to put a jig saw blade into it. Then to get a straight line cut..... you either have to be very careful on the speed and path you take if you are free handing it.... or just set up a fence/guide so as you can guide the jig saw against to get that straight cut.... You then do the same thing for your window but cut the window size jut a tad bigger than the actual hole.... about 1/2 inch wider than the hole... you then can mount the window either on the inside or the outside of the case panel. To mount it.... I used a rivet tool using 1/8" dia x 1/4" length rivets. As for what to use as your window..... again... look at my original post as I gave a link to a guide for all you want to know about acrylic. As for how long it took me.... well .... from start to finish and if I were to work on it everyday with 8hrs a day.... it would have taken me about a week.... this includes drying times for the paint. Labor is about 3 days..... It was really fun doing this mod... really made me feel that I accomplished something really nice.

Dr. Peaceful said:

Well done G.G.! You do like desktop (horizontal) cases, do you? The paint somehow reminds me of automotive theme, like a luxury sports car with black outside and yellow interior / leather. Yeah, you could have use auto paint, last longer and you can add a bit metallic color as well.

Is that some kind of metal mesh screen on top of that top fan?
http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2603056280052054534ZkTFcf

I use desktop case is because of my particular situation in my home office. The spot where I put my computer will only allow a desktop case. A tower case will not fit in the allowed space (i.e. wall unit). I just found out from the auto body shop that is fixing my car in that I should use a clear coat i.e. polyurathane to coat on top of my base coat to give it durability. I'll have to remember that the next go around.

The fan that is mounted in the window is a 140mm fan adapted to a 120mm hole. I use a 120mm hole because it is easier to get a 120mm fan at any given short notice. AND the mesh that you see is indeed a metal mesh filter.... this is what I used - http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=pro...ts_id=2276

FingerMeElmo87 said:

all you need to do now is add an easy-bake oven to it and it'll be completed

It would be if I installed a 100watt regular light bulb to go along with it.

Shadow_Ops_Airman1 said:

yo bro i found some fans you may like even better

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835226013

Actually I looked at that fan originally at my local pc store... BUT..... decided not to because it had NO LEDs....... I needed and wanted LED fans with high cfm.

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

Shadow_Ops_Airman1 — 2008-03-17T23:02:11-05:00

yo bro i found some fans you may like even better

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835226013

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

Dragon Peaceful — 2008-03-17T21:33:48-05:00

I knew I saw your color theme somewhere. Here you go, Lamborghini Gallardo!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Lamborghini...terior.jpg

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

FingerMeElmo87 — 2008-03-17T18:07:41-05:00

all you need to do now is add an easy-bake oven to it and it'll be completed

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

Dragon Peaceful — 2008-03-17T14:13:19-05:00

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

Brendan Gonsalves — 2008-03-17T03:11:24-05:00

G. G. you are Pro! That is an awesome very clean looking modification. I can't see a single flaw with your work. I am sure your next system will look great in that case. I really like the transformers bumblebee theme.

How long did it take to complete? What tool(s) did you use to cut the square side panel window? How did make "straight clean cuts"? What material was the window made out of? How did you mount the window to the side panel?

I hope you don't mind me asking all these questions. I am thinking of doing a small mod on my "office box". I was thinking of simply cutting out a square for a side panel window. I just want to make sure I do it right.

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

G. G. — 2008-03-17T00:31:27-05:00

Thanks fellas !!!

This case mod was a little more involved than my current case where I just took a OEM HP case and cut a hole on top for a window..... The experience I learned from this case mod will definately go a long ways for the next case in the future. The black/yellow/silver color scheme came by with the help of Bumble Bee in Transformer movie. Now the next step will be to gather parts for the in-nards....... One thing for sure... I will be getting Penryn core.

Mothow said:

Looks great.I wish i could do that to mine.

You too can do it too.... you just have to shelf that lazy streak and get with the program.. LOL..... If you are worry about having a down system in order to mod your case.... no worries... all you got to do is just put your components together on your desk without the case.. i.e. like one of those open bench mounts.... but without the bench mounts. You dont need a case in order for your system to run.. just lay it on a static mat/bags and hook her up.... then start hacking at your case..... Just think... you could do some sort of mod with your water cooling system integrated into your case or something with more bling...... it just take some imagination...

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

Mothow — 2008-03-16T16:10:12-05:00

Looks great.I wish i could do that to mine.

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

Meats_Of_Evil — 2008-03-16T15:50:19-05:00

Nice job G.G. I love the colors, they really stand out from today's only black looks.

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

Tam the Bam — 2008-03-16T14:01:06-05:00

Yea I like it. And i like the yellow oddly enough! Job well done. I'm lookin forward
to seeing it once it's all rigged up!

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

KM — 2008-03-16T10:23:59-05:00

Excellent job!

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

G. G. — 2008-03-16T03:22:54-05:00

Thanks guys.

Hopefully with 3 x 120mm and 1 x 140mm fans, that it will keep my future components cool. Now all I gotta do is start filling the case with stuff.....

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

john albrich — 2008-03-16T02:26:23-05:00

Very nicely done! I was thinking bee or wasp from the color-scheme.

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

Sean Costello — 2008-03-15T23:00:10-05:00

very nice G.G.

Re: I modded my case - Whatcha think?

Adam Kolak — 2008-03-15T22:59:00-05:00

Very nice job, I'm loving the yellow on black look you got there.