Monolith: A work in progress

[Crazy Jayhawk]

I started out with a Supercase (see my other thread for details) which isn't terribly expensive. My goal for this project was to see how well I could modify the case with low-cost parts. I quickly picked the name Monolith for it as this is a large, black, rectangular object of uncertain origin and purpose. :cool:

Supercase: $40
Car door molding: $3 for 54"
Gutter guard (for fan grills): About 5 bucks for a 6" x 20' roll
Faucet washers (for fan screws): About $.25 apiece at Ace Hardware
Spray paint: About $4 per can, and I think I've used about 5 cans.
Car ignition switch: $8-$14 (first cheaper one broke)
Blue LEDs: $3 apiece at Radioshack

The internal equipment was all ported over from my old case. These prices were not included in the tally.

Old view of the front with CD drives at the top. I still haven't painted the volume knobs since I can't find a good way to do it. :p

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Back view. I've added a 92mm exhaust fan below and slightly to the right of the PSU fan, and it's the same style as the two 80's above it. Molding around the hole, gutter guard inside. Hard to see in this pic are the fan rheostat and back-mounted reset button. I hope to have to use the reset button as little as possible, and having it back there keeps me from accidentally hitting it.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

It's a bit of a mess inside. :p This pic was taken after I installed the 92mm exhaust. It's partly obscured by the SCSI cable. The rheostat is located slightly below the fan, and you can see the wires from it moving right and up.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

It's a jungle in there.

[fuzzba11]

Good stuff, looks like a case you could bury a body in :p

How'd you build the car ignition starter, though?? I remember the post about it, last month, but I didn't think it would end up working! How do you start up and reset??

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Closer view of the ignition and sticker. The two leds are blue.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Attachment got messed up in the previous post.

The ignition switch only does power-on. Reset is in the back.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

The blowhole up top. Faucet washers on the screw, molding and gutter guard on the hole. I think it looks pretty nice. :cool:

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Messed up attachment again. :rolleyes:

[Crazy Jayhawk]

And the last one - the computer next to my desk with the top on and the drives relocated. That's someone else's USB HD on the desk - I was backing up files for him. :p

[foxmulder]

Love the fan grill and the lit up sticker, nice case!

[Kingslayer]

Check out the mods on my Supercase. Look at the 92mill on the back, to the right of the PS2 ports. Do this. It will knock some degrees of your CPU. It blows cool air from outside, right across the HSF. Use all of your top fans for exhaust.

[Kingslayer]

Crap, forgot to put it in.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Originally posted by Kingslayer
Check out the mods on my Supercase. Look at the 92mill on the back, to the right of the PS2 ports. Do this. It will knock some degrees of your CPU. It blows cool air from outside, right across the HSF. Use all of your top fans for exhaust. I have a 92 in the exact same spot on mine. It doesn't show up in most of my pics since I installed it after most of these pictures were taken. It's an exhaust right now, but turning it around wouldn't be difficult.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Originally posted by foxmulder
Love the fan grill and the lit up sticker, nice case! Thanks. :)

The sticker isn't really lit up. That's just from the unusually bright flash on my camera. :p

[Kingslayer]

There is one thing that I have added to my case for that fan by the PS-2 ports. And something that I have done recently.

If you are going to turn that fan around for intake, you will notice if you check real close that it is sucking hot air in from the PSU exhaust fan. This is bad. I riveted a metal flap below the PSU and bent it up to route the PSU exhaust air upwards so that the 92mm by the PS-2 ports wont draw that hot air in. It helped substantially.

Scope out what I mean.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Should have some more pictures in a few days. I've made some minor modifications.

Also, I'm seeing if a new reply will let me save the attached pics properly.

[flounder43]

I love the gutter gard used as fan grills. That is really cool

One suggestion, make your own rounded cables with some colored electrical tape...low cost, and would clear up that jungle of wires.


http://www.virtual-hideout.net/guides/rc/index.shtml

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Originally posted by flounder43
I love the gutter gard used as fan grills. That is really cool

One suggestion, make your own rounded cables with some colored electrical tape...low cost, and would clear up that jungle of wires.


http://www.virtual-hideout.net/guides/rc/index.shtml I tried rounding off my SCSI cable and it really screwed things up. I guess one of the wires broke or something like that. Second time in a row I've messed up a SCSI cable trying to round it. I managed to round a couple IDE cables and didn't have any trouble though.

[Oni]

If I want rounded cables, I'll buy them, thx.

[Intraveinous]

Agreed... it's just too easy to screw up, and then, Bam, dead cable. Especially with the Ultra 66/100 cables. By the time I got a good one trying to do it myself, I would have spent as much on all the cables I had cut wrong that I could have just paid for machine rounded cables...
Peace
John

[flounder43]

I agree with you guys with regard to ATA 100 cables. Too many wires. I bought one of those: silver mesh & clear boots from Sidewinder...I love it.

However, sometimes it actually makes sense to make your own. For example, in my case, my floppy is about 6 inches from the mobo connection, so I just hacked up an old floppy ribbon by cutting off the ends and taking off the old 5 1/4 connectors. Separated the wires, rolled it up, can't beat that. If I were to buy a round floppy, it would be way too long.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

As promised, more pictures. Keep in mind that I was modifying the case as these pictures were taken, so you may see things in some photos that aren't there in others.

Cheap hard drive cooling. When the tray is closed, the two fans blow on the hard drive cage.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

A better view of the top blowhole, now Panaflow powered. The side blowhole you'll see later has this same basic design except that the fan blows the other direction.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Bottom intake. This is much stealthier than a front-panel installation, and if I screw up it's not visible from outside. I messed up a bit drilling the screw holes but the faucet washers cover that. This makes 3 Panaflow 120's in my system: The bottom and side intakes, and the top exhaust. :)

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Another view of the bottom intake. This also shows how you can mount a 92mm fan to cool the expansion cards without drilling any holes. I had to take out the 92 to make room for the side panel 120 though.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

An odd angle, to be certain. If you look down just below the PSU fan you can see the 92mm intake in the same place as on Kingslayer's case. The two 80mm holes at the top are empty at the moment; the new fans should be arriving here Monday.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

The front panel and the mobo side. There's no Evil Inside sticker there because I repainted the front shortly before this photo was taken. I have since placed a blue sticker where the old one was.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Finally, the front and card side. You can see the intake hole mentioned earlier. Good ol' Panaflo fan sucking in air there.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

No more comments?

[YMAN]

I like you mods!!!

I noticed you painted your drive face plates,
How did you paint them?
Wouln't it chip easily?

I know already how to take the faceplates off...But how did you paint those face plates?

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Originally posted by YMAN
I like you mods!!!

I noticed you painted your drive face plates,
How did you paint them?
Wouln't it chip easily?

I know already how to take the faceplates off...But how did you paint those face plates? Spray painted them with black enamel paint. I'm not too worried about chipping the paint since that part of the computer isn't liable to run into stuff. :p

And thanks. :)

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Originally posted by YMAN
I like you mods!!!

I noticed you painted your drive face plates,
How did you paint them?
Wouln't it chip easily?

I know already how to take the faceplates off...But how did you paint those face plates? Spray painted them with black enamel paint. I'm not too worried about chipping the paint since that part of the computer isn't liable to run into stuff. :p

And thanks. :)

[flounder43]

I have got to tell you how much your project has inspired me. I spotted one of those Supercases in the local shop, with PSU, for 60 some dollars.

I have been thinking about it ever since. I love the wheels. I just need to gather a few more funds before jumping in...

With all of those fans, (I love 'em) how loud is it? Also, how cool? I see you have PIII, I am sure mine would be warmer.

I am thinking 2 120's on the top (blowing out), 1 on the bottom and 1 on the side (sucking in). I might need 2 psu's, considering the one that comes with it is probably only marginal...I have some cheapies around.

What psu do you have?

Sorry for the Q's but your case rocks, and I appreciate advice from a master like yourself.

[el]

great mod the 120mm Panaflos aren't very loud for 95-110cfm of air. that case is very nice! I really like kingslayers as well. I still need to finish my window mod and then I will start a thread like this with my three modded monsters.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Originally posted by flounder43
I have got to tell you how much your project has inspired me. I spotted one of those Supercases in the local shop, with PSU, for 60 some dollars.

I have been thinking about it ever since. I love the wheels. I just need to gather a few more funds before jumping in...

With all of those fans, (I love 'em) how loud is it? Also, how cool? I see you have PIII, I am sure mine would be warmer.

I am thinking 2 120's on the top (blowing out), 1 on the bottom and 1 on the side (sucking in). I might need 2 psu's, considering the one that comes with it is probably only marginal...I have some cheapies around.

What psu do you have?

Sorry for the Q's but your case rocks, and I appreciate advice from a master like yourself. I'm not sure about temperatures or noise levels, but it's completely stable. Also, with the rheostat controlling fan speeds I can make it quiet if I need to.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Originally posted by flounder43
I appreciate advice from a master like yourself. I'm a master? lol This is my first serious case mod (not counting my old Dell case). I'm just glad it's turned out so well. :)

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Originally posted by Oni
If I want rounded cables, I'll buy them, thx. Just one of those random things, but I notice you have a quote from Curse of Monkey Island in your sig. Excellent game. Probably my favorite. :D

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Custom Windows starting up screen. I know I saw a mod where you could make a logo appear under the Windows logo in the System control panel, but I can't find it.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Custom shutdown screen.

[Twinkle]

what is a golden gate?

[Tebore]

Nice case excellent craftsman ship, Forget how much u spent, how long did it take u? Aren't all those fans loud?

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Originally posted by Twinkle
what is a golden gate?

An inexpensive and effective copper heatsink available from SVCompucycle. (www.svcompucycle.com) Similar to OCZ Gladiator.

Originally posted by Tebore
Nice case excellent craftsman ship, Forget how much u spent, how long did it take u? Aren't all those fans loud?

I've been working on this case off and on for a few months now. The cost probably adds up to about $120, not counting replacement of motherboard and power supply since both of them died at one point.

[Oni]

Originally posted by Crazy Jayhawk
Just one of those random things, but I notice you have a quote from Curse of Monkey Island in your sig. Excellent game. Probably my favorite. :D

Why thank you ^_^

Fuzzba11 noticed it as well. And its not just from CoMI, he says that in all of the games (except for RtMI a.k.a Monkey 4)

[flounder43]

Hey Jayhawk,

I got me a supercase!!!

You convinced me, I love those wheels!

I put a seriously o/c'd Duron in there, but haven't done much for mods yet. Just dremeled out those fan holes.

I am working on my plan.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Originally posted by flounder43
Hey Jayhawk,

I got me a supercase!!!

You convinced me, I love those wheels!

I put a seriously o/c'd Duron in there, but haven't done much for mods yet. Just dremeled out those fan holes.

I am working on my plan. Sweet. :)

[Crazy Jayhawk]

In case you want to order your own Supercase, here are two helpful links.

Here's what the stock Supercase looks like. (http://www.servercase.com/ImageFiles/SC01F.html)

Go here if you actually want to order it. (http://www.servercase.com/PCcases.html)

[KILLorBE]

Originally posted by Crazy Jayhawk
I know I saw a mod where you could make a logo appear under the Windows logo in the System control panel, but I can't find it.
Is this what you're looking for?
Originally posted by Mr B
Here's how to change the info as done above;

Open Notepad, and type in the following;

[General]
Manufacturer=(whatever you want here)
Model=(whatever)

Save the file as "oeminfo.ini" in the C:\Windows\System folder.

Choose what image you want, scale it to no larger than 180 pixels wide, by 114 pixels high. Set the background to transparent , and save the image as "oemlogo.bmp" in the same C:\Windows\System folder.

Right click on "My Computer", and enjoy your handiwork....

Cheers!

Mr B
06-17-2001 08:52 PM :p <----last reply.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Humming away beside my desk. I taped the towel to the desk to keep the computer from bumping into the desk and chipping the paint.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Blue...

The viewpoint for this picture is similar to the one in the previous picture. I just turned the room lights off so you could see the lights behind the fans.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Forgot to add the pic.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Front USB ports sure are handy.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Last one for now. Every fan grill except the bottom intake has a light behind it.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

This story's over, I'm afraid. :(

But I'm not done. The parts for Monolith II should be arriving Monday. :D

[two_dope2000]

gotta ask, your computer was stolen?!?!how?

[Oni]

Stolen!? That's ASS!!

How'd that happen?

[Crazy Jayhawk]

I was hauling the computer home in my car when the car broke down. Had to leave it at a repair shop.

The car was broken into before the shop opened, and the loss was discovered then.

[PCTroll]

It is great!!!!
But still, how you integrated the car started into your case. To power up whole thing?

[Rooster]

Ya I love this case, got all the room in the world to do anything ya want. I've got the 92 in back hooked up to a vent from the outside. Blows nice cold air right across my cpu.

[Rooster]

Oh ya nice work also

[Crazy Jayhawk]

The new rig will probably end up looking a lot like what you see here.

That's going to take a while though.

[PCTroll]

Still, would you be so nice and explain to us how you integrated the car ignition start up???
Thanks.

[BinarySuperman]

yo what are your system temps - 1 mill???

[GERRY136]

nice job.
ive got the exact same case and its brand new sittin right next to me just waitin to be put to good use lol.:eek:
came with 300W Deer psu.

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Originally posted by PCTroll
Still, would you be so nice and explain to us how you integrated the car ignition start up???
Thanks. There are four terminals on the back of the ignition switch. I simply connected the two wires for the power switch lead to two terminals of the switch as detailed below.

Bat: Lead #1
Acc: Unused
On: Unused
Ign: Lead #2

The switch won't do anything unless you turn the key all the way over to Start.

[PCTroll]

Thanks Crazy Jayhawk for clearing things up. Thank you a lot.

[Hardass]

Originally posted by Crazy Jayhawk
There are four terminals on the back of the ignition switch. I simply connected the two wires for the power switch lead to two terminals of the switch as detailed below.

Bat: Lead #1
Acc: Unused
On: Unused
Ign: Lead #2

The switch won't do anything unless you turn the key all the way over to Start.

Just a note to let you know you can go to a locksmith and get a momentary security switch and it works just like a standard power switch you won,t need the reset button in the back and you still start the comp with a key. Mine cost 13.00 and it has just the 2 wire for connection.