MOre Adventures in Shoehorning (PICS!)

I just finished upgrading and downsizing my main rig and completed my first mod on this virgin case. Here's a before and after description before I jump headfirst into the details

Before
Athlon XP 1900+ AGOGA | AX-7 w\ YS Tech 48cfm 80mm + MSI KT3 Ultra2 + 256MB PC2700 RAM + 2 20GB HDDs + Geforce 4 Ti4200 64MB DDR + 2 ducted 80mm fans + 430w PSU + Weight: 24 pounds + Dimensions: 19 x 21 x 7 + Noise level: 24Dba

After
Athlon XP 1900+ AGOGA | Speeze Falconrock 80mm HSF + Shuttle nforce2 IGP mATX motherboard + 2 sticks of 256MB PC2700 RAM + 40GB HDD + 2 60mm intakes + 1 80mm intake + 200w SFX PSU + Weight: 12 pounds + Dimensions: 13 x 14 x 5.6 + Noise level: 21Dba

My old case could swallow the new one whole

before

after

Now that's progress


Very cozy. This case is so much fun to fiddle around with. There's a hidden handle under the front of the bezel, all of the aluminum is clear anodized to a reflective finish, and it's got comparatively good cooling for such a little enclosure.

I replaced all of the stock blue LEDs with 4 Red ones on a pulser circuit. I'll have an animated image for you to drool over soon.

Mods planned
1. Small window
2. 16x1 Character VFD in top 3.5" bay
3. Some fun with a UV cold cathode (I need a shorter bulb first)

My passively cooled Geforce 4 Ti4200 was feeling claustrophobic in this case so I'm anticipating my upgrade to a Geforce FX 5600.

Note: The lights on the front of the case CAN be turned off via a switch on the front panel thingy. This feature is stock. And this is where I bought it, in case anyone was wondering.

Very, very nice

Very nice work! Im tempted to build something similar for easy transport.

Here's the pulser in action

4_pulse.avi (DivX5 80kb)

Having the CD-ROM on it's side appearantly lowers it's performance by 25%

Please tell me you built the pulser on your own.

Fushyuguru said:

Please tell me you built the pulser on your own.

Click to expand...

I didn't built the circuit. I'm a bit of a weenie when it comes to electronics so I ordered a surplus pulser circuit from 5fame for $19.

If you want to order one yourself you'll need to ask the folks at rabidhardware.net for 5fame's e-mail address.

that a nice lil case I'm considering getting one

Nice and clean. Minimalism is nice. Some cases are a bit over the top (mine included)

I'll hopefully have enough time this week to work on a window and as soon as I have some results to show I'll post them.

All hail Ghetto duct!


I made it out of a file folder and scotch tape last night and it lowered my idle CPU temp by 6C. I'll probably make a new version out of clear Acetate (transparency sheets).

My new motherboard went crazy (RMAing it today) so I'm back to my old case, old hard drive, and old motherboard. I'll have to wait a while until I can upgrade again because I'm hoping to get a job colouring. A situation in which I need a stable machine more than a conveniently small yet fast one.