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Dooms101's First Case Mod

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Dooms101

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2009
Location
under a heatsink
Dooms101's First Case Mod - update*

Well I've had ideas about modding my cases since I first started building them last year (I've build ~12 thus far, mostly for friends), and I've finally gotten to the point where it is possible. After sleeping in too late and missing my school on saturday session today (oops =P ) I decided to head to Lowes and pick up some new acrylic paneling to fix this:

window2p.jpg

As you can see... my side panel arrived a little banged up, also the 80mm intake on the side was hitting my TT SpinQ.

However... something unexpected happened at Lowes! My dad has some sort of problem with compulsive buying that oddly ends in my favor (like a random $400 mongoose mountain bike a while ago...) So... while trying to find something to cut the acrylic panel with my dad decided the 5" carbide hole saw was too much at $45. Therefore he bought me a new Dremel 400XPR kit!!! Every nerd's weakness is a Dremel and zip ties... so, I figured I'd pick up some Valspar Flat Black Enamel paint too.

dremel1x.jpg

Yes I know... it's smexy =)
dremel2.jpg

dremel3.jpg

Look at all the attachments!
dremel4.jpg

painto.jpg

zipties.jpg


So as you can see, I am now fully equipped for some modding.
Here's a little peek at what my case did look like:

case1u.jpg

case2o.jpg

case3c.jpg

as you can see nothing special...

So the main goal of this mod is to make a case that's very unique, fits my aesthetic taste, is upgradeable, and too help me learn somethings.
A few things I'd like to incorporate:
- Integrated DVD-Drive on top with window mod and LED's
- Blacked out interior
- Add cooling functionality with new fan mounts
- Custom paint job (see next post)
- Whatever else we come up with!
 
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Alright... to give you guys an idea of how good the guy is that's painting my ****... here's a small sample of an xbox he painted:

art1y.jpg

art2b.jpg


Yes... I know... wow.

Anyways, we're still working on the design right now since I've just got all the materials to start. But, I am thinking blue and silver on black with a kinda futuristic alien space ship theme. I am mostly leaving it up to him... he know's what he's doing lol
 
Okay well here's some pics of the insides of my current system...

insidecase6.jpg

insidecase5.jpg

insidecase4.jpg

insidecase3.jpg

insidecase2.jpg


As you can see... it looks like crap in there, and the cable management is pretty bad. I am thinking about sleeving everything in a little bit, just as soon as I get 2 more 120mm CM R4 (the 2 I have now fit this theme very well), some LEDs, fan grills, and fan mesh...

Here's what the PSU looks like:

psu.jpg

Not a single wire comes sleeved... oh, well I'll sleeve it when the case is being painted. =)
 
nice work he does .. this is gonna turn out pretty dam cool .. maybe a district 9 theme .. that would be sick !!
 
And now to undress her.

takeapart1.jpg

takeapart3.jpg

takeapart4.jpg

takeapart7.jpg


So those are the barebones I am working with here... along with some old Antec case that I am using to temporarily hold my system:

tempsetup.jpg

and yes that is an old power button taped to the top =)
Like I said... it's temporary lol
 
Here's some pics I felt like throwing in of my many 'junk' boxes and the panels I have available...

junkbox1.jpg

junkbox2.jpg

panels.jpg


So there ya' go. I nice little first look at what I am up to. Suggestions would always be great!

Right now I am try to decide where I could place a DVD drive with a clear top so it's flush with the case's paneling... hmm...

more updates tomorrow, plus using the new Dremel!!!!
 
Well it's the end of day 2, and I got quite alot of work done today. I almost had enough time to cut the 120mm blow-hole, but I decide I'll leave that for tomorrow.

However, I did manage to make a perfect acrylic side panel (as in no scratches, cracks, f-up's...) It wasn't my first time cutting acrylic, but my first came out horrible. I bought a 2 x 1.5 foot piece of 1/4 inch think clear acrylic for $14 yesterday at Lowes (pretty sure it was mis-labeled, because the pricing guide for 2 x 2 was like $35)...

panels.jpg

Obviously too big, so I cut it down using a trusty box cutter and like 4 blades.

dsc00725c.jpg

Fits perfect! Now... where to put the fans?

dsc00728oc.jpg

Ehh... 120mm's are too big...

dsc00727r.jpg

80mm's look awesome! Especially with a slight slant... looks like an exhaust port?
 
Always remember kids... measure until you die! That way you're not alive to make the 1 cut, cuz you might f*** up =)

Anyways... measure twice and cut once lol...

dsc00729x.jpg

Ahhh, perfect! Took 4 hours by the way. First I had to figure out how the hell I was gonna make the fan cut outs, which I experimented with a spare piece of acrylic for about 2 hours... I tried like 6 different weird bits using the Dremel circular path cutter. I finally found that using a 3/32nd (yes that's small) carbide bit cuts perfectly and without melting. I first made a cut at 1/8in height, then 3/16, and finally all the way through. Result without plastic on...

dsc00730ml.jpg

Not a scratch on her! Now to fit it all up...

dsc00731.jpg

Yep... those 2 hours of practicing and prepping, then hour cutting was well worth it!
 
So... I've decided to plop a nice CoolerMaster R4 Blue LED 120mm on the top for a blow hole. It would greatly improve airflow since there's just a pocket of air collecting up there... So some fitting...

dsc00724jf.jpg

Looks like it'll fit in with barely enough room for the PSU and DVD Drives...

Now to mock it up for cutting tomorrow (too late to cut tonight.)
dsc00723w.jpg


Well that's the end of day 2... the rest of this week will be spent finishing up some programming and getting ready for finals. Hopefully I'll be able to cut out the blow hole tomorrow and figure out some other crap. Well cheers! :beer:
 
Okay... so I just got a really awesome idea while in the shower so I decided to test something lol.... here's a hint:

dsc00733tv.jpg


dsc00734ig.jpg


Yeah that's what I am thinking... windowed dual 2.5" HDD's =)

Of course that's not all... but I'll save that for a bit later
 
This is looking great!

Hmm...I'm spy a nice front page article when you get this done. PM me if you're interested. :)
 
Alright cool =), I'll wait on the front page article until after I get the drives done and working lol

Suggestions are welcome!

Btw, I decided to add some more 'features' this morning, I'll show later tonight.
 
i like the "crooked" look of the fans. and im not brave enough to open an HD like that. good luck!
 
I really can't tell what your going to do with the HDDs. I was thinking you were going to put the platters from one into the other but that doesn't make sense.

Still eagerly waiting on what's going to happen next =)
 
Well I am thinking about making an "energy pool" on the bottom of the case with an illusion making the hard drives look like they're an energy source. It's hard to explain, and as far as cooling goes... Well these drives run at around 26C in a closed plastic 2.5" external HDD case... so being under some plexi (hint hint) and some LED's wont bother them.

I just got home, and I am going to begin cutting the top panel... here's a picture of the mock-up:

dsc00735x.jpg


The center octagon is for a red coolermaster R4 120mm (as soon as I get one, since I only have blue) and the other angular holes are for plexi to view the red "power chamber" on the top where a plexi topped DVD drive is going =)

Well I'll be back soon with updates, wish my cutting goes well!
 
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