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"Thundering Bird" an In-win B2 Case mod

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WilliamTheModde

New Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Here I began a project Themed for the USAF Thunderbirds. I am a huge fan of the Thunder birds demonstration team. I probably seen them 10+ times at air shows and while I lived in Las Vegas got to watch the practice all the time.

The chassis I'll be using is In-Wins B2. http://www.inwin-style.com/website/pd/pd_detail.php?iw_lanid=0&iw_name_id=11&iw_pd_id=13
The B2 is themed for the B2 bomber. I know what your thinking, the Thunderbirds do not bombers... well they were part of a bomber squadron some time in the early 50s. I feel this chassis will take the modding well.

A quick video to take a look at to see the door function. (this is not my video, and not my youtube account. give them good stars :) )

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only thing to note here is the red button on the front its not a button its a piece of metal hooked to a sensor and just requires a touch to activate the door. More on that later :)

(below) the inside of the side panel has a neat duct that can be used to channel lightly filtered air to your CPU cooler. it also has an extension for lower profile CPU coolers and can be adjusted to the left and right.
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(Above) The door with the 2 fans for the GPU/s tips down. Its hard to see but there is a push down piece of plastic were the exhost fan and the door meet.

(below) The right side of this door uses a left to right lock.
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(Above) once the door is down we can get a better look at the 2 80mm fans.

(Below) one of these fans dose a little trick! though it looks like it would be a tight squeeze for a large GPU if positioned out. I'll get some measurements for GPU fitting later.
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The front I/O includes, 2 SATA, a fire wire, 2 USB 2.0, and the mic and head phones...

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The tool less, tool caddy...
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Drive bays.
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hard drive bay turns out to access the front 120mm fan and its filter. The front fan bothers be because it gets its air from the bottom of the bezel. doesn't seem to effective for getting fresh air.
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To remove the side panels there are 4 of these plastic clips, 2 on each side.
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few more things to show you

Tool-free PCI slots, nearly a requirement any more.
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liquid cooling ready! Wish I had a system to put in it...
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Cable management possibilities... needs a little work.
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Removal of a few things.
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a lot of this case came apart with out tools but a few things required a screwdriver.
 
The board that controls the motor, the motor's "touch sensor" switch, the power/reset buttons and power lEDs all come from this board.
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The back of the red touch switch reviles its just a piece of metal. So I can use any piece of metal for the door switch YAY!
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Here is the small gear system that moves the door. The motor, sadly has no information on it to help me figure out a stronger replacement for it. I have plans to use a solenoid, but it will require some good insulation to protect the steel chassis from becoming even slightly magnetized from the solenoid. Any computer components in or around the case could be affected so i got to plan it well If I decide to go that route.
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This switch tells the board what direction to run the motor and is vary important to take in to account for any mod to the door function.
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under the door is a blue LED and looks great when its on and the doors open. 1st image also shows one of the 4 hinges for the door movement.
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Yes I left some stuff out I felt it will be better to see some of it as I progress through this project.
 
Small yet powerful update.

MNPCTech sponsored this biuld some great stuff!
http://www.mnpctech.com

A Clear 12" x 12" Acrylic Sheet
http://www.mnpctech.com/acrylic_colored_sheets_casemod_windows1.html
clear_acrylic_sheet_casemod_mnpctech.com1.jpg

I'm going to use half of it for the top window and the other half I'm still planning, but I'm thinking of a cool lighting option!

2 Small PC Cable Clamps & 1 Medium PC Cable Clamp
http://www.mnpctech.com/CableClamp.html
pc_computer_cable_clamps_mnpctech.com_demo.jpg


A set of 4 "BEEFY RUBBER CASE FEET"
http://www.mnpctech.com/CaseFeet.html
CaseFeet.jpg

the stock case feet on the B2 are to low profile and the rubber on the bottom of them is a bit on the cheap side. So these will lift the case a bit (for possible ground effects?) and hold up as long as the case does.

A 12" x 12" Sheet of Honeycomb Modder's Mesh
http://www.mnpctech.com/moddersmesh.html
ModdersMesh.thm.jpg

I have a few uses I'm going to try to use this sheet for! lets hope my math is correct!


More to come soon, working on were to best makes cuts for cable management.
 
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