New to computer modding, tried my hand and had fun!

[S14sx2nr]

Still much to do/ upgrade, but i'm done with it financially until this fall when I plan to upgrade the PSU and video card. I just wanted some different aesthetics so added a few things. I'm not happy with the wiring and plan to redo it and move a lot of the wires behind the motherboard for the time being. I'm getting a modular PSU later, likely presleeved. I know I'm new to this, so probably looks terrible to most of you experienced guys, but hey, I still am having fun with this and enjoy the current outcome of it.

Here's how it looked before, pretty boring:

Though I did add the wireless card the night I got it.

Also added a silicone case fan vibration dampener (uv blue) to my OE 92mm fan... you can see it peeking out around the edges of the screen:

Needs a window in this door panel....

Here's the goods to do the deed:

Ready for surgery:

Sleeved the fans and lights properly with real sleeving (uv reactive blue) and for the PSU I used ez-sleeve (uv reactive blue) since I don't have the tools to dissassemble the molex or SATA connectors. Tied that up with zipties (uv reactive green) and tried to promote more airspace for better flow inside the case. Also added an LCD temp display (white LED) with temp probe to view ambient case temperature. More of an aesthetic knick knack than anything, but it was cheap and looks cool. Was going to cut one of the HD bays up to recess it but opted to leave that in tact and use double sided tape to mount it behind, hiding the wiring and the temp probe, but still viewable through the window. As far as lighting goes, it's a FrozenCPU 30 LED hyper light strip in blue mounted at the top of the case, and a clearenced out Vastech cold cathode kit (UV ultraviolet) mounted on the bottom of the case from SVC ($1.99... woot!)

 

[S14sx2nr]

Still kind of messy, but way better than how it came stock. I moved all the excess wiring into the empty 5.25" bay and tied it together to ensure the most free air space is utilized as possible. This is right at the very top of the case though and i'm not worrying about it until I upgrade to a higher output and modular power supply later this year. Good view of the LED light strip though!

The LCD display mounted and running:

And the good stuff:

The LED lights, anodized case screws, Hyperglide teflon mouse feet (I highly reccomend these...wow what a difference!!!), zip ties, ez sleeve (uv blue) and window kit were purchased from http://www.FrozenCPU.com

The cold cathodes, black sleeving kit, and bluetooth dongle were all purchased from http://www.SVC.com

The SerialATA to molex 4pin adaptors, 92mm silicone case fan dampener (uv blue) and temp display were purchased from http://www.performance-pcs.com

Round 2 should be here tomorrow.

 

[S14sx2nr]

Round 2:

AcoustiFeet Silcone case feet. Rated the best on the market for noise reduction. Patented in the UK and used by many coorperations for office PCs. Purchased from http://www.AcousticPC.com (best price I found in stock.)

And a pic of the HyperGlide pure teflon mouse feet I put on, it's no gaming mouse, but this was definately a huge, worthwhile upgrade:

 

[Hazaro]

New teflon is always nice.
LCD is a nice touch too

 

[RIG RIDER]

After checking your mods out I can now say I like the look of the new dell case.
Nice work on the window, very clean looking install.

 

[ian2000gsxr]

sweeeet

 

[S14sx2nr]

After checking your mods out I can now say I like the look of the new dell case.
Nice work on the window, very clean looking install.

Well thank you! I appreciate it!

 

[EchoTheDolphin]

Wow, that's really nice. Simple and not too flashy, and on a prebuilt system too! Can't wait to see what would happen if you got your hands on a custom case. Good work!

 

[depthad]

simplistic and nice, new mice feet... mmmmm

 

[Chobucto]

Pretty rad!

 

[Wayward_Son]

You did well for your first foray. Be proud.

You'll find as you sink deeper into this melancholy pit of modding despair that you can produce better and better results, and come up with new ideas or interesting twists on old mods. It's a soul-sucking Sarlac pit that gobbles up chunks of time and money.

Lots 'o fun.

 

[burningcpu]

Yeah dude that looks really good. I like how clean it looks.

You could spray paint the inside of your case black to fully bring out the white outside. You'd have to take everything out to do it of course. I've seen pics around here of people that did that and I think it looks pretty hot.

If you don't the computer still looks great

 

[Wayward_Son]

Only problem with blacking the inside of your case black is that the glow of your internal lighting does "pop" as much. The black paint absorbs the light instead of reflecting it (like white paint), so you have to be very careful with other details such as light placement, light volume, material color (cable sleeving, connectors, PCB), etc.

I once had a case painted pearl white on the outside, and had the case chassis powdercoated dark charcoal grey and painted the interiors of the case doors and walls in flat black. The had the case lit with red LED fans. I thought that the LED red light on black and grey case internals would make everything "pop", but it didn't; it sucked up most of the color, and the result wasn't nearly what I was expecting. I would have done better by painting the interior white. I would have done even better by painting the chassis and interior walls in a light orange. Would have led to much greater results regarding the finished image that I held in my mind's eye.

 

[burningcpu]

Yeah I can see that happening. We spray black paint on the insides of our spectrometers to catch stray light. I've never put lights inside my computer so I didn't even consider it.

 

[S14sx2nr]

Thanks for the kind words guys! It's nice to see people have the same tastes I do!

 

[Crazy Jayhawk]

Looks good, and of course I approve of your choice of pillow.

 

[S14sx2nr]

Hahaha, Go Jayhawks!

 

[hafaphoto]

Nice work. My 'mods' are functional more than nice looking. I like your taste in beer.

E

 

[Dino-Man]

can someone give me a link to a temp lcd just like that one

 

[Jolly-Swagman]

Well done the window looks much better and the LCD temp was great too have you any info on that mod too

Wonder if I could mod an old LED display from a old486 that have laying around to read temp