First Case Mod

[Santa]

Well I am starting to assemble the parts and things I will need for my first case mod. I will attempt to convert a old camera case into a new computer case, I know things like this has been done before, so outside not too original, but I hope to do some fun things with the inside. not sure if it will work, and I may just make a big mess, and buy a case in the end. but trying something different is half the fun.

I went out and got some plexiglass today, I already had the case. I am playing around with design concepts. figuring out where I am going to put everything.

I'm still looking at motherboards - need something more then 9.6 inches. I want to run a core duo, processor, so if anyone knows of good micro form fiting motherboard let me know.

I am going to have fun cutting into, the aluminum side of the case, for venting and power supply. planing on using a jig saw..Any tips ?

Also I am looking for housing for 5 1/4 and 3 1/2. or the bays that you can slot the drives in. Perferably individual instead of a 3-5 type. this will give me more versitility in placement. If I can't find them I will have to construct something myself.

Once I start I will post pictures as I go along. Hopefully in the end I will have something different and functional.. :-D

[Bio-Hazard]

Just look around at old cases for your drive bays, if you don't have any, I'm sure Scott can hook you up.........;)
I have a bunch around the house, but not really worth the postage shipping them though.
As for cutting, I've always found a dremem works best..........:)

Here's 2 as an example, they are both for a single 5.25 and single 3.5 side-by-side, perfacr for a micro case build.

[swiminguy]

hiw big a camera case are ya talkin?

like big old 80s vhs recorder??

or some kind of smaller camera

[Santa]

Ok I need help. I got my motherboard. and I was planing on mounting it on plexiglass. but then I realized it may not be grounded that way, has anyone done a mod with plexiglass and how did you ground the moutherboard. I have thought that I could cut a sheet of metal and place it behind the motherboard and mount both on glass, but not sure if that will do the trick. (do not know much about electricity) What is necessary for grounding. will I need to put in a steel frame.. any thougts or ideas. or is this a non-issue (motherboard will be ok with out it) any advice?
:help:

Thanks Santa

[werty316]

Juut get a wire and connect it to a negative(black) wire on a PSU and the other end should be tied around the threads of a motherboard screw when you install a motherboard and install the screws.

[Kougar]

Ideally the motherboard grounds itself through the screws to the case, and the metal case itself is contacting the PSU cover, which in turn is grounded into the wall through the PSU unit.

For good quality boards grounding is not an absolute requirement, I've run my own Gigabyte DS3 outside the case before without issues and have seen plenty of people run their boards in the open, so yes you can run your DS3 without it grounded.

Not grounding the board will definitely cause a much higher degree of risk should any shorts or surges or anything occur however.

[Santa]

OK,

I have the processor, motherboard, hardrive, and dvd, ordered and on the way is the video card, ram, some fans, and power supply. I am playing with the case and plexiglass trying to plan out the best configuration. I am preping things and will start to post some pics as I go along. I will have to do some cutting, I have a dremel, and other tools but what would you use to cut through the alluminum steel? (what kind of blade or head for dremel). I will also have some fun with the plexiglass an tips will be appriciated. need to cut wholes for fan and drives. This will be a fun project and it will take a while I can tell, but I am pretty sure it will be a Santa orginal when I am finished.

[Bio-Hazard]

I use Fiberglass Reinforced Cut-off Wheels for just about everything. Hole saw's of the correct size make for the easiest fan hole cutting, but are pretty expensive. 120mm fan holes are fairly easy to do with a dremel by hand IMHO.

http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments-and-accessories/attachment-accessory-detail.htm?H=188549&G=66367&I=66372

[Kougar]

Markleb is the resident plexiglass expert, although Sbrehm isn't to shabby himself... ;)

He's not been on here for a little while though, will see if I can point him this way. I couldn't even tell you how to hold a dremel, let alone what attachments to use. :grin:

[werty316]

If you need a good stencil for a 120mm cut out, just use a CD as they are the same size.

[DragonMaster]

For 80mm holes, you might want to get a 3" hole saw, all you need is a power drill, a nearby hardware store and $12 ;) (The 4¾" ones for 120mms are $35 tho...)

[Santa]

Well here are a few pictures of the project. Started with basic alluminum case. took out lining. painted. now sizing up where everything is going to mount.
Since starting project.. went with a bigger motherboard then I planed, bigger video card (man 8800 gts are big). power supply... with gaint monster cables they take up as much room as the psu. but my case is still the same size. this has turned out to be rather fun, heck if you aren't modfying something are you really Moding ? ;-) . I am getting it worked out and have come up with a few new ideas. Not sure if this will be pretty. but it will be different. :grin:

[Null]

Not sure if this will be pretty. but it will be different. :grin:

It's pretty different, alright; very unique.

Is it lan party ready for those all nighters?

[Kougar]

That's a very interesting choice of case! That's tailor made for LAN party use or frequent traveling, it even had true onboard audio. ;)

Looks like it still has enough room for a 4-pack of soda or water in there, or is that where the PSU is stored when it's off?

[Santa]

Yeah this rig should be LAN party friendly. although, I did considered a small cooler space for drinks, I decided, the psu might be more important. :lol: It still has a long way to go, still waiting on a few last minute items. and I am going to have fun cutting the case next week.. to busy during weekends.. and I have to make adjustment to case for mounting items like fans, and HD so they don't go bouncing off things when case is carried. and I have some work with plexiglass still to come. But its starting to come together, I will post more pictures as things develope. :grin: I love this project.

[mousiness]

that looks so aweesome, what a great idea! hopefully it will be used frequently for the LAN parties

[Santa]

Here are some new pictures of my case mod.

pic 1: are the holes cut for motherboard, psu, and fans. (hold breath... hope they fit)

Pic 2: Frosted plexiglass for an icy look.. and gave computer name.. (can you read it?)

Pic 3: cut slot for 8800 card, its big... ( where am I going to put those cables:frown: )

Pic 4: Almost done with plexi-glass. holes cut for fan, on-reset switch. fan up to p for venting. and power cable to video card. whew.... thats all for now. but its coming along. pretty happy so far since I have never done any of this before. :-D

[Bio-Hazard]

It looks like it's coming along nicely.......;) And yup, cable management is going to be a pain.

[Pat123]

Yeh look real nice.. shame about the 8800 being so long lol.. :D looks awesome though.

[Kougar]

That's looking great! Are ya thinking about adding some kind of door, cover, or screen to the back I/O section for better mainboard protection when traveling, or not really?

[Santa]

Yes, I am thinking of puting some type protection on back, first thought is I could cut piece of foam rubber, that would fit inside the well, but it lacks a little style.
:bling:so still giving it some thought. Got a few more things to do on the case, but next step is getting it all to work. Still need to get a copy of vista. Maybe next week. and I might actual turn on the power.:grin:

[Kougar]

Well, for bling some kind of plexi, custom cut to fit the rear I/O panel might work. Or if you could use the I/O plate that came with the board somehow? It's a thought anyway.

I was thinking more along the lines of covering the back for when you are transporting the case, something like a solid metal cover or door that could fasten in place. I guess there is no room for having it slide into place. Maybe some kind of mesh could work, but again it'd need to be custom cut, and with that amount of detail it'd still take a great deal of work! Good luck with finishing your build, whatever you do decide on doing! :)

[BigD]

for the back... go to target, they sell mesh file cabinets and trash cans for hella cheap... rip them apart and get the mesh, its easily bendable and cuttable... use that for the back..

and put some cup holders in the inside corners of those doors, then it will be lan-ready

[Santa]

:frown: drat..

I was conecting everything to motherboard, and my "on" switch cable snapped off, so need to replace that and I need to make a few adjustments to get everything in place and secure. So work is not done yet and will be a few days before I can power up and see if it will work. oh the antisipation....

[Santa]

Almost Done.. :snoopy:
Its Alive and it works.. I have some final touches... all style stuff..:bling: and will be posting more pictures showing all the details. But :icon_tiphat: :thanks: thank you for all the tips and advice. Since this is my first case mode, I am happy how well it has come together.

the stuff inside:

Core 2 Duo e6400
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Motherboard
4x 512 Corsair DDR2- 800mhz RAM
Nvidia 8800 GTS
OCZ 600W PSU (with really BIG CABLES)
VISTA Ultimate 32 Bit OS.

[Scott Sherman]

Cool man.

[Bio-Hazard]

Sounds good, I bet you're happy that you're finished and it's up and running...........;)
I sure hope my Hughesnet satellite internet is halfway working so I can at least see what it looks like when you get the pics posted.

[Santa]

More pictures,
here are some close ups of front fan, and front case.
My computer name is Ice Cubed.. as in Ice to 3rd power.
So my design is around making it look ice cold.. blue led lighting, along with frosting plexi glass, and a few ice cicles to top it off.
After all Santa computer is in the North Pole.

[Kougar]

That's looking pretty good! :)

[Xero (1)ne]

Keep up the good work, I know I can't do that good.;-)

Whenever i mod my pc, i always just say f*** it and rip and tear at it to get whatever done....I'll just say that i go for the umm...more rugged and battle-torn look

[Santa]

More Pictures... she's done... :-D let me know what you think.

First pic is case closed outside, side with fan vents.

Second picture is back of case with psu, motherboard. I ran the speaker cable from inside, so its always got sound.

third picture: turned on in the day light, can see my snow bots on guard, speakers with ice cicles, fan with ice cicles, plexi-glass frosted for chill effect. and computer name, "ice cubed" etched in glass.

Fourth pic: close up of Snow bot sentry. blue led light goes bake and forth like cylone.

fith pic: on at night, blue led showing, plenty of light to play by. and key board lights up blue as well.

Hey is this computer cool or what? **! **! **!


Core 2 Duo e6400
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Motherboard
4x 512 Corsair DDR2- 800mhz RAM
Nvidia 8800 GTS
OCZ 600W PSU (with really BIG CABLES)
VISTA Ultimate 32 Bit OS.

[XJnine]

Wow, excellent work! Even more impressive since it's your first mod. Good job Santa! You didn't have your elves do this for you did you??? ;-)

[Xero (1)ne]

Holy wow.....that is absolutely capital! :jawdrop:
Briliant work!
:takapic:

[Bio-Hazard]

Nice job Santa............;)

[darkorb]

dude that looks prety sweet

nice job man!

[Kougar]

Great job, that's a cool mod and a very nice system Santa... :)

[tomato]

Great job Santa ;) 8)

[Dude@13]

:takapic: Great job, I was going to ask you to put blue neon inside but I see you already did. Exellent style I'd pay a thousand dollars more for a PC w/ that case!

[Santa]

:grin: Thankyou everyone for all the compliments. I am very happy with how it turned out, and a little proud since it was my first time to try something like this... makes me look at house hold objects in a new way...hmmm I wonder if a motherboard will fit in the toaster oven.:jawdrop: :lol: **! **! **!

[Bio-Hazard]

Toasters have been done before, but they always make for a interesting mod............;)