Pavilimod 2001

[Soylent Joe]

Step 1: Brainstorming
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So I gutted an old HP Pavilion 7935 from 2001 out of boredom. I'm looking to do some mods on this case. There are a few things that I have in mind for it, but I'd like to get some ideas from the community. Tell me about anything that you think would work well for it. This is my first case mod so I'm going to need some help from the seasoned veterans of modding.

Tools
I've got a battery-powered Dremel with about 15 different tips, some saws, a few power drills with hundreds of bits, and can get any painting materials needed. I have no way of welding or fabricating metal. Sheets of plexiglass can be found at the Lowe's here so I could get that too. I also have 4 cold cathode lights and a LED strip.

Ideas
Will be updated with good viable suggestions. Very feasible // Iffy // Probably not

• Mod out back 80/92mm fan spot to fit a 120mm fan
• Side panel window (plexiglass, secured with strong double sided tape or some sort of bolt)
• 3-toned paint job (chassis, plastic parts, accent pieces) - Up for color/theme suggestions
• Cut something out so that an ATX PSU can be installed

Pictures

Spoiler

 

[Soylent Joe]

Step 2: The Work
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[Soylent Joe]

Step 3: Finished Product
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[t_ski]

Does it work better if you have the PSU in the right way?

 

[p_o_s_pc]

those HP cases are alot of fun. I have messed around with a couple of them. Surprisingly you can get some decent WM in them even stock. Just have to get creative.wish i had some pics to share to give you some idea's.

I would consider removing the HDD bay. That seemed to open up some possibility for me. Also keep in mind you have some decent room behind the mobo tray for some wires.

ps the psu will go in just fine if you flip it around the right way

as for a sleek way to mount the CCFL's if you want to hide them... Remove them from the protective tube and use some kind of glue on the ends of the light and glue it right to the case. Make sure the wire that runs the length of the light isn't touching any metal.
I have used that method a few times and it worked great(first got the idea when i put some CCFL's in my clear Xbox)

 

[wolf]

has the makings of one sweet case mod. I love seeing prebuild cases turned into something really sweet. subbed.

 

[Soylent Joe]

I decided while I was tossing and turning last night to just keep the current (crappy) hardware I have to go along with it for the sake of being able to actually use it after the modding is done. Also, that way, I can play around with the components and not be worried about messing something up. So, that sale thread is going down.

Does it work better if you have the PSU in the right way?

I didn't think so, it seemed like there was something wrong no matter how I tried putting it in there. It may, but I'd still rather use the small PSU that came with it. I'll try sleeving the wires and painting the casing of it to fit the theme.

 

[brandonwh64]

There was a NICE HP case mod on the case gallery section that was exactly like your case but modded and had a I7 920 with a rampage II gene board. it had a clear sidepanel and great lighting with custom paint. i tried to search for it but it looks like they may have deleted it.

 

[Munki]

That PSU looks hella firmiliar.

Subbed

 

[Soylent Joe]

There was a NICE HP case mod on the case gallery section that was exactly like your case but modded and had a I7 920 with a rampage II gene board. it had a clear sidepanel and great lighting with custom paint. i tried to search for it but it looks like they may have deleted it.

Yeah! I remember seeing that a while ago. That gave me some inspiration to try to mod this case. If only we could find the owner of that mod, I could message them for ideas

 

[(FIH) The Don]

Sub'd

 

[Soylent Joe]

This case is a bit different, but it shows what is possible if you have a good theme to go by: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBDzzbxPX24


I'm thinking of a Red Dead theme. Maybe call it "Pavilion Redemption" since I'd be giving it a new life. I've created a color palette with colors common to the RDR artwork.

Does anyone know if there's a way to easily transpose a printed design onto plexiglass/polycarbonate?

 

[blu3flannel]

This could be interesting, I can't wait to see how this turns out. I have an old Mac G3 I might mess around with...

 

[(FIH) The Don]

print it out and sandwich it between 2 layers of plexi,

 

[t_ski]

This case is a bit different, but it shows what is possible if you have a good theme to go by: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBDzzbxPX24


I'm thinking of a Red Dead theme. Maybe call it "Pavilion Redemption" since I'd be giving it a new life. I've created a color palette with colors common to the RDR artwork.

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/9540/redemptioncolours.jpg

Does anyone know if there's a way to easily transpose a printed design onto plexiglass/polycarbonate?

You wanting color or etching?

 

[Soylent Joe]

You wanting color or etching?

For the image? Color I'd say. But, something etched in the font I used with the color sampler on the acrylic with red lighting inside could look really neat.

 

[t_ski]

A lot of places will do custom etching with a graphic you provide, but if you want color, you can do like The Don said and print out a graphic on transparancy paper and sandwich it between plexi.

 

[Soylent Joe]

I has a few questions:

1. Can 1/4" or 3/8" polycarbonate or acrylic be etched with a sandblaster?

2. What are the steps one would take to prep and paint the steel chassis pictures in the OP? How about the side panels and plastic pieces which are painted?

3. What is a good simple program I could use to create simplistic colour 3D renders of the computer case?

 

[Frick]

Just wanted to say that I support this thread. I've had that case before and it's actually pretty decent to begin with. I thought about modding it alot, but I never got around to it and eventually I sold it.

I have no ideas for you (except that I'm not a fan of windows and stuff, but that's just me ), but keep it up!

 

[(FIH) The Don]

I has a few questions:

1. Can 1/4" or 3/8" polycarbonate or acrylic be etched with a sandblaster? no idea

2. What are the steps one would take to prep and paint the steel chassis pictures in the OP? How about the side panels and plastic pieces which are painted? sand the whole thing, primer with some grey primer, then do some coats of the color you want, sand it a bit , give it a coat or 2 more, if the result is satisfying, clear coat it


3. What is a good simple program I could use to create simplistic colour 3D renders of the computer case? Google Sketchup

meh

 

[t_ski]

They make some kinds of spray paint that are meant to be used on plastic. Somebody else can jump in and name it, because I can't think of it right now. Is it PlastiCote or Fusion?

 

[DannibusX]

Fusion

This is correct.

 

[Soylent Joe]

sand the whole thing, primer with some grey primer, then do some coats of the color you want, sand it a bit , give it a coat or 2 more, if the result is satisfying, clear coat it

For the paint that I'll be doing the multiple coats with, what kind of finish should I get? Matte, semi-gloss, etc.