commandercup
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- Joined
- Apr 9, 2008
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Processor | Intel Pentium E2200 |
---|---|
Motherboard | EVGA 680i SLI T1 |
Memory | 2GB Patriot Memory |
Video Card(s) | PNY 9600 GT 512MB |
Storage | 250GB Maxtor |
Display(s) | HP w19 |
Audio Device(s) | Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio |
Power Supply | OCZ StealthXStream 600W |
Software | Windows XP Media Center |
The idea of this case is an all black exterior with silence in mind. Its a practical case rather then one that might give you the lowest temperatures.
*for full size pictures (2048 x 1536), visit http://www.bjkdesign.com*
Here are some pictures of the stock case... its a Raidmax xB Performance Series ATX case that cost me $23 off NewEgg! I bought it because its got a nice flat and attractive front bezel/panel that can easily be altered if neccesary.
Ironically... I had some problems with the package as UPS reported that it was shipped a day before it arrived... which could mean that someone stole it and returned it, or that UPS made some mistake... Anyways, I found a rusted screw holding the case together :shock: and the left side panel was missing...
To start working... I removed the top panel of the case, which alone took me 20 minutes and forced me to push the case and panel in awkward ways...
Then I started taking off all the wires after removing the front panel... This was also when I cut my middle finger from pushing out the case speaker! (Nice addition to a $23 case) The sharp steel assembly cut me...
The case with all panels removed.
To start the actual modding, I decided that I would cut out the front 120mm fan grill to increase airflow.
Then I proceeded to remove the stock HDD bay.
All I had to do was drill out some pop rivets... took me quite a while because my drill has very low torque... but it worked out in the end.
Afterwards I removed the back 80mm fan grill as well to increase exhaust airflow.
The next order of business was to make a new HDD mount by taking out the stock 3.5" bay converter (fits in the bottom 5.25" bay) and turning it sideways. Here are some pictures demonstrating my idea.
I cut a little bit of the back out where that bottom oval on the bays are so that the hard drive cables can fit through easily without having to have a big hole or rectangular area there. The idea is that the bay converter will be screwed in and unscrewed when a harddrive is removed or added.
To mount the converter, I drilled two holes into the base of it.
I then drilled the holes relative to the position on the converter to the actual drive bay assembly.
Heres the hard drive screwed in
I then decided that the drive rack needeed better mounting so I drilled two more holes near the center of the rack.
I also drilled two more holes in the corrosponding places in the main assembly. The picture shows two holes on top of each other... I have no idea why, I think something might have been there when I took the picture, but the drilling worked out perfectly.
Heres teh rack fully secured.
I then decided to cut out some of these weird support bars to create a little space to fit cables through.
Heres a picture of a generic PSU mounted to try and find a place to mount a mesh filter on the top of the case.
Here you can also see an optical drive mounted to make sure that the mesh will not overlap any of the hardware inside the case.
The top panel is masked and the design has been penciled.
The weird support bar areas on the bottom of the top panel made it hard to cut... the dremel had to be angled awkwardly.
The u-channel has been applied to cover up the ugly cuts.
Heres the mesh which has been c-clamped to the table so that it can be cut.
This is how the mesh will be mounted.
Mounting tape applied.
Heres the beautiful cut and painted mesh.
The mesh is mounted!
Since the top panel is sexy now, I decided to move onto the front bezel since I dont have the side panels right now... They will be here tommorow.
Demonstrating the fit of a fan, I was originally planning to mount the fan between the bezel and the case rather then inside the case to fit an optical drive on the very bottom of the case... but it didn't fit correctly with the optical drive in.
The front panel connectors have been removed.
Masking tape has been applied.
Oh yeah! The cut is finished.
Demonstrating the mesh fitting. It'll be painted black like the mesh on the top panel.
SHowing how the mesh will fit on the top portion of the bezel.
Bare bottom of the case.
Acoustic foam mounted. As you can see the piece I used wasn't long enough, but I won't be filling that gap in until after I finish padding the rest of the case so that I can use whatever scraps I have left.
*for full size pictures (2048 x 1536), visit http://www.bjkdesign.com*
Here are some pictures of the stock case... its a Raidmax xB Performance Series ATX case that cost me $23 off NewEgg! I bought it because its got a nice flat and attractive front bezel/panel that can easily be altered if neccesary.
Ironically... I had some problems with the package as UPS reported that it was shipped a day before it arrived... which could mean that someone stole it and returned it, or that UPS made some mistake... Anyways, I found a rusted screw holding the case together :shock: and the left side panel was missing...
To start working... I removed the top panel of the case, which alone took me 20 minutes and forced me to push the case and panel in awkward ways...
Then I started taking off all the wires after removing the front panel... This was also when I cut my middle finger from pushing out the case speaker! (Nice addition to a $23 case) The sharp steel assembly cut me...
The case with all panels removed.
To start the actual modding, I decided that I would cut out the front 120mm fan grill to increase airflow.
Then I proceeded to remove the stock HDD bay.
All I had to do was drill out some pop rivets... took me quite a while because my drill has very low torque... but it worked out in the end.
Afterwards I removed the back 80mm fan grill as well to increase exhaust airflow.
The next order of business was to make a new HDD mount by taking out the stock 3.5" bay converter (fits in the bottom 5.25" bay) and turning it sideways. Here are some pictures demonstrating my idea.
I cut a little bit of the back out where that bottom oval on the bays are so that the hard drive cables can fit through easily without having to have a big hole or rectangular area there. The idea is that the bay converter will be screwed in and unscrewed when a harddrive is removed or added.
To mount the converter, I drilled two holes into the base of it.
I then drilled the holes relative to the position on the converter to the actual drive bay assembly.
Heres the hard drive screwed in
I then decided that the drive rack needeed better mounting so I drilled two more holes near the center of the rack.
I also drilled two more holes in the corrosponding places in the main assembly. The picture shows two holes on top of each other... I have no idea why, I think something might have been there when I took the picture, but the drilling worked out perfectly.
Heres teh rack fully secured.
I then decided to cut out some of these weird support bars to create a little space to fit cables through.
Heres a picture of a generic PSU mounted to try and find a place to mount a mesh filter on the top of the case.
Here you can also see an optical drive mounted to make sure that the mesh will not overlap any of the hardware inside the case.
The top panel is masked and the design has been penciled.
The weird support bar areas on the bottom of the top panel made it hard to cut... the dremel had to be angled awkwardly.
The u-channel has been applied to cover up the ugly cuts.
Heres the mesh which has been c-clamped to the table so that it can be cut.
This is how the mesh will be mounted.
Mounting tape applied.
Heres the beautiful cut and painted mesh.
The mesh is mounted!
Since the top panel is sexy now, I decided to move onto the front bezel since I dont have the side panels right now... They will be here tommorow.
Demonstrating the fit of a fan, I was originally planning to mount the fan between the bezel and the case rather then inside the case to fit an optical drive on the very bottom of the case... but it didn't fit correctly with the optical drive in.
The front panel connectors have been removed.
Masking tape has been applied.
Oh yeah! The cut is finished.
Demonstrating the mesh fitting. It'll be painted black like the mesh on the top panel.
SHowing how the mesh will fit on the top portion of the bezel.
Bare bottom of the case.
Acoustic foam mounted. As you can see the piece I used wasn't long enough, but I won't be filling that gap in until after I finish padding the rest of the case so that I can use whatever scraps I have left.
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