Mudo's CM 690 mod

[mudogramx]

I switched my components from a CM 690 to a Thermaltake Lanbox Lite, but I really miss having a tower after using the lanbox for a couple months. Before I switch back I'm going to do some mods to the tower. The project logs on here have been inspiring for sure. The parts are in my sig.

Plans:
- Repaint the outside of the chassis in a high gloss black rather than the fairly crappy black paint job that comes out of the factory.
- Paint the inside electric blue metallic to match the LEDs, possibly the front grill too. (something like this)
- Much improved cable management. My wiring could be cleaner. I'm usually in such a hurry to get it running I don't care.

I'll probably add some other things later in the project, but this is just for starters. I hope to start sometime later next week.

 

[mudogramx]

I finished the build yesterday. I just need to cleanup the wiring here and there. The blasted cpu power plug is too short so I had to pull it over my 4850. Thats kind of an eyesore. The fan cables were a bit on the short side too. I plan on getting extensions in future for a final cleanup. I decided to go with midnight blue on the inside instead. I started with a coat of gloss black paint, then followed with blue metallic. The results were better than I had hoped. The inside looks black, purple, or blue at different angles. I'll post pics when I get home.

 

[phanbuey]

why did u miss the tower? noise/temps?... i was kind of thinking about doing an sff build for my next one.

cant wait to see some pics of the 690...

 

[mudogramx]

The tower offered more room to work in, was better looking, and I didn't like the fact that everything had to be shoehorned into the lanbox, which is retrospect is kind of a given. I also had to rig a few things (spacers shorted the board out, had reappropriate with questionable materials...which I planned to fix but never did). The noise was a factor as well. Since I decided to switch back I thought it would be cool to repaint the case while I was at it, as well as removing things that I didn't want/need.

 

[kenkickr]

Can't wait to see some pics. I like that blue. For the money the CM690 is just an awesome case!

 

[mudogramx]

OK here are the pics as promised. I apologize for the lighting in some of the pics. I have an old digicam.

Before:

After:
Door with window. I just painted it a higher gloss black.

Inside of door behind mobo tray. I painted it midnight blue to match the chassis. Notice the hints of black and blue.

Case back. It truly is black. The flash makes it look weird.

Inside of case in normal light.

Inside of case with flash. Notice how the color changes depending on the lighting.

Side of 5.25 cage. The paint bonded to the plastic surprisingly well.

Parts installed. Notice the fan wires and CPU power plug. I plan on getting extenders. Theres a firewire card in there but the 4850 dwarfs it lol.

Final setup

Thats it. I'm going to clean it up in the next couple days. I chipped the paint in a couple spots during the install, but luckily its not noticeable. I do plan on touching it up nonetheless.

 

[Odin Eidolon]

looks good! i would suggest cutting all the hex metal fan glrilles and the plastic pieces on the front and on the top, as kenkickr did. the painting looks awesome! how many coats of primer did you use?

 

[Mark_Hardware]

hey what the duece? why cant I see the pics?

 

[mudogramx]

looks good! i would suggest cutting all the hex metal fan glrilles and the plastic pieces on the front and on the top, as kenkickr did. the painting looks awesome! how many coats of primer did you use?

Thanks! I didn't use primer. I used a coat of black followed by blue metallic. In retrospect primer would have been a good idea, but this is my first time doing anything like this. The results are quite good notwithstanding.

 

[Odin Eidolon]

Thanks! I didn't use primer. I used a coat of black followed by blue metallic. In retrospect primer would have been a good idea, but this is my first time doing anything like this. The results are quite good notwithstanding.

wow! no primer then... looks great anyways! is it prone to scratches?

 

[mudogramx]

Surprisingly no. The only time the paint chipped is when I scraped a sharp metal edge across it during the build. Other than that it hasn't scratched. I used Rust-Oleum metallic paint.

 

[Odin Eidolon]

Surprisingly no. The only time the paint chipped is when I scraped a sharp metal edge across it during the build. Other than that it hasn't scratched. I used Rust-Oleum metallic paint.

thanks! good to know