hey its been a while since my last post as I tried to visit pcapex.com and I kept getting server not found.

Anyways my friend is building a new gaming rig, and we were throwing some ideas around.

One idea I had was a Flat cover that covers the whole motherboard except it would have cutouts to allow only the memory, cpu heatsink, video card, and holes for the necessary connectors.

We have access to a 4axis CNC machine with engraving capabilities, so as far as the construction is concerned it should be do-able.

Now the question is, has this been done before and do you think it would create heat issues?


EDIT: I did find this one, and Im still looking:
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...hassis/002.jpg

and this one:

http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2004.../orac3_part5/6

The second one is more of what im going for except, he will not be doing liquid cooling and he is not going to cover the video cards, cpu, memory.

The whole purpose of the cover idea is to only show and focus on the "key" components of the computer.

Yeah its been done before, no time to look for the images but keep in mind the airflow under the cover. if there are any heatsinks on the board they are there for a reason.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lokie Yeah its been done before, no time to look for the images but keep in mind the airflow under the cover. if there are any heatsinks on the board they are there for a reason.

Yes, I was thinking perhaps on the north and southbridge as well, here is the mobo that will be used:


GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P ATX AM
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

Now the heatsinks are not that huge on this motherboard, do you think vents would be sufficent instead of a whole cutout in the shape of the heatsink?

If anything i would have a couple 60 mm fans blowing air between the cover for the chipsets...if the are covered. Worst case....cut more holes....but record and check your temps.

Along the lines of cooling the "lesser" components under the cover, there's a couple of thoughts that come to mind.

Crossflow fans, like THIS ONE from Coolermaster, might be the answer to keeping the components beneath the cover at least a bit cooler than without any sort of more extreme active cooling (WC/LN/etc). You might have to adjust the forward edge of the cover (forward being the edge towards the front of the case, or at least closest to the crossflow fan) in an upwards direction (maybe heat it up and add a slight bend) so that the air from the crossflow fan will be channeled into the space between the cover and the motherboard.

I might also suggest that you and he consider drilling a pattern of small breather holes in the cover near the heatsinks / lesser components, so that a good portion of the heat they generate would be allowed to dissipate. Not really big enough for them to show through (perhaps a dark-colored material would be best for the "camouflage job"), but enough to keep from melting / frying everything.

Use both together, and I think you might just have a winner.

bit-tech.net | Orac³ Part 5

He made a chrome motherboard cover with a grill over the ram, and Waterblocks. This is by far one of my favorite mods for that reason alone.

That is pretty slick i have been thinking about doing something like that for a while just not enough cash and spare time to do it great ideas though.

Just make sure you use filters on fans and that case is air tight cause that sounds like a space for some bunnies to build up and catch fire.