Do they make fan blades that I could replace. If I were to put a new fan blade in I would like something crome or clear. It bitters me to look at Black...
And what are your thoughts on Laser Leds? Is that a good brand or should I just go to radioshack and get some regular old leds? And how do you hook them up to the power supply? Do I have to know how to rewire or soter? Cus I suck at that since I haven't done it since 7th grade tech class.

Whoah! Serious n00b questions. Answer; yes you can get clear fans. You can use a baybus or rheobus to connect your fans, and laser led's are cool but there are cheaper solutions.

There are many members of this site who will give you detailed information on your questions. It's just too late at night for an old duffer like me. Re-post your question if you don't get any responses within the next 24 hours and I'll dig up some links.

Quote: an old duffer like me

What are you now, 363 years old? Next he'll be telling us about how he didn't have computers back in his day, they had to make an abacus from human hair and kidney stones. :-D

Kleiner, yes, you can buy clear fans. Don't know about chrome fans, but clear ones, no problem. You can also buy them with LEDs already installed (no soldering or assembly required).

Lazer LEDs are good (in my humble opinion) for lighting up small cases or in situations where a lot of light isn't required or wanted. Otherwise, if you want to dazzle and amaze, consider a cold cathode. Again, no soldering or assembly is required (other than sticking the light somewhere inside the case with the provided double-sided tape). A good place to find these and other mod products is Xoxide Modifications. *cough* shameless plug *cough*

Thanks Wixx, I was just too tired to dig up some links last night.

Kleiner, do you need 80mm fans or something larger?

Bigakita, you give awesome info sometimes, but just cuz everyone flamed you when you were new here doesnt mean you need to call everyone a serious newb. Everyone learned sometime, and no one liked to think they were a newb then

Go to Directron.com have a look. They also have an aluminum fan that is close to the chrome you may be looking for.



It is only in the 60mm size, although I have seen these in 80mm as well. I'm at work as such I don't have the link. I'll post it if I can find it at home.

You know me; I see some new cool product that costs a way disproportionate amount of money just because it's the "in thing", and I say to myself, "I'll just make my own."

Antec makes these sweet clear fans with 3 blue LEDs or 3 multicolored LEDs (green/blue/red). But I have a 93mm black fan (yep, strange size, but it's sitting around so why not use it?). I want it to give off red light for my current project. So, I drilled 4 5mm holes on each corner, so the LEDs will fit perfectly without falling through and getting smacked by the fan blades. I'll paint the blades and the surrounding part a silver paint that looks as much like chrome as possible, so the red light from the inward-pointing red LEDs reflects off the blades and the inner 'circle' area of the fan. Another thing that's cool is that you won't be able to see the LEDs themselves, at all. They'll be completely concealed except for the business end, which'll be aiming toward the center of the fan blades. You'll only see the reflected red light flashing off the blades and inner circle of the bracket.

It's gonna look wicked, and...it'll be custom, so nobody else will have a fan that looks exactly like mine. Also, it'll be cheap. The fan cost me nothing, the 4 LEDs about $4 total, whatever the cost of the paint is, and the rest is just time.

BTW, who would recommend the most chrome-like paint? I've tried many, but none look like chrome; they usually all end up looking like silver, but I'm hoping for something as reflective as possible. Ideas?

Coel I purchased some chrome like paint that works pretty good. I got it at Canuck Tire. It's pretty close to the plated plastic chrome. I actually bought it to paint fans as well. It took me 3 attempts to find the paint, and this stuff is pretty close.

I can't remember the name, but I'll post it once I get home.

Please do, and thanks. I bought this stuff several months ago that had a nice chrome-plated cap on it, suggesting that this would be the final color/finish. What a load of crap. How can something that is plated resemble something that is painted?!

Anyway, let me know the brand, and what section. I saw chrome-finish paint in both Automotives and in the Home Reno paint section. Thanks.

Chas, what the hell are you talking about? If I flame someone you will know it. That was a friendly hello.

Kleiner, the place that sells the chrome 80mm fans is So-Trick-Computers



Coel, the paint I got at Canuck Tire is Kylon Original Chrome. I too was suckered on 1 other can with a chrome top that was no where near plated looking.

This stuff is pretty good. Here is a fan I painted. It would probably be shinnier if I would have sanded it smooth, but I just painted it over the semi pebbled texture to see if I was had again, I think it's the stuff. I can't remember which section I got it in, but Auto or Home will do it for you.

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It will prob look better with painted blades but I did this awhile back when I wasnt into painting



I have also only found chrome paint that doesnt look like shiny chrome but that Krylon brand looks like itll do the trick

Thanks a bunch ViperZ, I've seen that brand (among several others claiming a true chrome or gold-chrome finish) in the home paint section. Looks like it gives pretty good results, so I'll pick that up today.

TykSak, my idea for painting the fan blades and inner area of the fan chrome, to get a nice reflection while it's in use, would look great with your fan. I'm hoping that it'll make a more circular light effect, rather than just 4 linear-looking light rays.

Hope it works like I'm imagining it, and usually things do work out that way. I'll know later on today. Damn, I wish I had a digicam so I could take progress pics of this case!

First off get a cam looking forward to seeing your fan in action.

But if you light the blades up like I did I dont think youll get another effect.

More pics

Actually coel its been quite some time my man since you updated us
how about it?

Quote: Originally posted by TykSak First off get a cam looking forward to seeing your fan in action. But if you light the blades up like I did I dont think youll get another effect. More pics

Your welcome. I'm sure the chrome painted fan will relfelct the light more, effectively dispersing the 4 beams of light.

The Chrome paint is pretty good, however it not 100% like electroplated chrome. It does the job though.

I think the key to using this stuff is to spray it on as wet as you can with out sagging the paint. This tends to produce the best results.

I was curious about that Chrome paint. Exactly how reflective is it? Do you have a picture of it in action? If I put LEDs on it would it light up my case on the upper half? (I say the upperhalf because my cathode is on the lower half and the light is stopped by my Video Card from Visiontek) And How would I wire the LEDs? OR are they already wired and all I have to do is plug them into the power supply?

Putwig Feckin Loses It!!

I am a very reasonable laid back kinda fellow, and Kleiner this is only partly directed at you....

The internet is chalk full of information! Part of this information would 650,000 articles on how to wire #%#% LEDs! Don't be afraid to do a little research!

Read a few guides, get an idea of what you want to do (and a couple different ways to do it), and then post questions (if you still had any).

I can't stand lazy freakin people that want everything spoon fed to them!



Sorry to go off, but there have been far too many "how do I hook up a fan", and "I can't wipe my own a$$" threads lately!

I think Putwig should be the site's honorary help-desk hoe. He can be the guy we send the n00bs to with how to questions. He seems so passionate when he discusses the subject.

Well, I bought that "Original Chrome" paint and it's so far the best I've seen at producing a near-chrome finish. I took some extra time to sand the rough plastic with fine-grit sandpaper, and it looks really good. The stuff I bought before this stuff was also Krylon, but something called "Crafter's Gold", which of course had a nice gold-chromed cap. It didn't live up to the cap in the least! The Original Chrome is really nice, didn't try the gold version yet.

DW, the case I'm working on now isn't the Hot-Rod case. I've put that on the back-burner for awhile, I don't have the time or place to paint it properly. This other one is coming along nicely, though--there are going to be a ton of 'real' mods, i.e. stuff I had to or wanted to build myself instead of buying.

To Kleiner, I think LEDs are only useful for lighting up small, specific areas. Unlike most light bulbs which disperse the light in all directions, LED light is mostly only visible when seen head-on. If you wanted to light up a large area with LEDs, you'd have to use a large row or cluster of LEDs, like what Wixx did with the Caffeine Machine.