Here we go i'll be the third noob in a short while modding my first case.

I have an Aspire X-Dreamer. One of those premodded ones that you buy and think its really cool. I did the whole put lights in and everything but finally looking at it I figured it was time to do some real work on it.

The Specs:
3.2 P4 overclocked 3.6
Thermalright XP-90
1 GB RAM
BFG 6800
Sound blaster Audigy 2

What I think im gonna do is to put a top window in with some type of an etch, paint the interior, window mod for my CD drive, and what ever else comes to mind.

Here are some pics and I have already taken it apart so hopefully I can start cutting or painting tomarrow!!

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After emptying my case and resetting my innards so that I can keep posting I have started cutting for the window in the top cd drive. It actually only took me one cutting disk to do the cut which means Im starting to get used to my dremel!!


Now all I need to do is file that baby down, paint it, and put in the lexon. Once I get my new file set that should be done soon. Gonna hopefully start priming tomarrow.

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Looks like it's off to a good start. Are you thinking of painting the interior a contrasting color? Something UV reactive would be almost overkill... then again, you may want that!

i think im gonna go with a midnight blue (hopefully a mirror finish) and use some UV reactive paint on the bottom

What i really need to do is think of what color UV paint would look good and what kind of design I want to paint. For the color I was thinking white or red. Any ideas or suggestions??

Can't wait to see how the cd-rom mod turns out

As far as the colors go, I'm sure that it will look good no matter what color scheme you go with. To each his own!

pretty cool man. i havethat case somewhere in my closet...or i think i used it to build someone a rig... either way its a pretty decent case. real sturdy so dont be afraid when hacking it to pieces. Also, you said that you;re putting a window on the top, does that mean you're going to take out the fan there also..B/c i remeber that fan sucked alot of heat out and affected the over temp. by like 3-4 C. but that was jus me i guess.

i top blow hole does help by those temps or more. But removing the stock "fan grills" on the fornt and back will also help your temps alot.go with a color that makes you happy and that would look good. But for me I am a big fan of flat black. and i love the cdrom mods.

I've started priming my CD drive and just used my new hole saw to allow more air through the front fans and I'll probably cut holes for the back fans as well

here are some pics to keep you guys interested while I go start sanding and priming the CD drive and the case

I ended up going with white UV paint so hopefully it'll stand out when the UV's are on

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well started painting the CD drive and im about to go prime my case. there was this bar which was gonna get in the way of the top window and I had to take it out. It was by far the biggest pain ever to take off. It looked like a simple rivet but nope they had actually heated and attached that brace on so i had to pry the metal apart with some help from my dremel, a flat head screw driver, and a hammer.

Got one of my new toys in an Arctic Cooling NV Silencer for my vid card. I also finished filing the top of the case and I am just waiting for that piece of acrylic to get here so I can attach it on. I probably wont update too much in the next few days since it will be mainly painting and sanding but we'll see. . .

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JUST GOT MY SHIPMENTS IN!!!! Now I'm good to go. Got my acrylic for the top window, UV paint (white), fan grill, new quiet LED fans, blue LED for the power light, new rocker switch and even my zalman mic but that is for gaming.

The painting is goin pretty well too. Just put the first color coat on the case and am about to start the second color coat on the CD drive.

I think I am going to do a dragon theme for the case as well hence the new dragon fan grill from Crazy PC. I think it will include a dragon like etch for the top window and the japanese symbol for dragon in the white UV paint on the bottom of my case so when the UVs go on the symbol shows up!!! I also ordered some of those dragon spikes from dragonmodz. Im gonna put those on the front of the case instead of the round circles that were origionally there. Hopefully it'll turn out good and i'll keep you guys updated.

*dont worry the blue is much darker in real life. its closer to a dark navy blue so it doesnt stand out that much*

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Looking good so far dude!
Keep up the good work!

Nice Dragon! If you go for a 'Dragon mod.... remember to but some Red/Orange LED Fan/ Cathode/LED Beam in your project.... Afterall... us 'Dragons have a Heart of Fire....

Like what you're doing, so far!

TDR

what i think i might do is for the top use red lazer leds to highlight the etching and i will prob take out the green UV fans to make it red and blue . . . blue on the bottom and RED glowing out the top Also I have attached the kanji symbol which means dragon. It will be in UV paint on the bottom of my case.

QUESTION: For the rocker switches that have the LED in them, how do i wire them so that both the LED in the switch and the cold cathodes light up when I flip the switch. I was able to wire it to make either the LED work or the cathode but not both. It is the switches with three prongs and Im not sure whether i need to use the third prong or what. Thanks

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thats gonna look shweeet. I'm doing something similar in my worklog.. but what i did was a samurai's face twith the kaini's for samurai aroundhim, and then for the side panel I'm putting a full samurai fighting a dragon.... Take your time with the etch. Doesnt matter how small or how big, the more time you take on it, the better it'll look for the final result.

well I just did my first LED mod. LED are a pain to work with cause they are so small. I think i had to restrip one of the wires three times cause i kept messing up on the solder and such. Oh well it turned out really nice and matched the temp gauge color on the front.

I still have another day to wait before i can start sanding my case but hopefully if I can borrow my friends jigsaw today I can cut the acrylic for the CD Drive and put it together. Well off to practice but I'll post again when I get somethin done.

**PS** Can someone help me with the switch question I asked above. It would help out a lot since I'm still very new at the electrical end of things.

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Alright so i think I'm down to two possible designs for the top window etch. I'm just not sure which one to go with so i'll post 'em here and see what you guys thing. I know its all personal opinion but if anyone thinks one will look terrible let me know or if anyone has any other suggestions that would also be appreciated. I am going for a sort of tattoo design for the top window preferebly something that deals with dragon wings or something like that . . .

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I havent updated in a while due to starting my summer job painting houses. So looks like i'll get even more practice than just on my case I finished the clear coat on both the CD drive and the case and it looks pretty sweet. As you can see from the first pic I cut the window a little too big and exposed some of the supports. This makes both getting any type of actualy window in the CD drive very difficult. I tried some plastic wrap but it wasn't streating right. I think I will just leave it open since it will basically be right against the acrylic for the top window. I'm also gonna paint some of the white parts to give it a more even look from the top.

For the case I got little mirror going without any rubbing compound so I think I'm gonna go get some and see what kind of mirror effect I can really achieve. I'm getting my acrylic this weekend for the top window and am waiting for two red lazer leds and my dragon spikes. I've decided on the second of the two etches and it will cover a good amount of the top window and will be lit by those red lazer LEDs.

Other than that I need to create my stencil for the UV reactive kenji dragon symbol and then after using the rubbing compound I will paint that on. So i'm almost done with this mod just need to get a few more things and the only big thing left is doing my first window etch (wish me luck) . Of course i will practice on some scrap acrylic first but its still my first one. If it goes well I have an idea for the side window but I might need/want to get that one done professionally but who knows. Alright gotta go powerwash my deck i'll post back when i get something new done.

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Just finished the window etch and also finally got my dragon spikes. Here are some pics of both. Other than that I am pretty much done with my first mod. I just have to do the kenji symbol on the bottom of the case and then put everything back in including my new lazer leds which will light up the window. So i'll post back when something gets done and hopefully my first mod will be completed!!

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Keep up the Great work

this is looking very promising keep up the good work