Everyone else is getting their logs posted, so I might as well start. Don't have the pics yet - I'll try to post them this evening - but a little background.

The case I purchased for this mod can be seen here: HEC Group, Compucase Enterprise [Edited to the right case ... urg! Edited again: stupid link]

I was originally going to use it just to cut and figure out how to do some mods ... but now that this competition is here, I figure I'll learn as I go.

Plan is to cut a side panel, half-width that just goes over the pretty parts. I picked up some internal bling as well -- UV reactive slot covers and UV reactive water-cooling tubing.

"But Jon, that case is a bit tight for water cooling, and you're an air cooling buff."

I know ... the tubing won't actually be running water ... I'm going to use it as a sort of shrink-wrap for the visible cables. The hope is that the tubing will give a sort of "water cooling look" to an air-cooled case. And help hide my poor cable management skillz as well.

The hard part for me will be cutting into the plexi for the side panel, so I can mount a side fan. And, of course, with only a half-sized panel, what do I do with the rest of that panel? I've got a graphic artist working on a DargonZine logo that will run vertically over the drive cage area, that I'll cut out, with frosted & backlit plexi behind it.

I'm hoping this looks better than I think it's really going to look. I also don't have a lot of options for painting (very little space, time, and the humidity out here is so high it would take days -- DAYS!! -- to dry), so I won't be able to make this thing shine the way I'd like.

Got a few other ideas percolating as well, but let's just start there for the time being. Hopefully have initial pics up this evening.

-godling

Okay, got a boatload of pics here ... not sure how to attach them inline with the text ... let's see ...

Nope, not working. Okay, so the first three pics are standard for the case, same thing you'd find from the website. One thing I've noticed that I didn't see before, however, is that the bezel has a side piece that is black, similar to the color of the rest of the case. I say "similar" because it's darker and shinier, as plastic is wont to be. Now, if i really want to do this right, I'm going to have to paint this case one uniform color. not really looking forward to that, but for what I want tot do to the front bezel, I might not have a choice. You can also see on the back side of the case that the screws holding in the panels are not thumb-screws, so we're going to have to do something about that.

The next two shots are of the interior. One of the back interior, which leads me to believe there will be some good room for cable management. The other shot is of the standard fan that comes with the case ... yes, it's true, there's a 120mm mount back there, but the fan they include is some sort of 80mm fan attached to a 120mm mount. CHEAP! But what do you want for $29.99?

The next shot shows the inside of the front bezel, and the front of the frame. Why case makers have mounting points for front intake fans but no actual air vents on the bezel to allow that air to enter in the first place. This will be a big requirement of this mod -- a front intake hole. Which means needing to move those power / reset / USB ports. But I was planning on doing that anyway ... but I think I'm going to have to get familiar with bondo in this project.

Finally, some extras that I'm putting into the case. I picked up a 4-pack of 120mm Coolermaster silent fans (19dba), UV reactive slot protectors, and UV reactive water tubing. As the fans themselves are plain, I might need to pick up some UV paint as well.

Still need to acquire the plexi I'm looking for, as well as get my artist friend to draw out the lettering for DargonZine.

-godling

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Used the plexi thread that Feral has been working to find a place called McMasters ... ordered 2 sheets for $11.

Meanwhile,I injured my back so I'm on pain killers $ muscle relaxants, so no working the mod for a bit ..

-j

Wow. What can I say besides, "McMasters rocks!" The plexi I ordered has already arrived, UPS Ground, 1 day. Stuff is beautiful, and a 12"x12" clear plus a 12"x24" translucent green combined cost me $11USD plus $5 shipping. Can't go wrong there!

Starting to measure out my templates for where to cut, and need to pick up sanding supplies, bondo, and paint. Also toying with Google Sketchup to layout my plans.

lateron,
-godling

Okay, next up is a series of where I am now, and what I'm hoping to do.

First, let me say that after spending a week on muscle relaxants, and using that excuse to stay home while the wife and kid head to Philly (quiet time: oh-so-valuable) (but to be honest, the back is still killing me), the wrong time to say "Hey, I should really get the dremel out and start cutting" is right after finishing a bottle of Stone Ruination IPA.


But I've learned a few things tonight:
1. There is a serious "forgiveness factor" in modding if you undercut, rather than overcut, no matter how many times you've measured before you cut.
2. Dremels can be used to shave off additional material when the aforementioned undercut is too small.
3. I'm going to need more dremel bits
4. That shop vac I haven't taken out in 2 years still works.
5. Not all eye protective gear is created equal. I might need different protection.
6. There is no #6.
7. Having completed the first cuts in my first ever real mod -- DREMELS ARE FUN!!!



Now for the pics ...

1. The Ruination IPA.
2. My first cuts
3. My second cuts (you can see that I started getting the hang of it -- the cuts are cleaner)
4. Wearing down the dremel bits, original size vs. end size
5. The handles are in

Lateron,
-godling

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And a quick post to give an idea of where I'm trying to go. This is also my first use of Google Sketchup (thanks to Darth Beavis for pointing me in this direction, it's really quite useful), so it's just an approximation. But I think it gets the point across.

Rather than mod the existing front bezel, I'm going to create a new one using translucent (not transparent) acrylic. If the stuff I have now isn't thick enough, I'll make another call to McMasters without hesitation.

-godling

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Is it really called "Dargon"?

Quote: Originally Posted by BigAkita Is it really called "Dargon"?

Indeed it is. Follow the link on my sig, and you'll see what I'm talking about. 24 years (and counting) of fiction, entirely free of charge and add-free.

-godling

Looking good so far man. I feel your pain with the back issues, I have had 2 messed up disk for about 7 years now and after 3 weeks of not being able to get out of bed my doc had a cat scan run come to fins out i have 3 more disk that are messed up this brings my total to 5 and yeah tabs and muscle relaxers FTW!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by deathbystupidity Looking good so far man. I feel your pain with the back issues, I have had 2 messed up disk for about 7 years now and after 3 weeks of not being able to get out of bed my doc had a cat scan run come to fins out i have 3 more disk that are messed up this brings my total to 5 and yeah tabs and muscle relaxers FTW!!!!

Thanks man! Meds are done (at least, I'm not taking them anymore) and I just got a jigsaw on loan from a friend, so I'll be masking and marking the cuts for the windows on the side. Need to measure to see if I'll have enough acrylic to create a front bezel or if I need to order some more ... I have the quantity, it's the depth I'm concerned about.

Then it's down to painting and detailing.

-godling

Turns out, I've got more than enough acrylic ... let's hope I don't bork it up ...

Did a bit tonight ... measured out where I'll make the cuts on the side panels, the clear being 7x10 and the transluscent being 3x10.

Then measured the cut I'll need on the clear piece ... that was easy ... and then the cut I'll need on the transluscent ... also easy. Then went through the process of measuring out the front bezel cut on the transluscent, marking the "worry spots" I'll have, including trying to figure out how I'm going to mount this bezel in the first place ... and no, I wasn't thinking I'd just layer it over the old piece because I want to stealth the optical drives ... which means I'm also going to have to somehow deal with the faceplates ... hmmnn ...

Anyway, photos attached. Still nothing terribly exciting. oh, and I picked up a small dremel bit that will sand out the inside of the holes that didn't quite match for the case handles ... so that's good. Looking forward to doing some cutting this weekend ... with a bit of trepidation on the acrylic ...

-godling

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wow ... wait until you see the ghetto setup I have for cutting plexi ... but I did learn a few things:
1. Always secure both sizes of the object you are cutting ... otherwise, you get that last-second fracture. Happily I had enough plex to spare for a second cut of that window, and it came out wonderfully.
2. Two wooden lawn chairs works better than 1.
3. I really need to get myself a workbench.
4. A jigsaw with a fine metal blade cuts plexi quite well.
5. Preparation is 80% of the work.

Pics coming ... tomorrow night, probably -- I'm going to see the Red Sox tonight.

Looks like I'm being sent out of town next week as well, starting Saturday, so this mod will likely not be completed before the deadline, but I'll get done as much as I possibly can before then.

-godling

So this is my ghetto workspace ... I accidentally deleted a couple of other pics that show me using just 1 arm rest, and that's a bad idea ... no stability for the tail end of the cut. This method works much better, as you can see by the second pic -- that's not a line drawn on the plexi, that's the actual cut I made along the line. Perfect!

More to come, hopefully tonight. I'm measuring the front bezel, and might have to attach it to part of the old bezel to mount it properly to the front of the case. Also need to make the side panel cuts for the windows, and cut the front bezel plexi where the optical drives will be mounted. But after that ... I'm looking good!

-godling

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Big update today ... some of the pics are dated 14 Aug on the image, but that's just bad editing on my part. All pics were taken today.

So ... what I did:

Cut into the case panel, and used the dremel bits right down to the nub ... not only for the side panel, but also drilling out octagons for the 120mm fan holes.

Also finished the case handle cuts -- there was a sloppy line, and it made the holes not line up. Fixed that.

Cut the side-panel acrylic's 120mm fan hole, looks good!

Picked up some truck door edging / molding, which is essentially u-Channel molding for window lining. works like a charm. Installed it. Installed the big, clear window.

I wanted the second window cut to have 90 degree angled edges instead of rounded edges, which meant I couldn't really use u-Channel molding easily. So I lined it with electrical tape. Might need to cut it back to make it cleaner, but it does the job.

Last two pic is the final look / feel of the case, without parts installed.

What still needs to be completed on this mod, but won't be finished on time:
1. Install the parts.
2. Install the UV cold cathod
3. Install the UV-reactive tubing around any loose cabling for that "water cooled" look (even though I'm air cooling)
4. Create the front bezel (this is a big job, going to require multiple hours I'm sure). I've already cut out the facing, but I think I'm going to need to bend the plexi, and I'm certainly going to need to cut the pieces for the stealthed optical drives, and cut holes for the power, reset buttons and the USB ports
5. Add the Dargon text to the clear side window.

So, lots left to do ... but I got a lot accomplished as well, so I'm happy!

Mod on!

-godling

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Well, I had intended to post a couple of "here's everything installed" pics this evening, but ran into a snag ... the recessed case handles were enough of an impact on an already tight fit for that PSU that I spent the better part of 2 hours cutting down the screws and fitting them back in, and then still having to loosen the fit on the handle (rear) to the point that I could install the PSU. I might simply have to mount it back about six inches ... not sure how I'll handle that if I do.

So ... I'm a little closer, but no where near finished. Hopefully have full assembly of current situation completed by end of week, as I've got a LAN party on Saturday ...

-godling

After the competition ...

But I'm still working to complete the mod.

Last night, I installed the hardware and did about 90% of the cable management. Damned Roddick for distracting me and worse, losing the fourth set heartbreaker ... anyway.

Wow, I've never done cable management like this before. I've often tried to be neat and jammed stuff in, but after reading / viewing Bill's cable management blog, I went all out. I'll try to post some pics tonight when I finish. Still not the neatest job I've ever seen, but it's a damn sight better than I've ever done before.

And, best of all, it does the trick I intended! Wow! The few cables that couldn't be well hidden, I've wrapped in the 3/8 inch reactive tubing, and it looks like a water-cooled system! I think, anyway ...

Tonight: complete the cabling, cut the front blow-hole, mount the vandal-resistant power switch, mount reset button, mount CCFL, and power it on!

Sometime in the future: build a new front bezel.

-godling

Interesting work so far, but I have a feeling you'll be answering BA's question a whole lot! (Or people will just start laughing about "You spelled it wrong!")

You need a little etch underneath that says "No, NOT Dragon!"

Man, we've been hearing that for 20 years ... I didn't name the damned thing, I just run with it.

Anyway, the mod's almost complete. I spent a great deal of time doing cable management last week, so I need to upload the pics. It's not a spectacular job, but damn it's a lot better than I've ever done before, and I can't believe how tidy the case looks compared to my previous builds.

Also, the water-cooled tubing around a few choice pieces of wiring looks pretty good, IMO. I need to mount the cathode still ... I want to see this sucker light up!

The front bezel mod is being off-loaded to a future date. That's a big lot of work for the limited time I have. So as soon as I mount the cathode and get some pics in, this sucker's complete.

-godling

Quote: Originally Posted by godling The front bezel mod is being off-loaded to a future date. That's a big lot of work for the limited time I have. So as soon as I mount the cathode and get some pics in, this sucker's complete. -godling

And we're done!



I'll have to put pics up later this week ... maybe tomorrow night, if I'm lucky ... but the thing is the shiznit.

I still want to do more with this case, but that's one of the beauties of modding, isn't it? You're never *really* done ...

-godling

Final pics, as promised.

there's still tons I'd love to do to this case, but they're things I'll not likely get around to until sometime next year. You see, my wife and I are expecting a second pair of little feet running around the house in a couple months.

Meanwhile, here are the final pics. Included are the back of the case, where I originally intended to keep all the excess wiring. I couldn't get the reverse side panel on like that, however, so I was forced to run a tightly-wrapped bundle in between the optical drives. Next up is the inside of the case. The cable management is rather good, I must say. Most of that is blocked, however, by the UV-reactive tubing that wraps around a few wires ... I wanted the water-cooling look, dontchaknow. Then the inside of the side panel, you can see the fan and Neon light mounted inside. The next in the series is the money shot -- case lit up, no flash. Looks pretty good! However, the neon light is right against the drive bays, so I'm going to have to mount it on the bottom, I think.

Second to last shot in the series: a little mod my daughter added onto the top -- adhesive cable management mount. Great. Going to have to remove that at some point, but then I wanted to re-paint the case anyway. And, final shot, for some reason I took it out of order ... inside the front bezel, where I cut out the opening for the front intake, and mounted the 120mm.

Enjoy!

-godling

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