Ok first off I guess my project should come with a warning, I'm a major fan of the place where I've worked over the last 2 years. Circuit City has been a great place to work, and although most people prefer Best Buy, I'm ready to pay homage to my friends and coworkers that I've worked with over the last year.

Enter a new water cooling rig, a case modding contest with a month to hit the deadline, a cheep but cool computer case and a lot of spare paint and sand paper and I'm ready to start a computer dedicated to all that embodies being an employee at one of the most underrated stores in the greater United States.

Parts acquired so far (in no particular order):

Antec SLK3700-BQE Case
Price: $30.99!
(if you need to pick up a great case to mod head to your nearest Circuit City, these things are on clearance and are selling for 66% cheeper then the price they normally sell at, basically at cost)

Cooling Works 120mm radiator
Came with both 1/2 and 3/8 metal fittings, which is nice because most other companies will ship plastic ones but then again it's all a matter of asthetics and choice.

PolarFlo TT Chromed Water block
Yeah I could go with better performing cheeper water blocks, but this is going to double my performance over my custom kit I'm running now and will support a higher flow rate right off the bat.

Standard DC water pump from swiftech
Yee Old 314gph wattage hogging monster.

Rust-Oleum High Performance Laquer
Multiple colors in case I change my mind and decide this Circuit City case is a bad idea, although i've already started sanding off the black paint and spraying the primer if I'm going to change it, it's gotta be now.

About 2-3 pounds of my favorite wet-sand sandpaper
I absolutely love 3M products.

BONUS! 1 sheet of 12"X24" Lexan
Leftovers from a previous mod project always make me feel like I'm getting something free.


I'm not going to get into all the tools, but right out of the gate, i've torn the stuff appart and set the stuff that wont change aside and that's a pretty small pile of clear stuff and ruber components. I'm drilling the rivets tomorrow and I've already sanded the side panel where most of the window mods will take place. The antec 3700 is nice because it's a pretty plain case, if your planning on moddifications your not going to go out and get a windowed pre-mod case because you want full conrol!

This case will be red, with white accents and a Circuit City logo will take up most of the side panel. I've contacted local laser cutting facilities for fan grills, and sadly It looks as though I'm dremeling out my own given price and copyright concerns.....some of these guys are really anal about following the rules, but then again who better a person to follow the rules then a guy with a laser that cuts through 6 inches of metel in a matter of seconds.

I'm going to try and squeeze all the quality I can manage out of a one month EXACT deadline, so this thread should move pretty quickly, but I'm not promising anything.

A short disclaimer:
I understand a few of you have missgivings about Circuit City in general, to be honest I can't understand "why" given my experience with about 3 different locations in california as an employee. The entire retail industry, especially the electronics industry suffers from a syndrom that spurs massive competition, low wages, crappy service, and angry customers...then again what industry other then porn doesn't? I have nothing, nor do I have the need to give back to Circuit City in anyway, but the reasons I'm making this case is to commemorate my buddies and coworkers I've worked with over the past year are as follows.

1.) We are one out of a handful of stores in our area that pride ourself on customer service.

2.) We get customers in every day that say they will never shop at another retail outlet because we provided the quick information and vital details that got them in and out in the time it took them to get a sales associate's attention at other retailers.

3.) I think the idea is pretty original, but then again I'm basing it on a logo and a design scheme that is due for an overhaul as it is. So originality is not really a concern.

4.) I Want to walk into Best Buy carrying this thing.


And now for the obligitory pictures, the first one of many that will follow. This is basically a "before" picture with most of the disassembly done already.



I'm still debating on what do do with the hard drive bays...they all have a slide in design with rubbet washers to quiet them down. I personally like this, but I'd also planned to just NIX the hard drive cage to make more room for the water cooling equipment. I can make do with keeping it, but removing it will make it cleaner. I kind of like both ideas so that's what is making this a hard choice...let me know either way before I cut it later this afternoon.

Suggestions....recommended upgrades....suggested parts....ideas....They are all appretiated and welcome.

I didn't know Circuit City had clearance cases? i will look harder next time I go to a Circuit City.
btw...SWEEEET new Project

Nice project, i never realy went to curicut city, but now i cant because they moved their store, and i have no clue.

i was wondering if you were going to paint the interior, and what color.

and if you are going to use lights, what color.

as for the hdd tray, if there is space in the tray that holds the floppy, you could put it there, or get a 5 1/2 haddrive cooler, and putt the hdd up there.

Good luck bro....
This sounds as if It could get interesting.
I will follow this thread closely.
Digi.

As far as "Must Post Pictures", I'd say the looks on the faces of Best Buy employees and management when you walk in with it would definitely be a must...

I like Circuit City, they don't try and screw me over like CompUSSR or BestBuy. I like the theme though. What would suck is if Circuit City change names. Can't wait to see how this turns out.

what do you mean that the logo would take most of the side of the case? I think it would look saweet if the logo was 2/3 the size of the side of the case.. i would also incorperate some arcrylic light up case feet and cutt a blow hole for the front with a sweet fan grill.. then hook it up with some nice modders mesh for the back exaust fans and you have a sweet rig!

Quote: Originally Posted by DavidVaini what do you mean that the logo would take most of the side of the case? I think it would look saweet if the logo was 2/3 the size of the side of the case.. i would also incorperate some arcrylic light up case feet and cutt a blow hole for the front with a sweet fan grill.. then hook it up with some nice modders mesh for the back exaust fans and you have a sweet rig!

Well the logo will take up about 2/3 the side of the case, but I'm not going for acrylic light up case feet or a blow hole in the front, modders mesh and all that in the way you might expect it. I'm keeping the ruber feet that the case came with, but I'm building an acrylic "slice" to go in between the case and the feet to raise it off the ground a bit more and to light up the bottom of the case...kind of like a stealth glow. Most of the lighting on the case is going to be white...the inside is going to be CLEAN...that's one of the prerequisits i've set for myself to complete this case...clean, professional and bright when I need it but not when I don't.

The case is steel so i'm removing a good portion of the mobo tray and the drive cages as we speek to decrease the weight. I'm also looking to turn the side panel into a door...I'm going to need suggestions on some good hinges to aid in the swinging...the foot print has to be minimal but also sturdy. More pictures tomorrow.

That sounds like a kewl mod........keep the pics coming


My rig actually started out as a Circuit City purchase, an HP a320n that I eventually just upgraded most of it and put into a Lian Li case.

Quote: Originally Posted by GrandpaNoob72 As far as "Must Post Pictures", I'd say the looks on the faces of Best Buy employees and management when you walk in with it would definitely be a must...

hehe that sounds like a must. just have one of your friends take pictures as you walk around "browsing"

Hey I work at circuit city. I love it. They kick Best Buy's ass. I am anxious to see this completed.

I got my Monitor from Circut City.. Its a Liquid Video LCD yeah it kicks asss

Ok so i've repurposed this mod slightly and it's going to take on a slightly different form considering I'm not working at CC anymore .

so far here's an update to the worklog, and it's graphically represented so enjoy while it lasts.


most of the main parts

the main window, which will be lexan

fans and radiator for the project so far, to be integrated into fan controller

water blocks and water parts including intake redirection ducting for the radiator

more parts to hack into the front bezel and the pump
thanks to THRASHER2 for the links to SVC's clearance section.

thank you pimprig 2005 survey giveaway, this will match perfectly

closeup of intake bezels

intake design idea, so far snug and complete...measured twice and cut everything once.

the unfinished look of the front bezel still a lot of work and even painting to come.

More in a few weeks, I'm moving away from my work area on wednesday and my roommates probably wont like me hacking at this stuff in the dorm room so from this point out the big stuff is complete and some astonishing updates in the future.

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Looking like a nice fit so far.

Damn! I'm anxious to see this mod take shape. Looks like it could really turn out nice!

Best of luck and of course, MOD ON!

very nice work.. show best buy whose boss!!!

I hate best buy and i think they are the root of all evil when it comes to overpriced electronics. I hate them and all their intel + nvidia + dell buddies!!! I'd be happy to support the cause against best buy. Here's your own custom graphic fresh out of photoshop, made by me! Wouldnt hurt to stick it on the side of your rig or frame it next to your rig

Quote: Originally Posted by anoncompboy I hate best buy and i think they are the root of all evil when it comes to overpriced electronics. I hate them and all their intel + nvidia + dell buddies!!! I'd be happy to support the cause against best buy. Here's your own custom graphic fresh out of photoshop, made by me! Wouldnt hurt to stick it on the side of your rig or frame it next to your rig

OK you hate Best Buy and prefer CC, so isn't your PhotoChop concept upside down????

Quote: Originally Posted by anoncompboy I hate best buy and i think they are the root of all evil when it comes to overpriced electronics. I hate them and all their intel + nvidia + dell buddies!!! I'd be happy to support the cause against best buy. Here's your own custom graphic fresh out of photoshop, made by me! Wouldnt hurt to stick it on the side of your rig or frame it next to your rig

the logos need to be reversed, but i get the picture.

Nice work so far Welmont.....