Hey PCA this is my first post and the start of my first real mod. I have been visiting this site since well before the switch to PCA so I have seen many of the projects that people have done around here and I can only hope that mine comes out with the quality seen throughout the worklogs on this site.
I am moving up from the world of premod cases to one that in the end will be my own. I have a fair bit of the work planned out already, but since it is my first full mod help/suggestions will be very welcome. I already have a case, but it will take quite a bit of work to get it to what I am hoping for. So here is a quick list of some of the stuff that I plan to do with this case:

• cut holes for and mount 2 120mm intake fans in front of case
• cut hole and mount 1 120mm rear exhaust fan
• "build" and mount removable hard drive rack with room for 6 hard drives
• cut side panel window(s)
• general cleaning up of the case including removing scratches and tape/stickers
• paint the case

Well it is getting late here and I want to get up in the morning to pick up some supplies and start the work on the case so I will leave you with a couple quick pics of the case as it was when I got it home.

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man welcome to pcapex

and i hope you get this work done

good luck

Quote: Originally Posted by Snake2Snipe Hey PCA this is my first post and the start of my first real mod. I have been visiting this site since well before the switch to PCA so I have seen many of the projects that people have done around here and I can only hope that mine comes out with the quality seen throughout the worklogs on this site.

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welcome man and cant wait to see how this turns out. The PCAPEX community is very helpful when working on a project so just ask if u have any questions.












"you can take the case away from a modder but you cant take the modder away from the case"

That's the same exact case I used for Paradise Lost!

woow man thats greeat thing

good luck with this project

sounds good man cant wait until theres some progress on it.

Quote: Originally Posted by computerman sounds good man cant wait until theres some progress on it.

Well you ask to see some progress so I guess I can show you what I have done so far. I have taken the case apart as much as I plan to and have marked the areas for the 2 intake and 1 exhaust fans as well as taking the power and reset buttons and the power and activity leds out of the bezel. So here are a couple pics before I continue on with the work.

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welcome to the forum bro...rememeber that you need to take things slow at first (same problem i have now i rush too much)

Quote: Originally Posted by WuGgaRoO welcome to the forum bro...rememeber that you need to take things slow at first (same problem i have now i rush too much)

Very true and good advice. To this point though it is mainly the disassemble which I have done a number of times on the case that I am currently using and much of what I showed in those two pics was actually done the night I got the case (a couple days ago). Unfortunately I do have a time line (done at least with case and initial build by end of September) and there is a lot for me to get done in that time. Also I work all day friday, saturday, and sunday so all my work will be done durring the week when I am free all day to work on it. On a final note I have been planning this project for probably 7 or 8 months now so I have a fairly good idea of what I want to do.
So thanks for the advice and I will try to follow it though at times it may not seem that way.

seems like a sound idea to me!
btw, buy reinfoced dremels..they are TOTALLY worth it...i wouldnt suggest anything else..the rest are much too flimsy..unless ur using a jigsaw..in that case your on your own lol

Well today was used to clean up the panels (sides, top, and bezel) so there isnt much that will show up in pics beyond what I already posted. I am working on it though and made a fair bit of progress today. The next thing for me to do is practice cutting with my dremel both straight line and curves before I start any of the real cutting.
Thank you to those already welcoming me.
TGS it is hard to believe the case I have sitting here is the same one you posted the pics of, but looking closely I can see some of the features and I must say "Wow that is impressive". While the cases may have started the same they will end up quite different, and that is the beauty of modding a case.
So good night PCA and hopefully I will have some updates for you tomorrow.

so this is the $5 case from re-pc? i cant wait to see what you do with it and the dremel i sold you i have a rivet tool you can borrow when you are done painting.

Welcome to The Apex Snake2Snipe,Glad you joined.

Quote: Originally Posted by carbongraphite so this is the $5 case from re-pc? i cant wait to see what you do with it and the dremel i sold you i have a rivet tool you can borrow when you are done painting.

Yes this is the $5 case I got from re-pc, gotta love a deal like that even if the case is labled as an as-is case with some minor issues, paint scatched off in some areas (doesn't matter I will be painting it anways), and some random putty or something hard stuck on one of the side panels (got all of that off yesterday). Cool, I will have to give you a call or something when I get to the point where I need to use some rivets. I will probably need to use some to hold the hard drive rack together as well once I get around to making it. Well I guess it is time to get back to working on it.

Ok so I know how you all love to help solve problems well I am having a hard time figuring out how to do something.
So the issue is that I want to be able to mount a 120mm exhaust fan in the rear of this case, but as you can see in the picture it is not possible to do so as it is now. I need to either just cut out the metal that is in the way or cut and bend it or something but I am not sure what the best and easiest approach to this would be so if anyone has some ideas for me I would love to hear them.
As an update on my progress I am getting everything ready to make a major cut on the bezel. That will probably be what I do tomorrow after doing the prep work for it tonight.

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If it isn't blocking flow too badly, you can just leave it. if it bugs you, gt rid of it, but make it look professional if you do.

Well there are a couple problems with leaving it the way it is and just mounting a fan to it. First there are two different levels in the rear of the case so I would only be able to put two screws in. While that isnt a big problem it can lead to the fan rattling more than it would otherwise. The second problem is that it would be blocking airflow and lots of it. So to take care of the airflow problem I will be cutting a hole which means the metal will not have as much strength which leads to more potential rattling. So those are the issues I can see with leaving it how it is. Thanks for the input though.

So, it blocks airflow, so out with it. is there enough room to put your fan between the layers? I mean that you cut part of the hole on each level, taking out that bar which is in the way, and screwing the side closest to the MB on from the outside, and the side farther from the MB on the inside. If the width isn't right for that, you may want to grind off one side until you can force it in. If you do it this way, you will not loose to much of the case's integredy, while get your fan in a place it will not move from. if there is excess room, mount it with some rubber between it and the case. I hope this works.

Quote: Originally Posted by TRG if there is excess room, mount it with some rubber between it and the case..

I like that idea, fairly simple but effective. It could help to secure the fan in and still make it fairly easy to mount it. Of course that means that I would have to find some rubber, but I am sure that I can find some somewhere if I need it. Thank you for that suggestion.