Case Mod - In Progress project: "Black & Bling" , new update 22. January

Hey all. Im normally on TMN.com but here i am trying to perform a mod that will make me proud.
I bought this case used for d.kr. 300,- which is about 50 bucks or 25£.

Excuse me for my poor english.. hey im Danish..

Well.. to tell you a little about what i wanna do..

1. gonna put a complete plexi bayrack in this thing instead of the original.

2. Gonna shine up the front bezel by cutting it and installing windows instead + stealthing the entire ****.

3. Make a custon install og watercooling. (making it up along the way)

4. Alot of other features im gonna make up when i get ideas.

Im not working after a drawing because i suck at drawing and designing.. guess it´s my destiny to be the "Jedi-who-mods-without-any-plans"

Here are some pictures of the case im working on + a little first update of whats to come.














Took the side bezel of an old case i had lying around and sacrifised it to make a frontplate instead of the original mesh intakes.


The frontplate has been cut. I have some sunglasses for the protection of my eyes, and they make me look just like Lance Armstrong on a hot day in the Alpes during the Tour De France.. :?


Cutting the intake mesh out with my dremel (copy)


You believe that? I ran out of disc JUST before i was through cutting.. #/"%/%¤("%¤ :evil:
Anyways.. bought some new ones and made the job complete.


Mounting the fronplate on the case. Im doing this with normal rivets.


Thats all for now. Im off to the workshop again.

By the way.. I would love to recieve some input if anybody should be interested in participating.

 

Keep up the good work... Dragon mods are being far and few between now a days. Curious to what you come up with.
Godt Nytår.

 

Hey Spaceraver.
Nice to see a fellow danish

Im gonna work a hell of alot on this one starting from 2. of january, so i got an update very soon.

And yes. These dragon cases are not very common anymore, but its a classic!

Take care all, and remember to wear your safetygoggles when you go out tonight to blow up firecrackers

Og Godt nytår til dig spaceraver

 

"Jedi-who-mods-without-any-plans" ...lol
nice to know im not the only one
to me part of the fun of modding is doing it and it adds to the buzz if you dont know weither its gonna work or not till its done,ive been real lucky with mine as far as the modding goes so farshame i cant say the same for the hardware
gonna keep an eye on this one caus i too am a fan of dragons

 

Yay! Another Chieftec Mod! I still love my Chieftec!

For some inspiration...:

Dark Water (Chieftech Dragon)
Moondust (Chieftech Mesh)

Happy Modding

 

khanage0: eah that´s true. some guys feel safe and are extremely effective when they build after a plan, but i know o wouldnt be able to pull off a plan for a case since im so bad at 3d, and other drawings on a computer.

Mankz: Thanks for the links bro. Really good inspiration there Yeah the chieftec is indeed a cool case, whether it is old or not..

I havent got anything done since last because of new years celebrations etc, and im currently waiting for my order of plexi and other bits, so i think i will go to the electronics store tommorow to but some switches and som resistors etc.

I worked out a diagram yesterday at my parents in law (yes the "party" was that wild.. hehe)
Im gonna make it in paint so you all can see what i have in mind for this case.
It will probably be up later today.

cheers!

 

This is the diagram im planning to use.

Im gonna mount 4 switches in the 3.5 bay in front, and make 3 different LED "circulars" <-- dont know if thats the right word. and make a switch from which i can choose to run my fans in the case at either 7v for lownoise or 12v for high performance.



Doesnt that look allright?

 

I havent build anything further on this case because the acrylic i have ordered hasnt arrived yet

BUT! Last night i decided to give it a go at the electronics for the case.
I will update this afternoon and upload a video. Just not sure if the video comes with sound.. My camera can record videos but im not sure if it gets sound as well..
See you later

 

So i finally got the work done and took time to make a quick and snappy update for you all

As i wrote i would make an electric circuit which will consist of 3 LED switches and 1 Fan switch that will make it able to choose from running my fans at either 7v for low noise and 12v for high performance.

here you have the finished product. But please have in mind that the 3 LED circuits wont be installed untill the case is finished, thats why there are 3 LED´s just hanging at the end of these wires


First a pic of some thingys i picked up at the local electronics supplier


Had to sand off the interior of the baycover to make it possible to mount the switches. I did this with my dremel and a round sandpaper.. dont know what to call that bit.


Measured out where to put the holes and started of drilling pilotholes of 1,5mm going slowly up to 3,5 and ending at 6mm.


here i have mounted the switches, and at that time i was preparing for a long night of soldering. (yes im no champ at that discipline )


Finally i got it all together and tested the whole crap.
I mounted this "bus" with molex connectors, but that can easily be altered as the mod comes along.

And.... LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!
My first ever video update.

This video shows tha fan going at 7v at first, and then 12v, then 7v and ending at 12v.
As i suspected there is no soundrecorder in my camera so you will have to settle for this "view-only" video untill i get myself i digital camcorder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjktQWqTRrQ

Thank you all for the patience.

And now back to work!!

 

Hi rytmehunden, great work so far.

Looking forward to se some more work on the Dragon case. Totally agree that its a great classic case. Had a XazerII from Tt back in the days, and they are allmost alike. A very heavy case to drag to lan party's

It looks like we are many that just mod away instead of spending a lot of time doing 3D models, and why not spend all that time on modding instead right? I usually change my ideas many times when modding, so making a sketch would be total waste of time to me. And i actually enjoy to just mod away, and just go with the flow of the Dremel (hmm... after reading that a few times, i kinda fell like a hippie)

And a late happy new year to you all. Looks like at least rytmehunden still has all his fingers.

 

Toxvaerd: Hey thanks for the reply! Gees there are alot of danish on this site.. NICE!!
I agree that one changes he´s ideas along the way.. i have come up with about 20 different outcomes on this one so far.. lol.. but i also think that it´s because this is my first mod, and i dont have a lot of things lying around to be modded and get ideas from.. i have to go out and buy everything for that particular idea when i get one.
I have seen to many mods just beeing given a sidewindow (no offense to the "sidewindowfans" ) and thats it..
I want this, my first mod to be perfect (do i sound like a 14 year old girl? :| ) So i have to be patient and take my time (and money) for this mod to evolve.
For example. i just bought a watercooling system, just because i think it would look cool... think about what i had to go through convincing the mistress that exactly watercooling was essential for my entire existence.. lol..

Well.. i think im talking to my self on this one.. Carrying on with the work.

See ya

 

Rytmehunden<-- What W/C system did you buy?
And btw, if you need any more plexi (in case you need some small pieces or anything) Let's talk it over, I might be able to supply that!

 

Yo OD!
I bought the waterchill xtreme from Asetek. It should be very reliable and powerfull. And most important it is kind to newbs like me

I havent had any experience with WC so i thought id buy a complete system the first time and learn about the build-up of these systems.
Anyways i got it cheap. Ill throw in a pic tomorrow so you can see all the goods i got for 1200,- (about 200$) The system is used of course but it´s 100% not leaking. I have had it running on a hotwired PSU for the last 14 days now, and nothing has come out of it so far hehe.

About the plexi thats very kind of you! I allready have some plexi, but i think im gonna go for a clear red plexi window for the front. that should be cool indeed!
what do you think?

 

Sounds pretty nice! I'm looking forward to seeing where this will go!
I'm not a 100% sure, but I think we have a couple of square meters of red plexi lying around... and if memory serves me, I think it's 4 mm in thikness... I'll take a look tomorrow!

14 days? You really wanna be sure it's not leaking! lol ...
The G5 is my first mod also, and I've never played with water either... But I thought "Why not try?" And I might as well make everything myself, then there's only one person to blame if anything goes wrong! lol

 

goodness that would be great!! the only place i found red clear plexi at a danish supplier the monimum size of the plexi had to be 2x2metres. Quite alot for a window of 5x3 inches lol.. And the shipping was 229,- so you are indeed an ANGEL OD sent from above..!

about the 14 days of testing i must admit.. i just forgot about it after it had been running for a couple of days, and now it is like it´s an integrated part of my workshop.. LOL..

Let´s talk soon.. ill drop my number for you in a pm, so call me anytime. im a sales representative so im on the phone most of the day when im not busy in meetings.

 

Very beautiful this office! This mark ae without commentaries! I am monitoring your project!

 

Nice to see others from Denmark trying international

I'll be following your mod, and hope it'll turn out into something very nice

 

@ Cigano: Thanks alot dude. I´ll try to update as often as i can!

@ Jegerjon: Hey Jon. Nice to hear from yet another danish modder. We should all meet on MSN or something similar.. Sounds like there are more of us out there that we dont know about.



To everybody else, i can tell that an update is moving in quickly, so be on the look out.

 

Update 14. January 2008

Hello folks.

Here is a delayed update. sorry i havent had the time and materials to work on this case, but now im back on track

This time i installed a new plate of aluminium in the front and made the fronthole bigger, cause the first plate i mounted looked like it had been fabricated by a 6 year old girl..



Here i have installed the rad. Note that the black fans are stock. Here i will go for the chrome Titan 2 x 120mm fans.

Time to strip the front of those ugly bars (sorry chieftec lowers )





This was done by first using my dremel, and following up with a file and ending with sandpaper, sanding it down to 600 grit.



The same thing had to happen to the bottom front. A hell of a work cutting and filing to get the edges linear, for mouting the alu and plexi on the back.




Front bezel mounted after cutting away the bars.
The black spot is just a test spray to actually see how deep the 120grit got down in the surface. Sanded it just to check.

Then for the miracle..

This christmas i didnt get a present from Santa Claus, so i was sad... and i cried.. and i felt like i had nothing left to live for... But guess what!!

Yesterday i went for a walk in the park... and all of a sudden a plate of aluminium and red plexi just fell down from the sky in front of me.. I jumped away.. shocked about the incident i got my self together and brought the materials home and hid them in the basement.

This unexplainable happening made it possible for me to carry on with my mod!!

Like i said earlier in this thread i am a sucker at drawing on a computer, so i just make this mod up as i go along..


The plates that im gonna be using for the front bezel.


Making it fit for the top of the front bezel. (bottom will be made tommorow)
Sawed it with my jigsaw, filed it and sanded it down with grid 240, 400 and ending at 600grit. (should be ok to paint on right?)

But safety first!!?



This is just a little tease on how it will look when finished.. The plexi had been cut and follows the alufront perfectly.. this is just a testpiece.
The aluminium will be polished up to chrome, and the bezel will be black..
Gonna look great!!

Well.. this is all for now on this short update!

 

looking good