Case Mod Project: Beyond Earth, an Alienware cube- Bad news.

[Mizugetsu]

Subbed looking good

[dbradford32]

So, my door plan failed... Guess modders mesh would be a better idea... Anyhow, on a lighter note, I want the door to swing out and to the right, like on some of the previous version alienwares cases...



Now, I have not yet devised the proper hinge for this, as thinking and doing, with limited tools, is almost near impossible! lol I want the hinge to be sturdy, but smooth. Any ideas?

[dbradford32]

I have some updates. I did a little more cleaning up of the panels, making them more straight and clean around the cuts. I also have done some bondo work on the motherboard tray, to remove unnecessary holes. Basically, what I wanted to do was to remove the holes, where plastic motherboard stands would go... They are ugly and weren't aesthetically pleasing, at least to me! I also got some shots of the orange and chrome paint, along with some animal shots.

Here they are!

There is my German shepherd, Stella Bella. she was an animal whom was abused when we got her. Her ears will be floppy forever because she had a pillow put over her head, as her owner beat her... Very sad, but such a loving and trusting dog! We love her to death!


This is my Pitski Brigston. He is almost a year old, and loves to get in my business, most of the time. Being a husky/pit mix, he should be big and mean, but he is rather small, and very loving! lol



Both won't stay still for better pics! lol

Now, to the case!

This was unacceptable:


So I went ahead and did this:



Which did this:




Basically, I just didn't want to see it like that anymore, and since it was my fault for cutting it when doing the alien, I figured I would go back and right a wrong!

Now the paint, and bondo are next.

Krylon paint comes in so many colors! There were my choices! Pumpkin Orange, Metallic Silver, and Grey Primer.


Notice that the bondo isn't looking great... Looks worse on the back. Not 100% sure, but I think it was a bad batch, as there was a lot of separation of the bondo mixture, probably from sitting two years... Not to mention I also was low on hardening agent...




I took some things off the case that I won't be using, including the on/off switch, reset switch, and an LED cluster bar. I might separate the LEDs from the bar, and use some of them. Mostly the orange and green ones.



Now, the HDD racks might relocate. You can see in the pictures, that I have removed them completely. I am not sure what to do with the HDDs... This looks roomy! And the case is literally 5-8lbs lighter with all of the useless metal removed!



Hope you enjoyed looking today! Let me know what you think, give me feedback! Hey, and if you have an suggestions for the HDD rack, let me know! Please?!

[dbradford32]

I just went back through my log here, to where I cut the top panel. Did anyone else notice it looks like it is kind of lop sided? I bet no one did! lol I did this on purpose after looking at some alien ship pictures, and seeing the designs being slightly different, and not always being a mirror image! I believe it makes the mod more unique. I hope to get back to the modding on Monday! It would be nice to have more time, but with life, work comes first! A single day off every 5-6 days is draining my time and making it almost impossible to get to the modding! I hope it changes as summer approaches, here in California!

[dbradford32]

So, it is extremely hard to find a good black and orange motherboard... I would really like to get a foxconn cinema motherboard, but most of them are 180, if you can find them... lol I should have bought one when newegg had them for $95... Now, I am not sure how I can afford the parts for this thing... I need the motherboard, HDD, power supply, ram, processor, etc... I just don't have those funds. lol Anyone have any suggestions on cheaper hardware? I just require the motherboard to have HDMI, so I can hook it up to my TV, and play movies.

[MarkW7]

Coming along nicely! subbed..

[bulldogjeff]

Ok I'm interested, this looks like it could become a classic build. nice to see some one going for a bit of an odd ball case to mod.

[dancingbear84]

I'm liking what you are doing here too. I used to love Alienware stuff back in the day. It is a shame they sold out to ****.

I'm especially interested in this as I have sat in the store room at work a similar shaped case, I am thinking of bringing home and doing something with, it seems like a total atrocity to let it go in the skip. The case even comes with a dual socket motherboard, all be it with no Processor or memory, which given the age of the box would probably make it an early Xeon. Other than knowing I can do something with it I have no ideas, so this is very interesting. keep it up.
Oh and whilst orange and black will match those B&D power tools, I wonder if grey and orange would look more unique. It is just a thought, I love the black and orange idea.

[dbradford32]

Well, the interior of the case is going to look almost chrome like. So my theme is kind of a hot rod style UFO. lol If you have seen flight of the navigator from the 1980's, the interior of the ship, was chrome, with different instruments for moving the ship. I want to implement those as easily as possible! I am just trying to make this case look better than it was originally.

If you can believe it, this case cost my brother in law a whopping $10 bucks at a yard sale back in 2003... The lady marked it wrong. lol It was supposed to be $100 but let him have it for 10. I seen it, looked up information and fell in love with it. I got the case from him a few months later when he decided to move. I believe any computer case, if given the chance, has the potential to become something amazing! I hope I can take this case to the next level, and make it unique, along with some serious flare! Thanks for looking guys, and thanks for the comments and suggestions dancingbear84! Thanks MarkW7 and bulldogjeff! I appreciate it!

[dbradford32]

I just placed an order for some orange vinyl. I ordered 11"x50" of it, for about 12 bucks. Not too bad! It is also 3D. Looks like Di-noc, but orange! I cannot wait to get it! Might be a while, since it's coming from the UK! It should set off the inside of the case, along with some outside elements!

Edit: I decided to cancel my order, after the seller wanted 11 more dollars for shipping... I find this to be lame, since he is closer than my hong kong buys, that cost me free shipping! Not only did he want $11 dollars more, he also wanted me to gift it, which would have cost me more money! lol Lame! I will not be buying from that seller!

[dbradford32]

I am highly deciding if I want to run a water cooled set up. I have never personally ran a water cooling set up, and have only assisted in installing one. I can't decide if I want to buy a computer companies radiator, or if I want to buy an automotive grade, copper heater core. Which would be a better option, and how cheaply can I get away with it?!

[dbradford32]

I am updating some pictures, just giving you, the viewer something better to look at. Plus I was playing with my macro on my new to me fujifilm z20.

These are new. I am making a plater for behind the motherboard tray. Basically trying to hide the uglyness of the behind area. I have yet to figure out if this is all I am doing! I know the edges aren't great, but I will be fixing those.



This is the re-vamp, or rather a revamp with a tiny bit of sanding progress. I know it's not conventional, and it looks ugly at this point, but I wanted to show the small amount of progress I made.















That's it for the moment, possible update in the evening!

[dbradford32]

Well, the case has basically been destroyed. My oldest son, was standing on something, I turned my back to get a tool, and he lost balance and grabbed the case, slamming it on the corner, and bending the frame. I have spent the last 3-4 hours trying to fix it, but I could only do so much. Not only did it bend the frame, but it also broke the welds on the back bottom of the frame, and the drive cage. Now, I cannot complete it. This is the second case lost this way, and I cannot afford to replace it, or even start over! A several hundred dollar case destroyed because I took my eyes off of it... I am about to just give up on modding, this continues to happen because I don't have a proper place to work...

[whyte]

I am really sad to hear about the case. I was looking forward to seeing what you were going to do with it (and it was going so well so far). In any case, it would be a shame for you to give up on modding. After you recover from you loss, I would enjoy seeing your next project.

[SuicideNeil]

No pocket money, christmas presents, or birthday gifts for your kid until the cost of the case has been repaid. Also, beatings... ( I don't like kids, and nothing says 'discipline' like a good old thrashing when they do bad )

[dbradford32]

He is only 2-1/2. I forgive him. My wife said I can get a new case, and I will name it take 2... It will be done along the same lines as this one, but hopefully in aluminum. I am sad to have lost this case, but the future holds much promise. As I always say, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, today is a gift, which is why we call it the present!"

[jhanlon303]

Blow off the case! Young son is OK? Cases we can buy and they don't complain when we hurt them. Family is precious.

john

[B.o.B]

Originally Posted by jhanlon303

Blow off the case! Young son is OK? Cases we can buy and they don't complain when we hurt them. Family is precious.

Amen to that.
Glad to hear you're going another round! Keep your eye on the prize (and your son by the sounds of it )

[dancingbear84]

Hope your lad is ok? You could cut the corner that is bent off, it'd look a bit like one of those boxee boxes then. As for the welds for the hdd cage I'm sure you could figure something out.
It is annoying at first, but when the anger has gone, look at the problem again, redesign and move forward. The angled cut where the corner has been cut could be covered with see through plexiglass to offer an alternative window?
Keep smiling though, the case is only metal, by the sounds of things you have a great family.

[Cheapskate]

make a new frame for the old panels?