Hey guys, My name is Josh; I’m 19 years old and have a vivid interest in building and modifying computers. I'm fairly new to bit-tech and was introduced to it for the first time a couple of days back. I have never made any modifications to cases so the slightest change will present a whole new realm to me – sorry in advance to anyone who has to put up with this **** often! After returning home from LAN I had a look at my abandoned and scratched Antec 182. After moving it around cosmetic damage occurred so I gave up on the idea of keeping the thing pristine (or using it at all). I decided that I should take advantage of the case being stripped of any hardware so my first plan of action was to clear up all dust which had accumulated. I also lost one of the rubber feet a long time ago which meant that the case had a wobble to the rear! And the door hinge was broke.. and the side panels were scratched.. I headed to B&Q to find a simple can of compressed air and anything of similar size or shape to the feet but to no avail, apparently they don't sell it anymore (neither do Homebase?). Maplin is at the other side of town so I didn't want to drive the distance by that point. I whacked it in the shower instead and gave it a traditional clean. I've been exchanging words with Antec regarding my case warranty and have at last secured replacements to the bezel, door and port assembly. I'm also getting two new side panels although at a reduced cost Scratches no more. My first plan of action is to spray the interior black. I'm still unsure whether I should have it professionally powder coated (as it is around £50 locally) and what color would look the best - and perhaps "original". I'm fairly certain that black will look fantastic, but what colour do you guys think? Links to other P182 mods with your favoured colour would be really appreciated! I may do the work myself as I have leftover primer from a car job. I may also cut a window mod, although if you can recommend any cheap companies which will do a good job then I would be willing to have it sent out. At the moment I am imagining full black and golden yellow blanking plates/other small bits (thumb screws etc)? Reds, blues and green are overused colors now. I'll keep you guys posted on any development. Please reply with recommendations! I also hope to gradually upgrade my system. This might be a slow one though! Current system specs: Intel E6600 2.4 @ 3.0GHz 2GB XMS3 RAM Asus P serie mATX (Cheap replacement) nVidia 9600GT factory clocked 600W Corsair PSU (Needs to be replaced!) Edit 1 I received a large package from Antec this morning. Everything has been moved back into the case and the new parts are clipped on! I might keep the protective stickers on for a while though.. Edit 2 - 24 September This is a late update but after diagnosing a whine coming from my computer I was forced to buy a new graphics card earlier than I would have liked to. I contacted BFG but they have gone into liquidation and won't respect the standard manufacturer warranty which is a big shame. I decided to get the Asus GTX460 TOP with 768MB DDR5. It's been fantastic so far, and games love it. Recommended for the price without a doubt! I may also be getting an extra 2-4GB of memory and a P5N32-E motherboard this month to help settle my build. A window now would expose my disgusting mATX
For cans of compressed air on the UK high street try either Maplin or (I hate to say it) PC World. They aren't cheap but at least you don't have to wait for it if you're in a hurry. Edit: Ignore me, should've read the whole post before replying. Doh!
