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Case Mod - In Progress first frost (my first computer build)

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by mopblond, 6 Sep 2014.

  1. mopblond

    mopblond What's a Dremel?

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    hi all thought id share with you my first ever computer build, love looking at all the amazing work on here and thought id share mine with you all.

    just some simple mods, nothing special like i say my first ever build really enjoyed but have little access to tools and equipment so was the best i could do. but anyway here it is......

    specs

    intel i5-4690k
    16gb hyper x ram white 1866
    corsair H100i
    corsair H55
    asus Z97 pro
    amd R9 290x
    kracken g10 bracket white
    Samsung evo 840 120gb ssd
    2tb seagate hard drive
    bitfenix alchemy 30cm white led
    corsair ax1200w psu
    3x corsair PWM static pressure fans
    3x corsair airflow white led fans
    corsair red sleved cables

    materials

    perspex acrylic 3mm
    3m carbon fiber vinyl
    card paper lots of it!!

    tools

    30cm ruler
    broken set square
    junior hack saw
    un grounded bare cable drill (got many and electric shock)
    craft knife

    on with the build the case was a corsair 600t, first step was to remove the optical trays and cut out the mesh so i could have a triple 120mm fan intake at the front, ideally when and if i can afford a watercooled setup there will be plenty of space for a 360 rad in the front.

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    case after modding complete with acylic side panel (10mm thick would have been better 8mm)
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    front panel made from acylic then final wrapped to hold my 3 120 mm fans
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    panel installed using the original holes from the 200mm fans and grommets to stop the fans vibrating
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    the rest of the panels again acrylic simple wrapping then screwed into place using the optical bay holes, also the floor has been vinyled as well as the psu to cover it up a bit and make it look better, also random corsair logo out of acylic using a dremel because i love the logo and wanted something to break it all up
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    all assembled the only issue with this case, having to avoid any of the clips for the panels when changing the internal layout but turned out ok
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    components installed nearly soiled myself when i thought i had snapped the ram but realized it was the clips on the side haha
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    custom back plate and graphics card with kracken bracket :) this was simple to make using 3m screws at about 20mm length then using grommets'' 3m in diameter with an outer diameter of 5mm and nylon nuts. basically from top to bot screw,washer,acrylic,grommet,grommet,then card then nut
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    final product :)
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    so there it is my first build and hopefully not my last, any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated and thanks for checking out my build
    cheers :)

    and just for lols cause i have to much spare time haha.....
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4tYqSpm0lU&list=UU_lAys8Ml2F3-By4Di_ISdQ




    part 2

    hi guys update to my build a quick thankyou to all the replies and advice and in this update I've taken on board what people have said and tried to improve like i say im new at this so bare with :)

    in the bottom middle of the case is space to put a hdd cage capable of holding 2.5 inch ssds and 3.5 inch hdds, i originally planned to have one case so i could remove add storage as easily as possible. when it came to assembling the case the ax12000w power source is to damn big !! with the wires just barley getting into the nearest grommet, as i went to install the cage it wouldn't fit no matter what i tried so i had to adapt and in hast put the storage were it is now after some trial and error. now i have a massive hole in my case which wouldn't be bad accept for the white backing on the carbon finish so this needed sorting easy enough to do just cutting some scrap acrylic to shape carbon wrap and install with double sided tape so it can be easily removed.

    as always im using carbon vinyl with a constant flow of questions from people here are some points to consider

    1 any material can be used as long as you clean it before applying
    acrylic yes (wash with warm water and washing up liquid)
    wood yes (again brush it down hover the piece remember wood is fibrous so careful when applying if you remove it it may lose its stickiness)
    metal yes (just use a cloth and warm water to try and remove any grease even if its a pre-cut ordered part wash it to remove any lubricating oils)

    2 its easy to reapply that's the whole point take your time and if you go wrong dnt panic just remove and start again patience is key :)

    3 do i need a heat gun? no you really dnt use your mums hair dryer does the job and you dnt even need it unless you doing a complex or 3d shape

    4 best way to apply it? best way is to do what suits you however i personally feel staring with a corner and slowly removing the protective cover as you work your way down is best allows you to remove air more easily.

    so on with the changes a cover for the silly hole like i explained earlier was laziness on my part but a plan gone wrong so a cover is needed

    first of all scrap acrylic or any material i first measured the area and made a template out of card to make sure it would fit always measure twice then cut once
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    once you cut out the shape sand down and wash with washing up liquid and warm water then allow to air dry
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    once dry and clean apply the vinyl, when ever im doing vinyl i cut it out originally bigger than my item then i can wrap the vinyl round for a better seal, this also stops it from peeling or coming off should it get caught, this will however mean the back looks rough but this cant be seen
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    and that's it simple and effective will show some pictures later of final product however need to wait to borrow a camera :) hope it helps anymore questions feel free to ask

    the second bit to address after reading the comments which i really appreciate guys thank you
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    after looking at my build for some time then looking at others on this website i realized how poor my cables were, originally not caring and thinking they looked fine i suddenly realized that they look bloody awful and many people had pointed this out, i think the main reason why was because of begin so bright red they drew you eye so being untidy ruined the build.
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    after trying to move wiggle shove tug and push the cables my only option was to remove them with such little space behind the motherboard part and such stiff cables they needed to come out be arranged then go back in however this didn't work the 24 pin was still a mess as well as all the others mainly the graphics cards so i looked up some ideas and experimented

    experiment one: ''cable combs'' after seeing some this was the quickest easiest option so i made some myself and tried drilling 3mm hole was a bit tricky but wanted to see before i bought loads
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    as you can see there hard to make but the ones i did get to work looked awful i no you can buy nice ones but i didn't like the plastic look.

    experiment 2 ''cable stitching'' (or sewing or braiding etc)

    i then saw some people stitching the cables which looked amazing but sounded insane however i found some guides and videos and thought id give it a go
    if you type in cable sewing you will find several guides i tried both
    i tired alpenwasser method which was easy simple but the look i didn't like in the end i couldn't get it to look as nice as he had done it, this is partly due to the thread i was using here are some examples
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    as you can see the thread looked awful was tricky to work with and because of its type the knots kept undoing
    this method is great as its easier so please do try im not knocking it its just not what i was looking for.


    the second method was a night mare to say the least after seeing FrankNSteinPC's guide on YouTube which can i say although looks amazing and partly because im a noob at this i couldn't follow it was just 2 hard to understand several links have tried to explain this series of videos however i couldn't get it and after 3 hours of trying i was getting peed off and about to stop when i found this link
    http://www.overclock.net/t/1394784/cable-stitching-sewing-tutorial

    which explained it and after about an hour and a half i got it so a big thankyou this method looks amazing but again takes alot of time to learn and is very slow but once you get used to it you build up speed and you dnt have to keep referring to the guide so after a long to days i was able to do it. but i did need to change the thread i was using to a 100% cotton thread which was thicker to get the look i wanted and not only that i ended up buying a curved needle for a pound down the road which really made it so much easier so this method although took a lot of time cost me nothing and looks beautiful i still cant do it as well as the pros but i much prefer it to what it looked like before

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    so there it is i will post some decent pics of the final build later but again let me no what you guys think as im always trying to learn and improve :)

    cheers

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4tYqSpm0lU
     
    Last edited: 14 Sep 2014
  2. mopblond

    mopblond What's a Dremel?

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    this is my first type of build log so if you would like greater detail more pics just ask and ill improve it :)
     
  3. blackerthanblack

    blackerthanblack Minimodder

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    Very nice indeed. Good to see someone else has taken the plunge, some of us have yet to start:worried:

    If I was to offer anything I would say a quick tidy of the 24 pin ATX cables wouldn't go amiss, they draw the eye seeing as they're red against the black. Other than that it's a good clean layout - I like clean.
     
  4. Bad Fenny

    Bad Fenny What's a Dremel?

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    Very nice build indeed. I agree though a quick tidy of the red cables will clean it up nice.

    Cheers

    Fen
     
  5. mopblond

    mopblond What's a Dremel?

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    thanks guys, trying to sort the cables out :) not much space haha...
     
  6. mopblond

    mopblond What's a Dremel?

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    kk done cable management now haha
     
  7. mopblond

    mopblond What's a Dremel?

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    some photos of the latest additions some better finals to come
     
    Last edited: 14 Sep 2014
  8. mopblond

    mopblond What's a Dremel?

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    updated photos

    here are some pics of the updated wire management and panel let me no what you think better final pics to come tomorrow :)

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    so there it os glad i took the time to learn to do it still not fantastic but itll do :)
     
  9. mopblond

    mopblond What's a Dremel?

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    The final pics

    so here its is fully done, dnt think i can do anything else was fun, alot of learning but so much fun haha thankyou again to all the messages advice and help, has been fantastic so thankyou
    now enjoy my amateur photography and hopefully wont be long till my next build
    :)

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    again thankyou and till next time :)
     

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