Case Mod - In Progress Project: Mission

And now for something completely different....



The Story...

I got an ATX mid-tower case and a bunch of "normal" computer parts so I'm going to do some case modding.

Because of my loyalty to my good friends at Silverstone I am calling this case "Not a Silverstone" because...it's not a Silverstone case.

Does anyone care to guess what brand and model it is? Boddaker is ineligible.



Nameplates and logos are taped up to protect the innocent.






The idea for this project began after Ingraham won this NVIDIA GTX 280 in a case mod contest back in February.






I needed a proper PSU to power the 280 so Silverstone sent me this ST60F Strider 600W unit.






I had been doing some testing using the "Not a Silverstone" case and it was a little dusty. I used this paint brush to clean things up a bit. Make things purdy for the camera.






Ripped the faceplate off and tossed it.






Stripped off the front panel ports, the tacky blue LED front fan and the even tackier feet.






I just got the motherboard from Gigabyte and the processor I bought from Newegg. Not high end parts here. The motherboard is BT's current "Affordable All-Rounder" recommendation in their monthly buyer's guide. The processor is an Intel E7400 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo.








The first thing to go was this 3.5" hard drive cage bracket. The insanely long video card would fit in the space but because of this bracket I was having to wedge it in at an angle and twist it around to fit. Besides, I don't need six 3.5" drive bays. Two will do nicely.

I drilled out the rivets using my trusty 75th Anniversary Sears cordless drill.

Here's my first noob question....What is the going "thing" for re-assembly of once riveted parts? Surely you don't re-rivet everything back.

Thanks for looking.

 

looks like a Thermaltake (Soprano maybe?).

*Edit* Not a Soprano

 

You practically gave it away with Bod in the intro-text,

A Mystique 631 case.

 

lol

That case does look familiar for some reason, but I can't quite place it...

 

No

Incorrect....

No hints.....I'm being picky.

 

It really does look like a Cooler Master Mystique 631 but if it isn't like you say it's not it must be a knock off.

You have some nice tech there mate, I will be watching this.

 

NZXT Apollo Case ?

john

 

No this is the Apollo:

The interior design looks similar though.

 

Well it looks kinda like a thermaltake case with the curves the front bezel has. If it is a thermaltake I have no clue what model it is. And to the question on putting the case back together, rivits are the way to go in my eyes unless you can find a flush fitting screw. It all depends on the look you want to achieve. You could probably find a nice hexhead screw or something.

Looks like you have your work cut out for you. Can't wait to see more.

 

+1 to the CM mystique 631..

 

OK OK I'll call it a tie between you two. Agressions left out the CM.

Boddaker and I each won one as runner's up in a case mod contest back in 2006. Mine has been sitting un-opened on a shelf since then. Bod's went on to become Mystique II.

OK smart guys. Here's the mule that I use to test equipment I use in my mods. What is it?



Last one otherwise I'll get in trouble.

 

hmm, it looks lian-li-ish - but the buttons are wrong

edit: how silly of me...
Silverstone TJ08

 

The way to tossed out the faceplate is a good sign. I couldn't tell you what the case was if it had 'dell' stamped on the side.

 

haha yep, I must have owned 5 or 6 of those cases since then. First one I got was for a review I did for Gruntville. Then I won a few here and there in contests (including the one you mentioned). Two of them were made into the Mystique², and the others were either sold or given away to friends. Nice case though back in the day. One of the first all aluminum chassis to tailor to water cooling.

 

Another winner! You guys are too good to make this any fun.

The "Not a Silverstone's" faceplate is actually very nice. I was expecting cheap plastic but it is heavy gauge aluminum. I just can't do anything with it. I was impressed how Bod used the curvy faceplate as the focus of a complete "curvy" theme in Mystique II.

It's a shame I won't be water-cooling but I plan to leave space if someone steps up. I like the look of the 2 x 120 radiator grills and will be using a couple in this project. One on the bottom and another on top.

Been also thinking about turning the PSU upside down and reversing the fan so it exhausts up out of the case.

Anyone have a link to where this has been done before?

 

hmm, very interesting, the case i am considering modding is about that size and layout. So i will be watching!

 

LOL I'm using a "normal" tower case and "normal" computer parts but don't expect this mod to turn out normal in any way. (Big shocker, huh?).

Thnk of my Unidyne with the plug-in "cartridge" computer module.



Now imagine using an entire ATX mid tower case as a cartridge plugging into......???

Stayed tuned.

 

nice start with your mod

 

Thanks. It's a slow start (for me anyways).

Unboxing ceremony....

I generally won't do this unless it's stuff given to me. I think it is important that sponsors get some attention now and then. They won't argue. LOL



Two packages arrived from Silverstone and Crucial. Crucial always overnights my stuff. In the background I'm sizing up the placement of 120mm fans in the case bottom. The case will be elevated...obviously.






First up are these Aero Slots PCI slot covers. A friend recommended them. The ones that came with the "Not a Silverstone" case are those spring loaded pieces of crap I hate so much.






Next up is the Silverstone PP05 short modular cable kit made specifically for the Strider series of PSU. I'm sure there is something tasty in here I can use.






A Nitrogon NT06 Evolution heatsink. They tossed in a variable speed 120mm fan to go with it but I don't like using manually adjustable fans on CPU heatsinks. I'm sure I can use it somewhere else.






From Crucial comes 4 x 1GB DDR2 1066 Ballistix Tracer memory modules. I wanted to fill all the slots with the 32-bit memory limit. Love Crucial. Not the fastest or the cheapest but it ALWAYS works. I have been using Crucial for nearly fourteen years and have never gotten anything bad or wrong.

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Nice gear mate, and congratz on the sponsors. Personally I would have got 2x2GB sticks over 4x1GB sticks, 2x2GB sticks run much cooler and perform better in overclocking, you could cook an egg on 4x1GB sticks without a cooler on them lol.