Case Mod - In Progress Project: Death Touch -- Snags... 8/12/09

Hello everyone. You may know me from Hellgate: Lian-li or from a few other mods I've done along the years. It's been a while since I've done anything with modding (online) as money has been pretty tight and I was satisfied with the way Hellgate: Lian-li turned out. But after flying home this summer from Colorado and realizing how much of a pain in the ass it was checking a V1200 through security I decided that I needed a much smaller computer case with a different style.

This mod will be based around the Lian-Li AO5B. A popular little case that I have been eying since it's release. The goal is to end up with a case that is "murdered out" much like the murderbox that has hit the forums recently.

Some of the features of this case will be:
Slot-loading DVD drive (space issues as you will see)
Rotated HDD Rack (Again space management)
Compartmentalized Design - Trying to make everything "hidden" except the motherboard.
Easily Maintainable (Hellgate: Lian-Li took 2 hours to swap out a hdd)
Full watercooling system with BIX360
Airbrushed Logo's for that extra bling
Have this sucker mostly done by the 19th so I can take it to colorado on the 20th of august....)



Alright so lets start of with the mod. I've actually done quite a bit on this machine already even though every part has had at least two versions. I don't have any "opening the box" pictures because 2 cameras died at the start of this build.... but that won't stop me from forging ahead!


First up is the top radiator mount. I used a radgrill because it's clean and I can't make anything better by hand (I've tried) I do have to admit I was a little disappointed in the quality of this part. It's very flimsy and the paint/powdercoating has runs in it......but that's okay. It'll end up airbrushed anyways.

Note: Fans will be changed to black ones and eventually lit with green LED's.





Next up is the Slotloading DVD drive. As you can see there is very little clearance here. With the Radiator cover on the clearance is even less. I've left just enough room for 90deg barbs and 3/8th's tubing. The back will be JB welded shut but I'm waiting to do all of the jbwelding at once as it is messy and I'm trying to save time here.





This is where I got to before today. This is the plate that covers both the PSU allows the HDDS to be rotated 90deg. As you can see just a blank slate of metal....but wait : )

Note: there will be a cover rivetted to the top and jbweld along the seams to make it "one" piece



Mounting holes drilled and the fan cover in place to mark the cut for the fan opening (oldschool : P )



Fan hole cut and waiting for some test fitting



Ah Perfect fit. Measurements are great but nothing fits better than drilling directly through the fan holes!



And if you didn't know what the fan was cooling then now you do!. space for 3 Fullsize HDDs. Cable management should be MUCH better this way and the cooling should actually be better as well!



One last picture of the case "Head-on" so show how much room is left for modding.


So I'll leave you all with that. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself and spoil the suprise! I will say though that the HDD cage has a few more cuts before it's done and there is still a ton of work to be done before I can say I'm done with the metal work.

Enjoi

 

And at the risk of sounding like an ass I want to add one more comment. Even though the "murdered out" theme has hit modding community by storm recently I don't want anyone thinking that I'm "following the leader". Only recently, after already having conceived the idea for this mod, have I browsed the project log section of the forums. Obviously many of us have noticed how effing cool it looks on cars and that is all I'm trying to do... except with a computer.

I also realize that it's hard to be innovative with watercooling in an AO5b and that is mainly due to space. There's only one way to fit a 360mm radiator haha.

So hats off to other before me. If an idea seems similar to something in another mod you have seen please note that is was realized without my knowledge of a previous mod. Any tricks I may take from others will be noted and linked.

 

Na yours is unique chap, its not a silverstone which is a nice change!

Nice progress!

 

It's good to see you back.

 

Thank you and thank you. Been a weird year for me. I'm glad to be able to squeese in some modding. Even if I slept through my modding time today..... morning modding blows lol. Oh well off to the garage to try and finish something...

 

First Update!

So now I'm modding before work just to try and get this thing done. I made a little bit of progress today but in reality I've already fallen behind. I finished the radiator cover and I started to finish the HDD cover but I'm out of time (Work) so on with the pictures!


First up is the Rad cover. As you can see it is mostly completed it just needs to have the center cut out for ventilation. With the corners already drilled, all that is needed are some guidelines and it's ready to cut.





Back from the shop it has been cut and sanded. Ready for powder coating and a grill.







Lastly is the work I started on the HDD cover. I've drilled the corner holes and marked everything up. Just need an hour to cut and file....damned work. This was a last minute idea but I think it's going to be one of those extra touches that really makes the mod. who knows!

 

looking great man!

 

Thanks for viewing!

Enjoi!

 

That's mighty cramped! I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

 

looks good so far.... I am curious to see what you do with so little space! rockon!

 

I'm watching. I have an unmodded as of yet full tower Lian-Li and always trolling for ideas.

john

 

Yeah It's pretty tight in the but the way the case is layed out, it lends itself to a ton of possibilities!

Thanks. Shouldn't have to wait for too long. All of the metal work has to be finished in the next three days!

Well you should get tons of ideas here at bit-tech. Lian-li's are very good for modding as they are clean from the start. Search the forums a bit and you see TONS of mods based on Lian-Li's that are just killer. Check out modsquads work. He's brought a few Lian-Li's to their knees.

Off to mod for the next 4 hours. Hoping to get the rest of the big stuff out of the way so that friday I can pick up the bits and pieces and send it off to the powdercoating shop.

 

Lookin good with those cuts. But wouldn't the 2 fans go ding-donging each other's airflow?

 

I assume you mean the HDD fans and yeah, only one fan will be in place. I just left the old one there for now.

Alright. The HDD cage is almost 100% finish metalworking-wise. Just needs a top (will take 15 minutes) and JB Weld and it is DONE!!!

Gonna go take pictures now and get started on the bottom of the case.

 

Two steps forward.....one step back

So today I finished the Hdd cage.....or so I thought. I forgot one vital thing......Graphics card length. I assumed that a GTX 275/285 was the same length as my motherboard. Unfortunately I was wrong and I'm off by at least 1/4 of an inch. It's too late in the game to remake the HDD cage. So I'm going to modify it. Which is sad because I really liked how it looked. Ohh well. Gotta fit the horsepower right?

Anyways I lost a lot of wind after realizing that but I did finish the pump mount and get it marked out for tomorrow. The pump mounting and the false floor should be relatively quick tomorrow and hopefully on friday I'll have everything finished in time to drop it off at the powdercoaters by 6. If not then it'll be monday and I don't know if that's enough time.

Alright SO! Here's some pics of the semi-finished HDD cage







Enjoi.

 

I love all that aluminum goodness. It just tickles my fancy to see it get bent, cut, drilled, filed, and molded into your vision.

 

Yeah for sure. Aluminum has to be my favorite metal of all. everything about aluminum makes it good for modding. It cuts and bends easy, it can be polished to a mirror, anodizing, powder coating, welding, machining. Aluminum is awesome. The only metal I really like more is copper but it isn't as strong and it's MUCh more expensive.

 

I, too, share an enthusiasm for aluminum. I have used more than I want to think about in my case. Though the stuff I am using isn't all that fun to work with sometimes.....

anyway, I for sure am "enjoiing"

 

I took a look at your project log. That's pretty nuts. Working with extruded aluminum is a pain. I cut down a stock HSF into ramsinks one time that were just horrible hahaha. but it looks good man. I like the triple chambers. What are they for?

 

(not to hijack your log) I assume you mean the three sections? the case, the minicase, and the "interim" or space between the two.
case; regular computer stuff
interim; nothing special, cept my kickass skull hdd lights
minicase; iMon, servo hardware, a couple i/o slots, and a couple other things [/HIJACK]