Case Mod - In Progress Level Twelve

I know. Pretty lame name. I do however like how both words have so many letters in common just like Level Eleven. There won't be a Level Thirteen, I promise you.

Anyway, this is a case mod. The case is a very small mini tower case that has the optical drive mounted vertically. It has space for a single 3.5" hard drive and two low-profile expansion slots.

The goal for this project is to replace everything with much higher-end components, improve the cooling system and enclose it in something special...hopefully. It has to be finished by December 15th so this is going to happen fast.

I was cornered to quickly come up with a design idea so I quickly copped-out and traced a photo of Level Eleven.



I exactly doubled L11's dimensions which makes this a 2/3 scale version of Thermaltake's Level 10. The idea is to make a slide-in "cartridge" style enclosure-type system like my Mission and Mid-Century Madness projects.


Gutted, looking at it from behind. PSU in top hole and expansion slots on the bottom.


Interior space. Fairly well made with no sharp edges. Made from steel so the Dremel will be working hard on this project.


The stock motherboard (left) is being replaced with a Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3 mini-ITX motherboard. The stock board is non-standard sized that is wider than a mini-ITX and appears to be the same length as a microATX board. Using the Gigabyte board allows me to use a double-slot video card instead of a single slot. It also gives me USB 3.0 which will be important later.


The stock power supply (gutted on the right) is rated at 180W and incorporates the original system's only case fan. It is a non-standard size. I did a lot of research to find another non-standard PSU that comes close in size. What I got is a 350W Antec MT-352 that came out of an Antec HTPC case. A little modding and it should fit perfect.


1/4" Baltic Birch plywood being cut with my handle-less X-Acto razor saw. Some things never change.







Thanks for looking. I welcome any and all feedback. Standard rules apply.

 

nice start, the same mobo as mine. any ideas about the cpu cooling yet?

 

Thanks. I was originally going to use a Corsair H50 but there is no room for the inflexible hoses. I've decided to go with a Scythe Shuriken instead. There was some good feedback on Newegg where a guy used the same board and had no RAM/Vid card clearance issues. How is that Akasa working for you or have you tested it yet?

 

Sound like a plan Yeah Akasa works, gave me stable overclock of 4.2Ghz today, just not that quiet

 

cool. another neat slipperyskip build to watch. I'll be tuning in to this one.

 

Looks like a nice project. Good luck.

 

Not much Akasa on this side of the pond. I had to smuggle some Akasa TIM Cleaner across the border several years ago.

Thanks! Wood rules, plastic drools.

Hopefully. Thanks.




To free up some space I'm relocating the optical drive and 3.5" HDD(s) to the support box. In their place I'll be using this Crucial C300 256GB SSD as a system drive.




Oops. Wrong CPU. I'll have to send this one back.


8" wide quarter-matched Bird's Eye Maple.


Back to the saw mill after having a little fun.

Thanks for looking.

 

Wrong CPU pfft yeah right as if any one would give that back a future project in sight hmmm look forward to see what you do with this project.

 

If you don't need that i7 980x I will gladly have it.

 

Wrong CPU? C'mon.. You didn't notice it and simply put it in the computer I would never send that little neat piece back haha.

 

Skip, I'm sending you my address. You know where to send that CPU

 

Wrong mainly because it is the wrong socket. Even Intel gets confused now and then with all the different sockets.

No!

I was hoping to have Intel as a sponsor for more than just one project. I find that companies that make these kind of mistakes tend to not want the "error" back.

No. I'm going to turn it into a paperweight.

After talking to Intel it has been decided that I get to keep the 980X for my next project. Honesty pays once again.


Today's UPS haul. A Scythe Shuriken, Powercolor 5750 and a Vantec USB 3.0 Hub. USB Hub? WTF?


New knowledge. USB 3.0 ports are coded in blue.


It's not modding unless you are voiding warranties. The plastic case will go in the trash.


Cute little video card. Smaller than I pictured in my head. (Did I just say cute? Damn.)


6-pin PCIE power plug means there is a little heat under the tiny hood.


Nice match size-wise for a mini-ITX board. A single stick of memory to help check for clearance issues.




The cooling fans face downward. I'll be cutting out a huge portion of bottom of this case to help these fans get direct fresh air.


I love Scythe products. This low-profile cooler has six heat-pipes and a 100mm x 12mm fan.



Back to sawing. Thanks for looking.

 

im liking this collection of parts. sub'd

 

Interesting this vga low profile


/OT
Slipper , no watermarks for your pictures....?

 

Another 'level' mod. You've got my attention. Gotta love those small boards, I
can see a couple of those in my future.

 

There's another modder out there wondering why Intel have sent them a 1156 CPU instead of a 980X. Nice going so far.

 

You jammy devil, lovely little build you have going.
Any plans for the case yet?

 

Can't wait to see what you're gonna do with it! Are you going to use any wood?
@Chiller
seriously? trying to get attention in someone else's buildlog? There's a rule about that iirc

 

oh man , this is gonna be insane.Cant wait to see more of this.

 

@Chiller1: C'mon That's pathetic.