Thanks jodah. The back I/O plate is actually one I cut out from an old case. It was from a full sized ATX case so I just cut off the bottom three expansion card slots and voila, it's a mATX backplate
yeah, i just picked up an old full tower case from work, gonna cut out the i/o plate tonight and see if i made my case tall enough. lol.
Well, another weekend of modding has come and gone all too quickly. But I did manage to get some important stuff done. First up is the work on the back panel. Here are some pics of the HDD exhaust fan for the lower level of the case: aaahhh, there we go, a perfectly cut 80mm fan hole. Oh, but wait, what is that?? I cut it on the wrong side of the case?!?!?!?!?!?! So I had to cut another one on the correct side of the case: But that still left the giant hole on the other side. Luckily that's where the PSU is going, so I was going to have to cut a hole there anyway, but as you can see, I didn't get lucky enough: There is some remnant of the extra fan hole on the side of the PSU hole there that needed some covering up. So while I was thinking about the best way to go about covering up this little mistake, I went to work finishing the PSU mounting bracket... Then tapping the holes in the back panel: So I can thread these monsters into it: The nylon spacers are to hold the PSU out the back of the case a little bit to make enough room behind the optical drives for the connections and stuff. I can always cut down the spacers if I find I can get away with less room... And I also finally found a good use for those clear acrylic corner cubes I had scrapped from the first try on this case : Now, back to covering up that ugly hole next to the PSU... I just made another piece similar to the PSU mounting bracket but out of the thin fluorescent green acrylic: Should cover it up enough and maybe even give it a nice accent when all is said and done!
I still had a few hours left I felt like working so I tried to see if I could get something done about making a filter for the front intake fan. I went to the hardware store and looked all over for some kind of screen that would work for filter material but wouldn't restrict airflow too much. Just as I was about to the point of frustration and leaving the store, I spotted a grease splatter guard and decided I could make it work: The filter/guard will eventually be spray painted gloss black (like all of the other unfinished metal pieces on the case right now), and I will have to figure out how to adhere it to the inside of the fan hole. But for now, it's coming along slow but sure. Until next time!
nice work it's always nice when we find new ways to use stuff that was left-over from previous projects
Ok, here we go, definitely made some good progress this weekend. No major mistakes made or design flaws found, so I can't complain. I finally just got sick and tired of fighting with the stealthed drive bay idea and went with something a little more straight forward... And as you can see, thing just weren't quite lining up they way there were supposed to... That is finally done and over with and I don't have to think about it anymore! But I'm still not completely satisfied with the look of it, so I'm gonna make another flourescent green frame type thing to go around the drives. The same thing will be done to the 3.5" drive bay devices to be located right next to the 5.25" drives... You can kind of see the design I'm going for outlined in pencil. I managed to get this far before my hands were numb and I had to take a break and go inside (the workshop is outside and it's about 15 degrees F). After thawing out and having a bit of lunch, I went right ahead and cut out the openings for the two 3.5" drive bay devices... Then it was on to making them look pretty (or so I hoped). This involved making more fluorescent green acrylic frames around the drives... I still have to drill a couple holes in them and screw them to the case, but you can pretty much get the idea. But that's all for now. Not sure when I'll be able to get back into the mod shop, but I assure you that when I do there will more pictures taken to keep you all in the loop!
I'm really sorry for bumping this thread, but with some linking I came to this project and I was wondering if there are any updates? The case is looking good and I was wondering if you got anything done? Keep it up
Updates? You want updates you say? Well fine!!!!!! Got started on making one of the openings for the temperature display (there will be another on the other side of the fan)... Then it was on to getting some of the custom modular cables created and sleaved... And I decided to whip out the UV CCFLs and check out how the stuff will look under special lighting conditions... Sorry for not updating. I was just gonna wait until I had a little more done, but since it seems I have a larger fan base than I thought, I figured I should keep you guys happy. Next stop is getting the fan wires sleeved and hooked up the way I want and the final stage is to paint all the bare metal inside the case a glossy black. Then it's onto final assembly!!!
HAHA, what?! I just posted an update less than a week ago! So no, the project isn't dead, it's just slow going (like it has been this entire time). Unlike some people, I actually have a busy life schedule outside of modding computers, so please be patient as this project thread is updated real-time as I get work done. I'm so close to being done that I most definitely plan to finish; my goal is to be done by the end of the month. Stay Tuned!
Well done! I'm also impressed with the ps2 mod! You should have some stars! At the start I'd thought you'd ben making it from water stained mdf!lol. Pelxi and alu should look excellent!
Thanks gar Nope, there will be nothing shiny about this case (except for the reflection off the acrylic sides). All aluminum (including the power switch and exterior screw heads) will be painted a glossy black, that is, if it ever stops snowing here!!
hehe, theres never enough time to do all the mods you want quickly enough to appease the ravening hordes of modders on this site. i have the same issue, i got the case cut, and bought some aluminum for it, and have not gotten a chance to get back to it once yet. lol. but, looking great so far man! keep it up!
Final Assembly!!!!!! It's finally all starting to come together. Just some final sanding and fitting here and there, then it's on to getting it all assembled and hardware installed! THE END IS NEAR!!!!!!!!! Rear panel: Front of the case with no front panel: Front of the case with front panel:
Hi, couldnt find it in the thread. Is this smoked plexi or a black shiny one? Nice work, keep my on this one here