Hi all, been a lurker here for a while and thought it was about time i said hello. I was bitten by the modding bug a long time ago, although my main victims were of the automotive variety. It has only been recently that i've turned my hand to computers. Im planning on modding my main workhorse (a CM690), but before i jump into the deep end and start dremeling my case to bits i thought i'd start by modding something smaller. PCI cards! here is a wireless network card i prepared earlier Im also making a cover out of aluminium for my new sound card, ill post up some pics of that too if anyone is interested.
That looks cool. But are you sure you wont create any permanant damage to your cards. I prefer to leave my stuff alone. Once a long time ago i spilt some glue onto my network card. After a couple of hours of use it overheated and frizzled out of existence. Make sure this doesnt happen with yours, leave enough room for air to get to the card. Also make sure that you dont touch the metal pins as they are very delicate. If any metal touches those pins you can disrupt data flows, ending in a very bad connection.
The cover is made from acrylic and it is held on sparingly with insulative double sided foam tape. Ive had it off a few times, quite easy to remove. The aluminium mesh is glued to the acrylic but it doesnt come into contact with the card itself There is also about a 6mm air gap between the card and the cover so air can circulate.
Very nice work mate I like it It shouldn't short out, since the Wifi cards only ever get touch hotness, never overly hot
Thanks for the comments! Here is the cover i started making for my sound card: I have to remake it though because the lower screw head clashes with the pci bracket