Zap you said you might need to make some vents fore the GPU to allow more air inside the case. I got a bright idee use some washers between the case and the windows and you have a lot of extra airvents!! And it will look cool also. Nice mod by the way. And that etch on the otherside is perfect! No window just that verry cool looking black etch. A window there will show nothing at all. You might get your hands on an X800 XT. Bud you said that that one is harder to make it look cool because of the black fans vs. the clear fans one the 9800XT. Maybe replacing the fan with a clear one? Will be hard to find a clear one but is worth a try. I am going to make an ugly sonata case look cool in the next few moths. Maybe a log maybe not Succes with the mod
That is exactly what I have done. (Look closer in the images) The side windows are offset 1/4 of an inch from the side of the case. It can be best seen in this image: http://www.zapwizard.com/ati/window/Reflection.jpg ------------ I have changed the air flow now, so that the blow-hole pulls air in, so any outward airflow passes over the GPU and PSU. This has lowered the temps on both without increasing noise, or the CPU temps.
Well I spent pretty much the entire day painting. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- First the black anodized shell was lightly sanded, and cleaned thoroughly. I used Simple Green car cleaner as it is a degreaser and cleaner. I then power-sprayed it with water and used a sponge to make sure no particles remained. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Then a few coats of metal primer were applied to the entire shell. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I then painted the inside of the shell with high-luster black paint. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After carefully doing a great mixed paint job on the outside of the case, a mis-placed thumb ruined the entire job. I had to strip and clean the entire outisde of the shell and start over. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After more hours of prep and paint I finally achived the finish I wanted. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The entire shell also has several layers of Clear-coat applied, and I will probably put a few more on tommorow. The shell is glossy, and highly reflective. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Even though the case looks black from far away, it has a very detailed speckled red/black mix that catches your eye when you get close. This was tricky to get to be consistant over the entire shell, as I had to use two spray cans at the same time. One glossy red, the other high-luster black. Also due to the nature of the high-luster black the entire shell had to be painted in one session, as any paint-dust that may come from painting one side, can ruin the finish on the other side. I was able to paint the entire case in one session by suspending it with wires.
Wow! Thats the best paint job I've ever seen. Keep up the great work! I can't wait to see the finished product. Maybe one day I will be able to see it in person.
Where did you get this switch? I have been looking a while for these mothers and have only been able to find the other style at xoxide (not the one I want). A little help, please.
Thanks for the compliments guys, granted this was my first case paint job. I am still working out the details on the faceplate, it is proving challenging to make a black surface that will reflet light the way I want. I got it at www.voyeurmods.com (US site)
maybe if u used tinted acrylic and used that same technique on the back of the fascia piece? Kinda like the opposite to what macroman did on the Macroblack case. If u sprayed the back of the plexi you'd probably get that different-angles effect. (note i said probably) But i would've thought this effect would be obscured by the LED's you plan to have in the 'teeth' of the sawblade?
Offtopic: Not that you are from europe, but people who are can look at this site for them: http://www.elfa.se/elfa-bin/setpage.pl?http://www.elfa.se/elfa/produkter/en/4529.htm (swedish site). Ontopic: Nice work zap, I especially like the paintjob.
My server has a quirk that does things like that under heavy loads. My provider is working on patching it.
Have you thought about using macromans Macro Black way and using clear acrylic and having the rear of it black. This would also give a finish that wouldn't come off during transportation.
I have used that technique several times already. (The case window etch, the faceplate, the fan grills)
ok, i thought u just used black acrylic for those parts. Im not reading the thread there is way too much of it.