Ok, here we go with the actual Work log, from the beginning. I had the foresight to take pics as I went, cept I am HORRIBLE about taking before pics, so there are very few. I hope to get better. Also, there are going to be a TON of pics, so beware you slow connectors, and let me know if its out of hand!!! Now!!! Specs: Asus A7V8x-Deluxe Rev 2 512 2700 DDR (I know, it sucks) Athalon 2500+ Barton (stock @ 1.83, OCing Later) 40GB Maxtor HD DVD-ROM TDK CDR FLoppy 300 watt PSU (generic, came with case) ATI Raedon 7000VE 32DDR Dual Head And our Victim: 4Q Full Tower And to go in this case: 2 UV Reactive 80mm fans 2 black 80mm fans 1 12" UV Cold Cathode 2 Blue UV Rounded IDE Cables 3 Chrome Fan Grills (soon) Coolermaster Aero 7+ HSF MODS: Moved rear pc slot USB to Front 3.5" bay cover Full Side Case Window Full Black Paint Job Cut out stock fan grills Spiral Wrapped Visible Cables Basic Cable hiding (SOON) Blue Glowing Plexi Holder for CCL Rocker Switch (soon) LED lit fan shroud for Aero 7+ Blower (soon) Cut Fan hole in plexi window for UV 80mm Fan Now for the pics!!! Day One: Bezel After First Mod EVER! Didn't have my dremel yet, so I had to, needed the cooling see why, those HOLES ARE SO SMALL!! And you can see that PEPSI Doesn't come off easy from little holes.. heeh And donated by my wife, a stocking for a filter(temp)[/img] And the proper way to attach stockings? Packing Tape!!! And the final shot of it in place and running!! And So Ended Day 1, and my first EVER mod!! Day Two (First order of stuff shows up): Got a Package with my UV Fans (the black ones were already in) And there they are, not excited about the purple sleeving, but hey, cheap 99cents off ebay, can't complain!! And they went in the back top two 80mm fan slots working as exaust (sorry, no pics, but you will see later). So there goes the first report from the mod (this was like 3 weeks ago) Let me know what you think so far, and if the pics are to much or to big!!! Next: Front USB Mod and MORE!! -Adam
NEXT UPDATE!! Day 3: MOD Rear pc slot usb ports to front 3.5" bay cover Heres the ports as they shipped with the board. Here they are done, and installed. A Little rough, but all I had was a drill and a sharp knife, functional though!!! (day's are not nessicarily sequential, there may be days inbetween) Day 4: First Attempt at Custom Window Mod Heres the side panel with my pencil markings for the design Here I am with a dremel (finally) cuttin away!! NICE SPARKS!! And the Cut is done!! I smoothed (some) the edge a bit and cleaned it off, and WOW!! My first case window cutout is done (or so I thought)
Next Step, Painting 1 No "in progress pics" I wish I had though to take them, but here is the machine back togeather after the first round of paint. You will see a couple of issues (espically with the window) and those will be fixed later!! Now you see the window issue? Just wait untill I show you how it turned out, it looks good!! Also, the top panel and the other side panel are yet to be done, those come later!!!
And a couple more days Day 5: Cathode Arives!! Now WOW Was I excited!! There it is in its package!! Got it from Frozencpu for CHEAP!!! Here it is installed and lightin up one of the UV fans (which are moved down from the top and the black ones moved to the top. Day 6: Time to Paint So I took the whole thing apart, discovered the removable mobo tray, removable 3.5" drive cage, removable top panel and more!! Took everything out including the plates for the vid card and the extra connectiors on the back, the drive bezels, switch and out to the garage I went. I went at it with 4 different cans of paint: Krylon Glass Frost Paint Krylon Fusion Black Vinal Dye Krylon Grey Primer Ace Brand Black Enamel, Satin Finnish Got to work on the bare metal and the frame left after cutting out most of the rest of the side panel. I decided to cut it to a frame and go from there, you see all that at the beginning of this thread. I started with the bezel and I must say the vinal dye is GREAT!!! Then primed the frame and parts, 3 coats Then on came the black enamel, again 3 coats I didn't said between coats, and I am happy enough, but I will next time!!! I can see why they say to do that, my finnish is nice to look at, but not much to touch, could be smoother. See the pics above to see the frame painted and the first try at the window/frame Day 7: More Painting! Today, I've painted the other two panels after sanding (top and other side), plus I've dyed the plexi to cover the glue spots. And here's the pics as the case stands today 11/4/03 And there you go!!! I can't wait to get the Aero 7+ and get it in and modded. Down the road plans: Front LED mods (blue) Fan Hole in Window Watercooling Add more lighting Top Window CD Drive Window Sleeving PSU Painting PSU And any other sugestions of course!!
**Update** Just a quick note on the Coolermaster AERO 7+ and some other things, no pics untill tonight (maybe at lunch though) I got the Aero 7+ In, but didn't get my AS3 in, so I ploped some AS2 I had on it (not very well) and put it in. My case temps at stock speeds went from 45ish at idle to 40ish at idle, which isn't bad, but I wasn't happy, so I let it sit. I did mod the Rheostat to go on the 3.5" bay cover along with the USB ports I modded to the front, and it looks good! Then, a couple days later, came the AS3, so last night I pulled everything apart, redid the thermal grease (and did it good this time) and reset every thing in it and POOF temps acording to MBM and the ASUS socket sensor down to 36ish at idle, and only about 42ish at load!!! Now, Overclocking, I had tried to overclock with the Stock HSF, and with the Coolermaster before the AS3 and was never able to get a stable OC at all!! BUT!!! Now, with the AS3 and the cooler seated and greased properly, I am OCd at XP3200 (200FSB x 11) and stable with everything except Prime, and thats due to generic RAM, so I am thrilled!!!! Pics to come of the Aero, and I will move over the single mod the "Larry Lazer LED" to here, to keep a coherent Project Log!!
The Larry Lazer LED (larry meaing generic or ghetto in this case) Well, after a weekend of different tries, I managed to take some extra UV LEDs I had laying around and make a sort-of lazer led setup to add a little more glow to my bloo glowing case!! Sorry there are no "in progress" pics, but here is the completed item, and you can get the idea!!! There it actually is. Its the 3 LEDS in parallel with a 33ohm resistor to drop the voltage down from the 5v off the PSU. ITs all hot glued to a small piece of plexi to insulate and hold it in place, with another piece of plexi on the back to provide a mounting surfact. And how to mount it?? Double Stick Tape!!! And there it is in place... I need to get a molex y to get it connected, but I have tested it on another PSU and I will get pics of it working in place later tonite!!! Thanks for any comments!!
And here's the device in place!! Heres the pics of it workin.. Not as bright as I had hoped (though if you give it 12 volts instead of 5 it blazes, but not so good for the leds) but it helps in that little corner where the uv cables are tucked!! And there you go, that was fun!!
*Dribbles in terror...* 2110!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111ONE *Dies* *n (I work tech support for HP printers)
Noooooooo. Don't say that Penski... I've got one. Ok! What have i got to watch out for??? MrShake....Very nice work. So whats it feel like to do your first mod?? Was it scary? Looking good. keep it up. There is no turning back now....
My first mod feels great!!! Its not that massivly scary, I'm more than willing to break things and then find creative ways of fixing them, so no bigie!! I want to apologise for broken pics, the host I was using has limited bandwith and shares 2 sites, so I'm trying to move them, but having problems, will have it worked out in the next couple of hours!!!
Let me see if I can get this other option up and running, if not, I will let you know. (I'm trying to do all this from work, so its tough!!)
I remember my first mod. I ordered a Dragon case. I mean before that only had only cheap cases and never modded them. So what do i do, i order a expensive and i take a jigsaw to the side of it. Here's mine You will have to excuise the crappy web site. It was my first attemp. I been meaning to update, i did it well over a year ago. Plus my case has changed alot since then. Hope you get your pics back up soon....Happy modding..
Woo hoo Uploadit!! Great stuff, I will get the rest of the pics working when I get home for lunch (leaving now!!)
Yeah! All power to your Dremel! That frosted glass effect around your window edge looks pretty good! Nice work overall.
ohh.. I am excited.. I just finnished a big rewiring job and an addition to the bezel.. as soon as I can get the pics off the camera, I will post them here, so expect it tommorow!!
