The specs on this machine at the moment are almost embarassing (see sig), but each payday it's getting better... . My basic idea for this case is the typical window/lights/fans setup, with an emphasis on keeping it simple, and a "modern" look, to match the rest of my setup. At completion the case will be black with a blue light, silver front bezel, and black drives. One of the 5.25" bays will be filled with a small dot-matrix LCD, and the other free bay will be sound blaster controls. As this is a relatively low-budget project, I'll be building off of an AMD Athlon XP 3200+, and recycling the majority of the components in my current rig. I can't find the pictures of the case, pre-dremel, so I guess we start on day 2 of modifications: First thing I did today was go to Wal-Mart and pick up some essentials - quick-dry auto primer - auto-finish gloss black paint - 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper - sanding block - automotive masking tape (thicker, less porous, more rubbery feeling than regular) - hazlenut candle (my old one burned out, and wet paint kind of stinks) - plexi (actually from Lowe's) - 15 pack of 14 oz. Mt. Dew (only $0.33USD more expensive than a 12x12oz.) - 12" cold cathode tube (from the local modder-friendly PC shop) - 4-pin power splitter (ran out of power connections, until next week when my new PSU gets here...) So with the equipment that I accquired today, I set to work. The first thing I did was open up & install the cathode tube... that was dumb, because the second thing I did was prime & paint, which involved masking off the cathode tube, on account of the fact that my servo tape is at the hobby-shop, along with my dremel. -test fit- As you can see, the paint on the access side turned out pretty decent, but still not perfect. I'm much better at painting R/C car bodies... The mobo side panel gave me hell. First I forgot to wipe the nozzle on the sprayer, which caused a drip on the primer, but then I did the same thing on the paint... This pic was taken after I thought I had everything perfect, then dropped the panel and scratched the whole side of it on my desk. About 5 minutes ago I put it on my computer... screws and all... just to make sure nothing happens to it in the next couple of days before I clearcoat it. Here we are with the side & top on, and the light glowing. Unfortunately, I left the flash on, so the glow isn't very intense. It looks pretty darn good with the black/beige contrast... soon it will look even better with a black/silver contrast, to match the monitor. Next on the list is to finish the cosmetics, to include the following: - paint the front bezel silver (same shade as monitor) - replace 5.25" blanks with smoked plexi - paint the drives black - replace power-button LED (doesn't work anyway) with a bl00 one, to match the rest of the lighting in the project. The next phase, time permitting, should be done in the next few days.
Off to go get more modding supplies... - silver vinyl dye - bl00 LED's I think that's all I have time for today, I have to go to work in 3 hours...
