I'm just not convinced that pre-mods are all that bad. Like I said before, I thoroughly enjoy every aspect of the whole modding thing. I love cutting into things, painting, sanding, crafting, etc. This is from the same person who begged his parents at an early age to allow him to paint murals on his walls. Sure, most parents tell their kids, "no writing on the walls," but mine were different. Not everyone enjoys the thrill of creation. Not everyone revels in the arts. This is where premods have their place. I peronally wouldn't buy a pre-mod, mostly because I like the feeling of knowing that I actually had a part in creating my case. Will it look like Orac3, not even close. I am only halfway through my first mod, but I am enjoying the work and think the results so far look pretty nice. There won't be any baybus. No lcd, either. In fact, there probably won't be any lights, inside or out. I am cutting a window. I am reshaping the front. I will be stealthing the drives and, thanks in part to Zap's guide, moving all of the buttons (power and reset included) elsewhere on the case. And that's the reason I chose to become a member of this forum. There are so many friendly and creative people here, and the knowledge base is second to none. I have learned a lot in the few short weeks I have been here, and I look forward to learning more. I agree that it's not necessarily that great for someone to buy a pre-modded case, throw in a couple lights, then stealth the drives and pass it off as a "L337" mod. But hey, everyone has to start somewhere. Perhaps that case can act as a starting point. Once that person is comfortable working with the parts, he may move on to reshaping the window. Maybe the assembly of the water-cooling kit provides a basic knowledge of how the parts work, so the next time that person will consider constructing his own setup. I believe the people here are pretty good with constructve criticism. I can't remember seeing anyone who was too unkind, and that's what I like about Bit-Tech. I dunno...it's early in the morning, I'm tired, and all my ramblings are probably completely incoherent. I say live and let live...or should that be "mod and let mod." -monkey
OK I'm going to get reemed for this ... I like a case based on Its looks , function , amount and quality of work and execution of the mods done to it, regardless of wether it started as a pre-mod or not. Some of the posts here sound like if you didnt build the race car from the ground up, instead of starting with prebuilt chassies that you modified , your not a true racer. I agree that if someone thinks that putting a LED fan in a pre-mod case is modding , or says that a pre-moded case that he did nothing to is his moded case, he deserves the criticism. I didnt know about modding untill I visited Bit-Tech and others just a few months ago after getting my first PC ever. I couldnt upgrade it(DELL 2350) so after searching this site I built my own PC ( thanks for the Info.!) YEP ... Started with a pre-mod case, a Raidmax Z 868 Scorpio , but I took a lot of time and care to make it "mine" ... Top window, Rack mods, Interior paint, Hidden wiring, Acrylic panel on door(Bit-Tech case badge ), Etc... Does that mean I didnt mod it? or that I dont appreciate ZapWizards Genius in the mods I will never be able to do? I fixed the link to my case pictures , if you would be so kind to look at them at ... http://img69.photobucket.com/albums/v210/DonBeary/ "DB's First Time" Thanks for the time to rant DB
I think and like other people have stated before, if someone can't mod a case, or doesn't want to, or doesn't have the time, and wants a nice or very nice(I have seen some very nice looking "pre-modded" cases out there, yes I have)then thats totally fine. Also it is that persons choice if he/she is going to buy a "pre-modded" case. I really wouldn't give a damn what somebody said about what I used to build my computer. Whats done is done. Which brings me to my next point. NOW, if the person that buys the "pre-modded" case right from the start goes off saying he built the case form scratch or if he just adds in some things here and there then brags about it like hes a god, then I guess you have a legit reason to get angry at that person. But oh hey, something just popped up in my brain. Lol, ohhhhhh this is good. Alright, you modders all fail to realize that if somebody does add in some LED fans or Cold Cathodes, etc, that..that is a mod. Mod is short for modification, that person is just modifiying his/her case by adding those things in. So realize this: 1.Not all "pre-modded" cases are crap. 2.Like said before those "pre-modded" cases aren't modded in any way they are built that way. 3.Mod is modification. 4.People have hte right to buy a "pre-modded" case if you like it or not. 5.People who buy "pre-modded" cases aren't bad people, and they aren't trying the easy way out, your just too narrowminded to realize the things i listed in the "speech" lol. 6.Respect peopls opinions and choices. 7.Jump at them and piss at them and trash them when you actually have a legit reason to do so. 8.Again mod is modification. 9.Not everybody is going to want to do everything from scratch. 10.Read this over 5 times. Im sorry for getting so mad like this, but this pisses me off seeing the same crap over and over. Oh and my final point, as long as that person is happy thats what matters.
I see, and agree with, your point but you overreact a little. To me that is not modding, nothing has been modified, how is it different to adding a new hdd/hsf etc...? Having blue led's in the windscreen washers on your car does not make you a "car modder/boyracer/hotrodder"
See thats the prob you guys base mods on things that have to be totally custom etc. If somebody puts some lighting in his/her case or two to SPIFF it up, I consider it a modification or in short a mod.
no not totally custom. IHMO, just fitting things in is in no way shape or form, modification. A single blowhole/window/coat of paint (that actaully modifies, as in makes changes to, something) constitutes a mod.
steryotypically(wat a big word) speaking premod cases are bad, boring dull beige cases, however some stock cases like lian lis are certainly not bad they are sleek shinny and sexy however unique cases are far better
A truer thing was never said. Guy was selling em off at a lan I was at (LanXL, northern ireland) for 45 quid including a SmartBlue 350 psu. I was tempted alone for the PSU (didn't have my lanboy at that point) but then I realised how fugly the xaser is.
Well, the term "modder" is shortened from "case modder", so unless a person physically alters their case in some way (not simply adding CCFLs, etc.), they shouldn't say they've modded anything. It should be a hobby for them to call themselves a "case modder". I'm fine with premods, as long as the person says so.
i love pre-modded cases ....anyone can mod a nice plain ole beige one and make it their own lol....now take a pre-modded case and modding it yourself enough to make it unique and truly your own there is a challenge
Well, my first case was a basic micro-atx which i modded from scratch. The job i had at the time meant i had access to all manner of tools, which was nice afaik premodded cases werent commercially available back then (only a little over two years ago though) and if they were i never saw any and had no intention of buying one. That case ended up with internal green neon paint, stealthed drives, a 3.5 inch fanbus, a spitfire flame shaped window with custom etch (actually etched by hand, not using the kits) a similar cutout on the mobo side with red acrylic behind it (as a window would be a bit pointless), a windowed, lighted and painted cd-rom drive, entire painted black on the outside, two small ccfl's, diy rounded ide's, a keyswitch as a power button etc... My current case is a nice premod, with a bunch of prelit led fans, bought rounded cables, a nexus blue-led fan and light controller with 2xnexus ccfl's, bought ramcooler, i think the only 'mod' done to it is the psu has had excess cabling removed and it's all been nicely braided. Tbh, i can see the benefits of both sides. I still have the first case mentioned and it's where my media pc lives atm. My mainrig lives in the premod. I mainly went the premod route as i dont have access to snazzy tools anymore. Still i think it's fair to assume that a premod is an upgrade if not a true mod. I also have a totally untouched beige full atx which houses my secondary media pc... now that must bother some people on this site
I voted "I love them" for the sheer fact that they allow me to have a modded case even when I don't have the tools or money to build one. I would certainly rather prefer a modded case of my own, but I just can't find the money or time :/
Let's face it, they're better than the dirt/***/coffee stained beige boxes that we all have in the attic somewhere
The fence is quite comfy at the moment! While I would never buy a pre-modded case, I can't bash them, as I used to have an off-the-shelf PC. (boy did I learn my lesson!) They lack originality, but owning a computer is not about originality, it is about making jobs that used to take weeks take minutes. I won't take my factory car to a show and be proud of it, and neither will most pre-modded case owners (or non-modded case owners for that matter) take their PCs to a modding competition. To each their own, at least it makes some modding supplies cheaper as the scene becomes more well known!
I think premods have there place for the younger enthusiasts that don't quite have the modding skills developed yet and are a bit young for power tools. Hell I know 40 yr olds that would loose a few digits trying to use power tools LoL. They have there place but a real modder will avoid the cookie cutter wannabe look a likes. IMO The Biostar IDEQ SFF has some innovative ideas in there cases. Like the power and IDE cables routed through the frame rails.
I think that a lot of people here are failing to realize that the average person wanting a computer doesn't even have the interest to build their own regular computer, let alone try and design/mod a whole case. For people wanting a cool looking (arguable) computer as opposed to a beige box, they are alright, although I prefer the do it myself method. Edit: And yes, those new computer designs like the Diabolic and **** are horrible looking. They may go well in a little kids room, but for any adult they are terrible. I guess they're marketing to the 8 year olds with fat wallets. Adam
Oh same here. All those logos. They have their place, but not in my room. I like to start off with a nice case that's simple but well-built (Lian Li) and not all freaky and flashy and covered with tacky lights and ugly plastic fronts (some of those X-anything cases stick out, as well as that diabloic case thing) and then have at it. Make it better and do what I want to it. I agree with anyone that's said it... they need to focus on more than looks. Many of the premods are simply not well built. They combine bad airflow with poor quality and charge for both. Like the case my brother has... IMO one of the silliest things I've seen (not ugliest, just silliest). Four front 80mm intake slots, complete with the 95% restrictive punched grills on top of a completely solid case front. And the window came broken in several places. Lookswise, some are good and some aren't (most of the modded-looking ones aren't IMO, but as I said I prefer quality so the subtle front of a Lian Li looks a whole lot better than anything else in my books). They're ok for people that want to get away from the beige (or kinda dark purple plastic if they're coming from dell-land, although I'll admit their inner construction is pretty good), but serious modders should avoid them. And the best modders just avoid cases all together and just go to the hardware store and buy stuff.
I don't mind premodded cases so much. It's not that I would ever buy one, but well. The way I got introduced to the whole modding community was because I found a link to xoxide, and thought "this stuff is cool". I was gonna buy a premodded case for a while, until I was even more so exposed to the modding community and realized it would be so much better to mod the case myself (which I'm working on right now, my first time, and I'm loving it ). But I don't at all mind people who get premodded cases. If someone wants something better looking then a regular case, I say go ahead. If they start bragging about "how much their case kicks ass", or especially calling themselves modders or l337 after buying a premodded case, then, well...
I bought an Icute premod: creamy white with two windows, LED fans, aluminium+acylic front. Then I took it apart, sanded all the white down, resprayed it bloo, added a DIY skull logo and sealed it, dremeled out the grid-like finger guards on the back, added more fans and some cathodes, connected the cathodes up to macroman's cathode throbber and stealthed the drives. What does that come under? It started as a premod and a lot of it was just plugging in parts, but there was also a lot of hard graft involved and it is now definetely my own, unique case
what defines a premod? im planning on getting a case with a "premodded" window and fan, and doing the rest myself, obviously, itll be unique, is that alright?
