[CaseMod] First Attempt

Stonehead

And there are rumours of Newegg buying a large Computer store in the UK, we may have cheap prices soon

Yeah, I hope they do it soon.

Excellent job on the etching of the bay window. Looks really good.

How much did all the stuff for that cost, including the dremel, bits, pieces of perspex etc? Im very new to case modding and such, but since the case I ordered doesnt have a bay window I might be interested in doing something with it.

conzy

DONT BUY A THERMALTAKE PSU:eek:

Anyway, they are no better than cheap ones, they are just crap with thermaltake stickers on them.

L31mr0d

thanks... see now how do you know that.. googling that PSU, I only find good reviews... although they are 2 years old :rolleyes:

Should really of saved the moola, and not bought the dremel, and went ahead with a better PSU. I might just charge it and deal with it later. I notice you have a system pretty similar to mine yet you have the 500w enermax, Is the extra 100w the only difference with the 400w one?

conzy

Yes the 400watt and 500watt models are almost identical except the 500watt model has 2 22Amp rails for a combined output of 32amps

The 400watt model (i think) has 2 20 amp rails for a combined output of 30 amps.

They are identical other than that, and the 400watt model is loads and probably the equivelant output of a cheap 800watt model;)

They are also one of the most efficient PSUs at 80% effiency, so it will save you money in the long run by lowering ESB bills:D

L31mr0d

Ok well i'll probably going to go ahead with an Enermax then. Going to shop around and see if I can get one for cheaper shipping.

Anyway, like I said I wasn't that happy with the original etch. Turns out I was using the wrong bit for the dremel, and it was eating up the perspex, and not giving a smooth finish. Anyway, this one turned out a little better.





Kinda went a little overboard and tried to install some LEDs along the side of the perspex... waste of a good 4 hours soldering and fixing as they are not bright enough at all to properly light the perspex. Not giving up though, gonna pick up some ultra brights from Maplin, and replace them. *sigh* live and learn.



Put a 220 Ohm resistor in series with the LEDs.


What do you know... that Q-Tec PSU came in usefull after all. Testing out the LEDs before installing them. Just making sure the resistor wasn't heating up to much.


Cut some notchs into the perspex with one of the diamond bit pieces from B&Q, so that the LEDs would seat better.


Used some insulation tape to avoid any shorts with the case.


Testing out LEDs... now looking good.


Ok so the etch is highlighted more, but not near enough as i'd like. I could take the easy option and get a CCFL, but i'm not going to let this beat me.

g5hn710m4xpdwy

nice etches! did u usethe head that was kinda like sand paper but shaped like a small cone, or the metal one the was like a ball ontop with litle cuts in it? and where did you get the perspax?

L31mr0d

For the first etch i used the sanding cone... its not good at all, well not for me anyway. Its faster to clear large areas of perspex away, but it leaves an uneven finish, if your design has big areas, it would be good, because you could just mask off the etch and sand it to get an even finish.

I used the diamond ball bit for this and it worked a lot better, the big one for larger areas and the small one for around the face and any detailed work. Took about an hour in total to etch it.

Got the perspex from B&Q, they sell 2mm and 4mm sheets. The 2mm sheet which is around 4x6ft was around €17. Its a good enough size to get some practice with. I ended up using all of it, usually by running a drill bit too fast and cracking it.

implosive

That looks like a good job , Might give it a go!!!, and its realitively free if youve got the parts lying around,

Mmmmmmmmm .............

g5hn710m4xpdwy

lol, b&q here i come ;-) thants for that

L31mr0d

Ok so i cut my losses and went ahead with the 400w enermax you where talking about. I didn't get it from OCuk, went and got it off ebay from germany, pretty cheap I have to say, worked out a good €30 cheaper then OCuk including shipping and the exchange.

Here's the link:
Enermax Liberty 400w

conzy

Nice find;)

Keep us up to date

L31mr0d

Ok so these should be the final touchs for now on the case. Going to concentrate more on the HW side of it now. I probably wouldn't of gone ahead with any mods on it where it not for my graphics card for it being over a month late (good ol reliable Ebay)

I soldered a new string of 12v Super bright red leds together as the previous ones used for lighting the etch just wheren't bright enough. The new ones turned out well.



Here is what the case looks like under the desk, why did i go through the trouble of doing a window and etch if its going to be under my desk you say? Boredom. lol, i don't even go to gamecon or bring my computer out to LANs much.



The last change I made to it was to put one of maplins fan control bays in the front. I was going to rig my own up and buy a rheostat the cables and all the rest of the gear, but it only worked out a few euros dearer to buy this one. Plus it has a LCD temp display, and some voltage presets. You don't realise how much noise those fans are making when you turn them down. My SATA drives are almost silent and so is my PSU. Now the fans only whisper when the computers idle.

conzy

Very nice;)

I like the way the LEDs only light the etch, Do you have your Enermax liberty yet?

JakTheHat

Yeah. The etch stands out well. Nice effect.

g5hn710m4xpdwy

no i really want to do my etch! and i have the plans made out and i will light it up like yours ;-) expect on my xbox;)

L31mr0d

Sorry to rebump. All the pictures from this log got deleted off the host site I had them on, the compsoc forums for my college that has since dissapeared since my graduation.

So I thought just for composure i'd repost the pictures of this log.

L31mr0d

dazftw

your a lefty :eek:

Do you write with your left or right hand?

I right with my left but im a righty?

L31mr0d

DeafVision wrote:

your a lefty :eek:

Do you write with your left or right hand?

I right with my left but im a righty?

erm... yeah i'm a lefty. You are more than likely mixed-handed. A lot of people think they are either right or left handed, usually defined by which hand they write with when in fact they are mixed which means you can use both hands for different tasks but tend to favour one hand over the other. I'm a true lefty in that simple things like a gear stick being on the right, a computer mouse being on the right, right handed scissors...etc, I can't do. I could lose my right arm in an accident tomorrow and it wouldn't bother me.

Its irritating though being a gamer and trying to find mice suited for lefties. Logitech only have one in production and its, tbh, crap. Its basically an MCE mouse that isn't suited for gaming at all. I'm still waiting for them to release a decent wired laser mouse specifically for left handed people.

KamiKazi

L31mr0d wrote:

Its irritating though being a gamer and trying to find mice suited for lefties. Logitech only have one in production and its, tbh, crap. Its basically an MCE mouse that isn't suited for gaming at all. I'm still waiting for them to release a decent wired laser mouse specifically for left handed people.

the razor diamondback and copperhead i know are suited to left or right handed people, great mice too

Anti

my mother always told me not to trust a lefty

L31mr0d

Anti wrote:

my mother always told me not to trust a lefty

i've grown up with people looking at me writing with my left hand and going "thats so weird!!!"

At least I wasn't born in my fathers generation, he said in his class the priest would would cane anyone caught writing with their left hand, he'd also cane lefties who handed up scrawled writing from writing with their right hand. I looked it up and it stems from the fact that everything bad God supposedly holds in his left hand.

Anyway, who do I go to to get this moved into the log section? The current mods don't seem to be alive, i've PM'd them with no response.

Anti

Hopefully i should have my access back soon. As soon as i do i will move it over for you.