I'm planning on modding this case

[LeperMessiah]

this is a case that will be here on wednesday:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=370018069268&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=024

i also ordered an alien fan grill, blue led rear fan, cold blue cathode tubes (the latter 2 will be in my hands in 2 weeks..long story)

first thing im doing is getting solid blue fans to replace the multi-colored ones.

on the blank panel, i was planning on getting a blue and black Skull or Alien vinyl sticker, and putting blue led's as the eyes or whatever.

question is, can i use them on the motherboard side of the case? how do i wire up the led's? im really a novice.

also, i might get one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=140203708170&Category=86941&_trksid=p3907.m29
and drill holes in the bottom and have it gow with LED...what can i do for this?

im also going to need help wiring up the case when it arrives, but thats a thread in itself.

also if anyone has any suggestions for sprucing up the case let me know.

[.Maleficus.]

You can do virtually whatever you want. If you want LEDs by your motherboard, go for it.

As far as wiring goes, you'll need wire (duh), LEDs (duh), and resistors. Resistors regulate the voltage going to the LED. Say your LEDs run on 3v (and they probably do). You could wire 4 in parallel on the 12v line on a molex connector. In parallel, voltage is spread out between the LEDs, and 12v/4 LEDs = 3v per LED. If you wanted to wire them in series, you would need resistors to add resistance to the circuit, and lower the voltage going to each LED. Here's the resistor calculator. http://led.linear1.org/1led.wiz

I don't know what you want to do with the skulls so...

Also, there shouldn't really be any wiring needed for the case... You'll need to plug the temp gauge and bubble tubes in, but that's just a matter of plugging them into your PSU.

[LeperMessiah]

look at all the reviews of the case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16811162011

people are ranting about how hard it is wiring the stuff on the case...lol.

as for LED's...i actually spent 4 years in high school working on electronics and computers...and i could never do anything with LED's.

[LeperMessiah]

also, is there some kind of Blue Translucent glue, or paste? i maybe want to outline the skull or alien sticker with blue translucent material.

[.Maleficus.]

look at all the reviews of the case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16811162011

people are ranting about how hard it is wiring the stuff on the case...lol.

as for LED's...i actually spent 4 years in high school working on electronics and computers...and i could never do anything with LED's.
Well to the reviewer who said you'll need your motherboard manual for pin layout... No kidding. If he just took the connectors and plugged them into a random pin, he probably did have a hard time. As long as you read the label on the connector and find the correct location on your motherboard, you'll have no problems.

Plus, those are 2 years old. They've got to have had some sort of update by now.

[LeperMessiah]

Well to the reviewer who said you'll need your motherboard manual for pin layout... No kidding. If he just took the connectors and plugged them into a random pin, he probably did have a hard time. As long as you read the label on the connector and find the correct location on your motherboard, you'll have no problems.

Plus, those are 2 years old. They've got to have had some sort of update by now.

i found the wiring guide on the offical website of the manufacter...no help at all.

im still lost with what to do with the wiring. lol.

[J-Roc]

I dont want to put a damper on your case, it does look nice and will probly do the job just fine. However, the PCI retention mechanisim is by far the cheezy-est know to man. My old case had the exact same thing. I had to bend and distort it to accomodate my grafix card and the card was really never secure. Also, if you add a bunch of pci cards in the case, the mechanisim might not even make contact with the pci bracket on some of the cards. If there is a way to use screws under the mechanisim, do that and ditch that dumb cover.

Just a fore warning.

[xmastree]

i actually spent 4 years in high school working on electronics and computers...and i could never do anything with LED's.
LEDs are easy once you realise that they require a certain current rather than a voltage. Get your head round that and it all falls into place.

Start reading here:
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2669

[Eclecticos]

You can buy LEDs with inline resistors pre-wired.

[LeperMessiah]

thnx for the pci warning, i might take the back panel out and use another one

[LeperMessiah]

am i going to be plugging single wires from the new case into one of those black connectors with 10 holes on the top? and i assume those plug into either the JFP or JUSB things on the motherboard? my mother board has 2 of each...my current computer takes up 2 of them, and cords from the front of the case are plugged into them. these wires are from the power button, and LED of the power button and the 2 USB ports built in to the front, assume. a JUSB port has 8 holes taken up, from left to right the colors are Empty, Empty. Black, Green, White, Red...same for the bottom the top and bottom wires are both connected through 2 different white colored tubing. a JFP port has 6 connected, left to right is Blank, Blank, Blank, Blank, Black, Yellow bottom is blank, black, red, black, blue....will i plug wires from the new case into these sockets in the same fashion that they are now?

here are pics of what im talking about, incase im describing them weird.

http://i27.tinypic.com/291zvp0.jpg

heres the dump im working with now:

http://i31.tinypic.com/2e5nwcl.jpg

[.Maleficus.]

Yep, find the USB wire from the front of the case, and plug it into the first USB connection on your mobo (probably called USB1 or something). Then, look at the pin-out of your mobo, find the layout of the front panel (HDD LED, Power LED, Power switch...) and plug them in in the same fashion.

[LeperMessiah]

Yep, find the USB wire from the front of the case, and plug it into the first USB connection on your mobo (probably called USB1 or something). Then, look at the pin-out of your mobo, find the layout of the front panel (HDD LED, Power LED, Power switch...) and plug them in in the same fashion.

ok, and the front Lights will probably just need to be plugged into the PSU?

[xmastree]

ok, and the front Lights will probably just need to be plugged into the PSU?

No, they plug into the motherboard.

[LeperMessiah]

No, they plug into the motherboard.

ok. hopefully i wont have any problems when it arrives.

[xmastree]

This should give you an idea about connecting the front panel:
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1149953,00.asp

[LeperMessiah]

thanks for the link...now this is starting to make sense.

[dak1b]

good luck. looks cool