Project: Old school server case mod

[TheJoe]

My first one, any suggestions on how i should cut this thing up? heres the pix so far
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/casemod001.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/casemod002.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/casemod003.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/casemod004.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/casemod005.jpg

[calumc]

1. Welcome to the forums :)
2. sexy design ;)
3. the best tool to cut that out would be a dremel and then file/sand the edges smooth. Have a look in the wiki for more stuff about tools.

Good luck with it!

[jdbnsn]

Very cool window design! I think a scroll saw might work good for some of the bigger holes, but you might find it too flimsy to stand up to the scroll saw as you continue removing pieces. Might be good to try a mix of scroll saw for the larger holes and dremel or rotary saw for the smaller holes.

[Eclecticos]

I agree. Its wicked! +Rep
Very Creative design.

[TheJoe]

my water cooling design
the only thing im wondering is will the P500 pump all the way up 24 inch to the top radiator?
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/wc.jpg
the flow indicator is outside the case by the way

i started cutting the case last night. tried a router on a practice case and it chewed it right up. i ended up buying some metal saw blades for my handheld jigsaw. i got through about 1/3 in 2 hours. i should finish tonight ill post when I'm done.

[jdbnsn]

I don't think the pump will have much trouble getting the water that far, but I don't think you want to have the fans at the top moving air into the case, it would cool much better if they direct heat up and out the top.

[TheJoe]

thanks alot man ill switch it up

[TheJoe]

i finished ruff cutting tonight. here is the case without the bling
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/casemodCASEDONE002.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/casemodCASEDONE003.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/casemodCASEDONE004.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/casemodCASEDONE005.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/casemodCASEDONE006.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/casemodCASEDONE007.jpg

[jdbnsn]

Nice job on the side panel, very groovy design!

[NightrainSrt4]

Nice job. The design does have a kinda lava lampy feel. I like it!

[DonT-FeaR]

the 60s are back run away!!!! nice work

[TheJoe]

Heres the latest
stripped for painting
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0208.jpg
what im using to post this
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0215.jpg
Primer
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0211.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0209.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0212.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0213.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0214.jpg
first coat 24 hours later and my pup
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0216.jpg
ill be back after 2nd coat

[The boy 4rm oz]

I like that side panel design.

[TheJoe]

last coat
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0217.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0218.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0219.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0221.jpg
Before i started the watercooling
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0222.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0223.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0224.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0225.jpg
This is the difference between the fittings from frozen cpu and home depot
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0226.jpg
test run found some leaks in my home depot fittings but used lock tight and its fine now
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0227.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0228.jpgwater temp in and out
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0229.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0232.jpg
the rad
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0234.jpg
wanted to see it with lights. uv cathode with uv purple fluid
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0235.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0236.jpg

[TheJoe]

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0240.jpg
is it logical to add 2 more fans like this so theres 4?
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0241.jpg
And this res sucks ass. if you over tighten just a little the plastic threads strip off and ill have to glue it or something
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0242.jpg
back later with my glued res i think ill use gorilla glue

[nevermind1534]

I should do something like this with mine...

[The boy 4rm oz]

The paint turned out quite nicely, that's a nice colour you chose.

[TheJoe]

Used gorilla glue, it looks like crap but this siht kicks arss
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0243.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0244.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0245.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0248.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0250.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0252.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0253.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0254.jpg
im going to buy 2 - 4 of these
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Turbine3000BL_LG.jpg
Aerocool Xtreme Turbine 3000 for the rad
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0255.jpg

[DonT-FeaR]

nice... *makes gorilla noises* and swings from the glued bit strong enought for me!!! :p

[Dane Bramage]

i like the colors and the ambition on this case. the side panel is very nice and reminds me of tiffany stained glass. i look forward to seeing it come together.

+rep

[TheJoe]

Just a thought but how well would 2 of these work in any configuration added to my system? does anyone know if its even worth buying at all?
Thermaltake CL-W0021
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/thermaltake-clp0021.jpg

[TheJoe]

Also i plan to add this to my North bridge before another rad
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/35-108-079-03.jpg
and this is what i plan for the outside of the case
http://cgi.ebay.com/Blue-Chrome-Vinyl-24-inch-x-10-feet-Smooth-Mirror_W0QQitemZ110000287090QQihZ001QQcategoryZ467 41QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l12 62
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/b7_2.jpg
oh yeah and i haven't sanded shyza yet and i feel great about it
any thoughts?

[The boy 4rm oz]

That's a good NB block. Dunno about the Thermaltake rad though. I have heard nothing but bad news about Thermaltake Water Cooling stuff.

[TheJoe]

Well this is not related to the thread but it is a problem in my project.
so when i plugged it all back in my MB-N680-ILT9 (nforce 680i lt sli) motherboard stopped seeing my sata hard drives but can still see my sata dvd drive. i have....
Switched all cables around and the dvd works on all 6 channels
installed an IDE hard drive and it works but i cant write to it (tried suse 10.2)
installed a pci sata card and still cant see the drives.
ive been all over the internet and found XFX to be worthless and nvidia is dead to me now. the only thing i can think is to updates my bios and i cant find a floppy exe that i can do that with.
is there anything anyone can do to help me?

[The boy 4rm oz]

I was gonna recommend installing the drivers off the floppy but if you can't find one of the drivers then I dunno. They usually come on the driver disk. Have you tried booting off a newly formatted SATA drive, your current ones may have been corrupted due magnetism or other issues.

[TheJoe]

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0295.jpg
Heres my old board to see if its the motherboard. msi neo f
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0296.jpg
sure enough after i had it all in there nice and neat i had to take it all out again
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0297.jpg
testing hardware combonations
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/Photo0298.jpg

[DonT-FeaR]

well that sucks when ya have to take it out

[The boy 4rm oz]

Do you know what the problem was? That's the Vista screen saver you got running there so I presume it is all ok now?

[TheJoe]

Actually its the suse Linux screen i was trying to install but it could not write to any hard drives
last night i flashed the bios and one of 3 of the sata drives came up and i installed vista and restarted... everything was fine then i added another stick of memory and i kept blue screening. i took the stick out again and i kept blue screening so i gave up for the night

[The boy 4rm oz]

Vista doesn't like memory installs lol. It will only take 2GB at the install so you have to add more as you go. When I added my 3rd and 4th GB I blue screened but I just installed one GB at a time and booted up allowing the registry to recognize it.

[TheJoe]

Im up and running finally. i still cant see any other drives but the 1 hard drive but i got vista installed and 2 gig sticks in there but i cant run OCCT for an hour without blue screen. here are the temps
idle
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/IdleTemp.jpg
load after 2 or 3 min
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/loadtemp.jpg
just wondering if these are normal temps if anyone knows?
i think ill throw it all back into the case tonight and hope it still works.

[Fuganater]

1. Check drivers.
2. I have the same mobo and I overclock it with a Q6700. Your temps are fine for a Dual Core.
3. Should it be at 100%? I never saw a tester that did that.

[TheJoe]

So i put everything back together. It all works. now im interested in getting the best fans for my rad. can anyone suggest a good fan, and should i get 4 or 2 for the mcr220 (2 on each side). i was looking at AC fans to use. i don't mind plugging these fans into the wall if they kick ass. and i saw the delta and i think it will be way too loud

[The boy 4rm oz]

I have Antec Tri-cools. They work well, have a built in 3 speed switch. Scythe fans are also really good, no bling though.

[TheJoe]

#1 aerocool turbine 2000 suck hard. bought 2 and they are crap.
#2 has anyone played with peltiers? they are like $20 on ebay so i thought ide try one out. any ideas on how to use one? would it make any diffrence? how many watts should it be?

[Luke122]

Peltiers are an interesting idea, but (my understanding is that) they take quite a bit of power to run, and if they fail, you only know because of the sudden smell of frying cpu, then smoke. For non-critical cooling (like mini beer coolers) they are great.. beyond that, I think not so much.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Peltiers require a dedicated PSU to run, in most cases anyway.

[TheJoe]

now all i need to do is finsh the outer case. My PSU is only 450w so i tried out the 2 PSU trick and it works great. need to find a way to rout the extra power cord but its nice and hidden. also i figured out my multi screen in vista problem. i got my third running again. here are the latest pics
just a quick before and after
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/casemod004.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2235.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2237.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2238.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2239.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2240.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2241.jpg

[Acey]

wowowowow... mate did you paint the tube sleeving or is thats the color when you bought them? extremely in love with teh kolors

+rep

[TheJoe]

i used this for cables
http://www.xoxide.com/techflex6.html
in the US we have frys electronics thats where i got them
and i used uv purple feser collant for my system
thanks

[Aud1073cH]

looks like you have space above the main PSU, you could make a hole for the second.

Cool stuff.

[The_Crippler]

TheJoe: "When the only tool you have is a hammer, Everything looks like a nail."

My corollary to that - "When in enough need, any tool can be a hammer."

[Drum Thumper]

Sleeve up the molex connectors coming from the PSU. Not only will that increase air flow (still important for non watercooled parts), but it will take this to the next level.

Outstanding work!

[TheJoe]

How big a difference would it be to add 90 degree elbows?
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/mod.jpg

[TheJoe]

Heres an update. I sleeved the second PSU and it looks a lot bettrer. also i got a fan bay, and moved my hard drives to the bottom under my pump. i think im almost done. cant really fit anymore in this one. time to paint the cover and be done with it
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2267.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2270.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2273.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2271.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2272.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2274.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2278.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2280.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/JoeMcNertney/case%20mod/IMG_2286.jpg

[Luke122]

Looking good, just need to get some cable management on the go there!

[The boy 4rm oz]

Looking good, just need to get some cable management on the go there!

Yeah I agree, it looks 100% better sleeved but you still have some way to go.