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The boy 4rm oz
07-17-2007, 10:01 AM
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/jdbnsn/lexa.png



Welcome one and all to Project Lexa. This is my first major mod and computer build so first I’ll tell you about what’s gonna happen.

The Mod:
This mod will revolve around a standard NZXT Lexa midi tower (www.nzxt.com/products/lexa). I intend to keep the sleek, black look of the outside of the case and move it into the interior. Keeping with the overall case theme and design there will be very little exterior structural work done. The whole interior will be painted with either a matte or gloss black paint to match the outside. There will be extensive use of mesh (AC Ryan MeshX Panels or equivalent) and Perspex to hide all of the drive bays (including Hard Drives and CD drives) and to give the case a sense of simplicity, class and cleanliness (I mean cleanliness because the viewer will only be able to see a few cables, the case interior will be dominated by the Water Cooling and UV reactive components).

I have chosen all of my hardware to reflect the overall case mod. The motherboard, graphics card and RAM are all based around a blue and black colour scheme with UV reactive parts involved. The motherboard (DFI LANParty UT NF680iLT SLI-T2R) will be a big feature of this mod due to its UV reactive plugs and components that seem to jump out at the viewer (under UV light). Along with the motherboard there will also be UV reactive cables, fans and a UV reactive Water Cooling kit to complete the mod. The UV green coolant that I will use will off set the blue glow from the case fans and will grow brightly providing perfect contrast to the black case paint and other UV reactive components.

As you can see this mod won’t be overly difficult but may take some time due to water cooling.

(Colours indicate status) Previous Build, New and Have Ordered or Need to Order

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/6008/dsc01308bw7.th.jpg (http://img522.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01308bw7.jpg)

Note: Not all components showed in picture.

Components:
Hardware:
Case – NZXT Lexa (No PSU) x1
PSU – Antec Neo HE 550 x1
Motherboard – DFI LANParty UT NF680iLT SLI-T2R x1
CPU – Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 x1
RAM – G.Skill F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK (1GB x 2) DDR2 RAM x1
GPU – ASUS EN8800GTX x1
HDD – Western Digital Caviar WD3200KS 320GB HDD x1
Maxtor 250GB IDE HDD x1 (in Cooler Master X-Craft external enclosure)
Monitor – AOC LM925 19” LCD Monitor x1
Speakers – Altec Lansing VS.2120 Speakers x1
Keyboard – Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard x1
Mouse – Logitech G7 Gaming Mouse (2007 Edition) x1

Software:
Operating System – Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM x1
Other – Microsoft Office 2003 Student and Teacher Edition x1

Water Cooling:
CPU Block – Swiftech Apogee GTX Waterblock x1
GPU Block – Swiftech MCW-60 (With 8800 Adaptor Plate) x1
Radiators – Black Ice GTX 120mm Radiator x1
Alphacool NexXxos Pro II - Rev. 2 x1
Pump – Danger Den Mag II LE 12V Pump x1
Reservoir – Danger Den Bay Reservoir x1
Coolant – AlphaCool UV Green Coolant x2
Heatsinks (For GPU) – Swiftech MC-14 (8 Pack) x1
Swiftech MC-21 (4 Pack) x1
Fittings – Danger Den Fillport (Black) x1
Danger Den 1/2" Polly 90 Degree x4
Danger Den 3/8" to 1/2" Fitting Kit x1
Tubing – 3 meters of ½” ID tubing

Misc:
Too many things to list here. I will show you when I use them. Parts include fans, HDD enclosure, CCFL’s, cables, cable ties and mounts,…well you get the picture.

Well that’s enough talking, on to the modding.

The boy 4rm oz
07-17-2007, 10:15 AM
Well first of all I’ve stripped the case and have removed the front panel to allow me to sleeve the cables from the switches and LCD etc.

Here is a picture of the mass of cables:

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/3480/dsc01315id1.th.jpg (http://img412.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01315id1.jpg)

http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/3838/dsc01313yd1.th.jpg (http://img119.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01313yd1.jpg)

The first thing I have to do is free all of the cables from their ties and measure the sleeving. I am going to do this in stages as to allow me to join individual cables into one big one (you’ll get what I mean when you see it). If I stuff up and cut a cable I have a whole new set along with a whole fascia. Yes I have two case fascias. On the first one the door hinge broke and NZXT sent me a whole new fascia free of charge. I am currently using the one NZXT sent me but am considering transferring the polished aluminium panels of the old fascia to the new one because they are shinier.

Here’s a picture of the two fascias together. (The one on the left is the older one)

http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/2685/dsc01316dd3.th.jpg (http://img119.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01316dd3.jpg)

I removed the Brushed aluminium panels to protect them from scratches as I sleeve the cables. I also removed the USB, Audio and Firewire card to help protect the circuit board from damage.

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/3826/dsc01317ym9.th.jpg (http://img412.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01317ym9.jpg)

I then removed the Power LED and the HDD activity LED because these are the two I would be sleeving first.

Well that’s all I have for tonight. I will have more to show you tomorrow including the completed cable sleeving. Until Then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
07-17-2007, 09:33 PM
Ok as promised you shall have the pictures of the completed cable sleeving.
Here’s a picture of what it looked like before I started.
http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/6413/dsc01319jm0.th.jpg (http://img393.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01319jm0.jpg)

I had to remove the door off the fascia to be able to reach the LED cables.
http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/6861/dsc01320fh1.th.jpg (http://img393.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01320fh1.jpg)

Here are the two completed cables just needing to be heat shrunk over the zip ties.
http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/4874/dsc01321qr5.th.jpg (http://img393.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01321qr5.jpg)

As you probably would have noticed the cables are sleeved only about halfway down the cable. You will find out why later on.

Ok, next up will be the power and reset switches. I start by removing them from the fascia and then following the same process as the LED’s.
http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/2371/dsc01322cf3.th.jpg (http://img393.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01322cf3.jpg)

Here’s a picture of the four semi-sleeved cables.
http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/1/dsc01323xe1.th.jpg (http://img393.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01323xe1.jpg)

Next up is the power cable and thermal probes for the LCD screen.
http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/2193/dsc01324he5.th.jpg (http://img393.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01324he5.jpg)

I think I will leave these until I get my motherboard because the probes need to be measured to size. I am also waiting for my Molex de-pinning tool so I can remove the power connector for easy sleeving.

Well that’s about it for today. Over the next few days I will complete sleeving the cables completely and you will find out why I left them half sleeved ;) Until Then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
07-20-2007, 08:50 AM
I have put the sleeving on hold for now so I can do this minor update.

I have decided to cover the air vents on the lower part of the front fascia with some old mesh I have from an old pair of speakers. This will help with the overall theme of the mod and dust management.
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/4755/dsc01325kk5.th.jpg (http://img508.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01325kk5.jpg)
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/2761/dsc01327et7.th.jpg (http://img508.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01327et7.jpg)

I start by getting my mesh and marking it for cutting. I didn’t need to mark the mesh for the two small vents near the USB ports because I will just use a few off cuts.
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/8555/dsc01346kh4.th.jpg (http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01346kh4.jpg)

I then cut it to size and shaped it how I wanted it.
Insert picture of cut and shaped mesh

Now to install it. I think I will use some clear silicon or super glue to attach it to the plastic of the front fascia. I left about 1/2cm over hang either side of the mesh to allow it to be attached with ease.

I have decided to use the clear silicon because super glue makes everything go white. I apply the silicon and leave it to dry and now we have the finished product.
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/9711/dsc01351ca0.th.jpg (http://img120.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01351ca0.jpg)
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/4619/dsc01352of8.th.jpg (http://img503.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01352of8.jpg)

You can’t see the mesh really well in the picture but up close it looks pretty good. I considered using silver or plain aluminium mesh instead of the black because it would tie in with the front of the case but I didn’t have any laying around and don’t want to buy silver spray for this minimal amount of work.

Well that’s the end of this little side project. Only took me about 1-2 hours tops to complete. I will now try to complete the sleeving but I have some school assignments that need to be completed by the new term on Tuesday so my time is limited. Until Then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
07-24-2007, 04:54 AM
Another really small update. Today I got my de-pinning tool. It is for the male Molex plugs only but I tried it with a female connector and guess what...it worked better than with the male connectors. It tends to snap the pins on the male connectors. This works out well for me because now I don't have to buy two haha.
Here's a pic:
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/9277/dsc01355oy9.th.jpg (http://img528.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01355oy9.jpg)

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
07-25-2007, 02:39 AM
This part of the mod needs to be completed before the rest of the cable sleeving can be completed properly.

I went to my local hardware store and bought a pair of 1/2” grommets.
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/1372/dsc01356xj9.th.jpg (http://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01356xj9.jpg)

I then mark the part of the case I need to drill out to install them.
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/1102/dsc01359so7.th.jpg (http://img267.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01359so7.jpg)

These grommets will allow me to route the power and LED cables through the lowest possible part of the case so there will be very few viewable cables.

I’m gonna go do the drilling now so pics of that will be up later today. Until Then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
07-25-2007, 05:08 AM
Ok onto the drilling.

Before I started I thought I should remove the plastic case feet and plastic “accents” to stop them getting scratched and to also keep the case flat.
http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/5695/dsc01361zy6.th.jpg (http://img103.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01361zy6.jpg)

Here are the drilled holes.
http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/3696/dsc01362bf6.th.jpg (http://img396.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01362bf6.jpg)

I didn’t have a big enough drill bit so I had to grind about another 60mm of with my Dremel like substitute. I also made the holes slightly larger than they had to be to allow the grommets to stretch to allow the Firewire and USB plugs to fit easily.

I inserted the grommets.
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5006/dsc01363ek2.th.jpg (http://img259.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01363ek2.jpg)

And with a cable to show you how it will look.
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/3565/dsc01364au9.th.jpg (http://img510.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01364au9.jpg)

I will get started on the rest of the cable sleeving tomorrow. Until then…

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
07-30-2007, 05:20 AM
Sorry there hasn't been a post in a while but school started last week and you know what that means...homework. I managed to finish the sleeving yesterday. Enjoy.

Ok, it’s now time to finish the sleeving.

First the power and HDD activity LED.

Well you can see the problem now from this pic; the zip ties don’t fit through the space allocated for the cables. I now have to remove the zip ties, thread the cables through and then re zip he sleeving.
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/1078/dsc01366ck0.th.jpg (http://img529.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01366ck0.jpg)

Much better.
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/3466/dsc01367ic2.th.jpg (http://img340.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01367ic2.jpg)

Both LED’s threaded through.
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/3234/dsc01368hx1.th.jpg (http://img524.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01368hx1.jpg)

Back to the way it was, but now it looks much better.
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/939/dsc01369nj0.th.jpg (http://img338.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01369nj0.jpg)

The power and reset switches went back in with out any problems at all.
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/5784/dsc01372jw6.th.jpg (http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01372jw6.jpg)

A picture of all four cables.
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/3778/dsc01373vn8.th.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01373vn8.jpg)

I then sleeved the bundle together leaving enough room at the end of each cable for individual sleeving for more flexibility.
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/9748/dsc01374nf2.th.jpg (http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01374nf2.jpg)

The remaining viewable cable is now sleeved.
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/8213/dsc01377vz6.th.jpg (http://img524.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01377vz6.jpg)

The cables fit perfectly thought the grommets I just installed.

Well that’s all I have done at the moment. Next I will make a mesh shroud for one of my dust traps and later on try to make my fan blades UV reactive. Until then…

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
07-31-2007, 03:14 AM
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/4803/dsc01332gv3.jpg

Four simple items right? Well yeah they are but that’s not the point. I’m still waiting for orders to come in so I decided to make a cover for the ugly stock NZXT dust trap that’s on the bottom of the case. This won’t have a fan on it due to limited space for the water pump but I just want to conceal it a bit, and anyway the white looks good under the black mesh.

Ok, I start by marking on the mesh where I want the whole for the screws that will hold this onto the floor of the case.
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/2677/dsc01333lg6.jpg

Now that I’ve got the mesh market I can drill out the mounting holes.
http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/4668/dsc01334fe4.jpg

Because the mesh came from an old speaker there is about a 1cm over hang where they attached it to the speaker housing. I’m going to cut most of this away but I still want it to cover the side of the dust trap.
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/2288/dsc01335dv5.jpg

I stuffed up the cutting of the overhang so I cut it off completely to give me a simple square.

I used a permanent marker to colour in the raw aluminium of the cuts and the sides of the dust trap.
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/5343/dsc01353dm5.jpg
Note: That’s not raw metal it’s just the camera flash.

They fit perfectly on each other.
http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/3811/dsc01354ov8.jpg

I won’t show you a picture of it installed because I haven’t got the correct screws for the job yet. I will be using a standard screw cut to size threaded in from the underside of the case and attached with a dome nut on top of the mesh. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-01-2007, 02:55 AM
Well I have some really good news. Stocks on my long awaited motherboard will be replenished later this week. I should have the motherboard and Vista by the end of next week :)

Just about to start work on the fans so finished product should be up later today or tomorrow.

EDIT: 500th Post Yay

The boy 4rm oz
08-01-2007, 05:52 AM
Ok time to start my small fan mod.

Here is a pic of the 4 fans I will be modding.
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/7751/dsc01381sg8.jpg

The small fan is from my Thermaltake Extreme Spirit 2 North bridge cooler.

Making sure that they all still work.
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/6239/dsc01383ck7.jpg

A little off topic but here is my test PSU that I made a while ago thanks to Bucko’s work log. I am using this to power my fans and I will use it to test my water cooling.
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/5076/dsc01384pj9.jpg

To make the fans UV reactive I will be using a gel/liquid highlighter. Here is a pic with the heatsink fan UV CCFL and the highlighter.
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/303/dsc01387lx9.jpg

Here is the first fan done.
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/5732/dsc01388ao3.jpg

Lit up and under UV light.
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/8761/dsc01390ep6.jpg

All of the finished fans under UV light.
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/8779/dsc01391zy2.jpg

Well that’s all for now. I don’t know what I will do next, probably the water cooling. Until then…

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-02-2007, 05:00 AM
All of those fans have blue LED's, that's why I chose the green highlighter, they compliment each other very well. As you can see by the picture of the small fan It glows quite well, that pic was taken without any UV light.
Thanks for the rep BTW.

The boy 4rm oz
08-03-2007, 09:00 PM
Very minor update:
I may have to wait a while for my water cooling. Stocks on the Swiftech Apogee GTX CPU block and the Swiftech MCW-60 G80 adaptor plate for the 8*00 series graphics cards should arrive in about 1-2 weeks. So the only thing I can do now is order my radiator, pump, res, tubing and all the fittings. This is good in a way because I can get started on cutting holes for mounting my radiator (I intend to mount it outside of the case and pass the tubing through some holes). When the radiator is mounted I can start the disassembly of the case and start painting the interior. I should get my motherboard and Vista later next week so I will have some nice pictures for you. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-09-2007, 04:42 AM
Motherboard came sooner than I expected, so here are the pics.
The box in all it's glory lol.
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/7955/dsc01392eo9.jpg

Here is the board and it's accessories.
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/7218/dsc01394ei9.jpg

And here it is under UV light.
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/821/dsc01395jo8.jpg

Sorry the second and third pics are a bit blurry. The second one is through plastic and the third...well it's just really hard to take a good pic of UV light lol. I have to order the last of my water cooling and will start some more work on the weekend. Until then...

Happy Modding.

dgrmkrp
08-09-2007, 11:57 AM
well, the fans look great the way you colored them! And with all the UV goodness, this is sure gonna be a good looking build. Also, keep in mind to order some more pieces for watercooling.. I ordered with some +50cm for the tubing and an extra fitting.. Never know what I will plan in the future, plus it rocks to have one shiny object to study and digitize ;) Of course, I forgot to order some AS5.. will do so next time I order.. Just waiting for a stock update on chipset blocks at my regular and local shop.. "coming soon" LOL

The packaging of the mobo gave me an idea: look at the
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/7955/dsc01392eo9.jpg
lines that come from one side and end like nice circles.. reminds me of circuits and.. keyboards.. I think it is a sign.. For a nice side window etch..

Oh, did you check the vents you made for ease of flow? I mean, you can take the fan that will be mounted in the front and see at which speed it stops moving air and starts making noise only.. The mesh will reduce the airflow by a third / increase resistance > noise :( A 5V~7V fan can work well in those conditions, but a high-flow one.. errm..

Well, keep us updated and ... have some +rep for playing with such a nice toy :)

The boy 4rm oz
08-10-2007, 04:44 AM
Thanks for the input guys.
@dgrmkrp - The mesh I installed is fine because the fan I'm using is only a 7V fan. I also noticed the box design and was thinking of cutting it into some mesh and putting some UV green acrylic behind it. I might see if I can take a clear pic and post it up for you guys just in case you want to use it for reference. Oh and thanks for the +rep ;)

@D1337 - It would look cool as a paint job, you could start with a white case and layer silver, grey and black lines to get a stunning effect.

The boy 4rm oz
08-10-2007, 07:32 AM
Ok here are a few close up picture of the "circuits". I have decided to etch a replica (as best I can) into some UV green acrylic that has been painted black. I think this will look cool because the design will leap out of the painted surface. I will experiment with this idea tomorrow and post some pics on the progress.
Here are the pics.
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/8075/dsc01406aa9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/3585/dsc01407hn6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/9666/dsc01409vb3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/6771/dsc01410ak8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Enjoy.

The boy 4rm oz
08-11-2007, 09:33 PM
That's an idea but I don't intend to etch my case window...well not just yet anyway ;) I need to get some practice in first.
When I got up I tried to print those pics of in black and white so I could mimic the "circuits" but my printer has no black/white option, only grey scale. Luckily It's one of those printer/copier/scanners so I will just copy the design straight off the box. I also want to enlarge the design a bit (not as small as on the box) this will allow me to do the etching slightly faster and hopefully end up more visible.

The boy 4rm oz
08-15-2007, 09:24 AM
Well here is what I have done so far as designing the etch goes. This is what will be seen on the drive bays (inside of case facing rear).
Here is the completed HDD bay design.
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/6148/dsc01411qi6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Sorry the picture is a bit fuzzy but you get the idea. The areas with the diagonal lines indicate where mesh will be used. I have to use mesh on the HDD bays because the front fan needs to be able to push air through the system.

The next picture is of the FDD bays.
http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/8619/dsc01412ra0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The FDD bays have the same style as the HDD bays and will also use mesh purely because it is easier for me to etch separate plexi panels and use mesh to join them together, also I think it would look better and is keeping with my original plans ;)

I still don't know weather to show the whole plexi panel (HDD Bays) or make the mesh come in closer to the design (FDD Bays). I think making the mesh come in closer to the design would look good but there would be some rough edges to take care of. I think I will make this decision when I actually go to put the panels together. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-16-2007, 07:21 AM
Here is the final of the CD drive bays.
http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/5760/dsc01414eo6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
On the top two you can see where the CD drives go. I am using mesh and will use a bit of plexi to frame where the IDE and Molex plugs will be for the drives.
The third drive bay is empty so that is where I will be putting the etched panel.
The forth drive bay is where the reservoir will be. Those two poorly drawn circles represent plexi I'm going to use to frame the holes I will have to cut in the mesh.
Well I have to start on the design for the window side of the drive bays. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-23-2007, 03:44 AM
Well just a very minor update, have to get back to the etching ;). When I got home from school today a nice package was waiting for me.
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/6430/dsc01415up1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Yep that's right, my water cooling stuff.
I received my tubing, coolant, radiator, reservoir and pump along with some fittings. All I'm waiting on is the water blocks and they should come in tomorrow or early next week along with a few other bits and pieces. I'm going to try to get the etch design finished now so I can get it all done this weekend. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-23-2007, 05:24 AM
Thought I'd show you guys what the coolant looks like and also those 90 degree bends I got are UV blue so they will look great in this system.
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/1875/dsc01417vc6.jpg
The coolant glows a lot more but the camera is kinda crappy lol. I'm almost done with the design for the etching so I will have that up as soon as possible. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-23-2007, 06:33 AM
Thanks for the offer, I am having some trouble being able to read the faint lines when I copy the final stencils. When I'm done I will scan them all and you can see what you can do if you want.

I thought about UV tubing but thought it would destroy my effect. I want to be able to see the green clearly and I don't think that will be a problem lol.

The boy 4rm oz
08-26-2007, 05:38 AM
Still haven't started the engraving just yet but I have done some work with my radiator.
I needed to make a spacer to go between the radiator and the case so I could have enough room to the hoses after I pass it through the case wall. After trying various things with washes and nuts I got an idea.
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/7140/dsc01420dq2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Yes it's a case fan. I have decided that this will be the best and easiest way to do what I want. This is an old broken case fan that I was going to throw out anyway so it's not a huge loss if I stuff up ;)
Ok so here is the fan with the LED's and cable removed.
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/9343/dsc01421sz5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here's the fan with the actual fan removed, just the housing left. As you can see I pretty much snapped the blades off and in the end got some tin snips to cut the supports. It's feels good to vent your anger on something breakable lol.
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/2531/dsc01422qu1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is the completed housing with all the sharp edges cut and filed.
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/8393/dsc01423zo4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here it is installed on the radiator ready to go.
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/9721/dsc01424ta4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here's a pic of the rear of the case marked and ready for the holes to be cut to pass the tube through to the radiator.
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/3606/dsc01425gk4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
These are the cut and filed holes. You can see how the hole saw slipped and scraped the hole on the right but this doesn't matter because it's going to be painted over anyway.
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/534/dsc01426kg5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This pic is how it will be installed. You can see how the tube fits perfectly through the hole and the old fan acts like one of those rad boxes which is an added bonus :)
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/6020/dsc01427zc4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Sorry about the blurry pic guys, the camera wouldn't focus. Well that's all I have done at the moment. It's slowly coming together and I hope to have it finished by next weekend. I still have to paint that rad box to match the case and start the etching after school. I am still waiting for my water blocks but should be receiving them within the next few days. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-26-2007, 09:20 AM
That's what I thought, the fan would help with the dead spot in the airflow. This hole saw is one dad had laying around from when he drilled holes in the shed for cable. It is specifically designed for steal but will cut almost anything. The size I used was 1 inch and there is still plenty room around the tubing, I need to buy some rubber grommets to finish the holes off though because the holes are still a little bit to sharp. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-29-2007, 11:08 PM
Well with a day off school today I thought I should really get my stuff together and do some modding.
First on my list are the PCI slots.
Due to an 8800GTX being extremely long (27cm) It is hard to get it into the case, you have to put it in diagonally and this will be hard with the water cooling attached and once you get it in there is about 2cm gap between the end of the PCB and the HDD cage. I have decided to trim some of the case towards the PCI slots to allow the card to slide in much more easily.
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/4205/dsc01428so0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
So here is the case all marked up, this cut should be fairly easy but due to it being aluminum it with warp a little.
Here is the case after I have cut it and filled it to the correct size, in all about 10 mins work ;)
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/8249/dsc01429ic6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I know at the moment it looks a bit tacky but I have ordered some fan hole molding to cover up the sharp ugly edges.
Well thats all for now, I have to copy he final copies of the etch design and then cut the plexi to fit. After that the fun can begin;). Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-30-2007, 03:06 AM
Well I didn't get to that engraving today, I have been too pissed off. Once again this mod has been set back due to the stock on my order not coming in. Today I received an email telling me that the Swiftech Apogee GTX CPU water block that I ordered is sold out. When I ordered they were in stock but I had to pause the order to replace the blue CCFL's I ordered (BY MISTAKE) with UV ones. So I guess I just have to wait for new stock, hope it is soon.

The boy 4rm oz
09-07-2007, 05:38 AM
Finally an update on the engraving.
I think I am going to have to scrap this idea. I did a test piece and it turned out like complete crap (sorry no pictures). I think I was getting a bit ambitious with the idea and have chosen to do something much simpler. I will still keep the whole measurement and layout but will just use the plain green plexi. I am hoping to get an overall effect mush like this (water cooling, and some plexi parts).
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10478
Tomorrow I hope to cut out all of the plexi but I wont get the mesh I need until my order comes in. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
09-07-2007, 08:05 AM
Well while trying to engrave straight lines I found it very difficult to keep on the lines. You need a very steady hand for this sort of detail, my other option is to get it laser cut but I don't have the cash to do so. I think it will look better as just plain Green plexi anyway. It will glow great with the UV CCFL's. I will still be using mesh but not as much as originally thought, may look kinda weird with huge gaps of mesh. I am marking the plexi now for cutting tomorrow so I will post some pics when I'm done. Until then...

Happy Modding

The boy 4rm oz
09-08-2007, 03:57 AM
Well today I cut most of the plastic I will need.
Here's a pic of all the cut plexi.
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/2015/dsc01430aj1.jpg
From left to right:
Support bar cover, Bottom of HDD bay cover
ODD cover (inside), FDD cover (inside), HDD cover top and bottom (inside)
ODD cover (outside), FDD cover (outside), HDD cover (outside)
By outside I mean facing the case window and by inside I mean facing the rear of the case (PSU).
Here is a pic of the support bar cover installed (sorry no screws today, only tape):
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/7091/dsc01431fc2.jpg
Sadly I did not have a long enough piece of plexi to cover the whole rail so I will need to use some mesh to cover up the ends.
Here is the rest of the plastic where it generally will be:
http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/9053/dsc01432nb6.jpg
As you can see from the picture I didn't include the ODD covers, that's because they wont fit until I un-rivot the case.
Here are the ODD covers:
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/9541/dsc01433tc8.jpg
And here is where they will be installed:
http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/4533/dsc01434bh9.jpg
The ODD cover situated on the window side of the case need to be installed before I reconstruct the case, There is a lip on the edge of the drive bays that the plastic will slip under and the whole front of the case needs to be off to allow me to do so.
In the third picture you may have noticed the big gaps in the plexi, this is for mesh to be installed to allow for better ventilation (especially on the inside HDD covers). Well that's about all I have at the moment. When I figure out where my pump will be mounted then I may design a plexi cover for it. I am also thinking of making one for the PSU. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
09-09-2007, 02:18 AM
Well some more plastics work done today. With some inspiration from Xperiment's mod (Reality Bytes) I decided to make a cover for my wireless LAN card.
Here is the victim, a D-Link Air Plus G54 Wireless LAN Card:
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/6579/dsc01437pj0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is the disassembled card, took all of 30 seconds lol:
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/7294/dsc01438un9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is the cover I made this morning:
http://img484.imageshack.us/img484/8499/dsc01439zu0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
All of the part ready to go together:
http://img484.imageshack.us/img484/4597/dsc01440zo0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Installed:
http://img484.imageshack.us/img484/8251/dsc01441vr9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A different view:
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/6024/dsc01443mn8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And here is a view of it inside my old computer, doesn't it look great:
http://img484.imageshack.us/img484/5900/dsc01445ab2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Well that's the finished Wireless LAN cover.
Special thanks to Xperiment and has fantastic mod Reality Bytes for the inspiration for this mini mod.

Today I also started the work on my PSU cover.
Here is a pic of the cut plexi:
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/8056/dsc01447vj1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I cut the plexi and rounded the two edges you will see. Well that's all I have for you at the moment. Until then...

Happy Modding.

EDIT: Sorry about the blurry pictures, my camera doesn't like shiny objects or the glowing plexi lol

The boy 4rm oz
09-09-2007, 10:10 AM
You can just call we "the boy" lol. I used a jigsaw with a plastics blade, the blade I used worked great, like a knife through butter. I didn't do any sanding really, just filed down long sides and stuff like that. I took some of Experiments advice and left the edges rough to diffuse the glow more.

The boy 4rm oz
09-10-2007, 11:23 AM
Well because I couldn't finish my PSU cover today I thought I would have a flip through my mobo manual. As I was reading I took a closer look at the Karajan Audio module that comes with the DFI boards. As I read on it had the usual stuff about which pins go where and stuff like that. During my boring afternoon of reading I found that if I connect me front audio and mic connectors to the mobo I lose access to them on the Karajan audio module. Now this means for me no front audio ports (don't care, don't use 'em anyway :)) but also an extra full length wire in my case doing nothing. So I got my pliers and started modding.
This is very basic stuff and took all of 1 min to do haha.
Here is the Victim:
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/8839/dsc01459kq1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The picture is of the cables for my to USB ports and the audio cable, as you can see they are joined together, but not for long.
Here is a pic of how the cables sit on the PCB in the front of my case:
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/1661/dsc01460bc8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is a close up of the cable:
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/1173/dsc01461fy2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The bundle of wires on the left are the ones being removed.
The job is done, the two separate cables:
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1972/dsc01462gb5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I just got the pliers and pulled he wires straight out of the plastic housing.
A final pic of the Cable attached to the PCB:
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/2663/dsc01463rp7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

With this done I now have one less cable to route and no hardware issues to worry about. Well that's all for now, I hope to get the new domed nuts by the weekend to continue with the overall mounting of the bay covers and PSU cover. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
09-12-2007, 08:30 AM
Well guys sorry there hasn't been an update in a while. I have been busy choosing my subjects for year 12 and let me tell you that's been a real bitch haha, all the subjects I need aren't running at my school next year, may have to transfer for year 12.
Well enough of my problems, let's get to the modding.

I started marking the plastic for for a pump should (very similar to the PSU shroud on the previous page). If I can tomorrow I will cut it out and drill the holes for the screws (still waiting for the domed nuts :() and I will also drill screw holes on the PSU shroud. I have also been thinking of where to mount the pump and have to mod the ODD drive rails to fit my res. well that's it for now. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
09-14-2007, 04:18 AM
Sorry guys still no plastics work, still waiting for the domed nuts. As I have nothing to do after school today I thought I might get stuck into what little parts of the water cooling loop I can.
This is what I've done so far:
http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/3712/dsc01464it7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Not much really, just the res to the pump and dad to the res with a "T" for the fillport.
Here is a closer look at the res:
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/5370/dsc01465tc9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Should it be ok to have such a steep drop using the right angle's? or should I try to link the pump directly to the rad with out the right angles? it would be very tight doing it like that.
Here is a pic of the rear rad:
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/1029/dsc01466dw8.jpg
The lose bit of tube is going to connect to the GPU.

Well that's all at the moment. Enjoy and keep your eyes open for my new plastics work. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
09-28-2007, 10:36 AM
Sorry there hasn't been an update for a while guys, I've had lots of school stuff to do but today was the last day of term so you can expect some more frequent updates.

Good News:
Today I received an email from the place I ordered my Apogee GTX and MCW-60 Water Blocks from. They have informed me that the stock has come in so now all I have do do is wait for postage.

Bad News:
Haven't had a chance to look for some domed nuts yet so no more plastic work yet. I have two weeks of holidays and hope to finish this mod during the two weeks (in between the 4 essays I have to write :().

Well I got bored of waiting for my water cooling stuff to arrive and not being able to play any games so I decided to construct my PC straight on to my desk.
Here are some pics:
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/2220/dsc01468sj2.jpg
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/384/dsc01469ht1.jpg

I also mounted my Danger Den Fill Port
Marked and ready for drilling:
http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/6668/dsc01470bv2.jpg
I attached a plastic bag to catch the metal shavings, saved me a lot of cleaning lol:
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/3647/dsc01471kc2.jpg
http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/5924/dsc01472uw8.jpg
Here is the cut hole, almost perfect:
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/8639/dsc01473dm9.jpg
The mounted Danger Den Fill Port (from the top and side):
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/8524/dsc01474vl7.jpg
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/8742/dsc01475im4.jpg

I have also done a bit more work with the water cooling tubing, can't do anything else until I receive my order. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
10-07-2007, 01:46 AM
Well guys another text update, should have some pics up tomorrow or the next day.

Some good news - I have found the domed nuts I need for my plastics work and should be picking them up in a few days. Yesterday I went and got a can of etching primer for my aluminum case I will be able to start painting soon after a few more modifications to the case ;). Also my water blocks and a few other bits and pieces are only days away yay, finally after 3 months wait.

Well today I wet sanded the edges of all of my plastic pieces to give them all a uniform glow. I also did a few sketches of how I will mount the pump without it shifting to much due to vibration. Tomorrow I hope to give those plastic pieces a quick once over and maybe prime a few pieces of the case for painting. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
10-09-2007, 09:00 AM
Well guys today it finally came, that's right, the rest of my water cooling gear along with all the other bits and pieces I need to finish my mod...hopefully.
Well here is what was in the package:
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/9079/dsc01497zh3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/4894/dsc01498mx6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
There is also a 12V-10V fan cable that is not shown in the pics.

Before I received my order I primed my side panels ready for painting, sadly I have no paint but I will try to get some tomorrow.
Here is my side panel with the plexi, lock and all the shiny plastic bits removed and all taped up for painting:
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/3918/dsc01493ro5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And here is the primed side panel:
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/7921/dsc01494ls8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Onto the other side panel, same deal:
http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/5733/dsc01495ft4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And primed:
http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/1506/dsc01496po9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I have a little problem guys and mabye one of you could help me out.
I have two of these switches that will be connected to my CCFL's, unlike the stock switches these have 3 pins instead of two.
Pic:
http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/8808/dsc01499yp3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
What's different about these switches is that they have a built in LED that will light up when the switch is in the on position. I know what pin is for the LED (gold looking one, the bottom one in the pic) but I don't know how to wire the switch so when in the on position the LED lights up and when in the off position it turns off. Due to the stock switch only having two terminals (with two matching wires) I don't know how to set this up. The LED will only power on when I use the red wire (12V?) so could I splice the red wire and have an extra spade connector running to the LED terminal, or will there be more involved?

Any help would be great. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
10-09-2007, 10:36 PM
I don't have a datasheet for these switches cos they just came in a plastic bad, no manufacturer marking what so ever. I will try splicing the red wires today and will let you know how it goes.

The boy 4rm oz
10-10-2007, 09:41 AM
Another update guys.
I put the switches on hold today but hope to play with them tomorrow :).

Instead today I did some painting.
I went to my local hardware store and got a can of flat black enamel paint, was just expecting to find matte black but anyway tell me what you think.
Here are the two painted side panels:
http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/7489/dsc01515kk5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The smudge on the top left of the windowed panel isn't visible, the camera flash just picked it up.
Here is the panel with all the plastic stuff and lock installed from the inside:
http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/999/dsc01518dt6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And the outside:
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/976/dsc01519ea1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I also primed and painted the PCI covers:
http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/7137/dsc01520wl3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I also changed the plate on my Swiftech MCW-60 to fit my 8800GTX, here is a step by step tutorial.
Here is the standard block:
http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/6315/dsc01505po0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A pic of the adapter plate:
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/6195/dsc01506xa0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The dismantled water block, you pretty much just remove the 4 allen bolts and it falls apart:
http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/5324/dsc01511ww6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The old plate on the left, and the new one on the right:
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/8534/dsc01512od5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The block reassembled with the new adapter plate:
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/2801/dsc01513xr9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Complete with all the screws and barbs ready for mounting:
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/7505/dsc01514di3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Well that's all for now, hopefully another update tomorrow. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
10-10-2007, 10:17 AM
I didn't really want to go for a water cooled HDD cos it just meant extra work for me and the fan works great, wait and see how I set it up ;). I do have a GPU block, sorry i posted half the pics and u didn't get to see it.

EDIT: I didn't want to use gloss paint in the interior because I think the matte black would contrast better with the bright UV colors that are scattered across my components.

The boy 4rm oz
10-10-2007, 01:04 PM
The MCW-60 is cheaper (even after buying the RAM and mosfet sinks + the adapter plate) and the Stealth doesn't give me any room to upgrade, it is solely for the 8800GTX. After seeing that the MCW-60 can outperform the full Danger Den block by 1-2 degrees, this was the better option, even over the Stealth. You can't go past a better performing product that's cheaper and leaves you room to upgrade in the future with very few extra costs attached.

The boy 4rm oz
10-11-2007, 09:32 AM
No more painting today guys, I decided to finish my PSU cover.

I gave you a glimpse of the cover a few posts back and as you can see there wasn't really much done.
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/8056/dsc01447vj1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
It was basically just a piece of cut plexi but a lot has changed.
This morning I went down to the hardware store and got the required bolts and domed nuts that I will be using to mount my plastic bits, as you can see there aren't many there, I will need at least two more packs of each before this mod is done.
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/5138/dsc01523kr7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Now onto the PSU cover.
Here's the cover with the holes drilled for the mounting bolts:
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/5880/dsc01524yr9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
These are what I will be using to mount some of my plastic bits. I got these from an old Meccano kit that I had when I was younger. For those of you that don't know what Meccano is, it's basically like LEGO but instead of using plastic blocks it uses nuts, bolts and metal panels.
Here is a pic:
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6311/dsc01526rm9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is the plastic piece wet sanded and with the mounting brackets installed using those cool domed nuts:
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7257/dsc01527iv8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A side on view:
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/5684/dsc01528ml9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And a view from the back:
http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/112/dsc01529xn5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

You guys remember that dust trap cover I made a while back? Well today I also mounted that with the new screws and domed nuts.
Here's a pic:
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8306/dsc01530ns4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Sorry about that first pic, I uploaded with the wrong resolution but you get the idea :).

Well I don't know how much modding I will get done tomorrow cos I was kinda hoping to do some of the homework I have that's due at the start of the new term which is Monday. I hope to at least get those switches sorted out if I have the time. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
10-16-2007, 08:01 AM
First update of the new school term yay lol.

Well I have already been swamped with homework (year 11 blows!!) so I haven't been able to do much but I had a free 10 mins and decided to mount my two switches that I will be using to turn the CCFL's off. They are the same switches ! was having the problem with the LED's and no I haven't had a chance to fix that problem yet.

Ok enough talking, on to the pics.
I am mounting these switches on a FDD drive fascia so firstly I masked one up and marked for cutting:
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/8157/dsc01534iu8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I started by drilling two holes:
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/1426/dsc01536oj9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Because dad didn't have a big enough drill bit I had to use my Sontax rotary tool and a grinding attachment to make the holes bigger:
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/7088/dsc01538ll3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is the completed hole with a switch installed:
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/8927/dsc01540bm8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The other hole is drilled and the second switch installed:
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/4308/dsc01542oz2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Finally here is a pic of the switch lit up so you can see what it looks like in the on position:
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7532/dsc01543jl4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Sorry about the bad pics guys.

This part of the mod took about 10 mins with the longest part being marking the holes up.

I want to get the majority of the plastic work (mounting and cutting mesh) done during the week and a little bit more on the weekend. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
10-16-2007, 10:35 AM
Yeah the sides are the same. Instead of a locking hatch like the LEXA has the Apollo just has the plastic mold that allows easy removal of the panel. Thanks for the comment, my 100th by the way lol.

The boy 4rm oz
10-17-2007, 03:15 AM
Yeah I guess so. May be hard to find a panel that has one. You could call NZXT (or Email them) and ask how much it would be for the side panel (if you have a black Apollo) or say that you have the LEXA and your lock is broken and how much would a replacement lock cost.

The boy 4rm oz
10-21-2007, 06:08 AM
Guys I have done a lot of work over this past week end. I pulled apart most of my case and started painting panels that didn't need to be modded, and modded a few also. No pics today because one of my mates just left and I haven't had a chance to take any pics but don't worry, a huge update tomorrow after school. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
10-22-2007, 09:04 AM
Ok guys, finally the picture update.
Over the past weekend I really got stuck into my case. I did a bit of painting along with some plastics work and now basically the only things left to do are mount the plastic pieces, finish painting the case and then hardware/water cooling installation and cable management. I'm aiming for this weekend or next weekend at the latest for completion.

Ok to start things off, here is the case with everything stripped from it i.e radiators, fans, reservoir etc:
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/923/dsc01544yz4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is a pic of my work space in my dad's shed. This is what the case looked like after a few hours of drilling:
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/8986/dsc01545hz8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I'm not kidding when I say a few hours of drilling. Most of the rivets were put in on an angle causing the drill bit to skip across the hole and making the original holes larger, I need to use bigger rivets when I put the case back together but anyway back to the pics.
I couldn't get any painting done on Saturday or Sunday due to bad weather, was raining heavily all weekend but I painted the pieces I could after school today.
Here is a pic of the calmer part of the weekend and the painted pieces:
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/1366/dsc01547bc2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/8878/dsc01548qg7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The pieces I painted are the supports for the PCI cards and the mobo I/O panel, the support bar and that small piece is another support prop that connects from the case floor to the rear panel, dunno if that does much but it was there so I painted it ;)

Time to attach my cut, sanded and drilled piece of plastic to the support bar (sorry, no pics of the cutting, sanding or drilling process).
To start off, here is a closer look at the support bar:
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/2317/dsc01550vj8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The piece of plastic that will be mounted along with my trusty screwdriver:
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/4975/dsc01551ok5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The mounted piece of plastic, looks pretty good to me :):
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/1691/dsc01552th3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And now with some lighting:
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/8017/dsc01554uk1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I know the last picture is pretty bad but you get the general idea.

Well it doesn't look like a lot but basically at this stage of the mod all I am really doing is attaching pieces before painting. I hope to have an update mid week and then hopefully another one on the weekend if everything goes to plan. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
10-24-2007, 04:37 AM
As promised here is the mid week update, looks like completion this weekend may be a long shot, definitely next weekend though.

Ok so I start of with the read panel of my case and prepare it for mounting the PSU plastic cover.
Here is a pic:
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/7015/dsc01555ut5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And the drilled holes:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/471/dsc01556wj1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
While I was working on the panel I also decided to paint it.
Here is the painted panel:
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3692/dsc01557ni5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Once the panel was dry I inserted the rubber grommets back into the radiator pass through holes, I also added a piece of fan hole cover to the part of the panel I cut to make room for my 8800GTX.
Here are the grommets:
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/2228/dsc01561nn9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And here is the fan hole cover attached to the cut part of the case:
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/1485/dsc01560od1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I know the paint looks a bit grey but this is only because of the camera's flash, I assure you it is black.
Next is mounting the PSU cover, so here we are.
The mounted PSU cover:
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/1627/dsc01562wo6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And from another angle:
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/9561/dsc01563cm5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I will try to get some more plastic work done this weekend along with some painting, I ran out at the end of painting this panel so back to the hardware store. Once again sorry for the grey looking paint, it is just the camera flash. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
10-29-2007, 07:38 AM
Well guys time for another update, we have had shocking weather all weekend so very little work got done so today after school I started modding.

I painted the top of panel of my case (you have all seen painting before so just the completed shot):
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/2483/dsc01584fo4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Now for something new. My local hardware store didn't have the rivets that I needed o put my case back together so I sent dad on a mission :). He came through, after work today I got a 100 pack of rivets (should be more than enough).
So here are my rivets and the rivet gun:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/7739/dsc01585ol5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Because I had some free time (and because these two pieces were completed) I decided to start to re-construct the part of my case (the rear panel) that was completely modded and painted.
Here are the two pieces ready to be re-joined ;):
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/2017/dsc01586ou3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And here you go, joined back together:
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/3367/dsc01587mk0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is a shot from the back so you can see the rivets:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/9771/dsc01588no5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And to cap it all of I inserted the PCI covers into the slots that won't be used and secured them with my cool bright blue thumb screws.
Pic:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/9344/dsc01589ll4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Today I also nearly completed mounting the HDD cover, well it is mounted, just need to cut the whole in the mesh and plastic to allow the cables to pass through. I should finish this tomorrow after school and will post pics as soon as it's done. After this is done that only leaves 6 more pieces of plastic to mount and a few pieces of mesh, the I can finally paint the rest of the case (I have painted all that I can at the moment). More tomorrow...I hope :). Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
10-30-2007, 07:46 AM
Time to continue on from yesterday's post.

Today I finished my HDD bay cover and pretty much finished mounting all my other plastic pieces. Here we go.

Ok so here we have the piece of plastic that is my HDD bay cover (all sanded, polished and drilled):
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/572/dsc01600hj6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is the piece of mesh I cut to cover the gap in the plexi, I have painted it black (from original silver) and have cut a hole to allow power and SATA cable to pass through. A tip for people using a jigsaw to cut mesh, don't. The teeth on the blade get stuck in the mesh holes and will bend and warp your mesh, believe me, I had to flatten my piece of mesh out after trying this way. I ended up using the cutting disk attachment for me rotary tool, worked perfectly, no warping, just a hell of a lot of sparks lol ;).
Pic:
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/3226/dsc01604cm6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here's a random picture of the screws/bolts and nuts I will use to mount this piece:
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/3479/dsc01605hm7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I will be attaching this piece by using 8 bolts with 2 nuts and a spacer per bolt. As you will see in this picture there is only 4 (left hand side) bolts set up. This is because I can't insert the other 4 without taking the front of the case off and I am not ready to do so at the moment.
Pic:
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/3826/dsc01606jj3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The plastic and the mesh before the installation of the mesh:
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8049/dsc01607zp5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The completed panel, looks quite good I think :):
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/5804/dsc01608xi9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Time for the installation of the panel.
Spacers installed on the bolts:
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/511/dsc01609xr2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
HDD cover installed:
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9834/dsc01610sg5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I front on pic (looking through case window):
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/6291/dsc01611ny1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A pic looking through the plexi to my HDD:
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/8411/dsc01612gd9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And finally a picture of the panel removed and under UV light:
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/8048/dsc01613ue7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I also got stuck into mounting the other pieces of plastic.
Here is the rear cover for the CD drives:
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/9003/dsc01614pr0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And here is the inside floppy bay cover and also the inside HDD cover (big gap is for mesh):
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/2962/dsc01615bz5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I also mounted one of my 10cm UV CCFL's to the case support bar, fits perfectly, well after some grinding of the mounting blocks anyway ;):
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/3124/dsc01616km2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Sorry that first pic is smaller, must have uploaded it wrong lol. Also you may notice that the inside CD drive cover looks crooked, that is just the hole cut in the plexi, you wont notice it when it's covered with mesh.
Well that's all for today, may be some more tomorrow but I doubt it, I have to right a whole essay that is due Thursday (only a draft) lol ;). Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
11-18-2007, 06:05 AM
Ok guys, I finally have a worthy update for you. Sorry it has taken so long but we have had some real heat here in Australia (above 30*c for the past 2 weeks) and it has been too hard to work in the heat in our shed.

Ok, so just like the HDD cover I have completed the other side of the HDD cover plus the Disk Drive covers.
Here are the pics of the Disk Drive covers installed and finished:
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/2847/dsc01666jd4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/939/dsc01667zh8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I know in the second pic the cuts look really crooked but they aren't...well mabye a little but not enough to notice, it's just the picture.

Here is the other part of the HDD bay:
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/4203/dsc01668im8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/6613/dsc01669ql6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
As with the Disk Drive cover the cuts aren't crooked, it's just the picture.

And to cap it all off here is a picture of all the bay covers installed so you can see what it's all gonna look like when it's done.
Pic:
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/1309/dsc01670mf8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

To cap off this post I am going to give you a progress report, well I'll show you a progress report ;). What best way to report progress but with pictures lol.
Here is my case so far with everything installed how it will be.
Side on:
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/9084/dsc01671js3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
PSU cover, support bar and radiator:
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9172/dsc01672od5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Disk Drive cover:
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/1846/dsc01673tu2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
PCI slots and radiator:
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/7759/dsc01675tp1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Danger Den fill port:
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/3987/dsc01676go1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

It has come to my attention that I may need another radiator in my system so I intend to see if I can get a Black Ice Stealth 240mm radiator to mount on the under side of my case. Looks about time I got myself a sponsor ;). Well that's all for now, hope to have some more updates later this week before exams next week. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
11-20-2007, 06:50 AM
Well Guys it is now time for a....well a mini update I guess you could call it.

I didn't get any actual modding done today. I visited a mate that just got out of hospital, nasty burns, damn coolant. Before you ask it wasn't PC coolant, his car's radiator blew up in his face.

If you read back a few posts you will find that I am looking to add a 240mm radiator to my existent 120mm loop. I was intending to mount it on the under side of my case and was looking to get an Black Ice stealth 240mm but after starting a thread about this topic (Check post in "The Ice Box", "Pump and Radiator Question") I found that they drastically reduce the flow rate of the loop. I was recommended to use a Black Ice Xtreme 240 (my 120mm radiator is also an Xtreme) and after some measurements this poses some problems. The thickness of a Black Ice Xtreme radiator is roughly 5.6cm, the distance from the stands to the base of my case is about 4.2cm. This immediately rules out using the Xtreme radiator, even if I mount the fans on the inside of the case. I may just end up going with the Stealth because the extra cooling will be worth the slight flow restriction in my books. The Black Ice Stealth is only 2.960cm thick so it will fit without any problems and I will just mount the fans on the inside of my case and lose the access of the last motherboard slot (3rd PCI-e slot, won't use it lol). The fans I was looking for this radiator are the Scythe Slip Stream 1200rpm fans pushing 68.54CFM at 24.0dBA.
Here is a link to the fans:
http://www.pccasegear.com.au/prod6026.htm

last Night I sent a few E-mails to some good PC retailers with regards to sponsorship. when I got home from school today I had received a response to my E-mail. The company in question admired my initiative in sending an email and after viewing my worklog greatly liked what I had already done. Sadly the business is a bit tied up at the moment and physically can not provide any assistance for me at the moment but they said they had saved my E-mail and if their conditions change in the near future they would be able to offer assistance. I am still waiting on a response from my other E-mail.

Well that's it for tonight guys, tomorrow I will try to get some more plastic mounted or do a bit more mesh work. I have exams next week so I really should be studying but that's what school is for ;). Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
11-20-2007, 07:07 AM
Thanks for your input, I noticed that you had your fans sucking from the bottom of the case. If I end up going down this road I would mount the fans so they suck air from the inside of the case and blow it through the radiator and out the bottom of the case. This will allow my other radiator to draw in a minimal amount of hot air and also keep my other components cooler.

The boy 4rm oz
11-20-2007, 07:46 AM
I guess but you have a 120mm fan on your PSU plus the 120mm rear fan. I have a 80mm fan on my PSU and my rear 120mm fan has another radiator attached to it plus another 80mm fan on the top of the case. Hmmm, you do have a valid point, even on my 120mm radiator it is mounted on the outside of the case with a fan pushing air through it. I know what you are saying is true, this just sounded right at the time of the post lol, my mistake.

TEAMIKKE
11-20-2007, 09:20 AM
Although airflow matters, it isn't vital. Especially not with watercooling. Everyone with a good 240. rad of even more can cool his rig. What really matters is, that you have enough outtakes.

My case has 7 fans and the are all outtake. Here's a little sketch of it.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t260/Demission/Airflow.jpg

Green = radiator
Blue = fans
red = HD's

It hasn't any intake! Still I can run passive with my watercool setup. My E6300 never runs hotter than 33 gr. Celcious (?). Only with gaming I'll turn the fans on (Noctua's: Quiet and little airflow) and still then it won't run hot. And they suck up ''hot'' air from the mainboard area!

If I were you, I woulnd't be so worried ;) Same for the flow. If you have a good pump it can handle the resistance. That's were they are made for! You woulnd't buy a 8800ultra to play Age Of empires, right ;)

Good job on detail btw ;)

The boy 4rm oz
11-20-2007, 09:40 AM
Thanks for the input. This is my first water cooled rig and I want to get it right the first time to save me trouble later. You and Xperiment both have valid points about fan placement but now after thinking about it I am leaning towards Xperiments rad set up. This also allows me to more effectively cool my RAM and Mosphet sinks on my 8800GTX.

The boy 4rm oz
11-21-2007, 08:02 AM
Well guys I have decided to go for the Black Ice Stealth 240mm radiator with or without a sponsor, at only $95.00AUD it is cheaper than my 120mm Black Ice Xtreme.

Today I wanted to see if the radiator would actually fit in my case but first I had to re-attach the case feet back onto the case.
Pic of the re-attached case feet:
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/1734/dsc01685jm4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Next I drew up the exact measurements of the radiator on a sheet of paper and cut it out so I can use it as a template.
Pic of the template:
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/8831/dsc01686ov2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I know the template looks a bit big but this is the exact dimensions, the fans I drew on are a bit small and throws you off a bit.
Fitting the template on the floor of the case:
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/7254/dsc01687eg2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
As you can see the template fits with about a 1cm gap at the PCI slits which needs to stay there due to the way the case feet are mounted.
The template with a fan on it:
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/1035/dsc01689gm7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Two fans fit comfortably in this space but this may lead to another problem that I will elaborate a bit more on in a minute.

The only downside of mounting the fans like this is as follows:
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/6565/dsc01690dn8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The pump doesn't fit where I intended to mount it. Damn you say? I say challenge ;).

Here is my solution.
I will make a small platform out of the plexi that the pump will sit on, this elevates it off the case floor and above those fans.
Here is a mock up I did quickly with some scrap plexi I had:
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/8224/dsc01691lr3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

That's not all of my problems though lol.
Take a look at this pic:
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1286/dsc01692fz1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This is a pic of the rear case feet. See the curve of the plastic? This may make mounting the radiator a bit more difficult. It actually won't fit unless I cut part of the feet away. This will also mean strengthening what is left of the plastic case feet because this computer will be heavy once the water loop is filled and the hardware is installed. That's all for now guys, I have to work tomorrow after school and Friday I have a driving lesson (woohoo almost have my license) so probably no update until Saturday night or Sunday. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
11-21-2007, 08:15 AM
I want to keep the feet because it keeps with the contour of the original design. If you have a look at a LEXA side on the front and rear molding curves so it is "perfectly symmetrical", this includes the case feet. If I remove or destroy the original feet the case just wouldn't look right.
here is a pic of what I mean:
http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://specialtech.co.uk/spshop/files/detail/nzxt_6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/product.php%3Fproductid%3D1846%26cat%3D0%26page%3D 19&h=344&w=400&sz=25&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=NnwIUpDmZpHJWM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnzxt%2Blexa%2Bside%2Bon%26gbv%3D2%26s vnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG
This makes it easier to understand what I am saying lol.

The boy 4rm oz
11-21-2007, 08:21 AM
I would mount my rad the same way but it means I will lose access to 2 PCI slots which I don't want to do. I don't mind losing access to one (3rd PCI-E slot) but the slot above that is a standard PCI slot (I only have 2which I can really use due to water cooling). Those case feet look awesome mate, haven't seen them yet lol.

The boy 4rm oz
11-21-2007, 08:56 AM
Would it be possible to mount the rad underneath the case with only the fans inside so you only loose 1 (if that) expansion slot.

I always intended to mount the radiator on the underside of the case with the fans inside (minimal loss of expansion slots).

As for moving the res forward, that's impossible. If I move it forward I will be going under the HDD bays with the barbs and I don't want to hack that up nor do I want the barbs coming up right in front of the expansion slots. I will have to take about a half inch of plastic away from the rear case feet so the radiator will slip in between them rather than the feet needing to be replaced. The only down side to this is the lack of strength in the case feet but that's nothing some metal strip can't take care of.

The boy 4rm oz
11-25-2007, 01:27 AM
Well guys a very minor update for this weekend. I have had a few problems which I will elaborate on later this post.

Well I have finally rebuilt the front of the case after fixing up the majority of the cabling a few months back. everything went back together as it should and it all works great, looks cool with the cable sleeving also ;).
Here is a pic of the assembled case front:
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/6595/dsc01697cb2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And here is the rear of it with as much cable sleeved as I can:
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/6784/dsc01698mv6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Ok so now on to my problem.
The rear of the NZXT LEXA has a plastic plate which looks like this:
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/1239/dsc01694vs4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This plastic plate is meant to make the rear of the case perfectly symmetrical with the front case fascia. Due to the way I have mounted my radiator the plate doesn't fit as it should.
Pic:
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/8471/dsc01695es9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
As you can see in this picture one of the support bars is in the way of the radiator.
This is your problem you say! Oh no no no, this is a simple problem to rectify, my problem lies with my tools.
I measured and marked what parts of this plastic plate needed to be cut:
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/3971/dsc01696ie3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I then proceeded to go to the shed to cut of the troublesome support bar with a cutting disk and my Sontax rotary tool. I power up the tool and nothing happens. Hmm, I check that the power at the socket in on and try again, still nothing. I try spinning the cutting disk with my fingers and it bursts into life but only for a second before I smell this weird smell and the rpm's of the tool gradually drop to nothing. I tried everything to get this crappy thing working again. I blew out the vents with the air compressor, this made it better but it still died eventually.

So it looks like I have to go see if I can go get it replaced under warranty but I doubt that. Dad being the efficient man he is sent the receipt to the tax agency along with other stuff so he could get his tax return tallied. This a real problem because this thing didn't come with any warranty slip so looks like I am stuck. I can't do any work on the case with out this tool so the mod will be on hold for a while. Unless the place I bought it from will swap it for a genuine Dremel ;), but I highly doubt this :(.

There is some good news in this though. I have ordered my HWLabs Black Ice GT Stealth along with another 2 metres of tubing and should have them by the end of the week. I'll keep you guys posted. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
11-25-2007, 06:11 AM
Well in the mean time the only thing I can do is some cable sleeving, which I don't want to do just yet cos I want to see how all the plastic panels fit in the case first. I could try a hack saw on that plastic but my guess is that it will warp and snap, safer bet is to wait for a replacement rotary tool.

I got a confirmation E-mail regarding the status of my radiator and tubing, they received my order and will ship anytime tomorrow after they receive payment. God bless Visa lol.

The boy 4rm oz
11-29-2007, 03:28 AM
Well bad news guys. Firstly the place I ordered the radiator hasn't responded to my payment so I need to give them a call and see what's up. Secondly the place I brought my Dremel knock off from won't replace it due to them not stocking them any more and the fact I don't have a receipt. The receipt would have cost $120AUD to get back from the tax accountant. There is good news now though;). Dad brought me a brand new genuine Dremel 300 series and I also had my last exam today so I intend to spend tomorrow modding :).

Now it's time for pics of my new toy ;).
Here is the nice a new box:
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/7202/dsc01699ox4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is the case, the blue box on the side holds the accessories:
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/2395/dsc01700gs5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A close up of the box, not a lot in it but I have all of the attachments from my broken knock off:
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9562/dsc01701dl1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And finally here is the Dremel 300:
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/4513/dsc01702ag5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A close up shot:
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/2827/dsc01703st6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I hope to get a lot of work done tomorrow guys, in between my driving lesson. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
11-30-2007, 02:36 AM
Ok guys, a small update of what I did today.

Lets rewind a bit. You remember the rear plastic plate of the case?
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/3971/dsc01696ie3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Well Today I cut it to accommodate my radiator:
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/79/dsc01704vo0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here it is installed:
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/9226/dsc01707yb2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And a side view:
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/5320/dsc01709wk0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Perfect fit, will look even better without the finger prints ;)

Well that's all for now, may have an update tomorrow. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
11-30-2007, 08:13 AM
They are great things Dremels but make sure you don't make the same mistake I did, knock offs are crap, it's a genuine Dremel or it's nuthn.

A small update on my 240mm radiator. I called the retailer today but couldn't get through. I will try again tomorrow.

The boy 4rm oz
12-04-2007, 06:22 AM
Ok time for a picture update. Officially all oh my schooling for this year has finished so after school I got right into modding.

I started by removing my plastic panels and dismantled my drive bays.
Here is a picture of the process.
Un-riveted:
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/2803/dsc01710he7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Dismantled:
http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/5966/dsc01711dj0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
From here I removed the front intake fan housing because I needed to do a bit of work on it.
Here is the removed housing:
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/4907/dsc01712ht1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Due to me using a 3-pin power header on this fan I decided to drill a hole in the housing to make the routing of the cables easier.
Here is the fan (just a stock Cooler Master one my friend gave me):
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/4553/dsc01713rr8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And because I had some rubber grommets laying around I thought I may use one.
Pic of the housing and grommet:
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/3475/dsc01714po3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Now to find the correct drill bit. This one fits perfectly on the inside of the grommet so I will use this as a base and step up the bit size if need be.
Pic of the drill bit and grommet:
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/8160/dsc01716vg2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Hole drilled (I needed to go a few bits larger for the correct hole size):
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/4719/dsc01717rf2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Grommet installed, perfect fit:
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/8382/dsc01718qt5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Now to have a look with the fan installed:
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/3267/dsc01719dq2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Fits perfectly and makes cable routing just a little bit easier.

On to the painting.
First coat of primer:
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/3100/dsc01720fp5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And the final coat of black with the grommet installed:
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/1835/dsc01722ak5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Looks pretty good if I don't say so myself.

That's it for today, with this part of the case dismantled I can finally finish the rest of my plastic mounting, tomorrow perhaps. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
12-07-2007, 02:51 AM
Well guys I am having a hell of a time trying to contact the place that sells the HW Labs radiators here in Australia. Every time I call the phone just rings out and they aren't returning my emails. I figure they may be on holidays or moving store, they may even have closed down.

Well enough of the sad stuff, on to the modding :).

I completed my disk drive cover today and I am quite proud of how it turned out, nothing went wrong haha.
Here is the piece of plastic I started with, I had already cut it to size and just had to add indents for rivets and extrusions on the case.
Here is a pic:
http://img476.imageshack.us/img476/8242/dsc01725lk7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Same piece of plastic but with the protective plastic removed:
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/1203/dsc01726xk6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Pay no attention to the top left corner of the plexi, I slipped with the Dremel but it's ok, this part is covered by the top of the case anyway.
Now installed on to the window side of the drive bays:
http://img479.imageshack.us/img479/2982/dsc01728im3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
It fits perfectly.
Now here is the support bar:
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/4836/dsc01731tb1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Plenty of room.

While I was doing this I also drilled a hole for the HDD thermal sensor and of course it isn't complete with out a nice rubber grommet.
Here is the hole (middle top, under the slit):
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/6528/dsc01729nh5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And now with the grommet installed:
http://img479.imageshack.us/img479/9400/dsc01730xf9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Now doesn't that look much better.

Well that's all for now. I needed to keep myself occupied today, I have my driving test tomorrow and I am a bit nervous lol. Hopefully tomorrow arvo I can get the window side floppy bay cover installed. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
12-15-2007, 09:31 PM
Finally the update I promised guys, I know it's not a lot but I worked everyday the past week so I haven't had any time for modding.

I have completed the FDD cover.
Here is the piece cut, sanded and drilled ready to go with an assortment of mounting bolts.
Pic:
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/6937/dsc01733oz4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The exposed piece of plexi:
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/5742/dsc01734pc5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Installed with the disk drive bay cover:
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/3947/dsc01735ej5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A shot of them both together:
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/1446/dsc01737ns9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Now with a bit of UV light:
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/8026/dsc01739jq3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I know the glow looks a bit "blotchy" but in reality this plastic glows under any light and I have plenty of light in my case.
And finally a shot with the rear cover for the disk drives:
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/6035/dsc01740ws6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Looks quite good together I think but I think something is missing. I have an idea that I am looking to try out and hopefully it turns out. I think you guys will like it. Well that's all for now. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
12-16-2007, 10:04 AM
It will be black. I was just showing you guys how the plexi looked mounted. If you have a look a few pages back to how I did the support bar plexi you will have a better idea. I guess I should have put that in earlier lol.

EDIT: Must have posted this as Maleficus posted his comment.

The boy 4rm oz
12-19-2007, 11:54 PM
I got the 300 series which is variable speed.

The boy 4rm oz
12-29-2007, 01:51 AM
YAY, I have heard back from the place I ordered my radiator from. They HAD moved stores and changed their website so that's why they didn't receive my order (I sent them an email a few days before Christmas inquiring about this). I am going to place an order when they start again in the new year (Jan 3rd I think).

Also I would like your opinions on something. As I was looking at the site where I will be getting my extra fans and grills etc. from I found that they had got this radiator in.
Alphacool NexXxos Pro II REV.2 Radiator (240mm):
http://www.pccasegear.com.au/prod6172.htm
What do you guys think? Have any of you used this radiator or know anyone using one? This place stocks the HWLabs Black Ice radiators also but don't have the 240mm Stealth (I will have to ask about that when they open early Jan). Ordering the radiator from this store will save me a credit card surcharge and another postage bill. The radiator is also about $10AUD cheaper than the Black Ice Stealth 240mm but doesn't come with fittings, with the fittings they are about the same cost (fittings are $4AUD each :eek:).

Anyway onto the modding. There is very little for me to do until I get my radiator because I can't paint that last bit of case until the holes are cut for the radiator fans and I can't mount the pump until the radiator is mounted.

I have however almost finished mounting my second to last piece of plastic.
Ok so here is the victim for today :twisted:, a piece of plastic cut to size and sanded correctly:
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/6225/dsc01741lg1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is how it will be mounted:
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/7859/dsc01742nj6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I will be using these small brackets to hold the piece of plastic in place:
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/729/dsc01743gr6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here are the first two brackets mounted, I have mounted the bracket on the existing screw holes from the outer disk drive bay and floppy disk bay cover.
Pic:
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/4523/dsc01744nu9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is another or the brackets mounted directly opposite the other two, I had to drill this hole:
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/5219/dsc01745nj6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And the final one installed on the HDD rack directly under the bracket shown in the last pic, once again I had to drill this hole:
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/2593/dsc01746lc9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is a pic of all the brackets installed in their correct places:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/4497/dsc01747pt2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I haven't done any more to this piece of plastic or the last remaining one due to me running out of the screws I was using so no more work with plastic until I get some more.

I was however sidetracked by a little side project.
This is my ASUS EN8800GTX:
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/6471/dsc01748jv6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I was originally going to remove the plastic shroud from the fan and aluminium fins thinking it would yield better cooling until I found that two of the mounting screws were under the GRAW themed sticker (which is directly stuck into the default Nvidia one by the way). I scrapped this idea and after cleaning as much dust from the fan and aluminium fins of the cooler moved on to my next idea.
Sorry about this blurry pic guys, my camera doesn't like extreme close ups lol.
This is the a pic of the very edge of the PCB (furthest away from the DVI ports):
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/6764/dsc01751sv5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
If you look in the center of the picture above the three capacitors right next to each other you will see the fan cable. Just above that is two little chips about 1cm squared, I have no idea what they do but due to my computer not being in a case I did a bit of poking around while everything was running to find "hot spots" and believe me when I touched these chips I burnt my finger tip quite badly.
Before I can get started on my mini mod I had to detach the fan cable so I could get in and around those little chips.
Here is a pic:
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/3499/dsc01752mn5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I had a little look in my bits box and found these Zalman RAM sinks. These were originally from a cooler I got for my 6600GT and due to it only having something like 4 RAM chips on board I had 4 left over.
Here they are:
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/6442/dsc01754it0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I was originally going to mount the RAM sinks length ways (they are rectangular) so they would get better air flow from my side mounted case fan. Because the default 8800GTX cooler is a little bulky it was a little hard to do it this way so I settled with putting a single RAM sink across both of the chips.
Here is a pic of the sink installed:
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/1435/dsc01755fa5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The fan cable plugged back in:
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/8044/dsc01756ii7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And finally the card installed back into my system:
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/7122/dsc01757cf5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Even with this single RAM sink covering both chips the temp of the chips has dropped significantly at both idle and load. I don't have any actual temp readings but my trusty finger does the job ;). This is only temporary until I get my water block installed, then I will use two of the remaining 3 and cut them to size so they cover the whole area of the chips (at the moment there is about 3-4mm of chip showing each side of the RAM sink), I will also mount the RAM sinks to get the best airflow inside of my case.

Well that's all I have for now guys. I hope to get some more screws before New Years so I can finish mounting that plastic. Once again sorry for the blurry pictures, it's my cameras fault, not mine. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
12-29-2007, 07:15 AM
Well I was lucky and managed to go to the hardware store and get the screws later on today. Once I had them mounting this piece of plexi took only about half an hour. So enough talking, lets get modding.

Here are the screws I am using (there are more, these are just the ones I need):
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/5954/dsc01759om1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Sorry the pic is from so far away.
Here they are cut to size and with the ends touched up by the Dremel:
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/5200/dsc01760jo3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This is how I am mounting the plastic. First I put the screw through the bracket and tighten it until it stops moving with a nut, I then put the piece of plastic in place and hold it there using dome nuts. I do it this way to make the plastic easier to remove while in the system.
Here is a semi-side on picture of the set up:
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/6963/dsc01761oy1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The protected piece of plastic installed:
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/2460/dsc01762jy0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is the plastic installed with the protection removed:
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/51/dsc01763mm2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Now I know what your thinking, you are all think why is there a huge gap between the disk drive and floppy drive covers well here is the answer. The very last drive bay is where my reservoir is situated. Due to it being shorted than a CD drive I decided to leave it out of the disk drive cover and make a seperate one.
Here it is:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/83/dsc01764sh4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
It is made out of a piece of mesh, it's not done yet. I still have to drill holes and install grommets for tubing pass through along with mounting holes plus I have to fix up the cuts and spray the silver mesh black.
Here is a shot of the CD and floppy drive bays almost finished:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/2864/dsc01765uv3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Looks pretty good in my eye and it will look a lot better once I finish the reservoir cover and paint the drive bays black. I also have to do a few minor adjustments to some of the plexi pieces to make them sit flat and line up straight. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
01-12-2008, 04:36 AM
Sorry there hasn't been an update for a while guys. I have only 2 weeks of holidays left before my final year of school starts and me and my friends are trying to make the most of it.

Anyway, all that said I have actually had time for modding (well only today actually lol).
Ok, see this gap:
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/2678/dsc01768eg7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This is where my reservoir is to me mounted, it isn't as long as a CD drive so I have decided to cover the cap with a piece of mesh and cut pass through holes for the tubing.
Here is the piece of mesh cut to size and holes drilled:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/2748/dsc01769yf7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Test fitting, fits perfectly:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/7162/dsc01770rr8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Bolted on to see what it looks like:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/6046/dsc01772tj3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Mesh painted and installed, sorry no pics of the painting:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/9372/dsc01775hm3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A shot of all the drive bays installed, nearly finished YAY:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/3249/dsc01776tr0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A lighted shot:
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/6050/dsc01778xw1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This whole top section is almost complete. I still have to paint the actual drive bays black and trim down a few pieces of the plexi to get it to sit right.

Next we move on to some painting.
Here is the victim:
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/8417/dsc01767bg3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This piece is the very front of the case, it helps support the drive bays. It doesn't really need painting because it won't be seen but you can't paint a case and leave a piece out ;).
Here is the painted piece:
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/1619/dsc01773cr3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

After this was painted I thought that I may as well re attach it to the front fan bracket.
The front panel, fan bracket, dust trap, screws and grommets:
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/1013/dsc01780ys0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The fan bracket fitted in place:
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/8625/dsc01781nj9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Riveted together:
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/121/dsc01782zo5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Grommets installed:
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/5923/dsc01783wz3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Dust trap and screws installed so I don't lose them:
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/8498/dsc01784nd8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A picture of the lot:
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/6320/dsc01785mk2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

That's all I did today. The end is getting near, all I need to do is get the radiator and mount it and get some fans and a few more bits and pieces. I also have to make a plexi pump platform so I can fit the pump in the case. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
01-13-2008, 10:14 AM
No replies? I'm heartbroken lol.

Well today was my brothers birthday so I didn't get much work done so before his friends came over I put together the case that were done for some progress shots for you guys.
Here are the pics.
A side on view of the entire case:
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/9729/dsc01786ew1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
All of the drive bays:
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6415/dsc01787jg5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A close up of the optical drive bays:
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/2937/dsc01789gn5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A close up of the HDD bays:
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/683/dsc01790mf7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The PSU cover and radiator:
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/8681/dsc01791td4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The expansion slots:
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/3183/dsc01792ue0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Getting really close to completion now. Let me know what you guys think, suggestions are always welcome. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
01-14-2008, 02:41 AM
This is awesome. You should definitely get some diffuse LED lighting on the plexi.

I was thinking of lighting the plexi but I already have 3 UV CCFLs (1x 30cm 2x 10cm) scattered around my case that should do a good enough job. Also the plexi I am using glows brightly when I put it over one of my blue LED fans, I don't know why but it works. However I do have a 3 LED ultra bright LED module which will be lighting the side of the disk drives and floppy drive covers. I hope that's enough lighting, I'm not that great at wiring LEDs up and stuff like that lol.

Thanks for the comment.

The boy 4rm oz
01-24-2008, 11:38 AM
Sorry about the lack of pics guys (I should have some up tomorrow) but I thought I should tell you what's going on. I have painted the motherboard tray (pics tomorrow) and riveted it to the front and rear panel of the case (pics tomorrow). I also need to do a bit more work on the drive bays and then I can take all the plastic off them and paint the bare metal black, only problem is I'm out of paint lol. Oh well, just another thing to add to the list. I am still needing to order my 240mm radiator, I know the supplier was moving warehouse but I guess I will give them a call tomorrow, the good thing is that my auntie said she would buy it for me so that's $100AUD I don't have to spend lol. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
01-25-2008, 06:56 AM
Ok guys, here are some pics as promised.
Here we have my mobo tray:
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/8774/dsc01794iw0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I need to make a cut so I can rout cables, here is a before shot:
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/4792/dsc01795jg5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And thanks to my trusty Dremel, here is an after shot:
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/2042/dsc01796gd3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Now onto the painting.
Here is a shot of the primed mobo tray:
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/1126/dsc01797tb5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And here is the painted mobo tray:
http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/3425/dsc01798js7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

And finally some construction pics. I have attached the rear panel, mobo tray and front panel together, looks quite good in black.
Here are the pics.
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/5583/dsc01799zo6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/3328/dsc01800pn2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/7345/dsc01801rc6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And here is a pic with the top panel installed...just cos I can lol:
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/6521/dsc01802hb8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I still haven't got my paint yet so I haven't finished the alterations to the drive bays, I hope to get them done soon. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
01-25-2008, 10:02 PM
Work great friend The boy 4rm oz
The radiator in that position improves its performance?
Thank you for your comments on my topic

I don't know if it improves performance but I couldn't fit it in the case so I chose to mount it on the outside. It was too hard for me to find spacers to raise it off the back of the case so I cut the inside of an old fan out and used that as a spacer instead. At least it eliminated the dead spot created by fans and should increase air pressure slightly.

Thanks for the comment.

The boy 4rm oz
01-31-2008, 04:09 AM
I have some updates for you guys.
First some modifications to the drive bays for cable management.
Here is the drive bay before modification:
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/2382/dsc01803hv4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
After modification:
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/9465/dsc01805ae7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Next I have to expand on a pre drilled hole to make a piece of plexi sit flush.
Here is where the hole is (with mounting bolt still in it):
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/8982/dsc01806mm4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And here is the hole after some surgery (sorry about the bad pic, I guess you can't really see the hole):
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/3444/dsc01807dn2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Next we have a bent piece of mesh, no pics of the bending process but I basically used a rubber mallet and a bench vice/
Here is a pic of the bent mesh:
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/1236/dsc01808xr6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here are a couple of pics how it will look when mounted:
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/3953/dsc01809ph4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/8540/dsc01810qx4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is a pic of the mesh drilled and with the protective covers removed:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/8444/dsc01811up7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The mesh primed:
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/7128/dsc01812lv3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And painted:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/3628/dsc01813ew9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And a final installation shot:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/2043/dsc01815ug0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Ok now this is the final part of the update. I have to drill holes in the interior reservoir cover for tubing pass through.
Here is the piece of mesh, mounted:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/2308/dsc01816rh7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Next I have to drill the holes, here is my trusty drill:
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7402/dsc01817om3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Well halfway through drilling the first hole the drill went dead, bloody battery, even the spare is dead.
Here is a picture of the hole so far:
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/4070/dsc01818ed4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Batteries charged and both holes cut:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/4895/dsc01819op4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I scratched the mesh a bit while drilling so I gave it a touch up coat of paint, looks much better now:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/3470/dsc01820qz4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Rubber grommets installed into both of the holes:
http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/6812/dsc01821qo4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And the completed mesh re-installed onto the drive bays:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/290/dsc01823yh0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And finally Here is a pic showing you how the reservoir inlet and outlet match up with the holes:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/4553/dsc01824lr8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The hole on the right looks a bit out but it is just the angle the camera took the picture on, both of the holes line up perfectly.

Well guys that's all I have for you now, I am hoping to paint the drive bays over the weekend and get them into the case but I guess I will have to wait and see how that goes. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
01-31-2008, 04:18 AM
Haha thanks mate, the pair of those grommets cost me $3AUD. I used a 1/2" hole saw and the grommets are 3/4" so they fit nearly perfectly, they move around a bit so your holes don't need to be 100% perfect.

The boy 4rm oz
02-04-2008, 01:52 AM
Ok guys like I said it's time for a very small update. School is back on (my final year YAY) so you will probably be seeing less of me but I will try to get you weekly updates.

Ok, on to the modding.

Here is the drive bay section completely dismantled and ready for it's coat of primer and paint:
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/469/dsc01827mu6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And here is the piece being primed, well almost (I'll explain the "almost" later):
http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/9779/dsc01828jl8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Well half way through priming this piece I ran out of primer (that was the "almost" :() and it may take a few days to get some more primer. Due to this set back I have nothing else to really show you guys but as soon as I get the primer I will finish priming and get straight on to the painting. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
02-09-2008, 03:27 AM
Well I painted those drive bays so here are some pics.
The finished priming:
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/5976/dsc01829ab6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Half Painted:
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/6061/dsc01830py5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Completely painted:
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/893/dsc01831pe4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Now it's time to add the plastic:
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/7443/dsc01832ip5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The front installed first:
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1884/dsc01833ia1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And now the side:
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/381/dsc01834hs4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Well I'm in a hurry guys so no more pics for now. Enjoy. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
02-13-2008, 03:04 AM
Well very little happening on my end. I am just getting bits and pieces together so when it comes time to put the case back together there is minimal fuss.

I have however done the final little adjustments to the drive bays.
I cut this hole to pass some molex cables through from the PSU to power all the fans, CCFLs etc. It is a bit sharp so time to put some fan hole molding on it.
Before:
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/1770/dsc01835zf4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
After:
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/5845/dsc01836do8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Next we have the hole I cut in the mobo tray and the PSU support.
Before:
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/6285/dsc01837ax4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
After:
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/3878/dsc01838bz5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Here is the cut I made to allow fan cables to enter the drive bay area.
Before:
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/3112/dsc01839et1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
After:
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/1475/dsc01841oo9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

While I was at it I decided to also cover one of the mesh edges that was visible on the drive bays.
Before:
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/7323/dsc01842cs1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
After:
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/8656/dsc01843gi1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

And finally to cap it all off, two progress pics.
Pics:
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/7092/dsc01846bd4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/5350/dsc01847pw8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The boy 4rm oz
03-08-2008, 08:07 AM
That mesh is the AC Ryan MeshX. It comes in a 500x500mm sheet. You can get it it black or silver. They had no black so I had to get the silver and paint it lol.
I got the mesh from:
www.pccasegear.com.au

Thanks for the compliment.

The boy 4rm oz
03-17-2008, 12:40 AM
Sorry for the lack of updates guys, still waiting for parts.

You may remember my problem with mounting a radiator at the bottom of my case. I have decided that I may get rid of the crappy plastic case feet and get some nice caster wheels. This will raise the case higher off the ground and if I can get some wheels with chrome stems and rubber wheels it will suit the mod perfectly. I am going to take a look at some later this afternoon and I will let you know how it goes.

The boy 4rm oz
03-17-2008, 02:41 AM
Well I just got back from my local hardware store. Yeah they had caster wheels but they looked like ass, crappy industrial ones or cheap plastic ones. I wondered around for a bit and eventually ended up where they display all the fastenings (door handles etc.). I found some awesome handles so I grabbed 4 and went and paid for them.
This is what they look like:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/3677/dsc01924pc8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Closer shot:
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/5826/dsc01927qs8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

My only concern about getting these is that they would be a bit too short...I was right.
Pic:
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/1588/dsc01932nb3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
As you can see the original feet are about 3-4mm taller than the new ones.

To over come this issue I have decided to cut and polish 4 green plexi strips to go between the feet and the case...it was either this or chock it up with washers lol. The green plexi I am using in this mod is around 3-4mm thick anyway so they should end up around the same height.

Another issue I have found is with the front fascia. The front fascia has half of the front feet molded into the design. I don't want to hack up the front of the case so I was thinking of taking the feet off the rear of the case, add 4 new feet (2 front, 2 back) while still keeping the front feet. I think this will look OK because the top of the fascia overhangs so if the bottom does it shouldn't look out of place. This means the rear will be missing the overhang but this doesn't bother me because you will be able to see the radiator there anyway.

I am hoping to install these Thursday. We have sports day that day which I wont be attending ;) and then Friday is Good Friday so another day off for me, just one of the percs of going to a Catholic school. So that makes a 5 day weekend for me (got Monday off also :banana:). Until then my friends...

Happy Modding...and a Happy Easter

The boy 4rm oz
03-19-2008, 01:54 AM
Ok guys a small update.

I am going to be mounting the new case feet tomorrow. I have marked up for the holes, I just have to drill them and hey presto. I will also have to make some plastic spacers which I will probably start tomorrow as well.

Also GAM got back to me about the radiator. Looks like I can't get a HW Black Ice GT Stealth 240mm radiator but he can get me a NexXxoS Pro II - Rev. 2.
Linky:
http://www.alphacool.com/Radiators-heat-exchangers/NexXxoS-Pro-II-Rev-2--4636.html
This is a thin radiator and will suit my needs perfectly. It is also cheaper than the GT Stealth which means I can finish this mod quicker than I thought.
More tomorrow. Until then...

Happy Modding and Happy Easter.

The boy 4rm oz
03-19-2008, 03:29 AM
While I had some free time I thought I would show you how the feet sit on the case.
Here is a distance shot of the feet under the case basically where they will be mounted:
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/7706/dsc01934mu8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
As you can see the front feet aren't touching the metal. This is because the front original plastic feet are slightly taller. I will be making plastic spacers for each of the new case feet to bring them back up to the correct height.
Here is a close up image of the front gap:
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/9039/dsc01935rr3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And another with a different perspective:
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/286/dsc01936iu8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
As you can see this part of the mod isn't overly hard. I just have to drill some holes and cut some plastic. I am still undecided weather I am going to polish the plexi spacers or leave them "frosted" like the rest of my plexi pieces. Well more tomorrow guys. Until then...

Happy Modding and Happy Easter.

The boy 4rm oz
03-19-2008, 06:07 AM
Another really quick update before the modding begins tomorrow.

Firstly I would like the thank b4i7 for his help with this design.
Here is a sketch I did quickly, it is out of scale but you get the idea.
Pic:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/5771/dsc01937vl3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
As you can see the spacer (will hopefully) look like this. I will cut the plexi into a shape hopefully resembling this. I will then mask off the ends and paint the center strip black. Then for something different I will cover the painted area with a piece if silver mesh. Also to make the green plexi glow I will drill holes in the case floor above all the green bits to let the interior UV light shine through and illuminate these pieces.

The next step was too see if I had any plexi available for this small mod.
Here is every bit of plexi I have:
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/7103/dsc01938iy0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The stuff on the left is green, the right is clear and the pieces at the bottom are white.
Here is all the green plexi that is usable for this mod:
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/2943/dsc01939hw0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I want to keep that big piece on the top right for another part of the case mod which I forgot about.
So here is what I have left to work with, easily done:
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/4162/dsc01940lv4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I should be able to fit 2 spacers on the un-protected piece of plexi, it is all scratched but there are 2 areas that are big enough that haven't been scratched. I should be able to fit one spacer on each of the 4 other pieces of plexi shown. So I can have 2 spare ;).

Well this looks like more work than I thought. I also have to re-mark those mounting holes for the case feet due to the size of the spacers, they would over hang the side of the case. Hopefully I can get all this done tomorrow, if not there is always Friday. Until then...

Happy Modding and Happy Easter.

The boy 4rm oz
03-19-2008, 11:47 PM
Ok guys, I have made a start on my plexi spacers, here are some pics.
Firstly I drew up 4 identical templates on a sheet of graph paper, this way they will all be 99% the same.
Pic:
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7538/dsc01941qe2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is a shot with a case foot roughly in place:
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2255/dsc01942qg2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
An aerial shot:
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/8664/dsc01943fu3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Now I masked off 2 good spots on my un-protected piece of plexi and glued a template onto each of the marked spots:
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/6288/dsc01944gq3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I then stuck the other 2 templates onto 2 more scrap bits of plexi:
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/9436/dsc01945jl9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Time to start cutting.
Here is the first spacer cut out, quite roughly I should add. Damn I wish I had a scroll saw, jig saws suck lol.
Pic:
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/7584/dsc01946ti3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Well that's it. Now I have to go cut out the other 3 spacers and then file them all smooth and sand them *sigh* well it will all be worth it...I hope. Until then...

Happy Modding and Happy Easter.

The boy 4rm oz
03-20-2008, 01:33 AM
Well my final update for today.

Bad news is one of my spacers snapped while I was cutting it out.
Pic:
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/734/dsc01948nf5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I have made another template and glued it to another piece of plexi.

Another bit of bad news. I was about to go out and cut this last bit of plexi but the rain beat me to it. I usually work in the shed but there is no bench space at them moment so I was stuck with working outside. I guess I just have to do it tomorrow, along with the filing.

Well at least I have 3 out of the 4 spacers cut.
Pic:
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6756/dsc01950yz3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Well that's it for today. Before I go though, I will leave you with a teaser pic of what this will look like once completed.
Pic:
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/7296/dsc01949ac2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
See ya tomorrow. Until then...

Happy Modding and Happy Easter.

The boy 4rm oz
03-20-2008, 01:53 AM
Thanks buddy. I am still gonna use your idea of painting the stem black but I will be putting a piece of silver MeshX over the painted stem to give it a slightly different look. This will also add just a little bit more height which is what I need.

I am thinking of using 2 domed nuts to help hold the mesh in place. I will space them evenly between the two stems of the feet. This will just bring some of the inside design to the outside of the case and they look great with the mesh.

The boy 4rm oz
03-20-2008, 10:11 PM
Just caught back up with project...

You are the king of green plexi!:D

Lol I don't think I am the king. Xperiment would have to be the king of green plexi, his Project Reality mod is fantastic.

Thanks for the +rep and the comments guys. It's a good feeling to know people enjoy and appreciate looking at your work.

The boy 4rm oz
03-20-2008, 11:02 PM
Ok so I have cut out my last spacer.
Pic:
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/1/dsc01951ig4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
One thing I didn't realize while cutting was the backing paper had come slightly unstuck. Now I have a crappy cut on one side of the spacer.
Pic:
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9322/dsc01952bw7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This shouldn't be a problem though. After I file and sand down the edges there shouldn't be that much difference along the line. I can always mount it with the bad side facing towards the center of the case and besides the mesh should mask it anyway. Well I might go do some filling now, I'm not promising anything though. Until then...

Happy Modding and Happy Easter.

The boy 4rm oz
03-21-2008, 08:55 PM
@ Xperiment - thanks mate, hope to get them done this weekend.

Ok only a small update before I have to go out for an Easter lunch with one half of the family.

I have filed down two of the spacers. I did the one with the crappy cut first and it took me near an hour to do. The other one I filled only took me 20-30mins to completely file, and may I say it looks great.
Here is a pic of both the filed spacers (bad one on left, good one on right):
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/4708/dsc01954we1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Well that's it for now guys, I may have more tomorrow but I have another Easter lunch so I don't know. Until then...

Happy Modding and Happy Easter.

The boy 4rm oz
03-23-2008, 10:14 PM
Well I don't know about finished soon. To be honest it was meant to be finished before Christmas but with the lack of a new 240mm radiator I stopped work completely. I am hoping to get the radiator this month and mount that. Then all I have to do is order some fans, paint the rest of the case and make a pump platform and it's all done.

An update on the feet though. I have filed down 3 of the 4 spacers. Once this is done I have to cut some mesh strips to size and paint the stem of the spacers black. Then I have to mount the feet and spacers to the case floor and drill holes through the case to let UV light shine through to the plexi.

Well I guess I have to get back to finishing my homework, the long weekend id almost over, damn school. I may have an update later today. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
03-25-2008, 05:35 AM
Guys I have made progress with the spacers but nothing worth posting. Well I can at least say that they are all filed down.

So instead I have a treat for you. This is a BF2 movie I made. Special thanks to silverdemon for help with a video converter.
Enjoy.
9gS6YNbxejs

The boy 4rm oz
03-30-2008, 03:15 AM
Sorry I haven't updated in a while guys. I have been really busy but managed to squeeze some modding in this arvo.

Ok. I have filed down all 4 spacers so now I need to cut some mesh strips.
Marking the mesh:
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/5466/dsc02025nb9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The 4 cut strips of mesh:
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/6/dsc02026yi6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
There is a bit of filing to do but that can be done later.
Some sneak peek pics of how this should turn out:
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/5182/dsc02027gr9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/9316/dsc02028bw3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/9316/dsc02029zm2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/635/dsc02030br6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I am still undecided whether to use 2 or 3 domed nuts to help hold the mesh flat. Do you think 3 is a little bit crowded?

Well that;s all for now. May have some more later this week, it's getting close to the end of term and I have ons of work to finish. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
03-31-2008, 05:22 AM
I don't have a picture update at the moment guys. One of my teachers lost one of my assessment essay drafts so I have to re-do it (the downside of not having a PC to use to start with). I do have a matter I would like to discuss with you though.

When I get my new radiator I will be requiring 2 new 120mm fans for cooling. which fans should I chose?

Silverstone Suscool 121 120mm Case Fan:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=416&products_id=6670&zenid=2ce08d5c639de9a98bd1c60d5e8bbb5c

Zalman ZM-F3 120mm Silent LED Fan Blue:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_9_500&products_id=6682

Antec TriCool LED Fan 120mm Blue:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_9_342&products_id=4995

CoolerMaster Silent Blue LED Fan 120mm (2pk):
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_9_510&products_id=6580

This is why I have chosen these fans.
Silverstone - quiet plus comes with a thermal sensor, colours look ok, may shine under UV light

Zalman - quiet, 4 bright blue LEDs, doesn't noise levels and speeds (can't find a cfm rating)

Antec - built in variable speed controller, bright blue LEDs, descent cfm and noise ratings

CoolerMaster - basic, silent (I have one already), pack of 2

Can you help me out? I am leaning towards the Antec because I have an 80mm version of that fan and find it really good. The Zalman one may also be good but I can't find a cfm rating so I don't know about them.

The boy 4rm oz
04-01-2008, 07:33 AM
Thanks for your input Xperiment. I am still considering which fans to get. The Zalman ones look quite enticing but I can't find any cfm ratings for them so off the list they go. I will probably get the Antecs. They are good fans, I have 2 80mm versions of them and couldn't be happier, they are expensive though.

The boy 4rm oz
04-03-2008, 02:13 AM
Good news guys. I have placed my order with GAM and should hopefully have my radiator by the end of next week (if I can get to the bank tomorrow ;)).

I haven't been able to do any modding this past week because the end of term is approaching and I have a lot of assignments due. Also it is my Birthday on Monday (7th April) so there will be no modding this weekend either PARTY!!! lol. Well I hope to have an update on the case feet by the time I get the radiator. I need some more bolts and domed nuts but that stuff is easy to get. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
04-04-2008, 03:16 AM
Small update. My order was successful and my radiator is on the way. I should have it early next week. Also I have decided to get a pair of 120mm Antec Tri Cools to cool the radiator.

The boy 4rm oz
04-07-2008, 06:21 AM
Time for a special birthday update.

I left school early today (had a double study after lunch, stuff staying for that) and when I got home guess what was waiting for me???
Yes you guessed it, my package from GAM Mods. THANK YOU GAM!!!!

So this is what was in the package:
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/1143/dsc02031ez1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here is my new radiator, 1/2" fittings and a fill syringe:
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6140/dsc02032ty7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A sneak peak of how it will be mounted:
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7149/dsc02033eq6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And a underside shot:
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/9428/dsc02035gu1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Plenty of room...well there is now since I removed the rear feet.

Well guys, time for me to get back to the home work and on my birthday too :(. I may finish off the feet this week and get the radiator mounted over the weekend. This is my last week of term so once I get this radiator mounted my work is almost done, then the whole thing can go together. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
04-07-2008, 07:05 AM
Lol, no dirty thoughts I hope pOPe lol. The syringe will be used for the initial fill of the bay res, it's too hard to get a funnel in the small space around the fill port. It will also be used for top ups through the fill port mounted on the top of the case.

The boy 4rm oz
04-11-2008, 12:08 AM
Yay, time for an update.

Here are the spacers for my new case feet. They are marked with the mounting holes.
Pic:
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/7223/dsc02036vj8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The holes drilled:
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/807/dsc02037ga3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
But unfortunately, one of the cracked and broke while drilling. I wasn't even going fast.
Pic:
http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/8608/dsc02039xl8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I had two choices in this situation, fix it or cut a new one; I decided to fix it. As it turns out the break was on the bit of the plexi which will be painted so either way you wont see the crack in the plexi.
Some super glue and 30 seconds later I was left with this:
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/8916/dsc02042hi8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Now it's time to drill the holes for the decorative bolts which also help to hold the mesh in place, I went for 2 domed nuts over 3 because after some consideration it looked a bit crowded.
Pic:
http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/1776/dsc02046wb7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I drilled and countersunk the holes:
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4995/dsc02051zp2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Perfect fit:
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/4227/dsc02052pt7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Well that's it for today. The rain is starting to set in now and I have no bolts to mount the mesh with so I'm not going to bother drilling the holes in the mesh just yet. Later this afternoon I may mark the floor of my case for mounting the radiator.Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
04-13-2008, 05:22 AM
Time for another update.

Today I got stuck into mounting my radiator.
Here I where the radiator will be mounted, all taped up and ready to go:
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/9430/dsc02053gd7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
HDD racks removed:
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/3015/dsc02054bd8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Plenty of room for the radiator:
http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/3448/dsc02055je9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I traced an outline of the radiator to help with the mounting:
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/2030/dsc02056zc2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
All marked for cutting:
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9086/dsc02057an8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
All the useless lines removed, only the cuts left:
http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/7024/dsc02058ww3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
All cut out:
http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/2645/dsc02059vk3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And a shot with the radiator where it should be:
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/88/dsc02060xb8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

However, I made one mistake. Take a look at the last pic. I cut the width too wide. I measured from the outside of the radiator rather than the inside. It still fits but there is a tiny gap either side now. One I put the fan hole molding on the cut it should be just fine. Well that's it for now, may have some more towards the end of the week. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
04-25-2008, 01:53 AM
Sorry for the lack of updates guys. I was away all last week and half of this week and to top it all off the house is being painted, not much time for modding. Any way I did manage to get some work on the case feet and spacers done before I went away and finished them today.

On to the pictures.

Ok so I went out and got myself some more bolts and domed nuts:
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/518/dsc02061ao2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I also got myself a pair of small clamps:
http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/2280/dsc02063wj4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
They are perfect for what I need them for.
I clamped the mesh to the plexi spacers and then through the holes I drilled in the spacers I drilled identical holes in the mesh:
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/3959/dsc02064eo0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/9981/dsc02065nt2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
All drilled:
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/4302/dsc02068qf4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The plexi attached to the mesh with the domed nuts and bolts I brought:
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/2646/dsc02069ma9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Ok so that's the stuff I did before I went away last week. Now here is what I did today.

The Spacers are FINISHED!!!
All 4 feet with spacers in all their glory:
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/5025/dsc02076em4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A close up of the completed case foot:
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/5679/dsc02078xg9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A pic of the mounting bolts:
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/3123/dsc02079nb5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Sorry I don't have pics of working towards the finished product but I can run you through it. Basically I just filed down the overhanging mesh while it was still attached to the spacers. Then I removed the protective tape from the spacers and taped off each end. I then painted the center stem of the spacer. Then I removed the protective plastic film from the mesh and bolted it to the spacer followed by the case foot. Quite boring steps, I know you guys like the eye candy lol ;).

I have also found a way around the gap I made while cutting the hole for my radiator. I will be using 2 mesh strips to cover the gap from the underside. These will be painted black to fit in with the rest of the case. Well that's all I have for now. The last few days of my holidays will be dedicated towards my homework so don't expect another update this week. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
05-04-2008, 04:16 AM
Lol I was going to do some work yesterday and today but I went to a mates 18th birthday party last night and have been a bit under the weather today lol ;). I am hoping to get the case feet mounted during the week but I have 3 essays due by Friday which I want to get drafts in by Tuesday, a hectic week for me lol.

The boy 4rm oz
05-10-2008, 02:12 AM
Well guess what guys??? UPDATE TIME!!!

I finally got my case feet mounted so here are some pics.

First I masked off the area and marked the holes for drilling:
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/6922/dsc02080mx1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Holes drilled:
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/7104/dsc02081rg3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
After that it was a simple matter of cutting the mounting bolts down to size and then mounting the completed feet:
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/3180/dsc02085fb6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Time for the money shots:
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4663/dsc02086ec8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/9100/dsc02087tc1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/3157/dsc02088mu9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Yes it does look awesome (applause lol) but there are still a few problems with them. The feet cover up some rivet holes so I will have to counter sink a hole under some spots on the feet to allow the rivet to fit.
Example:
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/3463/dsc02089fo1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
You can see in the pic the rivet hole in the center of the green part of the spacer.

Another problem (which I already knew about) are the spacers themselves. Yes they did bring the height of the case closer to stock height but they are still about 2-3mm too short.
Example:
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/3919/dsc02090wb1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
You can see the difference in the image above.
I am thinking of adding 1 or 2 washers in between the mesh and the handle (foot) to add the desired height (I think this may look quite good). The other option in cutting the difference off the front fascia itself which I don't want to do.

Well that's all I have for now. I have got a small order which is almost complete for me to pick up which will allow me to finish mounting the radiator. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
05-12-2008, 05:50 AM
Well today I was home from school cos I am sick :( so I thought I may as well try to get my radiator mounted.

First I measured and drilled some holes:
http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/8369/dsc02100rd3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Yes I know that middle lower hole is a bit churned up. There was a hole there already and the drill bit tore away the space in between the hole I was drilling and the existing hole. Don't worry, I hill be hiding the damage with some mesh strips.
Here is the radiator mounted:
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/1954/dsc02103xj3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And from the underside:
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/9303/dsc02102ph3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The radiator ended up being just a little bit crooked, you can only notice this if you are looking at it directly like this. I will fiddle with the holes to make it sit perfectly before I finish drilling the holes for the inlet and outlet.
Here is a pic of the distance between the radiator and the actual floor (using my desk an an example):
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/3836/dsc02106yr9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The gap is around 1.5-2 cm and will probably end up being close to 3cm when the radiator is properly installed and once I make the case feet a bit taller.

I have come up with a solution for my cases height issue. I was thinking of using a few standard metal washers to jack the height up a little but after having so much time on my hands today I got thinking. I really have 4 realistic options.

Option 1:
I use the standard metal washers...looks tacky.

Option 2:
I cut the difference in height off the perfect LEXA front fascia...risk destroying it.

Option 3:
I make 4 mini spacers (same design as the existing ones) to help raise the height, should give me around 3-4mm in extra height...very time consuming, don't think I have enough green plexi left.

Option 4:
I make 8 small washers out of green plexi to use instead of the metal ones...should look AWESOME.

I am going to go with option 4 but how to make the washers??? I haven't thought of that part yet. Well I probably have all day tomorrow to think about that so I'll keep you posted. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
05-12-2008, 09:45 AM
I have a holesaw but the size I need would be 1cm lol. I think I will have to just them out with a jigsaw or the Dremel and the but them on the bolt and attach it to the drill for a quick file with the good ol' file in the vice trick lol.

The boy 4rm oz
05-13-2008, 12:26 AM
After thinking about my little problem I think I could use the hole to cut out the smallest circle I can with the hole saws at my disposal and then bolt them all together and grind most of the size off until I get my desired size. The only problem with this is the size the guide makes with the holesaw, this will be much larger than the bolts I am using. Looks like i will have to glue the plexi washers in place.

The boy 4rm oz
05-13-2008, 07:32 PM
i say go with option 4 as well, mount them just under where the feet meet the black...that would look kickin!

I was thinking of putting them in between the mesh and and the handle itself but I like your idea. The only downside, your way may alter the strength of the feet because the weight is going to the washers not the feet as a whole. I will try both ways and see what they look like before I stick the washers in place.

I may get around to getting them done today. I'm home again from school today (damn flu, homework building up) so after I finish the last of my assignments which are or were due this week (that I know of) I will try to get a start on them.

Thanks for your comments and suggestions guys, it means a lot.

The boy 4rm oz
05-17-2008, 10:14 PM
Well I tried standard washers and in need about 3 of them to make up the required height that I need, it just looks tacky. If I make the plastic ones then I still may need 1 standard washer but it won't look so out of place. Shame mate, I am out of the right angle pieces. Cya when ya get back.

The boy 4rm oz
05-19-2008, 01:15 AM
This is what I will be doing with the washers:
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/6067/washermaking193b6ano0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Pic courtesy of Cheapskate over at Bit-Tech

This is the simplest way to make them. Luckily I managed to find a hole saw slightly smaller than 1/2" so this should make my job slightly easier. I may get started during the week, I'll see how I go.

The boy 4rm oz
05-25-2008, 04:16 AM
Well guys It's finally time for an update on the case feet. Guess what I did this morning...made the plexi washers YAY.

So I got some scrap pieces of plexi together and measured the size I needed for the washers, about 1.5cm diameter.
Pic:
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/1874/dsc02114lz2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
As it turns out the hole saw I used (3/4") cut the holes exactly the right size for my washers:
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/7006/dsc02119jf0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Note there are 10 washers in the pic, I only need 8 but 2 cracked so I made 2 extra. No I didn't pull the protective paper off the plexi...the hole saw did that for me lol.
Next I got my drill, a bolt and a nut and this is what I came up with:
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7055/dsc02120hn3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Once I got the file in the vice I was ready to go:
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/4590/dsc02121ga1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I don't need to make the washers any smaller than they are, I just want to tidy them up a little bit.
Here we go:
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/237/dsc02122nn0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And after a couple of mins I was left with these:
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/3840/dsc02124wh9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Time to install them.
Here is a pic of the now complete foot, I may need to add a small metal washer to add a bit more height:
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/4144/dsc02125ta9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Time for the money shots:
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/565/dsc02126gd1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/6236/dsc02127qf8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Next I modded the original case foot.
Here is the bottom of the original foot:
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/6913/dsc02128ia7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I pulled off the rubber stopper:
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/6403/dsc02129jl2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And ground down the plastic ring:
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/5486/dsc02130dj3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I know it looks ugly. I will put a piece of mesh under there or paint it.

And last but not least I finished mounting my radiator on the floor of my case.
Here are the holes cut out for the inlet and outlet pass through:
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/9655/dsc02131ky7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And a pic of the radiator mounted, it is almost perfectly straight now:
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/3565/dsc02132si6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Well that's a big update (for me lol). I am waiting for a few things to come in then I can finally finish the bottom panel and get this thing together...finally. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
05-30-2008, 02:40 AM
A small update before I start modding this weekend.
This arvo I will be picking up another 2GB of RAM for my rig. I will post some pics once I get it home.
Here is a link to the RAM I am getting:
http://www.gskill.com/en/f2-6400cl4d-hk.html
I will now have two of these kits.

The boy 4rm oz
05-30-2008, 05:59 AM
Thanks for the comment DT, yeah it's getting there. Not much left to do now.

Well I got my RAM, made it to the store with 5 mins until closing haha. Lucky Me.
Well Here are some pics, as promised.
The box:
http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/2370/dsc02139yw8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The front of the box open showing off the RAM sticks:
http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/879/dsc02143kw0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The sticks themselves:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/7517/dsc02146ni2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I love the design on the heat spreaders (and the colour). The design is minimalistic but looks quite nice I think. The design is part of the actual heat spreader, not stuck on.
The RAM comes with a G.Skill sticker and a slip of paper giving you URLs to the product website and with email addresses to tech support and warranty. The RAM also comes with a small aluminium case badge:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/1863/dsc02148ty6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/948/dsc02150fd0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And here is a pic of the RAM installed in my system along with my existing 2GB:
http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/2853/dsc02153rq7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Sorry for the bad pics, the box is weird and reflective and was hard to get a good pic of as was the case badge.
Hopefully I can get some modding done tomorrow, may have another update then. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
05-30-2008, 08:57 AM
Just a minor update.
I have ordered (need to find time to go and pick up) these items.
2x OCZ RAM cooler (1 for my brother)
2x Antec Tri-Cool 120mm Blue Fans
1x TP-Link 108Mbps wireless card (to replace my D-Link 54Mbps one)

I should have these items by the end of next week. Once I get the fans I will make sure the radiator fits nicely then I can get the bottom painted and ready to go.

I also need to place another small order which is basically just cable sleeving, a few more CCFLs and a couple of fan grills.

The boy 4rm oz
06-01-2008, 03:26 AM
Well I have a treat for you all today. I have finally finished my HDD bays. That means all the plexi I had cut in now mounted. YAY!!!
This is what my HDD racks looked like before I started my modding today:
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/4081/dsc02154sh0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This is the part I will be modding to finish them off:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/3743/dsc02155xn8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I am covering the base of the racks with a piece of plexi. This will help me keep some cables out the way, keep the air directly moving across my HDD and above all look cool.
The piece of plexi in position:
http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/2087/dsc02156tq4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A bit of modification to get it to sit right:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/151/dsc02158bs8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Perfect:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/1392/dsc02159bv2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
While I had the Dremel out I figured I may as well expand this hole.
Before:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/5338/dsc02160po9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
After:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/1818/dsc02161lf1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The hole is now big enough for a SATA power cable.
Next I market and drilled the corner holes to mount the plexi:
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/2334/dsc02162xb3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Did the same on the piece of plexi:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/5761/dsc02163rf7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The plexi bolted to the base of the HDD rack:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/5153/dsc02164cm3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I did this to save time when drilling the rest of the holes. I can drill both pieces at the same time.
The rest of the holes drilled and bolts added:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/2695/dsc02165sm9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

On to painting.
The primer:
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/8561/dsc02166uq2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And painted black:
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/1273/dsc02167tu8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

And here is a pic of the rack all back together:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/4817/dsc02168hm6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I also put some U channel on the cut I made earlier:
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/9974/dsc02171eg2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

And finally the complete HDD rack with the HDD cover:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/5761/dsc02173ky0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And with the rest of my drive bays:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/2671/dsc02174ov9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Well I think that looks quite good lol.

Well not much work I can do now until I get my fans, hopefully by the end of the week. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
06-06-2008, 04:47 AM
I have been using the PC for about 7 months now, it's in pieces on my desk lol.
Thanks for the comment.

I may have an update for you guys later this weekend.

The boy 4rm oz
06-08-2008, 08:58 AM
Update time.

I have riveted the HDD and ODD drive bays together...finally, it has been 10 months since they were like this lol. I also riveted the front face plate onto them as well and guess what, the bays stayed perfectly square :eek:.
Here are some complete shots of the drive bay stack:
http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/7529/dsc02176zu3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/4331/dsc02177ec1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The bay res fits perfectly:
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/5738/dsc02178je9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And the inlet and outlet even line up (you can't see it too well in the pic):
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/8104/dsc02179vu0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Alas there are still a few things to be finished up on.
These two gaps, here:
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2407/dsc02180lz7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And here:
http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/3661/dsc02181ig2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Need to have mesh covers made up.

While I am at it I will also make a mesh cover for the bay res:
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/1928/dsc02182yv1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Looks a bit plain don't ya think?

Well it's a public holiday tomorrow for us Australians so I will be doing my homework which I didn't do over the weekend lol. I may get some of this work done during the week. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
06-15-2008, 11:43 AM
Well I have another update for you guys today, not modding unfortunately, just tech. Everyone loves new tech ;).

I guess this is a bit over due since I got the items on Friday but I had a busy weekend and couldn't get the update up.

Well here is my order:
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/5299/dsc02183hu2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
1x TP-LINK 108Mbps wireless network card
2x Antec Tri-Cool 120mm Blue LED fans
2x OCZ RAM coolers

Here is the fan unpackaged. They come with a 3 to 4 pin adapter and it is good to see the connectors are all black apposed to white like my 80mm fans. Also the fans have a built in 3 speed fan controller, very handy. With both fans on medium I can barely hear them.
Pic:
http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/8118/dsc02184um3.jpg
I then attached the fans and the radiator to the floor of the case. Fits like a glove:
http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/4679/dsc02189dq0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/1528/dsc02190kf5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Here is a pic of the bits that come with the OCZ RAM cooler:
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/3734/dsc02186wi1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
You get the cooler top which houses the two 60mm fans, two sets of feet (you chose depending on what your RAM slots are like) and you get two thumb screws, 2 plastic washers and 2 normal screws.
I then installed the cooler onto my 4GB of RAM:
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/1112/dsc02187ar9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Powered up:
http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/2765/dsc02188zb7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The fans will eventually get the same UV treatment as the rest of them. I am trying to get my hands on some AC Ryan UV green black majic paint to re do them all.

Last but not least we have the wireless card:
http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/3622/dsc02185ef9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I would show you some pics of it installed but it isn't working and therefore doesn't deserve to be anywhere near my rig lol.

Well that's all for now. I need to do some modding this week. Perhaps the planning for the pump platform? Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
06-15-2008, 12:19 PM
It's not that it doesn't work it's just that it keeps dropping signal. My old card never had this problem. It's also only showing up as 54Mbps not 108.
Here is the thread I started about the problem:
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?p=191748#post191748

I just got off MSN with Sean (b4i7) and now I have the urge to mod that RAM cooler. I will post sketches after school.

The boy 4rm oz
06-17-2008, 10:44 AM
Well I found the uploaded image of my sketches so here it is:
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/5476/dsc02191pk3.jpg
From left to right.

Option 1:
Basic cut out of the letters, may replace cut parts with black mesh, tie it in with the rest of the case.

Option 2:
Same as option one but with a line running parallel with the flow of the letters.

Option 3:
Completely different from the first two. The rectangle in the top left corner that reads "Project:" will actually be a piece of etched green plexi indented into a cut made into the cooler so it sits flat. The letters will be cut out in the same fashion as the others.

I am kinda leaning towards the third option. A bit more challenging and holds more physical appeal.

Also I found out what font NZXT use for their products (thanks to the NZXT forums), it's Tahoma Bold. I will be using this font for the text on the cooler mod.

Let me know what you think. Especially you Sean. If you guys have ideas post them up and I will have a look.

The boy 4rm oz
06-17-2008, 10:55 AM
Yeah I should have put a not saying that those sketches were only a mock up done in class, hence the crookedness lol. I will make something quick up in word and import a print screen shot.

Thanks for the comments guys.

The boy 4rm oz
06-17-2008, 11:02 AM
Here is what I came up with. I think this will look quite effective. Just picture the letters in the green white not black. I could make the other letters black also by using some black mesh behind the cuts. I will see what it looks like without mesh before I make my mind up.
http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/17/ramcoolermod1rs6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

What do you guys think?

The boy 4rm oz
06-17-2008, 11:33 AM
It has just come to my attention that if I cut out the 'A' in LEXA the center piece will have no where to sit. I will be inlaying the letter cuts with black mesh. This will also tie the chrome cooler into the rest of the case design.

The boy 4rm oz
06-18-2008, 04:48 AM
I am glad you are enjoying my mod Vexxx, I'm just glad to get positive feed back lol. I won't let you down. Thanks for the +rep.

The mod is on the final stretch now guys. I just need to place one final order than I can completely finish off the bottom panel.

All that's left to do is:
RAM cooler mod
Pump platform
Paint bottom panel
Sleeve remaining cables
Solder up the CCFL switches and extend some cables
AND
the water cooling

The boy 4rm oz
06-29-2008, 02:33 AM
Well guess what guys!

Image Shack has stopped being a prick so here are the pics.
This is the cooler with the design glued to it:
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/2585/dsc02194en4.jpg

Sadly this is only a teaser because my camera's battery is dead. I will give it a quick charge and take a pic of where I am up to.

The boy 4rm oz
06-29-2008, 02:55 AM
Ok just had enough charge to take the pics and transfer lol.

Here is a pic of where I am up to at the moment.
I have cut out all the letters and the spot of the green plexi inlay:
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/4483/dsc02195wr9.jpg
Basically I used the Dremel with cutting disks to cut out as much as I could of the letters. I then used files to make the edges smooth and take off the remaining metal. So far I have completed the 'A' and most of the 'X' and 'L'.

Here are the files I am using, way back from my Warhammer days lol. They a re so small and fine that I can get into all the gaps, plus leave a mirror finish
Pic:
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/4176/dsc02196lg5.jpg

Well that's all at the moment guys. I had Exams the past week and haven't been able to get much work done. Maybe during the week. Until Then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
07-04-2008, 05:02 AM
Well guys not an update but an announcement.

As of Monday 14th July I am going away for 2 weeks (returning on the 21st July). There fore no modding and no time on the forum :(. Where I am going you ask well I am being forced to go to World Youth Day in Sydney Australia. If you don't know what it is Google it cos I don't really know what it means myself lol.

Also

On the 17th of July 2008 is LEXA's 1 year anniversary. Yes it has taken a long time but I have poured a ton of effort into this mod. I hope you guys throw her a party in my absence.

TB4O signing off.

Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-03-2008, 06:19 AM
Well guess what guys. The moment you have all been waiting for lol. AN UPDATE!!!
Yes yes it's update time however a small update at that.

Well I managed to tear myself away from homework long enough to realize I had a problem. My awesome plexi clad drive bay tower was sitting there collecting dust. Something had to be done. So I did what any normal person would do, I put it to use lol:
http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/3034/dsc02214cg4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/6776/dsc02215iq9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

While I was installing the optical drives and the HDD I thought it would be the perfect time to install the UV CCFL that would be under the bay reservoir...so I did:
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/7320/dsc02216vq3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Hmm the light of the front blue fan along with the UV CCFL wasn't quite bright enough for me:
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/8752/dsc02220ml4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Sorry for the bad pic.
Of course I didn't expect this single UV CCFL to light all the plexi. The other blue fans and CCFL's will light up the rest of the bay covers and plexi in the case. This CCFL was only to light up the reservoir and surrounding plexi pieces.

The solution, get another UV CCFL and mount it above the reservoir. Luckily I had one attached to the support bar of the case so of it goes:
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/3558/dsc02221kk0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I will be getting a 20cm UV CCFL to replace the 10cm one which is going in the drive bay. This will also mean more light throughout the case.

The second CCFL installed above the reservoir:
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/1897/dsc02222wh8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Much brighter this time:
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/1165/dsc02224kv7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Here is where the inverter is mounted along with the neatly hidden CCFL cables:
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/1835/dsc02226ca5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

One thing I noticed is that the inverter gets very hot. I am going to have to cut a hole in the motherboard tray as it covers the whole non windowed side of the case. This will give the inverter some degree of ventilation and make it easy to remove in case of it catching on fire (NNNNNOOOOOOO) or burning out. I may also cut a hole in the side panel itself to allow fresh air to reach the inverter, I think it's the safest way.

Well that might be the last update for some time from me. I have just a little over 10 weeks left of school until end of year final exams. My attention is 100% (well maybe 98%) on my school work and there is no time to mod on the weekend due to all the homework I am getting. I really want to get that RAM cooler done. Oh well, it will have to wait. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-07-2008, 06:45 AM
Looks like I have another update for you all.

Today I had a day off school to study so I studied for a bit then got modding lol.
I finally got around to painting the bottom panel of the case:
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/6947/dsc02227oz4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I had been putting this off because I was going to mount some LED modules on the underside of the panel to light up the case feet but due to lack of room I scrapped this idea.
I also added some 'U' channel molding to the edges of cut I made for the radiator:
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/3650/dsc02228dp6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And some grommets to the inlet and outlet pass through holes:
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/5922/dsc02230fq8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A shot of how it looks so far:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/570/dsc02231iv0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Time to install the radiator and fans.
I did run into a problem however. Part of the grommets sat under the fan, easily fixed though, I just cut part of them off.
All fixed:
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/4716/dsc02233io6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Radiator and fans installed:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/745/dsc02234mr0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
One thing I noticed about that 'U' channel molding is that it acts like those fan silencers. My fans are actually sitting on the 'U' channel so that will help absorb the vibrations from the fans. It is also working for the radiator. I guess I can cross those UV green fan silencers and silicon washers off my list now lol.

Next I re-installed the custom case feet:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/8778/dsc02235ws0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Sadly these feet will have to come off again for some customization before everything goes together. 2 of the plexi spacers on the feet are covering rivet holes so I will need to remove them so I can countersink a hole on the base so the rivet will be able to fit. Not a major job but just a bit annoying lol.

And last but not least I installed the 30cm UV CCFL onto the panel:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/538/dsc02236cd5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Well that's all for this time guys. Work still continues on the RAM cooler but nothing worth posting on. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-08-2008, 08:20 PM
@Acey I have a mix of CCFLs. My 30cm one is a Flexiglow CCFL, was expensive but worth it. The two 10CM ones are just generic ones. Here is a link:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=209_5&products_id=2455
I haven't had a problem with them.

@DF I scrapped the idea for the LED modules on the underside of the case. There was lack of room to mount them and the light wouldn't illuminate the feet correctly.

Thanks for them comments guys.

The boy 4rm oz
08-10-2008, 07:11 AM
Yeah she is almost done. Sad thing is I spent $170 over the past 2 weeks so I have no money to place my 'final' order to finish this mod off. Just a few detail parts. I may start construction this weekend because the work I need to finish is only cable management and minor stuff like that.

Yeah we will LAN, not before the Christmas holidays though.

The boy 4rm oz
08-13-2008, 07:28 AM
Well I got the cash together to place my FINAL order for this mod, everything else I can source locally. So here is what I got:
1 Chrome Fan Grill 80mm $2.50
2 Chrome Fan Grill 120mm $5.00
2 3-pin Fan power splitter $4.00
3 120mm Aluminum Filter Black $29.70
2 3-pin Extension Cable $4.00
3 Techflex 6mm/11mm Cable Sleeving - Black $9.90
1 Thumbscrews - Black $6.60
2 Black Cable Ties (20) $3.00
1 Heatshrink, 6mm, Black $2.50
1 Single 20cm Cold Cathode Kit UV $16.50
1 AC Ryan CCFL Twin Extension UV Green $4.50

Sub-Total: $88.20

Priority Air Freight: $13.00

GST Included: $9.20


Total: $101.20

All I need to do now is go to the bank and transfer the money and I should have my order early next week. I will post pics when I get my stuff. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-18-2008, 06:48 AM
Good news guys. My order arrived today, I just have to go get it from my aunties during the week sometime.

Well I thought I should post some pics up of the PC my cousin gave me.
Here is the PC:
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/4342/dsc02351fx7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And the monitor (15" BenQ LCD):
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/9093/dsc02352pr5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Lets crack her open shall we:
http://img394.imageshack.us/img394/2425/dsc02353fu0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Cable management much lol. I love how they bundled all of the cables in the max airflow zone lol.

Down bottom we have the graphics card and a wireless card:
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7323/dsc02354yn4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Behind the mass of cables we have our socket 478 Pentium 4 and 2 512mb stick of RAM:
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/175/dsc02355wa5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And up front we have a CD burner and a DVD burner:
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/9889/dsc02356rp5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Looks like I am going to replace my CD drive with this DVD drive. YAY double DVD drive goodness for LEXA lol.

Now here is a little quiz for you all. Who can guess what this graphics card is, a +rep for the correct answer:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/5862/dsc02357jy5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Well that's in until I pick up my package. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-24-2008, 02:35 AM
Well I got my order guys. It came in on Monday but due to it getting shipped to my Aunties place I only received it yesterday.
Lets have a look:
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/6180/dsc02362uq8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Not a big order but it contains most of the stuff I need to finish this mod. There is only one thing I need to get which is UV green nail polish lol. No not for me, I am going to re do my fans because the gell pen blows off them when they dry leaving UV dust everywhere.
So this is what's in my order:
3x 120mm black mesh dust traps
2x 120mm wire fan grills
1x 80mm wire fan grill
2x 20 packs of black cable ties
3x 1 meter 6mm black cable sleeving
1x 1 meter 6mm heatshrink
1x 20cm UV CCFL
1x AC Ryan duel 30cm CCFL extension cable, UV green
2x 3 pin 'Y' splitter
2x 30cm 3 pin extension cable
1x pack of 10 black thumbscrews

First up I installed the two 120mm fan grills on my 240mm radiator fans:
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/5030/dsc02363xu4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I then put 2 of the dust traps on the underside of the radiator. The thumbscrews were originally going to be used on the dust traps for easy cleaning but they are just a little too big and don't fit.
http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/493/dsc02366hi7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I then installed the third dust trap on the front intake fan, replacing the stock NZXT one that comes with the case.
Looks much better now:
http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/3003/dsc02364uh0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Here is a summary of where the other stuff will be going:

I was going to install the 20cm UV CCFL into the case support bar today but like the 10CM CCFL this one is replacing the block on the ends are too wide. Easily fixed though, I will just grind some of the plastic off with the Dremel later.

The 80mm fan grill is for the top 80mm exhaust fan. This fan will be one of the last things that will be installed.

The cable sleeving will be used on any cable I can find that isn't already sleeved.

I already have some black cable ties but at $1.50 a pack these were a bargain.

The UV green AC Ryan duel 30cm CCFL extension cable was bought just in case I needed one. I didn't want to get the UV green but there were no plain ones in stock. At $4.00 for the pair they are fairly cheap and when I replace the green sleeving with the black I get some spare green sleeving lol.

The 3 pin 'Y' splitters and extension cables were also bought just in case I needed them. Sometimes having extra length of cable available makes cable routing much easier.

Last but not least the thumbscrews. They were going to be used for the dust traps on the radiator but are a little too big so they are going to be spares for the time being.

Sorry there are no more pics guys but with only 7 weeks left until I finish high school I got a lot of work to do. May get a little bit done during the week but don't hold your breath. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
08-24-2008, 06:17 AM
Yeah the dust traps are pretty good. They are 'mushroomed' so one side pokes out a bit more than the other. The mesh is really good quality, really tight knit and corrugated to maximize dust capture. I was a bit disappointed about the price though, at $9.90 each they are a tad expensive but worth the cash IMO.

The boy 4rm oz
09-07-2008, 05:25 AM
Sorry I haven't updated in a while guys but I have been really busy with school. I have 2 2000 word essays due on Friday lol. Anyway I have been busy so here we go.

I went to an automotive shop with my mate because he needed to get some cable to wire up his sound system and I found these:
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/6668/dsc023826905336sl4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
They are chrome plastic cable spacers. Cost me $20 for the pack but IMO it was well worth it.
Even thought they looked so good they still needed to be modded slightly. I took apart all of the spacers.
Close up pic of a disassembled spacer:
http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/3205/dsc023837101374wr2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
As you can see the Allen bolt passes through to the nut which sits in a recess. These nuts aren't glued in so that's what I did next.
All glued:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/8476/dsc023847278474zf2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Now all the spacers are good to go for when I need them during the installation phase.

Next up we have the mobo tray:
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/6491/dsc024147439393ty8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Yes very plain I know. I am going to cut some holes into the tray to make cable management easier and to allow greater access to the CPU cooler (underside) and a CCFL inverter.
All my cuts marked on the tray:
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/2501/dsc024157539552ys7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Cuts all done and paint touched up a bit:
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6747/dsc024167620152uq7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
"U" channel on the cuts:
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/8135/dsc024177683871fc0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I guess I better explain what each hole is for so here we go.
Hole 1:
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1979/dsc024187760798mp0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This hole sits directly behind the CPU area of the mobo. By cutting this hole I have allowed myself the freedom of being able to remove my CPU water block without removing the motherboard from the case. Not really needed but always good to have the flexibility.

Hole 2:
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/5935/dsc024197889994sq7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This is the entrance hole for the motherboard 24pin power cord. This allows me to route the cable under the mobo tray instead of straight under the mobo.

Hole 3:
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/2897/dsc024207962821zi0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The exit hole for the 24 pin mobo power cable. This hole sits directly on the edge of the motherboard allowing only the head of the cable to be seen.

Hole 4:
http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/9443/dsc024218048918jx1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This hole gives me access to the CCFL inverter I mounted on the motherboard side of the case. It basically allows me to replace the inverter if it breaks without pulling half the case apart.

While I was doing all of this I thought I would treat you all to a progress shot:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/5069/dsc024238170192hz3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Nearly all of the structural work is now complete. Only the wiring and W/C loop to go now.

While I had the case like this I figured now was a good a time than any to make my pump mounting plate.
Here is the general area the pump will be mounted in:
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/5377/dsc024248310168yd0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And here is the pump, a Danger Den MAG II LE:
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3428/dsc024258362974kk0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This was my design for the mounting plate, pretty simple ey:
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/664/dsc024328433780fx1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I cut out the design and stuck it to a piece of scrap alu I had laying around (yes that is the cut out from mounting the 240mm radiator lol):
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/9731/dsc024338506165nv3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Plate cut out using the Dremel:
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3088/dsc024348565129ww2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Edges fixed up once again using the Dremel:
http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/1043/dsc024358629525kh3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Holes drilled:
http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/4685/dsc024368692529um2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Plate bent into shape with the vice:
http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/7853/dsc024388743933xl4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A few shots of the pump sitting on the plate, perfect:
http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/2606/dsc024408782429st8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/9711/dsc024418836389ta2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A shot of where the plate will be installed:
http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/350/dsc024428890428uw4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The pump will be held in place with a Velcro strip and this mounting plate I made. I will be using these spare bits from my Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II to mount the mounting plate:
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/4606/dsc024448925625mn8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A pic of the mounting plate:
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/578/dsc024459051330en2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Yes I know it's mesh but it is just for added support.
And here it is all together:
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/7556/dsc024469115187mg9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
It looks a bit loose but I didn't really tighten it up much and the Velcro isn't stuck on yet.

Now that the construction phase is complete I can start with the painting.
Plate and bracket primed:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/2729/dsc024479210080ft7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And painted:
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/3505/dsc024489287674fz0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I am sad to say that is as far as I got today. The paint is still drying so there are no final construction pics but I should have them for you all tomorrow. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
09-07-2008, 06:19 AM
Thanks mate. Had a 4 days weekend so I thought I should do something. Yeah those essays are a pain but once those 2000 word ones are out of the way I only have a few more minor assignments to go before I am done. Then I have until the end of the month to apply to Uni before I gotta pay the late fee. Got lots on my plate.

The boy 4rm oz
09-08-2008, 01:31 AM
As promised I have the finished and mounted pump bracket.

Here is the bracket painted and with the mounting bolts installed:
http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/6251/dsc024490837311ad7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Test fit with the pump:
http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/3687/dsc024500884947xv5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Pump installed with the Velcro:
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/1246/dsc024510942480zv0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Pump bolted down:
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/5449/dsc024521057164ri2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Another view:
http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/996/dsc024531119014ao1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Now to mount the bracket to the case.
I drilled the two holes and test mounted it, fits perfectly:
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/1456/dsc024541245006qp1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I then cut the bolts to size and attached foam strip to the back of the bracket to help with the vibrations:
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/3211/dsc024551323802sq1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Bracket installed:
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/446/dsc024561377177es6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And finally the pump installed on the bracket:
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/5536/dsc024571503704rv4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/6976/dsc024591560271iz3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

YAY all done lol. The pump sits a bit wobbly which is annoying me. I am cut the copper spacers on the pump mounting bolts down a bit to add some more tension to the pump base. At the moment it is slightly lifting the pump up.

Well that's all I have for you now guys. With 2 2000 word essays due Friday I guess I won't have an update before the end of the week but I may do something this weekend, depends if I am droving in assignments. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
09-08-2008, 03:20 AM
LOL. The last thing you want is a lose pump vibrating your whole case. It sounds like when you leave your mobile on vibrate on a wooden surface lol.

Thanks for the comments guys.

The boy 4rm oz
09-20-2008, 09:33 PM
Well guys don't I have a nice treat for you all today. This one comes in the form of A COMPLETED CASE!!!

Yesterday while I was waiting for a few mates to come over so we could continue with one of our media studies assignments I got an itch. Not an itch that could easily be scratched...I got the modding itch. I decided it was time to put my poor old LEXA back together.

First there were a few minor alterations that needed to be taken care of.

I had to slightly modify one of the front case feet to allow rivets to be inserted underneath it. This meant simply drilling a hole and countersinking it:
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9144/dsc024600102293kv9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Next I had to cut a small bit of the radiator grommets to allow the drive bays to sit flat:
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/5397/dsc024620195587aq9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

And finally I had to grind a bit off the HDD bay cover so it would sit flush with the base of the case:
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/8281/dsc024630267825js6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for. The case in all it's glory!!!
Windowed side panel on:
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/7347/dsc024860388699vg4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Windowed side panel off:
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/1850/dsc024870449873yt9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A shot of the drive bays:
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/8373/dsc024880520502mv4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A shot of the rear:
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/4646/dsc024890608579hv2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And the underside of the case:
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/2424/dsc024900671923pa0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Well I hope you all enjoyed that, I tell you what, I sure did lol. Even thought he case is constructed there are still a few more things that need to be done before my hardware can call it home. This coming week is the last of school before a 2 week break before exams. I have a lot of work to do in the first week on the holidays but should hopefully get LEXA finally completed before I have to go in for my practice exams. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
09-26-2008, 10:33 PM
Ok guys. I started shortening the cables for the CCFL harness and I have run into a problem. The new switches I have for the CCFLs have a blue LED in them that is meant to light up when you flick the switch.

The problem I am having is that I can't get it to light up and power the CCFL at the same time. I have both 1 yellow and 1 red spade connector coming from the molex plug. The light will only turn on when the red spade connector is attached to the LED terminal but the switch wont work when I do so.

I soldered a second spade connector to the red line so I can have one attached to the switch and another to LED terminal. For some reason the switch takes priority over the LED even when both of the spade connectors are attached. If I remove the spade to the switch than the LED works and the CCFL doesn't. As soon as I plug the spade back on the LED it stops working and the CCFL does lol.

I am really stuck with this due to me not being that great at circuits and such. Can someone please help me?

Please ask if you need any pics.

The boy 4rm oz
10-03-2008, 02:04 AM
Well I guess I owe you guys an update on what I have been up to lately.

I have spent the majority of my time routing cables and trying to get my LED rocker switches to work. Thanks very much to Luke and XcOM for their help so far.
I Got around to mounting my 20cm UV CCFL to the support bar of the case:
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/4971/dsc025051912158ye6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I also wired up all the CCFLs to their respective inverters:
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/8559/dsc025031988391lq8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/6587/dsc025042163859he0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The only thing left to do is finish soldering the power connectors for the rocker switches and I don't have to worry about the CCFLs.

I have also tweaked the bump bracket by cutting the brass nuts in half. The pump is 100% secure and will not move (even if I force it.
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/1907/dsc025082247248wl3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I have also been tweaking a bit with the water loop:
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/2054/dsc025092388221kx8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/8817/dsc025102515186pp2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/9318/dsc025112583126av3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/8787/dsc025122647378kn7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I have been able to connect the 120mm rad to the res and fillport, the res to the 240mm rad and then the 240mm rad to the pump. I know that this loop probably isn't the best for the flow but it is the only way I can keep it all neat. If the flow is really bad I will upgrade the pump to a Danger Den D5.

And last but not least I have started designing a new face plate for the front of the reservoir.
Tell me what you think:
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/1935/reservoirfaceplate1kz2.png (http://imageshack.us)
The new face plate will be made from a piece of AC Ryan MeshX I have laying around. The "LEXA" and the line underneath it will cut from the mesh. The mesh will be painted black and I will use clear double sided tape to attach it to the front of the res.

That's it for now. When the weather clears up I will paint my fans then I can finish routing the cables. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
10-04-2008, 01:14 AM
I have a small update today. I made the face plate for the reservoir.
The cut out and filed face plate:
http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/2433/dsc025137022923jc5.jpg
I then painted it a satin black, not the flat I usually use. This helps it blend in with the glossy plastic at the front of the case:
http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/4547/dsc025147140516iy6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And installed to the front of the reservoir:
http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/939/dsc025177212392eb2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The letters are back lit by the Vista screen saver but you get the idea.

I may get around to painting some of my fans this arvo but I doubt it. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
10-10-2008, 06:08 AM
Thanks blue. I thought the plain clear plastic just looked dull and boring. A solid mass of colour wouldn't go with the theme. I actually contemplated replacing the front piece of plexi with a smoked black piece or even painting on a design. The mesh suited my needs best cos I have tons of it lol.

Thanks for the comment and the +rep

*EDIT*
Thanks blue, you just gave me my third light green rep bar.

The boy 4rm oz
10-12-2008, 04:26 AM
Thank you all very much guys. Your support really means a lot to me.

I go back to school tomorrow kicking off the last 11 days of high school FOR EVER (before exams). I doubt I will get you an update before then but I hope I will have a chance to work on her a bit more. Once my mate gives me back my Dremel I can finish the RAM cooler and perhaps sometime this week I will paint the fans (it's meant to be warm). After than I have only the CCFL cables to solder up, make 1 (YAY) more mesh cover and then install.

She has taken me a long time to make I know (about 14-15 months now I think), the idea and vision was constantly changing but now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Christmas is my maximum deadline. She will definably be finished well before then.

Once again thanks for all your ongoing support. If you have any questions about something I have made/modded feel free to post em up and I will try to answer them to the best of my ability.

The boy 4rm oz
10-17-2008, 04:44 AM
WOOHOO!!! Time for a very very small update lol

Well it is Friday afternoon and a lovely 29*c outside so it seemed like a perfect time to paint my fans.
Here are all the fans with their cables bagged up and with the blades painted with some yellow gel highlighter:
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/8396/dsc025222240335od8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
After I gave the blades a coat of clear varnish the fans looked like this:
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/5328/dsc025252349351ep4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I wish I had some pics to show you with the fan but my camera only captured the blue glow, not the green center, bummer.

I know it looks a bit patchy but the highlighter kept spreading across the smooth plastic surface. You can't notice this when the fans are running though.

I still haven't decided whether or not to paint the 60mm fans from the RAM cooler. I am going to wait and see how that turns out before I make my decision. The last fan I have to paint is the one on my Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II northbridge cooler. As the cooler is being used I will paint it when I am assembling the system.

I also finished filing the cuts on my RAM cooler:
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/8744/dsc025202664352gs8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Since my friend still has my Dremel I couldn't do any more work to it but I did do this:
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/6632/dsc025212806995af3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I traced the letters from the cooler onto a piece of gloss black mesh I had laying around from a pair of old speakers. This mesh will be cut out and placed in the cuts. Green plexi will then be put behind the mesh. Should look really cool.

Well that's all for me, better get started on the homework, gonna be a late one tomorrow night ;). Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
10-17-2008, 07:14 PM
@mittelmeier - Thanks, I like how they turned out a lot.
@Karbon Killa - Well I only have 6 days of classes left so after that I will hopefully be able to get her all put together rather quickly.

The last few things left on my list to do are:
1. Finish soldering up the CCFL leads.
2. Make a mesh cover for the gap in the HDD cover plate.
3. Finish the RAM cooler.
4. Cable management.

After that there are just a couple of little touch ups I need to do (nothing major) then I can install the system and water cool this baby, finally lol.

The boy 4rm oz
10-30-2008, 12:41 AM
Well guys, my last lessons were on Monday so I have had this week to finish off remaining assignments and a few other tedious stuff. I have finished all that crap so now it's time to mod ;).

Lets start off with a piece I have made in hindsight of a design fault (mine not NZXT).
See these gaps?:
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/4185/dsc025359435367kj5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/7223/dsc025369525825oi6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Ugly aren't they? Time to make a cover, mesh naturally ;).
Drew up the design on what is left of my MeshX panel:
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/9769/dsc025399677265ua4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Then I roughly cut around the design with tin snips:
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/1280/dsc025409748184yt9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Time to get the Dremel out.
I cut the cover out and cleaned up the edges:
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/5964/dsc025449815274uy5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I then bend the cover into shape:
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/5715/dsc025459876347ax1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6376/dsc025469963934eq1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Turned out pretty good I think :).

Time for the test fit, YAY no ugly hole lol:
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/1098/dsc025470023429wi4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img402.imageshack.us/content.php?page=done&l=img402/9282/dsc025480079603we8.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/158/dsc025490143699xo2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I drilled the holes and time for another test fit:
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/434/dsc025500249537lh3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/4971/dsc025510369434lm3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Fits perfectly.

Now time to paint:
I primed and painted the cover and this is the result:
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/7823/dsc025520513686ft3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Final install:
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/2315/dsc025530618680tz5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/8561/dsc025540690007kt0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/3541/dsc025550753758so9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I think it turned out pretty well. Some of the paint did chip off around the screws and I will retouch this before the final complete install.

Next up on the list was the side intake fan.
I spliced the cable and added a male and female 3.5mm headphone jack and also sleeved the cable black. This will make taking the side panel a breeze.
Pics:
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/6392/dsc025410872401el3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/4083/dsc025420977786fg4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Then I installed it on the side panel:
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/6644/dsc025581063256fm5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/8981/dsc025591153573pm4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I also have to add the original dust trap which will be installed on the rear of the fan. this just makes it more convenient to clean. The dust trap will be held on with the sale bolts and domed nuts as the rest of the mod.

While I was attaching the other fan to the Side panel I thought I may as well install the front intake fan:
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/9469/dsc025561435269kq4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Routed the cable:
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/2268/dsc025571503125tp9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

And last but not least I found a use for the black thumb screws I brought. They will be perfect to use to attach the motherboard.
I attached the thumbscrews to the stand offs so I wouldn't lose them lol:
http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/1233/dsc025371308465wh8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Each thumbscrew has a silicon washer attached to the bottom of the screw. This is to ensure there will be no short between the motherboard and the screw.

Well that's it for now. I have my Dremel back so I can finish off the RAM cooler and then I just have to finish off the CCFL cabling and route the rest and I am done. I have to go into school tomorrow and early next week to finish off some work so I may get some more done this weekend. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
10-31-2008, 06:47 AM
Yep not a lot at all.
Just to re cap for the rest of you.
1. I need to finish the RAM cooler
2. Finish the CCFL cable soldering
3. Sleeve and route a few more cables
4. Water cool and install hardware

That's about it lol.

The boy 4rm oz
11-04-2008, 04:40 AM
Once again guys, thank you all for your on going support, comments and votes for MOTM over at Bit-Tech. Sadly I am losing but I don't care, I am just honored to get nominated.

Today I didn't need to go into school so I got stuck into finishing my RAM cooler. I actually stated this on the weekend but ran into some problems, I will explain when I get to it later.

First I made a whole new batch of letters, the other ones were crap lol:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/8613/dsc025606165802xp8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I then cut out some bits of plexi to glue in behind the letters I cut from the face plate:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/828/dsc025616448627fc5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I used some clear roofing silicon to glue the plexi in place:
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/7964/dsc025626514323at4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Looks pretty good doesn't it?:
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/6373/dsc025636580970lp7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3240/dsc025646645805gj0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I left this to dry overnight to let the silicon dry properly. I came out the next day to drill the excess plexi out through the holes but the silicon was really weak and the piece of plexi kept falling off. I re-glued the plexi using an excessive amount of silicon and used a piece of wooden garden stake to keep the plexi pushed up toght against the mesh cooler.
Pic of the clamping phase:
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/7194/dsc025656845277pv5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I left the cooler like this overnight to let the silicon dry properly.

This morning I went back to the shed and got out my drill ;).
I drilled out all of the excess plexi from the front of the cooler. This is how the plexi pieces looked after:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/7199/dsc025666907510sr5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Now you can't see any green plexi front on (except the letter of course).
I then glued the black letters over the green plexi:
http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/8438/dsc025697040778oh2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I then installed the fans so I could get an idea of how it looked:
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/6933/dsc025727114221cv0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
It actually looks a lot greener, my camera just doesn't pic kit up too well.

I was contemplating painting the fans to look like the rest of mine (green blades) but I think the plain blue would look better for this piece. It will make you look at the letters, not the fans.

The cooler in now 80% complete. All I need to do is cut a small piece of green plexi to fit in the hole in the top left of the RAM cooler. I am going to engrave "Project:" into the piece of plexi so the RAM cooler will read "Project: LEXA". One that is done I won't have to pick up my Dremel for a very long time :(.

I also finished off a few other bits today.
I Installed the stock mesh dust trap to the rear of the side intake fan using the same bolts and domed nuts as the rest of the mod. Looks really clean IMO.
Pics:
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/9426/dsc025737399964lx5.jpg
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/4618/dsc025747484084ci1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
That's now finished.

I had another one of the fan grills which I installed on the side intake fan so I installed it to the rear exhaust fan:
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/7026/dsc025757611689fr1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I also got stuck into some cable management.
Here are the floppy bays which will be concealing the majority of my cables:
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/8359/dsc025767694241ge8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Currently you can see the power cables for the side intake fan, the 240mm radiator fans and the power lead to the RAM cooler. The only thing that's missing is the CCFL wire harness.
Here is a shot of the motherboard tray:
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/511/dsc025777874779bw3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
It's pretty neat ATM but there are a few more cables to go there yet.

Well that's all for now. I am going to mark up a piece of plexi which will fit in the RAM cooler later, I may even get around to working on the CCFL harness. Currently I leave you at 97% (case) completion WOOHOO!!! Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
11-04-2008, 05:36 AM
@blue - Thanks mate. Yeah it was the easiest solution but not something that was easy lol. Took me around 40mins-1hour to successfully drill out all of the plexi lol. My arm was killing me haha.

Thanks for the comment and thanks for the +rep Vitzy^. I am glad it is my mod which dragged you from the darkness and made you register lol.

The depth of the cooler is (from the outside) is 1.7cm (17mm). The alu which the cooler is made of is 1mm thick. This leaves you 16mm to work with on the inside of the cooler. The fans themselves are 11mm thick. So in total you have a 5mm gap between the fans and the top of the cooler (the fans sit level with the base, RAM side, of the cooler). The plexi I used was 3mm thick so I roughly have a 2mm gap between the plexi and the fans.

I don't mind at all if you use my idea, feel free to use any of my ideas. That's what modding is about, sharing ideas and experience. I am glad you are enjoying my mod and once again thanks for the comment.

The boy 4rm oz
11-05-2008, 10:12 PM
Well guys I have a little surprise for you. I worked my ass off yesterday when I should have been getting homework done before I go away on Monday but no no no, I had to mod.

After 16months and 19days (I think lol), LEXA is finished. Yes you heard me finished, well the case is anyway. I still have to finish the RAM cooler.

Before we get to the pics of the finished case here Is how the CCFL harness turned out:
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4497/dsc025796787310kw1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
It works perfectly, lights the CCFL and the LED in the switch.

And here are a few shots of how the cabling in the floppy bays turned out:
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4517/dsc025806866035ci3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2693/dsc025816925763lf0.jpg

Now onto the pics of LEXA. I warn you in advance that the case is dirty and the pics are bad. For the final shoot I will give her a wash to remove the fingerprints and take some proper pics.
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/2465/dsc025847066728md4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3492/dsc025857130150mx2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/9763/dsc025867184049bb8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7056/dsc025877232800ps8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4452/dsc025887284315mh3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/2703/dsc025907376853nd6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


I hope you all enjoy those pics. I am really happy with how the chassis itself turned out. I am going away on Monday (coming back Friday) so don't expect any updates until after then. I have some school work to finish before I go away so that takes priority over the RAM cooler sadly :(. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
11-14-2008, 08:43 AM
Yeah the case is finished but the mod is still rolling. I am hoping to get the RAM cooler done tomorrow and hopefully the system installed in the arvo and let the W/C run in for 24hrs.

Thanks a lot for the rep man, here is some for your efforts.

The boy 4rm oz
11-15-2008, 11:27 PM
Hey guys, I have some good news and some bad news.

The good news is that I Have started the final "Project:" engraving for the RAM cooler.

The bad news is that my Dremel is now broken. I cut out the piece of plexi that was required and when I attached the engraving bit (not using the flex shaft) my Dremel decided it would be funny to get stuck on full speed. On all the speed setting my Dremel is running flat out, I don't want to attempt to engrave like this. I now have to wait until tomorrow until I can take the Dremel back to the place I brought it from and they will probably send it to America for repairs, such a head F**K!!!. Looks like someone doesn't want me to finish this mod lol.

Well looks like this probably wont be finished before Christmas now :(.

I'll keep ya posted.

The boy 4rm oz
11-26-2008, 12:55 AM
Well guys I have a 2 part update for you all, the first part is the completion of the RAM cooler and the second part is the installation of the water cooling.

Firstly I marked up the piece of plexi for cutting:
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/3240/dsc025964432173tq3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I then printed out the piece of text which would be engraved:
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/1337/dsc025974489123ey0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
It fits perfectly on the plexi:
http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/9006/dsc025984566794pa9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I then cut out the plexi:
http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/8346/dsc025994623380wh7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I glued the text to the plexi and was ready to engrave:
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/5543/dsc026004677440mj0.jpg

I was just about to start engraving when my Dremel crapped itself, yet the variable speed was stuck on max. I sent it away for repairs and was forced to use this old engraved I had laying around:
http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/8874/dsc026024852328ap3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Absolutely gutless haha.
This is what resulted from the attempt of engraving:
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/4388/dsc026044913716yz4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/9544/dsc026054972392ml8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Not bad for a first shot I must admit.
I touched it up and about 20 mins later I was left with this:
http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/8626/dsc026065100932fe4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Turned out pretty well I think.
I then glued the plexi piece in place and now a fully functioning RAM cooler:
http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/3348/dsc026105218149wn8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I know you can't see the engraving too well in that pic but it looks much better in the PC with the rest of the gear.

This concludes part 1 of this update, onto part 2.

The boy 4rm oz
11-26-2008, 01:26 AM
Ok time for part 2 of this update, water cooling.

Before I could do anything I needed to install the PSU into position:
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/4095/dsc026115689349us2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The PSU cover plays it's part perfectly, it looks great.
I installed everything to the mobo and then installed it into the case:
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/6927/dsc026135772504sh6.jpg
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/745/dsc026145843697cw6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I had a few problems while installing the motherboard but nothing I couldn't overcome. The first problem being the fan grill on the rear fan interfering with the on-board Karajan audio, simple fix, remove the grill lol. The other problems were with he thumbscrews I was using to attach the motherboard. 1 of the thumbscrews interfered with the southbridge cooler and the other with the graphics card slot. I left these screws un-installed, simple fix.

The next thing to do was install the GPU block to the graphics card and the heatsinks to the graphics RAM:
http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/9701/dsc026156149552ra9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I did encounter a problem with this stage. The Swiftech RAM sinks are utter crap, the thermal pads which are installed on the base can not keep the heatsinks attached to the RAM chips. Even if I heated up the pad with a hair dryer there was no adhesion. Even the Zalman sinks (blue ones) stuck first time. Very disappointing for Swiftech. I fixed this problem by putting a small dab of Arctic Silver 5 on the base of each sink, instant adhesion.
Once I fixed this problem I installed the graphics card along with the rest of the hardware:
http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/740/dsc026166516904fy1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I then attached all my hoses and started to fill the loop:
http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/8753/dsc026176468613sz1.jpg
Loop filled and leak testing:
http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/7448/dsc026186710194il4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/5157/dsc026197017935lb9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This first batch of leak testing went flawlessly, no leaks at all. I went away for a few days (leaving the system off) and when I powered up the system for the first time I immediately noticed a leak on the GPU block. This resulted in the draining of the loop, a whole new piece of hose and another run of leak testing.

Everything is running beautifully now. Here is a final pic of the water cooling:
http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/2425/dsc026216969469rc1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Currently my Q6600 is idling at around 30*c and my 8800GTX hovers around 30-31*c.

Well that's the water cooling done and the end of this update. I still need to do some cable management on the mobo tray then I will clean up the case and (tttttooooooo many finger prints lol) and do a proper photo shoot. Until then...

Happy Modding.

The boy 4rm oz
11-26-2008, 02:16 AM
The cooler will work on both north and south bridge chips. There are 2 ways of mounting the block, bolt through or hooks (depending on how the stock cooler is attached). I have mine attached with the hooks. The cooler has adjustable arms so it will fit almost any chipset, see the website for a complete list, I think lol.

As for the fan. The fan has 3 LED's which are powered by the fans movement, the slower the speed, the dimmer the light. The LED's are embedded into the frame of the fan but my guess is that you should be able to just cut the wire and they should be fine.

Hope that helps.

The boy 4rm oz
11-26-2008, 04:48 AM
I got those particular ones from PC Case Gear (www.pccasegear.com.au) I think they were $4.50 each, they also come in red LED's. Your local Dick Smiths or Jaycar store will also stock switches like that.

The boy 4rm oz
11-30-2008, 12:32 AM
Well guys, today I come to you with mixed emotions. I am very happy because the mod is now 100% complete standing proud on my desk just to the right of me. However I am also saddened. The mod that you know of as "Project: LEXA" is now complete and this shall be my final update.

After a long yet enjoyable 16 months and 14 days "Project: LEXA" is complete and as I promised, here are the final pics.
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/1826/dsc026287448517cm6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/1070/dsc026317533679sd9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/6289/dsc026367592439ky4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/2804/dsc026347645617lm2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/2841/dsc026297714184lw3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/5104/dsc026307764384tm2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/66/dsc026327842527fc7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/9948/dsc026337899890cq9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/1079/dsc026357952852tk1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/4403/dsc026408002199sw2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/8610/dsc026498055663pf6.jpg
http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/5862/dsc026418098966cn3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/7563/dsc026388147226za6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/5148/dsc026398238163vh2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/4563/dsc026428292271ni0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/8640/dsc026438341336jx0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/2412/dsc026448387938wt4.jpg
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/433/dsc026458458147yk0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/1924/dsc026468516448yz7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/4971/dsc026488575369ff2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/9348/dsc026508756243lt2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/8191/dsc026528809827yl0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/747/dsc026538867641jg0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/9014/dsc026548913403dx5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/8163/dsc026558962260hg2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/2384/dsc026589009161qn4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/1396/dsc026259140008sd0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

There you guys, LEXA is all her glory. You may have noticed the absence of the fan on the side panel. It was in the way of the water cooling so I decided it was best to remove it, no major loss. I do intend to eventually put a fan grill on that rear fan but for the time being I think it looks fine.

I would like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout this mod. Thank you for your kind comments, helpful hints and ideas (thanks Sean ;)) and ongoing support and most of all thanks to those who have taken the time to read and post a comment, it means a lot.

Once again, if you have any questions feel free to post them and I will try my hardest to answer them.

Well until my next mod...

Happy Modding.


Link To Original Worklog (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9478)