xps t700r , brain transplant and reconstructive surgery , *pic heavy*

[jawshwaa]

so this being my first work log i'll get to the goods. i started this case with a "sleeper" theme in mind , you know ,10yr old case with new gear in it. it was a nice gag for a lil while.but i felt it deserved better.this being the case that my parents had ,while i was living there. so heres were i started
t700r
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/dellside.jpg
all good ideas start with sharpie
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/vlcsnap-2010-01-12-10h45m47s228.png
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/vlcsnap-2010-01-13-11h27m48s128.png
the ghost of billy mays reminded me that i had some magic putty left from fixing a hole in a gas tank , so i used it to close the floppy drive bay(it really does do everything)and i used a 2 part clear plastic to fill the void in the front panel and cardstock to dam it in
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/vlcsnap-2010-02-19-09h40m49s69.png
not bad so far with a plexi window
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/vlcsnap-2010-02-19-10h04m19s96.png
here i used a cd to make a template for air intake holes
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0220001516.jpg
got a plan for this
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0227000924.jpg
so many drives , only one sata....and my poor lil 7600gt with stock heatsink
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0219002149.jpg
chill out lil 7600 , you'll get retired soon , heres a zalman from a dead 8800gts , thanx craigslist.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0303002013.jpg
wish i could have had more pics of the psu , its actually a dell psu case with an hec 460w server psu inside of it.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0219002151.jpg
of course a psu window isnt any good if you cant see it
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/100_0367.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/100_0374.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/100_0368.jpg
the i/o plate didnt fit in this case , so i made one from carbon fiber
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0303002011.jpg
little bit of paint
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/100_0387.jpg
psu gets face lift
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/100_0445.jpg
another craigslist find , free phenom BE heatsink
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/100_0527.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/100_0510.jpg
playing with the heatsink
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/100_0513.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/100_0516.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0219002153.jpg
this is better then the gaping hole in the frame
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/100_0827.jpg
pci slot covers , home made
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/Snapshot_20100430.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0429001248a.jpg
i skipped a bunch of stuff here i added more carbon fiber to the front panel and i removed ALL of the ide drives , 2 hdd(one at a time) and a dvd drive. so now i only have 2 80gb sata hdd , and my dvd burner is in an old external cd burner drive.
started making covers to hide the cables.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/Snapshot_20100430_3.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0506000845.jpg
front panel on , with carbon fiber trim , still waiting on more cf
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0506001911.jpg
i decided a while back that i didn't like how the plexiglass wasn't flush , so i filled the side panel with the same 2 part plastic , and added blue dye , bam , flush window , with the same opaqueness as the front panel
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/100_0449.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0506000842a.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0506001911a.jpg
lights off
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/119.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/121.jpg
well that's were im at so far (as you can tell im no pro), i'll update when i can , thanks for the warm welcome every one , looking forward to finishing this up.

[SXRguyinMA]

looks nice! nice work! and welcome to TBCS!

[diluzio91]

lookin sharp! would love for you to explain the flush window thing in a little more detail though. sounds interesting

[Couch3ater]

Looks pretty good! I'm glad you cleaned it up with paint. I was getting worried for awhile there, hahaha

[StormRider]

one word:wow

[StormRider]

Edit: sorry about the double post. My computer had a fit on me

[jawshwaa]

looks nice! nice work! and welcome to TBCS!
thanx dude , glad to be able to contribute


lookin sharp! would love for you to explain the flush window thing in a little more detail though. sounds interesting
it was actually pretty easy , after i cut out the flame pattern in the side panel i taped a layer of wax paper to the outside , laid it face down on a level surface and poured a 2 part casting resin into the cavity. after a few coats , i did some coats with a blue tint. i'll post some pics of the process later. clearance issues were a big reason on why i opted for the flush window.

Looks pretty good! I'm glad you cleaned it up with paint. I was getting worried for awhile there, hahaha
lol it reminded me of a storm trooper all white and black , but i agree. "murdered out" (blacked out) is the way to go


one word:wow
wow indeed. thanx guy :P

[billygoat333]

looking good so far. love the idea of showing the psu window with a side window. :)

[jawshwaa]

heres some better pics of the side panel,
before dye
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/photo2.jpg
and heres the inside , gives better view of how the plastic was poured
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/photo3.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/Snapshot_20100520.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0520001433.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0520001434.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0220001516a.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/Snapshot_20100520_1.jpg

[x88x]

Wow, huge improvement over stock. :D Interesting side window method too, I don't think I've seen that done before.

[diluzio91]

i cant say i have either... hmmmmmmmmmmmm.... this intrigues me...

[The_Crippler]

Cool idea with the window.

Also, that's a surprisingly modable case, and easy to find. I think I have 4 of them right now. Good call on cuttin' it up and making it your own.

[jawshwaa]

i cant say i have either... hmmmmmmmmmmmm.... this intrigues me...
give you any ideas?


Cool idea with the window.
Also, that's a surprisingly modable case, and easy to find. I think I have 4 of them right now. Good call on cuttin' it up and making it your own.
thanx man , i think thats what it needed. i cant find another t700r that can run crysis :P

did a lil more work on my cable covers , im making them from Plexiglas , painting them , then coating them in a 2 part lacquer for a nice smooth shine. the lacquer also fills in its own low spots after a couple coats.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/PICT0171.jpg
stuck a molex plug in the front L bracket for plugging in fans later on , i would like to put some smaller 2 pin plugs in later
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/PICT0172.jpg
still trying to get the curve right for the cover on the 24 pin mobo plug.
i also had an extra nvidia 256 video card ,
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/gf256ddr.jpg so i took the heatsink/fan off it and put it on my NB (nico bellic :P) i dont know how much it actually helps , but it feels cooler to the touch, thats good enough for me.

[raistnox]

I must say your the only person ive seen do a carbon fiber io shield thumbs up there guy keep it up

[Kayin]

Son, I am... appoint!

Excellent work, and that casting resin's fun to work with, no?

[jawshwaa]

I must say your the only person ive seen do a carbon fiber io shield thumbs up there guy keep it up
thanx guy. having some that was pre-made , made it alot easier


Son, I am... appoint!
Excellent work, and that casting resin's fun to work with, no?
im starting to wonder what i cant do with it

did a little tinkering the past couple days. repainted my mouse , and did several clear coats on it.
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0526001020.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0524002240.jpg
also added some more c/f trim to the front
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0525001301.jpg
i pulled the feet off an old stereo , should give me plenty of height for a fan to pull air in underneath?
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0526002143.jpg
kicking around the idea of putting an emblem of some kind on the front , maybe an old belt buckle , this one may be over the top , but i think you get the ideahttp://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/jawshwaa/t700r%20mod/0526002158.jpg