Rookie wanting to increase airflow and giving his case a neat look

[Nagoshi]

I already posted this in another thread but I thought I may get more posts here too, since its a rookie place, and I am a rookie too :) (Actually Im a firsttimer modding) so let me explain the thing I wanna do.

This is an old compy (P3 550MHz, nothing fast) thus I like the ''serious'' look the case have. I got some shots, they are down the post. Basically, there is pratically no airflow in this, and since the whole thing is dusty and not well positioned for optimal airflow, I wanted to help him a little by making a hole in the front panel for my fan (look down the shots for more info, youll see the front panel got A FEW TINY holes for airflow so it aint what my compy needs)

I also thought about painting it black (or maybe another color, but probably black), the problem is that my floppy drive/DVD burner/CD burner are all beige, the same as the case (the new DVD burner is whiter and the CD burner is darker than the case) and I dont know if I should paint the whole stuff (it would mean open both CD/DVD drives and paint anything that is plastic, and since I like having original decals on them it would mean buying another color, probably somehting silverish, and making some LG DVD decals and other stuff).

(copied the whole post from the other topic so it may seems unclear)

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/5619/photo86ou.jpg
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/3976/photo47cv.jpg
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6896/photo22yg.jpg
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/9844/photo31oy.jpg
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/886/photo94jq.jpg
http://img414.imageshack.us/img414/746/photo109xv.jpg
Here are shots of my case. Couldn ttake one of the inside, but Ill take one when Ill be able to unplug it so I can take it off (cables are streched).

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/3596/caseflow2ei.jpg
This one shows my case position, and I already wrote the color meanings in it but Ill repeat them. when it's dark green, it's the desk panels, grey means case, red means actual flow, blue means wanted flow, black n red square means actual fans, black n blue means wanted fans, pink shows the wiring. Should be it.

I may as well take a first step by just modding my intake hole in the front of the case, the question is if I am going to let my fan off-centre or drill new holes to make it centered? Since I am going to know it when I will be modding my front panel. I may only drill new bigger holes for intake in the front, I still dont know. Im asking for recommendations. I may go buy new fans (probly with LEDs to add some lighting) and a fan grill for the front intake, and maybe even paint my comp if I need to. Another thing, the case panels are made of some kind of steel, maybe aluminium, maybe steel, I dont know which one, but it aint plastic. Only the front panel is. And I would use a fan grill to cover the huge dirty hole.

Thanks alot for your help :D

EDIT : I may as well take one of the front 5.25'' bay panels and try to make a fan sit there to make a better airflow, altho the cabling is a mess, but if I need to buy new stuff I may buy new IDE round cables.

[nil8]

Since this is your first mod, I would suggest cutting a bunch of small holes on the intake area of your case and leave the trim alone. A bunch of strategically placed small holes for your intake fan is easier than one big hole.

As for your 5.25" drives, there's another option too. It's using the blank that came out of the case as the cover for your 5.25 drive. Someone else could probably post a link, I'm at work and a lot of the internet is blocked.

As for cable maintence, buy cable ties and practice. The more you do it, the better you get.

If your pc is going to be in the same spot and you're worried about airflow you might consider putting a fan on the top of the box to vent hot air. Just food for thought.

Good luck and if you have any questions, just ask.

[Nagoshi]

As for your 5.25" drives, there's another option too. It's using the blank that came out of the case as the cover for your 5.25 drive. Someone else could probably post a link, I'm at work and a lot of the internet is blocked.
I cant understand what you are trying to mean there. Could you be a little more.. explicit? My english is bad and sometimes when it get to complicated (or truncated a bit too much) sentences I cant understand ^^;

[tybrenis]

I cant understand what you are trying to mean there. Could you be a little more.. explicit? My english is bad and sometimes when it get to complicated (or truncated a bit too much) sentences I cant understand ^^;

I believe he is talking about "stealthing" your drives. Like such:

http://www.xoxideforums.com/case-design-cutting/50197-guide-drive-stealthing.html

[nil8]

That's exactly what I'm talking about. And I found the guide I was looking for too.

http://www.casemodgod.com/drive_stealthing.htm

Simple mod, really easy to do for most and makes things look more professional for half an hour of work.