blackacidevil
05-10-2006, 10:30 PM
don't know what to say to start off this project of mine. Those of you who have seen my other case project, the H.A.B.T.T., on other forums might remember me. Those of you that haven't, Google is a wonderful thing.
I learned a LOT of valuable things about case-modding from various forums. I learned a lot about case-modding just by trial-and-error. And man, I made quite a few errors.
The H.A.B.T.T. was a good idea. Just not practical. And come to think of it, too damn big. 132 pounds of computer is just a wee bit on the ridiculous side. And it's a real pain in the arse to rotate when I need access to the back panel. So the H.A.B.T.T. will find it's way to the landfill when this case is completed. I just dont have the space, or the cash, to make it what I dreamed it had the potential to be.
So here it goes. I don't have a name for it. I wanted to make this case a tribute to RTCW, but the wifey doesn't want a Wolf case. We'll see what happens. This PC will become "hers" when I build my gaming rig, to start in late summer or early fall. A worklog will accompany that project as well.
The case:
Standard ATX mid-tower. It was my mother's computer. Purchased brand new from a now-defunct Canadian PC company. IPC Computers. She paid over $2000 for this system (it came with a 17" monitor, speakers, printer, and software) and it was a step below top-of-the-line IPC had offered at the time. Pentium II- 350Mhz. 6 gig hard drive. Integrated graphics, although later on my brother bought an ATI Rage Fury Maxx 64MB card so he could play Half-Life. 128megs of PC-100 RAM. PC-Chips mainboard. (VERY cheap. Crap.)
Starting the strippage:
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/2442/ipc010fz.png
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4463/ipc029cz.png
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9849/ipc033qh.png
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9483/ipc042im.png
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/5396/ipc052nl.png
Notice the dust pattern on the roof of the case? Yeah, that's right. The idiots who assembled this case installed the power-supply UPSIDE-DOWN!
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/7828/ipc067gd.png
Internal frame that held 80mm intake fan and filter needs to go. Drilled the rivets out.
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/6046/ipc070dw.png
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/6476/ipc081ng.png
Front panel:
A hair-cutting shop closed down in a local plaza, and the unit was stripped of everything. These chrome "tunnels" were embedded in a hairstylist's station to hold glass containers to store their scissors.I managed to snag 2 of them from the dumpster. I knew they could be used in a case, just at the time I had no immediate need for them but thought to grab them anyways.
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/4558/ipc093jo.png
Measured, traced, hole-sawwed, and inserted. Snug fit.
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/9097/ipc0100xv.png
http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/8296/ipc0117vm.png
http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/3903/ipc0124qp.png
I have to Bondo the lower section of the panel to level it off. The design has it sloping inward to the centre vertical axis. Kinda retarded if you ask me. Why couldn't they just make it flat, and simple?
http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/6339/ipc0137lg.png
That will come this weekend, along with another update. And I promise I won't take 18 months to complete this like my H.A.B.T.T.
I learned a LOT of valuable things about case-modding from various forums. I learned a lot about case-modding just by trial-and-error. And man, I made quite a few errors.
The H.A.B.T.T. was a good idea. Just not practical. And come to think of it, too damn big. 132 pounds of computer is just a wee bit on the ridiculous side. And it's a real pain in the arse to rotate when I need access to the back panel. So the H.A.B.T.T. will find it's way to the landfill when this case is completed. I just dont have the space, or the cash, to make it what I dreamed it had the potential to be.
So here it goes. I don't have a name for it. I wanted to make this case a tribute to RTCW, but the wifey doesn't want a Wolf case. We'll see what happens. This PC will become "hers" when I build my gaming rig, to start in late summer or early fall. A worklog will accompany that project as well.
The case:
Standard ATX mid-tower. It was my mother's computer. Purchased brand new from a now-defunct Canadian PC company. IPC Computers. She paid over $2000 for this system (it came with a 17" monitor, speakers, printer, and software) and it was a step below top-of-the-line IPC had offered at the time. Pentium II- 350Mhz. 6 gig hard drive. Integrated graphics, although later on my brother bought an ATI Rage Fury Maxx 64MB card so he could play Half-Life. 128megs of PC-100 RAM. PC-Chips mainboard. (VERY cheap. Crap.)
Starting the strippage:
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/2442/ipc010fz.png
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4463/ipc029cz.png
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9849/ipc033qh.png
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9483/ipc042im.png
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/5396/ipc052nl.png
Notice the dust pattern on the roof of the case? Yeah, that's right. The idiots who assembled this case installed the power-supply UPSIDE-DOWN!
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/7828/ipc067gd.png
Internal frame that held 80mm intake fan and filter needs to go. Drilled the rivets out.
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/6046/ipc070dw.png
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/6476/ipc081ng.png
Front panel:
A hair-cutting shop closed down in a local plaza, and the unit was stripped of everything. These chrome "tunnels" were embedded in a hairstylist's station to hold glass containers to store their scissors.I managed to snag 2 of them from the dumpster. I knew they could be used in a case, just at the time I had no immediate need for them but thought to grab them anyways.
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/4558/ipc093jo.png
Measured, traced, hole-sawwed, and inserted. Snug fit.
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/9097/ipc0100xv.png
http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/8296/ipc0117vm.png
http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/3903/ipc0124qp.png
I have to Bondo the lower section of the panel to level it off. The design has it sloping inward to the centre vertical axis. Kinda retarded if you ask me. Why couldn't they just make it flat, and simple?
http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/6339/ipc0137lg.png
That will come this weekend, along with another update. And I promise I won't take 18 months to complete this like my H.A.B.T.T.