Hello all...

[TroutRoG]

A little background on myself. I'm a 10-year IT professional as well as a hobbyist. I'm looking to foray into the modding arena not because I like a flashy case. In fact, i prefer a non-descript matte black look with just a tough of chrome. No, what I'm interested in is extreme silent and cool computing without sacrificing raw power and overclocking potential. That being said....

I'm formulating a mod in my mind that would allow for an external PSU chamber and a well-insulated case that would allow for maximum cooling with maximum silence. I want, in short, to build my own case to fit my speicifications.

I know for a fact that I probably don't have the right tools/facilities to undertake such a task. What I'm looking for is thus:

1) What kind of metals should I use to make such a case?
2) What tools will I need to make one using the recommended materials? I'm assuming a dremmel, metal punch and shears/saws etc...
3) has anyone here ever built their own from the ground up?
4) would I be better off subletting the work to a professional?

I ahve a rough-draft schematic of what I'm looking for, if anyone's interested in seeing my vision...

Thanks a lot,
Trout

[silverdemon]

I'm a 10-year...
does that mean you're 10 years old :P

1) dunno, aluminium I think
2) dremel would be useful
3) look around, there are some cases on this forum build up from scratch
4) Try everthing yourself, when it failes (on a test-piece) then you may think of letting somebody else doing it... when you get it finished all by yourself is always a good feeling..

as for your ideas, post them :) we'd all like to see your ideas...

[nil8]

If you're going for metal, you might consider having part of the case be one solid folded piece. It's not often done and looks good.

Steel works well too. If you make a lot of mistakes with steel it's not a big deal. Aluminum can be.

Dremels are great for small work. Not so great for larger work. Consider a jigsaw/scroll saw.

There's lots of scratch built modding here. I am currently working on making a homemade ammo box for a watercooled system.

There's a lot of talent on this forum. If you have a question, just ask.

Welcome and good luck.

[Slug Toy]

has anyone here ever built their own from the ground up?

ive attempted to make my own case from the ground up. i hope you have access to an ATX mouting scheme, and drive enclosures. i nearly killed myself trying it, and for various reasons i scrapped the whole project.

you had also better be good at accurate work, because things have a nasty tendency of not being square where it really counts.

to answer your questions though...

1. aluminum, in my experience, is probably the nicest to work with. its light, reasonably soft, has a nice colour, and you can anneal it too. ill direct you to my "working with sheet metal" thread in tips and tricks. i DO like copper too, but its heavier. biggest advantage of copper is it conducts heat well, so you could efficiently integrate the actual case into the cooling scheme.

2. i talk about tools in my thread. i would recommend a jigsaw, a rubber mallot, a couple pieces of wood to clamp the metal between to make bends, and of course lots and lots of clamps.

3. i already answered this one

4. dont get a pro for this... its better and more fulfilling to do it on your own. if youve got the time and patience, do it. it proves that computer nerds have practical skills too.

[TroutRoG]

Thanks all for your responses...and no, I'm not 10. *looks at emerging bald spot in mirror*

:D

[TroutRoG]

ive attempted to make my own case from the ground up. i hope you have access to an ATX mouting scheme, and drive enclosures. i nearly killed myself trying it, and for various reasons i scrapped the whole project.

you had also better be good at accurate work, because things have a nasty tendency of not being square where it really counts.

to answer your questions though...

1. aluminum, in my experience, is probably the nicest to work with. its light, reasonably soft, has a nice colour, and you can anneal it too. ill direct you to my "working with sheet metal" thread in tips and tricks. i DO like copper too, but its heavier. biggest advantage of copper is it conducts heat well, so you could efficiently integrate the actual case into the cooling scheme.

2. i talk about tools in my thread. i would recommend a jigsaw, a rubber mallot, a couple pieces of wood to clamp the metal between to make bends, and of course lots and lots of clamps.

3. i already answered this one

4. dont get a pro for this... its better and more fulfilling to do it on your own. if youve got the time and patience, do it. it proves that computer nerds have practical skills too.

WOW.

Your thread on sheet metal was really interesting...Got me really thinking about my design. I'll post some scanned images soon.

Edit:

With regard to noise reduction and heat management.... I'd like to avoid water cooling if at all possible, so my idea is a somewhat modualr approach. I want to have the mobo/RAM/PROC/Vidcards in one box, Power supplies in another and drives in a third, all with their own insulated and cooled compartments. What methods provide the best sound dampening when it comes to joining materials?

Welding? Rivets? Screws? I'd think welding because it would be the most solid method of construction.

Opinions?

[nil8]

I would suggest a bolt/nut with a rubber grommet. That is the easiest way to stop vibration noise that I've found. Works wonders on cheaper cases with high rpm hard drives.

The only thing you have to be careful of is static discharge.
In your modular idea, you would have to touch the grounded case and the modular unit at the same time to ground them. Not a big deal, but frying components isn't much fun.

[TroutRoG]

I would suggest a bolt/nut with a rubber grommet. That is the easiest way to stop vibration noise that I've found. Works wonders on cheaper cases with high rpm hard drives.

The only thing you have to be careful of is static discharge.
In your modular idea, you would have to touch the grounded case and the modular unit at the same time to ground them. Not a big deal, but frying components isn't much fun.

Not sure I understand the reasoning behind that.... The modules of the case would be attached, would that not be enough for grounding?

And are you speaking of when I touch the components inside the case?

Thanks! :)

[silverdemon]

when building them in don't use you magic static fingers to touch the HDD's, I fried my IDE connections on my mobo doing that :(
and since it was an old mobo, I can't use it anymore...

[CanaBalistic]

If you attached the modules it would be fine. Remember that a static discharge can fry any chip. The charge can be so low that you wouldnt even feel it bit its more than enough to fry and component. When you go to the computer store, you'll notice that they act as if they dont care. They install anti static matts on the floor and bench top that draw away any static.

Do you got sketchup? Make us some designs to show us how you plan to build your case.

[TroutRoG]

If you attached the modules it would be fine. Remember that a static discharge can fry any chip. The charge can be so low that you wouldnt even feel it bit its more than enough to fry and component. When you go to the computer store, you'll notice that they act as if they dont care. They install anti static matts on the floor and bench top that draw away any static.

Do you got sketchup? Make us some designs to show us how you plan to build your case.

I'll have a sketch up tomorrow hopefully. Work sucks. ;)

Yeah, I'm pretty good about ESD. I've been building PCs with standard cases for some time now and never fried anything yet.

I'm geeked, really geeked to get underway with this...

[TroutRoG]

OK, so here's my drawing, sorry it took so long. I was doing research on extreme silent modding when I came across.....SUBMERSION!!

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i3/DMPesterTyrel/submerged.jpg

There was a mod out there called the ThinkTank which kind of inspired this mod. I'm going to use Midel or 3M's equivalent product as the liquid substrate. Inside will be an overclocked a64 3000+, a pair of Nvidia 7900 GTs in SLi and 2 GB of DDR2 RAM.

I see constructing this case out of aluminum and plexiglass, the upper part of the case will actually be a plexiglass tank with reinforced aluminum corners. The tank will be dual-walled plexiglass with a 2 mm gap in-between layers to help with thermal and silencing, as well as to help avoid leaks. The bottom part of the case will consist of a power supply unit enclosure that will have an inlet fan in the front and an egress fan in the rear. I'll probably use ramped-down panaflo fans on the psus and the heater core to keep noise to a minimum. All drives will be housed in external drive bays. I think this is a pretty solid design, will probably add handles and wheels to it to assidst in moving it around as I'm sure it will be pretty heavy.

Why the dual PSUs? Well, I want to have the fan/pump system on a separate power supply to ensure that I can run the pump full time to keep the fluid circulating in the system.

I intend to use heatsinks on the GPUs, Vid Ram, RAM Modules and CPU to assist in dissipating heat into the liquid. I am probably going to test with an older p3 system first to see if this is indeed feasible. Input as to my (admittedly very rough) design?

[Aero]

good design. I like it. You might want to think about haveing some aluminium about 1/2 in and out of the liquid. Thisw might help with cooling slightly, because even thought the liquid will cool the computer componants, theres nothing to cool the liquid. After awhile it may get hot if you leave the computer on 24/7

[TroutRoG]

good design. I like it. You might want to think about haveing some aluminium about 1/2 in and out of the liquid. Thisw might help with cooling slightly, because even thought the liquid will cool the computer componants, theres nothing to cool the liquid. After awhile it may get hot if you leave the computer on 24/7

Under the heater core, I thought about putting a few Peltiers with fins sticking into the fluid.

I had the idea of pumping the fluid into the heater core via the submerged pump and using the radiatior-like action of the heater core along with the two fans on top of it to cool the fluid. But I'm not sure that will provide enough cooling effect. Thoughts, anyone?

PERHAPS...i could skip the pump altogether and make the entire lid a peltier/heatercore/fan unit with fins that stick into the top of the fluid. The thermal properties of the fluid would cause the cold liquid to sink to the bottom of the case and allow the warm fluid to rise to the surface for cooling (I think)...I guess the issue is: I want to have cold liquit circulating over the cpu and videocard, and warm liquid being pumped through the radiatior so that I can achieve convection. Could all that be done sans pump?

I wish I'd paid attention in Physics class.

[TroutRoG]

Under the heater core, I thought about putting a few Peltiers with fins sticking into the fluid.

I had the idea of pumping the fluid into the heater core via the submerged pump and using the radiatior-like action of the heater core along with the two fans on top of it to cool the fluid. But I'm not sure that will provide enough cooling effect. Thoughts, anyone?

PERHAPS...i could skip the pump altogether and make the entire lid a peltier/heatercore/fan unit with fins that stick into the top of the fluid. The thermal properties of the fluid would cause the cold liquid to sink to the bottom of the case and allow the warm fluid to rise to the surface for cooling (I think)...I guess the issue is: I want to have cold liquit circulating over the cpu and videocard, and warm liquid being pumped through the radiatior so that I can achieve convection. Could all that be done sans pump?

I wish I'd paid attention in Physics class.

News Flash....I found my Heater Core and purchased it. This is gonna be fun. Looking for a rentable workbench space so I can work (as I live in an apartment). I'll keep you all up to date with my progress. I was looking at the metroplitan red build log and it gave me the idea to have the aluminum polished. I may give it a go myself! :)

[blue73]

I can't wait to see this materialise!!! Crack on but remember be patient and good luck!;)

All the best.

[maximan1]

Cool but its pretty much a normal case...maybe you can make a new shape?

[TroutRoG]

Cool but its pretty much a normal case...maybe you can make a new shape?

Well, when it's done, I don't think it'll even be CLOSE to normal.

Basically it's going to be a suspended clear tank within a plexi/aluminum frame. Modular, and innovative. I've made some changes to the design and will be posting them shortly. Hopefully, I'll be able to begin construction soon. The coolant is VERY expensive, $250 for 25 liters. Donations gladly accepted :P