Yakyb's Case Mod No 'Name as of Yet' 08/01/07

[yakyb]

Ok then here starts my very first worklog. Planning started for this case about three months back.so i thought i would start by showing you some of the inspirations behind my mod
after seeing this server case Yeong yang YY - 0221B (http://www.modthebox.com/review241_1.shtml)

and a mod called Genesis Mod based upon this case
which i cant find at the moment

and this mod on the lianli
Hellgate LianLi by Fozzy (http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2006/08/21/Project_Log_update_4/3.html)
gratz to fozzy on a very nice mod!

i saw the possible advantages of a modular system. Bearing in mind that im an overclocker and want top performance from my Case. whilst at the same time keeping everything as tidy as i could.

I headed over to www.overclockers.co.uk (http://www.overclockers.co.uk) and going on good past experience of Akasa i bought these below at the cheap price of £25 each
and very good value they are to!! i would reccomend these to anyone wanting a cheap sturdy case

Akasa Zen Review (http://www.xtremecomputing.co.uk/review.php?id=290&page=5)
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/image012.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/image019.jpg


Please Note: im writing in red so that you can discern between my posts and comments

[yakyb]

Ok then first thing to do is strip the cases of everything (front bezel, side panels, one mobo tray)

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/SSL111112.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/SSL111132.jpg

then i needed to invert the rear of the case in an upside down ATX fashion (often mistaken for BTX) im doing this as an attempt to have direct air flow over the CPU whether it works or not is a different matter. however i always have my pc to my left so i figured that a windows on the right meant i should be able to see into it from where i sit and the only way to acheive this is to invert the motherboard
so in the end both form and function wins out

so after punching out wha seemed like 100 rivets i had a dissassembled case

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/SSL111162.jpg

then a few drills and adding a couple of rivets back in left me with one upside down ATX case (now referred to as ATXU)

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/SSL111242.jpg

[yakyb]

Next Step is to twist around the Hdd Cage on the Secondary Case. In the style of the Lian Li. i must also reverse the backplate so that when the PSu is inserted it will be lower down and thus reduce the vibrations caused it will then leave the upper portion availible for modding into a radiator enclosure and then finally to remove the motherboard tray.

I guess you can begin to see where im going with this case now!

[yakyb]

Ok then here are a few snapshots of where im up to

Firstly the Left hand case has been turned ATXU in order to support the Psu at the bottom of the case. and you'll notice that the Hdd cage has been turned around as i intend on housing the Hard drives in there as opposed to in the Primary case
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/SSL11127.jpg

the next photo shows a potential problem with turning this around

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/SSL11128.jpg

as you can see the frame will block out the fans air coming through hopefully this will not be too much of a problem.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/SSL11129.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/SSL11130.jpg

this photo shows the current state of my Primary (RHS) case with Bondo on the roof as you can see its not very even right now however its on its first fine coat so ill wait until it dries then i will sand and then apply a new coat for a total two more coats or at least until it is flat (its a pain in the arse to work with tho)
here are the two side by side
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/SSL11131.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/SSL11139.jpg

Oh and ive also cut out the right Hand side Window but its drying out at the moment so no photos as of yet and here is the pic of one of my radiators (prize if you can guess what its out of)

things left to do (im kinda struggling with point 9 so input would be appreciated)

1.) finish bondo work
2.) Cut left hand window
3.) install First and second radiator
4.) cut middle panel and Mobo tray to allow wires fed through
5.) compartmentalise using acrylic sheets
6.) sort out wiring for lighting/power/reset/Fans etc
7.) join cases
8.) Painting
9.) come up with idea for front!!!!!!
10.) buy and install hardware!!

with regards to the front im currently thinking of installing the original fronts with some Defyant style fans on it any ideas

[yakyb]

Update no photos as of yet but just an update to say ive been sanding like crzy for the last few days and its now almost flat as a pancake well on side is anyway just got the other one to do now with any luck ill be painting by Sunday

and i really need some ideas for the front i have one or two now but im still not fully sure

[slytherock]

Woah, I see red!!!
Nice start, want to see more

[yakyb]

alright then its been a few weeks since my last update due to my Gpu crapping out on me meaning ive had to undergo some pretty heavy reinstalling of everything luckily i keep alot of backups B)
the culprit
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11226-250.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11224-250.jpg
i now have a nice little x1950 pro onboard that will last me 5 months till i fill out this case

anyway on with the update
With the last update i left you with a very bumpy surface on the primary case and side however this has now been smoothed and primed and also a window cut. any colour variation you can see is just because i used 2 different types of bondo. one very grainy for initial application and the second a lot smoother for finishing. its un beleivably smooth now you just cant make out that well in the photos.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11179-250-1.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11181-250.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11184-250.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11185-250.jpg
then put together look pretty sweet

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11189-250.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11216-250.jpg

[yakyb]

next up i left you with the intercooler (actually from a motocross bike) i bought it off ebay for £5 and £2.5 shipping bargain anyway it fits very well

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11200-250.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11199-250.jpg

it just needs a lick of Black Paint and it will look good as new. you will probably realise at this point that i intend on running 2 radiators in the system cant wait to get my fingers wet (LOL!!!)

I Ordered some electronic components from Farnell Electronics link in the UK Supplier's Thread (http://casemodgod.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=90) and im very happy

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11193-250.jpg

The top left LEDS are red 10 total then 5 each of both White and Blue and beleive me when i tell you they are very very bright. if you dont beleive me i set up a test rig using my Test PSU

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/SSL10901.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/simpleLed.jpg
i set mine up using the 5V line and a 82 ohm resistor

Calcs are (for those that need them)
V=IxR
LED needs 3.4V and 0.02A
therefore 5-3.4 = 1.6V dropped accross resistor
1.6 = 0.02 x R
R=80 ohms

or use this link here if your still not happy LINK!! (http://www.modders-inc.com/led-res-calculator.html)

any way the results are outstanding
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11212-250.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11204-250.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11205-250.jpg
the effect is created by pointing the LED through a smoked cylindrical acrylic rod that i will be using as support beams when i finish of the mod. it really is outstanding to see.you can best make out the effect in the top left photo

[yakyb]

just a last photo to see the case in its entirety as to where im up to now

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/YAKYB/ssl11192-250-1.jpg

now then things still to do

1.) finish bondo work ( left hand side and front )
2.) Cut left hand window ( small window on left so you can see HDDs
3.) install First and second radiator ( clean up first radiator and fix into place)
4.) cut middle panel and Mobo tray to allow wires fed through
5.) compartmentalise using acrylic sheets (in the process of some experiments atm)
6.) sort out wiring for lighting/power/reset/Fans etc ( switches are bloody expensive!!!)
7.) join cases
8.) Painting ( another coat of Primer then Metalic Black )
9.) come up with idea for front!!!!!! ( have a few ideas now but input would be appreciated)
10.) buy and install hardware!! ( the really exciting bit Est. may '07)

[slytherock]

alright then its been a few weeks since my last update due to my Gpu crapping out on me meaning ive had to undergo some pretty heavy reinstalling of everything luckily i keep alot of backups B)
the culprit
weird how fast your days goes...

[yakyb]

Lol yeah this has all been pulled from another forum wanted to post here as well to get as many comments as poss

[slytherock]

Well, that's a nice start :up: Did you plan on covering the space between the cases?

BTW, edit your sig, Read the forum rules ;)

[yakyb]

yeah eventually the top will be totally smooth. but i have a fair amount of internal work todo first (wiring etc) i want the internals to be a minimal as possible been doing research into wiring and hopefully should get something done this week

[SgtM]

Nice. Keep up the good work.

[DaveW]

Hmm...writing in Red so that people can skip the comments...that's actually a really good idea, +Rep for effort and +Rep for the worklog so far.

Keep it up dude.

-Dave

[simon275]

Looks like a long term mod. Good stuff though. :up:

Blue for my comments because I am special.

[yakyb]

Yeah this ones gonna take a while im hoping no more than a few months tho as it will contain my new gaming rig which i will order when this is complete but i will be ordering in parts such as another rad, reservoir and pump as they are ready to be built into the case but for the time being im making do with a 2gb hdd 4X CD rom and an old 478 MOBO for test fitting.

any input you could give on the front design would be appreciated tho as im a little short of ideas there. I have a couple knocking around but nothing firm as of yet.

[slytherock]

any input you could give on the front design would be appreciated tho as im a little short of ideas there. I have a couple knocking around but nothing firm as of yet.


I've think alot about a dual case setup, my choice was to put a 15inch LCD monitor on the front cloning the main monitor or dual view if you have space on your desk

On a side note, I may sound annoying with your sig, but I get this error trying to reach your links:

The following errors were found:
The board administrator requires all members to log in

[yakyb]

yeah the website that the links refer to are on a forum that dont allow guests browsing it recently had a problem with bots spamming the boards so had to setup this method. i highly advise peopleto sign up to it the owner is a fantastic modder dating back a few years now check out the hellraiser mods he has done its great stuff

[slytherock]

Saw this one, some times ago already, Nice work indeed!