Where do you get?

[Rudsta816]

ok as you see im new here so first off ill just say hello but anyways where do you get all the money it takes to make a 100% custom case. ive seen people MY age(13) building case mods that have to cost 3000 EASY! is there people who sponser case modders or what?

[.Maleficus.]

Welcome to TBCS!

To answer your question, most of the mods you'll see on here are by people 15+. That being said, there are some done by kids under that age, like ty's Cirque du Soleil mod. I imagine most of the huge costing mods are done by people with a job, or people who get sponsors. You can get sponsors, but you'll want to have some experience first, like placing in a modding competition near you. Most of the sponsors are hardware manufacturers, and they'll donate like a mobo that you can use, or AC Ryan to get plexi and fans, but you probably wont get a spray paint donor.

[DaveW]

A lot of the younger dudes tend to be able to get stuff by borrowing tools and asking for scrap to make stuff with. There's a lot of free kit out there for guys like you, you just need to learn where to look for it. :)

-Dave

[Kabniel]

having an employer that's conducive to the hobby helps. I'm just an intern in an IT department. But I'm responsible for the surplus inventory. So come surplus time, I can usually just grab whatever I want. A while back they got rid of a change machine that went belly-up. Planning on using that as a case sooner or later. I was able to grab it with no charge. It's keeping an eye out for opportunities like that which are key for those who can't/won't/whatever spend money for their parts.

plexi is fairly cheap in my world. Get some 11"x8" sheets for less than a dollar each. I never plan on doing a full window ever. Just small sections. So this size of plexi works well. Screws are fairly cheap too. Other stuff has been scrounged or donated by friends. again, all about keeping an eye out and taking opportunities. even if it means hanging onto something for multiple years before you do anything with it.

[Spacehonkey]

Sometimes is all about turning a useless inexpensive piece of junk into a priceless work of art. You just need to play around get the techniques down, build your experience and before long some of your friends and family will realize you've got a real interest in this modding thing and they might offload some of their old/new electronic gear on you. Of course there's always birthdays and Christmas. For instance I just started looking into modding about 2 months ago and I've already received two working older model computers that I can use for spare parts and practice on for free. Oh yeah there's always E-Bay, junk yards, yard sales and flea markets. Another good example is the Doom 3 project by Crimson Sky, I think I read somewhere that it only cost him around $400 to make the case. If I’m wrong on the price someone please correct me. I did a quick search in the forum and didn't find it but I know I read it before because I was amazed by the low cost. I would hate to be giving out bad gouge.

[Airbozo]

Welcome to TBCS!

I agree with the last posters. Try to find a place that tosses stuff out. Even go to a place that collects the scrap PC's and ask if you can do some scrounging. You can find some amazing stuff in the computer recycle bin. That is where I have gotten things like drive tray's, extra metal for brackets, screws and even some cables. Even the company I work for tosses stuff in the recycle bin and I get first scrounge rights... Hell if any of you were close I would send out notices when the bins get filled. Not sure where you live, but there is bound to be some place close.

[Rankenphile]

Sign shops, cabinet shops and lots of other manufacturing places are great sources for scrap materials. Just go in, ask nicely and explain what it is for.

[intergalacticman]

one word-thriftstores

[intergalacticman]

No.. that "one word" in this case is parents
;)

-Jeremy



hahahahahaha:banana:

[Drac998]

People that have thrown out old pc's make for extra/raw materials. Don't feel bad for grabing it, cause if you don't someone else will.

[progbuddy]

A lot of the younger dudes tend to be able to get stuff by borrowing tools and asking for scrap to make stuff with. There's a lot of free kit out there for guys like you, you just need to learn where to look for it. :)

-Dave

Yep. lol


Anyways, the general price range for me is about 550-600 tops. With that amount, you can get:

Pentium D Presler

2 GB DDR2 667 RAM

nVidia GeForce 7900GS

ASUS mobo

500-550 watt PSU (good brand)

80 GB HDD

LG CD/DVD combo RW

ATX case

Extra stuff

I borrowed a dremel from my dad, and thats about it :)

[chaksq]

People gave me a lot of stuff. If you notice all of the projects I am working on (in my sig) are based on free computers that I have salvaged.

As Drac998 said you can find great parts in the garbage. I once found a 15" crt monitor that my neighbor had placed at the curb. I took it in and it worked great. That kept working great for 5 years. Still kinda works although now it has some issues. I got my 19" when my fathers job upgraded their systems and gave a bunch away.

[crazybillybob]

While I'm considerably older then 13... and my current project is costing an arm and a leg I've been able to keep costs affordable by Recycling (like Case sides turned into feet), In fact the first mod that I did that won in a contest was Recycled Work was throwing out an old Kiosk ATM and 4 of us loaded into my Truck, used a 15" compaq monitor that someone gave me for free. I think I had $300 -$400 bucks total into it (Mobo, Proc,Ram) Even the Hard Drives were recycled.
Won 1st place at Million Man Lan 3. It's gotten an upgrade here or there (Mobo, Proc, Ram) those came from my gaming rig or when something failed. It's still up and running.

Also making your own parts save money, Yes laser/waterjet cut fan grills are sweet, but if you spend a little time you can make your own with a jewelers saw (copping saw) and some files, and it's cheap to free (all you pay for is the metal... that can be gotten for free or very cheap stop by a local machine shop or sheet metal shop and ask if they have scrap bin or drop bin that you can pick through... I've gotten allot of stuff this was some places charge by the pound (couple bucks maybe) others will just look at what you find and say $5, or $10 for it all) Also learn that the hardware has all kinds of stuff, and it can be used for many things....Guys at home Despot stopped asking what I was going to do with it the third time I said R2 :)

Your going to screw up, it's a fact of modding...The difference between a good modder and a great modder, is how well you use the mistake :) a great modder will make it look like it was meant to be that way, adjusting on the fly or completely re making the part (Tribal style!) never be afraid to try!!

CrazyBillyBob

[NuKS]

I used to work in a mom and pop computer shop, and we had a guy who was an intern. He would help around and learn a bit from me whenever he wasn't playing Magic. Well we used to get people donating computers to us all the time, and I would end up taking them apart and building new computers to resell. We always had a bunch of spare cases and other parts laying around in our storage area, so I think other small computer shops would have miscellaneous stuff laying around that you might be able to get for free or for next to nothing. You never know, you might land a job with them! The intern that worked in our shop was 15 or 16 if I remember right.