Project: My very first mod ever

Hey there ^_^.
So I decided the other day that I would try my first case mod ever. Now I know it is not going to be insanely amazing, but I am going to give it a effort for it to be. So I work at the Lake Oswego Computer Repair Center, Lake Oswego, Oregon and we get in a lot of computers that are to be scraped. Now I saw a cool mid-ATX tower case, that was white. I decided to take it home with me as a fun project. Soon I came up with an idea for a theme, something simple, something fun. The project is named "Black and Green".

The computer I am moving parts from is a eMachines "T3304" (not the greatest rig ever) that has a 100 Gig ATA Seagate HDD, 2.868Ghz AMD Athlon 3300+ (slightly overclocked), 1.5 Gigs of PC3200 DDR 400Mhz Corsair RAM, Audigy 2Zs soundcard (my addition), a 185 watt PSU (planing to upgrade to a 750 watt from rosewill).
Parts soon to be added in good time:

500gig HD 7200 rpm
EVGA 8800 GTS 512
750W Rosewill PSU
2 or 3x 120mm Antec 3 speed fans with blue L.E.D's.
Blue Halogen Rods for the bottom of the case.
Floppy slot fan speed controler/temperature moniter.
New heatsink (not sure what kind yet)

So that is what I have planned for the internals of the computer? I don't exactly know, but it will look cool! Theme is black and blue so that is what it will have, and most likely some other perks.


:) so I have a lot ahead of me, I know it is going to cost some coin so this may be a long or short term mod. STAY TUNED!

So this is what I started out with.

Case assembled

Side Panels

Wires and crap

Front cover (needs some serious modding)

And of course what it looks like bare.

Today as of Saturday the 26th I got some really good work in!
A new Paint job!!! :D
black of course.
I have not done spray paint so it was a good project.
I did it like this:

1. Sand down every thing first with 320 grit, then 500 grit, then 600 grit sandpaper.
2. wipe down parts with damp paper towel to get loose particulate.
3. purchased paint, for this I used 2 cans of Krylon ultra-flat, 1 can of Krylon Primer, and half a can of Krylon Enamel.
4. I did these coats, 1 coat enamel, 2 coats of ultra-flat black, and one coat black enamel.
5. I was surprised with the results that I got :eek: it was awesome!

here is the result

Bare Chassis

Fan cover 1

Side Panels

Front

All Together now!

so then I got all excited and put stuff in it to see what it would look like. It looks pretty good ^_^.
I also did my first modification. Normally the fan holder would be on the bottom front of the case. What I did was move it to the CD/DVD drive rack and mount it there. Init is a 90 mm Antec three speed silent fan.

here is what the case looks like with my stuff and fans in place looks like!

Side with light.

Small fans

case closed...lol

and in the dark (little blurry)

STAY TUNED!

Will have more stuff to do soon! I get my paycheck on sunday!
TO FRY's!!!!! (or newegg depending on what I wanna buy :D)

last night I decided to add a 5-card reader, only the thing was it installed into a floppy drive slot and not into a CD-Drive slot. Oh well!:twisted:, So I took a old cover that fit the measurements of the front panel, and used a dremel to cut a hole in it for proper dimensions of the 5-card reader. Then I used hot glue to bond the 5-card reader to the panel cover. Then hooked it up to front cover and also hot-glued it into place. Then I plugged it into the motherboard, then voila. A 5-card reader in a place where it was not supposed be. :banana:

So I found out that I have a little 60 mm fan grid on the rear of the case.
Also that the little verticle grid is long enough for some other fans or possibly L.E.D.'s so I figure, buy new PSU today or sometime from now till next monday, along with the proper fans, and Halogen tubes/L.E.D.'s. I like making cases look glowy it's fun!:D,

I am also looking for ways to make a side panel, I have a dremel, a jig saw, and a drill with a lot of bits. What should I use, or maybe should I take it to a custom cutting shop and have them make a nice hole for the side panel? What should I do?:?

First off, looks good so far. Next I would look into doing it yourself. If you feel comfy with your jigsaw you should be able to put a side panel in with ease. You can either buy a panel kit or just buy plexi and get screws. If this is your first mod I would probably suggest getting a kit. You can get all shapes and sizes, so look around at different online stores and you'll find one with the shape you want. Any more questions ask away :D

-Fuga

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Originally Posted by Fuganater

First off, looks good so far. Next I would look into doing it yourself. If you feel comfy with your jigsaw you should be able to put a side panel in with ease. You can either buy a panel kit or just buy plexi and get screws. If this is your first mod I would probably suggest getting a kit. You can get all shapes and sizes, so look around at different online stores and you'll find one with the shape you want. Any more questions ask away :D

-Fuga

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well, actually I feel more at ease with a dremel :D, and kits? I didn't know they made kits. I am on my highschool's robotics team (I am a junior) and we dealt with a lot of Polycarbonate, plexi, and some acryillic. I have heard that all three work for side panels, but which one would work best? Also which one would stay the most clean and scratchless? Thanks for the pointer ^_^