Project: Archangel II

Greetings, all - I'm back. I've been out of circulation for a while as I haven't needed a new case and because all of my money has been going into my two-wheeled mod project.

Recently bought a new machine, and it is of the "reverse" arrangment, meaning that everything is upside down, and the case opens on the right-hand side. Because of this, I realized that I could actually have a window on the side that I see for once. This meant that I had to do something about that.

The case is a smallish form-factor HP case, so I don't have much room to work with. Also, this is going to be a minor mod, so it won't be a long build. I'm pretty much just looking to spruce up the side of the case.

The name comes from the fact that this is an upgraded version of my old machine, named Archangel (the naming convention on my network also includes Saint, Oracle, Prophet, etc.)

Here is the unmolested case (file photo):

...And this is a mockup of what I plan to do to the side of the case:

The plan is to use blue plexi for the window, and redrill the stock vents. Also, the idea is to cut out the HP and the surrounding areas to replace with more plexi. (This part is a maybe - I need to decide if it will be worth the effort vs how it will look.) Next, I will apply vinyl decals to the window for the name and the namesake angel. Finally, it will be backlit with white CFFLs.

Last weekend while I awaited supplies, I got into it to get some other work done. First off, I replaced the fan screws with some rubber mounts that I had around:

These are very easy to install. They are just inserted from the outside, then you pull the tails until they pop through.

They don't make a huge difference, but they cut the sound vibrations down. This machine is fairly quite, and this knocked it down even farther.

With the sharp, pointy stock screws replaced, I could wrap a power cable around the fan to keep it out of the way and open up the airflow a bit more. With the non-stock PSU I have in here, I was having some cable-management issues.

Next, since I already had them around, I installed the CFFLs. One is along the bottom of the case, and the other about halfway up. This one is iffy, as I'm not sure A.) if there will be enough clearance with the plexi, and B.) if it will light up enough there. If not, I will double-up on the bottom for a larger bath of light from there.

You can see in that pic what I meant about cable management. I had so many extra connections that I didn't need, and not enough space to stash them. I ended up zip-tying a bunch of them together and filling my spare 5.25 bay. You can also see that I added a system-blower fan over the GFX card to dump a bit more heat out.

Here it is lit up:

For any that haven't used them, CFFLs are inexpensive, bright and easy to hook up. They connect with a simple molex connector, and have an on/off switch that mounts to a spare expansion slot. Since I didn't need the wireless card that came with the machine, I used that bay:

The inverter attached with velcro to any easy off-of-the way spot. For me, that was under the system fan:

Only thing I'm waiting on now is the sheet of plexi to arrive (hopefully tomorrow) as my decals I had printed arrived today:

I had a bit of a setback - my PSU popped. I'm fairly sure that it was just an age thing, as it came in from an older machine...but to be sure, when the new one arrives today, I'm going to stress test it for a week or two and decide if I need to move the system to a different case. (Not that anyone seems to be beating down the door in anticipation of this mod :D)

Those white CFFLs are nice.

Smaller cases must be hard to work with. Good luck!

Ouch. What are you getting to replace it?

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Originally Posted by Luthien

Those white CFFLs are nice.

Smaller cases must be hard to work with. Good luck!

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Yeah - total PITA. However, there was just something about this case that I had to mod, ya know?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by x88x

Ouch. What are you getting to replace it?

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I've got an OCZ modular arriving today. Calculated out with a healthy buffer, the 550W should put out more than enough juice for this machine, while being smaller than the one that popped. Also, it is modular, so I won't have the problem of all those extra cables A.) looking like crap, B.) taking up a drive bay to hide and C.) restricting the airflow in the case.

There's also an extra 120mm fan coming in this shipment so that I can move a bit more air in there.

...aaaaand, the spambots have invaded.

never fails :D

gonna be interesting... will be watching this one!

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Originally Posted by billygoat333

gonna be interesting... will be watching this one!

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Thanks- glad you're watching.

PSU came yesterday, and I slapped it in. Dear god, this thing is massive...so it took some fenaggling to get in place, but really big = really big, air-sucking fan. I also temp-mounted the extra 120mm fan I bought with the 3M tape I use for case windows. System started up and ran fine for 5+ hours with minimal load. Tonight or tomorrow, I'm going to get some gaming in and heat that sucker up.