8-bit Black Mage Computer Case Mod

Note: This is the first time I have actually made something so I didn't think of taking a lot of pictures for a worklog but I got a video of the majority of it being built as a 10 minute video log :D.

I had the idea for this case in January but did not order the wood until late june and began the video recordings.When I started this I decided to try to avoid using anything but wood. I cut up a harddrive bay to hold 2 harddrives in this case and screwed the bay into the front frame. The only other thing is a brass hinge I use for the PSU to remove it from the case since it is not screwed in. I did not take to many pictures as a worklog but a video log I suppose you could say. This is about 50-60 hours of video into 8 minutes. I put alot of unrecorded hours in also for parts that would not really look like anything from a camera perspective. Not positive on total time spent on this case. My goal was to make it look 8 bit from any side you look at it.

I've had some remarks that it resembles the wizard from super mario bro's which is understandable with the rod and all.


Heres the video I suggest clicking on high quality:





This was when I was testing to see how it would look with loose blocks:

Then I was checking the color scheme

Eventually I started gluing the wood and I was pretty excited to have the hat done *WARNING* Do not wear hat. Very hard and pointy.

After a long process of gluing I got the frame done

The inside was a little cramped when it came to set up all the parts. I ended up raising the mobo 1 inch to get more direct air flow from the fan since air is being introduced from the back.

I pretty much jigsawed this 7 port usb hub into the shoulder

Fan controller/Case temp monitor/Media drive was a more difficult process trying to figure out how to make it work with the case. I didnt want it to be visible unless I needed to use it so eventually I came up with a system to pull it out and push it back in w/o any worries of any chords becoming disconnected. Unfortunately The 250mm fans dont have the ability to be on fan controller. So its mainly a Media reader :D

The lightning rod wasn't to bad. I seen a usb plasma ball on thinkgeek so I figured I could take it apart and turn it into a rod. It came apart a lot easier than I expected and was simple to mod into the case. I had to solder it longer since it was way to short to work with the length of the wooden rod.

The dvd drive is pretty much just resting on some wooden cubes and I used goop to get the wooden mouth cubes to stick to the tray. One loose cube is pushed to hit the open button on the drive right below the tray.

I don't have any inside pics of the hands or eyes right now. The power button hand has a power button I took from another computer right behind it so when it is depressed it hits the button. The eyes are just 2 white leds I soldered into the pwr led jumper cable. Just regular yellow stain glass for eyes.


For ventilation I have the fan on back being intake and the fan on bottom pushes warm air out. PSU also faces down toward the bottom fan to assist in the air flow direction. I know heat rises but with fans this big they move alot of air and are quiet. I have a Q6600 inside and temps are at 33c idle on cores. Cpu fan is the only loud part of system which I am looking into replacing with a different heat sink but I am being a little limited in room to place it.

The removable side panel comes in 2 pieces. I only remove the top to get a quick hand in to either turn the feet on or off or whatever else reason i may need. The bottom will get removed if the mobo needs to come out. I used a sorta wooden hook system to keep the doors on.

It has LED case feet on the bottom that raises it 1 inch from the ground. I place the case on a acrylic sheet due to carpeting. It pretty much sinks into carpet w/o it and ruins airflow. The hat is removable to help in travel for lans and whatnot.

Heres the 8 bit comparison

Here is picture album for more photos:
http://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c2.../Black%20mage/

This an awesome mod mate, I love the globe staff you got going too :D Also, I think a welcome is in order...so, Welcome! ;)

Thank you, I got referred from crazybillybob to come here :D

Ahahaha this is ****ing awesome!

Dude.... sweet. :up:

That's great.

w00t black mage FTW!!!!! This is great man. +rep for this

Ha, thanks for the positive comments guys.

Well...

...this is the coolest thing I've seen in quite a while. AWESOME idea. +rep

Absolutely fantastic. This is what i try to tell people everyday what modding is all about.

Thorkon!!
Nice to See you here!

I spent the Weekend at Showdown LAN sitting Across form this case!!! Amazing work! Between it and R2 We had allot of traffic around our Table.
This case looks sick in person!!

CrazyBillyBob

that things sweet! nice job :up:

Very cool!!
I love old school games and stuff and this totally earns my respect :)

Welcome to TBCS... Very unique idea. I like it!

Just put this up at http://moddingcomp.custompc.co.uk/pr...301/Black+Mage
I linked back here as my worklog if thats ok.

I personally don't like the one that has 2000 votes atm. Bob you should get R2 up here.

Bob, I'm sure if R2 was flying around we would of had the whole room on our side of the lan the whole weekend. R2 was awesome to see in person.

Awesome mod!

What does it weigh?

+rep

Awesome man! 2000+ wooden cubes... hmmm that just might beat BSG's ribbing and armor paneling on the painstaking-ness scale lol! Good luck in the CustomPC competition! :D

I have not weighed it (don't own a scale) but the wood was about 55-60 lbs I believe, shipped to me. Throw computer components in it and a couple layers of paint and you got a heavy bastard.

Bod that BSG is insane. just wow. I'm sure yours was more painstaking. Very nice case. It would be awesome to have that skill you got. Didn't realize it was up on that site. 10/10 amazing.

Awesome mod! +rep

Wow, great job!
I love it.
Great use of materials and very creative.
4.5/5.

What if you want to upgrade a component? Is it as much as a hassle as it seems?
And, where is the power button?

If I want to upgrade something, I hit the wood with a hammer XD. I don't put as much wood glue on the cube that holds the parts that need removed. The fans have 1/2 inch cubes holding them in place and I only need to remove one cube on any part to get it out including the dvd drive. The power button is his right hand. In the youtube video about 8 minutes or so in you can see me press it to turn it on. Thanks for comments :D

Oh, I didn't watch it all because my computer kept freezing.
Another question: what were you doing at the very beginning? It looked like you were just lining the pieces up and then moving them around again and lining up... ?

I was pairing 1 inch cubes in to 2x1. I paired about 300 sets before I got too bored to keep going and began building the sides. If you look in the corner you will see a whole bunch of single cubes.

Halloween mage from my girlfriend :D

Dude, that pumpkin is awesome.

Haha. Serious pumpkin carving skills.

What an original idea, an awesome result. Cool mod. Love the Halloween mage ;) lol. +rep

that's the wildest case mod i have ever seen. +rep for uniqueness of concept

Woot! I is happy

WOW, congratz mate, +rep

Sweeeet!

Now I have to send in my 300 word Rig of the Month :up:

What is that mag BTW (I'm guessing CPU), I might send mine in as well, even though I'm in a different country.

sweet mod + rep love 8-bit stuff. I saw pictures that this dude would take of his paintings of sidewalk chalk on brick buildings of 8-bit mario and stuff. freaking cool. *off to search for links*

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The boy 4rm oz

What is that mag BTW (I'm guessing CPU), I might send mine in as well, even though I'm in a different country.

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Its maximum PC, February issue.

Congrats man, that is awesome! What do you plan to get with the $250? Is it still a gift cert to Buy.com?

I got a giftcard to best buy. I don't own a tv so I'm keeping a eye out for a HDTV to mount on my wall. I'm looking at the card to take some of the damages of the cost XD

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thorkon

I got a giftcard to best buy. I don't own a tv so I'm keeping a eye out for a HDTV to mount on my wall. I'm looking at the card to take some of the damages of the cost XD

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250$

I got a Digital CRT HDTV/Monitor from the buy for 250$ clearance back in 2004.

Still havent seen a television outside a Marantz Plasma with a picture quality like that.

sad to see that people shunned off DCRT's.

does 480i/p 720i/p 1080i/p and every resolution inbetween (monitor)

unheard of for the time.

so if its in your price range look for HDTV/Monitor!

congrats man, I saw your case actually on another forums back when you were starting it. thought it was cool as hell.

Definantly something to be proud of. Frame that article so you can show your grandkids some day.

I'll look into it Twigs thanks for info!

This is probably the coolest thing that will happen this year. Or at least until I do the white mage :D