old tower case upgrade.

Well with the HDD being directly above the PSU it may need some additional cooling. I was thinking you could cut a grill out on the back of the case in line with where the HDD will be mounted. Then you mount a 120mm fan (or any other fan) at the top of the case, just behind the musketeer panel and make a duct that encloses the the HDD area and and leads to the fan installed on top. This way you are drawing cool...well semi-cool air from the rear of the case, dragging it over the HDD and then pushing it out the top of the case.

Another alternative is to use a PSU with a bottom mounted 120mm exhaust fan and modify the case so you can mount the PSU upside down so the fan is facing towards the roof of the case and hey presto the PSU is now cooling your HDD.

Or you could just get yourself a HDD cooler for around $20 or just leave it be.

<quote> Another alternative is to use a PSU with a bottom mounted 120mm exhaust fan and modify the case so you can mount the PSU upside down so the fan is facing towards the roof of the case and hey presto the PSU is now cooling your HDD.</quote>

I had the same thoughts...My coolermaster PSU suits the idea,

although, modifying the rear of the case is no problem, as Im planning on having a 1 piece stainless steel perforated mesh back on it.... Allready have enough perforated stainless to do that, and a few other things Im planning.

I was thinking that the down flow, if I mount the fan in the middle ( between the psu/HDD and the drive bay ) should do a pretty good job of directing the heat down into the case enough for the front fan to suck it all out.
I just didnt want to do it that way, and find that others had tried and had problems ;).

Us Aussies think alike eh ;)

Yeah we sure do lol, good idea, should work perfectly.

Adjusted the chassis tonight,
I had to move the 3.5" front bay 5mm to the right, so the card reader would match the bezel position, and add a plate for the audio jacks.

this is the NEC audio/ usb jack set up...card reader goes in the empty bay to left.

here is chassis after moving bay and adding a plate for the above audio/usb jacks.

Test fit, to see If my messurments were Ok, . Ive found I will have to cut another few mm from the bottom of the bezel, to allow the bezel to shift up a bit.
I also stuck an old cd drive in the bay to see how it lined up with the NEC panel, which is the white, the one Im using is black.
But so far so good.

Tomorrow, I should have the audio/usb jacks mounted. Then I can work out the intake fan on the top of the case.

After looking at the "box" for the last week, in regards as to how I was going to work on the case cover, I finaly took the plunge and cut the side off it.

No matter how I thought about it, the cover needed to have a removable side panel. In the next few days, I'll be adding hooks ( like a modern case has ) to hold it on. Then I have to do something about the MB chassis slides, they are too tight, and I keep on having visions of my paint scraping off every time I slide it in or out, which wont be often....but, hey ! " it will be nice paint" ! .
Once I sort these 2 things out, It will be time to start thinking about prep for painting,

Ive just been given a dead line for this mod, there is a LAN I would like to take this box to on the 25th April... Hi to any NHN guys reading this.
I like deadlines, gives me a target ;)

Discovered I can get these things for free (2nd hand) today,

Shame about the green, Ide rather blue,to match the color scheme, but hey, they are free. I can get a few, so I might be-able to hack one to make it blue back lit. but I have to work out the wiring to the paralell port first.

Im not sure how to hook them up, and have asked in this post.....
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/f...593#post168593

So if you can help answer there.

I most likely wont be-able to do anymore work on the case till next week as its a long weekend here in Australia, and I need to talk to someone with a "spot welder" to finalise the side panel "attachments"

If you want it blue try making a blue plexi cover for it, that should make it look blue. Yay long weekend, Australia Day here I come lol.

That was what Im thinking, or change what ever the back lighting globe is,
but I want to hook it up and get it working before I destroy it lol,
that way I just have to plug the next one in to the wiring and start again ;)

Well, wired the led up over the weekend, didnt work :(
I could get another, but it side tracks the original project, so it can wait..

Helped my brother move form Sydney to the Central coast today, I live in Newcastle
( 2 hour drive down to Sydney, 1 hour drive back to his new place, 1 hour drive back to my place, for non Aussies)
Normally I would have made up some excuse not to , because Im a bastard, but, he is a pro spray painter for a job so............

I tuned him to come up and visit when its time to paint the box when its ready.
No need to buy paint now :) or worry about me doing a bodgy job of it :D
Also, as I was unpacking the car, I found some stuff that looked promising.
Self adhesive felt. Its about 1.5 mm thick, so its "short weave", not like shag pile or anything.

1 meter wide, 3 meters long,

So I grabbed it, could make good sound deadening material for the inside of the case, anti vibration pads etc.etc.

If all goes well, I should have finalized the side panel in the next few days,
seeing the guy with the spot welder tomorrow.

Haha awesome, wish I had a pro painter in the family.