Battlefield 2 L.A.N. PC.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lukeisthecoolest

you should bring it anyway! i might be bringing my OPP csae without a comp inside (atleast a working one ;))

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Its a 2 1/2 hour drive. Its a little far just to show a work in progress. When is the next show around the baltimore and philly area?

EDIT- What do you guys think about bullet holes? Should I thow a couple in or leave it the way it is. I would cover the holes in plaxi and have the red lights shine through.

Idea??

Oh, if you have any suggestions on hole placement pm me a pic..

I continued work today on the receiver for the remote start.

I started by taking some 3 pin connectors from old fans and wiring them to the receiver. I did this so I can easily disconnect it from the power and motherboard.

I then started to sand, primer, and paint the receiver box and the front cover of the switch box.

I didnt get much done today sense it was raining outside most of the day. Well, tomorrow some more interesting stuff. I start on cutting the front bezel and the front fan hole.

Today i only had time to cut the front hole for the 120mm front fan.

I traced an outline and made my ruff cut first

I then cleaned it up with the dremel, sandpaper, and the marked the spots to drill the holes for the screws.

I ended by primer and painting the edges of my cut and the front fan grill. I havent decided if I will keep it green or paint it black. The green seems to blend in and make it seem like it is built in.

Ill post a small update later of the fan installed once it has dried. And what color should I paint the fan; black or green?

-danthegeek

Heres a few pics of the receiver box and the switch box

The switch box with its new paint.

The receiver

I made a sticker and took some sand paper to it and the cover to make it look worn.

-danthegeek

I have some progress pics.

Not much done but at least this gives an idea of what I have been doing.

I painted the top panel. The white area is actually paper but It gives you an idea of what the frosted plexi wil look like. I did a little bit of aging to the top and I will continue it on the rest of the case.

The front fan finished, I just need to paint the bolts.

EDIT-I also did a quick sketch on the front bezel setup. I think I may finally be certain on the order of things.

Anyways, I now have my front bezel cut out.

I then bent it at a 90 degree angle as best i could with a Rubber mallet and some angled aluminum.

I laid out the front(actual size) and I will start cutting the holes and brackets for the stuff tomorrow. I have to make metal plates that everything fits into so i can remove stuff by taking out screws. Should look good.

Oh, and this is what I will use to attach the cd rom to the front. I just have to cut it along the bottom tape marks and then support it with something.

EDIT- On a side note, If anyone is wondering why I went with green for the color instead of beige, well it was beige. It made it look like an old office computer. So, I went with green to give it more "flare."

OK time for an UPDATE!!!

I needed something to fix the unneeded holes in the side of the case. So, I went to Autozone and bought some "Quick Steel." So I used this and it worked great. Its so strong, I dont have to worry about the holes anymore. If I need to drill a smaller hole in the same spot I can.

Right Side holes fixed and primed.

Left Side holes fixed and primed.

For the front I used the "Quick steel" again to attach the front panel and primed. Trust me, it isnt coming off. I tested it with other scrap pieces and a hammer. I destroyed the steel before it even started to crack. I just need to fill in the gaps a bit and sand the primer smooth.

While the primer was drying, I cut the bracket for the CD-ROM drive. Easy enough

I went ahead and marked to screw holes for the top cover.

The I used a small drill bit (forget the size) and made a hole for the sheet metal screws.

The finished product. If you notice the top left screw has a brocken head. Nothing some vice-grips cant fix.:) .

Once the primer was dry I sanded the entire case and primed it. A little smoother and I will need this when I paint it and blacken in some areas like I did for the top cover.

Once that was dry I took some black paint and painted the underside of top cover and the case. Ill let them dry over night and start work again tomorrow.

Thanx for viewing.

-danthegeek

OH I finished the back door.

I started by evening up the door to the case as much as possible. Its close enough. I also had to cut off two rivet heads on the left side of the case so i could attach the hinges.

After they were cut, I taped everything up to mark the holes and then drilled.

Before I attached the door, I wanted to cut a small hole in the bottom for air ventilation. So, I marked it off and then cut it with the handy dremel. I intend to put some mesh in the hole as well.

After that, I attached the door with the hinges.

I then marked the holes for the latches and attached them as well.

I then sanded and threw on some primer to protect the metal.

I hope to start the front tomorrow but that will be a challenge. I have to cut a piece out of another case to create a door for this one. O just hope I dont screw-up the measurements.;)

Thanx for looking,
-danthegeek


On a side note:

I think it looks much better then it did before the overhaul.

Before

After

Quote:

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Originally Posted by h3moglobe0

I know one thing

Show to us your big black eyes and grey skin, now!
Why there is no pics off you? Cuz you aint' human!

This is creaziest shi+ ever. Ehhh.


Plz don't seat on couch then! Ever! Just modd. Anything you want and post it.
It's a real pleasure to look at this work.

I wonder, why am I so Lazy ?? fsck! :D

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HAHA. Ill have my girlfriend take a pic of me tomorrow. Actually, I dont have a pic of me.

Anyways, thank you for your complements


Ok, a small update for everyone.

I got the front door cut out and mounted, I didnt take any pic of the process because it was just like the rear door just much more complicated. Trying to take a piece of metal out of another case and make it match this was quite a task. I took about 7 hours total until i was happy with it enough to mount it. I also had to fill in a bunch of holes because it was severly corroded.

PICS

front with handle

hinges

latch

In case you were wondering how strong this is, I picked it up by the front door. Its solid as a rock and didnt flex a bit. I think it could be fully loaded and still have the handles be functional.

Thanx for viewing

-danthegeek

Oh, I forgot

I took a pic of the plexi after I frosted it. I took my desk lap and used it as the light.

Thanks again for the complements.

-danthegeek

EDIT- Got some more pics

no light on the plexi

The lid (not attached or sanded and prepped). I put the can next to it so you get an idea of the size of the case

This is my plan for the bottom of the lid. I will mount the speakers in the front and have a storage area for wires and crap. Maybe even a knife ;)

I have cut out the piece to insert into the lid but I have yet to cut out the storage and speaker holes. I have the lid outside covered in paint striper and the mosquitos are to bad to work any further. Ill post some pics tomorrow morning or sunday. I am a bit busy tomorrow evening.

-danthegeek

OK, this is for the slect few that believe I am some type of dark elf.
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m.../mypicture.jpg

See, I told you I was human. Although my girlfriends picture taking skills could use some improvement. Blasted me with the flash.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by danthegeek

OK, this is for the slect few that believe I am some type of dark elf.

See, I told you I was human. Although my girlfriends picture taking skills could use some improvement. Blasted me with the flash.

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Nice try Dan, but your girlfriend told me that you photochopped that pic. Thankfully she was kind enough to send me the original...

Now that the site is back up, time for an update.

I cut out the piece for the underside of the lid. It tuned out good enough, it even snaps right in.

Then I made the bracket for the speakers but, I decided not to go with a storage bay yet. I really like the idea of the gauges and I dont want to mod myself into a corner.

Then the camera died so there are no pics of me attaching the metal plate, hinges, cutting, blah blah. I just couldnt wait for the camera to charge

This is where I stand so far, everything primed and some areas painted black (inside of doors, inside case, etc.)

I also need a way to latch the lid but i dont want to go with the same latches as the doors. And I dont want them to look out of place either. Hummm, I may not go with latches sense gravity holds it down and the hinges are pretty stiff.

I will finish the front panel tomorrow and start painting. I hope to be done by the weekend so dont stray to far.

thanks again

-danthegeek

Another update

I started work on the front bezel today

I got the cd rom drive opening cut out and the supports mounted

I also taped of and cut out the hole for the switch box

Then I decided to mount the MB tray into the case. I used some small rivets and some paint to finish it off

I painted the underside of the frosted plexi white. I dont want the red lights turning it pink and this was the best way I found.

Tomorrow I will cut out this piece and cut a hole in the front for the switches. This goes to the right of the switch box as shown in the previous design.

Another update tomorrow so dont go far.

Thanx
-danthegeek

I may go with some rust once I get and air brush.

Small update.

I cut out the panel for the power/reset switches and such. I used the switch box panel as a template so they match (the one I cut out is the smaller one).

I then cut out the holes for the buttons and leds

Then some paint on them both. I also cut out a panel for the usb that will be on the side of the case.

Ill start final details tomorrow and then some paint.

thanx for lookin

-danthegeek

I got a little bit more work done today on the pc.

I started by making a support for the lid so it wont snap the other doors of when you open it. It was putting a lot of pressure on the doors so I got some small cable and put some ends on it.

Then I mounted it to the lid and back panel using some rivets. It may not look great but this was the best and simplest way I could find to do this. Remember, it has to function too.

Then I mounted the rear hinge.

I also mounted the hard drive cage using some drill screws. Its easy to detach it as long as you have the front overhanging a table or something.

The bottom shot

Some black paint. I know you may think theres a lot of overspray but I will mask off the areas I want to stay black and the green will cover up the rest.

Tomorrow some more paint and some finishing touches. I should have it finished in a day or two, as long as I am happy with the paint. The real time killer is waiting 4 hours for paint to dry before i can touch it.

OH, some hardware.

Old AMD 3700 (free from my shelf) and motherboard. Also a new sata DVD writer from newegg ($30) and a free 160 gig seagate HD. Tomorrow the 8600gt, 1 gig ram, and 400 watt Ps whould be here from newegg.

Thanks everyone for looking.

-danthegeek

Ok ANOTHER UPDATE.

something you may be interested in, paint. Yes that was my goal for today and I accomplished it, but dont let me get ahead of myself

I started by taping off the areas I wanted to stay black and threw on some primer after sanding.

Then I put on 5 layers of green so I would get a good even coat.

Well that doesent look right, too new. SO I threw on some black for the darkening and aging effect.

Then once the paint wasnt to tacky, I took off the paper and tape.

I think the black handles and black front work well with the color.

Anyways, i will let this dry a few more hours and then start assembly if I can. I dont want to mess-up the paint with finger prints and huge scratches. I dont plan on sanding any of it down to make it look more worn because I want to protect the metal.

More pics in better lighting. I also finished the front bezel. I dont know if I will paint the screws or not. The crome look gives it some contrast.

thanks for looking

-danthegeek

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Omega

We want more pics.

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Ok, more pics.

I made some stickers for the front and also took some sandpaper to the front to give it a used look. Also some lights :D. Im still waiting on my red cold cathodes.

Sticker Says
WARNING
-Welcome to the Battlefield 2 L.A.N. PC Command
Unit

-When Using this device use extreme caution not
to exceed thrill levels your body can endure.

Thanks for all the comments, but Im not dont yet. I still need to wire and mount the speakers, make a sticker for under the lid, get my lights, finish painting grills and bolts on the front, install the Motherboard (I dont have any stand offs for the tray) and the rest of the hardware.

-danthegeek

Thank you all for your comments and compliments. I would have never gotten this far without the support from all of you.

Now, this is the part of the worklog when I start lecturing all of.

j/k , but seriously, I can never say enough to always plan every aspect of a mod. That is what makes or brakes a build.

I show you why. I knew that everything was going to fit tightly into the case and I am extremely glad I measured twice.:D

While installing the video card I knew it was going to be close to the power supply, but not this close. The video card has 1 mm. between it and the power supply. Yes 1mm, maybe less. lol but it is not touching it. Heat will not be an issue though because the power supply has a 120mm fan pulling air past the card.

Also the memory has about 4mm between it and the DVD-rom. You can also see the 24pin connector was a close call as well because of the dvd-rom cage.

Atleast it all fits. Now I have to see if I can get the usb working. for some reason it will not install anything properly or recognize it and I dont know if it the motherboard or windows. I may do another clean install and see what I come up with. Any ideas?

Thanks again
-dan

Well I have the hardware and software part of this mod done. The only thing left is a lot of wire management. I still have to take everything out of the case again so I can run my speaker wire neatly (dont want bits of metal in the new goods). All I need to do to finish the case is get the red and white lights and I will be done.

Question, I cant figure out how to get the usb working. Ive tried reinstalling windows, bios update, new drivers, and I still get "unrecognized device" on everything I try (mouse, keyboard, camera, flash drive, etc.). My ethernet slows down after a few minutes as well. I guess I will gave to get a usb pci card and try it out or get another MB.

Besides that, it runs games great (oblivion @ 1400 * 900 Med all day long with no lag).

Ok, I got bored and decided to make a small slide show of the mod so far. I like it but it is only a minute long and I plan on doing a hole slide show with progress and finished video. This is kind of like a teaser.

enjoy.

EDIT- I changed it a bit

Quote:

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Originally Posted by D1337

does the key do anything or is it purely appearance?
also what does the text say on those bricks o.o

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The key arms the power switch so you can turn the system on. What do you mean by "bricks." Do you mean the label, if so then:


WARNING
-Welcome to the Battlefield 2 L.A.N. PC Command
Unit

-When Using this device use extreme caution not
to exceed thrill levels your body can endure.


Ok, I got a bit of work done.

I finished wiring the speakers and they work great. I ran the wire to the back and into the lid from the bottom so they are hidden when you shut it. They are nice and loud to. I will try to get a video of it once I remake that bracket that holds the speakers.

I also put in a speaker input in an expansion slot so you can plug in you ipod, cd player, pc, whatever into the speakers.

I added the mesh to the rear panel. I dont see how it will do any good sense the door has to be open to run the pc. I may make a small opening for the wires later.

I made a template and added a U.S. emblem in the rear door. I added a little over-spray to make it look more realistic.

I was wondering what your opinions on adding some handles onto the front was? I like the looks of them and that is all they would be there for. Do you think Im trying to add to much? Anyways, Id love to get some opinions to help my decision sense I cant decide.

Thanks for looking

-danthegeek

Im not sure I want to add a bunch of stuff to the sides. I think it would look weired to have a bunch of switches and gauges on the outside when the case was designed to conceal things such as that (meaning the doors). I do have a small suprise for the outside, its more of a detachable add-on, but you will have to wait and see:D.

I got a little bit of work done today. The first thing I did was add a support for the cover. This also help support the front bezel as well.

I officially finished the speakers by adding the hardware to hold them in.

Im still on the fence about the handles. I know they serve no real purpose but this build is about looks, not just function. I think they look good but I dont know. Heres a few more picks with a black and silver handle. Any input?

I also added a bit ore aging to the front to give it a more used look in places that would be touched a lot. Thats why there are dark and light spots in the above pictures, although they do not show it very well.

thanks again for the suggestions and compliments.
-danthegeek

Thanks for the input everyone it realy did help in my decisions.

I did a little bit of work today. I did mount the handles and they turned out pretty good. I went with a weathered silver look. I did it by painting them black then sanding off almost all f the paint. I did this to give it a pitted and worn look and the pictures do them no justice. I like the contrast they created with the front panel. I may mist them with some black to make them look dirtier.

They are very strong to since I have reinforced the front panel. i can actually lift the case by them. I hope to my leds for the star and my red cold cathodes in a few days to finish this off,... for now lol.

I would love to have an LCD for the lid and I could just run it off of the second output on the video card. I would probably use it for music and a temp display. I just dont want to spend anymore of his money, he just bought me the video card, ram and power supply ($200 u.s.) a week ago. The screen would be another $100 ($200 for a touch screen). I dont think I can justify him spending that much money for something that is more or less a "second" system of mine. I may get one from my pocket when I get some more money (im broke lol).

AS for the door, it fits with millimeters to spare :).

-danthegeek

I was thinking I could do something like this:

Then I could have the LCD (the top right) show temps of my hardware and the gauges show the voltages coming out of the power supply (12, 5, 3.3 volt).

All of this probably wont happen soon sense the contest at micro center is this weekend and I need to get everything I have now working.

-danthgeek

EDIT- the lcd would be from a ps1 because they are cheap.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xperiment

Love the design for the LCD/Gauges. Would be nice to see some more 'missile' style toggel switches in there too.

Overall though looking great, the handles came out really nice aswel!

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Id like to use some of those gauges but I only have about 1.5 cm between the lid and the cover with the star. Id probably have to use some rocker switches on there.

I have one major flaw in my plan for the gauges though. The only ones I can find that would work are 2.5 inches in depth. I only have 1.25 inches at the most in depth so I will have to come-up with something different.

thank for the compliments

-danthegeek

The meter for the Hd activity sounds great. Ill have to do some more research and see what I can find with a depth small enough.

A small update.

I wanted to add a usb port to the front of the case but I didnt want to have it behind the door. This is so I could close the door if I had a mouse and keyboard hooked-up to it. I chose my spot on the case and this is where it is.

Is not the best looking spot but because of all of the stuff inside I was limited to placement. It was either here or at the very top in the middle (would have had to cut out the U.S. stamped area.). So, I cut out my hole.

Threw on some paint and called it finished. I may try to blend the colors better but Im not really that worried about it.

Thanks for all the support

-danthegeek

Hey everyone, ITS FINSIHED LOL. THANK GOD.

Anyways, Im waiting for it to get a bit darker so I can get some night shots and then I will post the pics. (I have to keep you in suspense :D)

P.S. Im posting from it as well.

-danthegeek

Well Here are the pics I promised. Sorry it took so long, I had to wait for my camera to charge.

Closes to the real color.

Some Lights

Light coming out of the usb

Messy insides (I have tried for 2 hours to make it look neat. There just isnt enough room)

Star off

Star on

Specs:
CPU- AMD 3700
MB- Asus A8V-XE 939 (cheapo)
HD- Seagate 160 gig
RAM- Apida 1 gig
GPU- XFX 8600gt
PSU- 400 watt cheapo brand

3dmark05 score: 8760 (stock clock speeds)

CPU temp: idle-36 load-46
GPU temp: idle-43 load-62

thanks for looking

-danthegeek


Link To Original Worklog