Summer-Time Super Lanboy Mod

I've had my Antec super lanboy case for easily 6 months now, and after looking back and thinking :eek:"what the hell was i thinking??!!??" as far as sticking purple and UV lights in it was concerned, it's time for a re-design.

I really like the actual case, the aluminium is gonna be really forgiving when i go to university in september. I've had some conceptual ideas floating around in my head and on paper for some time but decided that i needed to get some down properly into word form, and to get feedback from those in the know (you guys!).

http://www.hardware.no/tester/kabine...der/kasse1.jpg

Thats as best a picture as i can find to show the front fascia and internal structure (the hard drive bay is getting a major overhaul).

I'm planning on using the Ghost In The Shell movies for inspiration, not directly (as with the Doom3 mod) but more in concept. I really like the idea of merging flesh and machine into one, and with a red-coolant WCooled system in place this could help.

I was thinking of a black and red colour scheme, simple but effective, but maybe bourgeois? In the GITS movies, characters often have bodyparts that open up or slide away. (In particular in GITS2, Batou's arm unfolds rapidly to reveal a two-barrel shotgun, and a robot pathologist's eye region fold upward so she can plug a device into the place that they once occupied). This is something I think is tre cool and would like in my mod.

Now for ideas (i guess).

The window in the side panel is coming away and to be replaced by two layers of metal, the outermost (nearest the user) is a hexagonal mesh, and the innermost layer would be metal sheet (aluminium or steel) with a cut decal that will be for decoration and to allow a fan to be fixed for intake. (Use your imagination). The mesh would be red under my current colour scheme, with the outercase and decal sheet black, and having enough of a decal to show the inside guts of the machine. Going back on myself, there was an image of an eye in GITS2 that I could take and base the cut-thru on, but i'll have to draw it out first.
*Breathe*:eek:

The front panel would have curved, large-bore mesh covering the 120mm fan, in line with the silver strip where the power buttons and LEDs are. This would also be red with the chassis black. The swinging door would be remounted to slide sideways (I'll have to look into that) and have rib-cage like holes cut into it, showing the Mashie MDVA drive bay mount i'm after, and be rear-mounted with (you guessed it) red mesh.

Behind the drive bay door is a whole different story.

http://www.pc-look.com/boutik/Plus_700850-013.php

The MDVA will take up the top two drive bays and my current DVD drive will be stealthed behind the bottom one. A joint FDD and mem. card reader takes one of the 3.5 bays and the other's fascia will be drilled for 3 LED switches for lights around the case and the water cooling pump. The ANTEC logo will be cut out and have a fine mesh (red, obviously:rolleyes: ) backlit with a red cold cathode or LED rack.

The little tool tray you can see in the photo will actually become the resevoir for the water cooling system after I seal it and fit it with the correct fittings, showing the liquid flowing in the system when the door is open. This could also be lit from below, with white LEDs (shock horror) to show of the red viscous fluid.

The Hard drive bay I mentioned earlier is coming out, it's not screwed in so i'll have to Dremel the cumbersome bastard. In it's place i've thought of a suspended aluminium cage for my three HDD. Again, pictures are worth a thousand words so i'll try and get my sketches scanned for you. This (design wise) is going to be the hardest piece to encompass. The water cooling system i'm envisioning will have three 1 X 120mm radiators, one under the roof, one at the rear exhaust port and one at the intake port where the HDD bay is at the moment. Aside from having to jiggle the HDD bay so that it doesn't affect air flow, allows for the radiator AND doesn't get in the way of my 7800 GTX and its future partner (they have big-bastard PCBs), the roof mounted radiator may have to take place with the decal-intake fan, meaning that taking the side panel off to do anything would be a nightmare.

WOW, for a first post this is a long one.

If you've been bothered to read this far then thanks! I'm trying to pack a lot of gear into a case meant to be transported between Lan parties.