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Thread: Project: Blue-Hellfire

  1. #1
    ATX Mental Case Cobra's Avatar
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    Default Project: Blue-Hellfire Feb 2 stick a fork in it..its done!!!

    ok i am carrying my worklog over to multiple forums so i can get feedback from all angles while i do my build. this will catch everyone up to where i am now.
    Be warned from the onset that this is gonna be a looooonnnnngggggg build.
    Also the quality of some of the pics wont be brilliant but all I have to work with atm is snapping shots between a tempermental vivitar 3mp camera that eats effin batteries like candy or my N95 with the 5mp cam on it. I will do the best I can with pics and try to give you as much detail as I can. also being in England atm i dont have a dedicated mod area, i am betting this is the main reason i get the evil eye from wifey when i talk about working on it lol. The project tends to follow me into whatever room i decide to sit in to mod that day, kitchen, sitting room, back garden, hell even wet sanding in the bathtub isn't off limits.

    Technically I am building 2 PC's, one for me and one for the other half. internals will be identical but she doesn't have allot of care for the exterior modding aside from paint.
    so mine gets the surgery to make it the way I want..hers just gets some lipstick and a new pair of shoes.
    Knowing from the beginning that the budget will be a limiting factor since all the components will be bought in pairs ( if they aren't identical spec hdwe wise wifey says I can sleep in the back shed for a while till I come up with a good excuse for the deviation =oX)
    we start out with a budget case bought from our friends over at scan, a Sharkoon Rebel 9 economy edition



    this will serve as a good canvas for me and sufficient room for the hardware we are considering.
    My goals for this build are as follows:
    increase ventilation through the case
    add a side window
    add internal lighting
    try my hand at wire management
    pull out the airbrush after 17 years and see if the hands still work
    lastly, come up with matching systems that will last us four or five years.

    While I know I am no where near as good as some of you in sketch up, I did try my hand in it to see what I could come up with.
    Here's the basic results:


    these depictions give me a good idea of how I want my layout to be. Mind you the color scheme isn't picked yet aside from my determination to use blue in it lol.
    Placement of the lower intake and upper blow hole should give me the airflow I am looking for.
    When coupled with the turbine intake on the front panel and the dual 80mm exhaust at the rear I think there should be plenty of air moving through the case.

    First things first...
    deconstruction:

    off comes the front panel


    followed by the front usb io panel

    then the power and reset buttons


    leaving me with a bare front panel to play with


    Now onto the fun bits:
    i hit Wickes(for those in the states Wickes is like Valu home center..smaller more personal version of home depot) and picked up some cheap clear plexi
    I know this isnt top of the line mod material but its cheap and cheerful and foots the bill for what i need to do with it.
    off i went to grab my trusty razor knife...scored a strip of plexi and placed it over the edge of the coffee table ( makes note..wife really doesn't appreciate me modding in the sitting room) after a bit of downward pressure *POP* the piece snapped clean off scaring the crap out of the 2 dogs in the process.
    this piece will be the filler for the bottom portion of the front panel.



    i started out using araldite(5 min epoxy) to hold it in,

    once the epoxy set i got paranoid and followed up with super glue down the joint as well simply because i didn't wanna get halfway through makin this front panel and have the seam go pop and have to start over.
    once the new insert was affixed to the front panel i had a bit of a rummage around the local Sunday market and found a cheap hole saw set (more on its quality later)
    i chucked up the largest diameter hole saw in the drill and marked everything up.
    i would love to tell ya that i took 10 different measurements, made sure all were spot on, crossed them all with Einsteins theory of relativity and then only after putting on all appropriate safety gear including gloves goggles and steel toed boots, started drilling.
    i'd be a lyin **** if i did, truth be told i set the front panel in place back on the chassis. marked out where the center of the stock 120mm fan cage sat and freehand marked the center point for it (Gasp).


    then i grabbed my custom specially made turbine intake port unit ( shhhh i know its just a Cd sleeve but its all fun =o)~)

    marking the ring to cut off the end was kinda easy..lay a sharpie marker in the table and spin the cd sleeve against it for the straight line.

    end was removed with trusty dremel tool and cutting disc.

    checking the diameter against a 120mm fan

    looks close enough for me. the sleeve is a bit wider than necessary but i will make small filler panels on the fan housing itself so it wont be noticeable.
    i then reversed the placement of the mounting panel in the chassis to give it a bit more depth and set the front cover back on the chassis with the cd sleeve through the hole so i could mark where to cut it.
    i know i will prolly get beaten severely for not having a pic of that process but to be honest, when yer on a roll its hard to remember to snap pics of every step you take.
    once i had everything sitting flush, i marked the intake with a fineline marker again and cut it with the trusty dremel again.
    i sanded the interior and exterior of the cd sleeve to give the adhesives something to "bite" onto. i figured that had to be better than leaving them ultra smooth so things pop off later.
    i set the cd sleeve into the front panel and grabbed the araldite again

    cant ever say i waste things... what was a scrap cd sleeve top is now a pallet for mixing epoxy, hehe

    this one i epoxied from top and bottom. the followed up with a fine bead of super glue as well to make sure it never comes off.

    wow from this angle the tube looks alot longer than it actually is..
    a quick hop to Halfords brought me back with this

    English bondo!!!
    eh it suits a purpose for now. i know the front panel was never meant to be a "one fill then done" project so i popped open the can, grabbed a mixing pallet ( technical name for a few paper plates )
    and promptly got kicked out of the house into the back garden =0/
    apparently the wife doesnt share the same affinity as i do for the smell of body filler.
    undeterred i went ahead and layed on the first coat.


    Note to self:Use masking tape to keep body filler out of areas you dont want filled moron!!
    now i got to do the fun and wonderful job of sanding the first coat down so i am close to where i wanna be.

  2. #2
    ATX Mental Case Cobra's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Blue-Hellfire

    this is after sanding the first coat.


    i needed to find some flat drive bay covers as the curved mesh ones that came with the case wouldn't fit the idea i have in my mind. after lookin at the 6 machines in the house i only have one that will work as a donor..shamefully its mine and not one of the wifes or either of the daughters =oX
    luckily it is the box i am replacing with the PC i am building so its not too painful to rip things out of it.
    so pillaging i went, i took the first drive cover and super glued it to the top slot of the case. i want this area clear inside the case because i will have the blowhole in the top panel and i wont want the chance of it being able to hit an optical drive once they get installed.
    time for more body filler to blend it all together


    some more sanding and time for coat number 3


    thats after a bit of sanding and just before i drop on the first coat of primer.

    after coat 1 of primer

    e bay came through for me in a good way.



    nice thing about this one is that the pots come off the end of the pcb now at a 90 degree angle so i can fit them into the side pillar of the front face plate.
    first thing i did is dismantle the fan controller and use the faceplate to layout and mark my holes
    then i used the actual pcb pots to double check and make sure they were all gonna be center.

    then i loaded up the trusty drill with a small bit for guide holes and *POOF* i got thrown out in the back garden.
    apparently the sound of the drill was drowning out an ever so important episode of Judge Judy =o/
    eh no matter, i went ahead and drilled my holes and snuck back in the house. hehe


    just about now Judge Judy was ending so i grabbed my dremel to help me remove some of the excess plastic on the back of the face plate that would allow me to flush mount the fan controller.
    plastic removed it was time for a test fit.

    then i threw on the knobs to make sure they would look the way i wanted from the front once assembled.



    winner!!!!!

    eh for now thats where i am gonna leave off on this update.. nice day and more to go dremel cut saw fill and sand.
    possibly small updates during the week but more than likely looking for the weekend for major posts.
    till then
    cya soon =o)~

  3. #3
    Its not cool till its watercooled. Fuganater's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Blue-Hellfire

    WOW! So far so good dude. /sub I'll be watching.

  4. #4
    ATX Mental Case Cobra's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Blue-Hellfire

    a nice thing about that fan controller is that its not very deep and when its installed it hides itself entirely in the front panel.even with the front panel installed on the chassis theres still a 2mm gap so no chance for a short anywhere.
    thanks for takin the time to read through this everyone. all comments are welcome
    as it sits now the shopping list for this build looks like this

    already purchased:
    Sharkoon Rebel 9 economy
    Generic 6 Channel fan controller

    Still need to acquire:
    Asus P5KC, iP35, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2/DDR3 1066/1333/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
    520W Corsair HX Series Modular PSU, ATX, EPS12V
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300, Yorkfield Core, S775, 2.5 GHz, 1333MHz, 6MB L2 Cache, OEM
    4GB (2x2GB) Corsair XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800MHz), Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12, DHX
    Zalman CNPS9500-AT Intel LGA775 Aero Flower Cooler
    250 GB Seagate ST3250410AS Barracuda 7200.10, SATA II, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 11 ms, NCQ
    512MB BFG Tech 8800GT OC, PCI-E 2.0, Mem 1800MHz GDDR3, GPU 625MHz, Streams 112, 2x DL DVI-I
    2x LiteON DH-20A1S-18C Black 20x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8 / -RW x 6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA Black
    2x Sharkoon 12" Blue CCFL 2in1 Kit x2 CCFL Tubes
    2x 120mm Akasa AK-174BK-S Black Case Fan, 3 Pin, Sleeve Bearing Ultra Quiet (17dBA) Retail Package
    2x 80mm AKASA Auto Thermal Sensor Black Fan, 3 Pin Ball Bearing
    Saitek PK 02AV Eclipse II Wired Keyboard, BackLit Purple, Red + Blue Keys, USB 1.1/2.0, Black

    as i mentioned at the beginning this is a budget build x2 so as we scrape together cash and get new bits you will see them get added little by little

  5. #5
    Its not cool till its watercooled. Fuganater's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Blue-Hellfire

    Quote Originally Posted by Cobra View Post
    as i mentioned at the beginning this is a budget build x2 so as we scrape together cash and get new bits you will see them get added little by little
    This is how mine went. Took me like a year to finally build both my computers.

  6. #6
    GIVE ME THE CAKE!!! p0Pe's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Blue-Hellfire

    /note to self - start working with bondo!

    amazing stuff you can do with that thing the front panel looks sweet! like the fancontroller idea
    is that a 120.9 raddy on your case, or are you just happy to see me?

    METO V.1
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    Project M8 [WIP]

  7. #7
    ATX Mental Case Cobra's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Blue-Hellfire

    got home from work last night and had a look at the back panel for the case.
    decided i will end up changing the rear exhaust to a single 120mm fan rather than the twin 80's
    will mean a little bit more work to obtain the look i want but hey....thats what we are here for right? lol
    this weekend i should have pic updates on the main side panel and prolly either the top or bottom panel of the case.
    cya soon

  8. #8
    like the Swedish Chef with a Screwdriver gntlkilr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Blue-Hellfire

    I like the idea for this case design as well. This is a well laid out design, simple, yet extremely functional. Sweet!


    "Voltage is like a big lake of milk surrounded by giant chocolate chip cookies. But if the chocolate chip cookies happen to break, the milk coming out is your current."

  9. #9
    ATX Mental Case Cobra's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Blue-Hellfire

    ok.... couldn't bother waiting for the weekend to post a bit more of this mod in progress.
    hmmm i hate stock pc case feet. especially when they look like this.

    they were screaming at me to kill them each and every time i looked at them.
    not liking to leave anyone disappointed i had to oblige. off they came.

    simple push through pin construction made removal easy enough.

    took a bit of a stroll over to Homebase to find something suitable to use for case feet.
    about an hour later i ended up back home with these.

    drawer pull handles with a knurled finish on them.sad bit was they only had 3 in stock. so my wife being the loving woman she is undid the display model from the front of thier display section, threw it in a bag for a different knob and just told the cashier thats the way we found it.
    gotta love a chick who bends rules so i get what i want sometimes hehe.
    one of the reasons i wanted to replace the feet on the case is because i am planning on a 120mm intake fan mounted inside the bottom of the case. need room to let the air draw in. plus i generally think they look tons better than the stock crap.


    note favorite coffee mug in picture

    plenty of clearance now and after i hit the knurled bit of the feet with some color matched paint i think they will look mint.
    now back to the front panel......
    i still had 2 more holes to drill in the front panel before i considered it finished.
    i had to make room for these.

    i know i know... i said 2 holes and theres 3 switches there. one i have other plans for but not in this part of the build.
    the other 2 are basic momentary switches.
    they will be replacing the buttons on the dvd drives to open and close them. since i plan to stealth them behind face plates i figured i might as well go the full monte and do a proper job of it.
    so i drilled the 2 holes

    so now the front panel looks like this

    i am quite happy with this result as it will give me ample area to botch together a mess on it when i grab the airbrush in a few months =oX

    with the front panel nearing virtual nirvana i figure its time to take a look at the rest of the case to see what i can throw together with some bubble gum n duct tape.
    before i can rebuild it i obviously had to break it thoroughly so out came the power tools (insert Tim Allen grunt here)

    time to get rid of some rivets..
    started drilling out the connecting rivets

    got to the front dvd optical and hdd frame and have a rough idea for what i may do with it.

    i will cover that in a different update, for now i just kept drilling rivets
    till i got it broken down to look like this

    its totally amazing how many of them little damn things they use to hold something so small together.. i know car manufacturers that don't use as many lol.
    so now tis all in pieces for this update ending. next one i see what else i can break bend twist n twirl to end up with what i want in the end.
    cya next time
    same bat time
    same bat channel
    =o)

  10. #10
    Banned Eclecticos's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Blue-Hellfire

    Looks like a great start . .Looks real Smooth!
    +Rep for finding a use for the disc containers.

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