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.
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
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/
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Originally Posted by progbuddy
