many rookies questions (with some minor explanation of the case itself)

[PCdeaf]

I kinda got a mix of questions in general to ask about. so I'll just go ahead and ask them.

1) should I worry if I make a kind of magnetic clipboard next to the PC?
it should be around a half feet away (to the side) from the 22 in LCD monitor I plan to use and the main components of the PC itself will be behind the monitor itself. (the monitor will actually be mounted on a store-bought bracket directly installed on the side of the case itself).

2) what info should I know if I want my case to be big enough to be able to accommodate pretty much the biggest GPU and such? I want to be absolutely sure that I will have enough depth and width in the case to give me options down the road.

3) is there a standard measurement/set-up for universal motherboard mount? Like the #2 question, I want to make sure I have all of the options I can have available. by having all of the holes and screws set up in advance, I can switch things up in there over times as I deem necessary.

4) is there any particular woods I should focus on for the least chance of damage to the PC components? or it doesn't matter as long as it is properly stained/painted? I want to try and get something like dark mahogany look similar to this

5)what time should I expect anybody to be in that chat room this forum have? just wondering in case I want to swing by and check out what everyone there is chatting about.

I had more questions in my mind but I can't remember the rest of them right now lol.

I plan to start a thread based entirely on my design soon once i figure out the google sketch-up and TRY to make a basic mock-up pics. If I can't figure it out by tomorrow morn, I'll just post a general description of my concept and possibly hand-drawn pics.

My concept is a bit of a beast in size and functionality due to wanting to future-proof it as much as possible. I want to make this case as completely wood-based as possible. I do plan to include some small metal sheets for misc purposes (such as that magnetic "clipboard" I mentioned earlier) but what I would like is to make this look as "executive" looking as possible. Sorry I tends to ramble on a little (had to delete some recurring comments lol) so I'll get on making that sketch-up mock-up design to show y'all what I'm thinking of.

[jdbnsn]

Welcome to TBCS PCdeaf!

I'll try to give you some answers. First off, you won't have much trouble with wood as a building structure, it plays nicely with PC's so don't worry about the type except for which types are easier to work with and affordable. For some inspiration, type "wood" into the search engine on the right of the screen and browse through some of the other wooden mods to get an idea of what you are working with.

1. I can't say for sure but as long as you are talking about a small magnet with low field strength I think you'll be okay at 6 inches from the monitor. But I would wait for a more expert opinion than mine regarding this.

2. As for this, you should do some careful research before committing to build. I would google "biggest video card" or something of the like and see what dimensions you get to allow for enough room. And when you start planning your build, take a note from one of the pro's (CrimsonSky) and try making foam or paper mock ups of the equipment just so you can arrange them and measure. Here is a good example of what I'm talking about.

3. Yes. The motherboard's are sized to fit standards, the most common of which is ATX You can find all of the dimensions and such on google for this as well.

4. I already addressed this, but again, any type is fine.

5. That is not something anyone can predict, sometimes I don't see anyone in there for days, and other times it's packed. Just keep an eye on the dialogue box under the title and see if anyone is there.

Good luck with your mod and don't be afraid to ask any questions you have as they arise.

Jon

[Liquid_Scope_99]

Hello PCdeaf i work in a wood shop where we build cabinet doors and jsut a couple of weeks ago we did a big set of mahogany it is expensive i mean really expensive it was easier to work with than i thought but luckily what we got was pretty good quality .
Try making foam or paper mock ups that was great advice by jdbnsn.

I would even after i did those mock ups i would build a full scale mock up out of pine or poplar before i went to mahogany ,
Thats just my opionion i dont know how much woodworking experience you have also if your just wooried about overall color you can stain pine or poplar they right color it will look similar in color .
The grain wont be even be close it would take a little trial and error where i work we stain alder to look like cherry all the time and it gets pretty close.
I stained a peice of dark oak and light oak the same color once just to see and it was night and day sorry guess i rambling.
I will help in anyway i can if you knew this all already sorry for boreing you .

[PCdeaf]

Welcome to TBCS PCdeaf!

I'll try to give you some answers. First off, you won't have much trouble with wood as a building structure, it plays nicely with PC's so don't worry about the type except for which types are easier to work with and affordable. For some inspiration, type "wood" into the search engine on the right of the screen and browse through some of the other wooden mods to get an idea of what you are working with.

1. I can't say for sure but as long as you are talking about a small magnet with low field strength I think you'll be okay at 6 inches from the monitor. But I would wait for a more expert opinion than mine regarding this.

2. As for this, you should do some careful research before committing to build. I would google "biggest video card" or something of the like and see what dimensions you get to allow for enough room. And when you start planning your build, take a note from one of the pro's (CrimsonSky) and try making foam or paper mock ups of the equipment just so you can arrange them and measure. Here is a good example of what I'm talking about.

3. Yes. The motherboard's are sized to fit standards, the most common of which is ATX You can find all of the dimensions and such on google for this as well.

4. I already addressed this, but again, any type is fine.

5. That is not something anyone can predict, sometimes I don't see anyone in there for days, and other times it's packed. Just keep an eye on the dialogue box under the title and see if anyone is there.

Good luck with your mod and don't be afraid to ask any questions you have as they arise.

Jon

1) the magnet would be your average refridgerator type magnets. maybe I can order a few of these thinkgeek magnets I kinda liked, http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/a145/ and http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/supplies/9463/

2)Yeah I'm taking my time with this my case design should generally work in term of being able to accommodate the larger size. The other sections of the case itself is large enough to abolish the requirement for a smaller case itself. I might end up just making the interior of the case itself grossly oversized just to line it up with the other sections of the case. If I do end up with that much spaces, I can actually perpendicularly mount several fans along the wall in strategics points. The foam mock-up sound good I'll have to look around and find some big enough to accommodate that mini-project once I finish my SketchUP mock up

3)so I can just set a few holes to ATX spec and expect like eATX or miniATX to be mountable on it? I want the motherboard tray to be able to have all types to mount on it. Though I'm thinking that it might be better for me to just order a motherboard try if it end up being too difficult to make the wooden one properly since I want it to be able to roll out of the case itself on some kind of rail system or something.

4)see below response

5) ok cool, I was just wondering in case I could catch someone in some usual time. I'll keep an eye out for that from now on.

Hello PCdeaf i work in a wood shop where we build cabinet doors and jsut a couple of weeks ago we did a big set of mahogany it is expensive i mean really expensive it was easier to work with than i thought but luckily what we got was pretty good quality .
Try making foam or paper mock ups that was great advice by jdbnsn.

I would even after i did those mock ups i would build a full scale mock up out of pine or poplar before i went to mahogany ,
Thats just my opionion i dont know how much woodworking experience you have also if your just wooried about overall color you can stain pine or poplar they right color it will look similar in color .
The grain wont be even be close it would take a little trial and error where i work we stain alder to look like cherry all the time and it gets pretty close.
I stained a peice of dark oak and light oak the same color once just to see and it was night and day sorry guess i rambling.
I will help in anyway i can if you knew this all already sorry for boreing you .

I don't think I could actually afford mahogany. I just liked that kind of look. I think I can go with simply staining the dark oak variety for this. Just would have to look around and find some good quality wood first. I used to take carpentry classes all through high school and I actually ended up taking trade school class on Carpentry Construction for the last 2 years. however I've graduated in 2004 and pretty much lost most of my skills from then lol. I do still like the feel of the wood in my hand and have been wanting to try and get back into it by making something extremely useful for me. Hopefully I can find out everything I'll need by then and have the money for then.

I'm actually about to register for Gallaudet so I might not have much time or money for a while. But by planning this out, I'll have those times to refine my design as much as I can and eventually have enough money saved up for it. Maybe I can take advantage of the carpentry classes at the MSSD which is a deaf school based on Gallaudet campus to get some good dark oak scrap or at least get some of these woods for cheap thru there. I'm also hoping to see if there is any good student discounts for PC components since I would be taking a graphic art major.

[nevermind1534]

I sometimes use (weak) magnetic screwdrivers with electronic components if I have nothing else, and, luckily, I haven't killed anything yet. I did accidentally put a magnet up to a CRT once. It did weird things with the colors (seemed to move them around some). I think it might have gone back to normal after some time. No idea what they do to LCDs, and I wouldn't want to find out. At one foot away, I don't think you'd have any problems, unless you have an electromagnet, or something.

[PCdeaf]

yeah I was feeling the same way about the magnets but like I said, I just don't know enough about the effect of magnets on modern PC now. I remember in the past it was frowned on because of that CRT thing and also because it can interferes with the memory in the floppy disk and older VHS cassette and stuffs. Hopefully someone here can help clears that particular info up for me. If I can't use the magnet with relatively no risk then I'll have to incorporate a different way to keep the paper up there. I don't want a plain and simple clip so I'm thinking of using one of those slip holder that some restaurant use. it is basically a cylinder on a flat sheet with balls inside. the balls use gravity to lean against the paper stuck in the space between the flat sheet and the edge of the cylinder. Lemme try to look it up online and find out the official info so you can see exactly what I'm talking about. the problem with doing this rather than the magnetic trick is that rather than being able to attach misc papers anywhere on the area, I can only use it along the top of the area. and it might be more difficult than I like to find one of those slip holder in the right length for my design.

[markkleb]

I think PC if you make a drawing of your idea we will be able to answer the questions more accurately.
(besides I would like to see what your imagining for this comp)

[PCdeaf]

lol, I'm still learning how to use sketch up more accurately (the rotate function is quite a bit confusing to me, I wonder why I can't just simply rotate it via the usual XYZ axis rather than having to set it up every time).

The mock-up scales is a bit off so don't take that design to heart. I was thinking of having that file shelve on top of the case but now having modeled it, it doesn't look that good at all. so I will just put it to the left of the left section. But this model does have the basic "core" in it.

the 22" monitor (the blue box) will be mounted directly into the case itself. in the protrusion under the monitor will be where the optical drives, I/O like USB and eSATA, and buttons (for power, reset, and fans) will be. the "sections" to the right and left of the monitor itself is where I want to add that magnetic "clipboard" thing I was talking about. the width of those sections are still being figured out but I want it to be about as wide as your average textbook on each side. would be good for researches and paperworks for colleges.

the core PC components will be directly behind the 22" monitor so there will be plenty of spaces behind the sections. So I will be using these spaces in the sections for things like pen, blank dvd-r, flash drives, possibly NAS (network accessible storage), and more. Maybe I can add a few square boxing on the top above the monitor or sections for pen and other objects instead of that file shelves. I was also thinking of possibly use the space behind one of the section for a printer/scanner combo if I'm willing to expand the size of the section.

One important thing to keep in mind about this case is that I want to try and make it somewhat modular, at the very least, so I can take each sections apart and be able to carry them by myself. I'm thinking of having a few steel rods cut to size and threaded so I can bolt the sections together horizontally and use some cover and lock to prevent theft or vandal.

Expect a much better update to the design as I learn more how to use SketchUP.

also remember that most of the complex details will be hidden under the clean exterior.

P.S. my eventually goal with this is to couple this with some really nice desk with large file cabinets on both side with bookshelves on the outside side of these file cabinets. the case itself will be able to be moved to different desks and such but the efficiency of this design is probably best when it is with a desk like this. I'm one of those guy who probably would be willing to live in a studio/efficiency apartment just to save up enough money to set this up even though it would mean I would have to forgo buying other stuffs like beds lol. Just gotta wait and see how things goes with registering for gallaudet.

[PCdeaf]

give me about 10 more min and I'll have a new pics out to better display my semi-modular idea. and better layout lol. right now I'm currently trying to add some of those boxes I mentioned for the pens and such on top of the case properly.

:EDIT:
It is starting to look like a beast lol.

it look much much better. I've even included a platform for the printer should I decide to not use the hidden space in the section for that. the paper shelves and printer platform is actually separate and can be detached in similar fashion as the section.

This time you can see where the optical drives, usb port and buttons is situated under the monitor. this is the main reason why I want to add that extrusion so I can have a very easy access to this at all time.

I just realized that I've completely forgotten about a simple CD rack lol. so I'll probably add one to go on the top of the case. maybe a simple 3 walled box with many small grooves in place. gimme a few min more and I'll try to figure out a way to quickly make these grooves.

:EDIT: here is the updated model with the CD rack. the grooves in real life would probably be more refined looking or something.

[PCdeaf]

Here is another pictures that I ended up detailing a bit more since this design would be the core which the extras would connect to. probably the most realistic designs I would use compared to earlier revisions.

Sorry for triple-posting lol. I'm going to bed now so no worries about me quad-posting lol. good night y'all

:EDIT: for some reason I don't feel like including a CD rack. maybe I'll just use a regular CD folder and store it elsewhere. I don't really uses CD/DVD much since I have USB drives.