Metropolis RED mod (title changed)

[Vaantal]

1st time modder here. I love the feeling of community on this forum, so I thought I would take a leap of faith and post a thread for this mod I have recently started.
I have been inspired by a number of the projects I have seen on this site, so at the very least...thanks to you all for your hardwork

this is the case that I started with. Lian Li PC-7A plus

I love the brushed aluminum panels

first step obviously was to take the whole thing apart (mostly without a plan of action)

I bought some red paint and started to see if I have any spray painting skills. I won't bother you with the images of me cursing and sanding out bad spots.

above you can see that I have marked out to drill a couple holes for the hose fittings. btw. this will also be my first watercooled case as well.

as far as drilling holes go, the first try was pretty ugly, the second not much better, but I prevailed (notice the washers that will cover the ugly scratches due to poor drilling skills.

end result

holes are drilled...so I thought i'd test fit my plan for the tubing

I have been spending a lot of time waiting for red paint to dry so I started on some ideas for wire management. First up was the fans.

I got the little plastic boxes, cut out the top to screw on a 4 post audio thingy (technical term), screwed it in an voila! once I get to putting the components in, I can figure out wiring and where to put this little box

ive got 3 fans and the water pump that will plug in there.

for molex power I'll need 4 sources so away I go with another little black box

some careful utility knife work (had a couple close calls on this one) and...

I'll have the power in from the end and the power out from the top 4 slots

i have dropped off a few of the parts to get polished (chrome plating was too expensive). hopefully that will turn out nice...we'll see

I've got most of what I want to do in mind already, what I don't know is what to do with the blank panel on the motherboard side. Once I have more of this completed and you can see where i'm going with it maybe I can get some suggestions.

[jdbnsn]

That's a great looking case and your work is coming along nicely. I love what you've done with those outlets, clever! If you don't mind me asking, where did you get those sharp looking plugs you are using for the fans? Are they just RCA plugs for high-end stereo components like monster cables?
Jon

[Vaantal]

Thanks, believe it or not I got them at the Radioshack next to my office. They have the chrome ones and gold plated. I was dissapointed that they don't carry any glass LED's, just the plastic ones. I'm still looking for a handful of LED's to fit into the mod.

[DaveW]

Things are looking pretty crowded at the back there, might be better to mount the radiator the other way around, and shorten those tubes? Just an idea, i'll admit i don't know a great deal about liquid cooling systems, but that might be worth thinking about.

Your little black boxes look sweet, keep up the good work

-Dave

[chris_kalan]

I love the wire management idea! I'm planning to (borrow) the idea for a mod of mine in the future. I've been looking for a way to clean everything up, and I think this will help. Thanks!! muah*

[Vaantal]

Things are looking pretty crowded at the back there, might be better to mount the radiator the other way around, and shorten those tubes?

I agree. I want the radiator on the outside but I want the fan on the inside blowing through. I wanted to do something with rigid pipe, but was having trouble finding the parts to make it work. Still not out of the question though if I can figure it out. My priority is really to keep the tubing on the inside of the case as organized as possible. I still have the issues of working the tubing into the CPU and VGA blocks.

This work in progress is also going to be learning as I go, any and all suggestions are appreciated.

[tybrenis]

Great so far, especially for a first time mod! Looks like you have some previous knowledge in the field, or atleast have done your research. **mad props**

[qoou]

i got a name:

Xtasy

[Vaantal]

i got a name:

Xtasy
___________

uhh..what? Are you refering to video card, the quake clan, or the pill.

[DaveW]

Done anything recently? I want to see how this is progressing

You might be able to get red glass paint if you wanted to make those cable red. But drawing from my experience as a designer i'd say you'd want to pick a minor or recessive colour to paint the tubes. Althought they'll look grand clear as well, i'm making suggestions-i'm not saying it needs it!

Give us some more photos, let's see how things are going.

-Dave