New to Forum - Greetings everyone!

[NuKS]

Hello everyone,
I didn't see a spot in the forums for introductions, so I figured The Rookie's Nook would be as good a place as any.
I have been browsing this forum for a few weeks now, as I have been wanting to build a new computer. I must admit that I didn't think about modding my case to any extreme until I found this site. It all began because I am not satisfied with any case I have been able to find online. Maybe it's delusions of grandeur, but I believe I can build a case that better suits my needs and desires than anyone else can.
One good thing is I have a loving wife who has given me permission to whittle hours upon hours on designing and building this dream machine of mine. (I'll have pics posted later on, thanks Bucko for the pose on using imageshack to host pictures) For now, let me post the hardware I am going to use on the inside of this dream machine of mine:

Mobo- XFX MB-N590ASH9 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU- AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Brisbane 1.9GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor
Powersupply- SILVERSTONE SST-ST60F ATX 600W Power Supply 90 - 264 V
Video Card- x2 - XFX PVT73GU1D4 GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Fatal1ty Professional Series Video Card
Memory- CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Case (for parts)- CHENMING CMU-AL-602-BK-W Black Aluminum Server Computer Case
Audio- Creative SOUND BLASTER X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card
Monitor- Hanns·G HG-191RPB Black 19" 2ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1 Built in Speakers

I'm going to use the insides of the case, but I am going to design the ouside with fiberglass. The design is really hard to explain, but I think it will look nice. I have seen some really over the top cases on here, and I don't think mine will even come close to touching them, but it will look good. To give you a bit of an idea, I want to integrate speakers into the case.
Other information, I plan on running windows Vista and have a RAID 0+1 setup with 4 WD 16G harddrives
If you guys have any ideas or comments, my ears are open.

[Cagedconnerman]

Welcome to the forums! you're pretty lucky to have a cool wife like that, alot of possibly great mods never happen due to wives and their scrapbooking stuff.....

Just one thing with your setup, DX10 cards are out, I'd say get a 8600 GTS, about 200 bucks, so it's cheaper than 2 XFX cards and then when you get a bit more cash you can buy a 2nd. -link http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...eForce+8600GTS

- Cagedconnerman

[NuKS]

It's funny you should mention the scrapbooking. My wife is into scrapbooking, and part of the deal was she gets to work on her scrapbooking while I work on my pc. Also, after my pc is finished, I have to build her one. She's really into Disney so I was thinking of doing some sort of Mickey-themed one for her. Oh, and she used to be an administrator on a CS server, so she's a bit into gaming as well.
Yup, I love my wife.
Thanks for the advice Cagedconnorman, the list of part is pretty much tentative, as I'm going to build the case before I buy any parts. I have been looking on ebay for any steals, and if one comes up, then I'll buy a part I need. I don't want to collect the parts too quickly, because then I'll NEVER get any sleep!

[DaveW]

Also, after my pc is finished, I have to build her one.

Modding...for a woman?

she gets to work on her scrapbooking while I work on my pc.

Peace and quiet?

Oh, and she used to be an administrator on a CS server, so she's a bit into gaming as well.

A woman, gaming? And being l33t?

Ok, I call BS. She's a robot, isn't she. :p

Welcome to the boards! I'm Dave, resident Jackass and one-liner guy.

-Dave

[Redundant]

Thanks for the advice Cagedconnorman, the list of part is pretty much tentative, as I'm going to build the case before I buy any parts. I have been looking on ebay for any steals, and if one comes up, then I'll buy a part I need. I don't want to collect the parts too quickly, because then I'll NEVER get any sleep!

You usually can get just as good deals on NewEgg or TigerDirect and there's no warranty if you buy off of Ebay. Also, buying certain parts together is important because, say, your processor is faulty and you have no way of knowing this. By the time you buy the rest of the PC you can't return the processor. Depending on what kind of PC you currently have, you can plug certain parts in to see if they work such as PSUs, DVD drives, and sound cards.

Adding to what Cagedconnerman pointed out, instead of AMD, the Intel Core 2 Duos are also cheap and outperform the AMD. The C2D also uses less power.

[NuKS]

OK here's a rough picture of what I am going for with my case mod.

I hope that this pic is easy to understand, since I have basically no artistic ability. I started a 3D image with sketchup, but I don't have it down quite yet. The more I look at it, the more I'm not sure I want to go with the speakers. For airflow, I was planning on having openings on the back for not only to be able to get to the back panel, but for intake/exhaust flow, as well as the fan on top and in front. If I don't go with the speakers, I still would like to build a case with the circular windows. I am really feeling it. I was also thinking of mounting the monitor on the back and having a hydrolic arm raise and lower it when you turn off and on the cpu.
The idea of designing the case this way came to me after looking at custom speaker boxes people build in their car trunks. I'm really not into the bling bling but I thought it would be really different to design a case like that.
Color-wise I originally was going to go with a dark green and black theme, but with this one, I was thinking of doing the case in a candy lime-green with a yellow base coat. Not sure what I would do the interior in, though.

[dfigravity]

Massillon huh? nice to see another Buckeye here! Not sure if you're a Buckeye fan or not, but it's easier than saying Ohioan or whatever. Anywho, I'm from Columbus...welcome to TBCS!

[NuKS]

Thanks dfigravity,
I really just moved here from California. I see you are in Barksdale, LA. They have A-10's at that base. When I was in the Air Force, I was stationed at Davis-Monthan in Tucson, AZ. where I worked on A-10's also. Former weapons troop here....

**UPDATE**
I was FINALLY able to figure out what I was doing wrong, I thought I went to imageshack, but was mistaken. I fixed the problem, but since I am at work I had to take a screenshot of my image so I could upload it again. See my last post with the pic.

[dfigravity]

Thanks dfigravity,
I really just moved here from California. I see you are in Barksdale, LA. They have A-10's at that base. When I was in the Air Force, I was stationed at Davis-Monthan in Tucson, AZ. where I worked on A-10's also. Former weapons troop here....

**UPDATE**
I was FINALLY able to figure out what I was doing wrong, I thought I went to imageshack, but was mistaken. I fixed the problem, but since I am at work I had to take a screenshot of my image so I could upload it again. See my last post with the pic.

don't forget the BUFF's...stupid loud stinky dinosaurs. Haha...were you MUNS? We're about to move to Ft Bragg (not Pope believe it or not) and I can't get out of Louisiana fast enough!

[NuKS]

BUFFs are cool, I actually started off working on spec ops helo's and ac-130 spectres but then went to the A-10. I would have preferred staying on the spec ops stuff, since I was around miniguns, .50 cal's and other really cool guns. But, the A-10 has a 30mm gatling gun which is REALLY awesome to see fire.