Project: Accelerated Fear

[Tavarin]

Very nice PSU, +rep for that.
Cute cat also.

[JohnyFive]

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys, really helps motivate me

Just caught up with your mod, great job love the case cut out and that PSU is better looking than anything you can buy.
I see your in the UK (I'm in Cornwall) where did you get the Styrofoam from?

I bought some of my plexi on ebay it's good stuff but the p+p was almost as much as the plexi so I bought some A.C.Ryan stuff from a UK shop and it was scratched, had an air bubble in it and had no protective film on it, so I can't recommend them but, I won't post their name here but if you want to know who they are so you don't go there in the future send me a pm
+Rep +Sub.

I got my plex and styrofoam from Hindleys, uk based stockist of plex, and real nice people to deal with

[JohnyFive]

Hey Guys, Im so exited im pretty much bouncing off the walls here, good news! Crucial have agreed to sponsor this project and are going to be sending me a some new kit! (added logo to the 1st page) , they were really helpful and supportive towards myself and the project and seemed genuinely interested in it. Im in the process of trying to gain more sponsors at the moment, DangerDen will be providing a 30% discount for the project. Iv emailed Gigabyte, ASUS and Abit today, hopefully one of them will come through for me.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Congrtaz on the sponsor mate. Nice work.

[Beta-brain]

Nice one mate, I didn't think companies in the UK were that interested as modding isn't as big here as in some European countries and the USA, guess your black cat is rather lucky.

[DonT-FeaR]

rofl true dat in australia ive only seen like 2 minute mods like 1 ccfl or small sutuff but no full blown mods like mine or lexa they are the only 2

[The boy 4rm oz]

You forgot Slamma's Welcome to Rapture, he won a comp for that. Also all of Defyant's work, he is an Auzzie, some of the best work I have seen.

[JohnyFive]

Nice one mate, I didn't think companies in the UK were that interested as modding isn't as big here as in some European countries and the USA, guess your black cat is rather lucky.

Dont think they recognise it at all to be honest (exept Crucial that is) its a shame as people spend a lot of cash on it, wasnt easy getting a sponsor, i must of sent out over 100 emails. Still waiting on a few replys, hopefully ill have some messages in my inbox tommorrow when people get back into there offices. Hopefully one of the motherboard sponsors will come through. Gigabyte seem interested.

Thanks for the comments guys, always appreciated

j5

p.s. this mod is now running over at bit-tech and custompc.co.uk, also my plog - http://custompc.co.uk/blogs/johnyfive , hopefully more exposure will make it easier to gain more sponsors.

[JohnyFive]

Update 5

Hey guys, been a while since i updated. Iv been really busy at home, the missis decided we needed to buy new furnature for the whole of upstairs so iv been putting up flat pack in my spare time

But anyway, i managed to squeeze in some modding time last night so i thought id give you guys a small update.

Going back to working on the chassis for this update, with all but the minimum amount steel frame left on the old Dell it has left it very weak, anyone who has taken apart a Dell before will know how everything inside one either; interlocks / hinges / slides in some way so to make other things fit you have to cut a lot of the sh*te out of it.

Here is a shot of the top of the frame, as you can see there is a big gap there where the old PSU holder thing used to be, unfortunatly if left alone it will be a weak point.

Of course, this will also be where the new PSU will be held, if i was to screw the new PSU to that it would probably buckle in half!

I went to B&Q and bought some ridiculously over priced 10mm x 10mm angle ally.

How they get away with charging nearly 3 pounds for 1M long is totally insane, the money grabbing ba$*ards!

Anyway, i cut it to a rough size with a hacksaw and taped it to the frame.

I went to the hardware shop and got some new mini HSS drill bits, there good for steel and go through it like a hot knife through butter!

Then spotted through 1.5mm, then opened up the holes to 4mm to accomidate some M4 screws.

I then did the same with the other side.

Checked it was square, then added the last piece from the bottom to the top.

(the lovely Helen Flanagan in the background )

I had to make a little bracket at the bottom to hold the last piece of angle ally on. (sorry about the flash)

So now the frame is pretty dam strong! I put the cat on it and it held his weight, i then put him on the scales next to the new PSU!

Cat Weight > PSU Weight = Good!

The new frame should hold that PSU pretty well!

So now i need to line the rest of the case with plex, i started with the roof.

Im going to add 6 screws to hold the plex to the roof, its going to be supporting some weight so i dont want it caving in on me!

I measured and cut a piece of black 3mm plex, piloted through using my new drills then opened them up to 3.5mm, removed the plex and opened up the holes to 4mm, then tapped the holes in the frame to M4.

Then added 6 M4 hex head countsunk screws.

Flakey swarf means no melting!

Now for the back plate, the PSU will screw onto this, also the Motherboard I/O panel will need to be fitted, oh and the exhaust fan too!

This piece is going to be made from the 5mm thick blue plex, im going with 5mm so it dosnt bow under the PSU weight.

I cut out a rough shape, i knew the frame and back panel were not going to be 100% square so cutting out a square piece of plex would of been stupid, i then trimmed it down until it fit the frame.

Fits like a glove! Anyways, i know it looks crap as its covered in masking tape, not much i can do about it as it needs to be kept clean. I did have a sneaky peak at the panels without the tape though and they look awsome!!

All thats left to do to the lining panels is the one at the front (i ran out of plex) And then tidy up at the places i have filed that im not happy with.

As a side note... CRUCIAL CAME THROUGH!! yeah man, they didnt let me down at all! Has a nice little package arrive the other day.

oooo i love it, recieving packages is like christmas!! even if i know its nothing interesting i still love it!! haha what a geek i am

Yeah man! Thats going in the cupboard to keep safe for when i get my Mobo!

Thats it for today, sorry it was a short one but iv been so busy! Hopefully my Mobo will materialise and ill be able to update you guys with the next week (or two) with the sexy trans blue back panel.

Til then, cheers for reading, comments always very much appreciated.

j5

[JohnyFive]

Hey guys, got another small update for you. Really good news for the project! After a few emails back and forth QuietPC.com have decided to sponsor the project and have sent me some really nice Zalman water cooling gear! This will help immensely with the project so i want to say a really big thank you to Glenn over at QPC for all his help and efforts over the past couple of weeks.

Here is the gear they have sent:

And a lovely little CPU Block

A very sexy 8800GTS Water Block

One Heatpipe HDD Cooler/Silencer, i cant wait to have this next to the trans blue plex, its gonna look so nice!

All the barbs on the block are 3/8 (10mm)

Kinda puts pressure on me to get the case ready for all this new gear iv been sent but i cant wait to get it all up and running!

back to the case, iv been working on the back panel where the I/O plate will be fitted, i went to B&Q today and got some 10mmx15mm angle aluminium and some more 10mmx10mm (below)

I also bought some M3 nylon standoffs from maplins.

I could of used the 3/32's threaded brass standoff's but they were 10x's the price and totally unnecessary as the board is being mounted on plex anyway.

Someone said to me earlier that they thought my little black cat was lucky, iv had quite a shi*y past few years and things are finally going really well, so although im one of the most un-superstitious people i know id say he might have a point!

Update soon, gonna get working on the I/O panel and fit the mobo standoffs. Cheers for reading, comments/questions always appreciated

j5