nix5's midtower casemod. Pending title :)

[nix5]

Hi, I have never done case mods (besides some minor tweaks like holes on the side etc.) but I thought this would be a great chance to get into it.

I saw many mods here and frankly I am overwhelmed by the skill level.

I am originally from Chicago but currently working / living in Shanghai , China. And with language barrier and lack of tools, I basically would have to start from scratch with no tools either. but here is my proposal.

1. Functionality over decorative aspects. The reason I want to mod a case is because of style of current computer cases. They are all sized and built to standout when things are getting smaller and thinner. Things have been changed although some format/standards are still being used. Now a days we dont use floppy drives or even dvd drives that much. Now the disk drives are same size but getting larger capacity and the SSD drives are soo small. Only thing getting bigger are the heat sinks and even water cooling is being used more often. The point of this mod should meet those needs of new components and current desktop environment while still cooling the components, shielding noise and protecting them.

2. Design should be simple and effective. Although function was selected as most important factor, no one wants to have an ugly case. I will achieve that with selecting a theme and staying true to that with all designs to be easy on the eye. My current hobby is Starcraft 2 so I am trying to get inspiration from that. I won't be using crazy amounts on leds and neon lights.

3.It will need to meet low budget and low skill level. Since there isn't that much time left for the build and due to lack of tools and my knowledge for machining, I would have to stick with easy to work with materials and be under budget. Current goal is under usd $200 usd including a cm case, tools and materials. (may subject to change since I don't know how much everything costs here).

Here is my current component list:

Cooler master case

intel C2Q 9200 cpu

Cooler Master GEMINI II cpu heat sink + CM thermal grease.

Spire 140mm fan x2

Cooler master 120mm clear and blue led fan

Abit P35 E motherboard

6gb DDR Ram

His HD6850 videocard

Accelero v2 video cooler

Antec 450w psu

Sound blaster audigy value soundcard

Sony DVD RW

1tb samsung sata hdd

I will buy/get a midtower CM case.

Decide on the theme of the case.

I've almost finalized the format and location of each components.

I will post pictures once I start building.

please feel free to comment/suggestions.

thanks and have fun everyone!

[ArgOs]

Nice title ;D, I expect to see progress and photos.

[nix5]

Here is the worklog. This is my first ever casemod and posting a worklog online so please forgive me if I miss some details or information.

Be sure to ask tho, I'll be happy to fix/update it.

thanks!

So, lets begin. This being a case mod, it all begins with a Cooler master case. a Thermal Master from CM.

Model is TK 310 KKN 1

started to rip it apart. removing front panel.

removed

other parts

two of 140mm aspire fans = for lower noise per air moved.

Thermometer, I think ill use this on GPU since it gets much hotter than my CPU.

Ah, my trusty Abit ip35 E motherboard.

and a Cooler Master Gemini II cpu fan! with shroud removed. very sexy

Antec 450w PSU

my Accelero GPU fan, bigger than CPU fan haha.

various thermal grease used, Cooler master, Arctic etc.

I cleaned all the parts and re applied thermal grease but omg.. i found a part seperated from mother board onto one of the heatsinks! oh no!

but a quick test showed that it was not from the mobo, perhaps just got stuck from the factory?

[nix5]

now i started to remove parts from the chasis. I never thought it would be this difficult with dremel and sheet cutter.. maybe it'll get easier in the future?

fans fitted into the front panel. also required lot of dremel but plastic is much easier.

painting

the plastic foot is re used but with a dbl sided tape (bit more cushioning? but better fit)

putting pieces together, for initial testing and to see what needs fixing/updated

[nix5]

It seems to be running well, temperature is much lower due to better airflow and orientation of the components. as well as lower noise due to less fans and less rpm with those two huge fans.

The idea for the case mod was for better air flow and efficiency to fit current computer desktop landscape.

Design has gone through many phases even after I decided on how I would tackle the airflow/noise issue.

But with limited budget ( very ) and time and skill, some concepts were just not possible.

The plan changed to re-use ALL the parts as much as I can for the function and design as much as I could.

As you can see from the design, now the back is facing up and the front panel has been re used in the middle for fans and hdd case.

There are 2 major ideas for my case mod.

1. Improve airflow and reduce noise by having back portion facing up with large air intake design.

2. With the updated computer parts and how we use internet, we don't need to have access to the main computer anymore. I can't remember the last time I used my dvd rom. All i need is access to power button and the usb ports. Thus, SEPERATE main chasis from the POWER button. This allows the large computer case to be placed on back of the desk or anyplace out of sight if you want.

initial idea for power unit, but it would probably be changed.

So, as of now I need to work on that power switch unit and finishing touches on the case itself.

[PaPang]

Oh my, last post on next to the last day.

Better luck the next time and most of the mods here were not done during the 3 mo. period here but started way before to have a fighting chance to make a quality and competitive mod. If you don't have a good assortment of tools, harder yet.

Cheers and Saludos