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I Acquired some new/old computer parts and decided
to make a small form factor
media type pc. I kind of took the green/black theme from my main computer,
But I have a few led fans that I cant turn off the lights, So I decided to do a
nice
sleeving job with uv and use strictly use a uv cathode. So when its off you
shouldnt
be able to see anything.
Specs:
2.4 Ghz Celeron socket 478
1 GB Ram (DDR1)
Geforce 5200FX 128mb
200GB HD
250 Watt PSU
Total Price - Approx $300
August 16, 2007
CHOOSING THE CASE:
I dont have that many great pictures of the case before I started working on it,
But you can see a bit of it here. I wanted something small in size for my micro
sized motherboard, but I was looking for something unique as well. I actually
stumbled upon an awesome case with a really cool feature. The on/off switch
is actually the lcd and is touch activated! Not bad for only $45!
STEP 1:
So here I have all of my supplies: I Have a great UV Orge Sleeving kit made
by Techflex, my hardware and a new cooler as well as a UV Cathode
STEP 2:
Here is a nice shot of the inside of the case. Pretty simple and clean. (The
5.25" bay has been removed in this shot.)
STEP 3:
I got this nice little 2 position switch for free from my supplier which I plan
on using to replace the ugly little switch for the cathode that would regularly
mount on the rear of the case. Pictured here I have the back of the front panel.
There isn't a lot of room on the back of the panel to mount the switch, so I
decided the remove the little sliding door that covers the usb hub and mount
the switch just above it.
STEP 4:
Now for the window. I had a little trial and error
for the placement but
finally figured out a good location. I traced a cd that I had lying around
to round off the edges so I can use a single length of molding (and it will
come out much cleaner in the edge as opposed to a square cut).
STEP 5:
All taped off a prepped to cut. Note: I use a jigsaw for alot of my larger cuts
like this one, it is a good idea to tape off around the edges (as well as the
metal guard on your jigsaw) to prevent scratches on your case.
STEP 6:
Alright! The window is all cut out and I use a dremel with a grinding stone
to finish it off and smooth the edges.
STEP 7:
HEAT SINK LAPPING
BEFORE
AFTER
Lapping your heat sink is really important. Smoothing the surface between
the block and your cpu will improve thermal conductivity, and lower
your temps! If you are install a new cooler, it would be wise in my
opinion to lap the block. If you are looking for a good lapping kit, you can
check this one out over at Performance-Pcs.com -
LAPPING KIT
STEP 8:
After I installed the cooler, I started sleeving. First job was sleeving the
power connector for the cooler. and next:
Sleeving an IDE cable
STEP 9:
I dismantled the psu to prep the case for paint. The power supply is pretty
cheaply made and has kind of a flimsy shell, but hey for $20 I guess its not
that bad. Note: Be extremely careful when
dismantling a psu. The capacitors
can store energy for long periods of time and can be lethal if they
discharge on you!
STEP 10:
Here, I drilled a hole for the new two-way switch,
which turned out to be
the perfect size.
Here's a shot of the switch I used to replace the old one. All
soldered and heatshrinked, ready to go!
STEP 11:
I am getting ready to lay the primer down on
everything so my next step
is to get everything ready for paint. Here, I have dismantled the front
panel and prepped it for paint.
Everything is ready for primer!
STEP 12:
I laid the primer down, except for the bottom side
of the case. I'll let it
dry for a while before I turn the case on one side a prime the bottom. Now
to let everything sit overnight.
August 17, 2007
STEP 13:
The primer has dried up nicely, my next step is to
lay the first coat
of paint down! I sanded down the primer a bit, first starting with 400 Grit,
then working onto 800 Grit paper. After that, I got the first coat on. Now I
play the waiting game yet again.
August 18, 2007
STEP 14:
I found this great design for my window etching.
Just the beginning of the etching after the outline
was done
STEP 15:
I got this great high-frequency noise absorption
foam from performance-pcs.com
and I'm getting getting ready to cover the interior of the case to make
it a bit more silent
Almost done with the foam
I also covered the end of the cd-rom drive because
that will be slightly visible
through the window
STEP 16:
My next step was to install some of the fans and
lay the wiring down neatly
as you can see here, I tied both of these fans wires together with some
zip ties and strung them along the divider - one will be connected to the front
panel for speed control
STEP 17:
Well here is most of the case near completion. You
can see that big ugly
IDE cable sitting there, well the reason I didn't bother to sleeve it is because
it will be sitting under the cdrom drive bay, and only the end connector will
be visible, so I figured, why bother?
STEP 18:
There is the case and everything installed all nice
nice! You cant even see
that ugly IDE cable.
STEP 19:
Time to test fit the side panel and power her on!
Heres the results
Here is the touch panel I mentioned earlier. Parts
of the screen are touch sensitive
so you merely tap whatever button and it reacts with a little beep and voila! It
has a nice backlight too.
STEP 20:
Here's how my etching it coming. This has taken me
a while (almost seven hours)
but precision is key, as I want this case to really stand out
August 19, 2007
STEP 21:
I thought it would be kind of a fun idea to take a
few 40mm
Scythe Mini-Kaze
fans I had laying around and throw them onto the heat sink for my 5200fx. Here's
the finished result
STEP 22:
I was having a lot of problems with the other power
supply that I had, so I went
and go a much better one that I didn't have to paint this time! Here's the
layout
after the installation of the new power supply.
STEP 23:
And a few days later... I finally finished the
etching!
Time to glue it onto the back of the side panel and
play the waiting game once again
STEP 24:
And just a little while later.. The project is
complete! I slapped on the side panel
and here is the finished product. I hope you enjoyed checking out this project.
I know I had fun creating this!
More detail of the side panel
Front panel (A little smudged but hey)
Update - August 20, 2007
I felt like the case was missing something, so I
cut another small window and
etched some lettering into it. Now you will be able to see some of the wiring
really light up alot better
Details (A little dusty from some static)
Update - August 21, 2007
Ok so here is the finished product! After a bit of
troubles with it even
powering on, its finally done. (I did have to make a new power switch
though.) Here's the case all lit up:
Not the best photos, but you can tell that it
turned out great. Thanks for tuning in!
Until next mod...
-Collin
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