Test model

Drac

Afternoon all,

I have my wife's permission to use her PC as the mockup for testing mods. Her only requirement was that it worked after each mod and was useable each night.

So now that I'm taking the dive I thought about where to go with it. All lighting has to be red as that is the color of her clear mouse LED.

Here is the PC -

Front


Back


Side facing the mother board back


Side facing the top of the mother board


Top


Guts


I have got some basic lights, length of EL wire, a set of cod cathodes and a laser LED, all red.


Looking for some ideas and advice. I noticed that the open side of the case is a screen. Does this mean that I can't cut it and put a window in without air flow issues?

Thanks for time,
Drac

Irish2685

One way to check if the window will cause thermal issues would be to monitor your temps for a while (SpeedFan is a good, free temperature monitoring software), and then tape a piece of cardboard on that side, and see if your temps go up. If not, then you should be safe to go ahead and put a window there.

As far as other ideas, you could always paint the case, etc..., but that might violate the rule where you have to keep it usable every night. Other than that, look in our worklog section, and our case gallery for many good ideas.

Drac

Change of plans.

I was gifted a case that a former moder never got around to using. It is a WingRS 200. A mid-tower with 9 drive bays, 7 exspansion slots, and can use standard ATX boards. He also gave me a CNPS700-AICu LED CPU cooler.

Drac

Joe_B_Me

So aside from putting red lights everywhere, what else are you going to do to pimp out this case? Are you going to paint it? Add a window, do a stencil, etc...

I remember seeing some badass computers that had nothing but red lights. What made them soo awesome was they had the interior painted black. It gave it more of a demonic look.

Drac

Now that I have a case that can be abused (let's face it this is my first time, I'm going to screw up) without ticking off they wife it opens a lot more options.

I am hoping to add liquid cooling, if nothing else for effect. I think I will use this case for the NAS that was recommended in a different thread. The outside is black but I'm thinking about using engine paint to make the case hot rod red. In for a penny, in for a pound.

I like the idea of a black interior to show off the red systems. I'm not sure if I can do both sides with engine paint at the same time in my oven. I've used it on knives I've made and you can't allow the surface to touch anything while be processed. On a knife you can hang it in the oven but my isn't big enough for a case panel.

I also want to have a couple extra fans for cooling and looks. Do you want a positive pressure or negative on a case? I would guess positive to keep dust out.

Drac

Joe_B_Me

Positive is slightly better for dust and cooling reason. : )

Drac

Thanks.

While reading through the post I have to admit the PSU issue has me a little confused. Let's go with the idea I'm going to use this as a NAS with minimum video but maximum memory and storage (5 drives in RAID 5), maybe a blueray, a cooling system, maybe a half a dozen lights, and three to four fans. Is there a formula that is used here? I don't see much load info on these pieces. I see that the PSU is as critical as the motherboard and that the best recommondation is a good one. What makes a good one?

Drac

Joe_B_Me

A good power supply can deliver enough power to every component, while maintaining 3 separate rails specific voltages. A stable PSU will be able to keep all 3 rails at nearly the same voltage whether your pc is idling or running @ 100% load. That should give you a basic idea.

A cheap psu will have horrible voltage fluctuation, resulting in having an unstable computer, or will damage components. You may not need a big beefy $100 PSU in this systemm, but you still want a solid PSU so it can last for a long period of time.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139003
This is a winner.

Drac

Looks good. So it really is just a matter of knowing the PSUs? What ones are good and stable vs. ones that came keep smooth power flows.

Here is the new case and fan -



Drac