Blue PC Project Log 01 - 9th May 2006 First up, what I've sourced already for the project: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01647.JPG[/img] 2 x 120mm Ultra Quiet Akasa fans, in clear/amber. Initially I was put off by the colour, but realised it will fit quite well with a blue (outside) and gold (inside) theme. They'll be on the front fascia of the case. Some heatshrink, PVC edging, grommits and terminal blocks (for testing the electrics before I heat up the soldering iron). For the suppliers, see the first post in this project thread. The observant ones amongst you will also notice the Bit-tech case badge! I stripped the case down to leave just the bare case structure. Then did a rough layout fit with the front: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01649.JPG[/img] As you can see, 2 x 120mm fans will easily fit, along with a DVD burner and the modified fan controller (that's a nexus in the pic, with my unsuccessfully modded pink CD-RW drive). Then we've got my 7800gt, purchased for the huge sum of £90 from a mate. Not bad considering it's only be used for a few minutes: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01650.JPG[/img] A few spare parts that I have lying around, some wheels that I didn't end up using on the Yeong Yang (they came supplied with it), a few fan guards, along with the old fans and various parts of the (now) dismantled case: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01651.JPG[/img] The front fascia and side-panel with the window, along with the blue cathode: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01652.JPG[/img] The Vantec Nexus fan controller - it's a 5 1/4" version, so to save myself some money, and rack up some more mod points, I'll modify it to fit in the 3 1/2" bay: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01653.JPG[/img] A shot showing the insides of the stripped out case: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01657.JPG[/img] There's the usual 6 x 3 1/2" bays, and 4 x 5 1/4" bays. Along with room for a 120mm fan at the front, 2 x 80mm at the rear, and an exhaust 80mm at the top. A shot showing the previously cut-out rear 80mm fan holes. Originally it had a horrible fine mesh preventing air flow: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01658.JPG[/img] Again, the same from a different angle. I'm unsure what to do about the cheese-grater style vent there. Perhaps leave it be: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01659.JPG[/img] Right, enough posing shots. Here's one of my dremel-wannabe, a Power Devil rotary tool. I've had it for a good 5 years, but never used it. I have lost the original tools for it, so went out and purchase a new Dremel cutting disc set, for £18. Quite steep in terms of price, but when I actually got to work with the discs I realised where the money went. (In the words of Tony the Tiger) They're greaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! It includes about 50 various discs: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01661.JPG[/img] The first bit of modding - removing that large front grill: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01662.JPG[/img] There, nice and easy: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01666.JPG[/img] Actually, it took me a while to begin with as I got used to the different discs. I eventually found one that cut through the sheet aluminium quicker than sonic through greenhill. Here's a shot back in the house, showing the Akasa behind the new hole. It needs tidying up, which I'll do soon with a grinding bit on the rotary tool. Remember the pre-mod side panel? It limits your view of the internals slightly, with its flower-style pattern: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01669.JPG[/img] Off it comes: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01670.JPG[/img] Marked up ready for cutting another day: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01671.JPG[/img] I could keep the original acrylic window, but it has a huge 120mm hole in the centre. So I'll replace it with a new sheet from Kustom PCs soon. This case definately needs a clean, lots of dust has built up: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01672.JPG[/img] Here's a shot of the blu-tack that I had to use to keep the HDD screws in place! I've removed the drives countless times to re-configure them, which has caused the threading to go. Blu-tack is useful stuff: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01673.JPG[/img] A mock-up of the case feet: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01674.JPG[/img] They should sit there nicely, though the awkward circular ridge on the bottom of the case could prove to be annoying for the drill. A shot of the blowhole at the top of the case - again with a huge build-up of dust: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01676.JPG[/img] I'm unsure what to do with the front panel. The original fascia is a bit bulky and would have to be modified a lot. So I'm thinking another sheet of acrylic, this time either frosted or painted to match the rest of the outside: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01677.JPG[/img] I'll use the same material I end up getting for the side-window. One last picture for this log: [img]http://dump.slickhouse.com/lazlow/pc/blue/01/DSC01678.JPG[/img] I check to make sure the Nexus would fit in a 3 1/2" bay - the answer is yes, but the LEDs that cause the perspex to light up may need re-positioning. I'll attack it another time. --- Not much in the way of doing, more planning for this log. I dismantled the whole case, but it still needs a good clean. I need input - would a sheet of acrylic be OK for the front fascia, or should I use an alternative?