It's done. I wish I'd put a bit more money behind a better case in the first place, but I didn't think I would actually get it working, let alone looking nice and cool with its blue LED lights. Worth doing once, but I don't think I'd do another. What machine am I going to put in it? I haven't got a clue. I'm currently recovering from a problem which is going to see many months before I can afford a new system to put inside it. Perhaps I'd better start entering some of those competitions for PC kit. Conclusions and lessons learned after the eye candy.
Conclusion…
At the price of the kit and a decent case, you do this because you like the aesthetic. There is the BitFenix Prodigy M 2022 ARGB Micro-ATX case, but it’s smaller, it’s black and the IO is on the side; but it’s probably better at keeping the dust at bay!
Status of things…
1) The front USB 3 hack worked. To be honest as there wasn’t any change in actual electronics, as long as the USB devices could be plugged in, it was going to work.
2) The Audio connector passed audio no problem, but failed the insertion detection. It wasn’t enough for the motherboard to detect that a pair of headphones had been plugged in. Audio went to the socket, no problem, but the moment that speakers were plugged into the back, the headphones stopped working. Kind of arse backwards, but hey ho. It was always going to be a challenge. I mean, if the operating system can dynamically switch between the two then you’re in with a chance, but if the OS lets the motherboard detect according to those sensors, then it ain’t going to work.
Lessons learned…
(note, some of these have been passed back to TheLaserHive for their reference.)
1) Check the back plate holes for the power supply, so you can do any adjustment before fitting the back plate to the case.
2) Consider removing the power button before starting any physical work. (if you can find the talked about circlip)
3) Consider leaving half the shelf in. A bit of a fuss, but probably worth it on which to rest unwanted PSU cables and possibly even mount a hard drive or two hidden behind the CD doors.
4) Fit the backplates before mounting the IO panel as some of the screws will be difficult to get at, after the fact.
5) Accessing the SSD in the deluxe version requires removing the motherboard. If you’re of the “fit it and leave it,” nature then perhaps skip the deluxe version and go for M.2 on-board, or think of another way of mounting the drive.
6) Considering the power supply airflow path, the obvious 120mm fan at the rear might be better off used to intake air and thus blow it out the front of the case, to maintain positive air pressure.
7) I believe that the rear fan grill is worth getting.
8) Think through your lighting carefully. The standoffs and case screws get in the way of layering LED strips evenly down the sides of the case. It is possible to use case lighting to indicate power on, and the build in blue power LED can become an HDD activity LED instead.
