My first proper build with budget case mods...

steveinspain · 20 Apr 2009 at 15:40

Unable to afford a new case at present, I deceided to try out my first bit of modding on an budget, with limited time...
My case is an old Antec SLK37900 - about 10 years old, but still not a bad case

My only experience of moddding before was to tape up the holes in the front of the case to try to limit the amount of dust getting in (I have a filter on the inside of the intake fan)

I wanted to cut a hole in the top of the case so that I when I installed the power supply upside down it would have a dedicated intake, plus an inlet at the bottom of the case to improve the air flow to the CPU. Having not prepared in any way for this, I only had an angle grinder to cut out the holes, so have cut them slightly smaller to allow for any mistakes damaging the paintwork - both holes will have 120mm fan filters fitted when I order some - for now, as later pictures will show, black gaffa tape and some oild tights will suffice - not mine mind !

Having just got my Sunbeam core cooler, I also needed to remove the Arctic cooler 7 - looking rather dusty and small compared to the Sunbeam !

Then it was time to re-install the clever bits and try out this cable management stuff - my mobo has all the connections in the wrong place and the case had no space behind the mobo tray, so limiting my options, but most if it seemed to go pretty well and for a first ever and rushed attempt, I am pleased - I have to tidy up some of the cables when the next hard drive goes in and I finish fitting the speed restricting adaptors to the fans.

As mentioned earlier, I have no fan filters spare, so tights and bits of old plastic are taped into place for now to cover the holes and prevent dust getting in.
After an hour of my usual use, temps are good - hard drives are 21 and 22, cores are 35 and 36with fans on low bar the exhaust which is on medium.

Great fun, lots learned, but I still need a new case - anyone selling anything soon ?

FaceplantSi · 20 Apr 2009 at 16:11

Nice job there Steve, and those holes are damn good for an angle grinder! A modular PSU would've really helped your cause, but that Corsair is a good'un so no point upgrading that just to go modular.

Any ideas as to what case you'll be looking for?

steveinspain · 20 Apr 2009 at 16:16

Cor - Praise indeed coming from you !
I certainly wish I had a modular PSU too..
As for cases, an Antec 300 would be most likely, but ideally an Antec P180/182 or a Fortress, but money is tight..

Ewanb75 · 20 Apr 2009 at 16:30

Thats not bad at all there mate. good job

RJC · 20 Apr 2009 at 17:02

Nice job

Blackhawk47 · 20 Apr 2009 at 20:07

Good job mate, should have painted the interior black while you were at it though.

Ducky Spud · 20 Apr 2009 at 20:21

Yea, painting the case interior would improve the look loads.

Not sure how you'd go about it... just spray paint designed for use on metal?

steveinspain · 20 Apr 2009 at 20:27

hey, I had 3 hours, my mother in law staring at me and I had to cook lunch - the painting will have to wait till I get a new case...
Sorry to let you down - next time, I'll try harder..

Ducky Spud · 20 Apr 2009 at 21:00

haha, not complaining, you still done a great job mate

ian|Squared² · 20 Apr 2009 at 21:59

looks pretty goo from what you've worked with

Audigex · 20 Apr 2009 at 22:10

A nice job with limited tools available - and some very slick work with that angle grinder, I couldn't get the same with a dremel!

steveinspain · 20 Apr 2009 at 22:24

I have spent many years working with angle grinders, and lost a finger tip to one, so am pretty nifty with them..
Thanks for the compliments all, guess I'll need to get a new case soon to practise on..

adamibbo · 20 Apr 2009 at 23:06

steveinspain said:
I have spent many years working with angle grinders, and lost a finger tip to one, so am pretty nifty with them..
Thanks for the compliments all, guess I'll need to get a new case soon to practise on..

Hi mate been following the build and looks pretty good in all its glory now

. Ive got a couple of cases going up for sale too if your interested. A p182 and akasa oemga. Email in trust if your interested

steveinspain · 21 Apr 2009 at 08:00

adamibbo said:
A p182 and akasa oemga. Email in trust if your interested

I don't think I can, as I am still a new-boy here........... (or am I being thick as usual and missing something ?)

Certainly the P182 might be of interest, though for me the biggest problem is the shipping costs..

Until I get 250 posts or a years membership, is it against rules for me to do stuff like this ?

Bubo · 21 Apr 2009 at 08:37

Why don't you lose the floppy drive tray altogether? Just drill the rivets out. Have you thought about moving the hard disks to the 5 1/4" bays, possible bungee mod? I always try to do that if possible with a new case as it makes the case look less cluttered dow below and will improve airflow from the front intake.

steveinspain · 21 Apr 2009 at 12:17

Bubo - Interesting idea - do you or anyone else have any pictures or can you explain more ? What advantage would that bring (removing the floppy disc tray)
Also what is the bungee mod, or how else would you mount the hard drives ?
Clearing the lower area is certainly a good sounding idea - tell me more please !

Given your idea, my ideal would be another intake fan up top cooling the hard drives - it that sort of thing possible ?

FaceplantSi · 21 Apr 2009 at 12:48

steveinspain said:
Bubo - Interesting idea - do you or anyone else have any pictures or can you explain more ? What advantage would that bring (removing the floppy disc tray)
Also what is the bungee mod, or how else would you mount the hard drives ?
Clearing the lower area is certainly a good sounding idea - tell me more please !

Given your idea, my ideal would be another intake fan up top cooling the hard drives - it that sort of thing possible ?

Hi again Steve,

This link shows pics of the bungee mod.

Removing the FDD tray is simply just a case of tidying up the interior and therefore assisting clean airflow inside the case.

There are fan bay assemblies which can be mounted in spare 5.25" bays - see my post here for an example using a Lian-Li fan grille unit... The Scythe Kama Bay is prob best bet tho as it comes with a fan. All these units take up 3 x 5.25" bays to fit a 120mm fan.

Hope this helps!

Bubo · 21 Apr 2009 at 13:05

The bungee mod is basically a fairly common mod to suspend the hard drives in a 5 1/4" bay using a elastic cradle. To make the cradle you thread elastic through the existing mounting holes in your 5 1/4" cage, or of the holes are suitable, drill some more. To keep the drives cool I prefer to simply glue a single 80mm fan to the drives on the short non socket side, with the cradle set up to space the drives such that one fan will blow air across both drives. The main idea behind the bungee mod is actually to silence the drives, but it also makes a case look neater imo, if you have the space to do it. To be honest though, looking at how much space your psu cable bunch takes up, it might be tricky to pull this off in your case. You might have to get violent with your psu cables. You can also get official rubberised 5 1/4" bay mounting brackets for hdd's if you want the easier option, some on this site somewhere probably.

As regards the floppy drive tray thing, there is no advantage to removing it as such, it just sticks out a bit with nothing on it. I always like to remove anything redundant in a case. By the looks of it the hdd cage seems to be partially connected to the floppy tray, but also seems to be fixed at the bottom. If it was me, and I had to keep the hdd cage where it is, i.e. no bungee mod option, then I'd suss whether I could still lose the floppy tray and positively screw the hdd cage to that bottom support. It doesn't really need a fixed point top and bottom, unless you like swinging your case around your head.

steveinspain · 21 Apr 2009 at 16:38

FaceplantSi and Bubo - Hi, and Thanks !
My current hard drive cage has rubber grommits to isolate the discs, but using the top part of the case might be a good idea to try - I may take apart my PSU and see if I can remove some of the cables in a day or two (got the inlaws here..) I saw your (FaceplantSi) struggles with the Lian-Li fan grille, but for some dumb reason assumed that it would only fit a Lian-Li case, despite me knowing full well what case you have just built into !!
I don't make a habit of swinging my case around my head, so guess it is worth further playing and investigation.
Now, one more thing FaceplandSi - you asked me what case I might be thinking of - why ?
I know you now have a possibly spare Antec 300 and adamibbo mentioned to me that he has a case or two for sale, but I don't have access to the Members market yet.
As I mentioned before, I am possibly looking for a second hand case, but do not want to break any rules - is there a way to contact folk here before I get the required number of posts to have access to the 'Trust' feature ?
I guess I could put my email address someplace in my public profile, but don't rerally want my account suspended, unlike my hard drives may be soon !

Bubo · 21 Apr 2009 at 20:04

steveinspain said:
I may take apart my PSU and see if I can remove some of the cables in a day or two

Steady, only the most hardened modders would consider actually snipping cables, especially inside the psu. I meant you may have to be more aggressive in bunching them into a tightspace and securing with cable ties and preferably securing with those stick on cable tie bases.