Project: SmugBox

smogsy · 23 Apr 2010 at 19:56

Project: SmugBox - PC Built

Hey Guys,

This Project will be doing up a very cheap case (£10) with spray paint & maybe other mods as well as buying parts to build a cheap but reliable Linux File Server. Unsure on part spec at this moment in time

See Computer Parts pictures i Ordered at the bottom of this thread
AMD Althon II 240 2.8Ghz AM3
ASUS M4A78LT-M LE Motherboard AM3 - mATX
2x1GB Kingston DDR3 1066mhz
Samsung F3 1TB
Samsung F3 500GB
Liteon 24x DVDRW SATA
2x Silent Sharoon Fans 8.9DB(A)
OCZ Stealth Xstream PSU 500W

i will declare this is my first ever case project attempt (building PC's i've done many times)

one Question before i show you the case in its present state (untouched)

I've noticed the whole front bezel is Plastic do i need special spray paint for this or will the Car spray paint stick ok?

Ok so here is the case

MY Idea for this case is to spray the whole case white expect for the front which will be in black, & the Word SmugBox down the side and on the top in black.

Smug is short way of Smogsy & box refers to a storage box etc...

hope you will enjoy my Project & give advice to my question & ideas on any design improvements i can make. my ears are open

Work will commence tomorrow

ash_scotland88 · 23 Apr 2010 at 20:21

Is it wrong that if that case was a crisp white colour I would like it?

Diggsy · 23 Apr 2010 at 20:27

You'll need either specialised plastic paint, or else plastic primer. I think you can get the primer from Halfrauds

Arthalen · 23 Apr 2010 at 20:47

Diggsy said:
....Halfrauds

You got that damn right after what I spent recently

Case looks alright, then I saw the photo shot of the rear and I had a serious 'OMG' moment at the quality of the steel, lol!

Good choice for a bog standard File Server though, I would suggest you pay attention to keeping your hard drives nice and cool

Marvin · 23 Apr 2010 at 21:24

For spraying the plastic, it depends on the material really. I know Halfords car paint sticks well to ABS, but I think it'd be worth scuffing the surface first (high grit sand paper, just roughing the surface up), then following with a plastic primer before spraying.

smogsy · 23 Apr 2010 at 23:31

Arthalen said:
You got that damn right after what I spent recently

Case looks alright, then I saw the photo shot of the rear and I had a serious 'OMG' moment at the quality of the steel, lol!

Good choice for a bog standard File Server though, I would suggest you pay attention to keeping your hard drives nice and cool

what you expect for £10

least this way if i go wrong its only £10 gone

Arthalen · 24 Apr 2010 at 05:59

smogsy said:
what you expect for £10 least this way if i go wrong its only £10 gone

Nope, for a Tenner, I couldn't complain.

You'll just have to forgive the Lian Li fanboy in me

smogsy · 24 Apr 2010 at 07:15

true true i'm used to Apple Mac qaulity & coolermaster myself

DeadMan · 24 Apr 2010 at 07:41

That case does indeed look very cheap!

smogsy · 24 Apr 2010 at 11:18

heres a update, i apparently done it wrong already says my dad but oh well. im sure i can fix it

Took it apart
http://smogsy.co.uk/Photography/smugbox/DSC_2998.jpg
got the paint,primer,sandpaper,mask etc

heres where i went wrong i used the 600 first i should have used the scot first (apparently)

this has been done i took this picture to mockup a design for air holes for the front 80mm fan. im thinking of drilling holes in the shape of SB ill photoshop something up for you to see.

i was thinking of doing the air flow holes for front inside a SB so where each white dot is a drill hole will be? do you think this will look good?

smogsy · 25 Apr 2010 at 12:24

update:

first coat. i will post more pictures a bit later each part is currently drying inside whilst it rains!

second coat/third

Last Coat i think

any comments?

Tiamat21 · 26 Apr 2010 at 08:06

perrtyy and white :O
Should put some GO FASTER red stripes.

paradigm · 26 Apr 2010 at 08:17

Erm, first, second, third and last coats all in the space of a day?

That's going to be a long lasting quality finish then.

smogsy · 26 Apr 2010 at 08:47

pretty much, by the way last coat is third coat, it was just when it was near drying

we had the sun on our side, and the paint was dry before we started the next coat so hopefully it will be all well and good.

we have left to harden now, then we can see what needs to be done next.

smogsy · 1 May 2010 at 12:49

Ordered Parts and now they have arrived.

AMD Althon II 240 2.8Ghz AM3
ASUS M4A78LT-M LE Motherboard AM3 - mATX
2x1GB Kingston DDR3 1066mhz
Samsung F3 1TB
Samsung F3 500GB
Liteon 24x DVDRW SATA
2x Silent Sharoon Fans 8.9DB(A)
OCZ Stealth Xstream PSU 500W

Thomss · 1 May 2010 at 14:16

Looking good man, can't wait to see it finished.

smogsy · 2 May 2010 at 17:02

nearly done

Jobs Left:
Get extra extension for CD Drive for Sata Power. (OCZ only come with 1 long wire of 3) :rolleyes:

Laquer the side of the case (both sides)
tidy up cables once again when power cable arrives
tape cables to mobo tray
install Unix.

hope you like so far

smogsy · 3 May 2010 at 16:10

finshed, i did however put the backfan around the wrong way. Back fan is sucking in & so is the front

however as the tempertures are great i'm not to bothered
Fans are running at 980RPM CPU is Running at 400RPM up to 3500RPM (depending on heat)
Average Temperture 32C on CPU & 30C Motherboard
Highest load Temperture so far - 33c on CPU & 32C Motherboard.

LInux:Fedora 12 Samba installed and running

Muel · 3 May 2010 at 16:52

Looking good Smogsy! Should get sme drainpipe for that room to run the cables inside though, then paint them the same colour as the wall.

I'll be building a low-powered server/NAS this summer I think, it'll probably be Atom powered though.

smogsy · 3 May 2010 at 17:15

i was gunna go atom but it doesnt seem to render FULL HD well & couldnt find a ITX case that fits mutiple HDD

also after adding everything up this rig actually was about £20 more. and its running Althon II 240 2.8 Dual Core!