Sharkoon Tauron - Case Mod ideas/advice request

[wordsmith]

Hi, I'm a long time reader, first time poster.

I've got a gorgeous Sharkoon Tauron in white (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-009-SH), and following the successful installation of my stealth'd optical drive, I'm looking to change up a couple more bits, hopefully you guys can either give me some pointers or tell me outright why it won't work

Mod 1:

I'm not much of a fan of blue, I was thinking of changing the colour scheme for red and orange, starting with a pair of red fans at the bottom, fading up into an orange "flame" type pattern on the top using some LED strips. Unfortunately, I can't find any pictures or videos of anyone who's done flame-type LED mod, and so I have a couple of issues:

1) how do I fade from red into orange going up the front? What's the best way to blend a pair of colours without making it look like there are two distinct sections?

2) Is there a better way to do the top section, or would a pair of weaving orange LED strips be the best way to light the top?

I was also planning to build a switch into the circuit, as the other problem that I have with the current lighting is that the only way to turn it off is to turn the fans off. I want to be able to leave my machine running, but turn the lights off.


Mod 2:

Speaker mod - As the top section lifts off, I was planning to embed a pair of speakers between the case and the top panel. I was planning to use a pair of speakers that are powered by the headphone jack, then hardwire the two wires to the front headphone jack. Again, is there a better way of doing this? Is there a reason not to do this?

Any advice on either of these plans is gratefully received. If people want pics of the case or clarification on anything, I'll post them tomorrow.

Many thanks

Wordsmith

 

[King Damager]

For the LED strip thing, I'd say the best solution would probably be to make your own.

That said, the biggest issue you'd have to look out for is I suspect the Voltage on Red and Orange LEDs are different enough that you'd have to change your wiring up slightly as you got further up. Ultimately however, that's not the hardest thing in the world.
Take a look at this thread:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18172810&

Whilst it's not about LED strips specifically, it covers a lot of the basics of LEDs. It also covers how to add a switch into one of your circuits.

As for your speaker mod, the sound quality you'd be getting is minimal. Also, how do you plan on powering your speakers that are up there? It sounds like an interesting concept, but I just can't see it working fantastically...

kd

 

[wordsmith]

RE: the speaker mod, I seemed to recall having a pair of smallish speakers that were powered by the 3.5mm jack. I've spent the evening looking for such a thing with various retailers, I'm at a loss. Failing that, I have two internal USB ports that I could run a USB powered device from, and then use the front headphone port as previously mentioned. I need to find out how much voltage the 3.5mm jack can actually provide, as the prospect of adding either a pair of 7cm or a single 14cm speaker is an exciting thought.

I'm not particularly after audiophile-quality sound, nor am I looking to drown out a full 5.1 speaker set. I have my external setup for that, it's purely for when I have my PC at a mate's house or I'm at a LAN and feel the need to play something out loud.

Thanks for the link to that LED thread, is the reason for making my own just because I can and that I'd learn more, or because it's actually worth doing? Is it just being able to dictate every detail in the production (length, brightness, colour, placement etc) or are premade LED strips just something to stay away from?

I appreciate the advice, keep it coming!