THErMOnUCLeAR_2011 CM Case Mod Competition Entry( Finished )

[Longhorn1000]

Completed Pictures Of THErMOnUCLeAR
the bandwidth exceeded pictures will recover in a week or 2


























































Hi guys, sorry for the double post but had some problems with the previous post so I deleted it. Anyways, let's get on with it.......again.

Just for a start, I'm still, a newbie in case modding as I've only did 1 or 2 if i didn't forget for the past few years, only some little cutting and painting. I'm based in Malaysia and getting parts here ain't gonna be easy. Most of the components had to be imported, even the case fans. As all I have to say, this would be my first serious case mod ever and i hope that you guys have fun keeping up with my work logs and sorry to say that, no, no water cooling.

I've say many case mods for the past few years and yet I'm surprised that what we can do to our PC cases. Basically, my current system is a HAF 922 rig ( Big fan of the HAF 922 ) with Intel Core 2 Duo inside but this time, it's going to be an Intel Core I5 Mid-high end gaming rig still with the HAF 922 XD. Anyways, here's my objective( I'm not going to write down all the points but only the concept)

1.Complex and simple machine
--- A case that isn't too complex to build and not too simple looking

2. Function with decoration
--- Most case mods now mostly are onto the decorative side but I'm gonna do both

3.Low on budget
--- I don't need extreme tools to get the job done as they can't be found here much and i use whatever i have at home

Materials
The materials I'm gonna use are
-aluminium
-black paint
-yellow paint
-grey paint
-styrofoam
-tape
-paper
-cardboard
-double sided tape
-blue tac
-sand paper

Concept
First of all, my concepts are from 2 types of cases which are the
-Cooler Master HAF X
+As you all may know, the HAF X has that sort of PSU cover so I'm gonna make it!! From scratch
+It also inspired my to deal with the HAF X Top Body armour, Which is what i call it. Typically it's the plastic thing on top of the HAF X
-Antec Nine Hundred
+it has two fron intake fans which the HAF 922 doesn't so I really wanna try it,no matter what.....

Beside the case, I'll be doing the CPU Cooler as well
- Cooler Master V6GT
+ The V8 is actually a good cooler but I just wanna Improve it by covering up the sides of the heat sink to Improve the air flow inside which will drop temps of my cpu. I'm also gonna add another fan on the side of it which will cool the cpu better.


So my hardware just arrived and here they are
Intel Core I5 760
ASUS Maximus III Formula
ASUS ENGTX 460 TOP 1GB GDDR5
Corsair XMS3 2x2 GB DDR3
Cooler Master Silent Pro 600W
Cooler Master V8
Cooler Master R4's RED LED
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB HDD
ASUS X24 DVDR-W

Sorry for the blurry pics, as I only have a 3.2 Mp cam





Unboxed them........



The GTX460 1Gb

And the Maximus III Formula


As for the case, I didn't order it as I just take it from my current pc ( don't have to buy one as I'm not sure I'm going to win or not ), here it is
Yes, it's paint was scrapped off

more views




So I already stripped off the other parts of the case so I don't have to do it when I need to....

Before I forgot, here are the fans....
CM R4's red led



CM Xtra Flo



My tools, from left to right.... Can opener, screw drivers (flat head and cross), pliers, L shaped ruler and pliers again

I don't have a dremer, so I use a can opener to finish the job don't believe it?


Well then, lets start our mod


Stage 1
cutting the bezel off.....
Before

Let's start cuttin'

Believe now?? XD

Yup, I actually cut it off with just a can open, anyways, I am so heart broken whenever I cut one of the legs off, it's like....PLAK!!!........and then.....PLAK!!!
Yay, finished

Let's trim it



Yeah! A successful trimming



Sooooo smooooth XD




Smooth like silk

But......what about these?

Don't worry, my goal is to make this as efficient as possible so everything cut out of the case will eventually come back...

Next up, cutting the bezel at the back exhaust.......
Before...

Let's cut again, with a can opener
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff504/0CM0dderz/IMG_1074.jpg
Some progress....

Almost out......

Finally......



What about those sharpies??
We'll use the pliers for the trimming

Tadaa!!



In depth detail...
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5 ... G_1084.jpg[/img]
In my opinion, it can still be considered as a good trimming
What do you think?

Still.....every victory has it's own sacrifice....... My hands got loads of bruises from the cutting and swelling from the trimming which took a long time


Overview of today's progress......





FAQ
Why would I cut off the bezel??
1. Those restrict air flow which causes the temps to rise inside of the case which will also increase the temps of my hardware ( CPU/MB/GPU).......
2. You'll have to keep on for it

Anyways, thanks for looking, will be back with more I promise, It won't disappoint you guys out there

[nix5]

wow nice work cutting bazel.

might i suggest "speed mode" for your camera? or simple auto mode might even work. there is a lot of shake in your pictures.

good work!

[Longhorn1000]

Thanks a lot man

[Longhorn1000]

Aha, it's day 2 of my case mod progress and let's continue with some more guys

First off, I'm going to be doing a new section which I called
The Pipeline

yea, now let's see what we have here today......
Hmm..... a case?
-3 meters long of PVC pipe
-PVC pipe saw
-sand paper, in this case, I'll be using a 600grit sand paper
-meter rule
-pencil
-PVC pipe elbow same socket, not the diminutival one
and that's it.

here are the materials for the day....



first, I'll measure the length between the end of the case with the end of the hard disk mounts......


32 cm.....


mark it on the pipe and let's start cutting


not a great cut on the first one.......

will it fit?

perfectly

how about the inside?

yup, but I had to cut it cuz there's a bold at the end..


there goes the second piece

all four of them

let's measure the gap.......

12 cm?

I'll kill that ruler of It doesn't fit XD
http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad35 ... 1053-1.jpg
looks promising.......

sanding it XD with sand on cement

looks ok......

c'mon.. get in

done , but will it fit??

it fits

there goes 2....

3......

4!!!

now how does it look ?

time to sand it....

in this case, again, 600grit

sanding it......

1....2....3......4XD

washing it after the sanding....

kinda blurry here.....

haha! clean inside

out


Looks nice ??


Thanks for following my worklog, will be back for more

[Longhorn1000]

Please do comment suggest anything useful or tell me if there's anything weird.... Thanks.

[brinkz0r]

The fact that your images are blurry isn't because of the 3.2MP camera, it has nothing to do with the amount of pixels. You just need a lot of light and a steady hand or a tripod. And if you aren't using it already, use the macro setting for pictures closer than a meter from the object. I use a 3MP camera myself, and that more than enough pixels for online images. I make at least three pictures every time, so I can use the good ones and delete the bad ones. Good luck with the pictures and the mod

[Longhorn1000]

Thanks for the tip, more pics will be up in this week..........Hopefully

[Longhorn1000]

Ok guys, here's a little update on my worklog as everything is now set and ready to continue

First off, I'm going to be modding the side panel of the case which goes for cutting and painting

So here's the side panel of the case......with the mesh

and the other one with no mesh......

since I;m going to be modding an industrial/ Nuclear based case, I had to make look like it I've cut some decals for the looks so here is it
I tried spraying it on paper first to make sure everything is alright

on the side panel.......

let's spray !!! Yes.....looking good already

nice

If you wanna know, I did this on purpose.....

looking good





Now what? I have another idea I wanna spray the Republic of Gamers Decal on the case sooooo exciting
First, I'll trace it on a piece of paper...

done

cut it out with my nifty pink...lol paper cutter, you must be laughing laugher:

and here it is

matching with the original decal......

and spray it on the panel


So guys, here's what I'm doing for now and will be back with more pics by tomorrow .

[Longhorn1000]

Ok guys, since you were craving for updates........Here you go

So, my plan today is to make the case side panel window but I'm not sure if I can finish the acrylic cutting in time but here goes.........

Here's the acrylic, just like what I promised



in the case, I'm going to be using a piece of clear acrylic sheet


So here's the side panel, with the mesh still on it......

well, it's time for my nifty can opener again to finish the job

currently on the way ......

seeing some progress......


almost done......

a few more tweaks left before it's gone..

yes!!! it's off

but still a lot of bad sectors to be fixed

anyways, nice cutting
and trimming

little bit more trimming to do

looking good.........

favorite part:D


Now, I'll be using a 800Grit sand paper to sand off the sharp edges and preventing this from happening.....and yes, it's my finger

let's sand it!!! XD

hmm.....seems to me some nice edges




since I'm done here, there's lots of bruises ( on the side panel )

so, I'm going to use a shiny black spray paint to cover it up......

and top it with clear paint

let's do this :gunner2:

looks like a charm:D

while waiting for it to dry, let's spray the other side panel with clear coat



done spraying, this one looks dry to me, that's for sure

now the other one

first coat doesn't seem to be very effective

neither does the second one....==

let's do it again

oooh.......shiny and reflective, looks like it's starting to pay off

more pics

awesome


the third coat seems to be the most effective one


they just look so awesome

anyways, this is just it for the day, will be back with moar XD stay tuned

[rikaldrey]

I like the paint effects, especially the ROG sillhouettte.. looks cool and natural..

[Longhorn1000]

I like the paint effects, especially the ROG sillhouettte.. looks cool and natural..

Thanks

[Longhorn1000]

<<UPDATE>> Finally..........

Finally, I could do some updates as tensions are running high and the closing date is just around the corner. So, as you all were craving for updates, here it is


So here it goes, enjoy my kinda short update.......... but lots of effort were put into it.

Man, very hot and sunny day, but the work must go on as I promised.

First off, here are the materials that I'll be using, maybe some won't be achieved today, but I'll still continue it tomorrow. Very sure
And yes, here's the case from the last update. Note: where's the pvc?

Materials/tools


I said lucky on my last post right? well,

yes, the plank is indeed in a very bad condition, I said lucky cuz I found it in a nearby abandoned garage, made from wood and I kinda......."borrowed" one of the best planks I can find there so I won't need to buy another one. since it is still usable and a few couple pieces more of wood >< Economical and environment friendly right? reuse usable products, save the environment :yessir:

First off, I'm going to measure the length of the base of my case........

Hmm........54 cm.......


The breadth........

22 cm.....


sunbathing...........lol :lachen:

what ever, lets continue
so here's the plank,

let's tag the length and the breadth on it.


draw a line......


the breadth...

tag it here....

done

draw another line......

man, so hot......some water will do.....

sweat all over the plank..

lets saw it!!:devil:

some progress.....

more sweat, it's my hand........

about 15 minutes later
yessss!! it's out

I think the cut looks nice......


will it fit?

nicely.......

[Longhorn1000]

now, let's trim off the breadth......


looking good.....

almost there.....

out

so here's a piece of long wood...

according to my plan, I'll need 4 of those and with a length of 16 cm, sorry, not the pic

so let's mark out 16cm....


draw a line to the mark,

saw it,

very nice cut out there, i think....

some scratches......

what ever, lets do it 3 more times..
measure, mark, draw a line, and saw it.......I don't wanna put too much of pics just to show me doing the same steps.....





20 minutes later

all four of them........

lets measure the bottom again...

in this case, I'll only need 20 cm for the length and same breadth

mark it on tha plank,.....



argh......a little bit more......

yay, its out

whoa.....lots of........what do you call it?



Well then, it has been a very tired thus exhausting day. Anyways, that's it for today and hopefully I will.....continue tomorrow and next Tuesday. so stay tuned and thanks for following my worklog, see ya'll really soon.

[Longhorn1000]

Hello guys,

today, I'm gonna be doing a little hammering to the planks and wood of last week.

so here's the plank I sliced last week and the wood pieces





ok, I'm gonna use 4 of these small (s)nails and 4 more other big nails for the base

2 on each wood

and here are the bigger ones

lets start hammering them






last one........

done

And yes, I tested their stability with about....200 Ib of weigh lol.....:baaasmile
worse mistake i did ......:doh: "slap in the forehead" cuz the wood shifted a little today. well the wood's base is ---- on one side and \ on the other side.......

what ever, lets dig in and see what happens. and if I can fix it?


it actually came out pretty nice....

oh crap..........its gonna rain .....NOOOOO~~~!!!:(
well.....lets speed things up a little

[Longhorn1000]

it rained, but the show must go on

well, at least it fits nicely

so, I'm gonna use the same breadth reading taken last week and transfer it to a thin piece of plank sliced from the piece just now

and I didn't show all the process as the rain was.........bad
im gonna hammer 2 nails on both sides of the small plank


hammer them in a little....

and walla


well, that's just about it.
Stay tuned