Whodie

With the arrival of the UPS man, today officially becomes the first day of my most ambitious case mod to date...

As much as I love my torture rack, friends that come by (for whatever reason) can't resist the urge to touch, poke, and prod my rig whenever they come by. So I felt it was time to give up the convenience of an open case go back to a more traditional case and spare my poor computer from the contest molestation.

Problem is, my water cooling loops take up a LOT of space and after hopelessly searching for a case that could hold it all it came down to either buying a Mozart TX or modding something, and since I an obsessed with acrylic....it was a no brainer.

This mod is going to take a lot of time and some serious work but in the end, I think it will be worth it.

I've ordered a fair amount of parts already for the mod, at least enough to get me started. Most of the work though was going to require me having the donor cases in hand so I pulled the trigger and ordered two Logisys clear acrylic mid-towers, which arrived today with (likely) the first round of UV lights. woot woot




The cases in their natural state




Oh...and what's this?!? Another little goodie for the project lol While not really a mod per say, it is a P35 board AND it's black blue to match everything else in my rig. For $45 on mwave.com, I couldn't pass it up





Now this is the point where I need some input...my intent with this mod is basically have one case house the actual computer parts and the other for just the water cooling gear, however, the orientation of the cases (and subsequently how I mod them...) I'm still on the fence about. Either I go for a UFO style case or an uber tower form factor (stacked on top of each other). At the moment I'm leaning more towards a stacked config because it will be cleaner and easier to do, the problem is with >75% of the fluid and a lot of metal in the top of the case it could get top heavy. Here's some pics to give a rough idea of what each option would look like.






Another big box of goodies should arrive on Monday from moddersmart.com. And if I can reach a decision on how to orient the cases I may start some prelim work this weekend. At the very least I'll get them torn down and all the non-essential bits removed.

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Project: That's tha FIRE!

Whodie

Reserved for final pics

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Project: That's tha FIRE!

mth91

Stack them so that it falls over on its side and you scream: FAIL!

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prosser13

$45?

For that board?

Wow

Looks good, TBH I'd go with them on their side and install the radiators at opposite ends of the top case, sucking air in, and then have a large vented panel to let the air get forced out

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vwgti

Id prefer to do it side by side, just my opinion.

Hailscott

Im no watercooling expert but I think the Stacked look is cooler. I think if you put the computer componets on the top and the resivor on the bottom with the rest the the watercooling stuff it would not be top heavy when it is full of coolant.

I like what you are doing and can't wait to see the end result.

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Bindusar

Ditto on the side by side...especially since one is for water. Stacking, even if stable, adds unwanted head pressure due to the extra height. And on that mobo...I scored one also and was so happy when it showed up in the factory box with all the stuff...no OEM/board only which is what I was expecting!

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Antolen

if you stack them i think it is too big for a computer

prosser13

By "on their side" I meant stack them horizontally BTW

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Whodie

Thanks for the feedback guys!

My concern with doing them side by side there is no good way to connect them. Ultimately I want the cases joined so if it needs moved for any reason it is one solid unit

Stacking them horizontally may work, but I do plan on having a PSU in the second case to power the pumps and all the fans so that cuts down on the space available to mount the rads on what would normally be the top and bottom of the case.

Stacking them vertically will be easy to connect them together with the help of a few metal straps and the existing screws.

The other problem is I have to be mindful of holes that are already drilled. I have to either incorporate them into the design somehow or cut the whole area out and put some bigger in their place (like the reservoirs I have ordered).

Got a late start this morning cause I'm a bit hungover but check back later for some more brainstorming

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Project: That's tha FIRE!