[Project] Belial **Updated July 1** - Overclock.net

Manyak · 06-22-08

This is going to be the first time I mod any case so I know I gotta pick a good case to start on and it can't cost more than $100 ish. I'm trying to keep myself to somewhere between $200 and $300 on this so wish me luck

Update 1
Update 2
Update 3

Anyway, my plan to make this unique consists of several major modifications:

1 - It is going to be modded to hold two computers. One ATX motherboard and one nano-ITX motherboard. The nano-ITX isnt hard to fit in - it uses the same mounting holes as a 120mm fan. What IS hard is finding a case that would still have good airflow after sealing up a fan slot.

2 - The ITX board must be powered by the main PSU and must be switched on at the same time as the main PC. Basically this just means I have to get a double pole, single throw, momentary switch. From somewhere. If I can't find one, I'll just have to use 2 relays. So we'll see.

3 - The case is going to have some way of networking the two PCs together. A crossover cable would work, but it would still be cooler if there were two ports connected together (with a crossover cable) that you just hooked the PCs into.

4 - It is going to have a powered internal USB hub. Because two motherboard headers are never enough. Also, using a USB ethernet card is the best way to get an internal ethernet out of an ATX motherboard. I could desolder the onboard connection and stick some wires in, but then you have a port in the back that doesnt work. So yeah, USB hub and network card built flush into the case.

5 - Everything else you'd expect from a mod.

Now, I found a few cases that could spare a 120mm fan slot without killing the computer. Unfortunately only one was in my price range....the Antec 900.

Manyak · 06-22-08

FINALLY the case arrives!! Sorry for the picture quality, my girl is out with the digital camera and I wanted to post in a hurry so I used my phone. At least you can see all the flakes left over from the packaging.

Only thing I didn't realize is that the big fan on top doesn't have a mesh grill underneath it, meaning that I might have to do something about that...grr....Anyway, I wont be working on it for a few days yet. I've got a few things i gotta take care of, but in the meantime I'm gonna try the spraypaint I got on the PCI slot covers to see how it looks.

Manyak · 06-22-08

Ok, I finally refined my plan and got to work yesterday. I started on the first plan, and the entire thing changed.

I've just picked up a rocketfish case to build a new rig out of, so the ITX board will end up going in there. This case will end up being a present to my little sister who is finally grown enough to go to college this fall. It'll be something cool for her to show off at the dorms

Unless she doesn't want it, then I'll move my current system in there! Yeah, part of me is evil and selfish for sure.

So heres the plan.

The dragon things are just placeholders, I'm gonna put some kind of tribal design there that will glow under UV light. Maybe if theres room ill do some stuff around those fan duct openings or something too. The whole thing is going to be painted a glossy black. Red LEDs are going to light up from behind the motherboard, and UV ones set somewhere (I'll find a place later) to make those dragons and some other parts glow brighter. The two fan ducts are also going to glow red - the key word there being "glow". Nothing bright enough to light anything up, but still bright enough to give off an aura. Of course I'll have to find some sort of tribal grills for them too.

Also, I'm not entirely sure about putting in those LCDs on the side there. Its just an idea I thought of, but I find them useless. I dunno, we'll see what happens.

OH and I forgot to mention....the one I got has the holes already made for cable management, and with those giant shrouds there's no reason to drill any new ones. And I don't want to turn the PSU upside down like a lot of people do either. Yeah it creates a cooler environment for the PSU, but it will also create a hotter environment for a GFX card installed at the bottom of an SLI system. And I don't want to hurt any SLI system installed like that in the future.

Manyak · 06-22-08

Heres the first bit of work, all done yesterday.

This is what I had already done for the ITX board.

The switch was a bit too long in the back, so I had to cut out a bit of the top to make room for it. Its sanded for painting too.

But of course, neither of those things matter anymore because the ITX system isn't going to go in there. I may have to find another use for that switch. Even if I don't, this case came with some rubber padding that can just hide the hole. No-one will know the difference

So this is the case almost completely deriveted. I didn't do the drive bays to save myself some work, but they'll be fine.

I used acid etch primer followed by some regular primer followed by 1 coat of paint. After it fully dries (sometime today or tomorrow I guess) I'll sand it down a bit and apply another coat or two.

This is right after the first coat of regular primer.

And this is after the first coat of paint.

You can tell how glossy this stuff is just by the way the top piece is reflecting the sunlight. And yeah its a little blotchy, but its just the first coat. It'll be good when its done.

Manyak · 06-22-08

So while this coat was drying, I went to work on a piece of equipment that's gonna get installed.

This is a USB hub by Syba. Its supposed to fit into a 3.5" bay with the ports sticking out in front, but thats not what's gonna happen with this one.

Here is the hub plus another two boards - a Dlink USB ethernet card and a 1gb flash drive, exactly how they will be situated in the case.

Two ports removed and the new devices soldered on. The other two ports were left on to be hooked up to a KVM. See the thing is, my sister is going to have a laptop as well. So what I'm thinking of doing is having her docking station hook up to this device, and let her computer act as a gateway for her internet connection. Plus with a KVM built in, she can just use one set of monitor/kb/mouse for both PCs. And no extra clutter on the desk.

Thats all the work I did yesterday, I'm gonna try and get the second coat of paint on the case in a little while.

Manyak · 06-22-08

So the second coat on the case is drying right now (more pics when the paint is done), so I figured I'd take the time to come up with a few more ideas on the case. Just to clarify further on where this is going, its got to look clean and neat from front to back.

I've already decided that the mesh on the side panel HAS to go. Its ugly. Putting a fan there just blocks the entire view, and NOT putting a fan there lets the bracket ruin the view. So thats gone. I'm just not sure on if I wanna replace the entire window panel or just put some acrylic in place of the mesh. Either way, I think I'm gonna etch some tribal design into it that matches the stuff that will be painted inside. Nothing overboard though, maybe a border around the outside or something.

Also, I thought of a use for that switch in the top panel. I'll just get a KVM that has a push-button to switch between PCs and hardwire that switch in. This way it still has a purpose. But thats not fun, so I just hope I can come up with something.

One thing i always hate is the main ATX power connector. Whenever its sleeved, the end that plugs into the motherboard still looks..ghetto. So I'm gonna sleeve the visible parts of the wires in pairs instead of all together, this way it looks much neater.

That's it for now. The paint job should be finished soon, and once the case is back together I'll take measurements on the aluminium panels and side window.

Manyak · 06-22-08

Ok so now the case has 3 coats of paint and 2 clearcoats

A lot of work for a first paintjob :/ I had trouble with the back panel though, I accidentally dropped it on the asphalt and the paint got scuffed on one of the corners. So I had to sand everything down and add a few more coats.

I took this while waiting for the back panel to dry (again).

In the meantime, I got to working on the top and front panels. The goal here was to paint the entire panels red while leaving the I/O panel and the thing (pencil holder area? lol) behind it black. I used painter's tape to cover them up for the spray down, and a razorblade around the edgesto get an exact fit.

So I was looking at this and said to myself "wow that looks cool". So after about 30 minutes of debating, I scrapped the idea and went with the opposite. The whole panel would remain black and the I/O panel would be a red/black combo. You'll see what I mean in a second.

This is the panel with the tape completely redone.

Now for the front panel. I wanted two things on this to be red - the feet, and the recessed area on the top.

Since this stuff is plastic the sanding went real quick. Then I painted! Now while waiting I moved on to another part - the rear panel bracket for the monitor/kb/mouse. If you remember what I had said earlier, there is going to be a KVM in this computer, so there needs to be somewhere to connect to it.

This card is about to be donated to the cause. Its supposed to be two USB + 1 serial port, but thats going to change.

The card with the serial port desoldered off.

What I'm going to do now is use a monitor extension cable to create a port right next to the USB ones. Then instead of going through a PCI slot, wires will get soldered onto the back of the USB plugs and routed, along with the monitor plug, to the KVM.

This is the concept.

This is how it turned out. To attach the monitor cable to the board I used solder, lol. The two big holes were big enough to stick the iron through, so I let the plastic melt a bit so the solder could seep right into it and hold it tight. It worked like a charm.

So the next day (that would be today) the panels were all ready. I really like this shade of red by the way.

Oh oh. I messed up. If you look closely you can see the white primer coming out from around the edges of the red paint. I'm gonna have to sand and do it again.

Thankfully, the front panel turned out great.

Sneak preview pic! Remember, the red is being redone, so ignore that for now...

I'm done working on this for today, so tomorrow I'll start on the top panel again. Also, I've decided I'm just going to cover up that hole while I'm at it.

OH and one last thing - it seems like I completely forgot about the hard drive bays /facepalm. I'm gonna be painting one of them along with the top panel tomorrow - the second one isn't getting installed.

Manyak · 06-22-08

So I'm still in the process of painting the top panel. I'm sanding and painting and sanding and painting until the thing comes out perfect. Pics when its done of course.

I also went ahead and painted the hard drive cage, but it got messed up big time. It was really sunny out that morning, but about an hour or two later there was a sudden storm that lasted for a while. And of course, I had decided to paint the cage that day....

Looks like I got some more work to do.

I also decided I'd paint the big fan too. Just the blades though. It hasn't dried yet, but here are some pics anyway.

In case anyone decides to do this too, make sure you cover up the gap between the fan rotor and the base so that the paint doesn't get in the bearings and ruin the entire thing.

Manyak · 06-22-08

There's a little bit more work I did that hasn't been updated yet. The paint on the top panel was fixed and the metal cages inside were installed. Ill get pics and stuff up today.

wastedtime · 06-22-08

The red is soo glossy. Nice job. Are you planning on using acrylic to make the tribal designs ? or is it going to be metal ?

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[Project] Belial Updated July 1

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