marcus000

Theres a few different ways to do this, especially the actual pattern to follow when jigsawing out the main cut-out but this is how I do it.

Some people use a dremel but i've always found a jigsaw to be the best tool for the job.
A Dremel takes forever and a day and I CBA with the Cut-Off discs.

As always, if anyone has any suggestions or finds a mistake please post so I can amend it!


How To: Do Radiator Cut-Outs

Mask up the panel with masking tape to avoid any scratches whilst jigsawing.



Decide where you want the grill to go



Work out where the center of the case is, for this case I drew a line 35mm from the outer edge.



Clamp it and/or tape it down to stop it moving whilst you trace the inside of the grill.



Trace round the inside of the grill and mark out the screw holes with a pencil



Remove the grill and join up any lines



Drill out the fan holes with an M4 or M5 drill bit



I then drill out a load of holes in the middle of the cutout to give me a place to put the jigsaw blade.



ATTENTION:
This is where some people might do it differently, there isn't a right or wrong way to do it.
If someone can suggest a different cut out pattern i'm all ears!






Lets have a look at that bit again on the other side...




Continue to work all the way around the panel until it's all cut out



Hmm needs filing back a bit...




I still need to go round and file off the corners so it sits under the grill nicely but heres an idea as to how it should look when finished



Now you've got no excuse for not having water cooling!

EDIT: Few pics of it fitted onto a case...

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xHassassin

I don't have anything to cut with, except for a manual saw...
Nice tut though.

CattleRustler

nice job

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marcus000

Cheers guys, 4 more pics added onto the bottom of the 1st post to show it fitted onto a case!

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cuy50

Nice guide! I will use this when my grill arrives in a few days.

Rep+

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SomeDooD

Dude! That looks super clean! Very nice! =D

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Skullzaflare

nice, to bad i dont have a metal topped case lol

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Quote:

Originally Posted by lemans81 No. Your going to continue to produce the same amount of heat whether or not your fans suck it all out. What that means is that your computer runs hotter, and that you will leak the hot air out more slowly. If you producing the heat it won't matter if you trap it in your case or exhaust it. Eventually its going to get out, your case isn't air tight.

wire

I'd like to add one of these to my case so I can add a few fans on the top. Hmm...

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marcus000

If the case is acrylic it should still work?
Providing it's no thinner than 3mm anyway.

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Sonic

Wow nice, I was wondering how some people did these cuts and made it look like factory cuts IMO.

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