So you went and found the ugliest, crappiest, beige box in your attic/closet/garage, and you're sitting there thinking:
"Should I just throw this away?"
Or maybe, instead, you could put many hours and probably more money than a new case would have cost into that bad boy, transforming it from a beige horror into a joy to behold.
Your friends will think you're nuts.
The other guys on OCN will be overcome by waves of nostalgia washing outward from your mod log.
You roll up your sleeves and get to work.
Why would anyone do this?
Let's be honest, sure you could go out and buy a cheap new case, spend $20 and a few hours, and have a better case than one of those decade-old beige boxes. If the point was to save some bucks, well that was a massive fail. But that's not the point. The point is:
That's right. It's one thing to take a modern, well-designed case and tweak it to make it a personalized, customized work of wonder. It's quite another to take a case with the PSU in the wrong place, nowhere to mount front fans, drive cages in the wrong place, and no place for cable management, and turn it into a work of art.
What are we about?
What kinds of things will we discuss?
In this thread, we will discuss topics including:
What kinds of things are we not focused on?
How do I join?
For Beigemodders, all you have to do is have a beigemod starting, in-progress or completed.
For non-beige budgetmodders, we'd like to first see your mod log and what your plans are for the mod, to ensure it meets our focus.
Now, we're not completely rigid that the starting case has to be beige, but it should have some of the typical characteristics of an old beige box such as:
Once you have joined, copy and paste the following into your signature so we can help spread the Love of Rehabilitated Beige throughout the cosmos!
Code:
OCN Beigemodders Club
Members and Mods:
COMPLETE
Jhereg10 - [COMPLETE] Relic - A Beigemod First Case Mod
BruceB - [COMPLETE] Building a 20€ LAN PC
MCCSolutions - [COMPLETE] Blood-Drenched Alien
XIP28 - [COMPLETE] Retro 486
XAslanX - [COMPLETE] Tribal Leo (Syrillian Tribute)
strangelybrown [COMPLETE] Beigesleeper
Shobai - [COMPLETE] Chopped Down Beige Case
RKDxpress - [COMPLETED] Untitled Full Tower
sinnedone - [COMPLETE] Gaming Build in Sleeper Case
geopouros - [COMPLETE] Beigemod
repo_man - [COMPLETED] Phoenix
SwishaMane - [COMPLETE] Lean Mean Green Machine
PowerG4 - [COMPLETED] Back in Beige
rathborne - [COMPLETE] Sovereign - Antec Plus 1080AMG case mod
IN PROGRESS
AlderonnX - [IN PROGRESS] Conundrum Steampunk Inwin Q2000 and [PROPOSED] Untitled Beigemod
MCCSolutions - [IN PROGRESS] Red Berry Ciroc
MCCSolutions - [IN PROGRESS] Red Berry Ciroc and [COMPLETE] Blood-Drenched Alien
Ron1389 - [IN PROGRESS] Ancient Evolution
Yannich - [IN PROGRESS] Low Budget 775 ITX System Project // Wood
Wihglah - [PROPOSED] Untitled Project
Lurker2501 - [PROPOSED] Untitled Project
SlamberGamer - [IN PROGRESS] Untitled Project
8BitPandaz - [PROPOSED] Dell Optiplex
Ferrari8608 - [PROPOSED] Full Tower
Dortheleus - [IN PROGRESS] Full Custom Mini ITX Case First Mod
Metro Fail - SUnfire V880 Server Chassis
Qake - Build Log Beta
Astronaughty - Planned Beigemod
Konkistadori - sl33p3r-mpc
spdaimon - Addtronics Mid Tower
ReaperN1 - Dell 3000 LED Fan Mod
s7Design - Raised from the Dead
gizmo347 - Packard Bell A1090-T Sleeper
Radnad - Build Log Pending
PowerG4 - Beige Modding 2
trevorludgate and FloofyFox - Beige Case Modding Competition!
X-Predator - From Old School to New
Heedehcheenuh - Neenees Toy
RoostrC0gburn - Project Edith
HZCH - OldP4
yasirjamal - Darked E7
Frank08 - 10.35L
MrN1ceguy - Blue Matrix
heb1001 - Mac Classic Forever
KuKIE - Y2K Year 2000 Hardware Ready and Computerflage Azza Helios 910
Dalchi Frusche - Double Dragon
Carniflex - Jupiter PSR 4609D7
"Should I just throw this away?"
Or maybe, instead, you could put many hours and probably more money than a new case would have cost into that bad boy, transforming it from a beige horror into a joy to behold.
Your friends will think you're nuts.
The other guys on OCN will be overcome by waves of nostalgia washing outward from your mod log.
You roll up your sleeves and get to work.
You have found your people.
Why would anyone do this?
Let's be honest, sure you could go out and buy a cheap new case, spend $20 and a few hours, and have a better case than one of those decade-old beige boxes. If the point was to save some bucks, well that was a massive fail. But that's not the point. The point is:
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.
That's right. It's one thing to take a modern, well-designed case and tweak it to make it a personalized, customized work of wonder. It's quite another to take a case with the PSU in the wrong place, nowhere to mount front fans, drive cages in the wrong place, and no place for cable management, and turn it into a work of art.
What are we about?
- Beigemodding - Stories, mod logs, and how-to's to take a beige box from trash to treasure. Sharing tips and tricks that are specific to many beige case mods.
- Other Budgetmodding - Taking other low-end cases and Improving them with everyday materials. We'll talk about inexpensive substitutes for more expensive modding materials.
What kinds of things will we discuss?
In this thread, we will discuss topics including:
- Where to find a beigecase / budget case to start with
- DIY techniques (flipping mobo, trimming cases, rotating drive bays, etc)
- Cheap alternatives to expensive special-purpose supplies.
What kinds of things are we not focused on?
- We're not so much into store-bought custom hardware. We've seen some fantastic looking cases done that way, but we're interested in using everyday materials (as much as possible) in mods. We want modding to be as easy as running to the neighborhood hardware store and to come from your own hard work.
- We're not focused on pro-level thousand-dollar mods. We've all seen some incredible work by professional and semi-pro modders. But we are more interested in what can be done on limited budgets.
- We're not going to spend a lot of time talking about special-ordering finished components and outsourcing large portions of our builds. Again, there are some third-party case modding companies and CNC milling vendors out there that can redo an entire case to your design. But that's not what we're about. Now, if you send a custom logo off to be engraved or milled, that's fine, but that sort of work shouldn't be the majority of the mod.
- Ghetto-modding. While we are focused on modding on a budget, we're not talking about, for example, encasing your computer in expanding foam like this guy, or in a cardboard box like this guy. We are looking for folks who want to take pride in their work.
How do I join?
For Beigemodders, all you have to do is have a beigemod starting, in-progress or completed.
For non-beige budgetmodders, we'd like to first see your mod log and what your plans are for the mod, to ensure it meets our focus.
Now, we're not completely rigid that the starting case has to be beige, but it should have some of the typical characteristics of an old beige box such as:
- Stamped steel construction
- External 3.5" drive bays for floppy drives
- All drive bays face front-to-back
- Poor air flow characteristics (undersized fan holes, etc)
Once you have joined, copy and paste the following into your signature so we can help spread the Love of Rehabilitated Beige throughout the cosmos!
Code:
OCN Beigemodders Club
Members and Mods:
COMPLETE
Jhereg10 - [COMPLETE] Relic - A Beigemod First Case Mod
BruceB - [COMPLETE] Building a 20€ LAN PC
MCCSolutions - [COMPLETE] Blood-Drenched Alien
XIP28 - [COMPLETE] Retro 486
XAslanX - [COMPLETE] Tribal Leo (Syrillian Tribute)
strangelybrown [COMPLETE] Beigesleeper
Shobai - [COMPLETE] Chopped Down Beige Case
RKDxpress - [COMPLETED] Untitled Full Tower
sinnedone - [COMPLETE] Gaming Build in Sleeper Case
geopouros - [COMPLETE] Beigemod
repo_man - [COMPLETED] Phoenix
SwishaMane - [COMPLETE] Lean Mean Green Machine
PowerG4 - [COMPLETED] Back in Beige
rathborne - [COMPLETE] Sovereign - Antec Plus 1080AMG case mod
IN PROGRESS
AlderonnX - [IN PROGRESS] Conundrum Steampunk Inwin Q2000 and [PROPOSED] Untitled Beigemod
MCCSolutions - [IN PROGRESS] Red Berry Ciroc
MCCSolutions - [IN PROGRESS] Red Berry Ciroc and [COMPLETE] Blood-Drenched Alien
Ron1389 - [IN PROGRESS] Ancient Evolution
Yannich - [IN PROGRESS] Low Budget 775 ITX System Project // Wood
Wihglah - [PROPOSED] Untitled Project
Lurker2501 - [PROPOSED] Untitled Project
SlamberGamer - [IN PROGRESS] Untitled Project
8BitPandaz - [PROPOSED] Dell Optiplex
Ferrari8608 - [PROPOSED] Full Tower
Dortheleus - [IN PROGRESS] Full Custom Mini ITX Case First Mod
Metro Fail - SUnfire V880 Server Chassis
Qake - Build Log Beta
Astronaughty - Planned Beigemod
Konkistadori - sl33p3r-mpc
spdaimon - Addtronics Mid Tower
ReaperN1 - Dell 3000 LED Fan Mod
s7Design - Raised from the Dead
gizmo347 - Packard Bell A1090-T Sleeper
Radnad - Build Log Pending
PowerG4 - Beige Modding 2
trevorludgate and FloofyFox - Beige Case Modding Competition!
X-Predator - From Old School to New
Heedehcheenuh - Neenees Toy
RoostrC0gburn - Project Edith
HZCH - OldP4
yasirjamal - Darked E7
Frank08 - 10.35L
MrN1ceguy - Blue Matrix
heb1001 - Mac Classic Forever
KuKIE - Y2K Year 2000 Hardware Ready and Computerflage Azza Helios 910
Dalchi Frusche - Double Dragon
Carniflex - Jupiter PSR 4609D7