Recent content by Crazylittleman

Side Panel The original plan was to make a vent using a series of slots cut using a drill press and jigsaw. Well that didn't work to well. I couldnt get straight slots using a template. To correct this I cut a piece of .5mm aluminium sheet, clamped it between two 19mm chipboard pieces then...

Yeah i was looking for a 250watt silenX but i havent got anything yet. I'm out of money for hardware for the time being so I'll have to wait until i can afford it before I got looking for specific hardware. Athlon XP was just a suggestion when i started the project.

Base panel/frame The motherboard will be mounted on screws though the bottom of the case. This allows the motherboard height to be adjusted to get the best fit with other components. The mounting holes are drilled from a sketchup template. The frame is then cut to fit the panel and...

How smooth does sketchup run on vista?

Hey all. The idea here is a all aluminium HTPC based on laptop drives, mATX motherboard and a shuttle PSU. The panels will be 2mm aluminium araldited and riveted to a frame made from 12mmx12mmx1.4mm L rail aluminium. In terms of hardware im looking at a athlon XP/P4 underclocked with one 120mm...

I chose rivets over screws for a few reasons. a) Rivets will always end with a lighter and cheaper build, I would have been looking at 2 or 3 times the cost for the same number of screws as rivets. b) If I make a mistake the rivets can be drilled out just as easy as screws could. c)...

Wiring the wiring for the front four 120mm fans connects via a 12 pin connector. Wiring for this runs along the base of the case to the fan controller at the back. Due to the lack of a windows appearance was unimportant so adhesive mounts and cable ties will do to secure...

Yes there is more airflow into the case then out, and yes this will create a positive pressure inside the case, yes this will help to keep dust out of the case, no this will not cause the case to explode in my face. At the moment I'm only running one PSU thus theres a freakin huge hole in the...

Edging The next stage of the project is the edging around all edges of the case. The edging is made from 25mm x 1.4 mm L rail aluminium. The idea is to cover the rough cut edges of the checkerplate, cover the mounting holes through the checkerplate thus I don’t need to counter sink the screws...

Nope you've got it. I know it will be a bit of a bitch to remove a drive if it dies, but aside from that this design enables me to use a simpler approach to fit more drives into a smaller space. As well as in construction it allowed me to use a wooden template to achieve the necessary accuracy.

That seems to be general opinion on most forums. I'm slowing editing the pics.

Yeah as people have already said a custom built case is infinitely cooler then a CM stacker or whatever. As for weight, at the moment i'm not sure how heavy it. I'm hoping to get the bare case with just frame and panels (no fans/hdds) under 10kg(22lbs) but I''ll just have to see at the end.

Frame/Motherboard Tray I finally gutted my current case for the motherboard tray and I/O plate. To get a better fit I cut about 120mm off the front of the motherboard tray. In its original case the way the I/O plate connected to the tray was crap so I joined them with 2 rivets through...

A few more pics. To drill the attaching holes for the front panel I clamped the panel down and drilled straight through from the outside. Because the top and bottom of the frame sits 3mm forward of the uprights I need to put in these little spacer pieces along where the screws go through...

Top Panel Finally got a bit more work done. The top panel is attached by 10 screws with nuts plus 4 screws that will attach the handles. First the frame and top panel are lined up and clamped to a piece of chipboard. The holes are then measured and drilled with a cordless drill. To cut...