a DELL case mod!

J

jdub765

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Joined
Feb 24, 2005
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Let me say first that I think that you guys have some amazing skills on this forum. I've been lurking for a while, checking out your guy's creations, and I find myself burning off 2 hours in front of the computer like it's nothing. I sort of wish I had built my own computer so I could customize it, since I love doing these type of things, but I'm also glad I bought a Dell, because when I get a new hobby, I become a fanatic about it, and I would've spent a buttload of money on it...

Ok, yeah, I know all of you hate Dells, but it's what I have, and I gotta make the best with what I have. Ok, so I have a Maxtor 240gb, IBM 60gb, and IBM 120 gb. The first two were in my computer because I was going to put the 120 in an xbox, but I decided to use the 60 instead, so I copied the data to the 120, and tried to format the drive, but it started to make the same clicking noise my gf's HD made before it went kaput. So I stopped trying, and gave it to my roommates who work at the tech dept at our school's bookstore to mess around with to see if they could fix it.

Ok, I typed too much already. Sorry. Long story short, wondering why HD failed after only 3 years, DL programs to monitor HD health and temps, find out HDs are running at avg 50C (240gb) and 46C (120gb).

I've never been into OCing and modding my computer since it's a Dell (and I didn't want another hobby that would suck my wallet dry. I've spent enough on R/C cars and car stereos), but I thought that was pretty freaking hot. So, I decided to mod my case so that the HDs could breathe a little easier.

Oh, a couple days ago, I installed a Zalman Reserator w/ the CPU block as well as a GPU block because I wanted to cut down on noise, so I turned the CPU fan around and am using it as a exhaust fan. So now all I have to do is cut a hole in the front, and air can flow into the case, over the HDs.

Oh, here's my computer's specs right now. They're not the greatest, but I haven't been gaming much recently. Mostly just graphics work, and some video editing recently.

Dimension 8300
Pent IV 2.8 ghz
1.5gb PC3200 DDR
Asus GeForce4 Ti4200
SB Audigy 2
DVD-ROM and DVD+R
and the two hard drives.


Ok, so here's pics of what I did. It's not very much, but it did what I needed it to do, and it does it well.

I first took off the top and bottom pieces, and then I could take off the front piece.
img50962yr.jpg


Then I cut out some of the cage in front of the HDs.
img50980sg.jpg


Then I decided to cut some more, since the metal was strong enough as it was.
img50998ty.jpg


Here's the front panel with most of the stuff taken off, minus the button shroud. I wanted to cut this entire area out for more ventilation, but I didn't feel like moving the button.
img51003al.jpg


So then I trimmed what I could without cutting into the button area.
img51018ni.jpg


Then I held the panel up to the frame, and sorta outlined the openings, and realized I could trim some more of the frame.
img51023ca.jpg


Here the trimming's done.
img51058in.jpg


And here it in with the front cover back on. Oh, I also colored the frame with a black sharpie :D I didn't want to go through the hassle of disconnecting the watercooling to spray paint it.
img51060yn.jpg


Then I realized that if I put the hinged door back on, it'll block a lot of the airflow, so I cut some holes a little lower so that the door would just snap onto the front of the case to cover up the USB and headphn jacks. And since I wasn't using the hing anymore, I cut it off the cover, and trimmed up underneath the lighter grey panel so it'd look cleaner. Sorry, I didn't take any in between pics. :(

So here it is, finished up.
img51105fl.jpg


Closeup of the hole
img51116uc.jpg


And a shot of the overall setup. Don't mind the stickers. I was bored a couple years ago and we seemed to have a buncha stickers lying around the house from misc parts we bought so we stuck them on our computers because there was no where else to stick them.
Edit* - the tower is behind the LCD monitor. It's tucked in at an angle so that I can access the drives easier.
img51136bb.jpg


Pic of watercooling for fun.
img50971vz.jpg


Yeah, so that's my Dell that you all hate. Well, the Maxtor that ran at 50C now runs at 31C, and the IBM that ran at 46C now runs at 33C, so it's a lot better now.

I'm still trying to get my computer quieter (maybe silent? :D), just for the heck of it, so I ordered some 20 db fans to replace the CPU/exhaust fan and maybe the PSU fan. Is a PSU fan swap hard? would you guys recommend it?

Well, let me know what you guys think :D
 
If you know how to do simple wire splices, it isnt that hard
should do a nice paint job on the case too, maybe some mesh
on the front or lights. hmmm


 
i wouldve liked the mod a lot better if you just took a hammer and smashed the case into millions of pieces.... :p

but a repaint, removal or the logo, mesh, and lights are definately in order for that case.
 
I still think the only type of modding a dell should under go is being shot.
 
For everyone mentioning destroying Dell cases... here's the video of my old Dell's unfortunate encounter with a mining pick I found....


http://thetopher.dyndns.org/dell2.mov sorry it's 20mb but my converter wouldn't work...



Anyways, back on topic, mods look good, the bigger holes should also help keep the front from growing the all-fatal dustbeards.
 
Cool I like it when someone takes a Crapbox and makes it look cool.

Good for you.







edit; no neon kook lights , they hurt my eyes. :D
 
DarkMonkey said:
For everyone mentioning destroying Dell cases... here's the video of my old Dell's unfortunate encounter with a mining pick I found....


http://thetopher.dyndns.org/dell2.mov sorry it's 20mb but my converter wouldn't work...



Anyways, back on topic, mods look good, the bigger holes should also help keep the front from growing the all-fatal dustbeards.
Click to expand...
ok... now THAT was the BEST movie i have every seen!!! i need an old dell to beat up. :D :D :D
 
Thanks for the compliments, and uhhh, comments :D

Well, if this was an xbox or something, or maybe just a custom computer, I'd put lights all over it and do the whole shebang. But, this thing is a Dell, so I'm sticking more with function than form, so I don't want my mods to look too extravagant. So I wanted it to look somewhat normal. I love how quiet it is :cool:

My truck has lights all over it though :D
19362417full9dc.jpg

http://www.cardomain.com/id/jdub765
 
Hey, everybody has to start somewhere, and I can't think of any reason not to mod a Dell. This is what true Modding is about. Hacks for efficiency and style.

Although, you need to work on the style a tad more. Get some mesh in that hole, or mod that big Dell badge that's just begging for attention, or at the very least... scrape off those damned Windows and Intel stickers! ;)
 
The front case looks umm, interesting but when you consider you cut off 15C off the hard drives, then whoa-- that's worth the mod. Pretty good idea though, good job. But Dell does lack the style-- it's just ugly. But nonetheless, a good job.

-J.
 
Based on what I saw in your truck, which is awesome, you should be able to do some amazing things to a computer.
 
good mod, just a question about your truck audio set up, why only 12.1 volts on the voltmeter? my is always around 14.3 to the amp
 
Thanks again for the compliments and comments :D

compslckr, the engine must've been off when I took the picture. It's a little above 12 when the car's off because it's just running off the battery, and when the engine's on, it's 12-14 volts, depending on RPMs. The electrical system in my truck doesn't really pack a good punch, but it's consistent :D
 
compslckr said:
good mod, just a question about your truck audio set up, why only 12.1 volts on the voltmeter? my is always around 14.3 to the amp
Click to expand...
maybe the truck was off :p

edit:
damn I had other threads open before i replied :eek:
 
The mod looks good but you should consider putting some mesh or a grill or something over the hole to clean it up a bit and give it that "OEM" look.

But that truck is impressive, you have done a nice job w/ it.
 
That looks pretty good considering it's performance, but you did ask for comments, so I'm gonna chime in with getting rid of the bar code sticker on the hard drive (or even colour it in with a black marker pen so it isn't visible behind...

...some meshing (like everyone else has said).

I forget who's mod it was but they used a disposable mini-barbecue grill or something similar (it was very recent). That kind of thing anyway. Hard to say what colour though. Probably have to be sprayed grey to go with the grey in the same area.

Wonderful job.
 
Since everyone loves pictures, here's a pic of my latest creation. I bought a light from Ikea, but it wouldn't fit where I wanted it to go because the speaker was taking up the prime real estate, so I combined the two :D

img51221wq.jpg

img51212qi.jpg


I'm all obsessed now with making my comptuer quieter and I'm thinking about watercooling the PSU... Does anyone know of a pretty beefy waterblock that I could tap holes into to mount the mosfets to?
 
jdub765 said:
I'm all obsessed now with making my comptuer quieter and I'm thinking about watercooling the PSU... Does anyone know of a pretty beefy waterblock that I could tap holes into to mount the mosfets to?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't recommend do-it-yourself PSU watercooling, there are so many tiny components that all need cooling. There was one watercooled PSU a while back but as I remember it wasn't very beefy. I would just get a high quality fanless or very quiet air cooled PSU.

EDIT: Here's the PSU:
http://www.aqua-computer.de/e_content/e_netzteile.htm

So maybe it isn't as bad as I thought it was.
 
Those things are freaking expensive though :(

Well, maybe I'll just watercool the HDs, and rig a 92 or 120mm fan to blow through the PSU. My IBM drive makes this stupid pulsating noise so if I watercool it, I can wrap it in foam to silence the stupid thing.

Dell's PSUs use a pretty loud fan, so I replaced it w/ an 80mm antec tricool, but it's still one of the loudest noises coming from my computer.


edit* - I just realized that the light looks kinda alien-ish with antennas comin out of its head or something :p
 
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