• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Custom Dell Case (Completed!)

Sorry for taking so long to reply... life has been crazy here!


cudaman73 said:
Will having the optical drive mounted above the cpu interfere with airflow to the cpu?

Also, good that you didn't get the prescott. those run too hot as it is, that is, in atx cases with all sorts of aftermarket cooling.

If ya don't mind, could you possibly post a pic of the top on with the radeon in? I know you said like an inch clearance up top, but I was curious as to what it'd look like actually set up.

Don't bother if it's too much hassle, though :p
Click to expand...

I will be doing an update soon and will hopefully explain how the top will be mounted. I've made a few changes with how I will mount the drives and now have about 2.5 inches of clearance. Air flow will be just fine... I've done mock ups with everything in place and will have no problem :)

Oh and I might be getting a Northwood P4 from a user here at the [H] to help boost the performance :D. Which is somewhat funny since this PC will not even be close to the original Dell. It would basically be an entirely different PC with the original OS. I bet Dell and Microsoft didn't see this one coming lol :rolleyes:

Oh yeah and pics will come eventually.

Thanks for the interest
 
MOTHERBOARD INSTALL

OK so I installed the mobo a few days ago but I haven't posted any pics yet. I finished connecting the power button panel and everything works... my soldering skills totally suck but the fan does go down to 5V and then back up to 12V. Man at 5V this fan is TOTALLY silent!

Well I'm not too pleased with these pictures but here are a few

As you can see I will have a lovely time getting all these wires in order lol

sept13.jpg


Notice those shiny PCI slot covers :D... I thought about black but I think this works just fine

sept14.jpg


sept15.jpg


sept12.jpg


I think the power panel looks nice... wait till you see the blue and white LEDs in action. The blue lens is sooo bright, mainly because it's a focussed beam

sept11.jpg


Well thats it for now. I know I promised more but I haven't had much time to do that much. My life has been nuts for the past week. Been havin too much fun ;) :eek:

Next up on my list is cable management, cable management, and more cable management. Even though I dont think I will have a window I want as many wires possible to be hidden. Where you say?! Well I have a few tricks up my sleeve, I hope at least.

Next update will be a few night shots of the LEDs, better overall pics, explaination of top cover and drive mounting... and maybe a sneek peek at the progress of the top that I've already started.

Again thanks for looking.

Geo
 
hehe, take a mobo tray out of any case and you'll be hard pressed to tell where they came from. :)

looks great man, keep up the good work!!!
 
looking good, are you going the paint the metal? or just leave it as the metal look. Also what is the extra lip for at the back of the pc? where the psu,mobo is?
 
Geo Fry said:
So... the Yate Loon will have it's own switch so it can run at 12V or an extreme quiet RPM at 5V

Here's a good example of what will happen

fanvolt-swtch.jpg


More updates coming soon
Click to expand...

I just noticed that the +12 and gnd leads seem to be backwards (two ground wires go in the middle) did you check this or is it just an ilusion in the picture?
 
Ozone77 said:
I just noticed that the +12 and gnd leads seem to be backwards (two ground wires go in the middle) did you check this or is it just an ilusion in the picture?
Click to expand...

wasn't that just an example though, as in not from his actual build?
 
Nice job... GREAT job.

Could be used as any pc though. Can u show it next to somehting so we can see the REAL size of the finished product?
 
Zero82z said:
Have you got anything planned for the front? It looks kind of bland.
Click to expand...

Oh yes... the top and front will be covered. Infact the whole cover that I build will be air tight to the top and front, that way the only air coming in will be the left side and the back. I'm doing this mainly for noise.

Take a look at the first pages sketchup drawing for a VERY rough plan of how the top and front will be.

-(Xyphox)- said:
looking good, are you going the paint the metal? or just leave it as the metal look. Also what is the extra lip for at the back of the pc? where the psu,mobo is?
Click to expand...

The metal that you see now will say as it is. So far the only metal painted is the black power panel. The top will have a few peices painted black to continue the theme :)

And the lip your talking about, at least I think I know what your talking about. If you look carefully there are 2 lips. This is how I am goin to attatch the top cover to the case. Since I dont have a drill press and only just a regular drill, getting 2 holes to line up on 2 different peices of aluminum Is very hard (I'm talking exact to the point where I can tap the two holes with a screw and trust it will stay together).

So... I need someway to get a bolt behind. This is how I plan on doing that:

This is a side view btw

top1.jpg


top2.jpg


Make sense... I hope its not too tacky. A hinged top that swings open might of been cooler but ah well

Ozone77 said:
I just noticed that the +12 and gnd leads seem to be backwards (two ground wires go in the middle) did you check this or is it just an ilusion in the picture?
Click to expand...

Yes that is just an example picture but I set mine up like that anyways lol. It works perfectly though. Up position fan spins at normal RPM... and down position it spins very very slow so IDK. Does what I need it to :)
 
MC FLMJIG said:
Nice job... GREAT job.

Could be used as any pc though. Can u show it next to somehting so we can see the REAL size of the finished product?
Click to expand...

Thanks man, although this is not the finished product ;). I still have plenty to do. I will take a few pics of the PC set up at my brothers house when finished. I'll even make him stand next to it so you can compare :p. He's like 5' 11" btw
 
Dang dude, sweet build. Now this has gotten me wanting to make myself a custom case, similar to that one :)
 
CABLE MANAGEMENT

Well all I can say is that electrical tape does wonders for keeping cables under control. I not only needed to get control of cables for good airflow, but also if this case were moved and a bundle to were fall on a CPU heatsink fan with knowing.... yea you get the idea

Here's the old pic

sept13.jpg


And here is my attempt at improvement

cables.jpg


If I didn't need that dumb 24pin to 20pin adapter things would be alot nicer.

A few things to notice
- The 4pin mobo connector got moved behind the PSU
- The SATA power connectors got shoved between the PSU and the metal panel
- Airflow from intake -> GPU -> CPU -> PSU is unobstructed now
- I finally mounted the top bracket over the intake fan

I also routed all the front panel connectors underneathe the mobo

undermobo.jpg


undermobo2.jpg


And it snakes it's way to the power panel

panelcon.jpg


Don't forget I still have IDE cables and the drive's power to connect :/

Oh and here is a better pic of the intake... with the top bracket installed

intakewoot.jpg
 
JinxyBoi said:
the real fun will come when you throw in the optical drive and hard drive. lol
Click to expand...
Heh yea I know... although I think I have that part covered as far as how I'm going to manage it.

As promised here are a few shots with the LED power and activity lights

Power on

blueside.jpg


HDD activity

bluewhiteside.jpg


The blue LED has a focused lens and is crazy bright when looking straight on

blueon.jpg


The white is more af an omni-light

bluewhiteon.jpg


Oh and I gave my bro a cooler temporary wallpaper for the time being :)

wallpaper.jpg
 
It looks small. Very nice. Hmmm wonder how much bigger it would have to be for a full atx?
 
I've been thinking about putting a DELL logo on the case. It wont be an ordinary logo, it will be modded of course. And it will be completely fabbed by me.

What do you guys think? Leave it nameless or have a logo? Would it make it look tacky... I figure all this started from an old DELL so I should shows its roots somehow?

This is a small example of the idea I have

dell-748163.jpg
 
give it a shot..

show us a mock-up of it, maybe.

pencil it in up top?

I think it could probably turn out tacky, but if you did it right, it might be okay.

I'm interested in seeing what you had in mind, anyways :p
 
Geo Fry, some excellent work you have done there and you have given me some ideas for a case mod I'm working on.

About the Dell name on the case, maybe make a rectangular aluminium plate and cut out the name and then either glue or bolt the plate on the front of the case? Bottom left corner maybe?
 
Case Cover Part 1

IMPORTANCE

Because of the extremly small design of the case the cover has alot of responsibilities:
1. Mount the drives - I wish I didn't have to mount them on the cover since every time I need to get to the motherboard will be a pain... but building an alternative way to mount the drives I believe would be more of a pain.
2. Gives the case it's final appearance - Some of the parts of the case cover will be painted... will get to that later
3. Makes a good air seal for the front and top which will deaden sound

PUTTING TOGETHER THE PIECES

Notice that all the holes are drilled. Getting to this point has been a repeated process of putting together/taking apart... It's been really annoying trying to get the holes lining up right with only a drill

mockpiece.jpg


mock1.jpg


mock2.jpg



Notice the wholes drilled here... thats for my hard drive

mock3.jpg



One side will be screwed in and the other side will just lay on the aluminum. I will put down some foam weatherstripping to dampen vibrations

mock4.jpg



I made these drive rails for the DVD drive taken from an old case

driverails.jpg


mock5.jpg


Nothing has been sanded or painted yet... I think all that you see here will eventually be painted black but not sure yet. Oh and an aluminum sheet will cover up the whole top, I just need to make that still.


FIRST MOCK-UP

mockup1.jpg


mockup2.jpg


frontdrive.jpg


Two things to notice here:
1. The drive door is blocked by the aluminum. I already have a plan for this and think it will work out great.
2. Look at the amount of clearance I have for the heatsink's fan. It should be plenty ;)

Thanks for looking

Geo
 
Ya know, when I first started readin this I thought it was gonna suck...


...but kudos to you, my friend, this is a very well done build!
 
i'm glad to finally see how the cd rom and the video card/cpu fan thing is working out :p

looks like it's going good, though.

as far as removability goes for the hd/cdrom, you could look into terminal strips and modular plugs (so that you don't have to unplug all the cables from the motherboard just to get the cover off.

It'll add some more wires, but it might make it a better deal in the long run.

there's another thread in here (Modu-Li) where the guy is doing that (but it's on a lian li). You may want to try that.

EDIT:
Link to the thread:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1098566&page=1
/EDIT
 
Looking good so far. I would cut those power cables off the power supply that you don't need and shorten the ones you need to keep.
 
About making the IDE cables modular... I'm really not that worried about it. The case wont need to be opened that often, and if it does it wont be THAT hard :). Plus I think I'm going to have an "easy access panel" just incase I need to clear CMOS without openning up the whole cover. ;)

stormshadow said:
shuttle form factor w/ mATX mobo...

sweet. :cool:
Click to expand...

Thanks, yea with the DVD drive present now you can really get a feel for how small a case this is going to be.

swatbat said:
Looking good so far. I would cut those power cables off the power supply that you don't need and shorten the ones you need to keep.
Click to expand...

Nah... I thought about that but the cables are out of the way. Cluttered yes but not affecting any airflow. This PSU is a decent unit and may serve in some other case

EDIT: I'm glad I changed your mind mrweasel :D
 
Case Cover Part 2

Today's update is 2 parts

COMPLETED TOP

I finally made the aluminum cover for the top.

top.jpg


All those holes were a complete pain to line up.

top1-1.jpg


top2-1.jpg


Well it's definitely not completed (I lied!) it still needs to be sanded, polished/painted, but the fabrication is done :D

Notice the 4 screws in the the middle. Look quite out of place dont they? :(. I wanted to give them a look of purpose. I mean they have a purpose but from the outside they seem like 4 stray screws. This brings us to the second section.

I hope you like it... I do!

DELL LOGO

Yep that's right. Those screws are going to hold down a DELL logo.

So I made a pattern

dell1.jpg


Cut it out

dell2.jpg


and man does it need some filing

dell3.jpg


after cutting out the E and a little filing and sanding I got this

logo1.jpg


those 4 holes will be where the 4 screws you saw on the top are.

I also wanted something behind the E. Watch closely ;)

logo2.jpg


logo3.jpg


foil.jpg


logo4.jpg


delllogo.jpg


The DELL will be painted black and the top cover will have a hole cut in it and the plexi will be mounted under the top. That way the DELL will be flush on the top cover. Maybe even have a few LEDs light it up when turned on. Let me know if it's too cheesy.

If done right I think it could make Dell proud... or ashamed and embarassed :p
 
oh man - no logo!

not to discount your logo fabrication but this mod is so much more than a Dell...
 
I've got to ask, those files that you are using, what are they? I know that you said you picked them up at the local pharmacy. Are they just regular nail files or something? If they are let me know what you think of them because I will need some for my project. I've been comtemplating using my whetstone that I don't use anymore. No particular reason except that I've already got it. It might take more work that I expect though...
 
dotHectate said:
I've got to ask, those files that you are using, what are they? I know that you said you picked them up at the local pharmacy. Are they just regular nail files or something? If they are let me know what you think of them because I will need some for my project. I've been comtemplating using my whetstone that I don't use anymore. No particular reason except that I've already got it. It might take more work that I expect though...
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure you are mixing up worklogs lol. I think I remember Dgephri saying that he got his files from a local pharmacy for his project. As these would work, you will probably go through a lot of them if you have a decent amount of filing to get done... but the end result is most likely nicer.

The files I am using came from Home Depot. They are all metal and I use the medium and fine grinds.

So... already the consensus is that the foil is cheap... I was kinda thinking the same thing but wasn't sure. -throws the already crumpled foil in the trash- :)

I think a DELL logo with a backlit 'E' would be pretty neat but I dont know maybe no logo? I was just starting to think the top and case in general was going to be too bland. But maybe simplicity is what looks the best...

Any more opinions?
 
Geo Fry said:
I'm pretty sure you are mixing up worklogs lol. I think I remember Dgephri saying that he got his files from a local pharmacy for his project. As these would work, you will probably go through a lot of them if you have a decent amount of filing to get done... but the end result is most likely nicer.

The files I am using came from Home Depot. They are all metal and I use the medium and fine grinds.
Click to expand...

Yea, you're correct. It was the ModuLi worklog, my bad. Either way though, you DID answer my question with the information I needed. Thanks for the help.

Oh, and the Dell logo looks spot on and very nice, but I'm not sure it belongs. I was thinking however, what if you made it "Delete" instead using the same font. Probably be too much work, but I thought it'd be a funny play on words. Dell + leet = Delete, lol.
Don't mind me... :p
 
LOL yea I was thinking of some kind of play on words thing I could do but nothing that wasnt cheesy. I guess I'm trying to go for like a ... prototype Dell case... a case Dell would make if they were cool :p

I guess I'll leave out the DELL logo and finish the case and see what it looks like. If I still want the logo then maybe I'll do a few mock-ups to see if I'd like it.

More suggestions are welcome and will help make up my mind ;)

EDIT:
filthysanchez said:
blue plexi behind the entire thing, maybe with a centimeter stroke on the edge.
Click to expand...

I was thinking blue... but maybe backlit orange would be cool... what do you mean by centimeter stroke?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top