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First Case Mod - The Planning...

C

cybertron

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 13, 2002
Messages
1,071
First off, Here is the case in question.

Thumb_SCSIcase6_8x6.JPG
Thumb_SCSIcase3_8x6.JPG
Thumb_SCSIcase4_8x6.JPG


This post is mainly to get input from people who have done mods before and have a "best practices" list that they may or may not go by. Also the types of tools that should be used for the easiest way to do things, I dont mind spending a little for a piece of hardware thats going to make the job easier (I'm in a wheelchair, i'm not lazy :p). I have never moded a case before like I want to with this one, but I figure now is as good a time to start as any. :)

The main thing i am concerned with is Cooling. Looks are definitely second on my list but would be nice in the process. I have done a little research but didnt get too deep. Here is one site that I found regarding blow holes and thats really where this mod has started. The two places for fans in the back (pic3) are in dire need of cutting. The two fans (cheapo ones) arent putting any real air on the drives and i found after installing my OS, the drives were hot enough to fry an egg on and I know that cant be good. The drives are SCSI but they shouldnt get as hot as i had them. So my plan is to drill out those two holes and place silver grills on them. As you can see in the picture though, they are not flat. but appear to have a hole directly in the center, so i assume that will make it slightly easier so long as I get the right size hole drill. Which brings me to my First Question: What size hole drill do i need for an 80mm fan?

The two fans that are there, definitely need to be replaces with some higher CFM fans, they are just some cheap "SVC special" fans with a said CFM of 32 i think it is. But if they are really pushing at 32CFM, i want atleast a 50cfm fan, atleast. I dont care about noise, and i dont care about it being a "smart" fan, i just want raw cooling power. Which brings me to my Second Question: What would be the best fan to get for this application?

With the back pretty much taken care of I want to address the top (pic4) which seems to be a perfect design for a nice large 120mm, 125CFM fan :) I assume i will do this mod exactly how the above site maps out, unless someone knows of a better way. I want this fan to be blowing in simply because the two 80mm fans will be sucking out and the 120 will bring optimum cooling for the drives i think. So for my Third Question: Should this fan be blowing in or out? is there a better way to setup this air flow pattern?

Lastly, i want to put another 120mm fan in the front (pic8). Now this one i'm some what concerned with as those two preferated holes arent as big as a 120mm but i would be cutting into both. My other concern is where is this air going to be going? i assume it will be blowing air in, but there isnt a great deal of air flow to the two fans in the back at the top. And i cant put a fan on the door as it slides in and out as you can see in pic5 so i'm not sure how to get that air out now. So treating the top and the bottom as seperate since the flow between the two is non-existant... Fourth Question: What would be the best way to keep the air flowing in the bottom? (maybe a small high cfm fan above the mobo riser?)

I've also thought about maybe putting a window in the side, but its pretty high guage steel. Is it possible to send it off to someone to have it done? maybe even another moder? i'd pay shipping. I just dont have the means to do something like that. And the plexiglass would have to be super thin or mounted, with a rim around it, on the outside.

Another mod also is this one.... is this one not really that great or what?

Thanks in advance to anyone who is able to contribute, and sorry for the n00b questions.... oh and any grammer errors :p
 
Here are a few short answers.

1) I used a 76 mm Bi Metal hole saw which work perfectly for a blow-hole. The hole size was exactly the same as the fan blade. Make sure you have a good drill (high speed and let the drill do the work not your body)

2) Vantec has the Tornado line that is high CFM

3) Most has a front (intake) back exhaust setup - as for the top blow hole it is supposed to remove hot air that has risen to the top of your case.

4) I am starting to think OVER-KILL but its your case - My PC has x2 80mms front x2 80mm's back (not incl the PSU) x1 80mm on the side blowing on the GFX card and x1 80 top as an exhaust fan - I hope this helps - Good Luck
 
TANKORR said:
Here are a few short answers.

1) I used a 76 mm Bi Metal hole saw which work perfectly for a blow-hole. The hole size was exactly the same as the fan blade. Make sure you have a good drill (high speed and let the drill do the work not your body)

2) Vantec has the Tornado line that is high CFM

3) Most has a front (intake) back exhaust setup - as for the top blow hole it is supposed to remove hot air that has risen to the top of your case.

4) I am starting to think OVER-KILL but its your case - My PC has x2 80mms front x2 80mm's back (not incl the PSU) x1 80mm on the side blowing on the GFX card and x1 80 top as an exhaust fan - I hope this helps - Good Luck
Click to expand...

thanks for the help. The only problem with the vantec line is they are to thick, they are 80x38 i think and thats larger than the normal 80x25, but i think i found some good 80mm high cfm ones. As for overkill, i guess it might be, i just want to make sure it gets enough air. It is a dual CPU machine and has 3 10k SCSI drives in it. I could do water i guess but i'm not looking to dish out that kind of money. Thanks for the advice :)
 
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