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First Look: Dimension L Mod

O

OKANG

2[H]4U
Joined
Aug 26, 2000
Messages
2,153
Here are three pics of my current mod in progress. It was originally a Dell Dimension L. This mod is pretty modest in appearance, but I've done quite a bit of work to it. Comments and questions are welcome.

dimensionl%20front1.jpg

dimensionl%20frontgrille1.jpg

dimensionl%20back1.jpg
 
Paint looks great. Is that black or a purply color? Kinda hard to tell. :) The front intake looks good as well. If I remember correctly the Dimension L series didn't have wide open vents like that, right? The only thing I would suggest is to cut out that stamped grill on your PSU fan, it's got another grill in front of it anyway. Good mod.
 
It's a big improvement over the Dell man. :p I like the color and the simplicity of your mod a lot. For some reason the front grill and power button make me think of a steam locomotive cow catcher. Anyone else see what I mean?
 
Thanks for the comments. The color is actually navy blue, though it's hard to see in the pictures. It's a standard Krylon Fusion color. I ended up sanding the entire case because of the texture difference between the stock plastic and sanded bondo. BTW, if you ever think of sanding plastic paint, you MUST wet sand. Dry sanding just gouges the surface.

You're right, the front intake was almost totally blocked except for a few small holes. The 120mm fan I fitted needed some breathing room, so I cut a hole as big as I could while still maintaining the stock look. The "locomotive" grill on the front is made of sheet steel and a cut-up aluminum clothes hangers. I was going to use the same metal mesh as I used on the exhaust, but it just didn't look right. Good call on the PSU fan. I will probably end up cutting it out. Like I said, this thing isn't done yet.

Anyone care to guess how many areas I used bondo on?
 
I didn't take any before pics, but here's one I found on the net:
stock6.gif

That should give you an idea. I can take pics of an identical case at work sometime this week.
 
So you filled in the floppy drive? Looks way cleaner this way. Very nice paint job too. Did you wetsand in between coats or is this just a lot of coats. Looks very smooth.
 
I use that exact comp everyday at work. Looks alot better than the one I'm used to.
 
Fanatik said:
So you filled in the floppy drive? Looks way cleaner this way. Very nice paint job too. Did you wetsand in between coats or is this just a lot of coats. Looks very smooth.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the floppy is filled. So are the Dell logos (front and two sides), Dimension nameplate, hdd activity logo, and kb/mouse logos. The floppy was the most difficult one by far because it was such a big gap on a confined, curved surface. It's actually been painted three times. The first time I wasn't happy with the bondo job, so I sanded it back down. The second time, there were gouges from dry sanding, so I wet sanded it back down...again. I'm glad to be done with painting, for sure.
 
Some of you wanted to know what the case looked like before the mod, so here ya go:
dimensionl%20wstock%20fr.jpg

dimensionl%20wstock%20bk.jpg


Now that I have another Dimension L to mod, I need some ideas. I'd like to go totally crazy with this one. Any suggestions? Keep in mind, this is a small case, even for mATX.
 
How customizable is the side pannel mounting? You could cut it up so that it's an easy-open case a-la-G4.
 
It's completely tool-less. Pull a lever on top and the side panel comes off. It couldn't be much easier. The mods I'm looking to do are mostly asthetic. However, I'm considering a 1U PSU to make room for a bigger CPU heatsink/fan.
 
Could also try some of the Slim PSUs that Shuttle used(s) on theri cases.
 
You could put in the gratuitous blow hole in the top panel. You can also try some PSU modding to fit a bigger HSF, that's what I did for my mini case. :) Took off the cover and cut off the back part, then I could run a taller HSF. :D

Guts03Small.jpg
 
i still havent commented on your first mod so that looks great, you should make a rasta computer. ^_^
 
I think I'd cut the plastic square power supply grating out of the back of the case, cut the circular built-in grill out of the back of the power supply for better airflow, then do a custom square grill (perhaps mesh) flush with the outside of the case. Other than that, I'd say it's looking pretty schweet.
 
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