Hoobie7's 2nd Worklog

[hoobie7]

Hoobie's Second Worklog

So, since my first project went so well, I decided to start another. This one though is quite a bit larger of an undertaking for me. This one is going to be for my little sister. I'll be putting my current Core2Duo 6300 into this when I get my quad core in. (Yeah for Retail Edge!!) As for the rest of the parts I don't really know yet.

I have a Zalmann CNPS7700-Cu that I will be putting in as well.

So, heres my first question. Is there a good overclocker board out there for fairly cheap, maybe MATX, and Asus if possible? (We sell lots of different Asus boards where I work.) I plan on getting a decent overclock out of it and running folding on it when she's not using it.

Anyway, here's a short list of some of the things I have planned for this poor case.

My first thought, of course, was more air flow. And how better to do that than with a big 120mm fan in the front.

And to get that to actually work I have to do some pretty extensive surgery to the case front itself.

Oh, and you can also see from the photo above and below that to get the 120 to fit in the case the floppy/hard drive cage had to be chopped down a bit.

Random picture.

Following along in the spirit of more air flow I went ahead and put a 120mm hole in the top for a blow hole fan.

I also plan on putting a window and 120mm fan in the side panel too.
I also thought about cutting ou tthe back of the mobo tray like I did on my own.

This is really nice when you need to swap heatsinks but Imthinkin I might take it a step further and put like maybe a slim 60mm fan on the back side panel. What do you think?

 

[Dangman]

I have that beige case sitting next to me right now! Great to see something being done to that case. Anyway to answer your question, The Asus P5K-VM OC pretty well from what I've read so far in the SFF forum here. It might be what you're looking for:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131187

 

[hoobie7]

Ok, so I have been getting more work done on my project but I've just been too lazy to update the worklog, so here goes.

Ok, so I got all the cutting done for the most part and now it was time to sand.

The case had a pretty good texture to it, but some 400 and 800 grit sand paper cut through it pretty well.
You'll also notice here that there are a few holes and a channel that runs up the center of the case, these will need to be filled and smoothed over.

Cleaned up the sanding dust and it's time to fill!

Let the Bondo begin! I will say that this is the first time I've ever done any kind of body filler type stuff so if it looks like arse forgive me.

Well I had to wait for the Bondo to cure over night so I figured I'd get a liitle more sanding in. I busted out the big guns for this bit.

Bondo is applied and cured, now we sand.

While filling those holes I also filled in the case badge indent. Notice the two different colors of Bondo? Ya, I'm still getting the hardener proportions down.

More later!
Hoobie

 

[hoobie7]

Another day and more prep work!
First, I guess I'll go ahead and let the cat outta the bag, heres the paint I'm going with.

I don't really know why I only bought one can of primer, I ended up having to go back and pick up three more cans.
Next, it's prime time!

Primer really does do a good job of smoothing everything out.

Another.

Next, I wet sanded all the pieces. Again my inexperience kicked in and I ended up cutting through the primer.

No matter, a few more coats and some more wet sanding with higher grit sand paper and I had a good, even, smooth, base coat.

Oh yeah, I did the bay covers too.

More to come tomorrow!
Hoobie

 

[Arcygenical]

Mmmm, is the front piece staying steel grey?

 

[hoobie7]

Lol, actually no thats just the primer. Heres the paint color!

Ya, it's over the top glittery and shiny. And its got a shimmer to it, but I kinda like it. And I think my little sister will really like it.
Outside shot.

And a couple close ups.

More to come!
Hoobie

 

[JPWilson]

This is turning out nice so far... I'm interested to see how you work those 120mm fans into the case. Anything special planned for the grill?

 

[hoobie7]

Ya, actually I was thinking about that. I was thinking on the simple side just some wire grills and I could paint em with the gray primer. Or maybe I could get some black ones. Or maybe do something completely custom. I don't know, any ideas?

Hoobie

 

[Arcygenical]

The front needs a turbine case-fan...

http://www.aerocool.us/p-accessory/turbine fan/turbine fan.htm

 

[JPWilson]

A steel gray/black fan grill could look cool but I was thinking something like:

http://www.mnpctech.com/MnpctechBilletFanGrill.html

You could probably make something like this cheaper than $22 bucks though. But then again, aint nothin wrong with plain jane grills either

EDIT: or http://www.mnpctech.com/120mmRadiatorFanGrill.html

 

[hoobie7]

Arcygenical, funny you should mention that. Check out the worklog for my own case.

Update time!

So I wasn't quite happy with the finish on the pieces once I had clear coated them. The problem was it had a bit too much orange peel, and while it was glossier than straight color coat it just wasn't quite enough. So, I decided to use one of the 5.25 covers to experiment on. I sanded it down with 1500 I think it was and immediately had cut through the clear coat and was sanding color off, but only around the edges. The piece was just too uneven for a sanding block to work. So I immediately stopped and reapplied the clear coat but this time I went thick and hoped for the best. I applied it heavy enough that the clear coat started to look milky on the surface of the piece. That worried me a bit but once it dried and cured I got exactly what I was shooting for.

Photographing glossy is hard!

Lesson learned: Heavier coats help to keep the clear coat more fluid and minimizes orange peel.

I also got a couple parts in the mail.

Heres the top.

120 mm Billet Aluminum

I think what I'll do for the front is use that piece of modders mesh and the disc from cutting out the front panel to press the mesh through the hole so it sits flush with the front of the case.

Anyway, more to come later.

Hoobie

P.S. Oh , and this is why I've been slow at getting this done.

 

[hoobie7]

Stupid bandwidth cap! I bought a website so I'll have pics back up soon.

Hoobie

EDIT: Yeah for self hosting!

 

[Willsonman]

I'm not a fan of the color but it looks GREAT. I mean seriously, nice smooth and even paint and the clear coat is the same. Keep it up.

 

[peta328]

great paint work keep up the good work.

 

[response99]

I'm not a fan of the color but it looks GREAT. I mean seriously, nice smooth and even paint and the clear coat is the same. Keep it up.

I agree, although I love blue, this one seems too bright? looking forward to see how this turns out. good job!