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Modding a Gateway mATX case

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Blahman said:
1. Duct out the back, I personally am not a fan of top fans (oi that sounds dumb upon reading)!
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Haha... Yeah, I'm not a fan either. Plus ducting out the back is hidden and unique.

Blahman said:
2. Slot loading optical drive?
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That about that. That'd be sweet. And I could use the spot where the DVD currenty is for fan control and headphone/microphone jacks. But sadly, that slot is right inline with the top surface of the case, so no clearance, even for a low profile optical drive. How cool would that have been!?!?

Blahman said:
3. I think something like the machined bezel of this Lian Li would be sick on that aluminum cover. Maybe print a pattern and make a mess of it with a drill press. No idea how that would turn out, lol
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Nice idea. I could probably give the drilling idea a go. Worse comes to worse I could always just cut it out and cover it with mesh! And I have a spare cover. Are you thinking make the whole surface of the cover like that? And in flat black?
 
Maybe cut the case to make room for the slim optical drive and use the metal as a mounting bracket. Unless I misunderstood.

For the holes probably just over the fan itself, would probably be tedious to do the whole thing and probably less static pressure than if just over the fan.
 
Blahman said:
Maybe cut the case to make room for the slim optical drive and use the metal as a mounting bracket. Unless I misunderstood.
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Nope, you're entirely correct. But I was just looking at the photos a little closer. Even if could squeeze the slot-load optical in there I'd loose my mounting space for my card reader that's perched just above the 5.25" slot. So, probably a no go on the slot-load optical. Great idea though!

IMG_0699.jpg
 
Since the doors have been chopped they don't sit perfectly flush against the side of the case. When shorting them I had to cut off the little retainer slot things that hold the panels in. I've got to tack weld them back into place.

Here you can the gap:
IMG_0678.jpg

Here's the retainer that needs to be welded back on:
IMG_0671.jpg
 
So here's a shot of the front.... Where should the headphone and microphone jacks go? I'd like to maintain the stealth/clean look, so hidden would be good. But I want them to be accessible. Ideas?

IMG_0708.jpg
 
I just wanted to say that this mod is turning out better than I expected! Having said that, please keep the beautiful brushed aluminum gateway piece intact, don't paint it!

Is there enough room to place the headphone/mic jack inside the bottom right of the air intake? I think that would look best imo.
 
...please keep the beautiful brushed aluminum gateway piece intact, don't paint it!
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You think so? I guess I could. But I really want to get rid of the Gateway logo. I've got another panel that's already all black. Maybe I'll chop up that one first.

Is there enough room to place the headphone/mic jack inside the bottom right of the air intake? I think that would look best imo.
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Yep, there's room there. It would be a nice hiding spot for them. :)
 
I'm going to try to clean up the rear panel and few other areas to make it nice and clean looking. It's a little nasty looking at the moment and I don't want it looking like it's been modded by a 12 year old. So, now that I've got the "fit" it's times to fine tune the "finish". :)

You can see here on the rear panel that it took some creativity to remove 4" out of the midsection of the case and then join the two halves together. A little bit of overlap here and there. Also, the PSU isn't have a full mounting surface yet. So to clean up the rear I'm going to do one solid plate in the back to give the PSU a good place to mount and clean up the look of the rear.
IMG_0746.jpg


To Do List:
1. Cut new rear panel
2. Cut hole in top for 120mm fan
3. Mount mobo tray
4. Trim DVD surround plastics
5. Mount headphone/microphone jacks
6. "Body work" to smooth out seams and joints
7. Grind, sand, prime and paint
8. Modify front panel w/ mesh
9. Modify side panel w/ mesh

Stay tuned for more to come! :D
 
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It's hard to tell it's gotten any smaller, but it's quite compact now. :D I can't wait to get it painted flat back, inside and out. It should look more like a modded case then.

The front uncut on the left, the modified rear on the right:
IMG_0647-Copy.jpg

IMG_0665.jpg


Before:
IMG_0628.jpg

After:
IMG_0659.jpg


Before:
IMG_0629.jpg

After:
IMG_0676.jpg
 
So I worked a little bit on the case tonight. I cut the opening and the mesh for the side panel. I went a little bigger than I originally planned, just to give it a little extra air flow. I also cut a new piece for the rear panel to sort of clean things up a bit.

Here is the side panel with the opening cut and mesh taped into place temporarily until I get it spot welded in place (tomorrow probably):
IMG_0759.jpg

See the little set holes just above my cutout? I'll be filling some of those in to clean up the look.


Here's the new rear panel. I'm still going to remove some more of the metal behind the mesh so there is less overlap:
IMG_0760.jpg

And I will also be cutting out a hole for the PSU plug and switch, of course.


I think the mesh gives it a much needed modded look. It was still looking pretty stock before the mesh. Now it's starting to look like something :D I've got it all boxed up and in my trunk. I'm taking it to work tomorrow to have my welder do a little "government work". Then no more rivets :D
IMG_0758.jpg
 
Just dropped the box-o-parts off to my welder. He's going to replace a lot of the pop rivets with welds to help clean up the appearance and give some additional clearance inside the case where the backside of the pop rivet would be. That'll be nice.

I've also decided that I'm going to mount a 120mm exhaust fan on the top of the case, under the plastic shroud. I was originally going to duct the hot air out the back of that shroud, but the clearance between the top face of the fan and the shroud isn't enough. I'll have to exhaust it straight out the plastic shroud. This means I'll be cutting a hole and putting mesh over it.

Actually, rather than cut a hole and place mesh, I may just use the mesh as a template and drill holes in the shroud in the shape I want. I'd like the vent to be subtle and clean, flush with the rest of the shroud. Not recessed, which as how the hole+mesh thing would be. We'll see... :)

Not a lot of comments on this thread. :( It's either not as neat of a project as I think is, or it's just not being seen. Either way I'm having a lot of fun messing around with this mod! :D Thanks for those of you who are commenting and giving moto! And even you lurkers, thanks for checking it out! :D
 
Mesh looks good on that side panel, the cut is rather nice with the rounded corners.

If you could, I suggest giving the mesh on the side panel a slight bevel along the edges so it is raised a bit. I think that will give a nicer look than being flat against the panel.

You should have put this in the worklog section as this became a project since the first page.
 
I'm intrigued by your beveled edge idea on the mesh. How do you mean?

I wonder if an admin can move this over to the worklog? The thread started as a concept but turned into a full fledged documentary! Haha :)
 
I've just had a not-so-good epiphany. I believe my DVD drive is going to interfere with the mobo/RAM. Significantly. Look at the picture below. The mobo tray isn't in there, but the end of the mobo lines up about with the end of the HDD. This means the DVD protrudes over top the mobo. This will be okay as long as it clears the mobo, but I'm 80% positive it will hit the RAM. If it does fit it's going to be tight. Crap.... :(
IMG_0728.jpg
 
I see the bevel effect applied to aftermarket car grilles. Basically it's a bevel on the outer edges of the grill to give it a slightly raised look. One way you can go about doing this is to use a spacer material (thin block of wood) place it underneath the grill and gently pound at it until you reach your desired bevel angle.

Here's a pic of what I'm trying to say. This may be difficult depending on how thick that mesh you are using is.

bevel.jpg
 
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Oh okay. So are you saying bevel it so that the face of the mesh and the panel are flush with one another rather than recessed? My welder maybe already done with it though, I'll check here shortly.
 
So I just walked back to Fab and he at it all welded up sitting in my box. Very cool. He replaced every rivet he could find with a weld, haha. Guess I should have specified more clearly which ones. Oops. But it's as solid as a rock now! And parts that I had to cut in two to shorten are now one again; like the top/side cover piece is now back to it's L shape. Now, just to clean somethings up and bit, a little body work here and there and paint! :)

IMG_0768.jpg

IMG_0767.jpg

IMG_0764.jpg

IMG_0766.jpg


Any suggestions on paint? If I can find it I'm thinking I'll just a black self-etching primer. And since I'm looking for a flat matte finish that might be all I use. Google searches have yielded a few people saying they even use the self-etching primers on plastics (ModBrother, etc.).
 
Put like a "Cylon" style light in that gap that moves with HDD activity or something. :)

Korben Dallas said:
What about KITT style LED lights to fill that little gap? That would be realll sweet :)

Looking forward to more updates!
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Just saw this -- great minds think alike?

As for the rest...

You don't need an optical drive, OP. Just get one of the USB deals for the 3x a year you find some reason to actually put a spinning plastic disc in your box. Replace the DVDROM with a fan controller, that will fix all your clearance issues and improve your ability to handle airflow vs. noise issues which might arise.
 
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silent-circuit said:
You don't need an optical drive, OP. Just get one of the USB deals for the 3x a year you find some reason to actually put a spinning plastic disc in your box. Replace the DVDROM with a fan controller, that will fix all your clearance issues and improve your ability to handle airflow vs. noise issues which might arise.
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That's a thought. Looking a mobo pictures (since I don't have mine in front of me) it looks like the RAM is a good 0.857" to 1.0" from the edge of the mobo. That might be enough room. And I'm going to see how far out I can push the optical drive before it interferes with anything. All else fails, go USB, but I hope it doesn't come to that. But it would be nice to have a fan controller.

Fan setup:
In the end I'll have a 140mm intake fan, a 120mm topside exhaust fan (both Antec 3 speed fans), the PSU pretty much isolated and either a Big Shuriken or the CoolIT 120 on the CPU. (H50/70) won't fit. And a nice big mesh side panel, so hoping cooling won't be an issue. I may add a 80mm exhaust fan on the side panel just next to the GPU to draw that hot air out. That 140mm will be blowing directly on the GPU so that's good.
 
[H]ouston, we have a problem... See pictures. Offer your ideas. It has been suggested to go optical-less. I'd like to avoid that if possible, but I might not have many more options.

The optical drive over laps the mobo BIG TIME:
IMG_0774.jpg

Here you can the over lap. This is the mounting bracket. The DVD drive sticks out another 0.5":
IMG_0776.jpg

An mATX is 9.6" wide, so I need to clear that much:
IMG_0786.jpg


Ahhhh!!! :eek: I'm trying to figure this one out. But no rush, I enjoy the challenge :D
 
Just cut that little tab off. The optical drive would be FINE with only three screws in there.
There should be enough clearance...
 
Not much room to move the optical drive forward. Not sure what it'll take to squeeze it in there. I MAY be able to shift the the drive out from the mobo about 0.25".
IMG_0784.jpg


I'd hate to have to buy anything, but if buying an optical drive helps than so be it. Don't those laptop drives have sort of a cutout in the back where the SATA plugs are? That may be a possibility.

Look through the small gap: sheetmetal. Not easily removed either without major modifications. But still an option for mounting an optical drive I guess...
IMG_0781.jpg
 
My optical drive is 6.25" deep (front to back). Does a shorter one exist? Most online retailers only list the profile (5.25"). As short as possible, but definitely less than 5.75".
 
Modred189 said:
Just cut that little tab off. The optical drive would be FINE with only three screws in there.
There should be enough clearance...
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I'll definitely be cutting it off. But even cut off, the mobo tray and the thickness of the mobo make it hit the drive itself. :( So the drive is in the way.

- shorter drive
- move the drive forward
- move the drive out towards the side of the case
 
lloose said:
This build is very impressive. Reminds me of a custom Lian Li.
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Hmm... I'm pretty sure this is sarcasm. But I'm just going to assume it's not and keep having fun:

Thanks lloose! It's been a fun build so far. My goal has been to mod a case I've had sitting around collecting dust just for the heck of WITHOUT spending any money. So far so good. Might have to buy paint though. Thanks for the compliment, but I assure you it's no where on the Lian Li level. Not even the same stratosphere. But thank you! :D
 
I'll measure the two drives I have on hand when I get home in 6 hours or so. Gotta open up my case and pull some stuff out to put my shiny new video card in anyway! :)

On a less positive note, from my own personal and extremely fallible memory I'd say practically every drive I've ever had has been within an inch of all others in length. I /did/ have one that was really oddly long, but that was many years ago and like a Ricoh or some other odd brand I've never seen since, so I seriously doubt you have one of those. (Why do I suddenly have a strange nostalgic wish I'd never sold my first 1x CDRW drive?)

To be clear, it's issues with RAM clearance you're concerned about? More specifically, with the SATA / power cables going in to the drive? Cause to me it looks like after cutting the tab off (assuming the board is already in its final position and the tab isn't actually in the way right now, just overlapping) you should be fine as far as the length of the drive itself. I could be way off base here, just trying to understand. I'm sure it's a lot clearer with everything there in front of you.
 
silent-circuit said:
I'll measure the two drives I have on hand when I get home in 6 hours or so. Gotta open up my case and pull some stuff out to put my shiny new video card in anyway! :)

On a less positive note, from my own personal and extremely fallible memory I'd say practically every drive I've ever had has been within an inch of all others in length. I /did/ have one that was really oddly long, but that was many years ago and like a Ricoh or some other odd brand I've never seen since, so I seriously doubt you have one of those. (Why do I suddenly have a strange nostalgic wish I'd never sold my first 1x CDRW drive?)

To be clear, it's issues with RAM clearance you're concerned about? More specifically, with the SATA / power cables going in to the drive? Cause to me it looks like after cutting the tab off (assuming the board is already in its final position and the tab isn't actually in the way right now, just overlapping) you should be fine as far as the length of the drive itself. I could be way off base here, just trying to understand. I'm sure it's a lot clearer with everything there in front of you.
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I'm pretty sure you're right, that all drives are the same depth, sadly. Looks like the only option now is to use a slim optical drive. They are a little shorter and have a cutout section where my interference is. I've even contemplated modifying my current optical drive and cutting a section out of it (if possible) but seems a bit extreme and kind of weird...

The clearance issue: is not the RAM as I had originally suspected (having not seen it physically). The interference is between the optical drive and mobo themselves. Once the mobo is mounted onto the mobo tray it sits higher and therefore hits the side of the optical drive. Moving the optical drive forward towards the front of the case or out towards the side panel away from the mobo would fix this. However, both solutions have their drawbacks and limitations. Mainly, I don't have that much room to move forward or out.

I do believe a slim optical could solve the problem, though I hate the idea of buying anything...:mad: Can I just gut an external USB optical drive? Does it have a regular slim optical drive in there?

Also, if I use a slim drive I could mount my headphone/microphone jacks below it and possibly a small fan controller. That might be cool. :D
 
I might have a slim DVDRW I'd be willing to send you for like $5 + cost of shipping, I'll look around. I have a few pulls from older laptops. There's a good chance it's PATA though, which would mean you'd need to buy adapters and shit...
 
silent-circuit said:
I might have a slim DVDRW I'd be willing to send you for like $5 + cost of shipping, I'll look around. I have a few pulls from older laptops. There's a good chance it's PATA though, which would mean you'd need to buy adapters and shit...
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That would be sa-weet, SC. Absolutely. If you look for one I'll into the adapter thing (cause I think you're correct from some of the Silverstone Sugo threads I've read.) Thanks for the offer! I'm also sifting through Craigslist (last resort).
 
Nice mod

Wished I had the front gateway panel I have a case thats been sitting in my closet for over a year now lol
 
I did a little more work on the case tonight. I cut out the hole for the 120mm topside exhaust fan. This should really help keep things cool:
IMG_0795.jpg


I also started the long arduous process of drilling all the holes in the top plastic shroud. Decided not to cutout a big hole and back it with mesh. I want a more flush look, so I'm using the the mesh as a template:
IMG_0789.jpg
 
I put the mobo, GPU and fans in just to get an idea of what it will look like when all said and done:
IMG_0803.jpg

IMG_0804.jpg


I also placed the PSU in there. Cable management is going to be a bear, but I'll manage (ha!...pun.) Other than the optical drive, everything seems to be fitting nicely. And I believe air flow will just fine :D :
IMG_0806.jpg

IMG_0807.jpg
 
tmaxxking1 said:
Nice mod

Wished I had the front gateway panel I have a case thats been sitting in my closet for over a year now lol
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Thanks T-maxx! Stay tuned for more updates.

PS: I was a big t-maxx fan in college. But stadium trucks were my bread and butter. :D
 
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