Project: Blackout

[EET]

My apologies to Tribaloverkill... I came up with the name for this project when I initially wasn't going to give it a name at all I just did a search for "blackout" and came across your project

So I've finally decided to get into the initial aspects of my case project, dubbed project Blackout. I've only done one other major case mod, which was on a recent case (NZXT Guardian):
From this (with no top window):

To this:

Well, after seeing all of these 1337 built-from-scratch systems, I thought I'd try my hand at it. I've been tossing around a lot of ideas, but one of my goals is to have a well-rounded system that will be quiet, can be toted to lan parties fairly easily, is light, and will be accompanied by a myriad of multimedia features, all of which I haven't worked out yet (placement, orientation, etc.). One thing I do plan on for sure is implementing something like Cooler Master's 260 multimedia package, which includes a VFD, remote, and infrared receiver. Currently it's going for $70 on Newegg.

Recently I also decided that I would like to mod the screen of my ViewSonic VX910 into the side of the case, straddled by a pair of speakers, truly making it a nearly do-all box. I already have an older pair of self-amplified Philips speakers that sound pretty good in their current enclosures, though I haven't taken them apart yet.

From hearing them in person, I think I'm going to go with the 'caged' style Arctic Cooling fans...

...unless I can find a better fan that's quiet. I heard some of their 80mm counterparts running on the Silentenium and was impressed, plus they're a nice change in view from the typical case fan.

For the case design, it will have two main 'sections'. One side will have the motherboard with all of its connections (all to be UV reactive), and the other will have the drives, power supply, and any extra components (fan controller, speaker amplifier/controls, etc.).

Of course, serving the name 'Blackout', the wiring will be black with black or UV reactive sleeving. I'm going to do my best to blacken as much of this case as I can.

I was really hoping to be able to go tolless on the drive bays, but I can't find any of that sort separate of a full case. So, I'll probably be using thumbscrews (black, of course) to hold the drives in place. Same with the rest of the screws. If I can find some small enough (and budget permits), I'll use black socket head cap screws where possible.

You know those black 'rugged' spray-in bedliners you see on trucks? Well, I'm thinking about using that for the outer shell of the case, and going with a flat or satin black on the inside.

For the divider wall, I have plans to integrate through-type connections for things like motherboard power, cpu power, ATA/SATA connections, etc. So far the only through-type connectors I've found are those found on PCI brackets for external SATA connections, so I may just have to buy some of those and take them apart for this project.

After trying to think up a type of motherboard access that isn't seen much in the DIY case market, I decided to go with a flip-out case side for easy access to the motherboard, similar to many of the Dell computers you see:

My plan is to do something along the lines of this. Originally I planned to mount the motherboard to the part that flips out, but I think I'm going to tank that idea. My reasoning is it gives room for the motherboard to flex when the panel's being opened, but I may still see if there's something I can do to keep the tray rigid. I think it would look cooler to be able to open the case and (in the words of that ever-so-famous chef) BAM! It's right there, easy access to everything The kicker would be that there would be barely any wiring visible, so it would look almost like a motherboard that hasn't been wired up yet.

Some things I haven't addressed in detail yet are:
-Switches
-Fan control
-Monitor mod

But, I'm getting tired, and right now it's not easy for me to think about everything I have planned for the case, so I'll stop there. If anyone has any ideas, they're welcome to submit them

 

[EET]

Going with keeping as much in the case black as possible, does anyone know if there would be any major disadvantage to powdercoating the heatsink? It's a Scythe Ninja, and does an excellent job of cooling, so I don't think there be a huge impact on cooling, and being that it's powdercoated, there would only be a very thin layer of paint on the heatsink itself.

 

[digital_exhaust]

Looks like it should be nice.

One question. You say your thinking of using a spray on bedliner material for the outside of the case, and I was wondering if you were going to have that professionally applied, or are you going to use the do it youreself kit?

 

[EET]

I'm not quite sure yet. It probably won't be too expensive if I have it done, and it's still some time away.

 

[LesterOfPuppets]

Powdercoating the heatsink would be problematic, as there would likely be heavy buildup on the edges of the fins, and not much inbetween. I'd guess that anodizing would be better cooling-wise. Not as black, but still black, and there would be no buildup on the edges. The insides of the fins might still remain silver. Not sure what the effect on the copper heatpipes would be. I've read that anodized copper turns pinkish, that may only be clear anodized copper, however.

It looks like the acorn nuts on the ends of the heatpipes are chromed, not sure what the effect on those would be after anodizing either.

 

[Susquehannock]

does anyone know if there would be any major disadvantage to powdercoating the heatsink?

Only if you want the heatsink to work properly.

Think of a heatsink as a thermal network. The value at which the heat is transfered from the object to the air is known as
the "film resistance" (seriously). Any coating on the heatsink will change that value thus effecting efficiency of the entire network.

Nice idea on the flip out case by the way. Have seen a couple like those and like them.