Project: Das Cubenstein

Derf

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 1, 2004
Messages
111
Greets all,

After reading hundreds of worklogs, advice posts and asking a few questions I've finally decided to build my first case. I have no welding experience so I'll be using wood (.5 inch M.D.F.) for the main structure with pine for supports and some metal for drive mounts. This will not be a traditional layout as I have decided I want the motherboard to be mounted horizontally instead of vertically. Here's a shot of how things started off:
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Ok, all of the main parts have been cut and I'm beginning assembly:
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Next up is layout for the front and side panels. In case you were wondering, this case will be 17" Tall 19.5" Wide and 19.5" Deep

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I don't have a 120mm holesaw so I'm going to attempt to make the openings with a Roto-Zip and a circle cutter attachment. Here's a test run:
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The cuts are a little rough but that will be fixed with a file. I finished the front and side panels:
Front
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Side
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and have started assembly. The top of the case will be removeable and the motherboard tray will lift out.
 
Here's a shot (thru the back panel opening) of the motherboard tray
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and a shot of the completed tray
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Next step is to add the 250mm fan to the top.
 
The 250mm fan mounting went pretty smoothly until I realized the l.e.d. holders (this is the non-lit version) were blocking the fan from fitting into the cut out. Out comes the chisel. FYI, you might want to mark the fan and a mounting point before cutting things away or you might end up with them in the wrong place (like I did, twice)
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I think it looks pretty good
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Completed the cut outs for the back panel
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and began working on the optical drive mounts
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Next up I'll have to create a mount for the hard drives.
 
Hard drive mounts are salvaged from an old case and modified with som L-channel stock
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Final mock-up of all the drives plus a shell for the power supply
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With the motherboard tray in place
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and final mock-up with old parts
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Next update will be in a few days (weather permitting) as I start painting this beast
Derf
 
Went down to the shop to start sanding and realized I'd forgotten to put in the extra USB ports
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Weather held out for a bit so I did get the case sanded and the first coat of primer put on
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More to come in the next few days
Derf
 
Sanded the primer down and applied the 2nd coat
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In case anyone is wondering what paint and primer I am using
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A couple of shots I found on my mobile phone of some of the materials I started with
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Next up is sanding the primer and applying the first color coat
Derf
 
S-B it'll look even more like a sub once the final color goes on it.
Second sanding done and masking the sides
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First color coat
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Later today I'll spray the 2nd coat of silver and tomorrow hopefully I can start spraying the final color coats.
Derf
 
I'll be moving my current hardware out of my P-182 and into it: X2 5600, Asus M2N-Sli Deluxe Motherboard, 3gb DDR2-800, 8800 GT etc...
 
Did the final color on the front and back panels last night. It looks great to me but doesn't seem to photograph that well
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It'll be a week before I can finish the 2 sides and then a week after that for mounting all the hardware. I will post pics of the finished case once the hardware is up and running.
Derf
 
I am doing my own cube build and had thought about putting the cd rom drive and HD at the bottom. Now you give me an idea of how it will look.
 
Glad I could be of help.
Final paint went on about an hour ago and the final parts (handles & feet) will arrive from Performance PCs on Thursday. Here's a more detailed list of what's going into the box:
CPU: AMD X2 5600
Mobo: Asus M2N SLI Deluxe
RAM: 2GB A-Data & 1GB Corsair (both are DDR2-800)
HDD: WD 250GB Sata II
GPU: Asus GeForce 8800GT
Sound: Creative Audigy 2SE
ODD: Lite-On DVD-RW & DVD-ROM
PSU: Corsair TX 750
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek S-1283
Fans: 2x Tt Silent Cat (lower section) 120mm
1x Yate Loon D12SL 120mm
1x 250mm Clear Fan

To dress up the textured black finish I will be using 2 chrome switches and white leds on the front panel.
Derf
 
The project is complete, DAS CUBENSTEIN LIVES
My final parts came in a day early so I was able to wrap everything up this evening.

Installing the handles
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Mounted the 250mm fan in the top
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Mounting the drives
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Motherboard and cards onto the sled
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Sled in the case
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Final shots
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The system is up and running now but the battery in my camera gave out. I have to replace 1 led (fell off the table and got smashed) and I need to see about volt modding the 250mm fan. The system is currently running at 29C (24C ambient/26C motherboard) while I'm running Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (max settings) and is reasonably quiet. Building my first case has been a great learning experience and I'm already thinking of ways I can improve the case. Thanks for following my little journey!
Derf
 
Thanks! Not too bad for a modding noob 8*D
Couldn't sleep and the battery is recharged so here's the shot of it in my office
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