![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
Okay... first worklog posted here, and the work is going to be done as quickly as possible. Essentially, my GF's sister needs a new computer, and needs an inexpensive web-browsing, music-listening, you-tube watching, office capable desktop.
Being the hell of a guy I am, I offered to order and assemble a relatively inexpensive machine. However, my motives were not pure... I was going to use the opportunity to do a little modding work, of course.
I will warn in advance that while working, I'll probably forget to take a lot of pics, but will try to capture as much action as I can. Also: all images are from a Blackberry Curve... a truly shitty camera. Apologies.
So... starting point: an in-house Futureshop "Cicero"-brand Pentium machine.
It was a cheap little insurance replacement for my GF (that has since been replaced by something much nicer), and is a really sort of cheap steel crappy case.
The Plan:
- gut the case
- paint the case (Red... very red, hence the "Red" part of "Red Vortex")
- mod the case (including the main feature - a big old 120MM front and center duct for cooling. Hence the "Vortex" part of the equation)
- install all brand-new components into the case
- keep it all in the neighbourhood of CDN$700.00 or so
The Cheating:
- as the time and resources (sandpaper, bondo, spraypaint, etc.) were all technically speaking, unecessary, I absorbed the cost of these things
- I threw in an Antec 400W PSU that I had kicking around (and no plans for)
First Steps:
The side panels were heavy steel with (as you can see) these little indented hole-punch patterns on each panel. Sanded the hell out of them with a random orbital power sander and some 80 Grit... trust me, the paint was a heavy thick powder coating... took forever. Cleaned it up with some 400.
The plan is to fill in the indented hole-punched area with bondo to create smooth sides, so that after priming and painting, the sides are simple, nice, and clean. You can see a first stage bondo filling in one of the panels below:
I hated the front of this thing, except for the little recessed usb mic/speaker panel, so I had to figure out how I was going to work this thing together. I don't have all the pics, but I can tell you that I:
- epoxied the silver and black pieces together (they were all actually snap-together separate pieces)
- busted out mr. dremel and after some quick measurements, cut a hole in front of the case... what diameter you ask? Why the diameter of a performance-pcs fan duct, of course!
- I also started to build up a little bondo around the vent hole (and filling in the a drive hole), as it was a curved front, and the fan duct had a flat mounting area
and here's the glorious backside of it:
Not looking all that impressive as of yet, granted, but I am hoping for a pretty clean finished project.
Next up: Bondo, bondo, sanding, sanding, sanding, priming... let the good times roll.
Being the hell of a guy I am, I offered to order and assemble a relatively inexpensive machine. However, my motives were not pure... I was going to use the opportunity to do a little modding work, of course.
I will warn in advance that while working, I'll probably forget to take a lot of pics, but will try to capture as much action as I can. Also: all images are from a Blackberry Curve... a truly shitty camera. Apologies.
So... starting point: an in-house Futureshop "Cicero"-brand Pentium machine.
It was a cheap little insurance replacement for my GF (that has since been replaced by something much nicer), and is a really sort of cheap steel crappy case.
The Plan:
- gut the case
- paint the case (Red... very red, hence the "Red" part of "Red Vortex")
- mod the case (including the main feature - a big old 120MM front and center duct for cooling. Hence the "Vortex" part of the equation)
- install all brand-new components into the case
- keep it all in the neighbourhood of CDN$700.00 or so
The Cheating:
- as the time and resources (sandpaper, bondo, spraypaint, etc.) were all technically speaking, unecessary, I absorbed the cost of these things
- I threw in an Antec 400W PSU that I had kicking around (and no plans for)
First Steps:
The side panels were heavy steel with (as you can see) these little indented hole-punch patterns on each panel. Sanded the hell out of them with a random orbital power sander and some 80 Grit... trust me, the paint was a heavy thick powder coating... took forever. Cleaned it up with some 400.
The plan is to fill in the indented hole-punched area with bondo to create smooth sides, so that after priming and painting, the sides are simple, nice, and clean. You can see a first stage bondo filling in one of the panels below:
I hated the front of this thing, except for the little recessed usb mic/speaker panel, so I had to figure out how I was going to work this thing together. I don't have all the pics, but I can tell you that I:
- epoxied the silver and black pieces together (they were all actually snap-together separate pieces)
- busted out mr. dremel and after some quick measurements, cut a hole in front of the case... what diameter you ask? Why the diameter of a performance-pcs fan duct, of course!
- I also started to build up a little bondo around the vent hole (and filling in the a drive hole), as it was a curved front, and the fan duct had a flat mounting area
and here's the glorious backside of it:
Not looking all that impressive as of yet, granted, but I am hoping for a pretty clean finished project.
Next up: Bondo, bondo, sanding, sanding, sanding, priming... let the good times roll.
... 
