Serial Experiements Lain Case

[CrimandEvil]

Being the anime geek that I am I decided to do a SE Lain case theme. All comments, ideas, suggestions, and questions are welcome. So here goes.....

I was wanting to do this for a while but haven't had much time for it. Heres a sketch of what I'm thinking:

I know it's a very quick sketch but what I want to do is have the motherboard fold down like on the Apple G4 cases for easy access and I'm also going to watercool it as well as getting some nice window mods.

First off this is the case that it use to be:

It's an Antec SLK2600AMB which is almost like the Lanboy model without the window (I don't have any before pics of it), I've never liked it but it was on sale for $40 and I needed a case at the time. After a few months of being annoyed with it I decided to take it apart rivet by rivet and it's been sitting in a metal pile in a corner of my room since then.

This was the only part that I needed:

A couple of hours work on it (I was using a nibbler since I was also "watching" a movie) and this is what I'm left with:

Absolutely perfect for my plan

Heres the side panel that'll hold the mother board tray:

The area marked out is for placement of a window.

Just seeing how it'll look:

 

[CrimandEvil]

Here's the how the hardware will look like once complete:

Here's the Mustang heatercore I'll be working with (that's a 120mm fan filter on top):

Since my little sis took my camera (and I have some jobs to do) I won't be working on it this weekend.

More to come later and sorry about some of the blurry pics, still getting use to this new camera. I'll have to order some more mod stuff for next week.

 

[siege]

That's funny, we started our mods that include the G4 style tray within a couple days of each other

Just curious, what are the triangle things near the mobo tray in that sketch?

Also, are you attaching the tray straight to the side panel and hinging it at the bottom from the inside? That's what I'm planning on, was interested if you decided on another way.

And I'm sure you'll be done for me, not fair

keep up the good work and keep us posted

 

[CrimandEvil]

That's funny, we started our mods that include the G4 style tray within a couple days of each other

LOL, got a link for it?

Just curious, what are the triangle things near the mobo tray in that sketch?

Supports for the tray, I'm going with a "Sandwich" design: Side panel>metal backing>motherboard tray. I'm thinking of ditching them for something alittle... different.

Also, are you attaching the tray straight to the side panel and hinging it at the bottom from the inside? That's what I'm planning on, was interested if you decided on another way.

Yup I'm also going to be securing it with a locking case handle and some magnets.

And I'm sure you'll be done for me, not fair

I still have lots of work do and possible headaches since it's going to be watercooled.

keep up the good work and keep us posted

Thanks, I should have an update later this week as well as some parts to order.

 

[Elledan]

<-- disappointed by the lack of Navi-like systems in this thread

Don't forget the piles of ISDN-modems, firewalls, other misc. systems and big cooling fans. And the liquid cooling system, of course

 

[CrimandEvil]

<-- disappointed by the lack of Navi-like systems in this thread

LOL, I'm not there yet (but I would like to mod a laptop or one of those new G5 iMacs to look like her Navi ).

Don't forget the piles of ISDN-modems, firewalls, other misc. systems and big cooling fans. And the liquid cooling system, of course

I've found a 150mm fan for my rad and I have a few ideas for the other stuff.

 

[siege]

LOL, got a link for it?

yes, http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=822213

Supports for the tray, I'm going with a "Sandwich" design: Side panel>metal backing>motherboard tray. I'm thinking of ditching them for something alittle... different.

metal backing? methinks I'm confused by that one.

Yup I'm also going to be securing it with a locking case handle and some magnets.

I was going to use a thumbscrew and magnets, but I am thinking of an actual locking mechanism to maybe make...we'll see how lazy I get.

I still have lots of work do and possible headaches since it's going to be watercooled.

me too and i don't have the mula for the H2O junk just yet. Looks like we may be relatively close to being in the same boat Now that that's done, time to make a quick little update to mine...I have hinges!

 

[SJetski71]

bumpity back to the top!

We demand updates Crim! PS2's simply aren't important enough and little sisters can be cajoled or chicken-winged into giving cameras back so whats the excuse ?

J/K but def interesting work so far.

 

[MONST3R]

keep us updated this will be very cool!

 

[CrimandEvil]

LOL, thanks guys. I should have something later this week, I'm trading some keyboards to Stresstest for an MX 700. I'm waiting for some extra cash to order more things though.

Updates later this week. So more to be modded.

 

[CrimandEvil]

I have to check the local hardware shop for a piano hinge (based on the success that Seige is having) later today, also I'm looking for a DD Maze4 Chipset block and a DD Maze4 CPU block hopefully both with Brass tops so if anyone wants to sell me one that would be great.

Things to get this week:
Hinge
Plexi (lexan or lucite)
Dremel etching bits
Right angle Molex and SATA plugs
200 ft of 18 gauge wire
Rivet gun and rivets
And hopefully some Aluminuim sheets so construction can begin.

 

[MONST3R]

god speed my good friend

 

[siege]

are you going to mount the hinge on the outside like I did or do it a slightly different way, since you're making your own case and can get away with it?

 

[MONST3R]

hey i tried to construct a case out of aluminum but it was waaaaaaaaaay to flimsy. do you use a thicker aluminum or do you just strenthen it with braces?

 

[CrimandEvil]

are you going to mount the hinge on the outside like I did or do it a slightly different way, since you're making your own case and can get away with it?

I'm going inside, I've been trying to think of a way to do it without having to use rivets for the hinge since I don't like the idea of all those exposed rivets.

Yeah Monster, alittle thicker material and some bracing.

 

[MONST3R]

ok, thx

 

[CrimandEvil]

Small update:
I was sitting back watching alittle CSI and Army of Darkness (hells yeah!) and some lite modding.

Before:

After:

I got tired having to work around that blasted recessed handle so I just cut it out. I know the lines aren't straight or anything but it's all going to get cut out soon for a window anyways.

Some more shots:

I got a Via Aqua 1300 cheap so I'm going to use it until it fails or I get the pump that I want, a C-Systems CSP 750 Mark II 12v DC Pump.... dual running in parallel. The crap you see on it is some Silicon glue to help seal a small crack I found and to dampen the sound of it (it's kind of loud unless you mod the propeller).

Not even my new MX700 won't be safe from modding.

You can see my cordless Dremel in the background there, do believe it's beginning to give up it's ghost though. I'll have to replace it soon with a corded Dremel, I'll do that before I do my etching.

Later I'm ordering some wire and then I'm going to start working on the PSU. I'll be making it a modular version.

 

[CrimandEvil]

Almost forgot Update:

I had been working on my keyboard, it's an MS Natural Multimedia. I really love the layout and I'm currently modding a USB hud into it as well as a CF card reader.

Paint used was Black Vinyle Dye and Purple Metalcast both by Dupli-Color. In that fourth shot I screwed up and the little messenger button wasn't as secured as I thought when painting so it got blown over. Now theres a little mark right above the person's head, I'll see what I can so to fix it. Remaining mods for it is to finish mounting the USB hub inside it as well as the CF reader and paint the keys with tranparent UV paint so that they light up.

As you can tell my color scheme is going to be Black/Purple (I'm thinking of that color shifting purple) with Blue, UV and maybe green lighting.

The batteries in my camera are now dead so tomorrow I'll get some new ones and take pics of the keyboard alien-autopsy style.

 

[DRJ1014]

how can u stand those keyboards?

 

[CrimandEvil]

I love those split key styles! Now I'm using a "standard" style keyboard while I mod that one and it took me sometime to get use to it, it sort of feels weird now and my hands will cramp up alittle with this new one. I don't know why but I really like the Natural's layout and it feels great too my hands.

My only problem with the Natural is the larger size.

 

[Tos]

will you do some kind of painting on the pannels ?

I kinda can see some white pic of lain over a black background, slightly blurred .. that would kick ass

 

[CrimandEvil]

I'm not too confident in my painting skills, compared to painting my drawning skills are alot better (I'm suppose to be rather good but whatever). But yeah I'm trying to think of ways to do something like that without having to get it custom painted or screwing it up by doing it myself. Right now the best idea I have for it is to stealth a PS1 LCD, other then that I'm not too sure but I love the idea too.

For the hell of it these are two drawings I've done. It's from Evangelion, Rei (blue haired chick) is from a chapter cover to one of the manga. Misato (chick in red) is off of one of the DVDs. Each pic is about 17x11 and is 1200x1600 and yeah my coloring skills suck (I perfer black and white but everyone tells me to do color too- I don't like them very much now). I really don't like them much, I can see all the places were I screwed up and I don't really like to show off my work.

Misato
Rei
Better pic of Rei

I want to etch Lain onto a window but I'm having a hell of a time drawning out what I want.

 

[Elledan]

For the hell of it these are two drawings I've done. It's from Evangelion, Rei (blue haired chick) is from a chapter cover to one of the manga. Misato (chick in red) is off of one of the DVDs. Each pic is about 17x11 and is 1200x1600 and yeah my coloring skills suck (I perfer black and white but everyone tells me to do color too- I don't like them very much now). I really don't like them much, I can see all the places were I screwed up and I don't really like to show off my work.

Misato
Rei
Better pic of Rei

The colouring on those drawings is very nice. I like your drawing style as well.

Only complaint I have is about the lower part of both character's faces, which seem to lack depth, if you know what I mean.

I want to etch Lain onto a window but I'm having a hell of a time drawning out what I want.

Perhaps it's just me, but 'drawing-etched-on-side-window'-type of mods make me feel kind of jaded. If I like it at all, then it's usually because I like the drawing, but could care less about the rest of the case.

 

[starhawk]

hey crim, this looks pretty cool so far! keep up the good work!

 

[CrimandEvil]

Thanks guys.
Yeah Elledan thats probably what bothers me most about them and I'm still have not decided what I'm actually going to do image wise yet, I do know I want to use that Kanji from earlier though. I've mostly been concentrating on figuring out were everything will go, lol.

Speaking on which I was up all night, really high winds and insomnia suck, so I've been retooling the watercooling setup. I know what parts I want to use but I just haven't gotten much inspiration for where to place everything but I think I have an idea for the biggest part, the res and radiator.

I'll have to order some Styrene Sheets for it but later today I'll going to see if I can build a poster board version for a mock up.

 

[MONST3R]

keep it up Crim!!!!! Looks great!

 

[rogue_jedi]

nice drawings. far better than anything i could do. i can do straight lines, though. sometimes even without a straightedge!

good luck.

 

[CrimandEvil]

So I want to make my PSU modular like Antec's Neopower series and those X-Connect PSUs but using my Fortron, this is it:

Thats a 300w version but I'm thinking of getting the 400w version for this mod and painting the casing. I'll have to pick up a little project box from RadioShack for the power distributor and order 200ft of wire and some Chrome wire sleeve.

 

[CrimandEvil]

Alittle more planning done.

Thats how I was going to mount the motherboard, on the right hand side, but after some more thought I decided to do it on the left:

I figure this way would make it a bit easier to watercool since I don't have to use alot of tubing and it makes it a bit stabler if I don't have to route tubing all over the place (more chance for leaks, kinks, low performance). This way the PCI cards are at the top and everything that needs to be watercooled (CPU, chipest and video card) are closer to the bottom and the pump.

Theres my pump (with a little ugly modding, don't worry I'm making an enclousure to hide it), Heatcore and a wire mesh trash can. I got the trash can since it's a cheap resourse for mesh (the thing was $3.00 at my local Target ).

 

[Sobek]

Looks great so far. Do you remember which way the flow on the Via 1300 goes for when I set mine up (which nozel is in, which is out)? You may want to try using an old foam mousepad to lessen vibration in addition to the impeller mod as well. That's a great idea using the mesh trash can. I spent about the same for some clay sculpting mesh from Michael's. The trash can is probably a lot more heavy duty compared to the flimsy stuff I got.

 

[CrimandEvil]

Do you remember which way the flow on the Via 1300 goes for when I set mine up (which nozel is in, which is out)?

Yeah, I had turn mine on for a second to see.

You may want to try using an old foam mousepad to lessen vibration in addition to the impeller mod as well.

Yeah the mesh is pretty stiff, I'm thinking of getting another one for later.
I've thought of using that too but I have some thick foam that I'm also going to use with it. I've tried it and it really dampens the vibration from the pump.

 

[CrimandEvil]

So I stopped by Radioshack today and picked up a Project Box.

Now this is for the PSU so I'm modding some molex plugs into it, I've wrapped some tape around it so that I can mark where I'm cutting.

A little cutting later

A little more time:

Finished other then needing more male connectors:

In that last one the file slipped out of my hand alittle so it's got some scratches but it's nothing really noticeable in person but I will fix it with some Bondo later on and alittle glue on the molex plug will fix it.

I'll have to do the other side tomorrow and test fit it too the PSU but I won't be finishing the mod until after my birthday (in a few weeks) since I'm (again) low on cash but I should have a few extra bucks then when I can order another PSU for my other project "just in case" anything happens like me screwing up, lol.

Thursday or Friday I should be getting my new 5700Ultra, don't laugh it's to replace a crappy GF2 MX.

Anyone know if you can remove the heatsinks on the memory of a BFG 5700Ultra?

Well I'm going to hit the sack, haven't slept in 48 hours yet I can handle a Dremel fine. LOL

 

[Tos]

Little suggestion : if you can, go for a sunk vinyl sheet for the panel designs, that's what I'm planning to do on my case :

Sand, primer, sand, primer, sand, paint, paint, sand, apply 1st coating , sand, apply 2d coating layer & insert vinyl print on the panel while still liquid - must be quick, apply 3rd layer of coating, sand with 1000grit + water ( lightly ), apply last layer of coating and finally, sand to get a perfect finish

that's a rather long & hard process, but it gives the best results

 

[CrimandEvil]

Very interesting, I'm going to have to see how your looks first.

 

[CrimandEvil]

Got a small package the other day, wasted an hour watching Fahrenheit 9/11 (such a stupid movie) but atleast I got to mod some as I watched it.

So this is what I got in the package

The smaller package has black right angle connectors and the other one is a bag of random connectors.

Black Right Angle (6 Molex and 2 SATA)

Grab bag:

LOL, within the grab bag was 14 beige right angles.

Now I ordered the grab bag hoping that the laws of chance would get me atleast 4 male connectors for my box (grab bag is 50-6o random connectors, whats the chance that I'd get 14 right angle but zero male, lol). So if anyone has some male connectors give me a PM, or I'll just get them when I order some wire later this week.

 

[CrimandEvil]

So I'm watching this lame movie and I'm bored out of my skull, so what else is there to do then play around with them.

I got some extra wire I had from a dead PSU and tried them out:

Doesn't that look so much nicer?

 

[Tos]

clear sunk vinyl sheeting looks like this :

http://www.tekido.com/sample_cooler_lucifer.htm

 

[starhawk]

where did you get those connectors?

 

[CrimandEvil]

I got them from Performance PC.com, I'd be willing to sell you some if you want, $.65 each.

 

[CrimandEvil]

clear sunk vinyl sheeting looks like this :

http://www.tekido.com/sample_cooler_lucifer.htm

Wow, that's cool.