Shuttle case modding -- how?

[Macil]

Hi all,

I've owned two Shuttles in the past and love them. I will be getting a new Shuttle soon, but had some super newbie questions about case modification and one technical question.

And when I say: "Super Newbie," I mean it! Treat me like a little kid -- assume I know NOTHING. I'm a fast learner, though.

Before I begin, is there a mod guide or "tutorial" or some such? That would help alot!

The shuttle I will be buying will be a SN26P and I do intend to SLI two video cards in the future. I'm a little concerned with heat issues. In addition to having two high-end video cards and a dual-core processor, the entire shuttle unit will be placed into a wood box and I'm worried that it'll get a little hot in there.

I've read about "blowholes" and cutting out the rear grill and I've seen case mods with fans on the side... Alright, so, what's the deal? What's a blowhole? I thought that pulling air in down from the top and then spitting it out on either side would be ideal, but this doesn't seem to be the case.

What fan options do I have available to me to cool down this machine?

And I need SPECIFICS... If I cut a hole into the top, is the fan there suppose to be an exhaust fan? And how is the fan mounted? What about the sides of the case? Are those intake fans? If the grill in the back is removed, what do you replace it with?

I've seen some cases which have fans mounted right above the video cards -- how do you mount these there? Some sort of bracket? Glue?

I've heard about switching the ICE to opposite of whatever it is. If this is suppose to be done with the other modifications, how do you do it?

How do you power all of these fans? What are the sizes of these fans? Are they always on or is there someway to control them?

What fans that come with the SN26P can be replaced? And SHOULD they be replaced? What are the benefits?

What about the fans on the video cards -- can these be replaced? And what will fit in a SN26P? Remember, there will be TWO cards -- I've seen the Arctic Cooling units and those are huge! Even with modification, I don't see how two cards with these units could work.

What tools do I use to cut the case? I've seen references to dremels and "nibblers," but this doesn't mean a lot to me aside from knowing what the tools look like. What kind of drill bits?

What kind of molding can you use to finish out any mods?

And does anyone have any experience painting cases? I've seen some fancy images and was wondering how this was done.

The technical question: Can the SN26P be fitted with wireless ethernet? If so, how is this done and where can I buy the kit?

Phew. Okay! I'm done. Thanks for any help!

 

[Far]

I can only help with one of those questions.

The nibbler:
http://www.xoxide.com/nibbler.html

Its a tool great for cutting cases, unless they're made of steel or something.

 

[n00btard]

1) Wireless ethernet can be done with Shuttle's PN18 (internal USB), and I think you can get them at XPC Gear.

2)a "blowhole" is basically a fan at the top of the case, ejecting air upwards. This works better in a G-series chassis because the blowhole relieves some of the heat the ICE module at the back has to deal with, but the P-series chassis (SN25P, SN26P and such) have a shroud that cuts off the CPU section from the rest of the case. Making a blowhole however would mean sacrificing a hard drive bay in the Shuttle.

3)The fans in a P-series chassis are: 2x80mm fans for the ICE module, 2x60mm fans in the back over the power supply, 80mm fan in the power supply.

4)The fan grills in the back of the SN26P for the 60mm fans are restrictive as hell, and causes air turbulence noise. I personally don't suggest adding a fan grill at all.

5)ICE module pulls air from the right side of the case, ejects it out the left side.

6)From what I know, any fan can be replaced, and aftermarket ones will either use a fan connector on the motherboard or will draw power from your power supply.

7)For your ICE module, I suggest something that offers reasonable airflow (the higher the CFM, the better) while outputting noise no louder than 30dBA. Ditch the two 60mm fans in the back and replace them with a Papst fan or a Panaflo.

yeah.