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The Orange Box

N

NoobToast

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 29, 2007
Messages
247
Not the game:p. But instead I'm starting my case project. I intend to have it painted completely orange, inside and out and have a decal of some sort airbrushed on one of the side panels. I plan on having it support ATX and mATX boards.

Right now I'm building the frame and some of the mounting devices. Nothing is held in place yet, because i just want to get everything cut out, make sure it fits and all that good stuff. My dad will be helping me with some of the trickier stuff, but i plan on doing most of it myself.

Here are some of the parts I'm going to have to order off line:
Orange Bulgin Switch
Bulgin Switch Power Cable
Orange Fan 80mmx1
Orange Fan 40mmx2

Heres the base of the frame:
1001780dy0.jpg

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/537/1001780dy0.jpg

Heres the base of the frame with all the heights laied off to the side.
1001781cn2.jpg

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/5395/1001781cn2.jpg

Frame Base with Mobo in:
1001784zy4.jpg

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/2426/1001784zy4.jpg

Hard Drive Holder, It looks crooked for some reason in the photo, but its not.:
1001785dh1.jpg

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/2246/1001785dh1.jpg

This is the first of many updates to come. Hopefully, I will have it done by the end of June to the middle of July. I'm going to take my time with it, but i do plan on posting daily updates.

Suggestions are welcome.
 
So, plain and simple, it will be an orange box? I think you should do a mockup of your end result :)
 
No, im going to cut out 2 windows on one of the side panels, and possibly cut a window in the top panel, then my dad knows a guy who can airbrush a pic on the panel for me.

Probably this
wallpaperteamfortress2ef6.jpg


but considering its my first "built from scratch" case, its not going to be that complicated.
 
Update!!!

I actually did something substantial enough to post it!!! What I did was cut a piece of aluminum sheet, and cut some aluminum angle to fit the I/O and PCI slots.

Here is the mobo panel laid in the base of the frame.
1001786ya6.jpg

http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/2081/1001786ya6.jpg

Heres the mobo and the HDD mount(<--im second guessing the HDD mount design)
100_1787.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1787.JPG

Another shot of the mobo and the HDD mount with cut out I/O and PCI card slots.
100_1791.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1791.JPG

Just another shot of the cuts for the I/O and PCI slots.
100_1792.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1792.JPG

None of it is secure in place yet, i want to get everything cut out, make sure it all fits before i do any of it. Im going to use rivets to hold everything in place, I was going to have my dad weld everything together, but he said that there was a chance of warping the aluminum.
 
Why 80 and 40mm fans? Those things will be loud and not move much air. Swap out for 120mms.
 
I just wanted the 40mm to put on the hdd mount. And i went with 80mm cause frozencpu dosent have any 120s with orange leds.
 
If you're building something this complex from scratch, might as well do it right! I would find some 120mms with orange LEDs if that's what you're after, rather than limiting yourself based on a single supplier :)
 
I have a question. Should i be making the mobo tray out of aluminum. I'll be using copper standoffs, but i dont want to short out my mobo.
 
Don't worry about shorting out your motherboard. If you look at the bottom (and top!) of the mounting holes, you'll notice that there are a bunch of contacts around those holes. Those contacts are all wired to ground. In other words, the motherboard is designed with the knowledge that the standoffs and mounting screws will be connected to ground.

So go ahead, make the mobo tray out of whatever you want.
 
Update!!! WOOTZ its looking more like a box!!!!11!11!!!!!

This is a pretty big one. I have the left and right sides completed, redid the HDD mount and started to test out painting on different scrap panels(which ill post when the paint is dry).

But first, here is a shot of the base of the frame all held together. All I did was simply use rivets to hold each piece together, I'm pleased with the results.
100_1799.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1799.JPG

Here is a shot of one of the panels installed. In this pic the panel is only secured the bottom.
100_1796.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1796.JPG

Here is a shot of both panels installed. Sorry for the intensely wicked glare, but this is the only shot I took with both panels installed from this angle.
100_1810.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1810.JPG

Heres a random shot i took of both panels secure.
100_1811.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1811.JPG

Heres a shot from above with the mobo and HDD mount in the frame. Along with my gut stickin out.:rofl:
100_1814.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1814.JPG

Heres another shot of the mobo and HDD mount, just at a different angle.
100_1815.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1815.JPG

Another shot of the mobo and HDD mount.
100_1816.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1816.JPG

This is a little experiment I did. Its called Brazing, all it is is taking two pieces of aluminum(in this case), cleaning them, applying flux to help the aluminum flow better when its heated, then cut a piece off the coil, stick it between the two pieces of aluminum and heat it i believe you have to heat aluminum to 1000+ degrees or something like that(according to the package). Im pretty sure i didnt get it anywhere near 1000 with a blow torch, but ya never know. I also acquired a few burns from doing this. It worked really good, but its to risky to do the entire case like that, if i overheat it the aluminum will warp too much.
100_1807.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1807.JPG
 
Trust me, their nothing special, they probably make it look crappier than it will turn out. But here they are.

Here is a gimping of the both sides, along with an idea im going to be toying around with for the windows and a view looking down on the case. The red box with lines going through it is to symbolize the psu being mounted above the mobo.

case_scetch.gif

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/case_scetch.gif

Here is a gimping of what the front and back are going to look like. I think Im going to throw a multi card reader in it, but im not sure about that.
compcasemockup.gif

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/compcasemockup.gif

Nothing in those sketches are even close to being to scale, just a general idea of where everything is going to be located.
 
Wow, this looks really cool. I'm a huge fan of Orange Box mods and stuff. Can't wait to see the finished product.
 
Some more ideas!!!

Im at a point in making the case that I need some help , so i had to wait until my dad got back from his fishing trip in Canada. He's back, but Im not going to rush him into helping me, he has some more important stuff to do first. But in the mean time, I thought that Id add an "upstairs" to the case where Id put the PSU, CD/DVD Drive and HDD(s).

Heres what I came up with.
upstaires_to_case.jpg

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/upstaires_to_case.jpg

The only thing that im wondering is would it be better if I have the HDD's laying on top of each other, or have them "standing" side-by-side on there side.

As for cooling, i think im going to be putting a 80mm or 120mm fan on the top blowing into the case.

Again, suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 
UPDATE...bout damn time

Alright, after not posting anything in sometime, but working on the box quite a bit, i have an update!!!

What I completed since the last update: The frame, the "upstairs" for the PSU and CD Drive and a little bit of experimental painting.

This pic is the shot of the "upstairs"
100_1818.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1818.JPG

Heres a shot of the bottom of the case.
100_1819.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1819.JPG

The back end of the case.
100_1820.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1820.JPG

The entire cases rear end.
100_1822.JPG

http://www.straferight.com/photopost/data/500/medium/100_1822.JPG

I didnt get around to taking real detailed pictures. If your interested in the details just let me know and ill get some pics.
 
The dates on the pictures throw me off. :(

Looks good so far. I'm looking forward to the rest of the project.
 
protias said:
The dates on the pictures throw me off. :(

Looks good so far. I'm looking forward to the rest of the project.
Click to expand...

i fixed the dates...but i need to buy some aluminum panels, i still need to do the top, the front and the back.
 
it looks boxy. I wish they made orange cathodes. I'm having to settle with red on my current build.
 
buy white cathodes and buy some orange cellophane from a craft store.
 
hey noob!

Is the "upstairs" tray going to be supported in the middle at all? It seems to have a slight droop in the middle.
 
OMGWTFBBQ

ya, im going to put some sort of support underneath it. Im thinking two pieces of angle iron.
 
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