WeldZilla 2 "A New Beginning" Mod!!

It satarted life as a Compaq p-3 866 I got an Abit vl-6 mobo and pushed it up to 512 megs of pc 133 mem The original 40 hdd that came with the Compaq was F-disked I got him a 40 gig maxtor also. I went to str8-buy.com and got him a luna 606 case. Delivered to our door for $34. Hey it has a removable mobo tray. This was going to be a father son mod I was thrilled!!! you see I thought I would cut out the windows and paint. He was to be my good apprentice and basically just learn. WRONG, 5 minutes into the project he informed me that this was his computer and the mod would be his own!!! I could help him with itbut, he would do the work. I was proud!! That's my boy. If you look closely you will see his top window that was supposed to be round, is not. That his side window the lines are not real true but, very close!!. I painted the bezel he painted the case inside and out!! He also rapped all his wires with that ribbed automotive wire loom he told me the red wire loom looked like bloody guts!! He loved it. He also came up with the idea of a Battle Scarred Gundham action figure to stand guard inside his case. By the time he got ready to build it. The P-3 had become a my old P-4 with an Abit IT-7 max 2 Ver.2 mobo 2.66B
prossy, 1 gig of some generic ram pc3200. 2x120 gig maxtor hdd's in raid0 array Powered by a Kingwin 450 watt psu. Much more accurate rails than my antec 550 by the way. He put this whole thing together virtually by himself. He is extremely proud of himself for this too. The point of all this is that anyone can do it. I admit I was there as his safety net but, he never needed me. He cut all the holes including the top 80mm blow hole with a jigsaw.
He has used it alot and felt more comfortable using it. Well here is a few pics of where he started and where it finished.
1st the pieces
1a.jpg

putting it all together. This was so much fun for me the spectator. I will tell you he does have a bit of a temper now and then.
Mat_helping_all_the_way.jpg

looking pretty damn good!!
fb11.jpg

in position
finished.jpg

He stared into the case alot when it was first finished ( Photo op )
fb22.jpg

This was a mod done by an 8yr. old. My son is a geek!! And I am thrilled about it!!
He OC'd it himself he settled on a 150 mhz fsb so his 2.66 runs right @3000mhz
he too has an e-VGA 5900fx card. His mother uses a HP with a 1.6 ghz P-4 in it
I got her an Albatron 4280P Vid card for it. Matthew and I stay way away from it. It kinda freaks us out and we are not sure if we can really trust her. that is a 1.6A however and a great oc'ing chip. Hmmm? We all 3 compute in a spare bedroom together all networked up. I hide all the pics of the hot chicks I download on my wife's computer so when she looks on mine it is all clear!! I just love a good network!!
Hey am I long winded or what??

weldZilla
 
I love you! this was an awesome idea, I hate having to make extra effort to get to my opticle drives AND seeing my window, you solved that, I would like to see a mass produced type thing like that and see you get bloody rich

That idea was pure gold
 
it is cool to face your drives and your window at the same time. Everytime I look that way my drives as well as the view into the case, Well they are both staring back at me!!
As far as building them and getting rich. Well I don't know about the rich part, but it would be cool to see my cases showing up on mod forums!!

WZ
 
man you have given me some inspiration to modding my Super Lanboy Case. the bottom fan idea i had not though of. also the water cooling situation is looking cooler and cooler everyday.
 
That case was a Compaq? Wow, doesn't look like one now. When I start my Compaq Presario mod I'll post that for everyone's viewing pleasure. Mmm, back-plane, wish I had a welder. :)

My son's a geek, too. He's only almost three years old though. He already reads the forums with me. I'm going to try to mod a pc into a fire truck for him after the compaq mod. :)
 
the original system was compaq. That went away. That Luna Case does look good. The price was right too!!

WZ
 
I would be more than happy to build you one. But I would have to wait til later in the fall as my daytime job is really going nuts now in summer. Would you want a full tower size?
Midtower? Small mid tower? What have you got in mind? Let me know perhaps we can iron out the details. Either way I plan on building and selling a few this winter. I am also completely designing my own case from the ground up!! Well it is designed already. just waiting for the slack time to build it.

WZ
 
Haha, in the build pictures, all I could think was, "OH GOD, why did he rip apart that nice case and turn it into this mangled piece of crap?!?!"

Then I scrolled down one last time and saw the finished piece. So sweet, you changed my mind so fast. Quite the original idea, not sure if I'd do it myself, but I love how you've put things together. The colors and grating go really well together. Also, nice job on the last mod, nice red theme :)
 
I'm just amazed to see someone other than me knows how to weld on here.

I was slightly impressed then i saw the 70's refrigerator/freezer color scheme and it made me cry.

Dude, diff colors!
 
Thanks for the idea........I'm planning a custom box incorporating a JVC turntable as a dedicated rig for converting albums into CD's......might even have to wedge my dBx noise reduction into it.......or not....probably do it with software... :p I have a couple of hundred albums I need to convert. I was thinking too traditionally ..... :D ........screw the enlight case I had reserved for the project.....I have most of a 1/4" x 6" x 12 ' stick of aluminum from a project at the shop.....gonna be a desk top with the optical drives to the side......courtesy of your design geniusand the turn table will be mounted in the top......as I don't have room for a third monitor at my desk.......this one will be getting a 4" LCD monitor in the control panel...as a fellow metal worker and welder....I must complement you on some very skilled work. Really enjoyed the thread and the pics
 
I look forward to seeing you do your project. Post it up as you go. it will be interesting to see your version come along to the rest of you who have commented. This was the reaction i was hoping for. I did not want just to mod a case. I wanted to redesign the whole idea of cases to fit the many of us who want them on top of the desk where you can look right up it's skirt without trying!!!!

WZ
 
genious.. i cant say anything other then pure genious....

You truley are,

T3[H] WeldZilla
 
For the high praise, this was a very satifying mod for me. I will tell you that my next project will not be a mod in that I am not going to start with a case and dramatically alter it. I am going to start with metal and redesign Computer cases as we know them. Yes it will have everthing that cases have now. It will be built so that you will redesign everything so you can have it on your desk where it can be seen. I have worked out all the details before hand. So there will only be about 20 changes midstream during the build!! Cuz that is just the way it goes when extreme modding or in this case, building. So world be prepared.
WeldZilla 3 " Domination by Design " is about to begin. It will be awhile before I can post it. As this idea and design are being copywrited and patented. The last case became public domain the instant I posted it. But you will all see it. Hell I hope to find a company to produce it.

Again thanks to all of you who looked and a special thanks to all who have commented.
Comments motivate, and yes they feed the modders ego as well.

WeldZilla
 
good luck on your patent... really i mean it. though copyrights dont do much.
sounds like you're overselling yourself a bit here "redesign Computer cases as we know them." heh.
but it will be interesting to see it. you did a good job on this case and it'll be nice to see whats in your head.
 
I wouldn't worry about a pattent on this....if you check HERE you will see something similar...I remember a friend of mine shotting this a couple of years ago and thought it would be a cool idea but really though of getting it...yours on the other hand is just a nice piece of work....still don't like the paint scheme/colors but the quality is there on the build (and the paint as well)
 
Thanks Jaden I appreciate it. Now, gigglebyte I looked at that case in the link you provided. What are you smoking??? That looks nothing like my case!! I cannot believe anyone would want a morphidyte case like that!!! Now this is just my opinin of course.
To those who think I am overstating or over selling the building of WeldZilla 3. All I can say is " The proof is in the pudding " you can't believe all the nay sayers I heard from when starting this case. However, now that, WeldZilla 2 is finished, that has changed.
all I hear now is a few do not like the color. And as you know color scheme is a personal choice. It was never put up to the public for a vote. When I do a mod, I do it alone. I do not ask for suggestions. I build what I build. I only mod for one reason and one reason only!! I am OBSESSED with it. For me Modding is a Compulsion!! Which I have given into completely! So when the pics of my new case

WeldZilla 3 "Domination By Design", start appearing we'll just see how the public feels about it.

Weldzilla
 
WZ - it was more of the idea of doing an offset case so you could position it so you could still access the front...not identical but similar in concept...oh and I can't wait for the next one!
 
Just curious, why is the pump external? Are you old fashioned and went for a 115V pump :)

Like I said though, the table, case, and mod in general is fantastic. I've only seen a few like this that have really gotten my attention.
 
I have the same case as you started with for Weldzilla, but it was under the Casetek label. Excellent starting platform, but no picnic to cut, at least when you're limited to a Dremel like I am.

As I looked at your work I kept thinking "console TV"; it reminds me of an old B&W Zenith TV my folks had when I was a kid (no we weren't poor, I'm that old), minus the water reservoir of course. I'm not sure how you are with wood, but this would look slick in a wood version--built the metal framework and then lay on the wood panels. Or maybe something simple, like the same design with some creative finishing to give a wood look.

Very nice work. I'll never look at my case the same way now. Thumbs up to your son's mod work as well.
 
By the way I am that old too. The good news is my wife still thinks I'm childish!! hehehehehe. you know that really is not a bad idea you have there. I actually like working with wood too. I have a whole array of wood working tools also. I am so wrapped up in getting my next project going forward that there wood (pardon the pun) be no time now for it but, winter is coming!! I have to tell you I was surprised when that case showed up at my door and it was built like a tank. Although the thick metal made welding it less of a challenge. I bought it cuz it was big and heavy.

WZ

PS. Does being born in 1956 necessarily make a guy old?? I don't think so!! It really just means I have a more equipped shop!!! I Win!!
 
I bought the case too due to the weight of the steel. I had a smaller Antec case of the same guage, but since I'd promised it to my brother-in-law for a badly needed PC upgrade I had to find a new case and the Casetek (Enermax) was the answer. I'm thinking now that I have to do something with it, other than originally cutting out the fan grills, to spiff it up a little. I wired up a 5 switch baybus for it, but that's not going to do it.

Being born in 1956 doesn't make you old--if it does I'm in trouble being just four years behind you. Tinkering around with the PC keeps you young(er) I think, by keeping your mind busy. I've also found it keeps me out of trouble with my wife. As she says, she always knows where to find me, and she doesn't have to worry about dragging me out of some bar or strip club late at night...
 
Weldzilla said:
WeldZilla 3 "Domination By Design"


Heh, That gets me excited to think about.


(Always a kick to read this thread. Weld, Thanks for sharing your mad exploits. Don't stop the rock!!)
 
you enjoyed the thread as well as the mod. I try to let you share in how great it feels as well as how fun it is to accomplish such work. I figure to start on "WeldZilla 3" Right after Labor Day. That is aftter the first week in September for those of you not from or familiar with America and our holidays.

WZ
 
WeldZilla said:
Well it was time to cut a piece out of the right panel to us for what is now the right panel.


WeldZilla
Dude, that rig ROXX. Very nice job so far and a great idea too! Now you can see the mobo AND have access to the front of your case all on one side! SAweeT!
 
Yes it is a sweet view from what is now the front. Very handy setup. Really, there just is not one negative thing I can say about this mod.

WZ
 
WeldZilla said:
You Know:

Sometimes people get so caught up in huge lofty ideas. That are not attainable. That they never really do anything but dream. Many have asked me about extreme cooling my rig,or a future rig.
I run an everyday clock of 3200 mhz @1.6 volts @ 30C idle. Why would I think I need more? I am a keep it simple kinda guy. You may think some of what I do is complex, however it is not. I have been working as a fabricator for years. The real key to all of this is patience. Taking on projects that you can afford and that are within reach of your skill levels. I also have noted that many simply lack the confidence and just really do not know how to get started. So they don't start. Too bad, You know if you completely butcher up a mod and are totally disgusted with yourself as long as you learned from the mistakes you made. You are further than you were when you only fantasized about modding. So I encourage all of you to go get a case, any case!! Do not worry about brand. Start with it. I seen some at a Goodwill for $1.50. There are many places that have old used cases lying about. Do not worry about air flow or what have you. That is where you come in. Your job as a modder is to not only change the look of the case but, also to improve on the characteristics of the case. You must start somewhere!! Remember to get anywhere, you must START!!!!!

WZ

Great mod, nice job and well said :) I really like how this turned out - it's one of my favs.. believe me.. I'm pretty picky =) :cool:

Submit it to Maximum PC's Rig of the month.. don't be surprised if some craptacular lego or cardboard box mod come ahead though.. :rolleyes: :D
 
Those words!! Well I got my raid 0 installed using 2 X 120 maxtor hdd's, Also installed new PNY 6800 Vid card. Still going to paint Keyboard and monitor. Dammit, Where is the time?? I will be glad when it is fall and all slows down!!



WZ
 
An amasing mod and I cant wait to see your new design built from scratch.

I do have one minor suggestion [feel free to disregard it ;)]. I like everything about this case, but one thing I have been thinking is that it might look a bit better without the window fan. You have one intake on the bottom and two near the drive bays. One exhaust at the top and two on the left. And then there are the rads... more than ample cooling especially because the proc is watercooled. You could try running without that fan plugged in and see what the temp difference is if any... if there isnt you would have way more window to show off the awesome wireing job.

Again nice work :D
 
I actually truied to run it without that fan. Until I get better cooling for the northbridge I just have to have it. With that 120 mm fan blowing on the Northbridge you can reach right in and it is only warm to the touch. Turn it off and it gets scorching hot!!. My 6800GT card with the fan on runs at 48C with the fan off it runs about 54C. So it is staying for now. I agree with you it would look much sweeter if it were just a window there. So this change will happen!! Again, thanks for looking in on my creation.

WZ
 
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