freedomdowntime

I will start with my goal and then work backwards to the involved problems. My goal is it see a neon glow in my computer. So, the normal answer would be to get a cold neon light and attach to an 4-pin connecter. Problem is, I have a 300 power supply that runs two hard drives, two optical drives, etc. etc. so I don't have an extra 8-pin connecter. This makes me believe that I need a bigger power supply (with the thinking being more power, more connectors also I want to know, is replacing a power supply hard? And how much higher should I go up from a 300?). That takes care of my power and then of course I would buy a light. Now I would also need a (at least partially) see through door so that people can see that I do indeed have a neon light in my case (LAN party soon). So, should I buy another door to my computer so I don't have to deal with making a whole in my case door or should I get an Etched Appliqué? Now we have door light and power supply. After all that is the computer ready for LAN party?

Let me organize my questions.
What power range should I move into from the 300?
Any specific recommendations for power supply?
Is replacing a power supply fairly easy?
What neon light is recommended (small, cold cathode, dual lights, one, two, three colors,red,blue)?
Side panel or Etched Appliqué?
Any other custom case recommendations?

Last, a picture of my computer in it's current condition.




Thanks for reading my post.

BoCo

What power range should I move into from the 300? At least 400w, but make sure it's an Enermax, Antec, or Vantec.

Any specific recommendations for power supply? See above.

Is replacing a power supply fairly easy? Yes. Retardedly easy.

What neon light is recommended (small, cold cathode, dual lights, one, two, three colors,red,blue)? Stay away from neon because they get hot. Go to www.coolerguys.com and get their dual-cold cathode sets. They're on sale this week!

Side panel or Etched Appliqué? Whatever you want.

Any other custom case recommendations? Get a Lian-Li. For inspiration, go here and check mine out. Also, search this forum for sixate's case because it's pretty dope, too.

__________________
Activism is a way for useless people to feel important.

sixate

• Better get 400 or higher.
• I have a 470 watt Vantec in mine and I'm happy with it, but they are expensive.
• Yes, it's simple as hell.
• Get a set of dual cold cathodes. They'll only cost you $15.
• I prefer a side panel.
• Clean up those wires and get a Lian-Li case. If you're gonna have a window you don't want it to look messy. Another thing. Get a cathode fan grill also. They look sweet as hell. I just put one on my heatsink fan Monday. LED fans always look good too, and replace those ribbon wires with round ones.

Here's a couple of pics of mine.

trialzin

Hmmmm once again it looks pretty covered here with the suggestions, I myself use an enermax PSU and have a premade sidepanel with window, my old case was totaly modded by me but it was my first mod so it was rough. Store bought sidepanels are very clean and worth it. As for lights, what ever spins your wheels, I have a green in one case and a blue in the other, when the ligts are off it makes a cool glow when they merge. One case I have is the Thermaltake 5000a.

gamer715

You may have just misspoken, but all the lights I've seen run off 4-pin molex connectors. Get cold cathode lights, they're bright and run cold (as their name says). It all depends. You can get pre-modded windows (if you have the dough), or (if you have the time/patience/skill) you can do it yourself. Sure, Lian-Li cases are very cool, but I prefer getting an unmodded case and "leeting" it up myself. Unfortunately time was a concern and I had some money so I got a chieftec case w/ premodded window, but I am cutting blowholes tommorow.

As for the power supply, get one that has sufficient power and is a brand name (Enermax, Antec, Sparkle Power). Most lights have pass-through female molex connectors so that they don't take up a connector, but they do use power.


A place I find very informative is this forum:
http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/forumd...?s=&forumid=20
It's a lot of help in modding.

Also, on a slightly offtopic note, nice stealthed drive(s) sixate.

__________________
What 'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?

m0j0

[QUOTE]Originally posted by BoCo
[B]What power range should I move into from the 300? At least 400w, but make sure it's an Enermax, Antec, or Vantec.

Any specific recommendations for power supply? [b]

I agree with BoCo. Name brand power supplies are very important. I have gone through 3 power supplies due to failure. Bought an Antec and Enermax and they have never failed me.

freedomdowntime

So, help me out a bit. The connectors to the hard drive are two yellow two black a red and a orange. one of the two connectors I have left is three black two orange and one red. So, (not knowing much about the wire setup) the one attaching to my hard drive is a 4-pin and the one I have left is something other then what I need to attach to a light?

gamer715

i'm not sure if i understand you correctly. the power plug going into your hard drive above has 1 yellow, 2 black, and 1 red wire. without going into too much detail on what these specifically do, this is the kind of connector you need to install a light. My light, however, has a pass-through connector on the other side of it, so you plug the power into the light, then the light into the hard drive.

__________________
What 'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?

sixate

freedomdowntime, get a power supply first. You'll have more wires than you'll ever use. gamer715 is right. The lights will have a pass-through so you can power the lights and still power something else (Hard drive or whatever). Just so you know. The plug that goes into your hard drive is called a 4 pin molex.

Here's a good example of the all the wires that'll come with a cathode kit.

<img src="http://pcmods.com/_images/products/Inverter-Kit(320).jpg">

freedomdowntime

Thanks for the help.