My scratch-built Acrylic Case - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

turbodriven · 06-21-2004, 08:21 AM

I pulled a lot of my ideas for this case from www.bit-tech.net. They did cases like "Project 3GClear" and "Orac³" and "The Invisible Case". I used them for inspiration but also had my own specific components that I had to fit in the smallest amount of space possible. So I went to the drawing board and came up with my own version. The final dimensions came out to 11"x12"x13".

My apologies for the rather poor photography. I did it late last night and wasn't very skillful about the whole thing. My plan is to get it in the studio in the next few days after I finish it. Try to capture how awesome this thing really looks. I'll post updated pics when I do!

I still have a few things to finish, including the lid. If your interested, here are the system specs.

Everything I had to cram in there so to speak.

Antec full size 350watt power supply
Abit NF7-S motherboard
AMD Athlon 2500+ "barton" with Zahlman Flower heat sink
ATI 9800 pro video card (128meg/256bit)
1gig Corsair RAM
Samsung 120GB SATA drive
CD-RW 40x
Super Flower Fan Bus (controls 4x fans and 4x thermal sensors)
Apple Pro clear acrylic USB keyboard (custom modded with blue leds for caps/number lock)
Acrylic optical mouse with blue LED lights

And the misc other stuff here
(4x) clear fans with (4x) blue LEDS each
Chrome wire loom from ebay
Rounded IDE cable modified to single device
(3x) 13"x36" sheets of ¼" PETG acrylic from ebay
LEDs and chrome holders from Radio Shack (blue for power on and White for HD activity)
Momentary switch from Radio Shack for power on/off (mounted at the rear)
Clear PVC pipe glue from Home Depot. Found that this was as strong as superglue on acrylic! Nicer to work with though because it gave you about 20 seconds before it stuck for good. Unlike superglue plastic adhesive I tested.

And I don't even want to tally up the $bill$. I know I paid about $30 for the ¼" Acrylic.

So there it is. I'm very happy with how it turned out. The only problem is that now I have the bug. I want to build another one. Different though. Case modding is addictive!

Bigwahzoo · 06-21-2004, 08:28 AM

That looks truely awesome. I can't see where the power supply is, I am assuming that it is behind the fan speed controller. Great work on the case!

the_marq · 06-21-2004, 08:50 AM

That is some really nice work. I wish I had that kind of motivation.

bltzkriegmcanon · 06-21-2004, 10:02 AM

That's really fucking awesome. I think if I were to ever do a mod, I mean all out, create everything myself, I would model it after metal gear (rex or ray) or fucking arsenal gear. That'd have some potential.

Asuka{eve} · 06-21-2004, 10:13 AM

That is COOL!

Silverbrain · 06-21-2004, 10:45 AM

Looks fantastic!

roadkill · 06-21-2004, 11:55 AM

wow, so much better than my case i wish i could build sumthing like that

Mondak · 06-21-2004, 02:52 PM

Great job. The case looks super and it is clear you did a lot of hard work to get it just right.

Jolt · 06-21-2004, 07:33 PM

Outstanding style! Bonus points for pairing it with that Apple keyboard...looks better in front of your box than it does with a G5

I'd like to know more about your airflow, though. It looks like the fan behind the proc is sucking in, and the one over the PCI slots is exhausting? How warm does the system run?

turbodriven · 06-21-2004, 09:15 PM

On the top level you are correct. The right fan blows directly on the processor heatsink and the airflow travels around the Video card and gets sucked out on the PCI slot side. Just checked my Abit EQ and the CPU is at 36deg. C with a motherboard temperature of 22deg. C

The bottom level sucks in on the left side blowing directly on the hard drive/CD-RW. There is a 92mm fan above the power supply blowing down into the PSU and a fan exiting the system on the back of the PSU. Lower level temp is about 27deg. C and inside the PSU the thermal sensor reads about 35deg. C.

Chilly! Well chilly enough.

tupacalypse1622 · 06-21-2004, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jolt
Outstanding style! Bonus points for pairing it with that Apple keyboard...looks better in front of your box than it does with a G5

I'd like to know more about your airflow, though. It looks like the fan behind the proc is sucking in, and the one over the PCI slots is exhausting? How warm does the system run?

even more bonus points for modding it with blue leds and pairing with an acrylic mouse

06-21-2004, 10:38 PM

looks awesome man! good job

R3d · 06-22-2004, 12:20 AM

sweet job dude.. i want one lol

Smackre · 06-22-2004, 07:03 AM

sweet work dude....awesome looken

turbodriven · 06-22-2004, 08:31 PM

Finished the polishing the edges on the lid. Took some more pictures. Man I love this thing!!! Came out 10x better than I hoped!

jvwgtr · 06-23-2004, 06:56 AM

Wow, you did a really great job!
I know what you mean about modding being addictive...I'm constantly planning my next build, even though I don't need another PC by any means!
It's an expensive hobby - but it could be worse, right?
At least it's not cars!

turbodriven · 06-23-2004, 07:08 AM

That's funny, because for me it "IS" cars too. My next project that I'm shopping for right now is to upgrade the turbocharger in my GST.

It's gonna cost at least a grand $.

choskins · 06-23-2004, 07:13 AM

Man, that is sweet. Can you build me a fish tank? LOL!

rubicon · 06-23-2004, 07:29 AM

kewl. who said the apple cube is dead. oh wait, it's a pc...

Redjake · 06-23-2004, 01:47 PM

that's awesome. I didn't read the thread, but you should post it on Bit-Tech forums if you haven't already. good stuff. make sure to post it under "mods" and not "project logs," since you didn't really take pictures as you built it, just as it was finished.

Holo · 06-24-2004, 08:56 AM

Is that supposed to impress me?

well it does.

Great work...I'd be happy with just an old rotten Lian-li myself

06-21-2004, 08:21 AM	#1 (permalink)
turbodriven Tilted Location: Orlando, FL	My scratch-built Acrylic Case I pulled a lot of my ideas for this case from www.bit-tech.net. They did cases like "Project 3GClear" and "Orac³" and "The Invisible Case". I used them for inspiration but also had my own specific components that I had to fit in the smallest amount of space possible. So I went to the drawing board and came up with my own version. The final dimensions came out to 11"x12"x13". My apologies for the rather poor photography. I did it late last night and wasn't very skillful about the whole thing. My plan is to get it in the studio in the next few days after I finish it. Try to capture how awesome this thing really looks. I'll post updated pics when I do! I still have a few things to finish, including the lid. If your interested, here are the system specs. Everything I had to cram in there so to speak. Antec full size 350watt power supply Abit NF7-S motherboard AMD Athlon 2500+ "barton" with Zahlman Flower heat sink ATI 9800 pro video card (128meg/256bit) 1gig Corsair RAM Samsung 120GB SATA drive CD-RW 40x Super Flower Fan Bus (controls 4x fans and 4x thermal sensors) Apple Pro clear acrylic USB keyboard (custom modded with blue leds for caps/number lock) Acrylic optical mouse with blue LED lights And the misc other stuff here (4x) clear fans with (4x) blue LEDS each Chrome wire loom from ebay Rounded IDE cable modified to single device (3x) 13"x36" sheets of ¼" PETG acrylic from ebay LEDs and chrome holders from Radio Shack (blue for power on and White for HD activity) Momentary switch from Radio Shack for power on/off (mounted at the rear) Clear PVC pipe glue from Home Depot. Found that this was as strong as superglue on acrylic! Nicer to work with though because it gave you about 20 seconds before it stuck for good. Unlike superglue plastic adhesive I tested. And I don't even want to tally up the $bill$. I know I paid about $30 for the ¼" Acrylic. So there it is. I'm very happy with how it turned out. The only problem is that now I have the bug. I want to build another one. Different though. Case modding is addictive!

06-21-2004, 08:50 AM	#3 (permalink)
the_marq All hail the Mountain King Location: Black Mesa	That is some really nice work. I wish I had that kind of motivation. __________________ The Truth: Johnny Cash could have kicked Bruce Lee's ass if he wanted to. #3 in a series

06-21-2004, 10:02 AM	#4 (permalink)
bltzkriegmcanon Holy Knight of The Alliance Location: Stormwind, The Eastern Kingdoms, Azeroth	That's really fucking awesome. I think if I were to ever do a mod, I mean all out, create everything myself, I would model it after metal gear (rex or ray) or fucking arsenal gear. That'd have some potential. __________________ What do you say to one last showdown? - Ocelot, Metal Gear Solid 3 The password is "Who are the Patriots?" and "La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo." "La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo." Gotcha. - The Colonel and Snake, Metal Gear Solid 3 Last edited by bltzkriegmcanon; 06-21-2004 at 12:00 PM..

06-21-2004, 10:45 AM	#6 (permalink)
Silverbrain Addict Location: Nor Cal	Looks fantastic! __________________ Over Thinking, Over Analyzing Seperates the Body from the Mind - MJK

06-21-2004, 02:52 PM	#8 (permalink)
Mondak Industrialist Location: Southern California	Great job. The case looks super and it is clear you did a lot of hard work to get it just right. __________________ All truth passes through three stages: First it is ridiculed Second, it is violently opposed and Third, it is accepted as self-evident. ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER (1788-1860)

06-21-2004, 08:28 AM	#2 (permalink)
Bigwahzoo Insane	That looks truely awesome. I can't see where the power supply is, I am assuming that it is behind the fan speed controller. Great work on the case!

06-21-2004, 10:13 AM	#5 (permalink)
Asuka{eve} Addict Location: Oh God, the rain!	That is COOL!

06-21-2004, 11:55 AM	#7 (permalink)
roadkill Insane	wow, so much better than my case i wish i could build sumthing like that

06-21-2004, 07:33 PM	#9 (permalink)
Jolt Insane Location: Over here	Outstanding style! Bonus points for pairing it with that Apple keyboard...looks better in front of your box than it does with a G5 I'd like to know more about your airflow, though. It looks like the fan behind the proc is sucking in, and the one over the PCI slots is exhausting? How warm does the system run? Last edited by Jolt; 06-21-2004 at 07:35 PM..

06-21-2004, 09:15 PM	#10 (permalink)
turbodriven Tilted Location: Orlando, FL	On the top level you are correct. The right fan blows directly on the processor heatsink and the airflow travels around the Video card and gets sucked out on the PCI slot side. Just checked my Abit EQ and the CPU is at 36deg. C with a motherboard temperature of 22deg. C The bottom level sucks in on the left side blowing directly on the hard drive/CD-RW. There is a 92mm fan above the power supply blowing down into the PSU and a fan exiting the system on the back of the PSU. Lower level temp is about 27deg. C and inside the PSU the thermal sensor reads about 35deg. C. Chilly! Well chilly enough.

06-21-2004, 10:38 PM	#12 (permalink)
Xepidemic Guest	looks awesome man! good job

06-22-2004, 12:20 AM	#13 (permalink)
R3d Insane Location: Sask, Canada	sweet job dude.. i want one lol

06-22-2004, 07:03 AM	#14 (permalink)
Smackre Addict	sweet work dude....awesome looken __________________ Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB) 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen XGA+ Display 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800

06-22-2004, 08:31 PM	#15 (permalink)
turbodriven Tilted Location: Orlando, FL	Finished the polishing the edges on the lid. Took some more pictures. Man I love this thing!!! Came out 10x better than I hoped!

06-23-2004, 06:56 AM	#16 (permalink)
jvwgtr Completely bananas Location: Florida	Wow, you did a really great job! I know what you mean about modding being addictive...I'm constantly planning my next build, even though I don't need another PC by any means! It's an expensive hobby - but it could be worse, right? At least it's not cars!

06-24-2004, 08:56 AM	#21 (permalink)
Holo A Real American	Is that supposed to impress me? well it does. Great work...I'd be happy with just an old rotten Lian-li myself __________________ I happen to like the words "fuck", "cock", "pussy", "tits", "cunt", "twat", "shit" and even "bitch". As long as I am not using them to describe you, don't go telling me whether or not I can/should use them...that is, if you want me to continue refraining from using them to describe you. ~Prince

06-23-2004, 07:08 AM	#17 (permalink)
turbodriven Tilted Location: Orlando, FL	That's funny, because for me it "IS" cars too. My next project that I'm shopping for right now is to upgrade the turbocharger in my GST. It's gonna cost at least a grand $.

06-23-2004, 07:13 AM	#18 (permalink)
choskins Psycho Location: Greenville, SC	Man, that is sweet. Can you build me a fish tank? LOL! __________________ "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." - Sigmund Freud

06-23-2004, 07:29 AM	#19 (permalink)
rubicon Stop. Think. Question. Location: Redondo Beach, CA	kewl. who said the apple cube is dead. oh wait, it's a pc... __________________ How you do anything is how you do everything.

06-23-2004, 01:47 PM	#20 (permalink)
Redjake I'm a family man - I run a family business. Location: Wilson, NC	that's awesome. I didn't read the thread, but you should post it on Bit-Tech forums if you haven't already. good stuff. make sure to post it under "mods" and not "project logs," since you didn't really take pictures as you built it, just as it was finished. __________________ Off the record, on the q.t., and very hush-hush.