Do any of you do Case Modz? if so post a pic as im doing my latest one and need some ideas :)



Rop

<i>"Case Modz?"</i>

What is it?

Basicly it is "Modding" your computer. Adding components to your case to make it look better or to help with a certain need. My last case mod was a simply one. I made a few holes on the side of the case and added a few fans plus some neon lights inside the case with a plexi glass cover on one side. Made it look real cool. Anyway doing my latest one and as i said wished to know if anyone was willing to share ideas etc.


For more info on case modz you can check out this site. It is preety good.
http://casemod.tripod.com/

my case has a buncha red hat linux stickers on it, i also dont ahve the casing on it cause it gets to hot, so its jsut really kool looking. i have a lot of lights in mine too, and i rerouted my power button becasue i dont liek it on the front were my parents canm find it.


i am on my cousins new pentium 4 dell, pretty nice, its a shames its being wasted on windows :(


-dexter

i thought i did that, not you

rop, i know thinkgeek sells those exact same modz. the window, the neon light. they are acctually quite expensive but then again they are aluminum and athlon approved!

www.thinkgeek.com

what the hell are you talking about? you never put lights in yours, and you never kept your case off till i did, i only copied you with replacing the power button, after you pushed it and made me re-install (bitch) ;)


-dexter

Well this is amusing :)

IMO, I'd rather not look at my computer. It's big, loud, and fugly. No amount of neon lighting will change my mind. If you're truly concerned with aesthetics you should get a Mac.

haha, i agree dave.
my computer does not look very nice at all, but the neon lights do kick ass.

What, are you a raver?

jk :)

Did somebody call for a raver? And they're GLOSTIX, not just any old neon lites! ;O)

my dad made me put my case back on :( he said it was a fire hazard.so now my comp only has a buncha tape on it, holding it together and "powered by red hat" stickers too.



lynx, tell your sis thanx for the cookies.

A fire hazard!?!?

You should tell him that keeping the cover off is a method of cooling the case, and that with the cover on internal components will reach dangerous (hazardous) temperatures. All you need is a hot day and your CPU could catch on fire!

thats the main reason i keep it off. that and eassier accesability. he also got mad when i took my alarm clock apart and was messing with it, he thought that was a hazard too... he jsut doesnt know whats kool...

hey rop,

i guess this post isn't that helpful anymore but just in case you pass by again in this thread here's a very interesting site and forum that might just trigger your imagination more for your case modding. i for one got conscious at how my pc look because of these sites. enjoy!!! :)

http://www.pinoypc.net/modules/ipboard/index.php?s=&showtopic=32815&hl=turbine&st=0
http://tantricmodz.tripod.com/home.htm

oh my jesus, what a bumpo

Just so you're clear. This may not be true for your case, but it is for many modern ones. The cases are design for a particular air flow. This means that they have a very precise and well worked out flow path for air to maximize cooling. In these cases, removing the cover can completely disrupt this flow, reducing overall cooling. Now if you just have a home built setup with a standard case and you just did the cooling yourself, then yes, opening the case and probably even putting a fan nearby would help. But personally I prefer to simply spend the money and have professionals take care of making sure my cooling needs are met.

-AntonK

my dad made me put my case back on :( he said it was a fire hazard.so now my comp only has a buncha tape on it, holding it together and "powered by red hat" stickers too.


I think the only way it would be a fire hazrd is if you have your computer in a place where stuff can get jossled around, or if you have a lot of traffic.

Let's say you have an umbrella sitting next to the case-- someone walks by, knocks it over, and the metal tip of the umbrella falls onto the motherboard, and bridges two jumpers that are not meant to be bridged. That would be once scenario where your fire hazard would come from.

I've nuked a couple of boards before in a similar fasion because I was being sloppy, and left a screw sitting on top of the board where it shoudn't have been (looks kinda cool--- like a cigarette burning). Having an open case increases the risk for catastrophic coincidental junk to happen.

At any rate, I'm with dad--- keep the case, or some sort of shell around it.

Eeek.
That first link sucked ass.

As far as modding goes, all I really want to know is what paints one can use to cover up that heinous beige covering all these old boxes and monitors I 'reclaim' from work...

:-)

well try epoxy spray paint,its cheap and availible at any hardware store.

just make sure you dont get paint inside the moniter,or comp,it will fry out the components.and ALWAYS use the right primer.


take off all the peices you can,and tape off the rest.

I had a discussion with someone about spraying some boxes previously, the main concerns are:
Making sure you use a Flame Retardent or Non-Flamible paint
Making sure the paint doesn't cause corrosion to either the case or components. (In fact if your cases stinks of freshly sprayed surface, make sure you air it a while before puting it back together.)
Making sure the paint sticks to the surface (Since boxes can be metalic and plastic, you might find some paints react funny in some cases. Also check that it "Peels" and doesn't "Flake" if the paint should come unstuck, the last thing you want is "flakes" being sucked into your fan units.)

Other than that, you could try some Case testing, pickup some old Computer boxes from either a second hand shop, or even dumps (even Yard Sales etc) Give them a test paint to perfect your decoration and knowledge of which paints to use. If you end up with 20-30 cases painted you can either talk to a Gallery to show your work and/ore sell them on Ebay.