antec 300 number 2: givie ideas/comments

[tastegw]

I didn't like the logo when you first showed what it was going to be. But seeing it on that case makes me like it. Good job. I'm anxious to see what this turns out to look like.

are you talkin about the nvidia logo from the first post?
if so, that is my older antec 300 that i did a few months back. this one will be different.

if your not talkin about the nvidia logo, what were you referring to?

thanks in advance

edit: small update in progress.



i was shopping around for some bolts, and came acrros a nice looking skull sticker lol.
so i remembered i had some of my hard drive cage showing thru the window, what better to cover up this space than with some artwork. (also gave the inside panel(mobotray) a hole for wiremanagement.)
here is what it looks like without the side panel on

and a pic to show what it looks like with the side window on (keep in mind, i have not applied the trim for the edges of the cutout yet)

the pictures really dont do it justice, the skull is "chrome" finish, and i tried my best to get it placed just right.
i wonder how it would look with different colored led's reflecting off of it. ill have to test a few colors, still not sure what led color scheme i want yet, but red is leading.

i also have this carbon fiber "punisher" skull 5x7, not sure if i will use it or not, ill have to wait and see if it would look good anywhere.

 

[philbar71]

wow. that punisher sticker is sick looking. if your not using it i could put it to good use

also i think it would be neat to see some water cooling in this case, like a 2x120mm rad in the front and a single 120mm in the back would be cool.

 

[tastegw]

wow. that punisher sticker is sick looking. if your not using it i could put it to good use

also i think it would be neat to see some water cooling in this case, like a 2x120mm rad in the front and a single 120mm in the back would be cool.

im not ready for water cooling yet, im still a rookie and i have alot to learn before taking on such a project. maybe by next year i will know enough inside and out to tackle some water cooling. but since i can only push my phenom to 3.75 ...i consider that a failure lol.
i will have to learn intel overclocking as well, because the last intel cpu i had was a celeron single core 2.0GHz that was only capable of like a small overclock.

when the time comes, i will jump on that horse and hope i dont fall off
but i dont have the sadle to ride it yet.

eidt: top window mod in progress, have the cutout drawn, but sadly im waiting on my cordless dremel to charge up lol.
ill have to wait untill tomorrow to continue this. the exact dimensions of this top panel window will be 5 1/2" x 6". that is all the room i have up there (leaving atleast 1 inch border on all 4 sides)

hope my trim comes in tomorrow as well, as i know that will make my side window look clean.

 

[philbar71]

the top window should be neat looking. and only 3.75GHz, please i got my q9300 up to 4GHz. you need to try harder.

as you can see i have the #1 spot,

THE OVERCLOCKING WORLD RECORD DATABASE

and people are getting teh 940 up to 6GHz,

THE OVERCLOCKING WORLD RECORD DATABASE

 

[tastegw]

the top window should be neat looking. and only 3.75GHz, please i got my q9300 up to 4GHz. you need to try harder.

as you can see i have the #1 spot,

THE OVERCLOCKING WORLD RECORD DATABASE

and people are getting teh 940 up to 6GHz,

THE OVERCLOCKING WORLD RECORD DATABASE

thats what im saying!
i have to learn more lol


editing for progress:

top panel cuts have began, 3 sides have been cut, but again i need to recharge my dremel, boy i wish i would have just forked out the money for a non cordless model. i am cutting this top pane via dremel exclusivley, unlike the side panel where i just cut the corners for starting points for the jigsaw. the dremel cuts are much straiter than the jigsaw, but at the same time more time consuming, but thats ok, i want it to look real nice.

 

[tastegw]

got the top panel window cut-out complete.

still no trim in from mnpctech.com, that will most likely be here by monday or tuesday hopefully.

also i got the front panel carbon on, but i think i picked the wrong color. the silverish is too aluminum looking, i should have gone with the suggested color (darker).
so that mistake is "my bad" lol.

edit: i took that crap carbon film off, i was not liking it.

here are pics.

all that is left to do is:

1: clean this sucker up, cause all the dust from cutting is still on it
2: apply the window trim to both the side panel window and the top panel window
3: apply the top panel window (smoked) when it arrives (thanks to aspire for pointing out a place to get it)
4:apply some cairage bolt heads around the windows (this may not get completed)
5: slap a beefy i7 system in it.

i have ordered 2 of these lights here

and i will use those as backlights... they look orange in the pic but they are red indeed. they are less than 2 inches in length so some double sided tape will hold them in place.

if there is any more suggestions or comments, shoot them, i would like to hear 'em!

 

[Trotter]

A more functional than cosmetic suggestion.

Put a blowhole/air intake directly under the PSU. Mount the PSU so it's intake is pointing down into the opening. This will allow it to draw in cooler outside air, letting it run cooler and more stable. A 120mm should do it, and you could use a dust filter for the grill since it is on the bottom.

Have you considered what feet you are going to use with the case? There are some nice billet feet out there, or even LEDs if you want garish.

 

[tastegw]

havnt decided on feet yet. point me out something you would like to see installed. (dont think i want led's in my feet )

the black ones from mnpctech look nice, but @ over $30, not for a $60 case hehe
Machined Aluminum Case Feet

as for the psu hole, i am going to pass on that one for the time being for 2 reasons.

1) even with a filter, i dont trust the carpet that sits just below my tower.

2) my current psu is blowing rather cool air out the backside, so i dont think heat is any issue at the moment. this can change from psu to psu though im sure. i know my last one did in fact blow rather warm air out, but it was mounted at the top of a case.

if i had hardwood flooring (witch i may have in the near future because im moving to barstow in august) i will consider the psu hole.

i think i may take this carbon fiber off, im not liking it very much.

edit: i did take that carbon off. looks much better without it lol.


another edit: now since the top panel will have a window, i think i am going to have to paint the top of my cd/dvd drive flat black.
(if its not already, maybe ill look for one that already has a black finish to it)

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

I have never thought of trotters idea before, rather nice. BTW great work so far for a 2nd or 3rd case mod... A custom cutting jig made for a dremel would have helped a lot with the window cuts IMO. But IMO a black and aluminum/chrome layout is nice... The skull is accented a BIT by the front aluminum looking vinyl.. Maybe cut a strip for the motherboard tray, and see how that looks? Might be a bit much...

 

[tastegw]

just got back from wal-mart to pick up some clear coat, i will be painting the outside of the case flat-black with a clear coat on top of that.

i think i may have found my solution for the cairage bolt heads, while back in the 'arts and crafts' section i saw some "cover buttons" that are ment to be put on cloth, but with and they look just like cairage bolt heads. these may or maynot be hard to mount.
i will have to get back to you all on that after i try.

edit: im pleased to annouce that my $700 reserve has been met on my phenom rig. this gives me a $1500 buget for my i7 setup thats going in this case that you see in this thread.
with any luck, maybe the bidding will go a little higher and increase my i7 budget. but at the moment, the newegg shopping cart total with tax / shipping is only $1,279, so i have room for improvement. possibly getting better ram would be a good invest.

edit again: scratching the cairage bolt head idea. instead i went with a free hand paint job design around the side window to go along with my color scheme. I will get some pics up later on. i have painted the side panel and the top panel flat black with a few coats of glossy clear coat. it is starting to come together now. all that is left is to add the trim and the top panel window and then the system goes in.