# My first mods on a soprano



## TSX420J (Apr 21, 2007)

Today I recieved my case and other junk. I got to work fast, so fast I was able to complete
phase one and two. Plenty more mods to come as I get more funds   .
This is my first DIY in this area. On my old computer I only opened it once to dust it off,
other than that I have never done anything to a computer. 


Here you go. 

First I took apart the whole case and covered all the areas that were not to be painted. 







Next I measured and marked the spot where I wanted to add a 120mm fan on top instead of the
faulty USB hub it brings. I did some research and found a couple of PSU's that are the 
same dimensions as the one it brings, so I know I have room to upgrade later on.







Then I took it out back and brought out my trusty 4" grinder. It was a bitch to cut
the top of the case because the metal is so thin it melts and becomes stretched out 
instead of being cut.

Finally I got everything cut. 

Next I cleaned off all the burrs, masked the top, cleaned the inside of the case 
very well leaving no trace of dust and then painted it. After the paint dryed I 
took off all the tape and newspaper. 











Then I added some rubber trim to the edge of the hole I cut on top 
of the case. 











Well that is all for today. Tomorrow I will add some more goodies.
I will keep everyone posted on my first modded case.


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## theonetruewill (Apr 21, 2007)

Good luck dude, your build sounds just like mine. Very dependent on funds! 

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=28023


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## TSX420J (Apr 21, 2007)

theonetruewill said:


> Good luck dude, your build sounds just like mine. Very dependent on funds!
> 
> http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=28023



LOL, I got all the expensive junk out the way but now I just need fans and some 
custom lighting and I'll be close to done. I blasted 800.00 bucks on a bunch of junk 
so I am waiting till I pay off the rest of my depts before I put myself in another k-hole.


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## theonetruewill (Apr 21, 2007)

TSX420J said:


> LOL, I got all the expensive junk out the way but now I just need fans and some
> custom lighting and I'll be close to done. I blasted 800.00 bucks on a bunch of junk
> so I am waiting till I pay off the rest of my depts before I put myself in another k-hole.



Yeah, I saw that in your thread; hard luck.


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## TheCrow (Apr 21, 2007)

Wow that looks like you've done a realy good neat job!

Same case as me except i've not had the guts to do any chopping up yet! All i've done is change the fan in the side for a coloured one!


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## TSX420J (Apr 21, 2007)

TheCrow said:


> Wow that looks like you've done a realy good neat job!
> 
> Same case as me except i've not had the guts to do any chopping up yet! All i've done is change the fan in the side for a coloured one!



Thanks. I was scared at first but hey, no guts no glory. I thought I would have to repaint the top but with the rubber trim you cant tell I did it myself. I just put in the MB but I am waiting for tomorrow to finish. I need to go return the GPU to get another one and some led fans.


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## Joshmcmillan (Apr 21, 2007)

Look's good, very neat. YOU BETTER POST MORE PICS TOMORROW!!!


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## TSX420J (Apr 21, 2007)

*update*











I still need to add the two hdds and wire everything. I hope it will look clean and not ctuttered. I still have some other custom mods that I 
will be doing in a couple of weeks, but I have to wait for some stuff I ordered.


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## Joshmcmillan (Apr 21, 2007)

Wow that's a pretty awsome case. Got any final pics from the top? How much was the paint you used, it's pretty fine. 
What's your system specs?


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## TSX420J (Apr 21, 2007)

Joshmcmillan said:


> Look's good, very neat. YOU BETTER POST MORE PICS TOMORROW!!!



Thanks. I sure will. I just hope when I fire it up it doesnt fry on me. I have never 
done this before.


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## TSX420J (Apr 21, 2007)

Joshmcmillan said:


> Wow that's a pretty awsome case. Got any final pics from the top? How much was the paint you used, it's pretty fine.
> What's your system specs?



The top is not done yet I still have to buy the fan that goes there and I will be putting in some modders mesh. I hope I can have it done by tomorrow though.  I used rustoleum glossy black paint.


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## TSX420J (Apr 21, 2007)

well Im off to bed. I am beat.


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## TheCrow (Apr 21, 2007)

Wow!

That looks so much better with the silver chassis painted black!
You've got me thinking now!

I'll take a few pics of mine to show you!


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## TheCrow (Apr 21, 2007)

Here ya go, now you can have a direct comparison.....


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## Wile E (Apr 21, 2007)

Looking good so far, TSX. Very neat and tidy looking. I had an idea to make it look even better, paint the psu black, as well.


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## TSX420J (Apr 21, 2007)

TheCrow said:


> Wow!
> 
> That looks so much better with the silver chassis painted black!
> You've got me thinking now!
> ...




Thanks. I have some other Ideas I want to keep seceret so if I dont do it I wont look like 
I'm talking shit. 





TheCrow said:


> Here ya go, now you can have a direct comparison.....




That is the psu I want.. Do you have the dimensions in inches? In the begining I was 
thinking of painting it fluorecent green and orange inside but thought black=class,
so I went for black.


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## TSX420J (Apr 21, 2007)

Wile E said:


> Looking good so far, TSX. Very neat and tidy looking. I had an idea to make it look even better, paint the psu black, as well.



Well now I have to expose a seceret. :shadedshu  J/K 


One of the projects I will be doing is making a panel out of plexiglass that will fit 
in that space and go all the way across. The panel will have a design painted on the
inside with white or uv reactive paint and the rest in black. On the four corners it 
will have UV leds protruding throught the glass giving the design a nice effect. 

Something like this but not the same design or colors.


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## TSX420J (Apr 22, 2007)

So I finished everything except 5 more mods I want to do. Hopefully work will be good 
this coming week because I am broke, but happy.


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## TheCrow (Apr 22, 2007)

Thats looking sweet mate!


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## wazzledoozle (Apr 22, 2007)

Thats really nice.

Did you prime it, or use more than one layer of paint?


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## TSX420J (Apr 22, 2007)

TheCrow said:


> Thats looking sweet mate!



Thanks


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## TSX420J (Apr 22, 2007)

wazzledoozle said:


> Thats really nice.
> 
> Did you prime it, or use more than one layer of paint?




Thanks  

The inside was bare metal. I did no prep work other than clean the case before I painted 
five light coats 3-4 minutes apart. It looks nice but I alread messed up some of the finish 
when I installed the PSU. You have to be very, very carefull with connectors too because 
of the sharp edges.


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## Joshmcmillan (Apr 23, 2007)

TSX whats ur system specs?


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## TSX420J (Apr 23, 2007)

Intel Pentium D 940 3.20GHz / 4MB Cache / 800MHz FSB / Dual-Core / Presler / OEM / Socket 775 / Processor

ECS nForce 570 SLIT-A v5.1 NVIDIA Socket 775 ATX Motherboard / Audio / PCI Express / S/PDIF / SLI Ready / Gigabit LAN / USB 2.0 / Serial ATA / RAID

2 X Corsair Value Select 1024MB PC4200 DDR2 533MHz Memory (I was going to get 667mhz
but they didnt have it at the time.)

XFX GeForce 7600 GT XXX Edition / 256MB GDDR3 / SLI / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV / Video Card

Western Digital Caviar SE Hard Drive - 250GB - 7200rpm - 300MBps Serial ATA - II - Serial ATA/300 - Serial ATA - Internal

Western Digital Caviar SE Hard Drive - 80GB - 7200rpm - 300MBps Serial ATA - II - Serial ATA/300 - Serial ATA - Internal

Lite-On LH-20A1P SuperAllwrite / 20x DVD±R Burn / 16x DVD±R Read / 8x DVD+RW / 6x DVD-RW / 8x DVD±R DL / 12x DVD-RAM / 48x32x CD-R/RW / Black / DVD Burner

Sabrent 52-in-1 / USB 2.0 Internal / Flash Memory Card Reader & Writer w/ USB 2.0 Port (Black)

1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive (Black)

CoolerMaster Mars CPU Cooler RR-CCX-W9U1-GP, for Intel LGA 775 & AMD Socket AM2 / F/ 754/ 939/ 940

Thermaltake SOPRANO VB1430BWS Black Mid ATX Tower Computer Case w/ X Type Side Panel Window w/ 430w PS

Arctic Silver 5 3.5g High Density Polysynthetic SliverThermal Compound


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## Joshmcmillan (Apr 23, 2007)

Can I not see right of does that 7600gt look like a hard disk. From the picture it doesn't even have a heat sink.


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## TSX420J (Apr 23, 2007)




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## Joshmcmillan (Apr 23, 2007)

Sick!!


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## TSX420J (Apr 23, 2007)

Joshmcmillan said:


> Can I not see right of does that 7600gt look like a hard disk. From the picture it doesn't even have a heat sink.


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## Joshmcmillan (Apr 23, 2007)

lol, look at ur video card in one of ur other pics and it looks like an OEM hd.


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## macscottsman88 (Apr 23, 2007)

really nice job 
i have been wanting to paint the inside of my case but i am to lazy to take the mobo out


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## freaksavior (Apr 23, 2007)

what did you do to prep the case? http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=29924

i'm planning on painting his but i dk what all need done for prep work!!


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## TSX420J (Apr 23, 2007)

freaksavior said:


> what did you do to prep the case? http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=29924
> 
> i'm planning on painting his but i dk what all need done for prep work!!




Here is your answer.  




TSX420J said:


> Thanks
> 
> The inside was bare metal. I did no prep work other than clean the case before I painted
> five light coats 3-4 minutes apart. It looks nice but I alread messed up some of the finish
> ...


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## TSX420J (Apr 23, 2007)

Joshmcmillan said:


> lol, look at ur video card in one of ur other pics and it looks like an OEM hd.



Yeah, its weird they put all the stuff on the bottom instead of the top


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## EvilDirt (May 4, 2007)

*what kind of ram ,,*

nice looking rig ,, i also just bought the same board , but i seem to have alittle issue , i wanted to know what kinda of ram do you have ,, i am running kinda  the same stuff , i think my ram is just not right , any help would be really helpful ..


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## KennyT772 (May 4, 2007)

Wicked sick dude. Perfect.


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## TSX420J (May 4, 2007)

EvilDirt said:


> nice looking rig ,, i also just bought the same board , but i seem to have alittle issue , i wanted to know what kinda of ram do you have ,, i am running kinda  the same stuff , i think my ram is just not right , any help would be really helpful ..



Thanks. 

I have 2 corsair value select 1gb ddr-2 667mhz ram in slot 1 and 3.


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## TSX420J (May 4, 2007)

KennyT772 said:


> Wicked sick dude. Perfect.



Thanks Kenny, since then I have added new IDE cables instead of ribbons. 
I am now going to change the air flow in the case once I get the front fan.


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## Wile E (May 4, 2007)

Any other mods since then, TSX? You start on any of your other ideas?


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## TSX420J (May 4, 2007)

Wile E said:


> Any other mods since then, TSX? You start on any of your other ideas?



Not yet I am waiting till the end of this month to start the new mods. I really want to do the other ideas but I lack money right now.   Only thing I have done new was change out 
the ribbons for some rounded cables and put in a hexxed grille on top.


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## TSX420J (May 4, 2007)

New IDE's  






New grille






Just some new pics.


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## TSX420J (May 4, 2007)

Pic of my whole setup.


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## Wile E (May 4, 2007)

I like the fan grill a lot. Not too flashy, but still nice. And what model Technics is that? Looks a lot like a 1210. Yay for vinyl!!!! lol


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## TSX420J (May 4, 2007)

A sneak peek at my next mod.


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## TSX420J (May 4, 2007)

Wile E said:


> I like the fan grill a lot. Not too flashy, but still nice. And what model Technics is that? Looks a lot like a 1210. Yay for vinyl!!!! lol



Thanks..  

SL-1200 mk2 I use it so make sound effects and jack samples.


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## Darknova (May 4, 2007)

I am impressed, you have done a very good job. I really really like it


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## TSX420J (May 4, 2007)

Darknova said:


> I am impressed, you have done a very good job. I really really like it



Thanks Darknova,


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## Darknova (May 4, 2007)

TSX420J said:


> Thanks Darknova,



I've seen a lot of cases where they have painted the inside, but they've never looked as neat as yours, plus it matches the outside of the case. Also the blue lighting works great with the black, and the top fan grill is perfect, nothing too fancy but fits very well.


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## TSX420J (May 5, 2007)

Darknova said:


> I've seen a lot of cases where they have painted the inside, but they've never looked as neat as yours, plus it matches the outside of the case. Also the blue lighting works great with the black, and the top fan grill is perfect, nothing too fancy but fits very well.


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## Batou1986 (May 5, 2007)

is that a logitec sub in a custom cab i was thinking about doing that to my speakers as the sub box has a weird rattle to it like some epoxy crumbs or something


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## theonetruewill (May 5, 2007)

As everyone says, the top fan grill gives it that extra edge.


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## TSX420J (May 5, 2007)

Batou1986 said:


> is that a logitec sub in a custom cab i was thinking about doing that to my speakers as the sub box has a weird rattle to it like some epoxy crumbs or something



It is a JBL sub in a custom box my friend and I made once. It sounds o.k. for gaming but is 
not that good.


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## TSX420J (May 5, 2007)

theonetruewill said:


> As everyone says, the top fan grill gives it that extra edge.





Thanks


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## mrw1986 (May 21, 2007)

That is the best case I have ever seen. Very clean and excellent looking. Good work mate, wish  
I had the talent to do that, actually, make that the funds to do that


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## TSX420J (May 21, 2007)

mrw1986 said:


> That is the best case I have ever seen. Very clean and excellent looking. Good work mate, wish
> I had the talent to do that, actually, make that the funds to do that



Thanks MRW1986


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## TSX420J (Jun 1, 2007)

added a red led fan on the side and front













What do you think about this grille??


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## tkpenalty (Jun 1, 2007)

niiiiceee....


but why is the case so cramped...


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## TSX420J (Jun 1, 2007)

tkpenalty said:


> niiiiceee....
> 
> 
> but why is the case so cramped...



Thanks TK, I dunno, it is pretty cramped though. I am going to be getting new cpu and watercooling
soon. I think it'll look less crowded then. I am hoping. I hope I can also fit a 8800 too. 







I think the door makes it look more crowded too.


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## TSX420J (Jun 4, 2007)

*Update Before Nexts Mods and Upgrades.*

Update on the progress for people who had'nt seen the other thread. Plus this will be the 
thread for my case from start to finish and so on. Enjoy 

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=32221


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## wazzledoozle (Jun 4, 2007)

What did you do? Looks awesome 

10/10


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## TSX420J (Jun 4, 2007)

wazzledoozle said:


> What did you do? Looks awesome
> 
> 10/10



Thanks, check it out.  

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=32221


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