# Perspex and wood case project.



## mediasorcerer (Oct 4, 2012)

Hi all, to anyone that may be interested?

I've started a new project to make my own case for the gear i recently purchased and here's a few pics to show anyone hows it coming along already.

The protective plastic is still on the perspex and im yet to mount the mobo and other parts but these pics~[crappy mob phone] will give you an idea of where i'm going with it, will update as it evolves. Thanks for the inspiration !

Regs from me.


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 4, 2012)

Little update- the radiator unit just came in the mail hehe [these antecs are great coolers too], its all happening now lol!
I think i will spray the wood black with spray paint to match the components, and may get some red colored perspex to add too. Using brass screws that will be countersunk to remain flush etc, hopefully have it almost finished by the weekend or close.


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 5, 2012)

I cut out one side today and did a bit more work, starting to take shape. Also mounted the motherboard onto one side with the brass mounts, this is a lot of work i tell ya, its from scratch im building it, the whole freaking lot!!.
Its going to be a funky machine when im finished, oh well, if case makeing companies wont delve into creating cases with a bit more "panash"~[most are dead arse boring in my op], then stuff it, il make one myself!~lol.


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## Jetster (Oct 5, 2012)

Looks like a project


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 5, 2012)

Thanx man, good fun making stuff and designing it, have to fit everything in and really think about the layout materials etc, i got a feeling it will turn out quite good, looks interesting so far as you can see all your components and im hoping its fairly silent too.


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 6, 2012)

Just installed the antec h20~620 rad unit, and its now idling @ 13-15 c , man thats very cool, not ocling much until its run in for a while, sitting at 4.2 atm, give it a hiding to see whats it made of later on today.

Heres an update on how the case is coming along, i peeled off the protective plastic to see what it looks like, and its looking pretty interesting so far, cant wait to finish it but have got a bit more work to do yet. You cant beat hand made, designed this in my head, didnt even draw it out , its a prototype , might make more if it works out.
Would have preferred to use colored anodised aluminium tubes on the corners, might look into that one day.


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 7, 2012)

Im really stoked with the way this is turning out so far, i just undercoated the wooden struts in readiness to coat in black enamel and am about to drill the corners shortly too. Here are the switches im using and usb/audio ports too. 
Ahwell, i got this thread all to myself it seems lol.   At least its fairly original in concept. I got a notion to make and sell this if it works.


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## de.das.dude (Oct 7, 2012)

sub!
use the tpu image hosting service :cheers:
http://www.techpowerup.org/


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 7, 2012)

thanx das, didnt know there was one.


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## de.das.dude (Oct 7, 2012)

you get it from the techpower up with the down arrow on the top left corner. next to the userCP link


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 14, 2012)

One side mounted, the pillars sprayed black
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




, still a fair bit of work to do.


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## Huddo93 (Oct 14, 2012)

That will look awesome once you paint/coat that CD drive with black or something, will look amazing!

Great work so far


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 14, 2012)

Why thankyou, i have big plans, but it's heaps of work lol, more than i thought!! Still got to cut outs for switches and mount hdrives etc, and yes, absolutely going to spray that fugly dvd drive black lol.


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 17, 2012)

I upgraded the motherboard today for this build, with a nice solid replacement. It looks like a quality bit of kit and well made when you look in close, well that's what i'm getting from it, others opinions may vary, another asus too, post pics later when i can,


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## [H]@RD5TUFF (Oct 17, 2012)

Looking awesome it's coming along nicely.


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 18, 2012)

Thanks a lot actually, it means something coming from you guys if you dont mind me saying, i really jumped off the deep end taking this on, hehe, but, great learning curve and hopefully it bodes well for more ideas and builds. I got a notion to put a few led,s in it hopefully without over doing it, trying not to end up "gaudy' you know what i mean? hehehe, There just isnt that many "sophisticated" aesthetic on the market when it comes to cases,[thats my subjective op of course].Id love to be able to fill that hole in the market one day, use my sculpting skills why not?

I had to keep in mind easy access to all parts[4 screws and the lids off with complete access etc]] and how the cables r routed, air flow, really good shit to think about, next time il draw it up first, but its working out so far, it's killer fun seeing something go from your minds eye into physical reality!!! Cant beat that creative rush!!






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This thing is going in shortly, hope it works.


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 18, 2012)

Yep. it works well, there's the chip greased.






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That's how i do the tim, neat and even! Well close enough.





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Voila!! Good to go.





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Success~





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## t_ski (Oct 18, 2012)

Most manufacturers of thermal compound recommend that you do not spread the compound out, but apply it in a line or ball over the core and let the heatsink flatten and spread out the TIM to prevent air bubbles from forming between the heatsink and processor.  Air is a poor conductor.


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 19, 2012)

I know T, but i get good results this way every time!.
The software that came with this asus board is really good. A tweakers paradise lol.

Just updated the bios 6 times in a row lol with no probs, yeh yeh everyone says dont update the bios, its the first thing i do with new gear.  
Love this mobo!!! the sound is excellent and the intel nic kicks arse.
Asus have done a great job. its a little beauty! Im very lucky, never had nice gear like this before. 
Stable and cool. oh wow, its just lovely kit.





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## Huddo93 (Oct 19, 2012)

Awesome motherboard. Every once and a while I get the urge to build a micro atx PC, the Asus ROG motherboard would definitely be my choice for gaming and solid overclocking to


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 19, 2012)

Do it Huddo, build one, this mobo is just brilliant.
mate its grouse!! I dont need a full size mobo for my computing needs really[but id have one tho if had $$$ hehe]cheers frm me.


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 19, 2012)

Do it Huddo, build one, this mobo is just brilliant.
mate its grouse!! I dont need a full size mobo for my computing needs really[but id have one tho if had $$$ hehe]cheers frm me.


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## de.das.dude (Oct 19, 2012)

spreading out tim properly helps a lot. I get awesome results too.


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 19, 2012)

Yep das, otherwise you get dry spots and thats no good either.


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## EiSFX (Oct 19, 2012)

I have always spread out my thermal paste to and has always worked the best for me too but also when you do the spreading method it a good idea to give the heatsink/waterblock a good little twist back and forth not too much just a little that gets rid of any possible air bubbles


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## drdeathx (Oct 19, 2012)

Spreading tim gives the worst results. The pea method gives the best. It has been proven over and over....


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## m1dg3t (Oct 25, 2012)

Great design/build! Very logical IMO


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 25, 2012)

drdeathx said:


> Spreading tim gives the worst results. The pea method gives the best. It has been proven over and over....




Can you show us this proof please,
from what iv'e seen, results can vary any way you do it, i'd rather know that the tim is covering all surface area, cant be sure of that with pea method.


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## MT Alex (Oct 25, 2012)

It makes no difference, other than adding too much paste and increasing temps, if TIM covers the whole cpu as most of the heat is generated in the center.  Drdeathx is right, this is one horse that has been beaten to a bloody pulp.  A little works a lot better than too much.

This is the first link if you google "best method spread thermal paste"
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/What-is-the-Best-Way-to-Apply-Thermal-Grease-Part-1/1303/11

Nice project, by the way


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 25, 2012)

Yeh, the great tim applications wars hehe!!

Thanx alex, il git it finished one day soon, had a lot on lately.


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## EiSFX (Oct 25, 2012)

most of the time the way you apply the TIM only results in a 1 or 2 degree difference sometimes not even a full degree which usaully falls within the margin of error. the way i see it is the only bad thing/result is when you use too much TIM but how you apply it dosen't matter as the differences is small and like is i said already falls in the margin of error


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 27, 2012)

[/IMG]Doing a bit more work on this project, these pics will give you an idea of how its coming along, bear in mind its a proof of concept rather than aiming at perfection, if it works out, il build another one better, but 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




[/IMG]d so far so good already, just really trying to get some sort of sophistication into the style, if i dont fully succeed this time, i will next one i make.yep!!


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## Jetster (Oct 27, 2012)

mediasorcerer said:


> Can you show us this proof please,
> from what iv'e seen, results can vary any way you do it, i'd rather know that the tim is covering all surface area, cant be sure of that with pea method.



Here



http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=173636


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 27, 2012)

fair enough^, already seen it a while ago, il try pea method next time .
maybe,cant argue with results tho, and i get good results.consistently.


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## Jetster (Oct 27, 2012)

Personaly I dont think its a big deal. The only way you can really screw up is to get it all over your board


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 28, 2012)

Hope im not being a post hog, but i have a few more pics of the radiator cutout i did last night, and i think the case is looking quite smooth the style of it, have a geezer at it if it behooves you.






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You know what, i love the way i can see all the components and when the leds shine on the sides at night it looks unreal, i will incorporate some leds into the design , still have to put on/off switch and mount cd drive down the bottom and route cables and fans too etc, wth, i like it anywas, its different and unique and has some sophistication and style already, whats wrong with that i ask?


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## mediasorcerer (Oct 28, 2012)

Jetster said:


> Personaly I dont think its a big deal. The only way you can really screw up is to get it all over your board



I will use the pea method next time, thanx for input too, its appreciated by me.


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## Arrakis9 (Oct 28, 2012)

mediasorcerer said:


> I know T, but i get good results this way every time!.
> The software that came with this asus board is really good. A tweakers paradise lol.
> 
> Just updated the bios 6 times in a row lol with no probs, yeh yeh everyone says dont update the bios, its the first thing i do with new gear.
> ...



Just a word of advice, that gamefirst software is utter shit, it worked fine for me the first couple weeks after installing it then it started dropping my connections in rift and ventrilo, i wondered for a couple of days what was causing the issues until i decided to uninstall the software and all of my troubles went away.

Back on topic though, your mod is looking great - you should think about sleeving the wires individually for + 1 on looks 

May i also recommend making an acrylic L bracket for holding the video card in place with some screws, that would keep it from wobbling


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## mediasorcerer (Nov 9, 2012)

Hi Arrakis , i wondered about the gamefirst too funny you mention that, it looks pretty crappy actually, on the other asus board i had it had a network boost that was incorporated into the ai suite etc, that seemed better and more practical, i may uninstall it on your advice i think. thats a good idea of the sleeving too,  never done that b4, is it hard to do or get?

Just a small update , not finished yet but thinking of some fans in the case, so far, its rather quiet and is not getting hot really at all, ambients are pretty normal so far, with a fan or two it should make it even better, and a second fan on the rad too will help a bit..

Im going to build a second one after i finish this and take a bit more time and care, and use all the parts off this for a template, i will uyse blue/red coloured perspex for the rectangular side pieces with 2 clear pieces on the sides as you see it etc, 

its funny, when i boot it up, it sounds a bit like a turbine or race car hehe not loud, just a cool kinda sound etc, heres a few pics of ideas for front/top/side fans , i have  a few to choose from luckily!!!

not the best quality pics sorry for that, chitty mob ph

ps, thanx tpu for op to show my idea here, and for inspirational place to visit and participate in!!






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I cant wait to get some leds happening too in this case, it looks really good at night the whole side glows with blue and red, jeez, just got to get the time to finish it tho lol.

Got to get the damn dvd drive in below the front fan too, that should be fun hehe!!!


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## Arrakis9 (Nov 18, 2012)

sleeving all of the cables isnt very hard, its getting the connectors off the cables that's really the only difficult part, most people will buy para cord off ebay because of how cheap it is and really putting that little bit of extra time in it can really make the inside of the case shine with how tidy everything looks 

here's an example of what im talking about, but more obviously in the colors you want


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## mediasorcerer (Nov 19, 2012)

wow man, that looks very cool, thanx for the tip,^il do that when funds permit, post more pics when ive installed the fans, just bought a coping saw today to get it done,


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