# Custom case build



## Rgt0007 (Feb 13, 2020)

Hello Internet!

So I recently built a new system (my 6 y.o. FX system was showing its age) but I couldn't find a case that I liked and was unique, that wasn't $200+. This gave me the idea to make my own case, so I built the pc in a cheap, temporary case just to get it running. I realize I could end up spending well over $200 to make a case, but at least it'll be unique. Thought I'd make a thread to log and share my progress for anyone that cares.

I'm currently in the design stage and was wondering if there was a database here on the forum for all the ATX, PCI, and i/o specs? I'm trying to get the rear of the case laid out.

Thanks for any help. I'll upload some pictures once I have something drawn up, until then, here's my current setup.


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## lexluthermiester (Feb 13, 2020)

Rgt0007 said:


> I'm currently in the design stage and was wondering if there was a database here on the forum for all the ATX, PCI, and i/o specs?


Not really, but we can all make suggestions.

I'm partial to CoolerMaster currently as they have quite a few very stylish and affordable cases. Question is, do you want 5.25" bays?

Here's one that I've taken interest in for MATX/ITX builds and there are two versions, with a 5.25" bay and one without.
With;





						MasterBox NR400 with ODD | Cooler Master USA
					






					www.coolermaster.com
				




Without;





						MasterBox NR400 without ODD | Cooler Master USA
					






					www.coolermaster.com
				




Both have lots of room for cooling fans/rads. Solid construction.


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## hat (Feb 14, 2020)

He's not looking to buy a case, he wants to make his own.


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## sam_86314 (Feb 14, 2020)

The Wikipedia page for ATX has dimensions and diagrams showing screw mount locations. That's probably a good place to start.









						ATX - Wikipedia
					






					en.wikipedia.org
				








ATX is 305 x 244mm.


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## witkazy (Feb 14, 2020)

If it is Your first stab at modding You can canibalize whole rear from old case and cut it to suit Your needs. Saves time and head ache .It helps some times to make cardboard model of build You plan to do just to figure out layout and whatnot. Cheers ,keep on moddin'.


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## lexluthermiester (Feb 14, 2020)

hat said:


> He's not looking to buy a case, he wants to make his own.


Oops, you're right. This is what I get for skimming over things to fast sometimes.


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## Rgt0007 (Feb 14, 2020)

I've decided I'm going to use wood for as much of the case as I possibly can. I'm familiar with the material and working with it, and I think it will give it a more unique/sophisticated look.



sam_86314 said:


> The Wikipedia page for ATX has dimensions and diagrams showing screw mount locations. That's probably a good place to start.



The motherboard tray layout was the easy part. I had a little more trouble with the rear i/o and pci slot layouts, but I think I've managed to get them drawn up pretty accurately. Found the ATX Specification and the PCI Express Card Specification PDFs which helped a lot. Links below for anyone interested.

ATX: https://cdn.instructables.com/ORIG/FS8/5ILB/GU59Z1AT/FS85ILBGU59Z1AT.pdf
PCIe: http://read.pudn.com/downloads166/ebook/758109/PCI_Express_CEM_1.1.pdf



witkazy said:


> If it is Your first stab at modding You can canibalize whole rear from old case and cut it to suit Your needs. Saves time and head ache .It helps some times to make cardboard model of build You plan to do just to figure out layout and whatnot. Cheers ,keep on moddin'.



Thought about it, but I don't have a case that I'm ok destroying.


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## lexluthermiester (Feb 14, 2020)

Rgt0007 said:


> I've decided I'm going to use wood for as much of the case as I possibly can. I'm familiar with the material and working with it, and I think it will give it a more unique/sophisticated look.


Clint from LGR would approve!


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## sam_86314 (Feb 14, 2020)

Rgt0007 said:


> I've decided I'm going to use wood for as much of the case as I possibly can. I'm familiar with the material and working with it, and I think it will give it a more unique/sophisticated look.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You should check out DIY Perks on YouTube. He's built several custom PC cases out of wood and other materials. His builds always look really different from your typical PC.


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## Rgt0007 (Feb 15, 2020)

lexluthermiester said:


> Clint from LGR would approve!



idk who Clint from LGR is, but he sounds like a pretty cool guy



sam_86314 said:


> You should check out DIY Perks on YouTube. He's built several custom PC cases out of wood and other materials. His builds always look really different from your typical PC.



I’ve seen that video! Its interesting what he did with the heatsinks. Not a fan of the rope trim tho lol


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## lexluthermiester (Feb 15, 2020)

Rgt0007 said:


> idk who Clint from LGR is, but he sounds like a pretty cool guy











						LGR
					

Weekly coverage of retro tech, PC games, and more! Classic computer gaming, Oddware, thrifting, Tech Tales, Sims, etc If you'd like to ask a question or just...




					www.youtube.com
				






Rgt0007 said:


> Not a fan of the rope trim tho lol


Me neither, but you could just as easily make that build without the rope.


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## Rgt0007 (Feb 16, 2020)

lexluthermiester said:


> Me neither, but you could just as easily make that build without the rope.



nah, it only works for a mini itx and it’s passively cooled. I’m wanting to build a fast gaming/3D modeling pc so passive cooling won’t suffice.

I’ll have to check out Clint’s channel tho


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## SirKeldon (Feb 16, 2020)

Rgt0007 said:


> I've decided I'm going to use wood for as much of the case as I possibly can. I'm familiar with the material and working with it, and I think it will give it a more unique/sophisticated look.



I'm really into this thread since the moment you said "custom case", I love modding and when it mixes with craftsman's work it's even more interesting. I really love wood cases, and when they're good finished and polished, boy, they really look unique and sophisticated. Whatever you decide, whatever you do, the best of lucks planning and specially building.

I checked quick online and here are some designs that looked fancy to me:










One a little bit more ghetto but still cool IMHO










And by far, my favourite with round lines and good polishing is this one:






Here's a link to its build log project if you're interested

Even InWin has something really similar to that one, the 806 model:






Hope you share some design mockups soon or even pictures of the first parts aligned!!!

Keep up the good work, cheers!!!


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## P4-630 (Feb 16, 2020)

EK Lignum - Wooden Water Block - ekwb.com
					

EK Lignum is a signature Edition of EK liquid cooling products and a perfect symbiosis of the oldest natural building material - wood and contemporary high-end cooling solutions.




					www.ekwb.com


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## SirKeldon (Feb 16, 2020)

P4-630 said:


> EK Lignum - Wooden Water Block - ekwb.com
> 
> 
> EK Lignum is a signature Edition of EK liquid cooling products and a perfect symbiosis of the oldest natural building material - wood and contemporary high-end cooling solutions.
> ...



Those blocks are sweet, when I did purchase my last WC parts recently, I did a quick lurk on EKWB other lines .. and the wooden one was so damn nice, it's a shame that they're charging so much, didn't do a research of why, maybe the materials/assembly, but they do look gorgeous, if the OP is going with wood finally, those should fit perfectly  (if it's interested into watercooling of course ... which I hope cause a custom case with watercooling it's just perfect)


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## Rgt0007 (Feb 16, 2020)

SirKeldon said:


> Even InWin has something really similar to that one, the 806 model:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I like the simplicity of the InWin case, tho it’s a steel box with just a wood face.

The EK lignum blocks are actually one of things that inspired me towards using wood as the main material


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## SirKeldon (Feb 16, 2020)

Rgt0007 said:


> I like the simplicity of the InWin case, tho it’s a steel box with just a wood face.
> 
> The EK lignum blocks are actually one of things that inspired me towards using wood as the main material



Yup, InWin it's very simple, very straight lines, but you're right, metal is the dominant material on that case, but the previous picture and guide I also posted is more craftsman's work and close to entirely wood, and the lines/design is quite similar to the InWin as well.

Glad you liked those blocks, if you purchase them with a good finished case ... your build is gonna look pretty sick, i'm eager for updates! 

Rock on


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## Robert B (Feb 16, 2020)

Speaking of wood. Check this out.  Guys on the lab501 forum from my country did this build last year. 









						2019 Thermaltake CaseMOD Invitational Balkan – Romania – TT20
					

TT20   Putine cuvinte pot descrie starea de oboseala cauzata de continua lupta contra-cronometru pe care am dus-o in ultimele zile, in care diverse activitati editoriale s-au imbinat cu finisa…




					lab501.ro


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## lexluthermiester (Feb 17, 2020)

Rgt0007 said:


> so passive cooling won’t suffice


There's no reason you couldn't mount ultra quiet fans.. But it was only a suggestion. As displayed above, there are many good ideas.


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## Chomiq (Feb 17, 2020)

You could also take some notes from System76 Thelio case.


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## witkazy (Feb 17, 2020)

Watch out for termites   anyway i salute You for walking extra mile and taking scratch build option. Cheers.


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## Rgt0007 (Feb 17, 2020)

lexluthermiester said:


> There's no reason you couldn't mount ultra quiet fans.. But it was only a suggestion. As displayed above, there are many good ideas.


I'm not worried about noise, but I need good cooling performance as I'd like to eventually oc. So I'm probably going to build a case that can support a custom loop.


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## Rgt0007 (Feb 23, 2020)

I didn’t realize how hard it was to design a case.. lol

The easy part is done (drawing out the ATX spec and laying out the MB tray and rear I/O); that took about 3 hours of flipping back and forth between SketchUp and the PDFs I found.

Now it’s been about a week of drawing and re-drawing, trying to figure out how I want the case to look, where to place all the components, designing for optimal air flow as well as space for a future water loop, while trying to to keep it as compact as possible.

I had another look at EK’s Lignum line (“lignum” is the Latin word for “wood”), and I don’t remember the prices being so high the last time I looked . I don’t think I’ll be paying $450 for a gpu block. Besides they only make it for the 2080ti, which I don’t see myself buying.


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## lexluthermiester (Feb 23, 2020)

Rgt0007 said:


> I didn’t realize how hard it was to design a case.. lol


It is an involved task. My advice is keep it simple and use an existing case for donor parts.


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## witkazy (Feb 23, 2020)

Rgt0007 said:


> I didn’t realize how hard it was to design a case.. lol
> 
> The easy part is done (drawing out the ATX spec and laying out the MB tray and rear I/O); that took about 3 hours of flipping back and forth between SketchUp and the PDFs I found.
> 
> ...


Dude, if it was easy everyone would be doing this    All i'm sayin' is take it easy and try to enjoy the process instead of seeing it as a chore.Cheers.


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## Rgt0007 (Mar 3, 2020)

Well, here it is: a couple of renders of what I came up with for now. I had plenty of ideas (that I might implement another time depending on how this build goes) but I decided to go with one of the more "simple" and traditional designs. Let me know what you think. There are probably be a few details that could change in the final design, depending on how hard they are to manufacture by hand.

p.s. sorry if the renders look kinda blurry, I used a free software. On the other hand, I'm actually impressed with my Noctua cpu cooler. The first image was created in a progressive render, running for 2 hours and the cpu never went past 64C (100% load at a steady 4GHz).


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## SirKeldon (Mar 3, 2020)

Hey man, I do like what you did there, in general lines, it's a pretty nice design. Also I do like the window placement to get a glance from both sides. I'm missing some curves but hey, that's my personal taste. Over all, I think you did a terrific work 

And now, don't take me wrong, cause I don't know almost anything about sketching and/or industrial design, but just let me tell you what I'd like to see also there if you don't mind:

- In terms of aesthetycs, I'd love to see a dark wood and/or metal accent in the side near the window or maybe at the front.
- I do like a lot the little raise that you did for the whole case adding a second base, specially at the front part to let the bottom to drive fresh air to the rads ... but I'll add some ventilation holes also at the right side, close to the little window on its left side (as some Fractal or NZXT cases) ... and if you find a cool pattern i'll replicate that in the left side close to the possible dark wood accent I mentioned before.
- In terms of exhaust, right now you're constricted to the rear and I think you're gonna need more if you plan to cool CPU+GPU ... so ... as drilling big meshy holes on the top can ruin the aesthetycs completely, did you think in coming out with a similar design of what you did in the bottom part? That way you could create also perfect channels for removing hot air outta the case with that "raise" accent, also adding more light there could be really cool. Not to mention that you could also add fan/rad holes over there.

Btw, I can see some hints on the HD placement but could you provide more detail if possible?
Anything that will follow I'm sure it's gonna be great, keep it up dude!!!


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## Rgt0007 (Mar 3, 2020)

SirKeldon said:


> Hey man, I do like what you did there, in general lines, it's a pretty nice design. Also I do like the window placement to get a glance from both sides. I'm missing some curves but hey, that's my personal taste. Over all, I think you did a terrific work


Thanks! I left out the curves for two reasons, 1) I was going for a more simple and modern design, and 2) curves would drastically increase the manufacturing difficulty. This being my first venture into case building I wanted to focus on getting the technical measurements correct, and it’s much harder to pull measurements from curved surfaces. Keep in mind I’ll likely be cutting everything by hand. 



SirKeldon said:


> And now, don't take me wrong, cause I don't know almost anything about sketching and/or industrial design, but just let me tell you what I'd like to see also there if you don't mind:
> 
> - In terms of aesthetycs, I'd love to see a dark wood and/or metal accent in the side near the window or maybe at the front.
> - I do like a lot the little raise that you did for the whole case adding a second base, specially at the front part to let the bottom to drive fresh air to the rads ... but I'll add some ventilation holes also at the right side, close to the little window on its left side (as some Fractal or NZXT cases) ... and if you find a cool pattern i'll replicate that in the left side close to the possible dark wood accent I mentioned before.
> ...



So in terms of metal, I’m going to stay away from it as much as possible. I want to see if it’s possible to create a case completely out of wood; I will add metal (probably aluminum) only as a last resort if I need to increase the structural integrity in certain parts of the case. I’m not sure I understood your referencing to left and right, so let me know if I got this right. Just to clear up a few things:
1. The dark colored “box” at the bottom of the case is the psu and hdd cage shroud and the little window on its side is not a window at all but a 5” screen for hardware monitoring. The top of the psu shroud is perforated in a similar fashion to the rear of the case and the bottom of the shroud and the case itself have a cutout for the psu fan to draw in air.
2. On the back side (right side looking from the front of the case) there are a few details. The vertical window will be a mesh filter for radiator intake/exhaust. The narrow slit along the top edge of the case is actually a passive exhaust as well, allowing hot air at the top of the case to vent. Not sure if the width of the opening has an effect on its ability to vent heat, but it may end up being a bit wider. And finally, the small window will be acrylic which is positioned over the 2.5 ssd mounts on the back of the motherboard tray. The window will also allow the dark wood to show through. As far as storage mounting, there is a 2x 3.5 hdd cage in the psu shroud, the 2x 2.5 ssd mounts I mentioned earlier, and 2x 2.5 ssd mounts to the right of the motherboard inside the main compartment which are a bit difficult to see in the pictures. I might try populating the case with random  components and taking a few close-up detail renders to get an idea of how everything is laid out. If you have any other questions or ideas, feel free to share.


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## SirKeldon (Mar 4, 2020)

Rgt0007 said:


> curves would drastically increase the manufacturing difficulty. This being my first venture into case building I wanted to focus on getting the technical measurements correct, and it’s much harder to pull measurements from curved surfaces. Keep in mind I’ll likely be cutting everything by hand.



I totally get you, I just did some modding in the past in some PC cases as well as Powermac G5 ones (to turn them into ATX) and w/o the right tools it can be really a challenge. Despite that, and since you're building it from scratch, couldn't you go to a big hardware store where you can chose the material and also perform some cuts as well? In my local town you can find some of them where you can carry your own digitalized designs, grab the materials and then arrange/cut/shape them at the same shop by staff.



Rgt0007 said:


> So in terms of metal, I’m going to stay away from it as much as possible. I want to see if it’s possible to create a case completely out of wood; I will add metal (probably aluminum) only as a last resort if I need to increase the structural integrity in certain parts of the case.



Regarding metal it was just for decoration purpose, and if you want to get rid of it, which I understand, that's why I also proposed dark wood accent (same colour you're gonna use inside the case) ... what I meant is kind of a wide vertical line (or double slimer ones, similar to some race cars) at the left side of the case near the main window. For structural integrity, can't say anything since I don't have any custom experience on wood.



Rgt0007 said:


> The vertical window will be a mesh filter for radiator intake/exhaust.



Then forgot what I've said about drilling extra holes on the left/right side near the front, I thought you were just getting fresh air from the bottom, but I didn't get at 100% where you're gonna place that 5" screen, is the black spot shown on image #4 at the bottom in the same "compartment" as the rads/fan will go, which I was confusing with a possible air intake?



Rgt0007 said:


> The narrow slit along the top edge of the case is actually a passive exhaust as well, allowing hot air at the top of the case to vent.



I saw it but I think it may be lil room to exhaust too many heat from CPU+GPU and other components, specially if you run your rad pushing hot air through the case. IDK, I'm not an expert regarding heat transfer in wood so I'm speculating at this point. I'm sure you have more expertise on this or someone will pop up to answer this in a more detailed way.



Rgt0007 said:


> I might try populating the case with random  components and taking a few close-up detail renders to get an idea of how everything is laid out.



That would be great!!!


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## Rgt0007 (Mar 4, 2020)

SirKeldon said:


> couldn't you go to a big hardware store where you can chose the material and also perform some cuts as well


Hardware stores here will cut materials down for you, but only large sheet goods or long lumber. They don’t do any kind of precision cuts, and honestly, I wouldn’t trust them to either lol. If I had access to a cnc that would be a different story.



SirKeldon said:


> I thought you were just getting fresh air from the bottom, but I didn't get at 100% where you're gonna place that 5" screen, is the black spot shown on image #4 at the bottom in the same "compartment" as the rads/fan will go, which I was confusing with a possible air intake?


So intake for the fans will be both from the bottom of the front compartment, like you originally guessed, as well as the vertical opening on the right side of the case. The 5” screen is that little, kind of silver looking square on the side of the power supply shroud.



SirKeldon said:


> I saw it but I think it may be lil room to exhaust too many heat from CPU+GPU and other components, specially if you run your rad pushing hot air through the case.


I’ll probably widen it a little bit, I just didn’t want a gaping hole in the case. The rear will have an active exhaust fan tho. The idea behind the dual compartment setup was to allow for air cooling via fans blowing into the case (front to rear), but once I save enough money to go with a water loop the partition between the front and main compartments will be sealed off and the radiator mounted to the side of the case, where it will intake or exhaust through the vertical opening on the right side of the case. This is to avoid blowing the heat from the water loop, along with dust, into the case. Also, wood generally works as an insulator, both for heat and sound, but is a very ineffective insulator when compared with rubber or foam.


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## SirKeldon (Mar 4, 2020)

Sad to hear about the cutting stuff, the stores I mentioned you can do even just one, dunno about the precission though.

Based on your explanation, nothing to complain on your first compartment of ventilation, it will work even better than I first guessed, if you blow fresh air from the bottom and dump it outta the case on the side through the meshy window it will keep the rad cool and its heat mainly away from getting into the mobo. And also, if I understood correclty, you want the other part of that compartment where you have extra fan holes (front part) blowing air into the case and then exhaust it through rear right? Sounds sweet

I'm really eager to see your progress!!!


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## Rgt0007 (Mar 10, 2020)

Made a couple of changes

Width of the top vent on the back side was doubled
Moved the accent lights below the main body of the case
Made the case 0.5 inch taller and changed the fan mounting points on the front to accommodate 4x120mm intake fans instead of 3x120mm fans or a 360mm rad

Here are a few pictures with components installed. Air and water cooling setups, the distro plate is supposed to be semi-transparent but I could get the render to show properly


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## Rgt0007 (Mar 10, 2020)

Here's a better picture. I changed the texture manually on a couple of the faces, its not great but at least the distro plate is not a solid color anymore


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## lexluthermiester (Mar 10, 2020)

This is very cool! I think the only changes I'd make is to make all the wood one colour and add 2 or 3 5.25" bays or maybe 2 5.25" bays an a 3.5" bay.


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## Rgt0007 (Mar 10, 2020)

lexluthermiester said:


> This is very cool! I think the only changes I'd make is to make all the wood one colour and add 2 or 3 5.25" bays or maybe 2 5.25" bays an a 3.5" bay.


But no one uses 5.25” bays anymore lol. I have two 3.5” hdd bays under the psu shroud, plus four 2.5” locations for ssd’s. That’s more than enough storage space for me. Right now I’m using just a single 1TB m.2 and a 6TB hdd


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## lexluthermiester (Mar 10, 2020)

Rgt0007 said:


> But no one uses 5.25” bays anymore lol.


Lots of people do, myself included. I consider it a deal breaker if a case does have them. Examples;





						Amazon.com: Syba Removable Device CL-HD-MRDU25S 2.5inch SATA Connectland Mobile Rack Retail Aluminum CaseNew : Electronics
					

Buy Syba Removable Device CL-HD-MRDU25S 2.5inch SATA Connectland Mobile Rack Retail Aluminum CaseNew: Computers & Accessories - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases



					www.amazon.com
				








						Amazon.com: Syba 5.25" Bay Drive Tray Less Security Lock Mobile Rack for 3.5" and 2.5" SATA III HDD with Extra 2 Port USB 3.0 (SY-MRA55007): Computers & Accessories
					

Buy Syba 5.25" Bay Drive Tray Less Security Lock Mobile Rack for 3.5" and 2.5" SATA III HDD with Extra 2 Port USB 3.0 (SY-MRA55007): Hard Drive Enclosures - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases



					www.amazon.com
				








						Amazon.com: StarTech.com USB 3.0 Front Panel 4 Port Hub - 3.5in or 5.25in Bay - Front Internal 3.5 USB 3 Hub (35BAYUSB3S4), Black: Computers & Accessories
					

Buy StarTech.com USB 3.0 Front Panel 4 Port Hub - 3.5in or 5.25in Bay - Front Internal 3.5 USB 3 Hub (35BAYUSB3S4), Black: Hubs - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases



					www.amazon.com
				



And last but not least;





						Amazon.com: Pioneer BDR-2212 Internal 16x Blu-ray Writer Drive Bundle with Cyberlink Burning Software, 100GB M-DISC BDXL, SATA Cable and Mounting Screws - Burns CD DVD BD DL BDXL Discs: Computers & Accessories
					

Buy Pioneer BDR-2212 Internal 16x Blu-ray Writer Drive Bundle with Cyberlink Burning Software, 100GB M-DISC BDXL, SATA Cable and Mounting Screws - Burns CD DVD BD DL BDXL Discs: Electronics - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases



					www.amazon.com
				




But this is your case, I was only commenting about personal preference.


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## Rgt0007 (Mar 11, 2020)

@lexluthermiester I see where you’re going with it. Personally, I haven’t used a 5.25” bay since I installed Windows 7 back in 2015. But I don’t see the point of having a 5.25” bay to install a hdd in, that’s what 3.5” bays are for, unless you want true hot-swappable drives. I also don’t see the point of putting USB ports in a 5.25” bay, I can install them separately with something like this: https://www.frozencpu.com/products/...MIpbyKpZeR6AIV1PfjBx0i4wTgEAkYESABEgK-8_D_BwE 
or
https://www.ebay.com/i/223487418905...MI2dLw_5aR6AIVe_fjBx1hhwXiEAkYEyABEgK4bfD_BwE 
Maybe my next design will have 5.25” bays


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## Rgt0007 (Apr 19, 2020)

this is an interesting concept





sucks but my plans for this case mod have been delayed due to corona and the resulting lack of finances. though I may try making something with some live edge scraps I have left over..


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## Mugruber (Sep 24, 2020)

@*Rgt0007 *Hey just wanted to say im also play around with the idea of building a pc out of wood aswell . mainly because I have a ton of scrap black walnut cut off boards that i got from a lumber yard for fire wood .I live in Missouri as well if your close enough i'd just give you some scrap walnut if you where interested (also halve some white oak peices . My design is still in the paper stage though . I mainly use solid works as my cad software , I was just curious which cad program you use . This is also my first time trying this hole custom build . out of curiosity did you have to get your own dimensions for your Mother board / Gpu /cpu / fans or where you able to find a file format from something like grab cad to bring into your model ?
*I




~+~*


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## 3rutu5 (Feb 20, 2021)

Mugruber said:


> @*Rgt0007 *Hey just wanted to say im also play around with the idea of building a pc out of wood aswell . mainly because I have a ton of scrap black walnut cut off boards that i got from a lumber yard for fire wood .I live in Missouri as well if your close enough i'd just give you some scrap walnut if you where interested (also halve some white oak peices . My design is still in the paper stage though . I mainly use solid works as my cad software , I was just curious which cad program you use . This is also my first time trying this hole custom build . out of curiosity did you have to get your own dimensions for your Mother board / Gpu /cpu / fans or where you able to find a file format from something like grab cad to bring into your model ?
> *IView attachment 169676View attachment 169677
> ~+~*


How did this end up? i'm wanting to do a DIY timber Mini ITX build, got some ply but unsure about being in Queensland AU and the fact it gets hot here...


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## Rgt0007 (Feb 20, 2021)

Mugruber said:


> @*Rgt0007 *Hey just wanted to say im also play around with the idea of building a pc out of wood aswell . mainly because I have a ton of scrap black walnut cut off boards that i got from a lumber yard for fire wood .I live in Missouri as well if your close enough i'd just give you some scrap walnut if you where interested (also halve some white oak peices . My design is still in the paper stage though . I mainly use solid works as my cad software , I was just curious which cad program you use . This is also my first time trying this hole custom build . out of curiosity did you have to get your own dimensions for your Mother board / Gpu /cpu / fans or where you able to find a file format from something like grab cad to bring into your model ?


You’re using black walnut for fire wood?  How could you?? lol As for software, I use SketchUp. I know there is better software out there but I’ve been using this one for over 10 years so I’m comfortable with it, and it’s easy to use. I pulled dimensions from the standard ATX and PCIe specifications, you can find them all over google. I think I also linked a few pages earlier in this thread.



3rutu5 said:


> How did this end up? i'm wanting to do a DIY timber Mini ITX build, got some ply but unsure about being in Queensland AU and the fact it gets hot here...


I’m still planning this, but I’ve been really busy in the past few months so I haven’t had much time. I don’t think where you are should affect your build, just make sure to incorporate plenty of airflow into the chassis, or go for an open air approach.


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