# AMDivida Version 2.0 - Work in progress



## johnnyfiive (Dec 12, 2008)

** Here is the case in its stock form* 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121001











I've got a lot of ideas/plans going for my rig. Mainly appearance stuff. Side window, paint, hard drive placement, and general clean up. 
My goal is to take my $35 HEC case and make it look like it cost $200.

I've already started the hard drive replacement in the 5.25 bays. Here is what I resorted to at Lowes.






I don't want to buy products, I want to do this with my own hands and brain. Ghetto it may seem, but I guarantee its functional. I will have pics and pricing of all my modifications throughout the process. So far I've spent less than $10 on the self made hard drive mounts.

Pics to come later tonight.


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 13, 2008)

Here are some pics of my progress so far. I installed the side panel window and mounted the hard drives with my home made method. Everything is looking great so far. I have some other ideas on how I plan to color the inside. I may not have to resort to any paint at all if I can get the right materials.


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 14, 2008)

Anyone know where to get acoustic foam for inside of the case? FrozenCPU sells it, who else sells it?


----------



## KBD (Dec 14, 2008)

very, very neat man. i love how you cut out that side window, what did you use, btw?

in regards to acoustic foam, try performance-pcs, they usually are stocked up better than frozencpu. or google for it, i'm sure something will pop up.


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 14, 2008)

I used a dremel. Thanks btw!


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 15, 2008)

Does anyone have a results/pics of a fully acoustic foamed machine? Like, every crevice covered. Does it increase temps at all? Does it effect air flow? Etc.


----------



## Haytch (Dec 15, 2008)

Keep it going batmang. We all love custom, we all prefer it. 
Ofcourse theres always those of us that prefer to point the finger and spin crap that it should be so and so, or a purchased component is better but you will find that those people are generally incapable anyhows.


----------



## Hayder_Master (Dec 15, 2008)

nice modding , quality and clean work


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 15, 2008)

Thanks guys.  I'm all about functional and clean mods. I was going to spray paint the inside, but thats money that I could use towards sound reduction. I'm hoping to have another update in a week or two displaying some acoustic foam.


----------



## Exavier (Dec 15, 2008)

I'm using a proper acousti-foam company to provide foam for when I soundproof... at £3.50 for 40"x40", 2" thick I think I have a winner...but stateside not so sure..


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 15, 2008)

Small update.





The flaw with B2 Phenoms is the "A clock interrupt was not received on a secondary processor" BSOD when overclocking. So far I've been able to achieve 2.6GHz cores 1 and 2, and 2.4GHz on cores 3 and 4. More testing tonight. Doing some OC work until the sound dampening materials come in.


----------



## _jM (Dec 15, 2008)

batmang said:


> Anyone know where to get acoustic foam for inside of the case? FrozenCPU sells it, who else sells it?



http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...th=127&zenid=30acd773cc190fda4944e5b69b5f8b2c

They have a better assortment of acoustic foam and such. Im a fan of the Akasa PaxMate II Premium Noise Reduction Kit  Here>> http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=127&products_id=22491







batmang said:


> Does anyone have a results/pics of a fully acoustic foamed machine? Like, every crevice covered. Does it increase temps at all? Does it effect air flow? Etc.




All it is used for is noise reduction. And it shouldn't affect your temperatures unless you cover needed vent holes and fans, etc. I would use it on the Top and the floor of the case, and both side panels along with the rear of the case. For the rear i would place it evenly around your rear fan and cut it to fit around your expansion cards(except for the VGA vent holes) Here is a pic of what im trying to explain from MNPCTech >>





SEE THE REAR OF THE CASE? If you did it like that then i will not effect your temps much if at all.


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 16, 2008)

nice idea!


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 17, 2008)

updated pic from this evening.


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 22, 2008)

Did some more work this weekend. Sanded and applied self etching primer to the case. I will post up some pics tonight of the progress. On a side note, my older computer case has a 90mm exhaust fan and no other fans. It is putting out some LOW temps! My CPU is idling at 22-25C and the full load is 38-39. Never hits 40c. That is MUCH lower than my regular case. My regular case has a 90mm intake and a 120mm exhaust but temps are higher. Not sure why? My regular case is around 33-35C idle and 45-47C at full load. That is a significant difference. I will be cutting out the fan grills today to hopefully improve flow. I will be adding a 120mm intake as well. I need more money.


----------



## domy85 (Dec 22, 2008)

Friggin looks awesome! I cant wait untill I get my window in!


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 22, 2008)

*Additions and changes coming:*

*Noctua NF-P12 1,300 120mm Fan - One total* - (link)
- This will be used on my Scythe Katana II. I would replace the heatsink with a Noctua one but anything taller and I won't be able to put the case cover on.

*Noctua NF-S12-1200 1,200RPM 120mm Fan - Two total* - (link)
- One will be an intake, one will be exhaust. 

*Existing 100mm Scythe fan:*
- This might be installed on the bottom of the case sucking air in to give the GTX260 more air to work with. I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to do this or not.

*Silverstone Aeroslots:* - (link)
- These will add additional rear venting. 

*AcoustiPack Lite:* - (link)
- Hoping to end all hard drive noises! Damn Raptors.

*Dremeling Fan sections:*
- I will be dremeling the front and rear 120mm fan sections out. For finger and limb protection black grills will be installed.


----------



## domy85 (Dec 22, 2008)

batmang said:


> *Additions and changes coming:*
> 
> *Dremeling Fan sections:*
> - I will be dremeling the front and rear 120mm fan sections out. For finger and limb protection black grills will be installed.




My finger went in a 92mm fan doing like 4k rpm and sliced it really deep. its scary...


----------



## BrooksyX (Dec 22, 2008)

Looks like the mod is going good so far. Cant wait for more picks!


----------



## Thrackan (Dec 22, 2008)

Looks nice! Almost "too bad"  you did have to resort to buying stuff  But that's just my way of thought. I love ghetto modding, especially the part where you sit staring at stuff and wondering what you can use it for...


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 22, 2008)

Thrackan said:


> Looks nice! Almost "too bad"  you did have to resort to buying stuff  But that's just my way of thought. I love ghetto modding, especially the part where you sit staring at stuff and wondering what you can use it for...



Yeah, sometimes you gotta buy stuff.  I do the thinker look all the time. Trying to think of cool things to do. Sometimes they end up being dumb ideas. :shadedshu


----------



## Thrackan (Dec 22, 2008)

batmang said:


> Yeah, sometimes you gotta buy stuff.  I do the thinker look all the time. Trying to think of cool things to do. Sometimes they end up being dumb ideas. :shadedshu



It's the look I'm currently projecting on a dismantled Core2Duo stock cooler with a shiny copper core... I'm thinking about whacking the aluminum piece off, but somehow I also noticed the completely useless fact that I can mount an 80mm fan exactly on where the push-pins used to be
Let's see if there's any interest in making a "tinker thinker" thread before I ruin more topics


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 23, 2008)

Here are some pics from tonight. I've decided not to cut out the fan grills yet.. still weighing my options. 
(Notice the primer, its green. The only self etching primer I could find was green. It was nice, easier to tell where the primer was applied.)

*Changes so far:*
-Cut out the majority of the hard drive area. Left the two floppy disk slots for future additional drives, if needed.
-Painted case a semi-gloss black
-Cut out bigger areas on the motherboard tray. This will hopefully improve my cable management.
-Cut out a bigger section for the PSU cables.


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 23, 2008)

Foam and grill cutting going down tonight. Pics later. Getting closer to finishing this all up.


----------



## suraswami (Dec 23, 2008)

nice work there, i like the black painted skeleton there


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 24, 2008)

Foam installed, fan holes cutout. The loudest thing in my case now is my 120mm Antec tri-speed fan. The Noctua's should take care of that and also add much needed air flow.
Going with the Noctua NF-B9 for the heatsink. A 120mm fan won't fit. I didn't realize how much space the side panel window was taking up. Should be much better than the stock 100mm Scythe fan.
One Noctua NF-B9 - 92mm, two Noctua NF-S12-1200's, fan grills, and white cathode lights on their way.


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 28, 2008)

Waiting for my damn fans to arrive so I can post up some progress pics.


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 29, 2008)

Here are some updated pics. The drives are not mounted yet and the cable management is not finished. Just waiting for the fans to arrive.








































*heh, check out my dog. He snuck in the pic!


----------



## EnergyFX (Dec 29, 2008)

I know it's a bit late, but here is a picture showing some of my sound deadening usage.  This is Thermaltake sound deadening material.  It about 1/8" thick and is adhesive on one side.  It's very spongy/rubbery.


----------



## Thrackan (Dec 29, 2008)

Your cat snuck in too...  
I'm wondering how effective this all is, do you notice the difference? Care to share?


----------



## BrooksyX (Dec 29, 2008)

Nice mod man. It turned out really good. A+ on the paint job and window.


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 29, 2008)

EnergyFX said:


> I know it's a bit late, but here is a picture showing some of my sound deadening usage.  This is Thermaltake sound deadening material.  It about 1/8" thick and is adhesive on one side.  It's very spongy/rubbery.



I would have preferred a thinner material no doubt. I was going to go with the AcoustiPack product but I couldn't justify the price. We had tons of random foam at work so I resorted to that. Using a $3.49 can of spray adhesive (which is easily removable too!) I was able to get similar results for basically no cost. It's working out pretty well and my temps haven't changed a bit. 




Thrackan said:


> Your cat snuck in too...
> I'm wondering how effective this all is, do you notice the difference? Care to share?



Hah! I didn't notice him until you pointed it out. The foam is pretty damn effective. I can't even hear my Raptor which was the loudest thing in my case. The only thing I hear now is fan noise which I hope the Noctua fans will fix.



BrooksyX said:


> Nice mod man. It turned out really good. A+ on the paint job and window.



Thanks!


----------



## Thrackan (Dec 29, 2008)

batmang said:


> ...
> Pretty damn effective. I can't even hear my Raptor, that says a lot.
> ...



....
That's GOOD!


----------



## johnnyfiive (Dec 31, 2008)

Alright. Finally got around to moving the drives back into the optical bays. Now I really can't hear the Raptor. I have to try and listen for it to hear it. I will have pics next week after the fans, grills and cathodes get installed.


----------



## johnnyfiive (Jan 5, 2009)

Fans should be arriving today. NewEgg has the NH-U9B in stock and now I wants it. Must... save.. for... Deneb.... ahhhh.


----------



## johnnyfiive (Jan 6, 2009)

The goods came in:





Intake fan:






Rest of the fans installed, cathodes installed:










LET THERE BE LIGHT!















I know, the acrylic window is dirty/scratched. You can thank Lowes for their crappy SCRATCHED selection. 

Next on the list is a Phenom II. It is getting cramped in the case so I'm going to call it a day for additional case modifications. It's where I wanted it to be, but not how I imagined it. Going the cheaper route tends to show and its something I'm not too proud of. But, everything is functional, which was my overall goal. Window, sound dampening, quiet fans, subtle cathodes, and optical bay mounted hard drives. All I really need now is a CPU to give the gtx260 a push in the right direction.


----------



## steelkane (Jan 6, 2009)

I think you did a hell of a job on it, the new fans, black grill & CCL really made it Pop.
If you want the window to look new again http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=132&products_id=22875


----------



## johnnyfiive (Jan 6, 2009)

steelkane said:


> I think you did a hell of a job on it, the new fans, black grill & CCL really made it Pop.
> If you want the window to look new again http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=132&products_id=22875



Thanks Steel. I will defintely be replacing the window soon. The current one is very blemished. I just need a simple 12x13 piece and I'll be set. I think ACE Hardware has a better selection/quality of plexiglass.


----------

