reducing atx pc case noise

[shawdreamer]

well...... seen as cooling and noise might become and issue at a later date again

 

..... and I was bored..... ok maybe more because I was bored.

 

I got a hold of this nice basic clean unassuming atx case (It would seem my "subtle approach to modding" extends to pcs too?)

 

http://www.evo-host.co.uk/getimg/31704.jpg

 

dont ask me what its make or brand it is I havnt the foggiest and it has zero markings anywhere on or in the case to indicate otherwise either.

 

then again I got it for its blank canvas appearance not its name anyway.

 

In went all my gubbins.

 

MB (Gigabyte somethingorother with Intel Quad Cpu)

GPU (the forementioned Hd2900XT)

PSU (new 700w twin 12v rails job with 120mm fan, seen as I didnt think to get Modular I might just modify this later)

RAM (6Gb for now)

500Gb sata Hdd's x2

 

Off came....

 

DVDRW drive (dont need it there and it spoils the flat clean face of the case imo, rare disc usage can be done via my external BRDVDrw drive).

Several bits of the internal chasis metal (to allow for cleaner and as much as possible concealed cable routing).

Side panel and front panel(for some additional fan holes)

 

without going into too much detail....

 

Sleeved the Psu cables were theyd be on show (I didnt go nuts, way to fiddly to deal with right now)

replaced standard rear 80mm fan with new silly quiet 90mm

covered facia panel with CF vinyl (this 4d stuff I used is brilliant, best CF vinyl skin Ive ever seen or felt, looks the nuts)

added a 120mm(silent) fan behind the lower facia for Hdds (had 80mm mountings & grill so chopped,drilled,grilled for newun)

added a 120mm(silent) fan to the upper now redundant 5.25 bays finished off with a aluminium grill)

added a simple 4x fan controller into the concealed 3.5 bay)

added another 3x 90mm(silent) fans to the side panel (postioned so as to add maximum airflow to Gpu & Cpu)

connected ALL 6x fans to controller so airflow/ noise balance can be fine tuned (barring Cpu,Gpu & PSU fans)

chucked in a strip of my favourite RGB smd's (see RGB dashboard in "How-to")

 

probably other things but I forget as I go along so hey-ho

 

http://www.evo-host.co.uk/getimg/31705.jpghttp://www.evo-host.co.uk/getimg/31706.jpghttp://www.evo-host.co.uk/getimg/31707.jpghttp://www.evo-host.co.uk/getimg/31708.jpghttp://www.evo-host.co.uk/getimg/31709.jpg

 

granted it aint pro by a long shot but come on............. for my first kick at it.....it aint too shabby.

 

plus with 5x intakes and 2x exhausts (not inculding the cpu heatsink fan or the Gpu's exhaust fan system) my pcs guts are cool enough to keep a eskimo's gonads comfortable while noise is down to a bare minimum.

 

comments welcome......... criticisms excepted......... outright "wtf are you on's" begrudgingly taken.

[scottybo]

Bang on shaw. Good job!

 

Might i ask how much this case cost u. Total

 

only reason i ask, is the same reason everyone asks why i modify my escort lol

 

would it not have been easier n perhaps cheaper to get something like a corsair carbide?

[shawdreamer]

£15 - case (+£5 postage)

 

£30 odd - 4xfans, grills, sleeving, sleeving tools, etc etc

 

had to get the new PSU anyway as my original 500w was struggling to deal with the Gpu when it went full tilt.

 

led strip and controllers I just had knocking about from other things.

 

say 50notes for the case and add-ons and another 20 for the Psu, a carbide would have just have pipped that at 60notes + Psu.

 

but.......... wouldnt have been any fun just to buy a off the shelf job, plus it'd just look like every other box

 

forgot to mention too

 

while doing all that I also shoved all those spare Hdds I had into a Midi atx case (Think it might have been from a pc I got off Pete tbh) wired them all up with Sata/IDE to USB adapters, hooked em all into a usb hub and powered them with the now spare 500w psu.

 

Now a single usb cable into the back of my new case gives me back the use of all those till now useless drives.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...... one of the smaller 80Gb ones should be perfect for my porn stash

[scottybo]

Thats fair. In any case its still a top job my man!

 

Only issue with using usb like u have is that it will sloooooooooow to access the drives. Did you consider a raid array?

[shawdreamer]

ffs fella I was pushing the boundaries of my pc building knowledge as it was with usb

 

I considered adding a few extra sata ports in the rear with a pci-e x1 card or a pci sata port extender to the spare 4x ports on the MB and connected them all via sata cables but on further consideration I decided thatd be ugly and a tad impractical and the usb pretty much did what I wanted anyway, Im not to fussed about hi-speed transfer rates tbh.

....oh and adding a bunch of random cards would mess up my nice clear bottom up airflow

[ganges]

ooooohhhhhhhhh pretty lights, makes feel all warm and fussy on a serious note, I would not have known where to start, fair play to you

[scottybo]

Thats fair shaw. Just thought id ask lol its quite an innovative idea if im honest and not something i would have thought of! Id be interested to see how youve wired it up inside the dummy case. Does the psu in the dummy power the hdd's constantly? Like without a power switch

[shawdreamer]

used the old green & black jumper wire trick to power the psu without a MB so no power switch (Ive been mulling over fitting a push button somewhere).

 

I basically turn the box on by its rear psu switch when I need it.

 

as for the wiring, it couldnt be any simpler.

 

one of these connected to each drive.

http://www.evo-host.co.uk/getimg/31710.gif

and a power cable from the psu.

 

. ...oh and another strip of smds.

[shawdreamer]

ooooohhhhhhhhh pretty lights, makes feel all warm and fussy on a serious note, I would not have known where to start, fair play to you

 

looks harder than it is.

 

I mean................ I managed

 

the smd's are of course fully adjustable to any colour.

[scottybo]

iused to use cold cathode lights when i was into colourful cases lol

 

i used to use an antec900 and that fcuker could light a street up!

[shawdreamer]

just another reason I like using these SMD's for just about everything.

 

low amp pull.

12v (or 5v if you forgo using the remote unit.....so USB power)

custom colour

custom brightness

fuly remote

and so slim you can squeeze em in anywhere

 

plus I just discovered that certain colour mixes produce some proper funky fan effects.