drilling 120mm blowhole in populated case

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el rolio

2[H]4U
Joined
Jul 8, 2004
Messages
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hey guys i want to put a 120 mm fan right smack dab in the middle of the top of my case:

IMG_7115.jpg


however, i dont want to have to take everything out to do it. any ideas? do i make a canopy for it? somewhere for shavings to fall? i would want to use a hole saw thing 120 mm on my drill and just go right thru.

is it possible? lemme know :D
 
man dont risk it.

you'd have to be crazy to cut a hole in that case with all of your expensive components still inside.
 
BioPort said:
man dont risk it.

you'd have to be crazy to cut a hole in that case with all of your expensive components still inside.
Click to expand...

As he said... you'd be close to insane or have to much money to try and do it with the stuff still inside the case.
 
el rolio said:
hey guys i want to put a 120 mm fan right smack dab in the middle of the top of my case:

IMG_7115.jpg


however, i dont want to have to take everything out to do it. any ideas? do i make a canopy for it? somewhere for shavings to fall? i would want to use a hole saw thing 120 mm on my drill and just go right thru.

is it possible? lemme know :D
Click to expand...
I did the very thing your talking about el rolio. I know it's not the prefered method but in my case I used a large piece of cloth which I taped to the underside then made sure nothing could fall through.
It's not the safest practice but it can be achieved if the necessary precautions are taken.
 
BioPort said:
man dont risk it.

you'd have to be crazy to cut a hole in that case with all of your expensive components still inside.
Click to expand...

Don't do it, but if you have to, cover up all of your components, and seal them in with tape. You don't want any metal shavings flying around in there just waiting to short something out when you turn it back on. Having a vacuum running right by the blade/bit at all times might help, but I wouldn't risk it.

 
tress said:
I did the very thing your talking about el rolio. I know it's not the prefered method but in my case I used a large piece of cloth which I taped to the underside then made sure nothing could fall through.
It's not the safest practice but it can be achieved if the necessary precautions are taken.
Click to expand...

well tress it is exactly your blowhole im trying to duplicate. with the new system, if i rest my hand on top of the case, it is WARM. the amb/ temp reading from the lower card is usually near to 20º higher than all other temps as well as the NB.

the center hole will essentially allow ALL THAT hot air to escape the top of hte case + it will be situated exactly in perpendicular line with the NB. but you already knew this. and i was thinking RAG myself. heh

all im wondering about now is the hole saw getting caught in the rag. or do i have it so it sags a bit so enough space to slowly complete the cut... then pull the saw and cut peice out, then carefully remove rag? i have just the rag at home for hte job too.


and if it happens... what are "blow hole cutting tips"? besides me lining the hole up with the actual grill im gunna use? heh the OCZ grille...
 
el rolio said:
well tress it is exactly your blowhole im trying to duplicate. with the new system, if i rest my hand on top of the case, it is WARM. the amb/ temp reading from the lower card is usually near to 20º higher than all other temps as well as the NB.

the center hole will essentially allow ALL THAT hot air to escape the top of hte case + it will be situated exactly in perpendicular line with the NB. but you already knew this. and i was thinking RAG myself. heh

all im wondering about now is the hole saw getting caught in the rag. or do i have it so it sags a bit so enough space to slowly complete the cut... then pull the saw and cut peice out, then carefully remove rag? i have just the rag at home for hte job too.


and if it happens... what are "blow hole cutting tips"? besides me lining the hole up with the actual grill im gunna use? heh the OCZ grille...
Click to expand...

Your exactly right; have it sag down enough to complete your cut. I used rags to more than cover all the internal components, then I masked both sides of where the hole was to be cut. The masking on the inside will help a litle in keeping the shavings localized. Then I took a large piece of cloth and taped it up as you described like a canopy. Like i said it's not the best way, but it can be done.
Also what size fan are you going with 120 x 25mm or 38mm?
 
you'd be nucking futs if you did that without taking all the components out, regardless if someone else has done it with success. all it takes is one tiny speck of metal shaving flying around someone that gets caught in some crevice or sticky spot to ruin your gear. it could sit there for a week or a month, then fall loose and short the mobo or other component.

are you that impatient or lazy to risk it?
 
even if you do manage to do it- the metal shavings and dust will bork something or other in there...
 
If you have the space and can somehow manage it , try clamping a piece of wood to the underside of the top. Should help to really cut down the mess on the inside as long as you don't drill through the wood.
 
do you have the window side panel or just the plain metal one? If you've got the window, I'd just add it there. A 120mm side fan was all that I needed to fix my temp problems.
 
I'm going to hop on the "this is a horrible idea" bandwagon. here.

Especially considering the positioning of your motherboard. It's RIGHT THERE under where you want to drill. Honestly it's so risky, you'd feel like such an idiot if you screwed it up (and we'd just say, "I told you so").

No offense or anything, I undderstand what you are trying to do, just not why. Is there a compelling reason to not take everything apart? Good wiring, good watercooling... none of that is worth the risk.
 
Every ones gotta a point about it being a bad idea.

But i did it, i have a small lil antec superlanboy.

i took a shirt and stuffed the area underneat the hole i was gonna cut,
used a dremel tool to butcher off the hole.
took out hte shirt, and used a compressor to blow the comp clean. there was no bits of metal in the case at all....

if u dont have a compressor, just buy a can of air.


worked for me. but then again...if my comp fucks up, i can replace it quick cuz im a tech at a computer retail shop. 3 year warranty owns!
 
blowing metal shavings around in a case with parts in it is an even MORE boneheaded idea than just cutting the hole with parts in it. that's BEGGING for static and shorts.
 
Lets see,computer=3000 dollars
hole saw=25dollars
small metal shaving in motherboard or graphics card=3000dollars

Please dont ruin your nice computer.....itll take an afternoon to be safe, and 15 seconds to bork your box! :eek: :eek:
 
Well, there is another way, less hassle and low risk. Instead of take you equipment out or put a rag. Why don't you just drill out the rivets and take entire top panel off? when you done, just pop it back on with a rivet gun. Simple and easy with minimal risk to your hardware.
 
Yeah this isn't sounding smart. I'm surprised you don't have a removable mobo tray I thought that was a standard lian li thing. The rag doesn't sound to smart either. If I had to do it I would first take everything out of my case and then put a large plastic baggie around the hole secured with loads of tape, empty bag and give her a good rub down when you are done to ride of static then blow with compressed air/shake vigorously to make sure there aren’t any metal scraps.

How is this a problem its a very high grade model lian li and its water cooled :confused:
 
by the time you get all the components sealed and rig some contraption to catch the shavings you can safely remove the mobo and the cables.

you can leave the components in...you can also clean a handgun with a round chambered...but why take the risk?

there should be a [H] Darwin Awards equivalent for people that try this sort of stuff.
 
BoySetsFire said:
drilling rivets is still going to spit metal shavings into the case.
Click to expand...


It is a lot easier to avoid and catch the metal shaving from drilling rivets than drilling a blow hole. especially we are talking about a 120mm directly above MB while rivets are near the corner of the case.
 
tress said:
Also what size fan are you going with 120 x 25mm or 38mm?
Click to expand...

going with the x25mm cuz well, space is oh so limited, plus i got a few yate loons that would love the job
 
c1001 said:
you can leave the components in...you can also clean a handgun with a round chambered...but why take the risk?

there should be a [H] Darwin Awards equivalent for people that try this sort of stuff.
Click to expand...

this CRACKED ME UP! im glad you made the distinction abou peeps that actually do it besides ask about it. cuz i know for sure you guys can see im thinkin about it and gettin the feedback frist. the concept is, to take the stuff out... would take some time. i have to get over that mentally first. time is not supn i have. but i WILL be taking things out at some point soon to put in a new res but that might not be till mid jan or later. i need cooling NOW as the entire top half of the case is warm.

so yea was seeing if it was possible at all. heh. i know a lot of yall seen the worklog (in sig) so you know i dont do silly things. but yea, i can be lazy if allowed.
 
el rolio said:
going with the x25mm cuz well, space is oh so limited, plus i got a few yate loons that would love the job
Click to expand...
keep an eye on the headers for your power switch,reset switch etc. irregardless of whether you pull your MB or not it gets pretty tight in that area. Good luck! let me know how it turns out.
 
aiit tress, good tip homie. ima look at yer pics dduring the planning stage whenever i DO do it. so yea im thinkin after xmas unless i decide to pull the machine down this weekend but prolly not i did that last weekend.

plus i go back home on wed and i need to go shoppin etc. i think i may jsutt sneak a fan in there for now with some zip ties and not show anyone for fear of detroyin the look and wiring hahaha

the other thing i was thinkin is, i gotta drill the hole in a position such that if i weere to need to drill a second 120 for the purpose of moving hte rad up top to sit on the top of the case, then the center hole would be in a perfect starting position. but i think it would prolly work itself out.
 
Glad to hear you've reconsidered, cause frankly, if you have that kind of money to be risking, I need to hit you up a few times.
 
Yeah that's funny, we'll spend $300 on a brand new case only to get it and cut holes in it, we'll spend $500 on GPUs only to tear the cooling solution off and glue ramsinks and mount water blocks on them. but drilling a hole with the MB in the case is just over the top. ha ha
 
yea thats the worst part, i aint got the money at all. at allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
 
tress said:
Yeah that's funny, we'll spend $300 on a brand new case only to get it and cut holes in it, we'll spend $500 on GPUs only to tear the cooling solution off and glue ramsinks and mount water blocks on them. but drilling a hole with the MB in the case is just over the top. ha ha
Click to expand...
That's because it's an uncessary and avoidable risk.

Everything else you mentioned is a performance mod that is really safe if you know what you're doing, not to mention there is no SAFER way to do it.
 
DudeItsMe said:
That's because it's an uncessary and avoidable risk.

Everything else you mentioned is a performance mod that is really safe if you know what you're doing, not to mention there is no SAFER way to do it.
Click to expand...
SAFE = MANAGED RISK
 
Don't do it, if you must. DUCT TAPE! tape the top very loosely so it hangs down a little, and tape aroud the hole you're trying to cut. Make sure you create an air tight duct tape "upside down unbrella". This way the shavings will be caught by the tape.
 
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