Project BooomBox

[KikBox]

I posted my worklog for this project on another forum before I found HardOCP but now that I have been able to get back to my project I would like to start posting here instead. If you are interested in the full story you can check out the worklog on my web site or the xoxide.com forums.

xoxide.com

Kikboxes.com

Recap
With some work I was finally able to finish my system upgrades and I am now running a new motherboard, video card and 3 new drives. I also purchased some OCZ Platinum memory but it turned out to be defective, I am in the process of exchanging the nasty ram so for now I am still running my Kingston Value ram. The system purrs but all the new drives created havoc with by WM. Here are the stats on my system as it stands now:

ASUS A8v Deluxe
AMD 3500 with Zalman air cooled
eVGA gForce 6800 GT 256mb
1gb memory
1 Raptor 74gb drive for OS and backup only
2 DiamondMax 250gb drives RAID 0 for storage
ASUS DVD-R/W
Sunbeam light bus
Mitron Fan bus
Digital Temperature monitor (don't know who makes it)

Now I am moving on to more bling. The idea with this case was to give a comic book feel. I accomplished this with the comic style splash on the side. Now I am taking it to the next level with some air brushing.

Right now we are nearly finished. The airbrush design has been created and we are adding a gradient effect on the sound effect splash. For this design we are going with typical comic book colors orange, yellow, white and black. Our paints are House of Kolor pearls that provide a bit of shimmer to compliment the metallic red backdrop provided by our powder coat.

The following pics illustrate what we have done leading up to this design:

I created the design in PhotoShop.

The design was converted to a CAD file.

The cuts were made with a water jet.

The panel was coated with a super tough powder coat finish in Metallic Candy Red.

I then installed a window of 2-way mirrored acrylic.

The end result.

Now we are adding some dynamic looking comic style features to give the design further punch. Because of the way in which I installed the window I have chosen to mask it without removing it. I am fairly certain that I would have damaged the window if I attempted to pry it away from the panel. It was a pain in the ass but I finished masking the window in 90 minutes.

We outlined the letters in black to complete the letters in areas where they overlapped the splash. A gradient was added that fades from yellow down to a light mist that reveals the red metallic powder coat below. Then we outlined the splash to give it more pop. Here is a picture of what it looked like after these steps were completed:

Following this step we went back over the splash and added gradient and shadow effects to really make it sexy! Today we are doing the clear coat. I should have pics of the finished product by Thursday. I will also post some new pics of the full system next week. We have a big LAN party this weekend so I will be able to show off the new paint job and get some photos of the BooomBox in action.

 

[daedal]

Looks awesome and those cuts are amazingly clean. Gotta love waterjets.
Good job so far. Can't wait to see what you'll do with this.

 

[skudmunky]

Wow, that's very nice. Can't wait to see this finished.

 

[joshmxpx]

looks good, but i have to say that now it doesn't look like there is a window at all, just a solid graphic. i must say that i liked it before the yellow was added

 

[TehRoflcopter]

Thats pretty fucking cool.

 

[l0cke]

ohh i've senn this before it rocks!

 

[Asian Dub Foundation]

nice goin OP, looks smashing

 

[KikBox]

The gradient has been added to the splash and the features have been trimmed out with black. Eventually I am going to have to remove the window and replace it with a new one just because I am not able to get the panel as clean as I would like. We were able to create a 3D illusion with the airbrushing that I am very pleased with.

Since I am going to the LAN party on Saturday, it's time to clean this sucker out. I tend to get a lot of dust in my place and it sticks like glue to the Zalman Cooler in this thing. Cans of air do not generate enough force to clean out the clinging dust bunnies. I ended up using a compressor to get all the dust out and then polished the whole thing inside and out with soft cotton diaper cloth. I keep 2 sets of rags, one set for polishing and one for working just to make sure I am not rubbing down the case with metal chips and other things that could scratch the finish.

I used Windex dabbed on a cloth to clean the acrylic windows and the running lights on the bottom of the case. While I was at it I also removed and reattached the motorcycle lights on the under side of the case. The marker lights come with sticky pads but I found that they just did not hold and the made the system look pretty shabby. I peeled off the sticky pads and glued them in place with JB Weld.

Once the inside was done I polished all the chrome trim on the outside of the case and rubbed down the powder coat finish. Nice and shiny! Some would say she's gaudy but isn't that the point? Over the top?

Guess I am ready to go forth and kick some!

 

[KikBox]

Whipped this up quickly for less than $6.00. 2 35" rubber bungie cords with the hooks removed. I heavy duty drawer pull with 2 screw holes on each end. 4 1/4" bolts, washers and nuts.

This carrier is very stong and not for the faint of heart. It fits tightly so there is no slipping and rubber bungies act as case feet to keep the server firmly planted on the table. These bungies can support much more weight than my server.

This is NOT the way to go if you care about your case. It leaves black marks and you really have to crank on it to get it on the case. However, this is going to work great on this mid tower. It will save me from breaking my back and it looks pretty ghetto...I like that.

 

[altec]

GHETTOFAB!

 

[Stevennoland]

It'll also double as a dog carrier. Oh, the side panel turned out awesome. Great work!

 

[rogue_jedi]

awesome paint job - and cool carrier, too

the black knight always triumphs!

 

[SpangeMonkee]

but can you carry it on your shoulder?

 

[R@Mo]

sweet paint job

 

[KikBox]

This is a snapshot of my rig at last weekend's BooomLAN. The mouse is Razer, the keyboard is Deck and the monitor is Shuttle XP17.

 

[bmxfelon420]

man, that keyboard looks painful to game on. I like the window though, it looks like those cuts would have been near impossible with anything short of a scroll saw, and even then it would have been a beast to file down.

 

[Nuzzles]

Damn nice job.

Nice little monitor you got there.

On a side note: Where the hell are the rest of the people at the LAN?

 

[UnlnvlslblE]

Awesome job! I really like the cut job and the paint is cool as well. The only thing is all I think about when I see that is BOOM, Tough acting tenactin! I can't get it outta my head now, thanks

 

[KikBox]

Damn nice job.

Nice little monitor you got there.

On a side note: Where the hell are the rest of the people at the LAN?

Excellent question! I like to take my crap to strangers houses and just set it up in their garage...a LAN of 1!

Seriously, this picture was taken during setup. Here is a picture taken later in the day:

This was a private LAN party and usually we have 5-10 people. For this party I got RSVPs from 9 people and 4 of them did not show. Anyone who has ever organized a LAN will know how frustrating that is. It limited what we were able to play so we ended up doing UT 2004 most of the day.

I am putting together a pay to play LAN for July that will seat about 45. I have several months to promote that one and people have to put up a little moola to get a seat. That generally improves the game day attendance.

See the rest of the LAN pics...

 

[KikBox]

Hardly seems worth it's own thread so I am going to continue my Ghetto Cruiser updates in this thread for now. Working on this old box is shear joy!

BooomLAN Gaming and Mod Club has a LAN party coming up on the Saturday the 29th. I am bringing the server for our UT2004 Death Match Tournament so I thought I would do a few upgrades to the Ghetto Cruiser prior to the event. I don't plan on buying any new parts so I am going to salvage some stuff from my garage for this one. I also have limited time to get this done so I am going to try and squeeze this into a 1.5 hour time window...better get cracking!

Parts list from my salvage yard:
1. 120mm fan - left over from Spitfire case mod
2. U Channel - left over from Spitfire case mod
3. 4" blue cathode - left over from Icebox case mod
4. 8" purple cathode - left over from BooomBox case mod
5. Modder's mesh - lying around from God knows what project

It's a pretty simple mod but I have to hustle to get it done in my 1.5 hour window. The nice thing about the Ghetto Cruiser is that it does not have to be perfect...in fact, its better if its not. Before the last LAN I just bolted an extra 80mm to the front, so I start by taking that out. After measuring out the hole I make short work of the intake hole with the 4.5" hole saw. A little cleanup with the Dremel and I am good to go.

Mounting the fan was easy; I just taped it in place with duct tape and zipped all 4 screw holes in by using the fan frame as my template. I little "U" channel and presto! I took my 4" cathode and stuck it in between the chassis and the bezel and then put the 8" inside the case.

For the plastic bezel, I took my 4.5" hole saw and put it in my drill press. I marked the bezel by installing it on the chassis and then using the hole in chassis as my template. I secured it to my drill press with the Irwin clamps and then punch out the hole, save that round piece of plastic, we can use it later! You always get a little melting when cutting the plastic but that cleans up well with the Dremel and at little 220 grit sandpaper.

I mixed up the JB weld on that extra piece of plastic and applied a nice big goober of glue to each of the corners and fit my mesh into the hole. I used spring clamps to hold it in place until the stuff sets up. After about 15 minutes it's safe to remove the clamps and snap the bezel back in place. DONE and I still have a little time left to clean up the mess.

 

[Ockie]

I like it how you do your homework in terms of modding (displayed in doing a cad drawing and using a waterjet). Looks really sharp. Some people would just bust out a dremel cutting windows like that... but yours looks very clean and sharp.

 

[KikBox]

I have a LAN party this weekend so it's time for some spring cleaning. I already have my Ghetto Cruiser ready to serve the games now it's time to clean up the BooomBox.

There are a ton of places for dirt and dust to collect but most of those are easily cleaned. If you have a compressor then you are in luck, if not you can use a can of air or even a hair dryer with a cold temperature setting. The most frustrating thing to clean is my Zalman cooler. All the small fins collect crap like crazy so here is what I suggest: I started by blowing out as much as I could with air, then I attacked it with a Qtip and some denatured alcohol. That worked pretty well and by alternating back and forth with the Qtip and air I was able to get most if it off without disassembling everything. After the inside was cleaned it was just a matter of polishing up the outside.

I also have a few fixes to do. My exhaust fan has gone out after a year of service and I also have a cathode that I have wanted to replace for a long time so I am just going to suck it up and get it done. I have a rep for being really anal about WM. I admit it, it's true and it’s also the reason I dread doing this. In my cases every wire has its place and in this box it is particularly true. Because I have created a semi-transparent light box on the side of the case I was not able to run any wires over the back of the mobo tray...this was a real bitch. I usually count on that space to hide wires and other unsightly stuff so when I did the WM on this case I used a lot of zip ties and did hours of custom wiring. The exhaust fan is hard wired so I am going to have to cut it loose are re-soldier the connections.

It worked out pretty well. I cut away my heat shrink and then pushed back the sleeving to reveal the connection I had made. There are 2 fans wired to a single connection here so that I could have the exhaust and blow hole on the same channel on my fan controller. Once everything was exposed it was a breeze to clip and wires and replace the fan.

I am replacing the red fireworks fan with a blue one. The problem cathode is being replaced with a new blue cathode that should fill the case with more light than I have had in the past. I think it will help to make the components more visible through the 2-way window. In all it took me a little over an hour and I was done.

While I was at it I also decided to add a bay window. I have an unused 5.25 bay so I have decided to tie that space in with the rest of the case by putting in a little window using the same 2-way mirror acrylic I used in the panel window. First I measured a cut a piece of acrylic to fit over the bay. I have an old scroll saw that works great for this. After cutting and sanded the edges smooth and drilled holes for the mounting screws.

The bay cover was easy to mod with my Dremel. I measured and cut a window in the center of the bay cover and then drilled a hole on either end for the mounting screws. Rather than sticking the plastic down with tape I am going to use some nice looking hex head screws I salvaged from another project. I made a few passes along each edge with a file to smooth the edges of my window frame and then mounted the acrylic.

Once the new bay cover is in place I am lighting it with a laser LED. Eventually, I will do something different with this acrylic window but for now it looks kind of cool...with the lights on and off.

 

[KikBox]

Quick update on the Ghetto project. I put in a blowhole fan in last night. This was not an easy task considering I could not just bolt the fan to top case panel. Because the entire chassis is covered by one big panel bent in a "U" shape I could not mount the fan to the panel without it becoming a problem when taking the case cover off.

As an alternative I created a mounting bracket using some parts from an old Compaq desktop. I took 2 matching brackets from the Compaq that had been used to support a PSU in that case and converted them into a fan mount. I started by cutting them to length and then making a few minor cuts with the Dremel so that I could bend the ends 90 degrees. I then mounted them across the top of the chassis using my rivet gun and screwed the fan into place.

I bolted an acrylic fan cover over the fan. The acrylic cover looks pretty nice and has a cool honeycomb pattern cut into it. I got the cover from www.mnpctech.com. It's a fairly new product and comes in clear, black and green. It also doubles as a radiator cover.

Once the fan was mounted I carefully measured the location of my fan and then cut the 120mm hole in the top of the panel. I litte U channel to cover the edges and I have a nice finished piece...it almost looks too good for the Ghetto Cruiser! Now I can remove the cover any time I want to without having to unblug fan wires first and OH the cooling...finally cooling.

 

[Geo Fry]

thats a great idea... can you post a few pics of how it is mounted inside the case ( dont care if its 'ghetto' )

 

[KikBox]

thats a great idea... can you post a few pics of how it is mounted inside the case ( dont care if its 'ghetto' )

Sure, sorry I didn't take any pics when I was building it but I was pretty focused and did not realize that I had not taken any until I was finished. I will open it up and take some pics of my Ghetto Blow hole and post them tomorrow!