It's time for another big project. Not as big as the last case though. This time I'm turning my attention towards a tech related theme:
The goal of this case is to make it as user friendly as possible and, of course, to look good. Some of my other cases have required a bit of effort to add/remove hardware, this one will change all that. The guts will be as easy to change as any regular case (except for the power supply). The case will look much like the graphic above, following the Digg color scheme on the inside and outside of the case. To keep costs down and build time to a minimum, I'll be using MDF (fiberboard). It is readily available at local hardware stores and is cheap (per foot) compared to acrylic or aluminum. There will be acrylic windows on the case but they're relatively small. MDF might be a bit more of a pain to paint though.
Now on to the pictures:
This will be the front of the case. The letters will be raised and lit up by LEDs or some tricky cathode work. The outline of the entire word is also raised and lit up. Below the G's is the space for a VFD or LCD (or series of smaller ones). We'll see what happens there.
Rear of the case has been cut out so an aluminum panel can be attached for quick removal. The left is cut differently because I recessed where the motherboard sits. This allows me to hide the cabling on the back of the case (will come out of the bottom instead).
General mock up of the case.
Fans will sit inside the cutouts.
Taddaa.
Fans in place...
A little work done on the side of the case. The power supply will sit on the far right wall and the wires piped around the case. Need to order a Hiper 580watt power supply next which will also require a ton of modifications. The DVDRW will sit at the top and possibly an MDVA (courtesy of Mashie) above it (if it fits).
The hard drives will be staggered inside the case. Note these are all just template drives that I'm using right now. I don't put real hardware in till the end.
Another pic of where the drives will be sitting.
The fans+grills to go with them.
If Kevin Rose by chance reads this, please don't sue me!
The goal of this case is to make it as user friendly as possible and, of course, to look good. Some of my other cases have required a bit of effort to add/remove hardware, this one will change all that. The guts will be as easy to change as any regular case (except for the power supply). The case will look much like the graphic above, following the Digg color scheme on the inside and outside of the case. To keep costs down and build time to a minimum, I'll be using MDF (fiberboard). It is readily available at local hardware stores and is cheap (per foot) compared to acrylic or aluminum. There will be acrylic windows on the case but they're relatively small. MDF might be a bit more of a pain to paint though.
Now on to the pictures:
This will be the front of the case. The letters will be raised and lit up by LEDs or some tricky cathode work. The outline of the entire word is also raised and lit up. Below the G's is the space for a VFD or LCD (or series of smaller ones). We'll see what happens there.
Rear of the case has been cut out so an aluminum panel can be attached for quick removal. The left is cut differently because I recessed where the motherboard sits. This allows me to hide the cabling on the back of the case (will come out of the bottom instead).
General mock up of the case.
Fans will sit inside the cutouts.
Taddaa.
Fans in place...
A little work done on the side of the case. The power supply will sit on the far right wall and the wires piped around the case. Need to order a Hiper 580watt power supply next which will also require a ton of modifications. The DVDRW will sit at the top and possibly an MDVA (courtesy of Mashie) above it (if it fits).
The hard drives will be staggered inside the case. Note these are all just template drives that I'm using right now. I don't put real hardware in till the end.
Another pic of where the drives will be sitting.
The fans+grills to go with them.
If Kevin Rose by chance reads this, please don't sue me!