Project Avocet

[alephzero]

I've been working on this for quite a while and now that I'm about 90% done, it's time to start showing some photos. As if this project wasn't hard enough, I set a very big challenge for myself: No power tools, except a cordless hand drill :o
That means no dremels, no saws, no sanders. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do an involved mod project using just my hands. The drill was used only for drilling holes, no other attachments were used.

It's going to be a watercooled PC. I'm starting with a mid-tower Kingwin (http://www.kingwin.com/) aluminum KT-424-BK-WM. The choice of a midtower also creates another challenge, since I wanted to fit everything inside and I didn't want to block off my PCI slots or take out any of the drive bays. Anybody who has assembled a watercooled system will understand how cramped it can make things. Anyway in the coming updates you'll see how I solved this space problem without sacrificing slots or bays.

For now though, lets start with some before pictures of the case before I made any modifications (the blue tape was where I was planning for the motherboard dimensions)...

http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-before_250.jpg (http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-before.jpg)http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-before-front_250.jpg (http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-before-front.jpg)http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-before-frontx_250.jpg (http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-before-frontx.jpg)
http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-before-side_250.jpg (http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-before-side.jpg)http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-before-back_250.jpg (http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-before-back.jpg)http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-before-drivebays_250.jpg (http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-before-drivebays.jpg)

This Kingwin case is 8.25 (w) x 17.25 (h) x 19 (d) inches -- or in millimeters 207 x 440 x 483.

It has two 80mm inlets in the front with fans and dust filter, and a single 80mm fan exhaust in the rear (those won't be staying, at 80mm anyways). It has a sliding removable motherboard tray. It also has four hard drive bays with rubber gromets for vibration isolation. Two 3.5in bays. And four 5.25in bays.

[alephzero]

Time to cut some fan holes. First I converted the rear fan from an 80mm to a larger 92mm hole. I also cut two big 120mm holes in the bottom of the case.

http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-back-hole_250.jpg (http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-back-hole.jpg)http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-bottom-holes_250.jpg (http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-bottom-holes.jpg)

Keeping with my no-power-tools rule, I cut all the holes using a simple nibbler tool. Then I used some precision hand files to clean up the holes until they were very round and smooth. I then redrilled fan mounting holes. Also notice how I polished every bit of the exposed aluminum inside the case with aluminum polish; it was very messy and laborious, but the shine is well worth it.

Now you can see with the 120mm fans test-fit into the bottom of the case. They are positioned so they do not interfere with the motherboard or PCI slots. Those big fans will push air downward out of the case, into what will later be my radiator plenum.

http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-bottom-fans_250.jpg (http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/case-bottom-fans.jpg)

Now for some eye candy. I have all the fans mounted now. I ran some EL strips around the inner edge of the fan housing. This actually took a lot of time because I had to cut out slits to allow the EL strip to pass through both fans in one continuous loop. Also the clearance between the fan blades and housing is pretty small, requiring the EL strip to be glued into place as tightly as possible. You can see it clearly with the room lights on and the EL turned off (the white strip lining the edge of the housing):

http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/fan-el-unlit_250.jpg (http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/fan-el-unlit.jpg)

You may notice that I painted the fan support spokes with a metalic blue flake paint; after applying plastic primer first. I don't like seeing plastic pieces, and the blue really looks sharp. (I actually started with gold, but changed my mind later)

Now turn out the lights and turn the EL strip on. The end effect is really cool. It has a very TRON-like appearance when the fans are turning. (click on the pictures to see a larger image)

http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/fans-el-blue_250.jpg (http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/fans-el-blue.jpg) http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/fans-el-blue2_250.jpg (http://w3.iac.net/~dmeranda/casemod/avocet/fans-el-blue2.jpg)

[elitecloud]

looks good, is the case going to be up on wheels or something?

[JeyNyce]

What drill are you using? I tried my hand drill to cut holes and it's not powerful enough. I feel so un-manly now :unsure:

Edit: Nevermind, you used a nibbler.