Posts by placidcanyon2

Instead of just hacking away at it with straight cuts, you could try using a compass. If you drill a tiny pilot hole right in the center to keep the point from slipping, then you can either score a line with a knife or just scratch a path with the compass tip. It makes the cut way cleaner—honestly, it’s basically perfect. You could even drill a circle and then just file it down from there...

wanderingraven4 said:Just trying to breathe some life back into this thread... So, what's actually the best way to cut plexiglass (specifically for fan holes) and how should I mount it to the case so it doesn't look like a total mess?

I’ve done straight cuts using nothing but a sharpened screwdriver. Basically, drill the corner holes first, then just guide it along a straightedge from point A to point B. You might be able to use a hacksaw if you make a custom cutting guide for it. Using a drill bit or anything like that is a nightmare because you have to be incredibly gentle, otherwise the plastic just starts melting everywhere.

As for mounting... are we talking about a side panel, like making a window? Honestly, I'd probably just go with some epoxy...

I’m thinking the PSU will end up sitting above the cards and the partition. I’ll get a sketch together soon, just gotta finish grading some papers first 🙈 😁 I might even hit up a buddy of mine who's a mechanical engineer to grab some help or run some designs through SolidWorks...

Hmm... I’d definitely go with a partition if I were building strictly according to this sketch.

I've also been kicking around some new ideas: maybe mount the PSU right above the CPUs and over a 120mm exhaust fan, then cool the drives using two 120mm fans together. Or, what if I put the PSU above the cards so it pulls air in and pushes it right over the cards toward the drives?

You think the PSU is gonna struggle to pull enough juice? I didn't quite catch your drift, so maybe walk me through my design a bit more...

The thing is, I can't really put any holes anywhere except for the back. :/ Everything else has to stay sealed up tight.

EDIT: steelsailor3, how's that wooden case coming along?

So, this two-headed beast of mine (affectionately known as my Tiger) runs pretty hot during the summer—honestly, all year round—and the fan noise is getting ridiculous. As a total noise freak, it’s driving me nuts... I need way better cooling. Way better. I thought about picking up a Sharkoon Rebel9, but those are pricey, and trying to fit it would be a total nightmare since I barely managed to squeeze my current 18.5cm wide case into my setup.

So, I decided to just build my own wooden PC case. My plan is to integrate it right into my desk. Basically, I have these two cabinets under my desk with doors. I’m going to seal off the back, and instead of just having a shelf, the case will sit there, making it somewhat mobile and easy to clean. I really want to keep the original cabinet doors on the front, which means air has to flow in and out through the back side.

I’ve attached the floor plan here, but let me walk you through it. The dark hatched areas are the supports, and the drives are suspended on rubber mounts. That 120mm fan is sitting outside the PSU because I'm modding an old power supply and it just won't fit inside—tried it, didn't work. There’s a divider (in gray) separating the drive/PSU area from the section where the DVD-RW and other stuff go. The arrows show the general airflow. All dimensions are exact; the cutout in my desk is 36x50cm (yeah, I left a little breathing room).



The aesthetics shouldn't matter too much once everything is tucked behind the desk doors, and the whole project should be pretty cheap and easy to pull off. I've got ten solid wood supports and some plywood/particle board pieces about 4-5mm and 10mm thick. The cuts are simple, too—mostly just rectangles, except for one circular hole.

Now, I'm throwing this out to the community to see if this actually makes sense or if there's anything I should tweak. I had this idea to mount the PSU on the side ("above the drives") to avoid the headache of a short ATX cable, but IMHO that would mess up the cooling since the PSU would be sucking in all that hot air from the drives, which is exactly what I'm trying to avoid.

Suggestions, praise, insults, or constructive criticism—bring it on.

Don't let those decibel ratings trip you up (especially since they're just numbers on a page anyway). You can always just dial it back using a potentiometer or tweak the wiring to slow those fans down...

Btw, those 120mm LED fans from Cooler Master are actually killer. Honestly, better than most standard 120mm fans out there.

If you're looking at 80mm fans, I’d definitely go with the Cooler Master Airflow. For 120mm, maybe check out Corsair? You could always grab a Nexus or Scythe fan if you wanted, but man, those things are pretty pricey...

Terry Wilson3 said:I used a grinder on some 2mm sheet metal and it turned out alright, though you definitely gotta hit it with a file afterward to get that shine.

Yeah, that's actual decent metal to work with... unlike that 0.5mm paper-thin stuff they sell everywhere now.

Joseph Carter9 said:Just grab some basic stuff for $66, maybe spend a few $134 bucks properly to build something custom. For $134, you could just pick up three 12cm fans, some neon strips, a potentiometer (nothing too pricey, obviously), some plexiglass... boom, you've got a one-of-a-kind rig.
To me, it feels pretty pointless to drop $200 on something pre-made that anyone can just go out and buy.

True, but if you start with some cheap junk case that rattles the second a disc gets within a yard of it—and basically buckles if you even look at it wrong because the metal is only 0.5mm thick—you aren't starting with a good foundation for any kind of PC Modding. For like 300-$117, you can already find a solid base to work with (like a Cooler Master tank or something similar) and still have plenty of cash left over for the actual mods.

@Anthony Myers5/">@@Anthony Myers5: I'm with you on that suggestion, just go ahead and buy 🙂

Man...

Not sure how you're holding up, but... man, those colds suck. I used to drill through plexiglass using regular old metal bits, just being SUPER careful with it, and then I’d score it with a sharp screwdriver. Zero damage. I'm with Raymond Hernandez14 on this one—skip the rivets, screws are definitely the way to go.

What are you guys even talking about? It’s all right there if you actually bother to read... A little hard to spot sometimes, but it's definitely there.

Here you go!

http://forum.pcekspert.com/showthread.php?t=26654
http://www.pcexodus.com/phorum/index.php?topic=774.0

slyheron13 said:alright, you guys actually convinced me it fits better!
but seriously, where am I even supposed to find a cable that long?🤷

I think Best Buy has one around 90cm.

slyheron13 said:Like I said in my last post, I'm just gonna grab the round one. I don't have this version anymore, so there's really no point in even trying to make it work!😁

Hey.

Grab a wide one and just run it straight ahead until it tucks behind the 3.5" bay. That’ll actually help hide the cable end near the power supply, too. Then, just give it a 90-degree bend so it heads up toward the optical drive. After that, hit it with another 90-degree turn so it pops out from behind the 5.25" bay right level with the drive. From there, it's an easy fix to pin it down and route the rest of the lead over to that other device on the same cable—what was it, a secondary disk or something?

Not bad! 👍

Maybe try routing that ATX12V—whatever it’s called—to the left of the cooler, tuck it under the motherboard all the way to the top right corner, and let it pop out up there. Grab a longer IDE cable and run it from the board right behind the drive cage, then straight up to the optical drive, staying behind those 3.5" and 5.25" bays. Also, just shove that SATA cable somewhere so it isn't staring you in the face above the front fan. The rest is just fine-tuning for the hardcore pros.

slyheron13 said:Thomas Gray, you've got fewer cables than me

Check out this shot of the inside of a rig with 7 drives—looks like 5 PATA and 2 SATA from what I can tell. It’s not about how many cables you have, it's just that you don't know how to hide them yet ☕
http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?i...1010093rv2.jpg
Looking at Thomas Gray's pic, you can get a pretty good idea of how to tidy things up. I'd also suggest flipping the drives upside down so the connectors face the front. Tuck the extra slack in the corner, coil it neatly, and run those thinner cables behind the motherboard.

Thomas Gray, man, those are some nice cables! 🙏

Daniel Nguyen3 said:Does anyone know how to kill an LED on a fan? It’s driving me crazy, especially at night. It’s way too bright and just keeps hitting my eyes...

I grabbed the LED version because it was cheap and they didn't have any non-LED 120mm ones in stock... now it's just annoying...

Maybe try wrapping some electrical tape around it or just painting over it? A little light might still bleed through the plastic, but it won't be a huge deal. You could probably try cutting it, but honestly, I wouldn't risk it—who knows how it's wired? Don't want you messing up the whole fan.

ThermalTake is honestly pretty mid, bordering on straight-up trash. On the other hand, Corsair is top-tier, whether you're looking at their LED fans or just any of their cooling gear in general.

Raymond Hernandez14 said:check this out, guys:

So where's the power supply going? You running it external? 😁