PC Modding

I started by sanding everything down thoroughly with some wet sandpaper—then gave it a good wash, let it dry completely, and moved on to the primer and paint. Honestly? It turned out incredible.
(I also treated myself to two neon strips, though you can only really see one here)

The final result:

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/345...411024x768.jpg

Here is how it looks when the room is dark:
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/6...701024x768.jpg

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/7...621024x768.jpg
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/7...571024x768.jpg
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/7...551024x768.jpg

This shot shows off the matte finish perfectly:
http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/5...531024x768.jpg

A quick snap from while I was painting the interior:
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/236...521024x768.jpg

And just for the sake of memory—how it looked before all this work:😁

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/1934/p5050138.jpg

Really solid.. that blue one is just plain irritating

I honestly can't decide if I'd actually regret it if I went with blue instead.
For now, I've just left the power supply blue—mostly because I ran out of paint, but also since I'm currently negotiating for a Corsair 520 W. that's already black, which would save me the trouble of painting it altogether.

nice work! 🙂

Nice shots.
The neon layout and color scheme are identical to what I have running in my setup.
The only downside is they don't last very long before burning out.

What else can I say? I already paid for them $27 (Revoltec).

I've been obsessed with building this ultra-quiet rig lately,
Here’s the breakdown of what I did:
First off, I swapped out the stock box cooler—it was driving me crazy with the noise, especially when those fans ramped up.
I installed a Cooler Master TX3 that stays between 500-800 RPM. In my generic power supply, I actually modded the fan myself—the original one was bizarre, featuring three wires connected to the PSU and two extra leads sticking out that you could plug into the motherboard. It was one of those weird setups where you could monitor the speed, but you couldn't actually control it!
So, I cut those wires, scavenged some leads from an old fan, soldered everything back together, and now I can regulate that fan's speed perfectly using Speedfan.
My GPU is an NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS, which is pretty quiet.
Honestly, the whole build is whisper-quiet now.
Right now, the loudest thing in the machine is the hard drive.
Does anyone have any bright ideas on how to quiet that down?
I tried using rubber vibration dampers, but they didn't seem to do much—or maybe I just didn't install them right!??

I’m not entirely sure—I still have quite a few cold cathode lamps lying around, though they aren't actually running at the moment, but honestly, not a single one of them has burned out (though I have dealt with some broken ones, specifically 😁)

How were you mounting the rubber ring around the drive? My general approach is to suspend it so it doesn't actually touch the chassis, essentially just hanging from the rubber. Take a look over here http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums...ic.php?t=19147 for some inspiration.

Bryan Wood49 said:What can I say? I paid for them $27 (Revoltec).

I got obsessed with building this silent rig,
Here’s what I did:
First off, I swapped out the stock box cooler because it was driving me crazy with noise, especially when those fans ramped up.
I installed a CM TX3 that runs between 500-800 RPM. I also messed with the fan in my generic power supply; I basically rebuilt it. It had this weird fan with three wires plugged into the PSU and two extra wires sticking out that you could plug into the motherboard—never seen anything like it. You could read the speed, but you couldn't actually control it!
So, I cut those wires, grabbed some leads from an old fan, soldered everything together, and now I can actually regulate that fan's speed using Speedfan.
My GPU is a 7600 GS, which is pretty quiet.
The whole setup is honestly dead silent now.
Right now, the loudest thing in the machine is the HDD.
Anyone got any ideas on how to quiet one of those down?
I tried using rubber grommets, but it didn't seem to do much—or maybe I just didn't install them right?

Yep, unfortunately, they don't last very long ://
Mine died after maybe 4 or 5 months, though they're still mounted in the case since I haven't bothered taking them out.
Mine were $33, and most of them are sold in pairs anyway.

Do you happen to know roughly what water cooling kits go for these days?

I haven't really decided yet—I’ve given it some thought, but if I pull the trigger, I’ll definitely be going with something used. Buying new just doesn't make sense right now. Before that, though, I need to pick up a better motherboard and finally make the jump back to an Intel build...😁

I'm looking at these HDD solutions, and sure, the foam padding is fine and all... but what about heat dissipation?

Where can I pick one of these up locally:

Bryan Wood49 said:I honestly have no clue. I’ve been mulling it over, but if I pull the trigger, I’m going used. Buying new just doesn't make sense right now. But before that happens, I need to grab a better motherboard and finally migrate back over to an Intel build...😁

Looking at these HDD solutions, sure, wrapping them in foam might look okay on paper... but what about the heat buildup?

Even with used gear, you're still gonna have to cough up some decent cash.😁

Which foam are you talking about?

Hey, Mike! Try putting that hard drive in some "underwear" 🤣—basically, just hang it using one of those stretchy rubber bands. It’ll help dampen the vibrations, and honestly, it makes things way quieter. That’s exactly what I did with my Western Digital Black drive, and now it's practically silent 😁
Here is a photo:

Yeah, I did more than just that...😁

But honestly—did you really mess up the paint job that badly?

Nicole, your PC modding setup is a total disaster

I have to admit, I did a pretty subpar job painting the front end—I completely skipped the sanding process and didn't even bother applying a primer.
Since there’s a grille over the front bumper, you can't really see the imperfections.
driftingmarlin70, what makes you think it's because of the paint job?
Here is how it looks at the moment:

I wanted to post a "before" photo as well, but my computer is acting up—so I had to borrow my brother's rig just to get this online.
Please excuse the low image quality; my hands were shaking just a little bit while taking these.

What kind of PC modding case are you running there?

Terry Wilson3 said:Yeah, I messed up the paint job on the front a bit. I didn't sand it down or hit it with any primer at all.
Since there's a grille on the front panel, you can't really see it anyway.
driftingmarlin70, why do you think it’s because of the bad paint job?
Here’s what it looks like right now:

I wanted to post a "before" photo, but my computer is acting up, so I had to hop on my brother's rig to get this up.
Sorry about the crappy photo quality. My hands were shaking a little while taking it.

Looking at this case, it kind of reminds me of a mix between a fireplace and a water heater.

Bryan Wood49! I'm not quite sure what you mean—are you asking about the specific case brand or something else?
I honestly can't remember the exact brand of that old one...

briskbison41—well, at least it provides cold water!😁
Here is the link where you can check out the full project; I'll be posting photos of the new setup very soon, as soon as I get this circuit board fixed up.
Personally, I'm really happy with the case—it looks significantly better now than when I first picked it up!

Terry Wilson3 said:Bryan Wood49! I’m not quite sure what you mean—are you asking about the case brand or what?
I can't remember the exact brand of that old one..

briskbison41—at least it keeps things cool.😁
You can check out this link to see the full project; I'll be posting photos of the new setup once I get this motherboard fixed up.
Personally, I'm pretty happy with how the case turned out. It looks way better than when I first picked it up..

Yeah, especially if you've got liquid cooling in the mix too.😁

As for mixing those blue LEDs with the green fans, it actually doesn't look half bad.😉

Btw, how did you pull off those flame effects on the side?
My guess is silver spray paint combined with some stencils and paper.

True, but that was all in the past—take a look at the final page (the third one)