A couple years back, I started my OmegaX case mod, which was never completed. Now with my home network project taking off, I am resurrecting this case mod to house my NAS (network attached storage) box with a total HD capacity of 1.3TB.

This particular case will take a while to be completed as a few things like windows and custom acrylic designs need to be done first; and my priority is to build my HTPC and Primary Server (see worklogs for those). Nonetheless, the rig should be operational sooner, so here goes:

Specs:
Athlon XP2400+ under Thermalright XP90 (I think it's XP90, bought it a long time ago)
Abit AT7-MAX2 - with extra heatsinks - yes it's an oldie
2x 512MB Apacer DDR400 RAM
Powercolor Radeon 9700 with LED heatsink and RAMsinks
1x DVD-RW
2x 80GB Maxtor PATA 5400rpm HD
2x 120GB PATA 7200rpm HD (Seagate/WD - don't remember which)
2x 200GB PATA 7200rpm HD (Seagate/WD - don't remember which)
2x 250GB WD SATA 7200rpm HD (one in a removable HD configuration)
Cooling:
2x 80mm intake fans for HD - CM blue LED or Vantec UV LED
2x 80mm exhaust fans (behind CPU) - CM blue LED or Vantec UV LED
1x 92mm intake fan (ventral) - Delta medium speed (preferred) or Nidec Beta V (if more CFM needed)
1x 92mm exhaust fan (blowhole) - Delta medium speed
1x 92mm CPU fan - Delta medium speed
Lights: CCFLs, LED lights, EL cable.
Fan/light controller device: to be determined later from whatever parts I can find cheaply
Silverstone ST75F 750W modular PSU

Sneak peek pic: CPU + heatsink + mobo installed in the custom BMW yellow interior

This post has been edited by Traveler: Apr 5 2007, 04:04 PM


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Any mods or just assembly of rig?

This is a modded rig. Right now I have only installed the CPU and mobo on to the casing (top, sides, front removed), so there are no other pics yet. From the pic I have posted you can see that there has been a 92mm hole cut into the bottom of the rig for installation of a ventral intake fan, as well as the custom interior paint job.

Other mods done: Cut out the stamped fan grille on 2x80mm intake fans, 92mm blowhole exhaust on top, top & side panels glossy black paint job, side panel window cutting & front cover mod to custom install 4x illuminated LCD temp display.

Mods planned & partially completed: LED feet, custom window etchings with LED illumination, custom paint job for front cover.

Mods being considered: front cover LED illumination - may wait till other mods completed before starting, as don't want to overdo it.

OK. Thread cleaned. Gogogo. Let the mods come flooding in.

Am posting this from the office (haven't installed screamyx at home yet), so I don't have pics at the moment, but I'll list down the drive bay configuration and the main heat sources and how I intend to cool them, and some discussion about my mods:

Case was originally a Noblesse casing (before cutting):

(space reserved for pic of casing)

3x 5.25" drive bays (external) at the top of casing:
1. DVD-RW
2 & 3: Dual-bay device or 2x single bay device for LCD display, fan controller, card reader - considering a VL Systems LIS LCD display (from my old server)
- chose to have the lower 2 bays to have "short" bay devices so as not to obstruct the big round hole, allowing heat to rise from the 5400rpm HDs

2x 3.5" drive bays (external) below the 5.25" drive bays (there is one big round hole in between the two, allowing heat to rise into the 5.25" drive bays)
1. 5400rpm PATA HD
2. 5400rpm PATA HD
- minimal air flow here, so I am putting the slower HDs here; heat can rise into the 5.25" drive bays via the big round hole in between

5x 3.5" drive bays (internal)
1-4. 7200rpm SATA HD
5. 7200rpm SATA HD
- the 2x80mm intake fans (stamped grilled removed to improve air flow) are facing HDs #4-5, so those have good airflow; HDs #1-3 will have a lot less; I think I will have to use a temp probe on them to monitor their temps

1x 5.25" drive bay (external) at the bottom of casing, hidden behind a pull-down door
1. 7200rpm SATA HD in a removable HD bay - this should come with its own cooling fan

Ventral intake (92mm fan):
This has been positioned to aim directly at the GPU, assuming no PCI cards blocking. Since this case has LAN, sound, and most other bells & whistles on board, I don't plan on using any PCI cards. With the addition of a little home-made cardboard or acrylic duct (cut into a square "tube") sized to fit around the 92mm intake fan, I will be able to have direct fresh air blowing onto the GPU. The intake fan will however be filtered to reduce dust intake. As the air is coming in from the bottom, the case will have to be raised to allow sufficient space for air intake.

(space reserved for pic of ventral intake and case feet LED holes)

Case Feet:
This led to the idea of using thick acrylic rectangular bars as feet (one for front, and one for rear). Sanding the sides of the acrylic will give a frosted feel, and drilling small holes in the bottom of the case and top of feet (corresponding to the feet location) will let me put in LEDs to give the feet a nice glow.

Blowhole (92mm fan):
This is at the usual top of casing location. As I have done with my first full-fledged case mod 6 years ago, I intend to put in EL cable under the fan guard for this fan, giving a nice glowing ring around the fan guard.

(space reserved for pic of blowhole)

Rear exhaust fans (2x80mm fans):

Due to the size of the CPU heatsink, I will mount the fans on the outside of the case. I've done this before with my Tt Skull casing (at a LAN party a long long time ago). If the airflow is not up to par, I may use the Tt acrylic airduct (I think it's a Tt product), to improve it, although it won't look as nice.

Side panel mods:
1. The usual window mod - nothing new here, just the design.
2. The other usually unmodded side panel
- have drilled mounting holes and another for wires
- will be mounting an acrylic panel on top of the side panel
- acrylic will be "frosted" at the edges, and have custom etchings/sandblasted designs (words or images), and will be lit by LEDs from the centre of the panel
- centre part of the acrylic panel will be covered by something black (to match the casing) in order to hide the LEDs and wiring

(space reserved for pics of side panels)

Front cover mods:
- drilled 4 mounting holes (in front of the 2x80mm intake fans), to mount Lian Li illuminated LCD temp monitors (CPU, GPU, HD1, HD2)
- since the front cover has a different color from the casing, will need to do some painting (also to cover the original words printed on cover)
- mounting of LCD temp monitors not perfect, so may need some creative mounting, perhaps using some form of moulding material

(space reserved for pic of front cover)

I will probably only be able to post pics next Mon at the earliest (no net at home yet), so hope you all can wait

The cooler is a thermalright SP-97
http://www.thermalright.com/a_page/main_product_si97.htm

Theres no way a XP-90 can be used on a socket A system without exteme modding.