First time painting and moding

[citystreet]

Hello everyone,

I have a Compaq Presario SR2163WM computer case that I want to do something with. I'm not sure if this is the most appropriate place to post this question, but the members on this forum have been very helpful.

What I want to do to this case is get rid of the "compaq" engraved into the sides of the front panel, paint the gray plastic parts black, and spray paint something on the right side of the case using a stencil.
I also want to add a fan to the left side panel of the case.

I have looked up a few tutorials on how to spray paint plastic and metal on computer cases and how to add a fan to a case, but I still have a few unanswered questions.

For spray painting a case with a stencil, since I am not painting the entire case, should I use primer first on the stencil? Then the color?
I am not sure if I should sand it first or no, since I am just painting in the stenciled area.



Here is the plastic that I will fill with bondo, sand, and spray paint black. Any suggestions?

This is the side panel that I want to add a fan to.

I am not sure if I should put the fan in box 1 or box 2, or even put two fans.

Thanks!

 

[Ubrales]

Answers:

1. Since you are painting over an already painted area, no primer is required, but you may need 2 coats for a good finish.

2. Fans, Obviously 2 fans will work better than one. In case you choose to add just one fan, locate this fan as close to the CPU heatsink as possible (input air). By looking at your diagram, location 1 is better than location 2. Try and make it a high CFM fan; something no less than 70 CFM, constant RPM, because there are perforated grills in the vicinity.

 

[citystreet]

As for the plastic, I am going to fill in the compaq. Should I then sand everything then paint it?

I'm going to go with Ubrales suggestion and install two fans. The fans that I am looking at are these Apevia 80mm fans with green LEDs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998102&cm_re=apevia-_-11-998-102-_-Product

 

[Ubrales]

[Should I then sand everything then paint it?]

Yes you must sand it using a sander block (a piece of wood with abrasive paper wrapped around it) - then prime it to fill in the microscopic voids (porosity) and also to make it receptive to paint. After this as dried thoroughly, spray paint it outdoors on a calm day.

The fans you picked are low CFM (25 CFM) - will work OK. The low CFM will make them quiet too!

 

[citystreet]

Yeah know they are a low CFM and are less that 70 CFM, but I feel that two will be fine. I like the green color too ha ha.

and thanks for the tips!

Any more suggestions are welcome!

 

[Ubrales]

Try and get some perforated metal to cover the fan openings. With the fans inside, sandwich the perf metal between the fans and the case cover. And make sure that you round the edges of the cutouts before painting.

 

[citystreet]

I was also thinking about perforated metal, but I think I am going to go with regular fan grills and paint them black.

 

[Lutfij]

@ citystreet - you can look up MNPCtechs videos on modding for the metal cutout finishes - heck i forgot - google them

For the fans, you can have the fan in slot 1 a lil to the left and have two fans there.

As for slot 2, i don't think you'd need that, you could simply screw on a fan onto the perforation left of slot 2 or make/get a fan shroud.

I've done a few paint jobs on cases. the stock paint is actually a good coat, so any paint you apply will bond well.

 

[citystreet]

Lutfij: I have been looking at a lot of videos from MNPCtech! They are great!

As for the fan positions are you suggesting something like this?

Also, here is the inside of the case

The only thing that I am concerned about is the air flow. Since both of the fans are located on the back side of the case will this hinder the air flow coming from the front of the case?

 

[Lutfij]

brilliant job with the research!

Ok, the fans placement is close to what i suggested : here's how - Fan placement 2 is perfect, it'll blow fresh air from outside the case onto the cpu/case.

I suggested placing two fans running parallel to the perforated steel

like this
http://s908.photobucket.com/albums/ac288/Lutfij/?action=view&current=fanplacements.jpg
(sorry for the mediocre example i'm away from my rig+my camera)
or maybe just have it under fan 2

now comes the fun part, you need to balance the airfolw by maintaining the same number of intake fans as there are exhausts.

From the looks of the pics, it seems you have an mATX case? Then you'd need to do extensive cablemanagement in there...run/wedge cable between the mobo+tray, reducing cable clutter'll help improve airflow

If you have the space you can get a Thermlatake iCage for your HDD's if not then you could sythe's bay rafter either of which will help as a front intake fan. And finally,a small measure of fan sizes, 1x 120mm fan intake is equal to 2x 80mm exhaust (well, roughly) (and visa versa)

hope that helps

 

[citystreet]

Since there is currently only one exhaust fan and no room for a second I think it would be best if I make the LED fan an outtake fan and place it in box 1.

The themaltake iCage and sythe's bay are great ideas! My friend said that he will help me make one. What I decided to do is cut out the current HDD bay as shown in the picture below and attach a fan to it and remount it.

This is the fan that we will attach to the HDD bay. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185057

 

[Lutfij]

Since there is currently only one exhaust fan and no room for a second I think it would be best if I make the LED fan an outtake fan and place it in box 1.

Does your PSU have a fan? or are you getting a new PSU? (all them PSU's now have at least a 120mm fan that are as exhaust)

Be careful with that choice, it might not be a good idea as you'll be taking air away from the GPU area, that'll tend to make your card run hot since you dont have an intake to feed your GPU with cool/fresh air. You can give it a try but you'll experience high temps. Keep fan 1 as intake as well (on a trail basis).

Whats the rear exhaust fans dia?

BTW whats your specs?

The themaltake iCage and sythe's bay are great ideas! My friend said that he will help me make one. What I decided to do is cut out the current HDD bay as shown in the picture below and attach a fan to it and remount it.

are you sure you can remount the HDD cage? seems cutting up the green latches will render your HDD out of action or you could prove me wrong....

The scythe slipstream is an awesome fan! Good work!

 

[citystreet]

Here are my specs. Let me know what you think!

Motherboard
ASUS M4A88TD-M
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131654

CPU
AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681

Power Supply
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016

RAM
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

Hard Drive
x2 Seagate Barracuda 500GB (I will be putting these into RAID 1)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

Video Card
XFX HD-555X-ZNF2 Radeon HD 5550 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150492

As for the exhaust fan i am pretty sure it works, I have not tested it since I found the case. What I worry about is putting an intake fan in box 2 because the exhaust fan is also right there. Then again I could be wrong.

As for the HDD cage the green latches are useless. I can always screw the HDD into the cage.

 

[Lutfij]

really awesome build coming along...your not planning on having this as a HTPC as well huh?

Like i said you need to maintain the equal number of intake and exhaust fans. you can skip the idea of having a fan in slot 2 but keep a fan in slot 1 to add cool air to the GPU. Just to be on the safe side, get a HIGH CFM fan for that rear exhaust.

Apart from all this, your all set to mod the case to kingdom come! Anymore questions, post back here!

 

[citystreet]

Not knowing the CFM on the existing case (im sure it is not very hight) I went and found this fan. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103025
Let me know what you think.

So now I will have a 80mm fan on the back as exhaust, a 80mm LED fan in slot 1 with a lower cfm, and a 120mm fan inside the case cooling the hard drives. Now as for that fan on the inside, should I have it facing the front of the case, pulling air in from the front, or should i have it face the back? My assumption is the front, but then again this is the first time I am doing something like this.

 

[citystreet]

oh and one more question. The screw holes for the motherboard are raised up, will i still need to purchase brass risers or will the bumped up metal be enough for keeping the motherboard safe?

 

[Ubrales]

Front, Side, and Bottom fans are Intake fans - Rear, Top fans are Exhaust fans.

A balanced setup is ideal, but it doesn't really matter if the Intake air exceeds the Exhaust air, or vice versa. Not by a great margin; +/- 15%

 

[jsc]

The screw holes for the motherboard are raised up, will i still need to purchase brass risers or will the bumped up metal be enough for keeping the motherboard safe?

The bumps replace the brass standoffs.

The only problem you might have is if you have a bump where you do not have a mounting hole in your motherboard. In that case, insulate the bump with a couple layers of electrical tape.

I modded my Antec 900 cases for better cable management. I used this to cover the cut edges:
Window molding
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5096/mol-04/Slim_C-Strip_FanWindow_MoldingGrommet_Edging_-_Black.html?tl=g44c355s338

 

[Lutfij]

A balanced setup is ideal, but it doesn't really matter if the Intake air exceeds the Exhaust air, or vice versa. Not by a great margin; +/- 15%

well i did that exact same thing, i had one 120 mm intake at the bottom and a 80mm exhaust just below the PSU. At first i thought it wont be a problem but then i realized the slight elevated temps. The 120mm drew in more air than the 80mm & the PSU fan (combined) couldn't displace thus the temps inside the case and H/W rose slightly. Note: i had this issue with an ATX case, you'll see the results multiplied 2fold if not more, since yours is a mATX form factor case.

For cases like these a balanced setup is ideal. Having an exhaust more than your inttake is kinda good as any heat produced is quickly taken away and this causes negative pressure within the case...so your drawing in more air

sorry for the wall of text, i forgot the link to a thread (on Tom's) that mentioned the exact issue with intakes and exhaust.

 

[citystreet]

The bumps replace the brass standoffs.

The only problem you might have is if you have a bump where you do not have a mounting hole in your motherboard. In that case, insulate the bump with a couple layers of electrical tape.

I modded my Antec 900 cases for better cable management. I used this to cover the cut edges:
Window molding
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5096/mol-04/Slim_C-Strip_FanWindow_MoldingGrommet_Edging_-_Black.html?tl=g44c355s338

I thought that the bumps were for that, but was not sure. Thanks for clearing that up for me!
Also, thanks for the link! I definitely think I will use one of those, it will make the finished product look cleaner.


As for the fan intake and exhaust balance, im with Lutfij on this one.

So right now, I feel that I am just about ready to purchase everything, but I was suggested to get a better graphics card. Now that is the only item that I am still looking at. I have a topic going in New Build regarding that so if any of you guys can check that out that would be great!

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/290660-31-double-checking-build

 

[Lutfij]

yep the 4850 will be awesome in that mini case of yours! Hands down!

 

[Lutfij]

Not knowing the CFM on the existing case (im sure it is not very hight) I went and found this fan. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103025
Let me know what you think.

sorry i missed that...

Here are some suggestions:

SilenX IXP-54-14 80mm Case Fan

Noctua NF-R8-1800 80mm Case Fan

Sharkoon Silent Eagle 80MM 80mm Case Fan

Sharkoons have been very popular in Europe and UK, they have been recently hitting US shores...thus you dont have much reviews on 80mm

 

[Motopsychojdn]

If you want/need more exhaust, you can always put a couple of 80mm's in the roof, just make sure they go in front of your psu
I see space down the bottom at the front for either a 120 or a pair of 80's too
dont be afraid to cut holes in the Mobo tray to help with Cable management either, helps a lot in my case
on your side panel, I'd go for one lined up with your cpu (mounted on existing mesh panel) one underneath that, maybe a 30-40mm space between them, and another one on the same height as the *Cpu* one further towards the front of the case, exact spacing to be adjusted as needed ofc,
check my Sig links for some home hacking of pc's and I'll check back see how your getting on
Moto

 

[citystreet]

Thanks for the idea of putting an exhaust on top! I don't know why I did not think of that before, especially since my gaming rig has an exhaust fan on top.

Thanks for the other tips too! As for the space at the bottom front of the case, The front plastic panel would block any airflow from coming in. The only thing that is there is a line of slits going across the bottom. Since this is my fist time modding, I don't want to cut through the plastic front, since I want to avoid destroying wires haha.

 

[Lutfij]

yeah, it'll just be good for airflow but bad on the eyes...the idea for the top case fan is healthy! lol, i men good...airflow is maintained and you add a bling factor to the top of the case.

Did you look up the fans i posted?