Looking for a good case to mod

[JKatwyopc]

I have been thinking about building my self a really cool case for my computer and I'd like some opinions on the best place to start. Basically what I want to do is find a good case that I can us as a foundation and then remove all of the external stuff (the sides, top and bottom ). Then I want to create some fancy outer dressing for it using wood panels and possibly inlay some hand tooled leather. This is a summer project so I have plenty of time to do this. At the moment I haven't planned anything specific for the design because it will be somewhat dependent on what foundation I build upon.

This will be my first attempt at building my own case so any help is appreciated.

Does anyone know where I can find case parts that I can use to design my own build or will I have to acquire a good case and then gut it just so that I can use the innards?

 

[amuffin]

You can always build your own case out of:
Wood
Lego's
Cardboard
Sheet Metal
Glass
ETC.

 

[JKatwyopc]

Actually already thought of that. I'm planning to build it out of wood and then add some leather inlay. Problem is I really don't want to have to do a lot of extra work making special cutouts and slots for drives, etc.

I was thinking that if I could get a motherboard tray with a back plate for the expansion slots and the I/O adapter plate then I could just build around that. That way I don't have to do a lot of extra work to make it all fit.

I would like to maintain much of the flexibility that is available on premade cases for adding and upgrading hardware. A 3 1/2" hard drive cage and a 5 1/4" bay cage would also be very useful.

Also, using premade metal parts internally provides a good ground plane.

 

[mildgamer001]

ok, try this, get an OLDER used computer case, mainly ti only has to have 1. the right ports/accesories you want, 2. the right size for what you want 3. good cooling as i doubt much heat would leak out through the wood, it will get all locked u in there if there isnt very good cooling and 4. all the parts, VGA panel slot covers, mobo standoffs, etc.

and dont be shy, think outside the box, at some point i might be building a mini itx HTPC inside a mid sized sub woofer lol. and the sub will also be modded a bit, bass pipe shortened and a fan added to the inside, plexi glass and leds where the speaker was, fans in the back, not sure of parts b ut man u can slap a computer into just about anything these days with all these special/smaller parts floating around.

 

[geriatric1116]

ok, try this, get an OLDER used computer case, mainly ti only has to have 1. the right ports/accesories you want, 2. the right size for what you want 3. good cooling as i doubt much heat would leak out through the wood, it will get all locked u in there if there isnt very good cooling and 4. all the parts, VGA panel slot covers, mobo standoffs, etc.

and dont be shy, think outside the box, at some point i might be building a mini itx HTPC inside a mid sized sub woofer lol. and the sub will also be modded a bit, bass pipe shortened and a fan added to the inside, plexi glass and leds where the speaker was, fans in the back, not sure of parts b ut man u can slap a computer into just about anything these days with all these special/smaller parts floating around.

I would not build a computer inside a subwoofer, magnetic field may cause havoc with hdd and cpu, may even wipe out memory and all apps. Judicious shielding will only mask it and make it die a slower death.

 

[JKatwyopc]

ok, try this, get an OLDER used computer case, mainly ti only has to have 1. the right ports/accesories you want, 2. the right size for what you want 3. good cooling as i doubt much heat would leak out through the wood, it will get all locked u in there if there isnt very good cooling and 4. all the parts, VGA panel slot covers, mobo standoffs, etc.

and dont be shy, think outside the box, at some point i might be building a mini itx HTPC inside a mid sized sub woofer lol. and the sub will also be modded a bit, bass pipe shortened and a fan added to the inside, plexi glass and leds where the speaker was, fans in the back, not sure of parts b ut man u can slap a computer into just about anything these days with all these special/smaller parts floating around.

Hmm, you make an interesting point there about getting an older case and just using the bits that I need. I know of a couple of local computer repair shops that might have some older cases. Cooling is definitely a major concern here. I am thinking that maybe I could leave an opening at the lower front for air intake and then use the standard rear air openings at the back with fans. I am thinking that would probably end up creating a negative airflow cooling system. Standoffs and other misc parts I can get at the hardware store as needed. I have plenty of slot covers and screws as well as other misc computer parts that I have saved from previous builds.

 

[JKatwyopc]

I would not build a computer inside a subwoofer, magnetic field may cause havoc with hdd and cpu, may even wipe out memory and all apps. Judicious shielding will only mask it and make it die a slower death.

Yeah I tend to agree with you on that one. Putting computer components that close to a Subwoofer is probably not a good idea. The magnetic field created by the giant magnet on a subwoofer is pretty substantial. I wonder if that was why one of my past computers was unstable cuz I remember that I had the subwoofer from my 5.1 channel speaker system sitting right next to the computer box. Never occurred to me that the varying magnetic field of the sub might be inducing current into the computer. Interesting, I wonder if anyone has done any measurements on the effect of a magnetic field near a computer.

 

[geriatric1116]

I`m sure they have, otherwise why would most computer speakers be shielded?

 

[mildgamer001]

I would not build a computer inside a subwoofer, magnetic field may cause havoc with hdd and cpu, may even wipe out memory and all apps. Judicious shielding will only mask it and make it die a slower death.

nunununu, i wont leave the speakrs in it, i know they have strong magnets in them, amnd also if i left it working the bass itself could cause virbration or something and that could also break computer parts eventually, it would really just be a wooden boz with a plastic front panel, a hole in the front, and a side window.
i mostly just thought it would be a really neat looking case as long as you could tell that it was a sub woofer at one point. i had no plans of using the speaker in it, it would just be a decorative case, also the wood shell might make the fan noise "crisper" lol.

 

[rufus_22]

You can hit a scrapyard . I gutted a place as part of a job and when I went to sell the copper at a local scrapyard I noticed something like a hundred cases stacked up . Another thott is ( because I was gonna do a wood build ) to just buy the drive bays , mobo tray etc. from the case vendor of your choice . ie.http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=130_210_750_753&products_id=33808 good luck with your build . sounds interesting

 

[amuffin]

One day I am going to try building a mini-itx pc inside of a toaster.

 

[mildgamer001]

^ yes, that is the thing i am talking about, you can cram a computer inside just abotu anything. i want a reclining chair with an arm mounted monitor with all the computer parts mounted either inside it or in a small box/table mounted on teh side (to piut drinks etc on top) i woudnt even have to move from my tv chair to use my computer!
lol.

 

[naf]

Check out Mountain Mods for parts. You can purchase motherboard trays, HDD brackets, 5.25" bays, back panels, etc. all individually.

http://www.mountainmods.com/mountain-mods-modular-removable-motherboard-tray-p-56.html
http://www.mountainmods.com/120mm-hard-drive-rack-brushed-alu-p-326.html
http://www.mountainmods.com/525-optical-drive-cage-p-539.html

As the name suggests, they make cases for modding, and the parts are really high quality.

I dropped an unnecessary amount of money on a case from them but haven't regretted it once. It's amazing.

 

[JKatwyopc]

Check out Mountain Mods for parts. You can purchase motherboard trays, HDD brackets, 5.25" bays, back panels, etc. all individually.

http://www.mountainmods.com/mountain-mods-modular-removable-motherboard-tray-p-56.html
http://www.mountainmods.com/120mm-hard-drive-rack-brushed-alu-p-326.html
http://www.mountainmods.com/525-optical-drive-cage-p-539.html

As the name suggests, they make cases for modding, and the parts are really high quality.

I dropped an unnecessary amount of money on a case from them but haven't regretted it once. It's amazing.

OOOOOOHH YEEEEAAAAAH! Now that's what I was looking for! Looking over that site I can see several nice items that I can use. Everything from motherboard trays with back panels to acrylic corner brackets to drive bay kits and lots more.

I found a couple of cases at local computer repair shops that I can use some of the parts from but the drive cages and power supply mounting cages leave a lot to be desired. Also, the motherboard tray that comes with most prebuilt cases is designed to run the full depth of the case so I have to cut it off leaving a rather sharp edge that needs to be filed and sanded down smooth.

I suspect they are going to be getting a little bit of my money as well. I'll keep you informed as to how it's going.

 

[cyansnow]

i always thought it would be cool to build a pc in one of those acrylic display cases like one of these http://www.displaycaseart.com/acrylic58helmet.jpg
don't know why but I think it would be fun to make a mini pc in one, and put a full featured cooling loop in it. another fun thing would be to gut a XBOX 360 and cram some parts in the case, if i can find a broken 360 for cheap I would definatly do that.

 

[JKatwyopc]

LOL, That would be really cool but what the heck would you do with the Helmet? Besides, there are already a lot of acrylic computer cases available.

I.E. : http://www.mountainmods.com/computer-cases-bob-slay-c-21_64.html
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=103_105&zenid=4c78f72c10bc7c0c4c8725bfd4559a2a

Here is one that looks similar to one built in the helmet box. http://www.dangerden.com/store/dd-water-box.html?&cat=94

 

[mildgamer001]

cyansnow, i had that idea a while ago, didnt find a 360 anywhere to put parts in, and also i looked at mine (deff not gutting that) and there is like, no way at all to open the think aside from cutting it open, maybe im wrong but i didnt see any screws or rivets.