How the CoolerMaster CM HAF 932? - Page 3

b,

To clearcost or not to clearoat, that is the question. I was looking at the copper top panel and wondered if it would be worth spaying it with a clearcoat. What do you think?

I'm also thinking about getting a Palit 4850 video card - maybe - just for the heck of it.

b,

OK! I'll stop by Ace hardware and get a can of clear coat. I need it anyway for the copper sheets.

Here's the actual Palit video card I'm looking at:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814261027

The Sonic and other versions are overkill for me.

b,

I stopped by Ace Hardware and bought a can of high gloss crystal clear spray paint. There's still a little daylight left but it is too windy to paint outdoors. I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning. We've got a chance of rain over the weekend.

I'll take a look at other 4850 video cards before making a final decision.

So, how did the chrome test go? Any luck? Inquiring minds want to know!

b,

bummer about the chrome test.

I repainted the horizontal grill early this morning. It looks much much better now. I think it must have something to do with the temperature. Phoenix is still hot this time of year and daytime highs can still reach 100 degrees. I've had much better results painting early in the morning when the temperature is in the 70's. It is a little breezy this morning so I am going to wait until tomorrow morning to spray the clear coat on the top panel and grill.

I kind of like this 4850 card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161244

The card uses one 6 pin power cord. I checked my Corsair HX 620 watt modular power supply. It comes with one 8 pin power cord and one 4 pin power cord. I took another look at the images of the video card and specifications. It comes with a short power cord adapter - 6 pin connector on one end and two 4 pin molex connectors on the other end. Wondering if both molex connectors need to be plugged into the psu.

b,

I just took another look at the psu. There are two 6 pin (2x3) ports above the the 5 regular ports. Then I looked in my spare parts box. Turns out I have two 6 pin (2x3) PCIe power cords that came with the psu. The connectors are clearly marked PCIe so the problem is solved!!

CLEAR COAT - WOW!!! This morning the top panel and the grill got two coats of crystal clear coat spray paint. I waited one hour between coats. What a difference. The clear coat leveled out very very nicely and it has a terrific shine. I'm glad I did it.

NOTE - I read the instructions. Ideal temperature for spray painting is between 70 and 90 degrees with 50% humidity. It was 74 degrees and low humity when I painted - right on the money. It made a difference. Painting when the temperature is around 100 degrees and 13% humidity is not a good idea. I'm guessing the paint actually starts drying while still airborne or as soons as it comes in contact with the hot metal.

Watching the Eagles and 49'ers this afternoon! GO EAGLES!

b,

What's the wiring like for cold cathode lighting? Is it straight to psu connection or is there a power switch?

b,

I am a senior citizen and I am growing old disgracefully. I had two senior moments. First, I was all set to stop at Ace Hardware on the way home from work to purchase black colored, pan head screws and bolts plus nuts and washers when I realised that I didn't write down the sizes I needed. Second, I was out on the patio admiring the case. I was looking at the back of the motherboard tray and thinking about cable management. There were small holes in the motherboard tray. All of a sudden I was thinking I could use those holes with plastic ties for better cable management. I was quite pleased with myself. Eventually it dawned on me the holes were for mounting the motherboard to the tray. PFUI!!!

It's just about time for the Monday night football game between the New York Giants and the Cleveland Browns. I don't think I'll get very much done tonight.

Time to assemble the case. I don't know how far I'll get this evening. I screwed the feet back on first. Then I used a paint brush to clean the interior of the case one final time. A little bit of dust and debris fell through the mesh in the very bottom of the case. The mesh turned out to be good for something more than ventilation.

rear case panel - There's a metal cover at the top of the rear case panel. It covers an empty space inside the case. The empty space is an alternate location for a power supply or it could be used for water cooling. The metal cover is very basic - just a small rectangle with screw holes. I've got plenty of copper sheet so I think I am going to start by making a copper cover secured with black screws. It might wind up looking good. I'm starting with that cover because I need some practice scoring and cutting copper sheet.

CLEAR/RESET CMOS SWITCH - Silverstone announced a switch mounted in a slot cover. Here's the link to the THG page:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/s [...] ,6508.html

I don't know about having to get all the way back to a slot cover at the bottom rear of the case. Could wind up being a pain in the butt. I guess it just depends on how difficult it will be to get to the switch. I like the one I got from Frozen CPU better. I have a lot more freedom of choice in deciding where to mount the switch. I think I am going to mount my switch to the top of the rear panel. I can reach the switch without any difficulty and it will be hidden from view.

There is an inherent problem with both switches. In order to properly clear/reset CMOS, power to the psu has to be shut off. That means pulling the plug either from the psu or an electrical outlet. I mounted the psu in the bottom rear of the case. I am resigned to the fact that I will have to reach under the desk and pull the plug from the surge protector. That is easier than trying to reach the bottom rear of the case.

CLEAR/RESET CMOS SWITCH - I used a 3/4 inch hole saw to cut the hole for the CMOS switch. The switch came in a plain plastic bag with no specifications. I didn't have a caliper to measure the correct diameter. The 3/4 inch hole was a bit small. 13/16 inch probably would have been better. I used a round file to enlarge the hole to the correct size.

I pretty much have two of three copper panels completed. Just have to clean them, maybe lap a little bit and then spray with a crystal clear laquer to seal the copper and prevent it from corroding.

COPPER BLOWHOLE - I wanted to drill a hole in a sheet of copper for a 120mm fan. I've drilled blowholes before in the tops of steel pc cases. Drilling through the steel was easier than drilling through the copper. I had a difficult time this evening. My first effort did not turn out very good. I think it was because I used a thin copper sheet instead of a thick sheet. It's a good thing I have extra copper sheets. The second effort turned out much better. I wound up screwing the copper to a piece of wood so the copper would stay in place while I drilled. I have a variable speed drill. I reduced the rpm. Screwing down the copper sheet and drilling at low rpm helped quite a bit. I am going to use a black rubber u channel around the hole to make it look good.

Three copper panels are done. I think they'll look good after I lap them and spray them with a crystal clear laquer. I hope to be able to fashion a panel for the power switvhes and power led's when I get home from work today.

COPPER SWITCH PANEL - I used a small copper sheet to make a switch panel today. I had to cut the panel to size. I wound up using a file to straighten one edge a little bit. I needed to make a 90 degree bend in the panel to cover up the very top of the case front. There's a dead space at the top that needed to be covered. I scribed a line where I wanted the bend. Then I sandwiched the copper between two boards. I made sure the line I scribed was even with the edges of the two boards and then clamped everything together with several c clamps. Then I simply pressed the exposed edge of the copper againsta third board and uniformly bent the copper 90 degrees. Worked like a charm. I did a trial fit and marked the locations of the power switch, reset switch, power led, and hdd led. Once marked, I drilled the holes. It should wind up looking good.

Yesterday I spent hours and hours sanding the copper panels. I started with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper and took it all the way down to 1500 grit paper. Sat at the dining room table while sanding so I could watch the football games and the world series baseball game. As I finished each panel I sprayed the copper with two coats of crystal clear laquer.

JL,

sounds like your mod is coming right along, that is great to hear.

sorry about not replying, things have been busy at work, got a promotion, which is good.

i will read all the posts and reply

Last night I tried installing the power switches and power led's. I'm having second thoughts about the items and the switch plate. It looks okay but I think the bling factor could be improved. I'll have to take a look and see what's available.

bohman,

You out there somewhere in cyberspace? I started thinking about other switches and looked at the Bulgin style switches again. The diameter is okay but the depth is about one inch. I'll bet the connectors add to the length. I installed a new card reader in the top bay. I don't think there is enough room above the card reader to accomodate the switches. I'll have to measure when I get home from work. Might have to come up with something different.

Well, I may have a solution or two for the power and reset switches. I could move the switches further back so that they will clear the card read. The other option is to move the upper drive bay components further dowen and mount the switches in the top drive bay. I'll have to see about a suitable drive bay cover for the switches.

SWITCHES - Decided to go with the Bulgin Vandal Resistant switches and a MNPC Tech switch plate:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cat [...] s_id=24542

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cat [...] ts_id=4056

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cat [...] s_id=23268

I can mount the switch plate on a 5.25 inch drive bay cover or mount it on the top of the case out of the way of the card reader. Either way it should look good.

Aluminum sheet - Yesterday I wound up making a panel for the top front ops the case out of aluminum due to a lack of copper sheets here. The aluminum was much easier to cut and work with than copper. All I need to do today is sand the aluminum, prime it, and paint it. I will be using the same copper spray paint I used for the top of the case so it will all match.

Sanding the aluminum was very easy. I used 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper which worked fine and produced a smooth finished. Then I sprayed the panel with white metal primer. It's got a nice smooth finish. I'll let the primer cure for 24 hours and then spray it with copper paint.

Power/Reset switches. I hope the switches arrive today. I have one last panel to make for the switches but I don't want to do any cutting and drilling until I actually have the switches and see what they will look like.

GEEZ! Cold front moved in. It was 52F in Phoenix this morning. Daytime high is only expected to reach 75 degrees. It might be too cool to spray paint on the patio this evening. Don't know if I will be able to paint or not this evening. It's frustrating.