Supermicro SC760A case modding to start soon. Need input/help... this will be my first major mod.

[SinfulWeeper]

I am not going to go balls out on modding this case being it is rather ugly in terms of constuction. But it will pave the way for future mods I will do. Here is what I had in mind of doing.

Painting.
I think Honda Red from the TRX250R four wheeler of mine would look for the exterior. While the guts/drives go either high gloss black or ultra flat black (I think flat would looke better than gloss). But I am open to other color schemes if any of you care to comment.

Case cutting.
This case is very cool in stock form. But I have a plethora of 92mm Adda fans sitting around brand new doing nothing. Where would good placement of these fans be? I was thinking two on top (blowing out), two on the left case cover over the CPU/Video card. (blowing in).
Also modding the 80mm front hole from the front that sucks air at the bottom in to a 92mm hole. The top rear already has accomodations for a 92mm fan.
But then I have a problem of more air blowing out than in because of the PSU. Unless I reroute the blow to the top of the PSU since there is a 92mm fan hole right above the mount. But will that hurt the cooling of the PSU? I am getting a new Vantec Stealth 520W sometime soon. But I would hate for a new PSU to have a short life.
Or am I just over paranoid of negative pressure?... I think not though because negative pressure attracts the killer of anything in this world. That being dust.

Hard Drive mounting.
I am sure that drives vibrate causing noise. I was thinking that I could get some heavy ¼" steel plates and have my friend who works at a machine shop make me some heavier mounting/securing for the drives. Would that cut down on noise? Or should I use the same ol' flimsy stuff that comes with all computers? Placement for what I had in mind would be at the bottom front where the 92mm fan mod would blow onto them.
With a thin rubber pad, just bolting it to the bottom. That would keep it secure and vibration free wouldn't it?

Window.
Not sure if I want to pay top dollar for a kit. However buying Plexiglass locally is rather cheap as I can cut it myself. But where would I find the molds? They must ship USPS though, check signature .
But I am not sure if I want to do the extra work of a window being all I look at for my PC is the monitor/keyboard, not the computer.

LED's.
I am tired of the color scheme of green/yellow. I want to replace them with white/blue/purple (or red) ones. I have no idea what size the stock ones are though. Can somebody enlighten me to the size? Also where to buy them (see above for window mold).

Monitor.
Not sure if I will paint it black or red. I am thinking black with the buttons as red... or visa versa. Ahh yes, that green/yellow LED must go.

Keyboard/mouse.
I have a Microsoft Intellimouse Optical. The red LED seems okay. But I would like to change it to blue. Or does the optics require red?
As for the keyboard. I am thinking buying a corded version of Logitech's flagship instead of cordless in the color black. I will leave the keys black, but I want to paint the rest of it to match the box.

Printer.
I am open to ideas. But is it worth the time to paint it?

Speakers.
I think they will become red, with the speaker covers black... and that stupid green LED will go also.

Any ideas on what else I should do? Also feel free to comment if I have am missing something. (Besides the cold cathode... I dont want to get into that stuff just yet on this practice case.)

 

[OulOat]

Originally posted by: SinfulWeeper

This case is very cool in stock form.

So why are you changing it?

But I have a plethora of 92mm Adda fans sitting around brand new doing nothing. Where would good placement of these fans be?

More fans = more noise, just making sure you have considered that

Or am I just over paranoid of negative pressure?... I think not though because negative pressure attracts the killer of anything in this world. That being dust.

That's assuming that all the fans work to their full capacity. You can always 7V some of them. In any case, you should use some filtering product. Even with positive pressure, your case will still get dusty, so get some filters.

Hard Drive mounting.
I am sure that drives vibrate causing noise. I was thinking that I could get some heavy ¼" steel plates and have my friend who works at a machine shop make me some heavier mounting/securing for the drives. Would that cut down on noise? Or should I use the same ol' flimsy stuff that comes with all computers? Placement for what I had in mind would be at the bottom front where the 92mm fan mod would blow onto them.
With a thin rubber pad, just bolting it to the bottom. That would keep it secure and vibration free wouldn't it?

Someone tried the steel plates idea already with good success. Eventually they tried suspending the plates and hd inbetween rubber bands with even better results. Try googling it for more info. Btw, why are you caring about how much noise your hds are making when you are adding more fans? HD noise is often miniscule compared to fan noise and vibrations (unless you got some quiet fans with vibration dampeners). You can just get some Barracudas IVs or Vs, they are the quietests hds out there.

Window.
Not sure if I want to pay top dollar for a kit. However buying Plexiglass locally is rather cheap as I can cut it myself. But where would I find the molds? They must ship USPS though, check signature .

bestbyte. 5 dollar unlimited small item shipping. Read more about it at company info. Other than that, they are a pretty good company.

LED's.
I am tired of the color scheme of green/yellow. I want to replace them with white/blue/purple (or red) ones. I have no idea what size the stock ones are though. Can somebody enlighten me to the size? Also where to buy them (see above for window mold).

Probably 5mm, but you should measure it first. Exabyte has teh best prices on leds hands down, and they ship using USPS.

Monitor.
Not sure if I will paint it black or red. I am thinking black with the buttons as red... or visa versa. Ahh yes, that green/yellow LED must go.

Keyboard/mouse.
I have a Microsoft Intellimouse Optical. The red LED seems okay. But I would like to change it to blue. Or does the optics require red?
As for the keyboard. I am thinking buying a corded version of Logitech's flagship instead of cordless in the color black. I will leave the keys black, but I want to paint the rest of it to match the box.

Those LEDs might be different sizes or shapes. Check out E-LED for more info. The color of the LED can be changed, search this forum.

 

[SinfulWeeper]

I want to mod it to get the foot steps of what it entails for personal knowledge. I do wood work and enjoy it enough that I want to give metal a shot. Also the thing may have better reselling value should I part with it later.

As for the fans. I know they create more noise. But I can not hear them unless I stick my ears right next to them. So providing the are mounted in a way that makes little or no vibration, I doubt I will hear them.

I never thought of filters. But I would think that the fans have to work harder which would make more noise... I think I will try it both with, and without.

I found out the hard drives in my computer are to blame for a annoying high pitched sound in my computer. When I unplugged them but had the current fans un my system still on. It was inaudible except the CPU fan... that was pretty quiet though.

Thanks for the Bestbyte info . I will add them to my list of USPS vendors and give them a shot.

Also very big thanks for the LED link's you provided, the were very helpful

 

[OulOat]

The fans I got are also silent, even close up. But what I find annoying now is sound of air moving. You should try installing all your fans, and then uninstall them one by one, seeing if that affects your case temps. It will certainly cut down on the noise. Also, the high pitch noise from your hds is from the bearings. I don't think the steel plates will cut down the noise from the bearing, but you should try. If it doesn't, Seagate barracudas IV and Vs are silent hds.

I just reread my post, and in my last sentence, I meant to say the color of the led in your mouse can be changed, someone posted about that in the form. Good luck on your project and show us the results.

 

[SinfulWeeper]

If I can find a digital camera. I will more than happily post pics. The problem is with the camera situation though...
I'll see what I can do