Case mod or buy a new case?

[champ91]

I have a standard atx case, nothing fancy. I want to make a window on the side and create a nice air flow for cooling. I have no experience with power tools nor do I have any. I could cut a hole in the side panel and put on an acrylic window , but I dont' know where to get the equipment for that.

Or should I just buy a new case?

[keross1ve]

Buy a new case.

[Oversized Rooster]

Buy a new case.

Unfortunately I agree with that corrupt man...

[champ91]

i've decided to mod my case, a nice little summer project. thx, thread lock pls

[tjuzer]

i've decided to mod my case, a nice little summer project. thx, thread lock pls

Useness thread

[Oversized Rooster]

i've decided to mod my case, a nice little summer project. thx, thread lock pls

Kinda worthless to mod a generic $30 case, isn't it?

[goofball]

Kinda worthless to mod a generic $30 case, isn't it?

Better than taking a $200 case and ruining it from inexperience, no? ;)

I'd mod it. Any shmuck can go out, buy a nice case but it takes some talent/work/skill to mod the case to the way you like it. Customization is always a plus.

Just measure, measure, and measure again. Cut (always use sharp tools), take your time if needed, it's not a race.

Rotary tools are good for this sort of work, almost invaluable, depending on what you intend to really do.

[sxz]

Also the worst case scenario is if you mess up the mod, you can just get a new case with a side window anyway. ;)

[xwar]

Also the worst case scenario is if you mess up the mod, you can just get a new case with a side window anyway. ;)

Agreed its fun to mod your own ... if it looks like **** afterwards you can always go buy a new stylish one.

[Oversized Rooster]

Modding a case does nothing for performance. Not to mention that it's throwing money on a black box to make holes in it and to put ridiculous lights inside. Bling Bling for computers. I'm not catching that drift with "homie's ugly Escalades" nor with modded cases.

Can we have something useful finally? Like an overclock? Or watercooling? Or a better video card, better airflow?

Oh well, there exist people who care more about how their stuff looks rather than how it performs. I guess that's why I keep on getting raced by these idiots in Honda Civics with fartcans. Don't they know they can't win against an ML500?! Fools...

[edgedamage]

Side windows are handy to see how furry your cpu fan is getting.

Good reading for honda owners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/67310530.html

[keross1ve]

Side windows are handy to see how furry your cpu fan is getting.

Good reading for honda owners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/67310530.html

That was a hilarious read :cheesygri

[pestilenc]

I know this is pretty basic stuff but remove absolutely everything before doing any work on the metal... if you get even a single metal sliver or shaving touching something it shouldn't, you're going to end up frying the whole thing.

Also, if you are planning on modding, do yourself a favour and pick up a Dremel tool; it'll make your life a lot easier.

I guess the bigger question is what do you want to mod? There are plenty of modding sites with decent instructions on how to do things to your computer; I'd reccomend reading a few first to get an idea of things.

[champ91]

well i cut a hole in the side panel....that was allright...a nice square window...

but cutting the front panel was another story. the plastic kept melting as a cut it so that was really difficult and it dries really quickly.

i used a rotary tool to cut it and it took a long long time b/c the saws kept breaking.

Now my side is okay but the front panel is kinda messed up, i wonder if you can just buy the front panel

[Nubee]

You shouldn't use a rotary saw in cutting plastic. Just manually saw it. Might take a long time but it will not melt. As for buying a front panel, I doubt you will be able to buy just that. You can try in the bst section or just buy a new one with already side window and other features already there.

[pestilenc]

What are you cutting out of the front panel anyhow? There's really not much to see there...

[champ91]

i put a fan in the front to flow air in the case so i need a hole in the front panel for air to get through. there is a hole now but it's not pretty, lol