Project: Fraggasaurus Rex

[San7a]

Hey guys!

I didn't want to post anything in here till I had something significant to show you guys. Well, I still don't have a lot to show you... But I figured I'd start a thread regardless!! :D

The victims is time around are my Lian-Li PC-3077b and Prommie. I don't have any solid "before" pictures because when the case arrived I immediately jumped its bones and savagely disassembled it. I also cut the holes needed to mount the two chassis together. Thanks to Scoob I was able to work a way around mounting the PSU above the CPU socket. After a couple PMs back and forth I figured I could mount it sucessfully in a couple 5.25" bays.

The first step was moving the PSU wires. I did this by cutting a hole in the PSU's side and forcing the damn things across. If I were smart I'd unsolder what was a problem and figure out a proper way of handling them. Unfortunently I'm an electronic baboon.

I then cut out a couple pieces of aluminum, sanded them, painted 'em, and fit them across the bay. They will act as a glorious throne to which my PSU will sit.. Ehh..

Last but not least, I ordered a bunch of goodies from MNPCTECH (http://MNPCTECH.com). Included were some groovy case handles, some modder's mesh, and what I had been waiting for... A 120mm fan duct (Yay!).

I'm switching out the intake/exhaust on the PSU so that the 92mm fan acts as an exhaust and the 80mm fan acts as an intake. With that said, the duct will sit ontop the 92mm fan and vent all the horrible, hot air up and outside the case. Today I managed to fit the duct and cut the necessary holes to thread the power cord out the back of the case.

And that's about it! I'll be painting the case tomorrow with red Duplicolor Metalcast and I'll also be painting the exterior with black Rust-Oleum gloss protected enamel cans (I know I do that scheme a lot). Everything else is top secret. :p

I know I left you guys hanging with the last case I destroyed, but I've seriously been thinking about following this one up with updates. http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/trex.bmp

PICS (Click to Enlarge):
http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/workspace_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/workspace.jpg) http://hometown.aol.com/mstr6x6/workarea_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/helpscoob.jpg) http://hometown.aol.com/mstr6x6/brackets_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/brackets.jpg) http://hometown.aol.com/mstr6x6/psucut_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/psucut.jpg) http://hometown.aol.com/mstr6x6/duct2_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/duct2.jpg) http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/caseduct_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/caseduct.jpg)

[schultz]

Well...looks like you've got a good start there. what's the timetable looking like for this project? Plan on getting it done in the next couple of weeks...or is this going to be your new baby? :)

Either way, it's looking good and I look forward to seeing the continued progress.

[San7a]

Originally posted by schultz
Well...looks like you've got a good start there. what's the timetable looking like for this project? Plan on getting it done in the next couple of weeks...or is this going to be your new baby? :)

Either way, it's looking good and I look forward to seeing the continued progress.
Thanks!

I want to get it done before Doom 3 hits the shelves on Monday... ROFL!

[TAZTG]

Keep the thread updated.. Looking good so far and you can't go wrong wth Scoob's advice.. ;)

[San7a]

Originally posted by TAZTG
Keep the thread updated.. Looking good so far and you can't go wrong wth Scoob's advice.. ;)
Unfortunately Scooby's advice will never change the fact that paint and I are like vinegar & water... The can was bad and sputtered everywhere.

I think the paint gods have a permenant grudge or something. http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/trex.bmp

PICS (Click to Enlarge):
http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/paintproblems_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/paintproblems.jpg)

[GLScooby]

WOW San7a! You got it! (I just got your PM) It looks great!

You and paint......lol. Keep at it, man. You'll win. I'm feelin' yer pain. I've been getting my bum kicked by a paint can also.

I've been computer-less for a couple of days. (I'm on my aunt's comp now) I decided to do some upgrading and well, it got out of hand. I took apart my primary rig to finally install the w/cing setup and repaint the Folding@Home box (the gold and green) at the same time. I hit snags on both projects and am in full blown panic mode!

I will admit to all of my Completely Custom bretheren: I did a totally noobish thing. I was lazy and used a magnetic tip screwdriver to re-install my mobo and it don't work no more. So the 8RDA3+ is toast and the AN7 is going in now. Dummy.

Anyways, the psu looks awesome! Great job. I can't wait for the rest!

That one paint pic looks like you blasted a DOOM bad guy inside the case! J/K!

[GLScooby]

Go down and get some spray stripper. It's the only thing that is gonna get that crud out of the nooks and crannies.

Home Depot - Paint Stripper (http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1118114122.1091321983@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccedadcmefjgfelcgelceffdfgidgmm.0&CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=storehome/pg_storehome.jsp&MID=9876&pos=p02)

[San7a]

For once I'm ahead of you! :p

The Febreze bottle is in there just for kicks. That's the bottle for my denatured alcohol (Although I can't wait for the day when someone mistakes it for actual Febreze and sprays it on some finished wooden furnature or something)! Don't feel bad about the mobo. I'll admit... I did the same thing with my NF7-S on Christmas. So much for more Vcore! I'm sure you'll be back up and running in no time.

Anyhoo, thanks for the comments. Helps me get past this paint crapola. http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/trex.bmp

PICS (Click to Enlarge):
http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/stripper_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/stripper.jpg)

Edit- Oh! And yeah, that totally looks like some fool got his brains rocked out of his skull. Most righteous. :D ;)

[XP1800]

Santa I'm glad to see you're back on the modding scene again! You took some lickin's and kept on tickin, thumbs up:)

I hope this project turn out nice, so far it's looking good. You should be used to the paint mishaps too, so clean that sucker up and get back at it!

I'll be looking forward to reading some more updates.

[San7a]

Thanks XP! :D

Hey, did you ever cut the APC logo?

[XP1800]

Nope (http://www.freepgs.com/XP1800/Lian-LiPics/P1010350.JPG) , nope (http://www.freepgs.com/XP1800/Lian-LiPics/P1010351.JPG) , and nope (http://www.freepgs.com/XP1800/Lian-LiPics/P1010349.JPG)!

I'm gonna take a better pic right now, showing the full case:)

edit: Here they are, they are a tad better

Pic 1 (http://www.freepgs.com/XP1800/Lian-LiPics/DSCF0206.JPG)
Pic 2 (http://www.freepgs.com/XP1800/Lian-LiPics/DSCF0208.JPG)

[San7a]

Hot damn that's a secksy case!

The designs are really clean just like the rest of the case. I really dig your fan controller.

[DoZeR]

Looks good so far, good luck with finishing up painting ;)

[San7a]

Originally posted by DoZeR
Looks good so far, good luck with finishing up painting ;)
2 and a half hours into getting this funk off of my case and I'm still not done. Blah.

Any of you guys have some tips for using stripper? I basically spray the whole thing down and take a scraper and try and take all the big gunk off... Then I move it to my shower (I don't have a hose) with some rubber gloves and a rough scrubbing pad + soap. I then take it back outside and spray stripper on the smaller stuff. The process sucks. I was wondering if anyone has an easier way?

[XP1800]

It sounds like you have a system down already, so no sense in changing it. It'll probably just waste time. Keep doing what you're doing, and it'll be gone before you know it:)

[San7a]

Originally posted by XP1800
It sounds like you have a system down already, so no sense in changing it. It'll probably just waste time. Keep doing what you're doing, and it'll be gone before you know it:)
It stinks though!

I got all the paint off after another 30 minutes of intense labor (:p). I didn't want to jump into repainting the thing because I was pretty sick of paint after all that... Plus the sun had disappeared over the other side of my apartment. I opted to install the case handle I had gotten from mnpctech instead

I'ma go watch the Simpsons now. I'll attempt painting again tomorrow morning. http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/trex.bmp

PICS (Click to Enlarge):
http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/untitled_thumb.bmp (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/ductandhandle.jpg)

[JetForce Gemini X]

YGPM :)

[TAZTG]

Originally posted by GLScooby

I will admit to all of my Completely Custom bretheren: I did a totally noobish thing. I was lazy and used a magnetic tip screwdriver to re-install my mobo and it don't work no more. So the 8RDA3+ is toast and the AN7 is going in now. Dummy.



Damn, I must be very lucky... I use a magnetic tip screw driver when I install my Mobo's. I never had one die because of it but I don't touch nothing but the screw. I never heard that you can't use Magnetic Tip Screwdrivers to install them, whats it actually do to the Mobo to kill it?? N/M I don't want to HiJack the thread..

Figure this computation out for Z.
x+y=z (If x=DS and y=Paint) You Got It Yet?? Now throw in some multiple choice for Z.
a) Dissaster
b) Agony
c) Pain
d) Cussing
e) All of the Above

Keep at it DS it will come to ya.. I feel your pain..

[San7a]

Originally posted by JetForce Gemini X
YGPM :)
Empty your PMs. lol :)

(But the answer is that Nventiv, the company that makes it, went out of business a couple months ago. Your only bet would be with a VapoChill. I think FrozenCPU carries them.)

Taz, that has gotta be a big E.

Anyway.. No update today. I'm a whore and got sidetracked. :(

[GLScooby]

Originally posted by TAZTG
Damn, I must be very lucky... I use a magnetic tip screw driver when I install my Mobo's. I never had one die because of it but I don't touch nothing but the screw. I never heard that you can't use Magnetic Tip Screwdrivers to install them, whats it actually do to the Mobo to kill it?? N/M I don't want to HiJack the thread..

Well, I'm not positive this was the cause, but it is the only thing I did different from every other build I've done. My regular set was at the other end of the house, so I lazily used the mag tip screwdriver from the tool box. It must have discharged on something or gotten close to a non-magnetic friendly component. That is the best I can surmise. I've gone through all of the out of box/cardboard/swap components testing and it's dead. The AN7 is working fine and I'm finally w/c'ed and o/c'ed (see below). Nice.

Sorry for the mini hijack, I'll put my box cutter away now.

So DS, what kind of hw is going in this beast?

[San7a]

I have to go back to the drawing board.

I don't know how I could miss something so obvious! The duct doesn't match up with the PSU exhaust. I only realized this when I had to put everything back together to play a little Doom 3. Not only that, but the way the duct is set up has the PSU sitting too far forward to allow the aluminum bay covers to fit.

I'll stare at it tomorrow and find a solution. http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/trex.bmp

PICS (Click to Enlarge):
http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/top_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/top.jpg) http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/top2_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/top2.jpg)

Edit- Aha! Look at my little dinosaur... Wow, what a loser. lol

[schultz]

that sucks to hear about your modding woes...but you just have to roll with the punches (looks like your doing a pretty good job too!). :)

even with all the trouble it's coming along nicely. (and i do like your little dinosaur) :D

[GLScooby]

OOPS! That's ok, you can get it moved that little bit. I love the duct. That is awesome!

I did notice one thing from the pics....

...you need to flip that fan on top over because it is still set up as intake. Check the other one also. That one will probably need to be flipped to be intake.

Looks great DS, keep those updates coming!

Cool dinosaur too!

[San7a]

Originally posted by GLScooby
...you need to flip that fan on top over because it is still set up as intake. Check the other one also. That one will probably need to be flipped to be intake.
No? Is it? I'm so confused. :confused:

Edit- I'm gonna try something cool with the duct tomorrow... should make it a little more secksy. :p

[TAZTG]

Originally posted by GLScooby
OOPS! That's ok, you can get it moved that little bit. I love the duct. That is awesome!

I did notice one thing from the pics....

...you need to flip that fan on top over because it is still set up as intake. Check the other one also. That one will probably need to be flipped to be intake.

Looks great DS, keep those updates coming!

Cool dinosaur too!

That one on top looks like its blowing in the right direction. Don't they blow towards the label side? Either just check it to make sure.

Here's a fix for you PS & Duct. Its not misaligned that much and should affect performance. Put some Black Mesh on the Duct so you can't erally see the fan. It should hide the misalignment.

Don't lose hope keep the modding coming..

[bahocale]

Heres a simple way to check if your fan is blowing in the right direction. Hold your hand against the fan.

[blare is god]

very nice. that fan looks like a subwoofer.

[San7a]

Hey, do you guys think this might look better? http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/trex.bmp

:confused:

PICS (Click to Enlarge):
http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/standoffs_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/standoffs.jpg)

[XP1800]

I'd turn that baby upside down, it might look better close to the case:)

[San7a]

Originally posted by XP1800
I'd turn that baby upside down, it might look better close to the case:)
Ah, I didn't even think of that! Some shorter standoffs might look cool too. Nice call XP. :D http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/trex.bmp

PICS (Click to Enlarge):
http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/standoffs2_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/standoffs2.jpg)

[XP1800]

Looks much better:)

Also, it's toolband.com;)

[San7a]

Originally posted by XP1800
Looks much better:)

Also, it's toolband.com;)
Err... What on earth are you talking about? lol

[TAZTG]

XP, you lost us on the tooldband.com thingy.. LOL
DS, you have to get a Custom Fan Grill..

[San7a]

I'm afraid it's stock fans, grills, etc. until I can dig up some cash. I just replaced my mobo and processor so I'm really short on dough. Maybe I'll get creative with some mesh and come up with something. I dunno. :(

XP was just owning my signature (Which I so carelessly had incorrect). lol

[XP1800]

Originally posted by San7a
I'm afraid it's stock fans, grills, etc. until I can dig up some cash. I just replaced my mobo and processor so I'm really short on dough. Maybe I'll get creative with some mesh and come up with something. I dunno. :(

XP was just owning my signature (Which I so carelessly had incorrect). lol

I actually think the wire grilles look nice. I'm not really a fan of fan grilles anymore, they look too overdone, unless you have a whole theme going on.

And yeah, ph33r my pwn4g3:p

[San7a]

This character makes some of the coolest grills I've ever seen:

http://bonzai-mods.com/index.php?p=shopmain

I was thinking of nabbin' a couple of them... I don't really dig his 120mm grills. I thought a couple of his 80mm might be groovy though.

[San7a]

Hey guys.

I've been busy lately so all I've gotten around to is fixing the PSU. I've been thinking about the paint scheme and I think I might switch it up. I was thinking the inside would look good as a glossy black and I would accent the bays and such green or red. I was influenced by Wish's case (http://forum.abit-usa.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=58320) which I think looks really cool and I'm tired of doing the same scheme so many times. Sorry the updates are so slow. http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/trex.bmp

PICS (Click to Enlarge):
http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/correct_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/correct.jpg)

[GLScooby]

Nice save on the duct, DS. Looking good.

You still haven't told us or even given us a teaser on the hardware going into this machine. So..........

(My guess is a prommied/OC'ed like a mutha A64 socket754)

[San7a]

I wish. :(

2600+ Mobile (IQYHA 0401XPMW)
Abit NF7-S v2.0
512MBx2 Corsair XMS PC-3200
ATi Radeon 9700 Pro
Audigy 2 Platinum
Antec 480w PSU

That's about it. I wish I had the money to go 64-bit but this new mobile processor is suppose to be a damn good O/C'er. I'm going to see if I can't get her to 3ghz since it seems people are easily getting them to 2.7ghz on air.

Scoob, you think it'd be cool if I painted the interior black and the drive covers, etc white?

Edit- One thing that really is gonna suck for me is that Nventiv went bankrupt... So their AMD64 kits are discontinued (Along with everything else they make) so I'm pretty much SOL when it comes to upgrading with the Prommie. Unless some kind soul out there can figure a way to fabricate his own brackets to mount the head and teach me.

[San7a]

Ok, I promise this is the last update involving the stupid PSU. Gremlins 2 was on Comedy Central so I sat my butt down and did a bit of sanding. Hopefully next update I'll have something a lot cooler to show you. Truth be told, I ran out of stripper so there are still small blots of red lingering in the crannies of my case (Bottom-right corner). I'll own them tomorrow. http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/trex.bmp

PICS (Click to Enlarge):
http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/okdone_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/okdone.jpg) http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/okdone2_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/okdone2.jpg) http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/okdone3_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/okdone3.jpg) http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/okdone4_thumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com/mstr6x6/okdone4.jpg)

[SoSo09]

Originally posted by San7a
...So there are still small blots of red lingering in the crannies of my case (Bottom-right corner). I'll own them tomorrow.

Hahaha, own them tomorrow... haha made me laugh twice :D

[Gar]

Looking great so far San7a, can't wait to see the finished product ;)

[GLScooby]

Originally posted by San7a
Scoob, you think it'd be cool if I painted the interior black and the drive covers, etc white?

Black and white is just freakin' classic IMHO. But if you're gonna have lighting/window action, black might eat up all the light. On the other hand, I haven't seen a black interior so it would be a departure from the norm.....there is possibilities here. Have you considered a lighting setup?

Unless some kind soul out there can figure a way to fabricate his own brackets to mount the head and teach me.

Post some detailed pics of the prommie head and current bracket setup and let's see what we can come up with. (Maybe we can get Zackbass to put in his 2 cents as well. He's very handy with the metal you know)

Side Note: These dang advertising links are a pain. Don't like 'em....

[San7a]

That's true about the black. Humm...

I'm not going to worry about the A64 hold-down just yet. I'll ***** in December. :p

[schultz]

Not bad man. I would definitely go with the black/white theme. You don't really see that very often. If it's clean it should be awesome! (and the stuff I've seen you do before is pretty clean! :)) Good luck man, and keep the updates coming! :D

[San7a]

Thanks for all the comments guys. :)

*Deep Breath*

It's about time to take another jab at painting...

Here's a PIC of the case fully assembled:

http://store1.yimg.com/I/xoxide_1806_39410324

I was thinking of painting all the drive/usb cover(s) white... But leaving the power/reset buttons black. Then paint any outside screws and fan grills white as well. Maybe instead of painting the interior black I should paint it white?

Or would that be taking the effect too far?

I love reading any & all ideas! :D

Edit- I can't speel.

[rabidmoose171]

I think it looks great like that, although white would splash things up a bit.

[San7a]

I bet y'all forgot about this one, huh? Well, I had to apply the break after school and life got in the way. Such trite and petty things really. The time has come, once again, to MOD! I realize a majority of the attraction to this monstrosity was the fact that it was phase-changed... Well, sadly my Prommie deemed me no longer worthy and flamboyantly pranced away into the sunset with BlueOval. I shed a few tears but resolved to pick up my Dremel once again and take another stab (literally) at completeing this thing.

I've got a pretty good idea of what I would like to do, but I'm still left scratching my head on a pretty big issue. I had to drill/cut some distracting holes in order to properly mount this guy on the Prometeia (http://hometown.aol.com/San7a/herewegoagain.jpg) (Sorry about the PICS size, there's no Photoshop on this computer for whatever reason). Well, obviously I no longer have one so I'm clueless as to what to do with them. Any ideas from you guys would surely equal mucho loveo (Spanish for much love).

Besides that, I'm set. I'll hopefully have some progress soon.

Thanks for taking the time. :D

[XP1800]

Case feet...time to get creative. And I don't mean you should get some of those lighted case feet...

If you could mod something like these (http://www.artech-electronics.com/us/products/accesso/tenderfeet.html) to fit those holes, I think it would be pretty neat. Zemo used them on one of his amps he built, and they could end up looking cool with your case:)

Other than that, maybe just a piece of sheetmetal or a mirror to cover then up?

[San7a]

Case feet were the first thing to pop into my head, but a mirror sounds pretty damn cool too. I would have no idea where to get one though... Nor would I know how to cut/fit it properly. I don't think a Dremel would do the trick on a mirror. Unless you know something I don't. I think it's google time.

Thanks for the suggestions XP! :D

[San7a]

I did some searching around and found these sheets:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=usplastic&category%5Fname=21314&product%5Fid=9926

I think that'd work. I think.

[TAZTG]

Mirror would be cool. If your planning on painting the innards, then just use plaing shhet metal. If you still like to have a mirror paint first then add the mirror. Its about time Fraggasaurus Rex made its return....;)

[schultz]

Originally posted by TAZTG
Its about time Fraggasaurus Rex made its return....;)

Agreed!

I would also say go with the mirror if you can find one. I had a friend who had a broken mirror and happened to have a piece that fit almost perfect in the bottom of his case (just a little bit smaller). It looked really cool, but I don't know what kind of luck (HA! ;)) you'd have happening to find a broken mirror with a piece just the right size.

[San7a]

I think a red mirrored acrylic sheet bottom and a red Metalcast chassis would look reeeally good. It's set. Now to get to work.

Edit- Thanks guys!

[talldude]

It's really easy to make a mirror. All you gotta do is get some aluminum foil and glass. Making it red...hmm, some sort of red see-thru plastic to put on the mirror.

[San7a]

Originally posted by talldude
It's really easy to make a mirror. All you gotta do is get some aluminum foil and glass. Making it red...hmm, some sort of red see-thru plastic to put on the mirror.
I posted this up there, but:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=usplastic&category%5Fname=21314&product%5Fid=9926

They sell red mirrored acrylic! :D

Edit- And the best part about it is that I can cut it for 80mm fans and XP's cool feet.