Radical Mods to Ahanix Blu II cases underway

[mondobyte]

I want to get the temps down in my 3 new Micro ATX cases

Ahanix BLU II case & psu ( www.ahanix.com/blu )

Even with improved fans, the temps are too high for my liking.

This week, I am going to take those smooth silver case covers, cut a big hole in them, mount a plexiglas window and cut a hole for a 70mm x 70mm x15mm TMD fan in the new window.

As always, I try to put together a class act. The plan is to clone the initial project to the other two cases and end up with three identical side panels.

My theory is that the (input) fans will lower the case temps precipitously as well as lowering both the chipset temp and the CPU temp too.

You can see the before pics of the stock cases on the Ahanix web site as well as this photo: http://files.mondobyte.com/dcp_2762.jpg

I don't know how visible it will be through the window but I have the GeIL Golden Dragon Memory (Dual Channel) with the "Dragon's Eye" and I've replaced the front 80mm (crap sleeve) fan with a ball bearing clear fan, variable speed, with blue LED.

I've made extremely liberal use of Wire Tie Mounts and Wire Ties to corral the wires in an effort to reduce temps. I've used round SCSI LVD cables and I am sure that some wire wrap will come into use before this adventure is complete.

I'll post pictures of the process and final results here ... probably before next week.

Wish me luck as this is my first case cutting / window creation project. No kits, just raw materials and courage. Let's see what happens!!! :eek:

[mondobyte]

I am to the point of mounting the plex.

I thought about using 5 minute epoxy but it is rather permanent and changing the plex window for any reason would be extremely messy and difficult (Scratch, move the fan, remove the fan, etc.)

Having rethought this, I could use capscrews (like the window mountings of Antec cases or Skyhawk USA Cases - aka Jupiter Case) or I could use silicone glue.

For distribution of power to the fans, I have some fan alarms that will minimize and neaten up the wiring considerably. The fan alarm occupies a slot and can power up to 4 fans off the alarm (uses 1 drive power connector). I plan to power the two rear 60mm fans and the case side fan off the fan alarm.

I plan on taking a torch to the edges of the plex to "clarify" the edges. Should I also bevel the edges?

How much overlap do I need over the steel on the inside so as to prevent one from seeing the edge of the plex from the outside?

I'm thinking of using a router or keller and grind off the surface of the plex so that it the window will actually be flush to the surface of the steel from the outside of the case. Any thoughts on this?

The current plan is to use 1/4 plex. I think this will be plenty sturdy.

Again, the plan is to use clear plex but would it be better to use "smoke" plex??

The plan is to use Y.S. Tech TMD 70mm fans (input). I think these will look great and provide good airflow.

I have both standard 70mm chrome wire fan grills (chrome) and the plastic grills off of these ( http://store4.yimg.com/I/nexfan03_1773_1290167 ) Any comments on which might look the best?

Any suggestions how I might control the speed of the TMD fans if I want to slow them down some??? I don't have any room for a traditional fan controller so what do I need in terms of resisters (potentiomer) to control the fan speed or do I need something more sophisticated like active circuitry? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I'm also thinking of cutting out the stamped fan guards for the 60mm fans in the back of the case and replacing them with standard chrome wire fan grills. My thought is that it will reduce restrictions, increase airflow and reduce noise. Any thoughts or suggestions on this idea?

On one of the cases, I cut the stamped fan guard in the steel out of the front where the 80mm fan is. I was thinking of doing this in the other cases as well. One thought is that the restriction here may be a good thing to permit a slight negative pressure in the case and create good airflow over the drives at the top of the case which is necessary to the health of those drives. A second thought says that since I have replaced the (schlock 80mm sleeve fans) with variable speed BB Fans (with LED;s) that I can dial down the input flow in front and adjust the airflow so that there is adequate airflow over the drives. Comments or suggestions would be welcome on this issue.

Thanks for any help anyone can provide mewith help and assistance on this first great adventure into case mods.

[mondobyte]

Here is how they turned out

http://files.mondobyte.com/dcp_2777.jpg

http://files.mondobyte.com/dcp_2773.jpg

[Cowboybooter]

Looking Good, Mondo! How are they cooling now?

:)

Bob

[mondobyte]

Internal Case Temp ranges between 27-29 in all cases
The mobo sensor says 28-29C
The PWM sensor says 29-30C

The CPU's are overclocked about 200+ MHz each

CPU TEMPS:
XP2400+ 37C
XP2200+ 33C
XP2400+ (this is the "hot" stepping) 42C

to keep the HD ventilation I had to reverse the fans in the front .. they now exhaust. CPU Temps before I reversed the fans were about 3C cooler but those SCSI drives were roasting.

I'd say the current temps and ventilation are a huge improvement.

The front fan is a BLUE LED fan with adjustable RPM. I've got them adjusted to fairly low RPM's. I'm thinking about cutting out the stamped grill for the front fan. That would permit me to crank the rpm's down just a bit and make the case a little quieter (not that they are noisy at all!) I always equate lower rpm's to lower power utilization and that is a good thing.

As my first case mod project, I think things turned out well. I learned several lessons and I could probably do a much better job on a second go.

[Shyguy]

Yeah, after looking at the pics, I was gonna ask if your sure you haven't done this before, as they looked great for a first time mod job like that.

Did you ever find a way to control the speed of your fans?

Cause I was gonna say maybe look into seeing if there are any rear expansion slot opening mountable fan controllers, I'm just saying this cause my Jet 7 CPU HSF came with a fan controller that can be mounted in a free external 3.5" bay or in an open expansion slot in the rear, only draw back is that you'd have to reach around back to adjust speeds. Or even a expansion card like that fan alarm you mentioned that would allow you to connect your fans to it & adjust from within Windows?

[Mntsnow]

Good looking cases Mondo!

[gino x]

You seem to be quite good with Plexi :)
Anyways good to hear that you got the desired results.

[mondobyte]

actually, the only thing I did with the plex was to purchase the right sized pieces at the local hardware store (1/8th in) ... cut the holes in the metal to match. Hole saw for the fan and a drill for the four holes. Used a wasted fan for a template. I mounted the Plex with Hotmelt Glue and then silicone caulked the edges. If it gets hot enough to melt the glue, the silicone caulk ought to hold it!

I knicked the paint a bit ... gotta remember to put some sticky plastic stuff on to protect surfaces next time. Also, the screwdriver slipped once or twice so there are some very fine scratches in the plex near the fan.

Used a hole saw on the four corners then just cut the metal out between with a center cut metal shear. Smoothed the edge with a file.

I can do better next time ... learned a heckuva lot of lessons.

Did all of these stepwise ... next time I will complete a prototype before moving on to 2-3-4 ... etc.

[mondobyte]

I never did get any help on creating my own fan control.

I do not have an empty bay or slot so what I really need is the resistance that I need in a pot to make the adjustments.