Antec Aria... time to mod!

GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
edited March 2006 in Hardware
I need some suggestions here folks.

I've got a completely stock Antec Aria that's housing my primary PC. It's going to stay as my primary PC for a while, because I can't afford new Socket 939 stuff. If the market matures enough, I'm hoping to see some decent mATX mobos for 939 in the future anyway, so I could upgrade my PC in the Aria to a modern standard eventually. Long story short, I plan on keeping the Aria, but it runs fairly warm and loud.

I'm planning on doing something similar to what these guys did:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v478/JERMOE/Nick/IMG_0490.jpg
http://forums.pimprig.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=13179

In other words, I'm going to be ventilating the side near the CPU and the top for an intake for the PSU. The ALX-800 that I've got on the CPU (Barton 2500+ 1.5V version) right now only gets warm (but not finger-burning) to the touch if I leave the side off, so I have a feeling that the side ventilation should work out quite well.

I'm trying to conceptualize what I should do as far as paint goes, and for the top - I really don't like those ridges running across the top very much. I was thinking of using the 'hammered finish' paint on the sides, but I don't know what to paint the front. I'm also undecided on color - I like the black, but I'm also partial to gray and silver. Any suggestions for the top? How about for the paint?

Go crazy.

Comments

  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    Maybe you could window the top. Does the mobo sit at the bottom of that case? I'm unfamiliar with the layout, but a top window should give a pretty good view.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    Unfortunately, a top window would give a pretty abysmal view. The mobo sits on the bottom, and view from the top would be the top of the crossbar that supports the PSU and a view of the top of the carriage for the optical and hard drives. Basically, when you pull the top off you get a view of a bunch of aluminum. not bad compared to a nest of wires, maybe, but not very exciting.

    Thanks for the suggestion, though. One of the ideas I've been kicking around is painting the top itself, cutting the hole for the air intake, and laying modder's mesh over the whole thing, then putting on a lexan "window" overlay onto the modder's mesh, with a hole in the lexan as well for the air intake, but I think that might be too much, to the point of distraction perhaps.
  • MAGICMAGIC Doot Doot Furniture City, Michigan Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    water cool it :cheers:
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    ' wrote:
    [V][AGIC']water cool it :cheers:

    Heh. I'm no where near as industrious as you are in that respect! ;D
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited October 2005
    Are you planning to stay with your Barton, GH? If so, don't look for a socket 939 system in the future because it is also to go the way of the dinosaur as far as performance boards. AMD will be swiching to socket M2 sometimes next year. So if you are thinking of going to an A64 system next year, hold out for socket M2 boards to appear (should be about the time AMD shifts to DDR2 mem controllers on the procs. Supposedly the FX60 and X2 5000's coming in the near future are supposed to be the fastest socket 939 procs produced).
  • GnomeWizarddGnomeWizardd Member 4 Life Akron, PA Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    WTF!!!!!!!!!!! I jsut got a 3800+ socket 939 so i would be set for a year or two!
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    muddocktor wrote:
    Are you planning to stay with your Barton, GH? If so, don't look for a socket 939 system in the future because it is also to go the way of the dinosaur as far as performance boards. AMD will be swiching to socket M2 sometimes next year. So if you are thinking of going to an A64 system next year, hold out for socket M2 boards to appear (should be about the time AMD shifts to DDR2 mem controllers on the procs. Supposedly the FX60 and X2 5000's coming in the near future are supposed to be the fastest socket 939 procs produced).

    Thanks for the tip, mudd! I was planning on sticking with the Barton until I saw something promising on the Socket-939 front, but now I think I'll hold out for M2 like you suggest.

    Do you know how much money and effort you just potentially saved me? This place is awesome! :thumbsup:
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited October 2005
    No problem, GH. That's one reason why I stuck with my Epox NF3 board instead of upgrading to an NF4 board this year and went ahead and bought a good AGP card for it. I'm not planning to try out SLI in the near future at least, so I didn't see the need for a PCI-e board and my Epox board is already X2 capable, so there was no reason to buy a board this year that will be outdated next year anyways due to a socket and memory configuration change. I figure my Epox machine will be good for at least 1 1/2 more years with the X2 4400 I just got in (while here at work, unfortunately :( ).

    The Intel side sounds like it's going to be just as screwy too, with their new offerings. I think they are going to require yet another new chipset for support for their upcoming processors next year, even though the socket is staying the same. :shakehead
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    what is modders mesh?

    nvm I looked it up. That's crazy stuff!!! :thumbsup:
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    For those who are wondering and didn't look it up, modder's mesh is a perforated sheet steel material that is 60%-70% open for airflow.

    I'm sure that it is sourced somehow from outside of the mod community for less than the $7 sq ft that is charged for it, so I'm looking at hardware stores and such for the same material.
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    won't that allow dust to intrude?
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    It will, but I'm willing to air can out the interior of the PC a little more frequently in exchange for cooler temps and lower fan noise. :thumbsup:

    I just took a look at all the colors of 'hammered finish' paint yesterday. I'm partial to the black and the silver, but l33t wife was pushing me toward the copper. I'm not sure what I would paint the front with in that case. Suggestions?
  • MAGICMAGIC Doot Doot Furniture City, Michigan Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    you can pick up small rolls of AC filter stuff. its really thin and does a good job, its cheap and looks good. keeps a majority of the dust out of my computers. a must have since my family redid our basement with all the drywall dust still flyen around. i got mine at ace hardware near the weatherstripping and foam products.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    I've used those vent filters before on a lot of builds. They definitely do the job well.
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    There is an antique copper or brass hammered finish paint that might give some color without being too much.

    How about, cut your top air intake hole and cover it with a dome of mesh. you know, 4" diameter and maybe 1" tall. Paint it a solid color, black, or bright metalic copper.

    I am waiting for M2 also. Then I will buy some good used 939 mobo and PCU for real cheap.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited March 2006
    I'm resurrecting this thread. I'm about to transplant my system back into the Aria because I'm going to mod the tower case it's in right now.

    I'm still mulling this Aria mod over. Any more suggestions for the Aria case? Let's get wild here, people! I'm on a shoestring budget but don't let that stop you from suggesting even the most outlandish stuff. You never know what's going to strike my fancy!
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited March 2006
    I think some kind of ductmod would be cool ...what concept have you chosen?
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited March 2006
    Nothing's set in stone, as of yet. I'm planning to (mildly) mod the tower case first, then the Aria when I'm done with that.
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited March 2006
    Hey Ghoosdum I did a small mod that took the PSU out of my Aria and mounted it on the back side. to open the entire case up... It isn't the best looking mod but it allows the comp to breath a lot better after i put a few 120mm fans in the PSU's place.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited March 2006
    Sledgehammer70 wrote:
    Hey Ghoosdum I did a small mod that took the PSU out of my Aria and mounted it on the back side. to open the entire case up... It isn't the best looking mod but it allows the comp to breath a lot better after i put a few 120mm fans in the PSU's place.

    That sounds interesting (and quite useful) - did you take any pics?
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited March 2006
    If you're still hunting for a theme maybe a cog and folding could be some kind of inspiration. :thumbsup::fold:
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited March 2006
    Ooh, that's a good idea... :fold:
  • ZanthianZanthian Mitey Worrier Icrontian
    edited March 2006
    I vote for either an SM themed mod or a Nexlia themed mod for paint schemes.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited March 2006
    Another good idea. Keep them coming!
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited March 2006
    small rolls of AC filter stuff
    Yes, I use that on all my home computers. There are two types. If you use this material, get the thinner stuff. This is a spongy material, not the paper or fiberglass filter media used for interior forced air intakes.

    If the intake is large enough, you'll only lose about 1*C in thermal efficiency due to intake restriction.
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