Building a case, need advice

sweavesweave boston
edited May 2008 in Hardware
After building my first custom pc last year and then building a few rigs for my friends. ive decided that when i upgrade my motherboard and cpu next year i'm going to build my own case from the ground up.

went over to bit-tech and got some ideas on what i would want and what i wouldnt want (some of those cases do look like a neon faire splooged over them) :bigggrin:

what i was hoping for is are there any tutorials that i should read or advice that anyone can give me that would be helpful :)

already had several ideas ranging from a conventional box too a multi leveled circular case and so forth and even a pyramid like thing :)

gonna start sketching this week and start refining what i want
i'll keep this thread updated as the project goes along

Comments

  • Your-Amish-DaddyYour-Amish-Daddy The heart of Texas
    edited May 2008
    Ok. If you're actually constructing your case I would get in contact with anyone going to school for engineering, or someone with a CNC machine. Not only are they going to be the best damn resource for knowledge, they might also help you prevent any possible screwups. If you're going for air cooling I can draw you up a crude design that you could expand on. If you plan to use water, I have a few theories you can look at if you want.

    Case building can be a daunting task but don't let the idea get too small or too big. No matter what looks you want, it has to do it's job first.
  • sweavesweave boston
    edited May 2008
    luckily enough i did go to school for engineering :)
    biomedical but still

    as far as cooling goes
    right now i'm looking into air cooling only
    (i'll post a sketch i did last night up in a bit. it had some initial air flow plans on it)

    good thing is i've set this build date for a long time from now so i can have plenty of time to hash things out :)
  • sweavesweave boston
    edited May 2008
    plansir2.jpg

    this is the sketch i did before
    gonna try modeling in 3d soon
    gotta start measuring parts too i think :)
  • MAGICMAGIC Doot Doot Furniture City, Michigan Icrontian
    edited May 2008
    save yourself some trouble and buy a removable mobo tray for a lian li or coolermaster from performance-pcs.com.
  • Your-Amish-DaddyYour-Amish-Daddy The heart of Texas
    edited May 2008
    What is your overall size look like?
  • sweavesweave boston
    edited May 2008
    hmmmm good question
    going for a regular size motherboard instead of a miniatx (this is up in the air though since i havent really ever looked at any mini-atx mobos and plus at this point i will be going sli)
    i know it looks like a lan case design but honestly i just like the shape so it wont be a mini case.
    width of just over a foot and a length of a foot and a half

    something im curious about but can a power supply be installed on its side and operate properly?
    i dont see any reason why not since ppl have installed them upsidedown
  • Your-Amish-DaddyYour-Amish-Daddy The heart of Texas
    edited May 2008
    Ok, well I'm thinking of about....20x18.5x6 oughta give you great room to work with. And it doesn't matter which way something is mounted as long as it's mounted securely.

    And now that I think about it... Since it looks like you want to go for a double decker design...I'd say 20x20x14. That way you can get a SAS card and fill the upper deck with a crapload of hard drives.
  • sweavesweave boston
    edited May 2008
    ' wrote:
    [v][AGIC']save yourself some trouble and buy a removable mobo tray for a lian li or coolermaster from performance-pcs.com.

    im actually planning on some kind of tray
    but i wanted itegrated into the case
    i had this crazy idea of a detachable try that i can swivel out when i needed to or something
  • sweavesweave boston
    edited May 2008
    Your Amish Daddy wrote:
    Ok, well I'm thinking of about....20x18.5x6 oughta give you great room to work with. And it doesn't matter which way something is mounted as long as it's mounted securely.

    And now that I think about it... Since it looks like you want to go for a double decker design...I'd say 20x20x14. That way you can get a SAS card and fill the upper deck with a crapload of hard drives.

    sounds good
    frankly anything about a build with the words crap load in it sounds good to me :)
    gotta find my copy of maya
    started using sketchup first then maya on my last rig and now i went back to sketchup and couldnt figure out why i couldnt do half the things i was doing before :crazy:
  • Your-Amish-DaddyYour-Amish-Daddy The heart of Texas
    edited May 2008
    Ok, I can draw something up for a sliding rotating tray if you want. The question is; how much work do you want to do?
  • sweavesweave boston
    edited May 2008
    far too early to tell what im looking for right now. gonna keep sketching and see what i end up with :)
    half the fun of this is in the designing for me
  • ZuntarZuntar North Carolina Icrontian
    edited May 2008
    I am towards the end of building a large completely custom cube style case myself. Article to come soon!

    I know a place to get tutorials, tips, tricks, and ideas. The Mod Nation is great, tons if ideas!

    Basically I suggest that you take your time, and don't take short cuts! Plan, measure, check plan, re-measure, and before last step measure again!

    You can do ANYTHING you put your mind to as long as you have patience.

    I sketched on paper first, then used Sketchup for the dimentions and overall looks.

    Have fun, and remember to take LOTS of pictures, you will want to show it off!!

    Keep posting here please!!!!!
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