Project: Hutch, a Qmicra v2 gets naked...

[craigbru]

Another project begins... In a change of pace however, this one isn't for me. It's for friend of mine, and since we couldn't come up with anything more creative, we'll be using his nickname "Hutch" as the project title. In true L.O.S.I.A.S. fashion, this project will fit in with everything else I've done. It won't be as extreme as my prior endeavors, but I'll still make very efficient use of space.

This time around, I'll be working with a PC Design Lab Qmicra v2. Hutch managed to procure one of these beauties after speaking with Dave Lalopa of PCDLAB. He requested one that had not yet been painted, and that's exactly what I received.

I took delivery of a surprising light and compact box...

After looking over the case inside and out, I've got to say that I'm impressed with it's engineering and build quality. The all aluminum case is also shockingly light. That doesn't mean it's flimsy, there just aren't any extraneous bits on it. Everything has a purpose... and that's exactly what I love in a case.

With the case probed and disassembled... the fun stuff is about to begin.

[craigbru]

Now that we've had a little preview of the case, it's time to go over my design goals for this case. The case comes ready for fitment of a 120mm dual radiator. That's quite a nice feature for a small form factor case. However, what do you do if you want more cooling power? Well, you add another radiator of course. That's exactly what I will be doing here. Now, this would be the first Qmicra with a pair of dual 120mm radiators, but it will be the first (to my knowledge) that doesn't make a sacrifice in doing so. Every other attempt has put a second radiator on the left side of the case, and in doing so, has sacrificed at least one slot on the motherboard. Also, when taking that approach, you immediately lose the hard drive caddy. Actually, you lose at least one caddy when adding to a radiator to the right side as well. So. you would then have lost both caddy's (4 drives), and a slot on the motherboard. That's completely unacceptable. I believe that the whole point in modding, is to add function or features, without compromising others.

So, with my inability to compromise, I've made a few basic decisions about the direction of this mod. I'm not going to lose any slots on the motherboard, I'm going to have room for 4 hard drives, there will be room for a pump and reservoir, and the interior well be kept clean and organized.

When you look at the interior of this case, there's really only one other good option for radiator placement. The front... However, in order to put a radiator there, I need to make a few changes. The stock location for the power switch simply won't do. It's time to break out the dremel...

Now that we've got the old center section and mesh out of the way, it's time to get some new mesh cut and put in place.

There we have it! We now have the area completely opened up, and can get the radiator placement figured out.

[Jabyaeye]

No fair...you had me at "naked"

Definitely looks like a solid start. Will love to see what you do with this.

[AMD Killa]

Glad you decided to change the mesh, as the meshplate you made looks much better than the original.

What colour are you going to paint it afterwards? I think black would look awesome, but it's up to you

[The boy 4rm oz]

Dude a very nice case. I can't wait to see what you have in store for it .

[KiLLERMAN21]

That case looks pretty awesome to start with! the new mesh plate looks very good, nice man.

[pcclan]

nice starting point

[SXRguyinMA]

lookin nice so far, keep it up

[The boy 4rm oz]

Dude did you forget to update lol. Show em all the awesome rad mount .

[craigbru]

No fair...you had me at "naked"

Definitely looks like a solid start. Will love to see what you do with this.

Thanks man! I thought that "naked" would get a little attention...

Glad you decided to change the mesh, as the meshplate you made looks much better than the original.

What colour are you going to paint it afterwards? I think black would look awesome, but it's up to you

Thanks! It's going to be a Ferrari yellow, at Hutch's request.

Dude a very nice case. I can't wait to see what you have in store for it .

Thank you!

That case looks pretty awesome to start with! the new mesh plate looks very good, nice man.

Thanks man. The mesh is definitely better than the original.

nice starting point

lookin nice so far, keep it up

Thanks guys! I'll try not to disappoint.

Dude did you forget to update lol. Show em all the awesome rad mount .

Nah, update is coming in a minute. For some reason I can't access this site when I'm at work... Lol.