Project Karma

[Luke122]

I've decided to use a Buddhism theme for this build, as I've recently started to study/practice. The idea for the build was something relaxing and peaceful in appearance, but with great power within. I'd like to incorporate some buddhist images into the build also, so I'm working on some sketches.

I'm trying for a very quiet PC, which was my primary reason for the Antec case. Also, the freezer 7 pro cooler is a bit noisier than I'd like, so i'll be adding a fan controller to silence it a bit. This pc is actually in the same room where I meditate, so being as quiet as possible is a necessity. But then again, I'm into racing games like GT Legends, so I need some horsepower.

I wont be overclocking at this time, but it's always possible in the future. I'm interested in suggestions for CPU upgrades also...

Anyways, here's what I've got so far for hardware.

Antec P180B case

MSI P965 Platinum mobo

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro

ATI x1950 Pro

(though I may still use my 6800 instead.. I have both here..hmm)
P4 Prescott 3.2 HT
1gb pc4200
80gb sata
120gb ide
dvdrw and dvdrom

Power supply is on order, OCZ 700w GameXStream and should be here late this week.

CPU, ram, opticals and hdds were all salvaged from my Dell Dimension 8400. (I can feel the hate already.. which is why I scrapped the dell to build this)

I've got the unit test assembled and running atm, with a junker 500w MIOS power supply. Yeah.. dont bother buying one.. noisy and ugly. Cheap though... I guess you do get what you pay for.

Having never built a system of this type before, I'm open to any suggestions or comments that anyone may have in regards to my choices in hardware.

My budget is really small (baby on the way), but I have loads of spare time, so if I can make something cheaper than buying it, I'll give it a go.

[Luke122]

Here's one of the inspiration images for this project. Also, I've engraved this image into a 5x7" piece of plexi, and hope to do similar etchings for this project.

There is currently no window in the case, and I'm reluctant to cut one in myself. Does anyone know if I can order a replacement side panel with the window already cut? It would probably be pricey.. and I'm sorta.. poor. Well, cheap actually..

One thing i did think about though was adding an edge lit etch onto the front door of the case.. thoughts anyone?

[Airbozo]

You could incorporate your "shrine" into the front, complete with a mini Buddha and bells and a place to burn the incense... Press a button and it could slide out ready for a meditation period.


EDIT: BTW if you have the skills to carve that picture into plexi, you have the skills to cut a window... It is not hard if you have a skill saw and a file.

[Luke122]

I was actually thinking about doing something similar.. Not necessarily having something that slides out, but having a little shrine with a small statue in there, and a clear front so that it's always visible. Maybe even use some led's for lighting too..

Wife has bad asthma, so incense is out I'm afraid.. which is a shame, cause I've been playing a little with LED's and light beams through smoke.. looks hella cool.

I've even started playing with windowblinds to skin winxp to sort of follow the external theme of the case.

[armadilloben]

Here's one of the inspiration images for this project. Also, I've engraved this image into a 5x7" piece of plexi, and hope to do similar etchings for this project.

There is currently no window in the case, and I'm reluctant to cut one in myself. Does anyone know if I can order a replacement side panel with the window already cut? It would probably be pricey.. and I'm sorta.. poor. Well, cheap actually..

One thing i did think about though was adding an edge lit etch onto the front door of the case.. thoughts anyone?

you could put like 2 high intensity white leds on a angle like this \ / so it looks like its shining on him that might look cool

[armadilloben]

I was actually thinking about doing something similar.. Not necessarily having something that slides out, but having a little shrine with a small statue in there, and a clear front so that it's always visible. Maybe even use some led's for lighting too..

Wife has bad asthma, so incense is out I'm afraid.. which is a shame, cause I've been playing a little with LED's and light beams through smoke.. looks hella cool.

I've even started playing with windowblinds to skin winxp to sort of follow the external theme of the case.

my friends dad burns incense in his office when which is in the basement (were we hang out for the most part) and personally i find that it smells quite bad) are there like any problems w/ the ingredients of incense with pc componnets? would it slow down the fans or defeat the purpose of the incense intererly because the fans would blow it away i find that it could be problematic

[luciusad2004]

Idk if you guys are talking about incense inside of a pc but that is probably a bad idea. I think that the oils that burn off would most likely build up on the components and that could possibly be pretty bad. Even if they were just around the PC the smoke would probably get sucked in and cling to stuff.

[nil8]

Incense is mostly sawdust and essential oils. Since there is such little smoke compared to tobacco products or burning dried plants, it really shouldn't do much if anything to a computer case.
Still, it's out anyway.

Cutting a window isn't that hard. Measure twice, cut once. It will keep you from possibly making a mistake.

Maybe an idea would be to take a specific symbol and do the window cut on that with the plex image being the background? It would be much neater and more unique than just a boxed window.

[OvRiDe]

The window idea is great, but you might want to consider something first. You were saying you went with the Antec case because you are wanting a quiet pc. You may compromise that by cutting a window in it. I believe that case has a dual layer side panel with some sound isolating padding to minimize sound. I'm not 100% on that so you might want to do a little research. I would hate for you to spend the extra on a case like that for its sound dampening and then negate it. The graphic is looks great. I have a couple of suggestions, that might not be as cool as an actual window, but would still look nice and distinctive. A custom cut vinyl applied to the side, although again it doesn't have the wow factor a lit up window does. The other idea is to etch a piece of acrylic and attach it to the side. Build a frame around it that has LED's embedded in it to illuminate the etching. This would all be integrated to the side panel. Just my 2cents, hope it helps.

[Arden]

i own the case, my advise is that it is a very good case but if it is your first build (it was for my) do NOT by it. it is complicated and often hard to use, but performance is good.