The Basics

[Jake2k]

At this point I have the option to flip the case so the door is on the other side and my psu is at the bottom but it will take a bit more work to cut the feet off and make a new top. So I'm wondering are there any advantages to doing this or is it just personal taste?

[x88x]

Looks good so far; I like the louvered front panel.

As for flipping the case, it could be argued that there are some thermal advantages, but in my experience the only real benefit (other than personal taste; personally I like the PSU at the bottom better) is that is moves the case's centre of gravity down, making the tower more stable and less likely the fall over.

[Jake2k]

Thanks for the info x88x.

No real update on the case as my time has been tied up in trying to design and build a case out of cardboard for a comp. on another forum. But I did get a few pics of the shop:

The laser, pew pew:

My press:

Gotta have the Woot lights!

And of course some more copper pron!

Ok now that I have your attention lol, I need to know the best way to mount a motherboard. I was thinking a piece of painted plexi with some stand-offs, the only thing is I would have to glue it to the case since I can't drill into the side without going all the way through it.

[Loki]

Wow... I hate you!!! LOL
Great to have all those machines at your service...

I am in the cardboard contest too

[x88x]

I wouldn't recommend gluing the MBB to the tray, just because you're probably gonna want to move/replace it at some point. Instead, maybe may plexi standoff cones that you can screw into, then glue those to the tray?

[SXRguyinMA]

or pre-drill the mounting holes and thread in standard brass standoffs?

[Jake2k]

Haha, I wasn't saying that I would glue the MB to the tray but that I would attach it to the plexi with some stand-offs then glue the plexi try to the inner wall of the case.

[Couch3ater]

Right, I think what they were saying (perhaps there was a misunderstanding somewhere along the lines?) was that you shouldn't glue the tray in the case. If you ever wanna do any further modification, removing a plexi-glued motherboard tray would be something of a challenge.

Off topic: HAAAAATE you for having such fun toys at your disposal. All I got is a measly little Dremel and some files. =[ Yay for being poor?

[x88x]

Actually I did think you were saying glue the MBB to the tray... As for gluing the tray to the case, it really depends.. If you think you're ever gonna want to change the tray again, probably not a good idea. If you know you're never gonna change the tray, then sure, no prob. Removable MBB trays are nice, but I've used enough cases without them that I don't see the lack of one as a hindrance.

[Jake2k]

(quick summery at the end if you don't want to read my little novel haha)

I been trying to decide exactly how I want to go about modding this case I keep having new ideas so this week I'm just gonna pick one and stick to it.

Last weekend I bought an old computer from a yard sale for 5 bucks and as soon as I got home I gutted and cleaned it and was very happy to see that the case looked very modable.

It accepts a full ATX mb but also has holes for micro and baby atx, the hdd rack is removable and the drive bays will be after a few rivets are removed. This case is much more stable and has a ton more room then my current case, and because of that I have decided that this will be the case I use for the Louver design idea.

However I don't want to just throw out the current case and the work I've put into it already, so I will continue to mod the current case in a different style which will not only help me practice a bit but also give me more time to plan out the Louver design. I think that with enough planning and the proper execution the Louver case can be an awesome case so i don't want to rush it.

So for now were back to square one with this case but I have some little notes on where I want to go with it:

1. I want to create a straight airflow in this case, two 120mm fans up front, big heatsink for the cpu, and more fans on the back.

2. No cd/dvd drive, no video cards or any other add on cards so I will most likely remove the slots all together. I think this will also help the airflow move the way I want it to.

3. I'm thinking now that I'm gonna have a few plates of steel cut on the laser cutter to replace the front and back plate, maybe even the top. I'd like to incorporate some sort of mesh or perforated metal since I love the way it looks and again help with the airflow.

Summery:

big fans upfront
big cpu heatsink
more fans in the back
no cd drive or gfx cards
minimal design

So what I need is some advice on how to go about getting everything worked out, the last photos I posted on page 2 of the case shows how it looks as of now but I'll probably be cutting out the back plate like I did on the front soon.

What would be the best way to attach and new faceplate and backplate? I was thinking of having another plate cut, then sandwiching the lip of the case with the two pieces of steel and screwing them together so they hold tight. Does that make any sense? I'll try and get some sketches made up soon to help describe this better.

In the meantime if you have any advice on how to keep this project minimal, quite, and functional please let me hear it.

Thanks for reading!