Project Acid Rain

[Yellowsnow17]

I was gonna call it "Project CoolEST Master" but I thought that would be a bit pretentious for my first log. I usually post over at Bit Tech, but have chosen to post this log here for two reasons. One, this is the subset of the BitTech crowd who I think would appreciate this mod the most. Two, I use photobucket to host images, and the traffic on Bit would b0rk the pics for sure.:rolleyes: So anyway, on with the plans.

Plan 1 is to upgrade the current machine's cooling from air to green uv water (hence acid rain). This will be my first attempt at water cooling. I plan to cool the CPU and GPU, and possibly the NB at a later date if I decide. After a lot of research, I decided that I am indeed comfortable with the size of my schlong, and will go for a small-bore system. All components in the cooling system will be provided by Aqua Computer.

Plan 2 is to integrate a PSone screen into the front bezel of the Praetorian. This plan requires the design of a new front bezel, which I will be designing in CAD and having professionally machined. My other requirement is that all the PSone hardware must fit inside the case. That means screen, power, video and voltage adapter.

Since most of the interior space of the Praetorian will be devoted to Water cooling and PSone components, I will not be able to use any of the drivebays. This brings me to Plan 3, locating the hard disks and CD/DVD ROMS. I have an idea of how to integrate a CDROM into the case without using the drive bays that I haven't yet seen done, so I hope it turns out well!

Throughout the project, I will attempt to make the modifications appear as "stock" as possible. I want all the mods to be very low profile. I will be taking my time with this project, as I have a very high standard of workmanship going into it. On to the pics:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/01casebox.jpg
Standard Coolermaster Praetorian Case in Black Anodize. "Guardian of your PC" :unsure::lol:

After attacking the packaging with extreme prejudice, I was presented with this beauty:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/01newcase.jpg
This is one of the sexiest cases I think I have ever seen. It will be that much harder to chop holes in it. Oh well... Sorry for the blurry pic. I DO have a new digicam that I will be using for the rest of the project. Since I don't have any other hardware at this time, this case will be set aside for a bit.

Next piece of equipment that came in was the PSOne screen, shown below.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/03psonescreenbox.jpg
This thing spent all of about 5 minutes in its case. The reason it took so long is because I couldn't find my screwdriver.

After about 30 minutes of surgery:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/04nakedpsonescreen.jpg
The thing was harder to take apart than I expected. Lots of plastic rivets and hidden screws. Lets see if it still works...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/05psoneworks.jpg
success!

I think that's it for now. I'll be back later with some water cooling goodies, and more plans for the case.

Enjoy!

[Yellowsnow17]

Ok, I see I haven't generated any interest yet, maybe this'll help:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/06ACboxes.jpg
:D :D :D

[BuffaloBoy]

Very nice. Looks like this is going to be an interesting mod...

[toby]

Did you vga mod the screen or just use video out? looks like you got a lot of expensive ac kit! good luck with the modding

[Starbuck3733T]

*scratches head*

that doesn't look like a praetorian, that looks like an ATC110

*confused*

Nice water toys, now get crackin! :)

[Nexxo]

:confused: Doesn't look anything like an ATC 110... The ATC 110 has a door, and is a full-tower case. You may be thinking of the ATC 201.

The Coolermaster PRAETORIAN is the same as the Coolermaster Black Widow, is the same as the Coolermaster ATC 201B-SXK. But the black Praetorian is anodised all over, instead of having the side panels painted a gloss black mirror finish like the Black Widow. There are also a few minor tweaks such as labels on the front panel.

Sort of worrying that I know this, really... :unsure:

[fillip]

Sort of worrying that I know this, really... :unsure:
At least you didn't need us to tell you. :p

[Starbuck3733T]

Thanks for the clarification

[mnpctech]

and I thought it was a Silverstone :D

[Yellowsnow17]

@Toby: I didn't do the vga mod on the screen as I have a 9800 pro and can just use the S-video out.

@Starbuck: As Nexxo said, the Praetorian is the ATC201-C with a few minor improvements and a new name. The front USB panel now includes microphone, headphone, and firewire ports. Also, they changed the PSU bracket so now it actually fits correctly. I know all this because I own a 201C AND a Praetorian, which makes me slightly more worrisome than Nexxo :lol:

@mnpctech: Yeah, the older coolermaster cases do look a lot like the new silverstone cases. I heard somewhere that the Silverstone engineers used to work for Coolermaster, which would explain the similarities. (Designed by the same guy). Maybe you knew all that and were just being sarcastic. In which case, please disregard this post. :o I really like Silverstones' cases, but damn are they expensive...

[Psykotik]

I own two ATCS 201 B BXTS (god damn theyre beautiful) and am currently modding one of them for a phase change rig, and the other for uber watercooling.

Wish my PSU bracket was fixed *sniff*

[Yellowsnow17]

Ok, I was able to make some more progress today. In this installment, I'll be covering some of the wire sleeving. I want to keep with a specific color scheme as often as possible. That scheme is black with brushed metal, with accents of neon green at times. In trying to keep with this theme, I decided to sleeve all my cables black and replace all the plain white/brown connectors with neon green versions. My first victims were the case fans, seen below:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/07SilenXfans.jpg
Those are SilenX case fans, supposed to be super quiet with a decent amount of airflow. I was amazed at the specs on thier website so I went ahead and placed an order. I was disappointed to see when I opened the package, that each fan was fitted with an adapter that consisted of a resistor which limited the voltage into the fan, thus limiting the speed of the fan, thus limiting the noise of the fan. They fail to mention on their website that the dbA readings apply with this stupid adapter in line. Of course the 12V fan is going to be quiet if you don't run it at 12V! I confronted them about it over email, but never received a response. Even without the adapter, they are still very quiet fans so I have decided to keep them and will control the voltage via the aquaero.

Next up is the power supply, also sourced from SilenX. Let me tell you, this thing is DEAD silent when running. I'm a little concerned about how hot it will get under load, but we shall see.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/09PSUSleeving.jpg
The color scheme on the power supply is black with black sleeving and neon green connectors. The exception to this is the ATX connector and the P4 connector, which I replaced with plain black connectors. As I own an Abit motherboard, there are already enough crazy colors on it without adding neon green to the mix, so I went with basic black for those highly visible connectors. I ran out of sleeving halfway into sleeving the power supply, so this part of the project is on hold till I order some more sleeving.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/08MolexSleeving.jpg
Check out my "innovative" molex sleeving job. I separated the wires into two pairs of two, sleeving each pair individually. This allows me to get better coverage with the shrink sleeving as I approach the connector.

So, since I am out of sleeving for the moment, I decided to switch over to cutting some large holes in the case for my watercooling. I think I've neglected to metion so far what exactly I ordered, so here's the list:

Aquatube
Temp sensor probe for Aquatube
Airplex Evo 120
Cuplex Pro (P4 2.6C)
Cuplex for GPU (radeon 9800 pro)
Aquastream Pump
Aquaero
Aquaero flow sensor

I plan to mount both the radiator and aquatube in a hanging position from the top of the case. This call for two gaping holes, so I grabbed my trusty skill saw and...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/10ACBracketMounting.jpg
Ended up with this after about an hour or so of measuring and cutting. What's nice about the Aquatube position is that I was able to use the stock Coolermaster blow-hole for clearance.

Aquatube and Airplex installed below:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/11ACStuffMounted.jpg

Then I figured, as long as I have my tools out I'll cut some more holes.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/12RearPanelSwitches.jpg
Who is that guy in the picture!? :o
I cut two 1" diameter holes to accomodate the rocker switches you see installed above. One of the switches will be On/Off for the PSOne screen, the other switch will control my interior lighting. Using a relay, I'll be able to switch between UV lighting or bright green lighting by toggling the switch. I had to do quite a bit of filing as the holes came out kinda ragged, even with a hole saw. I'm not worried about scratches to the case, becaues I'm having the whole thing sent out for black anodizing when I'm done cutting. :)

Well, I had more for this update, but I'm running late so I have to go.
Comments, suggestions, adivice etc are all welcome!

[Starbuck3733T]

Very clean job on the sleeving. keep up the good work.

[Edd]

Looking great so far!
I love the silver AC stuff on the black case.

(I painted all my AC mouting equip. black, though I'm starting to wish I'd bought the black version of my case and done what you're doing!)

[mnpctech]

Like the black/neon sleeve job. Gawd, those Heatkiller grills really grow on ya.

Keep us updated.

[Yellowsnow17]

Hey, I'm back again. I just wanted to finish the update that I started yesterday. I've been working on the mounting for the LCD, so I started by deciding how many drive bays I'd have to give up to it. I decided that it'd be best taking up the two 3.5 inch drives and the bottom most 5.25 inch drive. Luckily, the PSOne screen comes with predrilled mounting holes, which I used to mount it to my case. The pic below shows how I located it vertically behind the front bezel. I bolted in the second lowest 5.25 inch drive bay blanking plate, using it as a height guide for the lcd. Then with a pencil I marked the spaces where the mounting holes will be on the case.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/13LCDMeasuring.jpg
I used nylon screws, washers and nuts to secure the screen to the case. I chose nylon because I wanted to isolate the screen elctrically from the case. The washers I used as spacers such that when the front bezel is installed, the screen sits flush with the drive bays. It was kind of a trial and error approach. It turned out that I needed to stack 3 washers under the screen to get the correct spacing.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/14LCDMountinghardware.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/15LCDMounted.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/16LCDFanBlockage.jpg
As you can see in the pic above, the gigantic pcb behind the screen obstructs one of the intake fans. This shouldn't be a problem, as long as I tuck the wires in good enough to not get sucked into it. :o

A progress shot so far:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/17OverallProgressShot.jpg

Next, I needed to get power to the screen inside the case. The PSOne screen needs 7.5V DC to operate, and comes with a 110 AC to 7.5 DC converter to plug it into the wall here. Luckily, you can purchase a car adapter kit for on-the-go gaming. Using this adapter, I can use the 12V from the psu to power the screen. So I bought one and tore it apart quickly. Below you can see I've added a molex connector (neon green of course) as well as some extra wire (the white stuff) to go to the on/off switch at the rear of the case
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/18VoltageAdapter.jpg

The adapter temporarily mounted in position:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/19AdapterMounted.jpg
I am not particularly satisfied with the look of the mounting. I would like to mask the board if possible, to hide it from view. I know there are a lot of great modders on this site, any ideas? Because of its position in the case, it won't really be visible either way, but I'd just like to cover it up for completeness, ya know?

Ok, another overall shot, with the screen playing The Simpsons again. The screen, voltage adapter and on/off switch all work perfectly!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/20ScreenTestFit.jpg

You can see below why I am getting a custom bezel fabricated, the current bezel cuts right through the screen! Also, the screen doesn't seem to be covering all of the usable space... I really don't want to have to use powerstrip to fix it, so maybe i'll find something in the ATI catalyst software to help...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/21ScreenCloseup.jpg

Ok, that's all for now. Should be a couple weeks before that bezel comes in, so I won't be posting an update till then. Enjoy! :)

Comments? Criticism?

[biggiy6]

I love your red x mod its perfect they are all over the place. Ok yea that wasn't funny but anyways alot of the pics are down.

[Yellowsnow17]

hmm, photobucket seems to be down. I dont think I exceeded the bandwidth or I'd have that "you exceeded the bandwidth" pic up instead. :::Slaps Biggiy6::: :rant: You b0rked my project log! :lol:

[fillip]

With regard to hiding that PCB, how about one of those ABS plastic enclosures you get for electronic circuits. They sell 'em at Mapper's over here so they will def. have something very similiar at one of your.


Maplin Quickcode - ML45Y

There is a whole selection of them in different sizes and colours. You could just chop it down to the correct size, paint it, and stick it over the PCB so it's out of sight...

[Kickass]

Hi mate

Loving how this project is coming along.. Its blooming excellent however i love to see how your going to get rid of the plastic going through the middle of it :)

I like how all your wiring is coming along and wondering if you are going to have a sidepanel? So you can see inside as there isnt one next is there? .. or is there but your not showing us :)

cool work :)

[Yellowsnow17]

er, bump!

I've solved the problem with trying to hide the 7.5V DC supply. The solution?... build my own! I'm currently constructing a custom voltage regulator using LM317 as the basis. The complete package should be about 1" by 1" making it easily hideable in a small project box (thanks fillip). I should have pics up this evening.

...however i love to see how your going to get rid of the plastic going through the middle of it :)That is the old bezel in the pic. I'm having a custom bezel professionally machined and anodized black. It should be in my hands in about 3 weeks!
btw - It's not plastic, it's Aluminum or Al-u-min-i-um if you will :)

[Yellowsnow17]

Ok, I finally got around to dl'ing pics off my digital camera...

This part of the project details the custom electronics I wanted to make for my machine. First, I need to make a new smaller 7.5v DC power supply to power the psone screen. Second, I need to make a switch that will allow me to select between uv or green case lighting. I want to house both of these circuits in a small project box.

Below are the components I used to make my own custom 7.5v power supply. To recap, I was not happy with that big green ugly looking power supply that I stuck in my case to power the psone screen. I did some research and discovered the LM317 IC, which is a linear voltage regulator. You can plug any voltage from about 3-30v DC into it, then using resistors you can change the output to a value lower than the input. For this project, I will be putting 12v DC in, and regulating 7.5v DC (what the psone screen wants) out. I got the schematic off of the LM317 data sheet
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/22components.jpg

my new soldering iron::wub: :wub:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/23newiron.jpg

And the finished product. Yellow is 12V, black is ground, and red is my 7.5volts out. I hooked a multimeter up to it, applied 12v, and adjusted that blue square thing you see on it until the output read 7.5 volts. All that remains is to find a suitable heat sink. The LM317 is a linear regulator, which means that the excess voltage is dissipated as heat. I'll be going from 12v to 7.5v which is not a lot, but I'll need a decent sized heat sink for it. Also, I calculated that the psone screen should pull about 906 milliamps, so I'll have to deal with that heat as well. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/24circuit.jpg

Here's the circuit plugged into my power supply and hooked up to the psone screen and the two switches i installed on the back panel:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/25circuitpluggedin.jpg

I couldn't decide on uv lighting or green lighting so i picked both! One of the switches on the back of the case will latch/unlatch the relay. The relay will be connected to two cathode inverters, giving me the option of green light or uv light as seen below:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/26uvlight.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/27greenlight.jpg

The other switch on the back of the case will allow me to turn on/off the 7.5v power supply so I can turn the psone screen on and off at will. I don't have any pics, but I did plug the psone screen into my home made power supply. It worked as expected but the regulator gets damn hot! I may need to watercool it...B)

Next up, building a small project box to house all this...

Oh and one other thing: The machine shop called me on wednesday and said they'd started my custom front panel, I should have it in about 2 weeks!

[Sinner]

nice looking mod so far. it's going to look real tight with that LCD

[Yellowsnow17]

Thanks for the compliments so far guys. If you have any questions or suggestions don't be shy.:)

I'm too lazy to post a proper update right now. Not much has happened with this project, as I'm still waiting on my front panel so I can continue. I did make some progress on the new power supply for the psone screen though:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/28projectbox.jpg
Actively cooled by a 40mm fan and you can see the recepticles for all the interconnects on there too.
What does this box do? Two things. One, it provides 7.5 volts to the psone screen to keep it happy, effectively replacing this awful mess:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/18VoltageAdapter.jpg

And Two: Remember those two rocker switches on the back of the case? Well they are both wired into the box as well. One turns the psone screen on/off and the other lets me choose between green or uv case lighting, which I demonstrated in the last update. This is controlled via a relay which is housed in this project box. I would have used one of those great looking boxes from mnpctech, but I didn't know they existed at the time I bought this one. Too bad too, it looks like the other box fits perfectly in a couple of 3.5" drive bays...

Anyway, small update but it feel like I'm making progress!

EDIT: I've changed my pic size from 500 pixels to 600, you can see both sizes in the post. Which is better?

[Starbuck3733T]

The bigger the better, to a point. I try to keep mine down to 600px on the long side, which it appears you have done. Some of us (poor pug) don't have broadband. I on the other hand am at work on a redundant OC-12 so BRING IT ;)

(seriously, 600px on the long side is fiiine)

[Yellowsnow17]

I just talked to the machine shop and they are having trouble machining my panel. Apparently they couldn't source 3/16" thick aluminum quick enough so they tried to mill down from .25, and it didnt work. So it'll be a few more weeks unitl I get my hands on it. In the mean time, I thought I'd post a picture of this panel I keep talking about but have not shown yet:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/frontbezel.jpg

Very similar to the stock panel, with a few mods to suit my project:

Relocated power and reset switch to left-middle of panel. Replace both switches with single 3-position keyswitch. Turn key left = reset. Turn key right = power.

Cut vertical slot in bottom right of panel for slimline dvd rom. Replace eject switch with green bulgin vandal switch. Rewire the status led on the dvd drive to the led in the bulgin switch. :cool:

Subtract one 5.25" drive bay and add one 3.5" drive bay to accomodate psone screen.

Relocate power and hdd leds to left middle of panel.

I think that's it...

[Fibbles]

Not to thread jack, but you could go to the E Machine Shop and make your own panel pretty quickly.

Here it is: www.emachineshop.com (http://www.emachineshop.com) ^_^ (I really love that place, you can make ANYTHING YOU WANT!)

[toby]

Looks neat hope it comes out ok
(on a thread hijacking note i hope that i can order overseas from that place, the people i was getting my fan grills done with havent responded to my last mail!)

[Yellowsnow17]

Not to thread jack, but you could go to the E Machine Shop and make your own panel pretty quickly.

Here it is: www.emachineshop.com (http://www.emachineshop.com/) ^_^ (I really love that place, you can make ANYTHING YOU WANT!)Not a thread jack at all. Thanks for the link. If their prices are competitive I would definately consider that option in the future.

BTW, I'm a mechanical engineer so I kind of design stuff like this for a living. Also, I have a lot of machine shop contacts locally and one of them is doing this as kind of a "favor" to me. It's costing me a little over 100 dollars, which is an awesome deal for one part! Lead time has been killing me though. 5 weeks and counting. Is emachineshop pretty quick?

[Starbuck3733T]

dunno, but their prices are impractical for 1 off work.

[fillip]

dunno, but their prices are impractical for 1 off work.I'll second that!

$118.77 for an 8mm thick piece of copper (100mm x 75mm) to have a 6.5mm channel milled up and down the block and a hole drilled in each corner.
cheapest material, smallest number and cheapest machines, & lowest quality finish!!

Could do it myself for a tenner if i could get hold of a milling machine :(

[Yellowsnow17]

Ok, I got my custom front bezel in from the machine shop today. I'm very impressed with how it turned out. I just did a test fit and everything lines up perfectly.

New Bezel on the left, stock bezel on the right:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/29newbezel.jpg

Nice fit! :wub:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/31newbezel.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/30newbezel.jpg

Ok, nevermind my sig, this project is moving right along. Next up I'll be working on the vertically mounted slimline dvd drive to interface with that slot in the front bezel.

Questions? Comments?

[Yellowsnow17]

Ok, I did a bit more work tonight. I made some cuts to the chassis to fit the bulgin switch for the dvd eject; and the keyswitch for power/reset. What do you guys think of the aquaero? I ordered a black bezel for it, but the silver actually doesn't look too bad, no?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/32progressshot.jpg

I'll try and get the psone screen back up and running so you can have the full effect.

[fivecheebs]

Wow! That bezel is great.... if you didnt tell anyone they i dont think they would know it wasnt original.

[Darv]

The front looks completey stock. I'm sure if you showed Coolermaster a pic of it they wouln't be able to tell the difference. :lol:

I think the Aqauero would look better in black but it does look quite cool in silver. :unsure:

[Yellowsnow17]

Ready for ignition::D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/33keyswitch.jpg

[mnpctech]

Silver accent compliments grills nicely..

I would have made "Acid Rain" key fob out of extra scrap from new bezel :D

You could sell your bezel upgrade to other CM owners ya know :h34r:

btw: Toyota or Honda ignition key? :huh: maybe older Vdub

[dutchcedar]

Aye, this is a beautiful job you've done.


My hat's off to you. ^_^

[Yellowsnow17]

Thanks for all the nice words guys.
@ mnpctech: The switch is not showing up well on camera due to it being highly polished. It's not an automotive switch, it's just a plain old keyswitch from nkk switches: nkk website (http://www.nkkswitches.com/) It's a latching keyswitch, which means that to turn the computer on, I turn the key 45 degrees to the right till it clicks, then turn it back to 0 degrees. At first I really was bummed that I couldn't get a momentary ignition-style keyswitch, but I've gotten used to this style and now I actually prefer it. :)

@ dutchcedar: Thanks man. It was the awesome work you did on your dually rigs, as well as the work of others (such as nexxo, mnpctech and pug to name a few) that inspired me to go the extra mile on this project.

[Yellowsnow17]

Ok, I've been spent some time working on the mounting of the slimline dvd drive. It's still a bit rough at the moment but I think I have it lined up...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/34slimline.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/35dvd.jpg
That's my foot in the second pic holding the dvd in place. Because of the ejector-mechanism in the drive, it wants to just jump out of the slot if you let go.

This project is nearing completion. I still have to finish the project box that has the lighting relay and the psone power supply in it. Then I have to tear down the entire case and either paint it black or get it black anodized like the external pieces. Stay tuned!

[mnpctech]

The slot mod is killer.. luv it

[Sc0rian]

The slot mod is killer.. luv it

agree, great mod. Nice job so far. I love it, keep it up.

[Starbuck3733T]

Baaaddd assssssssss!

Whats the name of the machine shop that did that? how were their prices? I'm looking for a place to fab my custom front panel. Chris @ customwatercuts is taking his dear sweet time doing things.

[Yellowsnow17]

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

Whats the name of the machine shop that did that? how were their prices? I'm looking for a place to fab my custom front panel. Chris @ customwatercuts is taking his dear sweet time doing things.
Star, if you'd like the name of the place that did my panel as well as pricing, PM me. They are pretty backed up right now though (6-8 week lead time.) They mostly do aerospace type stuff for boeing, raytheon, northrop-grumman/trw, lockheed martin etc so they don't prioritize one-off things such as this. The guy did the panel for me because my company does a lot of business with them. It took 6 weeks to get mine done. You'd probably get the best results by contacting local machine shops in your area, but I'll help any way I can.

[FastRedPonyCar]

I love it man. Great job so far. And that slot drive down there is just plain sick! :wub:

[dutchcedar]

@ dutchcedar: Thanks man. It was the awesome work you did on your dually rigs, as well as the work of others (such as nexxo, mnpctech and pug to name a few) that inspired me to go the extra mile on this project.Well that's about the nicest thing I've heard... B)

[Yellowsnow17]

Hey guys, small update today

I decided that I didn't like the case feet that came with the Praetorian, so I went in search of some replacements. I discovered a company called A-tech fabrication that makes some great looking htpc cases. In their accessory section, they had billet aluminum case feet for sale. I bought a set of four to replace the cheap plastic ones that Coolermaster uses. The below two pics show the bare foot, and then the foot with the rubber insert in place:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/37newfoot1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/38newfoot2.jpg

Ok next a comparison. A huge improvement if you ask me. Notice the nice gold trim on the stock foot. God, I love fake plastic bling... :rolleyes:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/36casefeet.jpg

And finally installed on the case. Couldn't figure out a good angle to take this pic from, but I think you can get the idea.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/DENorth17/Project%20Log/39newfoot3.jpg

Ok, that's it for today. I'm still working on the final mounting of the dvd drive. My goal is to finish everything by the time half life 2 comes out. Gonna be a lot of work to do this weekend! (we need smiley with a dremel or some other power tool in his hand)

[mnpctech]

Yea, nice call...

A-tech... luv that guy's creations..

[UrbanAssassin]

Nice rig. I really like the lcd screen in front.

[zer0]

wow :blink: i cant beleve how good that looks.

[Yellowsnow17]

Thanks guys. I know I haven't updated in a while but this project is far from dead. It is getting close to completion but I'm having trouble finding time to work on it as I'm thoroughly addicted to half life 2 and world of warcraft at the moment...

Updates soon, promise!

[Sean_Best]

Looks sweet

[redfox]

SO FRESH N SO CLEAN ! haha, looks great man. Everything is clean and sleek !

[maestro]

Ah, the Praetorian is my favorite case. Great looking and super easy to work on. I think the front panel looks very good. Keep up the good work!:dremel: