Untitled - Fubar's LAN Rig

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fubar569

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 16, 2003
Messages
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Well, this will be now my third attempt at working a case over. The first one was back in the glory days of Slot A and when the Overclocker's Dream cases from AMK Computers were the must have. It had a rather rough fall from glory after a botched attempt to mod a car stereo into the tower. My second attempt is still running strong, it's the hovercra...err...dually in my sig. it's based in a blue chieftec case with side window...it's been modified to accept 2 120mm side fans, added a top window with 2 120mm fans, and the only other mod is a happy bunny sticker on the door. I think i actually over built the last one, it's tall, bulky, rather ugly because i did a horrible job with the cutting, and VERY NOISY! i have those 4 120mm fans, 4 80mm fans, and the 2 92mm tornados on my SLK-900A's...not to say i haven't enjoyed the power (i haven't found anything to slow it down yet), it's just not very practical...

So the groundwork was laid for another project. I wanted something that was small, light, easy to carry to LANs, something that was powerful, had full multimedia capabilities, and above all, had to be quiet...

One day i was surfing the FS/T forums and came across a sweet deal on an unlocked Barton 2500+ and motherboard. I had always wanted to toy with one, so i snatched the deal up...The new project was born...

Next i had to select a case for this project. Small, Light, etc...I ended up settling on the Antec Super Lanboy. I was looking for something in black, but they were all mid towers or larger, lacked efficient cooling among other things, and looked downright horrible. Besides, it wasn't anything a few cans of paint couldn't fix...Below is the case before i started to tear into it...

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When the case first arrived, i was rather taken over by it...it looked much better in person than the pictures on the egg. I immediately started to tear it down in preperation for paint...the only thing that didn't get removed was the top panel as it was riveted in place...i remedied this by using some creative masking.

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case without front panel...

After it was torn down and lightly sanded, i applied primer to all pieces...

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all pieces primed and ready for paint...

End of day 1! lol...there's more to come...i haven't come up with a real title for this mod yet, or any real solid blueprint for hardware besides the fact it's based on a Barton 2500 and DFI NFII board...The visuals are even still up in the air actually, but i'm sure as i dig further into it everything will pan out...Stay tuned!
 
Well...day 2 isn't going to be happening...the weather isn't cooperating and the outdoors is the only place i can paint! :(

but on the bright side my dad is volunteering his services. he says he wants to learn how to build a computer...i think we can arrange that for him...so this just turned into a father son mod...
 
fubar569 said:
Well...day 2 isn't going to be happening...the weather isn't cooperating and the outdoors is the only place i can paint! :(

but on the bright side my dad is volunteering his services. he says he wants to learn how to build a computer...i think we can arrange that for him...so this just turned into a father son mod...
Click to expand...

sweet!! i wanna get my dad to do that! g00d luck on a great mod. well, i dont really know what the heck you did, because the darned pics wont load that fast :D
 
cool my next mod project will be half father son project. right now my car is a father son project. GO DADS
 
You better make it look good. It's a beautiful case to begin with, and i couldn't imagine doing that with mine. Hope it comes out how you want it too though!
 
ahhhhh, those pics loaded so slow i had a flashback of the 56k days, looks good anyhow
 
i'm sorry guys...i'm hosting the pics myself and today my cable connection was having it's usual peak time crack twitches...ever since atlantic took over from charter the connection has sucked balls...

well, i did get so far as to start coating the case in black, but it was too cold and 2 pieces fogged up! :( so i'll have to redo those before i clear coat...but so far it's looking sweet...i'll have to add pics of it in black when i'm finished...
 
ok so i'm lucky! today i go out to fix the starter in my truck, turns out it's too much work, so my dad pops up and decides to help me with my case...we got all the pieces recoated in black and they've got 2 coats of clear that i'm waiting on to dry...i should have pics later! :) all i know is i'm likin this...hardest part is gonna be not scratching the crap out of it putting it back together

on a side note...ATLANTIC BROADBAND SUCKS! 160kb/160kb service is twentysome bucks a month! that's why everything is loading so piss ass slow...when my dad downgraded service they put him right down at the bottom rung...guess we'll be switching to verizon DSL soon...1.5m/384k for same price and they toss in a free wireless G router...
 
i can beat that. i have dial up for free. unlimited time online.

the secret? the founder of the company is my second cousin once removed. i will never switch from connectnc dialup.
 
well i'm sure if it was free i'd take advantage of it, but i'm a little speed whore... :D
 
Doesn't your ISP provide a few Megs of disk storage for a webpage or something? Ask them about it. If so you can host your pics from there and the pics will load much faster.
 
fubar569 said:
well i'm sure if it was free i'd take advantage of it, but i'm a little speed whore... :D
Click to expand...

unless you are related to barbara baxter of southern pines, north carolina, it's not gonna happen. and she is a geneology nut so don't bother trying to fake it... she has my lineage going all the way back to good willy the conquerer.
 
there we go...i uploaded all the pics to my personal webspace...hopefully they are loading faster for everyone...

and here are the pics of the pieces after recieving the clear. All ready for re-assembly at some point...whenever that is...lol

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yeah i know there's a nice mark on the top of the case...i forgot the wires were still hanging from the front panel...i set it down on the cart and the wires dangled just right and took a nice piece out of the finish :( oh well...it still looks good

here's a shot of the front panel i took after i took the tape off..it gives you a good view of how the chrome sets off the front of the case...

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You can easily fix the mark with a window. :D Very nice job. How is the paint on the front panel? Is it as shinny as the rest of the case?
 
:eek: whooooaaaa...

/stares at 2 year old toshiba crapheap laptop
/puts face in hand and sobs like heartbroken old lady
 
well...thanks for all of the compliments! it does mean alot because i wasn't expecting to do all that well here...but i got some bad news...

in the process of relocating my case to the garage because it was "smelling up the house" my dad dropped the side of the case paint first on the pavement...and since they weren't totally dry yet, the dust in the building settled right into the rest of them...so i have to completely sand down and redo at least one piece and scuff and reclear the rest... :mad:

but yes...the front looks just as good as the rest of the case...well i hope it still does...i haven't checked on it yet...i've been too pissed to touch it...i'm just elated by the fact i got setback at least another day...but i suppose on the bright side now i can fix that mark in the top...oh well...more to follow...
 
oh, well. better luck next time... tho it sounds like we both have the same sort of luck.
 
Hey man, don't let it get you down. Just be glad your Dad wants to be involved; a lot of kids don't have that. My dad was always that way too; he always wanted to help me and my brother out even if he didn't understand what we were doing, and he still does now that we are grown men. All mods will happen in time!

Besides, I'm SURE you wanted some extra practice repainting! ;)
 
Update 11-7-04

well, some bad news folks...my grandpa just passed away yesterday at 84...he was in really bad shape, so at least he's not suffering anymore...the family is doin alright and everything's been taken care of...so i guess that's good...i dunno... :(

However i did make some progress on the side of the case...my dad and i sanded it down to bare metal and reprimed it, only to get some imperfections in the paint...so we'll just have to scuff and recoat till it smooths out...the top of the case got resanded and painted again and i almost got that mark out...not all of it, but most of it...things are lookin alright...

i'm also in a bad habit of spending my mod money on food & alcohol...i gotta stop that...at least the alcohol part...it's too damn expensive...

anyone interested in helping to fund this project? i have a panasonic 3DO, some SNES games, and some other miscellaneous stuff...i'll officially post it in FS/FT when it's ready to go...
 
Update!

ok, honestly nto alot has been going on lately. i spent alot of my mod money on stupid stuff, but honestly i think the project just took a new direction kinda by accident. Ok well not totally by accident but i was reading on how this case would take an ATX board, and i looked at my dually...ATX board...looked up the max dimensions in the lanboy which turns out to be about 12x9.6" or so...the GA-7DPXDW-P measures a tad wider at 10.6"...so i got a lightbulb...a big big lightbulb...

well i just happen to have a dead GA-7DPXDW-P here that got toasted when a PS failed so i begin to drop it in the case, and find that a fair amount of the 3.5" cage rail had to be dremeled out...no problem...it's riveted down in more places than i could see, so losing this brace wasn't going to hurt it at all...equipped a cutting wheel and went to work...ok so i cut out the piece of the cage and dropped the board in...it fits! but there's that blasted utility drawer...ok so i mount the front panel and slide the drawer in and sure enough it hits the board, so the drawer itself had to be notched to clear...below are a few pics that show the result...it's a tight squeeze, but can be done...talk about portable power...the only thing i can think of that would be sleeker would be a dual opteron SFF...

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this is the board, a spare PS, and a spare cdrom mounted to give you an idea of the fit...tight, but it works....can't mount an optical drive in the lowest bay because it interferes with the ram slots, but everything else is wide open

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this picture (albeit upside down) shows the section of the 3.5" cages that had to be notched out to fit...you can see the IDE connectors actually seem to sit under that rail, causing me to have to dremel out a bit more for cable clearance...

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this shot shows the ram slots in relation to the 5 1/4 bays and you see it's pretty tight. you can also see the work that had to be done to the utility drawer to clear the board...

i also took a hand nibbler to the chassis behind the front fan and cut it out for a bit more flow...the back grill might come off...maybe...i'm not sure...

i guess that's about it for now...it's gotten to be too cold to paint now, so the finish will have to stay marred up till the spring...since i have to refinish EVERY piece due to dust and scratches i think i'm gonna lay some gold flake or something along those lines in the paint...i like those style finishes and i think a little gold would look really sharp...also i wouldn't be supprised if a blowhole or 2 gets added in the meantime, but i'm trying to keep this thing quiet as possible...stay tuned
 
Nice job making the dualie fit into there! :) Now go paint it so you can get your 5% and become worthy ;)
 
5 percent eh? i think i can handle that!
oh, i think i may be contacting you about doing a somewhat simplistic etch for me...because i'm just too lazy to practice...lol
 
Update 11-23/24-04

Well in between watching funny flash files, tormenting my sister, and talking to the moddess goddess, the case got a new addition...a 120mm side hole. i used a cd as a template for cutting the hole and i did it totally freehand with a dremel...and as such i cut just a smidge bigger than i should have, but nothing a fan grill can't hide...overall it came out nicely...i also experimented with the UV lights a little bit and found out where i think i'm gonna put them...one along the bottom tucked close the the edge and one up the side tucked in the corner...they'll both be hidden by the side panel once it's on and it still casts an "alright" glow in the case...i just don't have any other place to put them without them being blatantly visible...i'm also toying with the prospect of adding a top hole if there's room and also the stock 120mm fans are getting the heave-ho...they suck...only one lights up and it's dim as hell...the flow is horrible...so if anyone knows of a good 120x25mm fan (perferably LED - blue, red) please let me know so i can look into it...i wanna try to keep it quiet but i need a little better airflow in there...
 
i loved the case, small, light, etc...but it didn't come in black, and honestly after piecing it together, it should've come this way...the blowhole and the dually fitment...eh it just kinda happened...it just kinda snowballed...lets paint it, no wait lets do this, this this and this while we're in there blah blah blah...oh wait it'd be cool if i could fit that, lets etch the window, blah blah blah :D
 
its not really premodded, its just flashy when you buy it.
good job, i am a fan nut too, and if you get some quiet 120's you can still have the peace and quiet you need. Your other comp sounds like a jet, i assume.
 
a jet is an understatement...i'm supprised i don't have to keep it bolted to the floor!

below are a couple recent pics...note nothing is actually permanent...that's all just old dead hardware to give me a feel of what i can do in there...space is very limited...i'd rather abuse my dead stuff than risk my new stuff...

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a shot of the case with PS, mobo, HD, and rear fan mounted...

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shows the placement of my UV lights...they will be completely hidden with the side panel on

And after reading something from the sticky in the forum here, i got another lightbulb...thinking "gee, a keyswitch would be nice!" so i went out in the hall and harvested this from my old gateway p5-133

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now honestly i have no clue exactly how i'm gonna wire this up...wether it will replace the switch entirely or just serve to disable it...but either way i think it'll be a neat touch...
 
well, happy thankgiving to everyone, and i hope everyone's having a good time!



hehe...it seems even modders don't rest on turkey day though...i was sittin here bored waitin for the bird to come out of the oven when i decided to go for the keyswitch. mounted in the stock location completely replacing the power switch. sadly enough it almost looks factory!

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it'll probably take some getting used to, but i think imma like it...seemed to impress the family too for some reason...lol
 
suggestion. trun your hdd around so the ide cables arnt nearly as visible. but looks good i like the key swick idea! i might have to do the same.
 
i'd turn the hard drives around but i'm not sure how much room i'll have back there...there's really not a whole lot of space between the board and the brace that i dremeled out, or between the HD and the back side of the case...the IDE connectors actually sit tucked behind the rail a bit...i'll give it a shot though and see what happens...either way my IDE cables won't be very long...i'm trying to get a hold of the shortest ones i can...it's gonna be hard to hide anything in this case...lol

and yes....mmmmmm dually...i'm basically transplanting what's in my chieftec case to this one, so it'll be folding 24/7 for Team 33...wouldn't have it any other way!
 
they can fit i got 4 hdds in that thing with the ide faceing backwards the back pannel is a bitch to put on but it fits :)
 
oh don't worry...that's not the PS i'm using...most likely i'll have everything shortened and sleeved...possibly making my own modular PS...it's an idea...but i need at least 500 watts to keep this system happy...550 just to be safe...
 
i know i know, it's been a few days, but i finally have a minor update

my stuff from Xoxide arrived! TT X-ray, 2 bottles of bawls and a UV Lazer LED kit...

When i went for the keyswitch mod i neglected to take account of the depth of the switch...i had to dremel through my chassis and HD cage to feed the switch and wires straight through...minor oops...lol

test fitted the case with the X-ray in place and it doesn't interfere with anything, which is good. however i'm not sure which bay to place it in. i cannot place optical drives in the lowest bay, but if i put it there i'll have to remove my drink whenever i change a cd...if i put it in the top bay, that leaves only 1 slot for a optical drive since i can't use the lower one due to RAM slot interference...which means i'd need a good combo drive (DVD+/-RW) if i went that route...but to me it kinda makes sense to put it in the top bay....that's where i'm leaning at this point...

i think my next purchase is going to be a power supply and related modding materials. the ATX and P4 connectors have to be shortened a great amount and i might take the time to modularize it as well...stay tuned!
 
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