Got a New Case!

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Thank you Jeannie.

Did you know DEMCIflex will make custom shape/size filters?

Custom Filters

Yes but I don't want the magnetic ones and that's all they sell. I checked with them to see if they would sell me just the filter material but they said no so I will have to buy the cheapest filters they have that have enough material for my needs, then cut the material out of the filter.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I had a busy day to day running errands but I still managed to find the time to make the braces to reduce the oil canning. I still need to paint them but we have windy weather coming up so I won't get to it for a few days. Sadly, they didn't eliminate the oil canning but they did reduce it dramatically, enough I can live with.

Any way, here 'tis:



I also had to file a notch so the fan cables have a place to sneak out.



In addition to removing the braces for painting, I'll have to tear everything else down so I can install the acoustic foam.

I got my PSU today so I can work out exactly where to mount the fan hub, then get those holes drilled. Then I get to figure how best to get rid of the top fan grill and install the shroud.

 

[Britton30]

Those braces are very pro looking, good job on them. You may need to prime them with zinc-chromate to get paint to stick.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Those braces are very pro looking, good job on them...

Thanks!

...You may need to prime them with zinc-chromate to get paint to stick.

Or a self-etching primer which I just happen to have knocking about. I use a couple of thin coats of self-etching primer, followed by a couple of thin coats of automotive gray primer, then two or three coats of color, in this (pardon the pun) case satin black.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Last night, after making the fan mounted braces, I laid out, drilled, and countersunk four holes in the base of the fan hub before sacking out. Today, I spent five minutes drilling four holes in the bottom of the case; the previous five hours were spent trying to figure out where to put it. To make a long story short, I couldn't use the location I originally wanted to use because it ran into interference with the case feet and, even though I did eventually figure where I could put it in that area, it dawned on me that I would have to remove the hub every time I wanted to remove the PSU. One of the reasons I'm moving my computer to this case is I wanted to avoid having to remove things to be able to remove other things. I could have put the hub on the back panel but it would have been a farther reach for me to get to the hub to remove and plug in the fan cables whenever I removed and replaced the side panel. I also didn't want to have the nuts for the mounting screws showing back there. I finally decided to reroute the fan wires to the other side of the fans and move the hub several inches forward. I had to remove the braces and fan filters on the side panel to get to a fan so I could remove and remount it. I then put one of the braces back on—the one with the notch for the fan wires—so I could make sure the fan cables would reach the hub in the new location I finally settled on (which is much closer to the front and is easier to reach). That one was also a bit tricky to find because I had to play dodgem with the PSU retaining bracket and the third HDD cage. The cables easily reached so I went ahead and finished removing all the fans and filters so I can later put on the acoustic foam (I'm too pooped to do it tonight).

After drilling the holes (finally), I riveted the plate I cut from a HDD cage to the bottom of the 5.25" cage and checked the fit of the HDD cages under it. They fit (yay!). I then used some snips to roughly cut the grill from the top panel by snipping across the webs between the holes around the edge of the grill. It looks as rough as a cob but the purpose was just to get it out of my way so I can do some more careful surgery later (as in tomorrow or Monday; I'm pooped). Sorry, no pictures. There wasn't anything spectacular to see.

 

[smarteyeball]

I know the DEMCIfilters, got a few of the magnetic ones for my old black case a while back.. Highly recommended.

They are good filters. They look great and are very easy to clean. But they are very restrictive in the air flow department. I had a set on my old HAF -932.


However it really doesn't matter since it barely affects load temps which are the only thing that counts.

Idle temps were up to 10c higher across components, but load temp differences were minimal.


And nice modding work LGF.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I know the DEMCIfilters, got a few of the magnetic ones for my old black case a while back.. Highly recommended.

They are good filters. They look great and are very easy to clean. But they are very restrictive in the air flow department. I had a set on my old HAF -932.


However it really doesn't matter since it barely affects load temps which are the only thing that counts.

Idle temps were up to 10c higher across components, but load temp differences were minimal.


And nice modding work LGF.

Thanks, Patrick!

With six fans on this case (one 200mm and two 140mm intakes and three 140mm exhaust, all PWM connected to the MOBO), I should be able to compensate for the airflow restrictions of the DEMCIfilter filter material, even as some dust starts to build up on them. And it's much easier to clean filters than it is to clean a case.

Edit: I saw somewhere that DEMCIfilter claims their filters restrict airflow 20%. I assume that's before they get dusty.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Before I sacked out last night, I laid out all the holes for the acoustic foam for the left side panel and cut out the fan holes, then checked the fit. The fan hole cutouts are a bit undersized but I'm going to wait until I have the fans reinstalled to do the final trim.

I got up at a decent hour this morning but felt like I didn't get my nap out so, after a few hours, I went back to bed for another three hours. I'm feeling much wider awake now but I'm still achy from the last couple of days and my allergies and sinuses are driving me nuts so I'm just taking it easy for now. I did go ahead and cover the inside of the right side panel with acoustic foam and punched the fan screw clearance holes on the left side panel. I'll have to make another Ace Hardware run Tuesday to get a 1/2" punch for the clearance holes for the nuts that secure the fan filters (I have a bunch of leather working punches but 1/4" is the largest I have).

I got lucky on the right side panel acoustic foam. I thought I was going to have to use three sheets of the expensive stuff to cover both panels but I found that I could just barely cover each panel from one carefully cut and spliced sheet. There is a tiny gap along one side but that's not enough to be significant, especially when compared to the areas that can't be covered very well.

Here's the right side panel:



If you look hard, you can just barely see the splice on the left side of the photo (it's more obvious in real life).

This is the topside of the foam for the left panel...



...and this is the sticky side.



In this shot, I've gone ahead and punched the 1/4" fan screw clearance holes.



It wasn't until I was looking at the photos that I noticed that I punched one hole in the wrong place (see if you can figure out where). The clearance holes for the nuts that secure the filter bases need to be 1/2" and I punched one of them 1/4" instead of punching the one next to it. I went back and punched the correct 1/4" hole but I will have to wait until I can get a 1/2" punch to fix the mispunched one. Once the 1/2" holes are punched, I can install the foam and reinstall the fans, filters, and, hopefully, the painted braces (when I can paint them depends on outside temperatures and wind).

 

[NoN]

Nice overall work Lady! You don't make yourself a rest on this job

 

[Britton30]

Right?

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Nice overall work Lady! You don't make yourself a rest on this job

Thanks, Nonny.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

View attachment 317511
Right?

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner. Actually, it's in the right place; I just punched it too small. The one I should have punched is just below and slightly left it. All will be good once I lay my grubby little hands on a 1/2" punch.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I woke up a little after 3AM with a mild hot flash (I would like to "meet" the MAN who named them hot FLASHES!) and couldn't get back to sleep so, once I got the old carcass limbered up, I hung up the two fan braces and the 200mm front grill outside and spent the rest of the morning painting them. After the last coat of color went on, I made an Ace Hardware run to get some nuts, washers, and a 1/2" punch. The biggest punch they had was 3/8". So, after collecting my mail (including some spare case parts I ordered from Corsair), I went back toward home to where there is a Tandy Leather close to my home...er...where it used to be. It turned out they had moved to the other side of town. So, I ran (actually, drove) across town and got the punch.

After a late lunch and visiting a bit with the neighbors, I punched out the 1/2" holes in the acoustic foam for the side panel, installed the foam, then installed the fans on top of the foam.





Then came the filter bases...



...and then the filter tops.



Here is the inside view with the foam.



I won't be able to install the braces for a week or two until the paint has had enough time to dry completely. I also need to get some black fan connectors to replace those ugly white ones.

The next step will be to finish cutting out the top grill and install the fan shroud—I'm not looking forward to that—then I can start cutting, punching, and installing the acoustic foam in the case. I should be able to install the PSU, fans, and fan hub after that.

I've also decided to make a shroud to cover the entire PSU and the cables coming out of the PSU. The PSU has this big, ugly sticker on top of the case and I can't remove it without voiding the warranty because it has the model and serial number on it (mutter, mutter, mumble, mumble). Since I can't remove it, I'll just cover it. I'm going to secure it to the PSU with 1/8" x 1" magnetic tape, which just happens to be the thickness I need to shim the cover away from the top of the PSU to clear one of the retention brackets. I need to get a sheet of aluminum to make the shroud with (forgot to grab some while I was at Ace Hardware today).

 

[Britton30]

Looks very well done Jeannie.
Weren't they to be intake fans?
http://www.sevenforums.com/pc-custom-builds-overclocking/329300-got-new-case-2.html#post2771945

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Looks very well done Jeannie.
Weren't they to be intake fans?
http://www.sevenforums.com/pc-custom-builds-overclocking/329300-got-new-case-2.html#post2771945

Son of a... Yes, they are supposed to be intakes. Some day it doesn't pay to get out of bed. Sigh! I'm off to get the tools to remove and flip the flippin' fans.

 

[Britton30]

Maybe you need new thermal paste to cool the flashes.

I've installed many fans backwards myself. Better to find it now though.

 

[DocBrown]

I have had trouble getting intake & exhaust fans mounted the correct way so I put on my reading glasses & use a magnifying glass to find the little direction arrow on one of the sides of the fan. Then I color it with a black Sharpie, unless the fan case is black, then white nail polish.

 

[Britton30]

The best way I found it that the air always blows in the direction of the motor supports on the fan. At least all the fans I've seen so far.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Thanks, Gary! That was a good catch! Like you said, better to catch it now. What really bites my ample asset (besides tall dogs with poor taste) is I know darn well which way the fans are suppose to go. And these fans are easy because the leading edge of the fan blades have chrome colored stripes on them. Anywho, it's fixed now. I'll have to look into changing my TIM for the hot anything-but-flashes.

 

[Layback Bear]

Thank you all because now I feel better.
I'm not the only one that has installed a fan backwards.
Lady you new build is looking very nice.