So you wanna be a Pimp?

Modding isn't what it used to be. In order to stand out from the crowd today it has to be "special"...which contrary to what I just said, is how it has always been. What follows is a little primer in case design that I hope will help you avoid some of the common mistakes...

The error I see most in first timers and old hands alike is what I call a lack of vision. They add a fan that is blue. They paint the case red ( Their Moms/GF/cats favorite color ). Then add some fir inside ( fake fur...it's more PC ). Some red neon's. Then they can't find LED case feet in anything but blue so the use blue case feet. Hmmm...needs something. Cow spots. It's still not right. Paint it green...with flames. You get the point I hope.

My Wife is an Interior decorator < Editors note...we prefer the term Interior DESIGNER. > and she suffers from the same thing when dealing with new clients. They show up with a stack of home decorating Magazines full of little post it note page holders and proceed to show her picture after picture of "rooms they like". Things that don't go together. Things that wouldn't look right in a trailer. The polite word decorators use to describe this condition is "eclectic". My wife can even smile when she says it. How she deals with it also applies to our modding effort. She goes back through the pictures and asks what it is EXACTLY that the person likes about the room. Invariable it is not always the room itself they like, but, some furnishing or wall color...or the view from the windows.

Designers use this process to narrow down and define design goals. In our case, pun intended, what you need to do is go to a site like Virtual-Hideout.net and spend a few hours in the Cool Case Gallery and distill your wants into something that works. In addition to seeing what doesn't work you can't help but find some inspiration.

I tend to start with a theme like the HL2 box. I then run different ideas through a mental filter seeing how each component fits with the theme. Case Modding can be broken down into different sections. Cooling, Lights, Windows etc.. When the theme/idea starts to firm up I then sit down with a CAD program ( pencil and paper works fine too ) and lay it all out. I have clear goals in mind. What follows is a run through using the HL2 box as an example.

 

HL2 Box - Side View

Hl2 Box - Top Flipped Open

HL2 Box - Rear

Theme: Half Life 2

Box Name: HL2

Primary box material: Alum and Plex.

Major color: Orange .

CPU cooling: H2o

Lighting: Yes.

I really do make a little list like that. For me these are RULES. A rule only gets broken with good reason. I then make a less formal list of things I want to try and incorporate. These are less stringent. Here are my actual scratch notes:

Provisions for H2o system maintenance. High point for filling and low point for draining. Without tubing if I can. Multiple light effects. Like UV only mode. Sound activation mode. Theme or "drama" light mode etc.. Mirrored case bottom so it reflects the top of the video card. Avoid the same of a case with a Half Life logo window cut-out and fans in the usual locations. Pay a little tribute to the original Half Life but avoid Counter Strike...HL only. I would like to try and incorporate some bent or curved Plex.

There is more in my notes but you get the idea. I then do a rough sketch...Really a LOT of little sketches till something starts to happen. Don't force it. For me, when I am on the right track it seems to all just flow together. I start my components selection first. The motherboard is selected for performance AND looks. In this case I chose the ABIT IC7 MAX 3 I have been lusting after. It is black and I felt it worked with my theme. I also looked at a silver board from Soyo, but I wanted to polish the case to a mirror finish so I thought too much silver perhaps. I did find an orange tinted board but it was not a good performer.

Next I chose the ASUS Radeon 9800XT because it was a neat orange and an awesome over clocker. I don't like to clutter the box up too much inside so I elected to use the onboard 6 channel sound. I then get the measurements from the Manufactures site and use CAD to start drawing plans to see how it should all go together. By now I can start thinking about my cable runs etc.. As the shape developed I had to abandon the mirror on the bottom of the case because my CD/DVD drive and pump needed to go on there. I really dislike that the more attractive side of your video card is hidden. So I decided to mount my Mobo upside down and make my window on the right.

As it happens that worked better with the HL2 logo also. As the drawings took shape it became apparent that I wasn't going to be able to hack a case into what I needed. The deadline for the contest I was entering was 20 days away and I was going to loose 6 days getting married. I took a long look at fabricating a custom Alum enclosure. I just couldn't resist. It was looking like a winner to me.

I know how hot the Raptor drives can get and wanted to incorporate some cooling. Might as well cool the north bridge and VPU too. I then started drawing up plans for the HD H2o cooler. The problem was that I was going to be doing a window mod on the drives ( what kind of idiot cracks open a BRAND NEW pair of Raptors? ) and what's the point if you cant see them right? Because of the sketches I could niggle things about a bit and the result was the Hard drive cooler being integrated with a reservoir. I think the results speak for themselves.

I try and source all my assorted parts before I start so I limit the surprises down the road. I couldn't find any 120 mm fan grills that I felt worked so I drew it up on the plans and cut it from the case itself. If I had just whacked a big hole up there I would have been forced to use something that wasn't just right. The message here is simple...plan ahead. When I thought I had a finished plan I put it away for a day, then looked at it with a "realistic" eye. I honestly felt that there was just too much there to get done in 14 days. So I simplified it by removing six or seven things that were too time consuming, required special order parts or just had too high a level of complexity. Better to do less with a higher standard of execution.

A few last little points. As a rule design by committee never works. Your never going to be able to please everyone in the group so please yourself. Trying to please everyone is why we got beige boxes in the first place. Simple really is better so know your own limitations...push them, but know them. I am an old guy so I have a shop full of tools that I know how to use safely ( no an eye patch isn't cool ) but there are still things I just cant do for lack of the proper tool.

<< Introduction | An Example >>

Got News? Send 'em in!