HP Pavilion Revamp: Plan B

[QueenDemetria]

My story:

I hate to say this, but I actually enjoyed my HP Pavilion(p6210f). That is, until the true HP feeling kicked in. I'm not sure why, but owning a HP is like a high school relationship. Its fun, cute, and starts off great, but then your partner does something to set you off and it all goes down hill from there. I did some bad things, the computer did some bad things, it just wasn't working out for us(lol). The great thing about computers though is that unlike a high school relationship, a screwdriver and patience can solve all of the problems....at least most of them. 

 

My Goal:

Honestly my biggest problem with my computer is the motherboard. Its just bad, that's the best way to describe it. The power supply also needs to be replaced, its been making a weird “humming” sound under load. I would also like to switch out my storage device for a real SSD/HDD setup, the RAM drive is fun to mess with but not practical for a daily usage computer. Pretty much I just want to make this a better PC with only using parts from previous PC's and to get some experience with painting and cutting metal(with a die grinder). 

 

CPU: Athlon II X4 620 at 2.6Ghz

Motherboard: Pegatron M2N78-LA

RAM: 2x 512Mb Hynix + 2x 2048Mb Kingston LP

PSU: 300w LiteON Genric OEM (PS-5301-08HA)   

Storage: ACard ANS-9010 w/ 32Gb of Crucial RAM, 64Gb Adtron, LG Super-Multi DVD+/-RW

Case: 2009 era HP base model 

GPU: Integrated Geforce 9100 Chipset(8 Cuda cores, 256Mb DDR2 128 bit, unknown clock speeds)

 

CPU: Athlon II X4 620 at 3.1+Ghz

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H

RAM: 4x 2048Mb Kingston LP / 4x 4096Mb Crucial

PSU: 600w OCZ Technology (OCZGXS600)

Storage: 1Tb WD Black, 160Gb WD White drive(OEM), 32Gb Gmonster SSD, 64Gb Adtron

Case: 2009 era HP base model w/ mods and re-paint

GPU: Galaxy 9500 gt (I should note: I will be using a 550 ti in this computer for a while, until I can fix the pump in my main rig).

 

Before I get too far, here it is in all of its glory:

And yes I have been using it without its front panel. Why? Well the RAM drive barely fit, but since this case has poor airflow the RAM drive also over heated. My solution was to turn the drive up side down and use a Evercool Fox-3 blower fan to give it some air flow. This came at a cost, since the blower fan got in the way of the front panel, so I chose the easiest option that prevented my PC from catching on fire(joking of course).

The RAM drive wasn't the only thing that overheated, the Geforce 9100 chipset did too. Here were the idle temps without modifications:

I tried adding a 40mm fan , but it was too loud and too ineffective. I came up with a genius idea: why not use long standoffs and mount a 80mm fan. The fan was silent, and the temps were much better(still concerning though):

and here is the mod:

This does come at a cost though, and its that I cant mount a GPU since the fan is in the way, so I figure swapping out the motherboard will solve two problems. 

 

To kick this thing off, I have already torn apart my machine and test fitted most of the components, but now its time to put my die grinder to use. Can anybody guess what I am planning?:

Note: At the top corner I have already started cutting.

 

 

@Frankie

@Mujteba

@terrytek

@AlexStriz

@MyInnerFred

@Subduck

@dr_deconstruct

@hypnodog

@DildorTheDecent

@QuadCore

[TheSLSAMG]

Must follow, must see where this goes

[DildorTheDecent]

You should dip the mobo Hot Pink. 

 

Also try and put the tags in a line. I have followed though. 

[Johannes_Lazor]

DIY, Does it exist anything better?

[Fred Castellum]

Oh experience with painting and cutting could help with future builds indeed.

[CM7]

Looks pretty clean for having a open case and a fan by it can't wait to see what you do with it.

[Frankie]

This is going to be interesting

 

[Smooth Bunz]

YAY!!!! This gone be good 

[Decon]

Tag didn't work

 

Very excited to see where this goes

[AlexStriz]

Tags didnt work for me.. oh well, still found it

 

That HP-highschool analogy though.. best thing I've ever heard

 

Cant wait to see how this turns out. Le subbed!

[Subduck]

That looks exactly like my old pc before i built my gaming rig Hope this turns out well

[QueenDemetria]

You should dip the mobo Hot Pink. 

 

Also try and put the tags in a line. I have followed though. 

I would, but that's too much work for this project and I want to keep it blue. I'll do two pink builds later on though Also I have plans for the old motherboard, it might involve dipping it in oil, for science .

 

DIY, Does it exist anything better?

Its pretty hard to beat, but I'm sure Demi Lovato and chocolate is better, lol.

 

Oh experience with painting and cutting could help with future builds indeed.

Yep, which is why I am "testing" with this POS case lol. My painting skills aren't too bad(I just have to work on my patience), but my cutting skills are pretty rough(which you will see in the next set of pictures lol).

 

Looks pretty clean for having a open case and a fan by it can't wait to see what you do with it.

Yeah, I am a clean freak lol. I hate seeing dust in PC's

 

That HP-highschool analogy though.. best thing I've ever heard

Lol, I was hoping someone would notice When I was thinking of things to write, it just came to mind and I was like "perfect", lol.

[QueenDemetria]

Welp, my project will be delayed for a bit. About half way through cutting a hole in the front of my case, my air compressor decided that it also wanted to function as a smoke machine, so now I cant do any cutting or painting. I'll have to take my compressor back tonight but I'll probably upgrade to something like this: http://www.harborfreight.com/8-gal-2-HP-125-PSI-Oil-Lube-Air-Compressor-68740.html#pr-header-back-to-top-link

 

In the meantime though I'm thinking about what colors I should paint my PC. I'm thinking either blue and black or white and gold. Actually it doesn't matter what color I paint it, because people will just argue that its another color. Lol, I keed, but I am painting it blue and light blue, I'm just not sure how yet. I made this last night and I'm leaning towards the right one, but they both look good IMO:

[Frankie]

That's a shame about the compressor, oh well. I like the dark blue, I would probably did it just in dark blue/black 

 

Btw did you do the concept in a photoshop or elsewhere ? It looks really well done.

[QueenDemetria]

 

Btw did you do the concept in a photoshop or elsewhere ? It looks really well done.

Thanks I used gimp to change the colors. This is the original image:

[hypnodog]

I love the dark blue

[AlexStriz]

In the meantime though I'm thinking about what colors I should paint my PC. I'm thinking either blue and black or white and gold. Actually it doesn't matter what color I paint it, because people will just argue that its another color. Lol, I keed, but I am painting it blue and light blue, I'm just not sure how yet. I made this last night and I'm leaning towards the right one, but they both look good IMO:

~~

 

LOL.

 

If anything, I'm following this thread not for the build, but for the jokes

 

Anyways, I like the idea of white and gold. Maybe all white and some gold trim? Make it look really high end IMO. Or black with some light blue trim? That would look really cool too. Of the two edited pictures you posted, I like the right one. Light blue > dark blue

[Mujteba]

Hey @QueenDemetria what kind of cutting tool are you using that requires a compressor? I thought you were doing it with a dremel really.

 

Also Dark Blue one looks real mad!

[flibberdipper]

Sexy. Also, left pic looks better IMO.

[Benjals]

snip bruh

 

I think the one on left looks best!

[QueenDemetria]

LOL.

 

If anything, I'm following this thread not for the build, but for the jokes

 

Anyways, I like the idea of white and gold. Maybe all white and some gold trim? Make it look really high end IMO. Or black with some light blue trim? That would look really cool too. Of the two edited pictures you posted, I like the right one. Light blue > dark blue

Lol, I have enough paint to do the entire case white, but I want to leave it black.

 

Hey @QueenDemetria what kind of cutting tool are you using that requires a compressor? I thought you were doing it with a dremel really.

 

Also Dark Blue one looks real mad!

I'm using a die grinder with arbor and 3" cutting wheel. Its not the most ideal tool for precision work, but it gets the job done I guess

 

Sexy. Also, left pic looks better IMO.

Thanks, I hope it turns out like the pictures lol. I haven't decided what paint scheme I want to go with, but they are both good IMO. I'm just butthurt that I wasn't able to get pink lol

[Subduck]

I haven't decided what paint scheme I want to go with, but they are both good IMO.

 

Personally i would go with the dark blue. It looks much better. And if you want to you can always theme the build to that colour and it would look awesome.

 

[QueenDemetria]

One thing that has always irked me about this case was its terrible airflow. It wasn't an issue with its stock configuration, but with a overclocked Athlon and Fermi based nVidia card planned, I don't want to have another fireball with this project. My solution? Cut a huge hole and mount a fan  

The area I masked off was roughly the size of a 120mm fan, but the entire thing had to go since it was a funky shape. 4 cuts, 2 compressors, and a whole lot of hours later, and I ended up with this:

And tomorrow I hope to end up with something like this:

I need to clean up the edges and drill some holes, but after I add the fan mount I should be ready to install all of the components. The front panel still needs some paint and I have something special planned for the side panel, but those can wait for now(I reaaaaly need a PC to game on, I cant stand my Xbox).

 

And if you are wondering where I am going to mount my HDD's since I cut off the mount today, stay tuned  B).

[Frankie]

And if you are wondering where I am going to mount my HDD's since I cut off the mount today, stay tuned  B).

 

I am smelling some ghetto brackets.

 

Don't question my sense of smell !

[QueenDemetria]

I am smelling some ghetto brackets.

 

Don't question my sense of smell !

I won't say too much, but my brackets are pretty cool.