Thermal Take Core V1 side panel mod/fix

[Bitter]

I'm in need of a little brainstorming help here. I've crammed an RX 580 Red Devil into my Core V1 mini ITX case and while it does fit (barely), it sits extremely close to the side panel. The side panel has hex perforations for airflow so the card fans have access to fresh air easily, which is nice. However because the fan blades sit so close to the hex pattern it creates a lot of extra fan noise when they spin up faster, makes the thing about twice as loud as no panel on. Of course I hate running a computer without a panel on it and worry about things bumping or damaging the card fans because I can be a little clumsy.

So my original idea was to cut out the hex and install 2 120MM wire fire grills, but the hex section of the panel isn't quite the size of 2x 120mm fans and with how the panel slots into the case at the front edge there can't be screw or rivet protruding. My second idea was this...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153481648402

A speaker grill. The spacing of the mounting holes is fairly close to the size I need, having the bars spaced away from the case and graphics card will stop any additional fan noise from being generated, but I'm just not sure how it'll look. I normally don't care but this 'little cube that could' is a PC I'm trying to build to look nice, perform well, and be something I can be proud of instead of something just slap-dashed together till it works.

 

I'd enjoy some opinions and thoughts on the bar grill idea and maybe some other ideas I might not have thought of yet too. If someone wanted to photoshop that grill onto the side of the case that could be pretty cool and I can get a photo if someone wanted to try but I'm not expecting that and that's not my request.

[Bitter]

So that grill would be too wide at the mounting holes, I think I found a solution though.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/152051647778

Two or three of those in place of the hex stamped grill in the side panel, yay or nay?

[TVwazhere]

12 hours ago, Bitter said:

So that grill would be too wide at the mounting holes, I think I found a solution though.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/152051647778

Two or three of those in place of the hex stamped grill in the side panel, yay or nay?

Should work. The bars are 6.5" long (same length ans the GPU) but I'm having trouble visualizing it and determining if it looks good or not

[Bitter]

4 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

Should work. The bars are 6.5" long (same length ans the GPU) but I'm having trouble visualizing it and determining if it looks good or not

I think it might look OK, kind of like an old appliance. Even if it's not winning any beauty contests it'll be quieter. I'm going to a hardware store later this week, I'll take the side panel and skulk around there to see what else might work.

I think 3 bars would do it; top, middle, and bottom. I should be able to fit them before cutting anything and see how it looks, I'll post a photo seeking approval from the masses.

Also I can paint them black or red or something to blend or contrast, maybe some LED lights since the card logo is obscured.

[Bitter]

I found it.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Richelieu-Hardware-7-9-16-in-192-mm-Center-to-Center-Chrome-Cabinet-Pull-BP6208192140/302630473

 

That will sit in the holes already in the panel so I can try without cutting to get an idea of how it looks.

[Bitter]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Richelieu-Hardware-7-9-16-in-192-mm-Center-to-Center-Brushed-Nickel-Functional-Drawer-Pull-BP6211192195/301382617

 

Ordered 3 of those, I'll see how they look and maybe order 3 more for the other side for symmetry. Then maybe I'll do the same thing in the back as fan guards too if it looks cool. I haven't done much case modding lately so I hope this turns out.

[Bitter]

Well they came, they look nice though they're a glossy finish over brushed finish which I wasn't expecting. I need to cut the screws down shorter to bolt them on and the screw holes JUST barely misalign with the holes already in the case but it'll be easy to dremel them a little wider in a couple spots. I'll bolt them on and get some photos later tomorrow or during the week. For now they're sitting on top of the case over the window...and I kind of dig the look. Honestly I may get a couple longer ones for actual grab handles, not that I'll ever take the computer anywhere.

[Bitter]

I'm also planning to swap the blue power indicator for a red one, I assume these would work fine? They're on a little circuit board of their own which I believe has the resistors and what not needed for them. https://www.amazon.com/microtivity-IL011-5mm-Diffused-Pack/dp/B004J2JG6O/

I really don't like the blue shining at me, I may swap the LED's in my HTPC case to red as well as my M-Audio speakers.

[Bitter]

@TVwazhere

First up, 3 bars spaced for a 4th bar at the bottom. I'm afraid 4 bars would look too busy but I don't know how to finish the edge of the sheet metal if I cut it along the hex parts and leave screen at the bottom edge. The 4th bar would be just for looks and not actually covering the card at all. I think I can cut the steel by using a Dremel cut off disc to cut the connecting points at the edge of the next hex to leave a saw toothed edge but I'm not sure if there's a better approach.

 

And here's 3 spaced out for just 3. Protects the card the least and the spacing is too wide looking for me I think. Still the issue remains of cutting the hex out and having a nicely finished edge. I know for round fan holes you just cover the edge with car door edge guard material but I'm not sure what would look good here.

 

So I'm soliciting suggestions on finishing the metal edge once it's been cut.

 

 

 

Also, these things are freaking heavy! You can see in the second photo (which was the first I took) how they bowed the panel a little bit. This case is fairly flimsy steel so there's NO way I could grab these handles to transport it with. The 3 bars together weigh about 1/2 what the case does I think!

[TVwazhere]

17 hours ago, Bitter said:

@TVwazhere

-big snip-

Also, these things are freaking heavy! You can see in the second photo (which was the first I took) how they bowed the panel a little bit. This case is fairly flimsy steel so there's NO way I could grab these handles to transport it with. The 3 bars together weigh about 1/2 what the case does I think!

I'm not too surprised about the weight, most side panels are really light especially when they've had 45% of the material cut out for vent holes/motherboard cutouts. I fell like the completely spaced out option is best only because if you only cut out 80% of the hexagon pattern it might look weird (also would be hard to clean up afterwards in terms of not making it sharp, bent or look out of place) If you care more about function than aesthetic, then the top option is definitely the way to go. 

 

I'm not familiar with I/O electronics, but if the LED is the same type as the one you posted (meaning housed in a separate bulb with leads coming off it) then it should be good to use. Also I'm a complete dumbass and forgot to move this over to Case Modding and Other Mods (because there are good people in that sub thread who can offer good advice for this project), so...

 

-Moved to Case Modding and other Mods-

[Bitter]

4 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

I'm not too surprised about the weight, most side panels are really light especially when they've had 45% of the material cut out for vent holes/motherboard cutouts. I fell like the completely spaced out option is best only because if you only cut out 80% of the hexagon pattern it might look weird (also would be hard to clean up afterwards in terms of not making it sharp, bent or look out of place) If you care more about function than aesthetic, then the top option is definitely the way to go. 

 

I'm not familiar with I/O electronics, but if the LED is the same type as the one you posted (meaning housed in a separate bulb with leads coming off it) then it should be good to use. Also I'm a complete dumbass and forgot to move this over to Case Modding and Other Mods (because there are good people in that sub thread who can offer good advice for this project), so...

 

-Moved to Case Modding and other Mods-

Oh I didn't even know we had that sub forum, I should have looked more closely before making my thread. Thank you!

 

[TVwazhere]

35 minutes ago, Bitter said:

Oh I didn't even know we had that sub forum, I should have looked more closely before making my thread. Thank you!

It's a deep scroll through the fourm so it sometimes gets overlooked  

[W-L]

Looks pretty good you should blacken the metal or give it a weathered appearance. Kind of has that old time aesthetic in my eyes. 

[Bitter]

1 hour ago, W-L said:

Looks pretty good you should blacken the metal or give it a weathered appearance. Kind of has that old time aesthetic in my eyes. 

I know next to nothing about finishing techniques, any suggestions? I was expecting them to be matte to be honest.

[W-L]

1 hour ago, Bitter said:

I know next to nothing about finishing techniques, any suggestions? I was expecting them to be matte to be honest.

If you want to keep the silver look you can use a matte clear coat to go over the handles. If you want that worn or used black metal type finish for tools or firearms you can get cold blue as long as those handles are bare steel or nickel plating.

[Bitter]

1 hour ago, W-L said:

If you want to keep the silver look you can use a matte clear coat to go over the handles. If you want that worn or used black metal type finish for tools or firearms you can get cold blue as long as those handles are bare steel or nickel plating.

Hmmm. I think perhaps more thought is needed on the aesthetic end of things, but for now I just want functional. Matte finish sounds like it could be the thing since the rest of the case isn't glossy. Maybe a hammer finish paint would go well?

Any insight about swapping the blue power indicator LED for a red one like I linked?

My fan hub came so I can hook up all the case fans to the one fan header that this H87 board has for case fan. I may delete the 120mm side fan as that was a stop gap while waiting for the 2x 80mm rears.

[W-L]

32 minutes ago, Bitter said:

Hmmm. I think perhaps more thought is needed on the aesthetic end of things, but for now I just want functional. Matte finish sounds like it could be the thing since the rest of the case isn't glossy. Maybe a hammer finish paint would go well?

Any insight about swapping the blue power indicator LED for a red one like I linked?

My fan hub came so I can hook up all the case fans to the one fan header that this H87 board has for case fan. I may delete the 120mm side fan as that was a stop gap while waiting for the 2x 80mm rears.

Hammer finished paint should do well, it will require some primer to adhere properly to the bare metal.

 

As for the LED you should have no issues swapping it out, depending on the currently LED it may require a resistor inline to ensure it doesn't burn out prematurely since red LED's require less voltage than blue or white.

[Bitter]

30 minutes ago, W-L said:

Hammer finished paint should do well, it will require some primer to adhere properly to the bare metal.

 

As for the LED you should have no issues swapping it out, depending on the currently LED it may require a resistor inline to ensure it doesn't burn out prematurely since red LED's require less voltage than blue or white.

I'll measure voltage at the back of the current LED and see what it's getting, it's on a small circuit board but through hole isn't a problem for me.

[Bitter]

There are 4 bars! (Trekkies will get it)

 

I think 4 is just right, now to cut sheet metal grill out....