I'd like to build my own pc case.

[Asaltnad0]

Anything I should be careful of or anything that one has to have?

[Juular]

Just don't forget about the pads insulating a PSU from the case.

[amdorintel]

31 minutes ago, Asaltnad0 said:

Anything I should be careful of or anything that one has to have?

buy the absolute cheapest case materials there are

 

so you can can spend more money on more important components, like ram, cpu, mobo, gpu, psu.

[Juular]

First of all, what are you trying to accomplish ? It's just for fun or you have some specific usecase ?

[Hugh54321]

You need a grinder, a drill, a hole saw, riveter, a grandad/father/uncle. Get a cheap or free case and chop off everything but the motherboard mounts and PCI mounts. Some old cases from the 90s were made with thick steel and you can get one for almost free.

[Bombastinator]

I got another option if you like quiet cases:  wood.  Specifically that really cheap and nasty particle board they make ikea furniture out of.  the stuff that has air pockets in it.

 

-cheap

-easy to work

-non conductive

-one of the most acoustically dead substances that exists.  It’s why they make speaker enclosures out of it.

 

tools:

-electric drill (It will need some hutzpah.  Corded maybe. Yo need to be able to drive screw thread inserts and screws but also run that big hole saw)

-hole saw for the size of fans you want (this will be expensive. Big hole saws are.  You’ll only want to buy one)

-miter saw or table saw, or hand saw and mitre box (you need 45deg. Corners the edges of this stiff suck)

-clamps (not C clamps.  Strap clamps or bar clamps.  Something with length)

 

if you want to get really really hardcore about a quiet case line the inside of the thing with loop pile rubber backed carpeting.  The thing will be so heavy it will need two guys to move, but there will be minimum noise.  You actually cannot buy a case this quiet anywhere.  They have to be built.

[mr moose]

Why do you want to build one?  price, design or just for the fun of it?

What material do you want to use and want tools do you have?

[Asaltnad0]

Thanks for all the replies. @Hugh54321 Lol uncle grandpa. @Juular More of just a project I've already built pcs I was just curious for things like psu insulation or anything that isnt obvious. Of course a drill manual labor required or I might just print it out:). Like I said just doing it for fun I work with metal alot so I figure why not build my own custom case. @mr moose design efficiency and for fun. I've seen some cool wood builds and I'll actually be making a mock up out of thin wood.

 

[Juular]

45 minutes ago, Asaltnad0 said:

psu insulation or anything that isnt obvious

That was as joke lol (The Verge build guide). PSU needs to be grounded to the case (or rather the other way around), not insulated from it.

[Asaltnad0]

@Juular your such a jerk haha so funny big shot no really that was funny. Really appreciate It gotcha I figured as much thank you.  My mobo also has a io shield built in to it. So other than measuring cutting and building it anything else you could think of? 

[Asaltnad0]

2 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

I got another option if you like quiet cases:  wood.  Specifically that really cheap and nasty particle board they make ikea furniture out of.  the stuff that has air pockets in it.

 

-cheap

-easy to work

-non conductive

-one of the most acoustically dead substances that exists.  It’s why they make speaker enclosures out of it.

 

tools:

-electric drill (It will need some hutzpah.  Corded maybe. Yo need to be able to drive screw thread inserts and screws but also run that big hole saw)

-hole saw for the size of fans you want (this will be expensive. Big hole saws are.  You’ll only want to buy one)

-miter saw or table saw, or hand saw and mitre box (you need 45deg. Corners the edges of this stiff suck)

-clamps (not C clamps.  Strap clamps or bar clamps.  Something with length)

 

if you want to get really really hardcore about a quiet case line the inside of the thing with loop pile rubber backed carpeting.  The thing will be so heavy it will need two guys to move, but there will be minimum noise.  You actually cannot buy a case this quiet anywhere.  They have to be built.

You can use tape that if for plugging holes in the round air ducts in houses. (the shiny tube in your actic) the tape is so much cheaper than anything else that cuts noise. It sounds weird but I've done it my self compared it to some leading noise cancelling matting.

[Nuklearfire]

4 hours ago, amdorintel said:

buy the absolute cheapest case materials there are

 

so you can can spend more money on more important components, like ram, cpu, mobo, gpu, psu.

I dont agree with this coment, because if the material breaks or deformed you can even break your expensive Hardware

[Bombastinator]

14 minutes ago, Asaltnad0 said:

You can use tape that if for plugging holes in the round air ducts in houses. (the shiny tube in your actic) the tape is so much cheaper than anything else that cuts noise. It sounds weird but I've done it my self compared it to some leading noise cancelling matting.

One of the rules of effective noise cancelation is plug all cracks.  I suspect to make that tape work one would have to do an airtight taping over the fan holes.

That can’t exactly be done with a pc case.  It’s the airflow thing.  The best that can be accomplished is absorption.  That’s what the rubber backed carpeting and the particle board do.  Every time sound goes through a layer from one material to the next (including air) it loses energy.  The idea behind the particle board is it’s lots of layers.  Air, wood, glue, back and forth again.  With the carpeting the hairs of the carpet form accoustic channels that turn sound into tiny motions of the hairs. Then there’s the rubber backing.  It’s this big heavy blob on the soundscape. Sound that goes out through the fan holes goes out.  It’s not noise canceling.a better job can be accomplished by putting a barrier in front for the sound but force the air around.  This is why a lot of quiet cases are side front airflow.  There’s sound deadening material on the inside of the front of the case.

[Hugh54321]

6 hours ago, Juular said:

Just don't forget about the pads insulating a PSU from the case.

Isn't the PSU electrically connected to the case via it's mounting bracket and screws?

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, Hugh54321 said:

Isn't the PSU electrically connected to the case via it's mounting bracket and screws?

I assumed they meant mobo and that the worry was it touching parts of itself that weren’t standoffs you make a good point though.

 

[Hugh54321]

59 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

I assumed they meant mobo and that the worry was it touching parts of itself that weren’t standoffs you make a good point though.

 

i hope @Juular can clarify. Im gonna gut a case myself and turn it into a workbench for copying hard drives.

[Juular]

1 hour ago, Bombastinator said:

I assumed they meant mobo and that the worry was it touching parts of itself that weren’t standoffs you make a good point though.

 

 

31 minutes ago, Hugh54321 said:

i hope @Juular can clarify. Im gonna gut a case myself and turn it into a workbench for copying hard drives.

 

5 hours ago, Juular said:

That was as joke lol (The Verge build guide). PSU needs to be grounded to the case (or rather the other way around), not insulated from it.

 

[Hugh54321]

3 minutes ago, Juular said:

6 hours ago, Juular said:

That was as joke lol (The Verge build guide). PSU needs to be grounded to the case (or rather the other way around), not insulated from it.

 

I forgot about that. It went down the memory hole. I'm gonna look to see if anyone has parodied them.

[Juular]

2 minutes ago, Hugh54321 said:

I forgot about that. It went down the memory hole. I'm gonna look to see if anyone has parodied them.

Well, not exactly a parody but there's this supercut of reaction videos :

 

[Asaltnad0]

9 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

One of the rules of effective noise cancelation is plug all cracks.  I suspect to make that tape work one would have to do an airtight taping over the fan holes.

That can’t exactly be done with a pc case.  It’s the airflow thing.  The best that can be accomplished is absorption.  That’s what the rubber backed carpeting and the particle board do.  Every time sound goes through a layer from one material to the next (including air) it loses energy.  The idea behind the particle board is it’s lots of layers.  Air, wood, glue, back and forth again.  With the carpeting the hairs of the carpet form accoustic channels that turn sound into tiny motions of the hairs. Then there’s the rubber backing.  It’s this big heavy blob on the soundscape. Sound that goes out through the fan holes goes out.  It’s not noise canceling.a better job can be accomplished by putting a barrier in front for the sound but force the air around.  This is why a lot of quiet cases are side front airflow.  There’s sound deadening material on the inside of the front of the case.

Actually sound is vibration so you would line the inside of your case and any sound inside you case gets absorbed and trapped in the pc. The tape has nothing to do with fans or air it's just what they use for ac ducts.

[Bombastinator]

3 minutes ago, Asaltnad0 said:

Actually sound is vibration so you would line the inside of your case and any sound inside you case gets absorbed and trapped in the pc. The tape has nothing to do with fans or air it's just what they use for ac ducts.

Umm... that’s not how it works in buildings.  There are two(2) ways to deal with sound.  Block it or absorb it.  Tape, and the way you described applying that tape sounds like blocking.  You’re saying this special tape is exceptionally sound absorbing?

[Asaltnad0]

32 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Umm... that’s not how it works in buildings.  There are two(2) ways to deal with sound.  Block it or absorb it.  Tape, and the way you described applying that tape sounds like blocking.  You’re saying this special tape is exceptionally sound absorbing?

Umm we arent talking about buildings and I'm not gonna argue with you when I know it works. I'm not saying that what you said is wrong about plugging holes, but for a pc that doesnt work really. 

All noise is vibration right?

 By blocking sound do you mean absorb redirect ect... what I said before wasnt that this tape was special. What I said was that you can use this as a cheaper solution than other noise damping materials. Look at how much dynomat is compares to it per foot.I've used this in cars to the inside my house for my game room. If you dont believe me try it your self. Either way this thread wasnt made for sound I've never had a issue with noise hint hint . 

[PriitM]

On 12/4/2019 at 8:12 AM, Asaltnad0 said:

Anything I should be careful of or anything that one has to have?

What do you want to have?

 

I built 3 different cases from plywood. Also am proficient in lateral thinking and CAD softwares...so take that as you would for experience

[Bombastinator]

15 hours ago, Asaltnad0 said:

Umm we arent talking about buildings and I'm not gonna argue with you when I know it works. I'm not saying that what you said is wrong about plugging holes, but for a pc that doesnt work really. 

All noise is vibration right?

 By blocking sound do you mean absorb redirect ect... what I said before wasnt that this tape was special. What I said was that you can use this as a cheaper solution than other noise damping materials. Look at how much dynomat is compares to it per foot.I've used this in cars to the inside my house for my game room. If you dont believe me try it your self. Either way this thread wasnt made for sound I've never had a issue with noise hint hint . 

If it’s not about noise it’s not about noise.  I said  at the start the whole point of a particleboard case is about quiet cases.  If a quiet case isn’t an interest there’s no reason to do one that way.

That said I’m unimpressed by dynamat myself though it has its uses.  It’s (relatively) light and thin but pricey.  Rubber backed carpeting is thicker and heavier for what it does, but cheap.

[Hazem El Samad]

I did built a case from PVC pipes and L shape aluminum profiles and acrylic sheet and it turns awesome check it in this link