Ultimate Case modding GUIDE - Submit your tutorials - Show off your mod!

[megadarkwood]

Hey Guys, welcome to my Case Modding ULTIMATE GUIDE! In this guide I will try to cover almost everything there is to know 

about modding and customizing your PC! Here are some of the things I will cover to the best of my ability (Remember this thread is a work in progress and most likely will never be finished) :

 

• Tools you will need
• Where you can get your materials
• Good sources for help/tutorials
• A basic introduction
• Case modding Techniques
• Customization (LEDs, painting .etc)
• Case modding Basics (Adding windows .etc)
• Case modding Advanced
• Water cooling
• Other
• Show off your mod!
• How to submit your tutorials!

​Explanation about the thread layout:

I though I would add this as my OCD might mess around with the look of this thread...

A large, Centered, Bold, and Underlined text, mean a new Chapter:

Customization

 

Bold, Underlined, Centered text means a start of a new Sub-Chapter:

Sleeving

 

Bold Text mean the start or a new Tutorial (There will be more than one tutorial per topic:

How to sleeve SATA Cables:

 

Here is how it would look:

Customization:

 

Sleeving

 

How to Sleeve SATA Cables:

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Tools/Materials:

 

Tools:

 

Basic tools you will need:

• Safety Glasses or Goggles (Safety First!)
• Rotary tool (Cordless if possible) (With lots of bits)
• Rubber/Latex gloves
• Work Gloves
• Power Drill (Cordless if possible) (With lots of bits)
• Tin Snips
• Power Sander (Sand Paper is fine)
• Riveter

 

Explanation of the tools above (In order) :

• Eye protection from flying debris
• To make precise cuts and cuts in hard to reach positions
• For painting
• For using power tools or sanding
• Drilling holes
• Cutting thin metals where a rotary tool is not needed
• To get rid of metal burs and rough edges
• Connect metal pieces

 

Tools needed for sleeving and painting:

• ATX Pin remover
• Molex pin remover
• Heat gun
• Scissors

 

Explanation of the Tools above (in order) :

• To remove ATX pins (24pin connector .etc)
• To remove Molex pins
• For heat shrink tubing
• To cut everything (Duh)

Materials:

 

Materials you will need for modding (these are what I recommend) :

• Acrylic
• uChannel molding
• MDF Foam (If making a fully custom case)
• Aluminium sheets
• 3M Double sided clear tape (#4010)
• 3M-DINOC Carbon Fiber Wrap
• 3M Scotchprint Film wrap (1080 series) 

   

 

Explanations of the materials above (In order) :

• For windows
• For windows
• To make a rough model of your custom case
• To do almost anything to your case

 

Materials you will need for cable sleeving:

• Sleeving (Paracord is my personal favorite)
• Heat shrink tubing (Regular and SATA)

 

Explanations of the materials above (In order) :

• To sleeve the cables -.-
• To make the ends of the sleeve clean

 

Where to get your materials and tools:

 

Materials:

 

These sites have everything and most of them ship internationally:

http://www.mnpctech.com/

http://www.moddiy.com/

http://www.frozencpu.com/

http://www.mcmaster.com/

http://en.mdpc-x.com/

 

 

 

Tools:

 

• Home Depot
• Lowes
• Canadian Tire

 

Good sources for Tutorials and help:

 

http://www.youtube.com/monstermawd

http://linustechtips.com/main/forum/14-case-modding-and-other-mods/

 

Your own mistakes. The channel above has tips and tricks for modding as there are no set ways for modding your PC Case. Modding your PC takes your creativity and experimentation. Look at pictures of the type of mod you want to do and use your imagination!

 

 

Introduction:

 

Case modification (commonly referred to as case modding where an individual project is referred to as a case mod) is the modification of a computer chassis (often just referred to as the case), or a video game console chassis. Modifying a computer case in any non-standard way is considered a case mod. Modding is done, particularly by hardware enthusiasts, to show off a computer's apparent power by showing off the internal hardware, and also to make it look aesthetically pleasing to the owner

 

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_Modding)

 

Case modding is modding your case. This can mean everything from ghetto-mounting an HDD/SSD to making the case into something so far from the original you can't see they're the same product.

 

PC Customization is making your PC look like what you want it to look like. This can mean anything from cable sleeving to interpreting mods and making the case (or chassis) look like what you want it to look like.

 

Here are a few guide lines to follow when modding/customizing your case:

• Be safe!
• Use your imagination!
• Be creative and come up with your own techniques
• Don't try to copy anyone! Take some ideas but don't do the same! Make the PC truly yours! 

 

Case modding Techniques:

 

Dremel Techniques:

This is my personal Favorite video on this topic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iMiH8wYTDY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Customization:

 

Sleeving:

 

 

 

Lacing:

 

 

I've been asked a few times how I did the lacing for my current builds (here and here),
and I said I'd make a tutorial on that. Well, here it is. Since I'm still a complete
noob when it comes to video processing I'm open for feedback, especially when it
comes to sound quality. I'm using headphones and don't have any speakers available
at the moment, and the sound seems ok, if a bit on the low side. But since audio
experiences can greatly vary for different people feel free to say so and I can
try to fiddle around with it or maybe even re-record it and then reprocess that.

For those who are not familiar with this (such as myself a few months ago): Cable lacing
was used to arrange cables and wires before the advent of zip ties and velcro ties.
If you work in the telecom industry you might have learned this on the job. Nowadays
it's a lot less common due to being quite expensive, although it is still used in
some applications. One of them is spaceflight. Cables on spacecraft are usually
tidied up by lacing them.

The technique I'm using at the moment is not something a professional would
use (at least I don't think so), but an amalgam of different stuff I've found
around, looked at and tried out. It gives me the look I want and does its job
while at the same time not taking up an insane amount of time (unless you do
it with Nylon cord  ;)).

 

 

Original Thread: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/30316-cable-lacing-tutorial/

 

 

Painting:

 

 

 

 

Case modding Basics:

 

Windows:

 

 

 

Case modding Advanced:

 

Mid-Plates:

 

- clear acrylic sheet

the stuff I used was 5mm thick. It's important that you use a thick piece of plastic otherwise it will bow when etched, if doing this again I would go for a 10mm thick piece. This need to be cut to the shape of the inside of the case, make it slightly smaller, take the measurements of the inside of the case and remove 5-10mm. You also need a second sheet the exact same shape, however this piece doesn't need to be as thick, 5mm is more than enough. I would recommend sourcing your plastic from sheet plastics UK if your from the uk, sorry I don't know anywhere for anywhere else.


- power drill and assorted drill bits

You need a fairly decent power drill that is able to drill steel but the standard battery powered portable drill will do the job. You will also need some drill bits, you will need a 4.5mm or 5mm bit and if you are running any pipes through the midplate you will need another drill bit that is 2mm bigger than the diameter of your pipe. For example my pipes were 10mm so I drilled 12mm hole through the midplate.


- acrylic paint

You could use a spray paint designed for plastic such as plastikotes plastic range or you cab do what I did and use abd acrylic paint that brushes on. I personally prefer to use the brush on paint as you can put a much thicker coat on than you can with a spray can.


- mouse sander

The mouse sander is used to remove the paint on the areas where you want the light to shine through. It is important that you use a mouse sander and not a belt sander, belt Sanders are far too aggressive to be used for this purpose, youre only wanting to remove some paint not tons of material.


- jigsaw

This is used to cut the plastic sheets down to size and to the correct shape, you will also want some plastic cutting blades.


- M4 bolts and M4 nuts x6 each


Instructions


If you buy any chance have a £5000 laser cutter sitting around it may be a good time to get the manual out and learn how to use it. however if you are like me and don't have one you will need to find one that you can use or you will have to pay for a company to do it for you.


Step 1 - Measure your case.

you need to measure the area in which your midplate is going to go. measure from the highest point on the motherboard tray to where the side panel would be. then measure from the front of the case to the rear of the case. for me my measurements for the switch 810 was 515mm by 205mm. write this down its very important.








Step 2 - Enter some 2d design software that can out put a scale drawing in dxf file type. i personally use corel draw becuase i was taught it in school and college, wouldn't reccomend it to be honest there are much better software packages out there but this is the one i have been taught to use. the first thing you need to know is that laser cutters recognise red as cut and black as etch.


step 3 - Draw a rectangle that is the same dimensions as you mentioned earlier but with 5mm taken off each measurement. so for example in my switch810 i measured 515mm x 205mm but the rectangle i am drawing is 510mm x 200mm. this is just to allow some wiggle room inside the case. save this design twice, 1st time called layer top and the second time called layer bottom. close layer bottom and open layer top.





step 4 - draw what ever you want inside that red box, anything that is white will have light shining through and anything that is black wont have light shining through.





if you look at this picture, this is what you want with your design is white. if you want a picture i find it best to vetorise it with some software like vectorimage first and then drop it into your design software.


step 5 - either laser cut the plastic yourself or the more likely option is to send the design away to a company that can do plastic laser cutting. an example of the type of company you are looking for; http://www.cutlasercut.com/.

Few key points you need to get across to the company;

1) you need it cut into 10mm CLEAR ACRYLIC

2) you want a DEEP engrave

3) you need both pieces (layer top and layer bottom) but only one has engraving


step 6 - When you receive your part back it will look something like this:





Notice how the unetched parts are higher up than the etched parts leaving channels and grooves for the paint to sit in. What you need to do now is paint the whole thing black on the textured side. paint 2-3 thick coats of paint on, you need to make sure that the paint is thick enough to block light so when the light is dry hold it up to the light or something to make sure its thick enough.




step 7 - 24 Hours after painting plug your mouse sander in and put the piece of acrylic on a flat surface paint upwards. turn the mouse sander on and put it on the painted surface. DONT PRESS DOWN... you're not trying to remove material you are trying to remove a thin layer of paint. move the sander aroun just using the wieght of the sander to remove the paint on the slightly raised up pieces. you need to be careful and there is a fine line between removing the paint and the plastic, it is important not to over sand.





step 8 - flip the material over and sand the bottom of the top layer until it looks very frosted, this helps to break up the light and remove the individual led's so it just looks like a glow.


step 9 - Wipe down with a cloth, then hold it up to the light. it is very common for the larger areas of paint to have small patches that have been sanded away by mistake, these just need to be fixed using a small paint brush and the same paint.


step 10 - tape both layers together so they perfectly align. mark out where you need holes and drill the hole 2mm bigger than the diameter of the pipe that is going through them. this is very simple and will be very custom for your particular build so i can't really help you very much other than that.


step 11 - seperate the layers again and put the top layer to one side. take the bottom layer and an led strip of the colour of your choosing. stick the led strip(s) in whatever pattern gives you the most coverage. more led's = bright of course.





step 12 - place the top layer of the midplate in the exact position you want it to be in. mark using a pencil a line where the bottom of the plastic is on the motherboard tray and the front panel. drill 4.5mm holes so that the top of the hole is level with this line.


step 13 - put a bolt through the holes and tighten a nut onto them, this will give you a peg coming out of the side of the case. make as many pegs as you need for the top layer to stay in place and then do the same with the bottom layer but about 50mm or more lower.





YOU ARE DONE."

"Materials and tools

 

Original Thread: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/47066-how-to-make-an-awesome-midplate/

 

 

 

 

No I didn't make the saw blade! I'm stubborn not stupid. Dx 

 

 

 

 I've had many comments saying I wish I had a CNC Machine to make stuff like that. I wish I did too! Out of necessity and stubbornness I have learned to make a lot of things with basic hand tools.  With a little practice you can learn to fabricate some amazing things without a CNC Machine.  I prefer to work with Aluminum and copper because you can repair most mistakes to the face of your piece. Acrylic is great too but you have to take more care not to scratch the face of your piece, because it's almost impossible to polish it back to a factory finish. These techniques work on most materials, but the softer materials conform to your wishes with less effort.

 

My methods are very Caveman, but they achieve great results for the minimal investment in tools. Also there is a great satisfaction in crafting something by hand. Make no mistake, this can be a lot of work, but if you have more time than money like me the outcome is well worth the effort.

 

Basic tools

Files and more files.  I have 29 so far.

Needle files of all shapes will be your main tool. Full sets are fairly cheap. I have one set that is extremely small for the tightest spots.

http://www.amazon.co...ASIN=B00BXL5KYG  These were about $20.00 at Hobby Lobby.

Assorted Larger files for fast removal in open areas. Don't get to ruff of a file! We are working thinner materials.

 

 

 

A good Dremel and reinforced cutoff wheels. http://www.mnpctech....DremelDisc.html

 

Power drill or drill press if you have the money and room.  I just use a hand drill.

Drill bits and Bimetal hole hog bits if you want to cut any large circles or holes.

 

Adjustable clamps to hold pieces in place while you are working them.

 

Razor knife with sharp blades

 

A printer or good Pattern to work from.

 

Painters masking tape for easy removal

 

Good quality Jig saw.  Always tape the surface to avoid scratches!

 

Laying out a pattern

 

 

I transfer my patterns several ways to my material.

 

1 - I will print out the design I am using and then cut it out of the paper with scissors and a razor knife.  Put masking tape on the surface of your piece and tape your pattern to the protected surface. This really helps protect your piece from scratches during ruff forming. Outline your pattern with a Sharpie marker onto the masking tape and remove the pattern.

 

2 - Print your pattern on Frisket film.  http://www.amazon.co...ds=frisket film  this is a low tack clear sheet that is used by artist for masking.  After printing let it dry completely ( ink dries very slowly on plastic ).  Place this on your chosen material and you have a perfect pattern to follow.

 

 

Most of the time I use a razor knife and scratch the design directly to the surface.  Take your time and keep a steady hand, because little slips cause big sanding latter.  They will happen though, The surfaces can get pretty ruffed up during the process but it all comes together at the end.  You'll notice from the pictures that I don't always follow what I told you.  When I made these pieces I wasn't even sure if I could do these pieces.  I'm learning just like you.  Protecting the front surface is a double edge sword. You don't want to scratch it anymore than necessary, but when you are filing very close to your lines the tape obscures your view. So keep tape on as long as possible or be prepared to extra sanding at the end.

 

 

Cutting time.  

 

When you start cutting you need to secure your piece. One little slip with a Jig saw or Dremel can cause a lot of work or leave an unrepairable defect in your piece.  At first I will leave additional material on it so I can screw it directly to my work bench.  Clamps can do the same thing, but they tend to get in the way more. Ohh my poor work bench!

 

 

 

Cut outside of your lines and file down to the final lines. Use drills to get inner holes to start filing.  When you pick a drill size go smaller than you think!  Those bits just seem to get closer to your final lines than you expect.  Remember you can't go backwards on this type of stuff! you can always cut or file a little more, but you can't uncut a line that went a little to far.  Saying that! the bolder you are with your power tools, the less filing you will have to do later.  Be careful! I hate to see grown men cry. especially me.  At this stage of a project it looks terrible. I've had several that I swore I'd blown it, but I just kept chipping away and it all comes together when your finished.  When you are working a piece so long you see every little imperfection.  The good news is that they almost never show up in the pictures.  We are not perfect CNC machines but we can make some cool stuff anyway.

 

 

Try not to do the weakest areas until the end, so you don't damage that area working on another area.  I will use my Metallica emblem as an example. I wanted to make this in one piece so it would be easier to mount.  The connection between the C and the A was going to be extremely thin, so it was the last area I cleaned up.

 

 

Because this is time consuming I do most of the filing at my computer desk so I can watch movies or what ever to pass the time.  Use adjustable clamps and protect your desk with a thin piece of wood of plastic if necessary.  

 

Filing

 

Files are a mainstay for us modders, because they remove material slowly so you can do some precise work. Personally I keep moving to different areas of the piece rather than totally finishing one area then moving on.  To me it seems helpful just in case something is out of proportion.  It easier to see a problem when the whole piece is at the same stage of progress. 

 

Some inside areas may be so thin that you have to file away another area to get to them. A lot of the cuts on this next picture had to be done with the edge of a needle file because of how thin the are.

 

 

 

The edges of a triangle file put at an angle can help to get in corners or even filing a little from the back side. I like to put bevels on things when it makes since, because it seems to help me line up the angles.  Amazingly it almost seems harder to do square edges.  Free form shapes are a good place to start, because you don't have to match Identical angles as much.  The spiky thing in progress has some of the areas beveled.

 

 

These projects don't look very good until they are painted or polished.  Me and Alpenwasser will be doing a joint tutorial on polishing in the near future so we will cover that later.  

 

Dealing with Larger Pieces

 

 

When you do large pieces, a Dremel just isn't going work very well.  This is the realm of the Jig saw and the Band saw.  I had to do a one piece window frame for the Metallica build and I only had one shot at it, because of the price of a piece of Copper this big.  I marked out and made the cuts very carefully.  This would seem obvious but we tend to hurry things more than we should.  On this big straight piece, every little wiggle of my Jig saw would cost me endless sanding to square it back up.   

 

 

Best Trick for squaring up edges.  Cheaps passed this along to me and I have use it constantly to true up and smooth material edges.  Get a straight thin board and glue a belt sanding belt to it. I put different grit on both sides.  Attach it to your work bench and you run the material back and forth down the strip and you get perfect edges,  It is also very fast because the whole surface is getting sanded constantly. 

 

 

 

For the inside of the frame I had to use a long sanding block. I pinned the frame In between a second board to hold it square. 

 

 

 

You can do this! I would recommend starting with some thin Aluminum and see what you can do. Unless your perfect the first time out? do a second and third project. Each one will get better.  Pick a simple pattern at first and try not to chose anything with tight inside corners as they can be hard to get into with files.  Please visit my build log for more detailed pictures.

Unforgiven - The Metallica Build    http://linustechtips...etallica-build/

 

Here is a few parting shots of my Hand fabricated Pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Metal Polishing- By onevoicewild and alpenwasser

 

This is going to be a joint tutorial by both of us individually.  I would like us both to demonstrate the techniques we use.  There will be overlaps where we both use some of the same methods.  I believe the more methods you are exposed to, allows you to adapt to your particular situation and finances.  alpenwasser will contribute his part at a later date.

 

 

As usual my techniques lean to the primitive side.  This allows me to get the job done with less investment in tools and I have great control because I remove material very slowly.  The trade off is it's more work for me than if I used power tools.  I have had some accidental miracles by this slow process, so don't underestimate it's hidden advantages as I will show you.

 

My materials of choice are Copper and Aluminum, because they can both be polished to a mirror finish.

 

Basic tools

 

Hand sanding block 9" inches.  A long block stays true better and It matches the length of sand paper sheets.https://www.google.c...ved=0CGwQ8wIwAw  These are also called drywall sanding blocks.

 

Standard sanding block for tight quarter.  Seldom needed, I wouldn't buy one of these unless you need it.

 

Wet sand cloth. 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000,1200,1500, 2000 Grit. or more.  Don't worry you don't have to buy all of these, but you will need an assortment depending on how smooth the surface of your project is. I rarely go courser than 200 because you are actually putting scratches in the metal, But if you have some deep scratches existing in your project, you may have to start there? the finer grades should be purchased from an auto supply store or online.  Home depot don't do 2000 Grit!

 

Large flat pan for wet sanding inside. Ok I stole the broiler pan out of the stove. Mom will never miss it. ha ha

 

 

Kitchen cabinet shelf liners to keep things from sliding around while your sanding. Mom will miss these unless she is short and you take the ones off the top shelf. Card board works well outside or if you keep the water to a minimum inside.  After the card board gets soft from the water the piece will sink into it just enough to keep it from moving to much. 

 

A mouse sander could be good for the initial stages, but I haven't located fine sand cloth for them.  A friend gave me a good one but I haven't used it yet.  That would defeat all my self torture.

 

Mothers mag and aluminum polish   -  This stuff is like cheating, it's that good!  Get it at your local Auto parts store.

Good on all metals and even puts a sheen on anodizing.

 

 

Warning - Most pieces we have formed have some scratches in them when we start the polishing process.  I've found out the hard way that it is better to use some courser sanding at first and get the metal down below the scratches.  Sounds simple right?  Courser sanding actually puts its own scratches in the surface and hides the scratches you are trying to remove.  So you think you've got the scratches out and you progress through finer and finer sanding only to find that the scratches aren't all gone.  Go deeper at first and get it over with.  This would be a good place to use a power sander and then go back to hand work when you start using finer cloths.

 

 

I spent a full week polishing this window frame, because I didn't sand down far enough at first. But when you finally get 

it right, you forget about all the effort that went into it.

 

 

 

While I'm sanding I rotate my pieces regularly so any bias in my sanding block hold will be evened out.  Keep your surface wet and occasionally replace your water to remove possible grit from your pan.  progress thru finer and finer grits, don't spare the effort especially once you get to the final stages.  When your almost done don't push to hard on the sanding block, just glide it back and forth, it almost feels like your not doing anything.  At the very end if possible, make all your strokes in the same direction.     

 

Rinse off your project and you should have a slightly hazy reflection.  If you think it's good enough start polishing with the Mothers polish.  Make multiple passes over all areas.  Use very soft rags, even rags will scratch metal that's polished this fine.  Once I think I've got it good enough, I wipe it off with a clean rag and then run hot water over it in the sink or outside with the hose if it's to big to fit.  I do a final wipe of with a soft dry rag and admire my handy work. 

 

 

 

 

The accidental miracle.

 

 

I wanted to modify my MNPCTECH 360 OverKill grill to make it fit The Metallica Build.  My initial plan was to flat sand the Anodizing on the top and then polish it like chrome. The only wet sand cloth I had that day was 600 grit and finer so the tough Anodizing was coming off very slowly.

 

 

 As I was sanding off the Anodizing a pattern started  to appear.  At this point I really hadn't begun to appreciate the pattern and the plan was to sand it all off.  After I went a little further I really started to like what I was seeing and decided to work with it.  When I was done I polished it with Mothers and here is what I ended up with.

 

 

 

 

To say the least I was incredibly happy with what I'd stumbled into. If I had been using power tools I would have blown right past this and never found out what was hidden right in front of me.

 

For The Metallica Build I was going to use a black Anodized checkered plating to make it more original.  The Chrome plating had been done a lot and I needed something different.  Thanks to the secret I found doing the OverKill Grill I planned to weather the plate in the same way.  The final finish fits my build perfectly, Me and my sanding block are having a lot of fun! 

 

 

 

 

 

For more pictures please see the full build Log for The Metallica Build at http://linustechtips...etallica-build/

 

I'll let alpenwasser take it up from here with some techniques that go even further than mine. 

 

 

 

 

 

Water Cooling:

 

Piping:

 

 

How to Bend Copper Pipe

 

Tools and materials:

 

-Copper pipe (of course)

-vice attached to a secure/heavy bench

-pliers (big beefy ones)

-mallet

-pipe bender (make sure you get one that is the correct size for your pipe)

-washing up liquid

-pipe cutter

 

Instructions:

Step 1 – PLAN

This is the most important stage of doing any liquid cooled build but with hard piping it is even more important because you can’t flex the copper pipe like you can a soft plastic tubing to make things fit. 

 

Here is a picture of all my pieces of pipe:

 

 

What is the first thing you notice… all of the individual pieces have no more than 1 bend. Unless you are an experienced plumber you can bend a piece of pipe accurately from point A to point B then I would suggest doing the same. Use L plug fittings and as many right angle fittings a you need to in order to try and reduce the number of bends you need to do.

 

Draw yourself a little diagram either by hand or in paint etc to get an idea of your runs, no real need to do anything 3d or you’ll be there for months.

 

Step 2 – Cut your material

Firstly take your coil of pipe and hand straight some of it best you can. Take a bend, any bend, measure how much material you need and add 100mm. cut this amount of pipe off.

 

 

 

Step 3 – stick about 20mm of the pipe in a vice that is securely connected to a heavy bench and pull the pipe round so it is at an angle.

 

Step 4 – grip the other end with some heavy duty pliers and use a precision adjustment tool (a hammer) to smack the pliers as hard as you can until the pipe is straight as you can get it.

 

 

Step 5 – take your pipe bender and squeeze some washing up liquid onto the rail that the pipe sits in, use your finger to get the whole of the rail coverage in washing up liquid. This is to lubricate the pipe as it goes round the curve.

 

Step 6 – open up the bender, stick the pipe in, making sure it is in the correct place so your pieces will be roughly correct. Once the pipe is in pull the handles together until the lines match up for 90 degrees (or whatever angle you are doing but from experience 90 degree angles look best). 

 

 

Step 7 – open up the bender again and remove the pipe.

 

Step 8 – cut each end down to the correct length allowing for the amount of pipe that will go into the fitting. It is best to do this step just by eye. Make sure that you debur the inside of the pipe after every cut otherwise your pipe flow will be restricted.

 

 

 

Custom Loops:

 

 

 

Other:

 

First, acquire CPU.

 

 

Second, gather tools. (Drill w/ bit, Safety glasses, knife/blade) NOT PICTURED- Dremel with rough grit

 

Third, spend last moments with your CPU. Do all the dirty things you've never done before.

 

 

 

Touch ALL the pins

 

 

Fourth, clear the mighty golden forest of pins with your blade.

 

Halfway done. Just sweep your blade over the pins in one direction until the seem uniform.

 

As you can see, they all are not going the EXACT same way, that's alright it's pretty unnoticeable.

 

 

If you would like, you can spend an hour removing the pins. I didn't because im lazy   :D (EDIT from OP: I recommend doing this so you don't get pricked with it in your pocket)

 

Fifth, take your drill and have a small bit on. i think i used 3/8th in. 

 

 

 

Start on the side with the pins, the PCB side. Guesstimate where it will come out on the other side. Start drillin. 

 

When you hit the top heatspreader, you might hit a snag. the PCB is like butter and the heatspreader is like cement. it took 4x as long to drill through! 

 

when you finally breakthrough, run the drillbit back through the hole a few times to clear it. 

then run over it with a dremel with a sandpaper bit. Hit the underside of the chip also to smooth out the pins so they don't snag. 

 

Here's the top.

The pins

 

Lastly, add a keyring. i chose to use a smaller loop with a chain then attached to a keyring. 

 

 

 

Goodluck and I hope you truly use your CPU to it's fullest   :D

 

 

 

Show off your Mod!

 

Full gallery: http://imgur.com/a/dTRqx

Check out his thread in the Build logs forum! :D

 

 

(This thread is still a work in progress, Please submit your tutorials here: http://goo.gl/vBeq8c)

(Submit your build here: http://goo.gl/LKbi1I)

 

:D

 

Current Thread Contributors: @alpenwasser - @JordanMac - @CornOnJacob - @onevoicewild

[WorldDominator]

Damn now I want to mod my case and buy a modular PSU so I can sleeve and stuff now...thanks

[megadarkwood]

Damn now I want to mod my case and buy a modular PSU so I can sleeve and stuff now...thanks

Its what I do. I guess.... Thanks for reading the thread! :D

[WorldDominator]

Its what I do. I guess.... Thanks for reading the thread! :D

I'll be sure to keep up to date on this thread. I may make Santa bring me some modding goodies :3

[Emperor_Piehead]

@alpenwasser and @onevoicewild do a lot of great modding and @pexon is amazing at sleeving so maybe they can give some input.

[megadarkwood]

@alpenwasser and @onevoicewild do a lot of great modding and @pexon is amazing at sleeving so maybe they can give some input.

I have messaged @alpenwasser and @onevoicewild. @JordanMac said he will contribute and I will message @pexon now!

[Emperor_Piehead]

I have messaged @alpenwasser and @onevoicewild. @JordanMac said he will contribute and I will message @pexon now!

awesome. here is some of pexons work to get an idea of how good he is. http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/13787-some-of-my-sleeving-work/?hl=pexon#entry150050

[alpenwasser]

Answered to PM, just a general notification: I could contribute the lacing tutorial

I've already done (link in sig), and I plan to do a few more in the future and could

contribute those as well, but starting tomorrow I'll be in the hospital for at least

the rest of the week (if things go well), and even after that I'm not sure when I'll

be combat-ready again, so whatever I can contribute besides the lacing tutorial will

have to wait.

Generally, I could do some more tutorials on the sleeving technique I used in HELIOS

and the metal work, at least that's what comes to mind at the moment (although I'm

sure @onevoicewild would also have some metal goodness to share :D ).

[megadarkwood]

Answered to PM, just a general notification: I could contribute the lacing tutorial

I've already done (link in sig), and I plan to do a few more in the future and could

contribute those as well, but starting tomorrow I'll be in the hospital for at least

the rest of the week (if things go well), and even after that I'm not sure when I'll

be combat-ready again, so whatever I can contribute besides the lacing tutorial will

have to wait.

Generally, I could do some more tutorials on the sleeving technique I used in HELIOS

and the metal work, at least that's what comes to mind at the moment (although I'm

sure @onevoicewild would also have some metal goodness to share :D ).

Just sent you a reply! Thanks!

[alpenwasser]

Just sent you a reply! Thanks!

Excellent. On a side note: I do like myself some clean formatting, makes

information easier to find and take in, and it just looks better (see

also @looney 's threads). :D

[megadarkwood]

Updated with our very first tutorial!

Thanks @alpenwasser

[megadarkwood]

I have added some more tutorials and fixed some of the formatting. Check everything out! :D

 

Also, we need more tutorials! Submit them now!

[JordanMac]

Just a heads up, my pictures aren't showing.

[megadarkwood]

Just a heads up, my pictures aren't showing.

I have no idea why, when I go into the edit menu it shows the links with the bbcode in them but they don't show in the thread. ill try my best to fix it.

[megadarkwood]

Just a heads up, my pictures aren't showing.

Should be working now.

[JordanMac]

Should be working now.

nice, can confirm its fixed

[CornOnJacob]

For recommended materials, add two things:

1. The low-adhesive tape that MonsterMawds recommends (great for masking side panels, etc.)

2. 3M-DINOC Carbon Fiber Wrap (it looks so shmexy)

[megadarkwood]

For recommended materials, add two things:

1. The low-adhesive tape that MonsterMawds recommends (great for masking side panels, etc.)

2. 3M-DINOC Carbon Fiber Wrap (it looks so shmexy)

Ill do that

[alpenwasser]

2. 3M-DINOC Carbon Fiber Wrap (it looks so shmexy)

 

 

Ill do that

Since we're talking wraps I would also recommend to add 3M's Scotchprint Wrap

Film 1080 series. I think that's what 3M markets to wrap cars these days instead

of Di-Noc (not totally sure though).

EDIT: Link

[megadarkwood]

 

 

Since we're talking wraps I would also recommend to add 3M's Scotchprint Wrap

Film 1080 series. I think that's what 3M markets to wrap cars these days instead

of Di-Noc (not totally sure though).

EDIT: Link

Ill add that. But I have no idea why you would want to "Tape" your car XD

[alpenwasser]

But I have no idea why you would want to "Tape" your car XD

Cheaper than repainting it if you want to change colours. Also, it adds

some additional protection for your actual paint coat, and if the wrap

gets damaged it's much easier to replace than repainting your car. I just

think it's a cheat to add carbon-wrap to non-carbon parts (if it looks

like carbon, it better damn well be carbon IMO, but that's just my personal

POV ;) ).

[megadarkwood]

Cheaper than repainting it if you want to change colours. Also, it adds

some additional protection for your actual paint coat, and if the wrap

gets damaged it's much easier to replace than repainting your car. I just

think it's a cheat to add carbon-wrap to non-carbon parts (if it looks

like carbon, it better damn well be carbon IMO, but that's just my personal

POV ;) ).

I guess, I think its kinda stupid though XD

[alpenwasser]

I guess, I think its kinda stupid though XD

Well, as most things, it has its advantages and drawbacks. Which side

outweighs the other is a matter of personal priorities in the end. But

you're probably not alone with your opinion. ;)

[megadarkwood]

Remember im still looking for more tutorials! I have added 2 today and hoping to add more! :D

[JordanMac]

Remember im still looking for more tutorials! I have added 2 today and hoping to add more! :D

I'll work on a hard pipe bending tutorial in the next few days.