Cutting front panel for a fan grill.

[Allshevski]

Hi, I've been recently thinking whether it's a good idea to increase my case's airflow by rising the fan tray up and cutting big hole in the front for the  grill.. The front is entirely made of plastic so cutting it won't be a problem, but I don't really know how to do it properly to make everything look nice and clean. Also, I've been thinking about mesh type and colour. Should I leave it like it came (steel, maybe coated with something to prevent oxidation, or paint it black or some other colour. I've considered some diamond mesh, hexagonal, wide hexagonal and circular grills. The case I own is BitFenix Nova which is soo cheap that I won't regret cutting it but I like it. Any ideas?

[Minsekt]

not worth it, id just leave the sidepanel off

[Allshevski]

Just now, Minsekt said:

not worth it, id just leave the sidepanel off

You think so? It would look something like this:

[IAcKI]

I wouldn't recommended it, Would be hard to do tastefully. Probably best just buying a case with better airflow!

[Hoppa]

Whether you use a jigsaw, a dremel, or some sort of hand cutting tool... cut inside the line so you can use a file + sand paper to clean up the edges.

Also make sure to use plenty of tape on both sides so you don't scratch it the plastic so easily.

 

I'd recommend doing it, modding a case is fun.

The other day I painted my fan grills white and it looks pretty cool.

I've also made fan holes etc on other cases and it was worth it.

[spellmanuk]

12 minutes ago, Allshevski said:

You think so? It would look something like this:

good luck doing that with a CNC machine 

[Allshevski]

Just now, IAcKI said:

I wouldn't recommended it, Would be hard to do tastefully. Probably best just buying a case with better airflow!

Oh, okay.. I just love it.. The simplicity of it and It just suits my needs.. But thank You!

[IAcKI]

Just now, Allshevski said:

Oh, okay.. I just love it.. The simplicity of it and It just suits my needs.. But thank You!

If you love it then it's probably not worth the few degrees that you'll get by cutting the holes. What are your temps like now? And what cooling hardware are you using?

[Allshevski]

2 minutes ago, Hoppa said:

Whether you use a jigsaw, a dremel, or some sort of hand cutting tool... cut inside the line so you can use a file + sand paper to clean up the edges.

 

Also make sure to use plenty of tape on both sides so you don't scratch it the plastic so easily.

That's the way I was going to do it.. But I'm a little bit scared about what others say - that it won't look as nice when done by hand. 

[Allshevski]

1 minute ago, IAcKI said:

If you love it then it's probably not worth the few degrees that you'll get by cutting the holes. What are your temps like now? And what cooling hardware are you using?

Actually, these are just dreams to fulfill this summer as I want to buy some fans and CPU cooler but don't have time to do it now. Hardware I'm planning to use are 4 nanoxia DSe120mm PWM od fans and Cryorig H7. Plan to swap its included fan with one on nanoxia ones. Temperatures aren't that high but I want silence.

[Hoppa]

Just now, Allshevski said:

That's the way I was going to do it.. But I'm a little bit scared about what others say - that it won't look as nice when done by hand. 

It'll look better than cutting a metal panel. since there's no paint to scratch off and the edges you cut will be the same colour.

Plus, plastic is fairly easy to work with.

 

In the end, it's only a case. It's not like your PC will die if you screw up. So it's up to you.

It's probably best to practice on something else though.

 

[Allshevski]

7 minutes ago, Hoppa said:

It'll look better than cutting a metal panel. since there's no paint to scratch off and the edges you cut will be the same colour.

Plus, plastic is fairly easy to work with.

 

In the end, it's only a case. It's not like your PC will die if you screw up. So it's up to you.

It's probably best to practice on something else though.

 

Yeah.. If I don't change my mind, I will probably take a jigsaw and and leave huge margin for the file to make edges look straight and smooth. If it fails, I'll go and buy another case, this time with window

 

Btw, it seems like LTT forums have new notification sounds, don't they? 

[IAcKI]

19 minutes ago, Allshevski said:

Actually, these are just dreams to fulfill this summer as I want to buy some fans and CPU cooler but don't have time to do it now. Hardware I'm planning to use are 4 nanoxia DSe120mm PWM od fans and Cryorig H7. Plan to swap its included fan with one on nanoxia ones. Temperatures aren't that high but I want silence.

If you're wanting silence then cutting holes in the case will allow for more sound to leave the case!

[Allshevski]

33 minutes ago, IAcKI said:

If you're wanting silence then cutting holes in the case will allow for more sound to leave the case!

But less air wobbling inside, more airflow means better heat dissipation, running fans slower. This case is just perfect for that.. By inverting the airflow it could be great.. Or have I missed something? I mean,

CPU gets fresh air form rear fan - low temperature

GPU exhausts hot air directly to exhaust fans - low temperature

 

Edit: Even with closed side panel this case is no quieter than it was without it

[Allshevski]

2 hours ago, peej said:

good luck doing that with a CNC machine 

CNC? Is it really that hard to cut a rectangle in some soft plastic?

[spellmanuk]

Just now, Allshevski said:

CNC? Is it really that hard to cut a rectangle in some soft plastic?

if you want straight lines that look nice and like thats how the case came. unless your going for a homebrew look 

[Allshevski]

Just now, peej said:

if you want straight lines that look nice and like thats how the case came. unless your going for a homebrew look 

No, I don't want anything like that  But file, drill and sandpaper could make it look good enough..

[spellmanuk]

2 minutes ago, Allshevski said:

No, I don't want anything like that  But file, drill and sandpaper could make it look good enough..

sure i mean go for it but you better have a steady hand

[Allshevski]

1 minute ago, peej said:

sure i mean go for it but you better have a steady hand

Okay! Metal ruler and lots of free time would do the job!

[spellmanuk]

6 minutes ago, Allshevski said:

Okay! Metal ruler and lots of free time would do the job!

measure 10 times cut once lol 

[Allshevski]

Just now, peej said:

measure 10 times cut once lol 

Gonna measure 30 times And start on the back in case I scratch something. Also, do you have an Idea how to take my fan tray off? It's held by like.. I forgot the word.. Not screws but like two pieces of metal forced into each other with pressure

These guys:

Source: Wikimedia

 

[Ykno]

1 hour ago, Allshevski said:

Gonna measure 30 times And start on the back in case I scratch something. Also, do you have an Idea how to take my fan tray off? It's held by like.. I forgot the word.. Not screws but like two pieces of metal forced into each other with pressure

These guys:

Source: Wikimedia

 

rivets and you drill them out

[Allshevski]

1 minute ago, Ykno said:

rivets and you drill them out

oh, sure, rivets! drill them out you say.. And then use regular screws? Okay!

[spellmanuk]

1 hour ago, Allshevski said:

oh, sure, rivets! drill them out you say.. And then use regular screws? Okay!

yeah drilling rivets is the only real way to take them out 

[Ykno]

On 15/02/2016 at 2:54 PM, Allshevski said:

oh, sure, rivets! drill them out you say.. And then use regular screws? Okay!

ye you drill them and replace them with new rivets lol thats not a joke method that the way you do it