Heavy modding or new case?

[slaves123]

Hi, i've got a generic case one of those of 30bucks... i bought it when i don't really know how important a good case is... i would like to know if i should try on cutting hoes all over it to improve airflow, ovbiously in the adecuated side and with a corrent flow direction... common sense in other words... or just... go for another case, like a Lian Li PC5 for example, i know it's really superior than mine but it's not free and i would pay it a hundred bucks, i woudl like to avoid doing so... but if it is the only option... let's see... please help and advise me, thanks!

 

[fireontheway]

lian li look alikebut wont break your bank

 

[slaves123]

i'm in argentina, and here the only Lian Li i may found is a PC5 at a hundred dollars, without a PSU.

 

[Gravity]

Cutting holes for fans isn't that tough. I'm no expert but I've cut a few cases and I have another in my kitchen that I'm gonna cut on today. I guess it's personal philosophy and the time/skill you have at your disposal.

I have a pretty quiet pc in my house but my kids pc's are a bit louder. When I build for clients I ask about quiet and spec the right price.

My recommendation is to mod the case you have and see how successful you were. Then you can offer to mod all your friends cases just because you know how. Before long you'll be modding your toaster, your fridge and your car. It's a bit addicting.

 

[tracerbullet]

Here's the tool to use:

http://www.dremel.cl/arg/

 

[beatle]

You can make just about any case have great airflow with a properly placed intake fan over the CPU. The exception to this are cases with vertically mounted PSUs.

 

[Skyline622]

Originally posted by: fireontheway
lian li look alikebut wont break your bank

I've heard good things about the Kingwin cases.

 

[howdyduty]

Slot fan at Newegg.com is under $10 shipped

 

[0roo0roo]

unless you do multiple cases, the cost of dremel + all the other goodies = new case and more

and stuff like drive rails and other good engineering you can't really mod into a pos case.

they sell chieftec/antec cases where u are? their towers are good.

 

[slaves123]

they do sell them but i would like to avoid spending 180 dollars for that... i really fell I can do things much more important with that money if get something more... and remeber also that here the parity between the national currency, the peso, is 3 to 1 aprox. realted to the dollar, so... when you get 300 dollars there i'm just in a hundred... also i'm only 15 years old and it's rather difficult, but not impossible to do some good money, you kknow...

 

[0roo0roo]

180 dollars? i gues syou mean 60 american dollars. you can get away with a cheaper case i guess, but if you mean the cheap case is 30 dollars, modding equipment and materials will cost you another 30+ nulifying the cost savings.

 

[PowerMac4Ever]

If you're considering Lian Li, also consider Super Flower. You can get a nice superflower that looks like a lian-lie, but also comes with 5 fans and 3 windows. You'll also save ~$50.

 

[mechBgon]

If you just want a case that stays cool, you don't need to buy a fancy aluminum case. A stock Antec SLK3700AMB would probably cool just as well as my custom Lian-Li (see the two 80mm exhaust fans, the stock case has one). The SLK3700AMB has a 120mm exhaust fan and a nice-quality power supply, and you can add another 120mm intake fan in the front. It can hold a lot of drives too

 

[Sheriff]

Try Modding 1st and if it doesn't work out then get up of the wallet or leave the side off if it's messed up until you replace the case. Also you can get/make sides for Cases easy enough (ie plexi/Lexan/Wood/metal)

 

[1sikbITCH]

You said it yourself, it's a cheap case. Hack that POS up. Get some tinsnips, some pliers, and a drill to drill holes for the fan screws, and go to town. Just make sure to plan ahead so you can actually fit the fans in the spaces where you cut the holes.

Use that while you save up to get a good case.

And slot fans are pretty much useless, and I wouldn't think Newegg would send one to Argentina for $10 anyhow.

 

[slaves123]

when i told you 180 dollars, i'm telling you 180 united states dollars yes... every product you can buy there for 100USD here it cost around 190-200 UDS, i'm going to see what i can do with this casse... if not i wish something come to my mind, thanks you, and if someone has something else to say it will be welcomed

 

[mechBgon]

Try to make it easy for the air to flow through the case, too. Move your cables to the sides of the case wherever you can, so they don't obstruct the airflow. Also, if your case's power supply has a heavy metal grille over the fan, like the one in this picture, try using a strong pair of diagonal cutting pliers to cut out the metal so the air flows better. You can buy a chromed wire grille if you want to cover the fan with something, and it will still have better airflow.

If the case's air intake holes are not very big, you can also drill them out to a larger size. Good luck!

 

[warath]

Revamp a bit of what others have said, with my own experince:
If you plan on moding more cases, or whatever, then get the tools to mod it. If you don't think you'll mod after this one, then you could just get a hole cutter (which will fit on any standard drill, which most ppl have already), which are about $20 CND or so.
Again, better to just buy a new case if you don't plan to mod more than once.

 

[slaves123]

this is being very usefull thank you all, i'm thinking about it...