How the CoolerMaster CM HAF 932?

[bohman]

JL,

i was fearing that the cooler wouldnt fit. i think i will run into the same problem, whereas i will be using a large cpu heatsink as well

also bad is that on my probable p45 mobo, i wont be able to move the video card to a different slot (i could, but it would go to x8) - one more reason why those AMD boards with a bunch of x16 slots are good.

i will still pick one up and see if i can make it work.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

b,

I went ahead and ordered two of those Enzo one piece copper heatsinks and two 40mm fans. I didn't buy fans with led's though. Instead, I got:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/4270/fan-231/SilenX_40x40x20mm_-_14dBA_-_6CFM_iXtrema_Pro_Fan_with_Fluid_Dynamic_Bearings_IXP-13-14.html?tl=g36c15s560#blank

I was thinking the metallic look would reflect light from the big fan in front.

In the meantime - Were you able to remove the black plastic hard drive mounts from the upper drive cage? I will be taking my case apart this evening.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

GEEZ! I was checking the link in my previous post. Looks like they are sold out of those fans. I hope my oder made it through okay.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

b,

Good News! I stopped by a hobby shop and purchased a couple of small cans of spray paint:

Model Master #2948 white primer
Model Master #1962 gloss laquer
Testor #1251 copper
Tamiya #TS-30 silver leaf

I wanted to test the paint first so I got a piece of plastic from the spare parts box. First I used the white primer. Silver, high gloss, metallic, and flourescent colors look much better over a white primer than they do over a dark primer. Next I sprayed one half with copper and one half with silver leaf. The silver leaf looked like silver colored plastic. The copper looked a lot better than the silver. Next I wanted to try the gloss laquer. The directions stated not to use the gloss laquer on silver and other high gloss metallic paint but did not say why. I covered one half of the silver leaf and one half of the copper painted plastic. I spayed the other half with the gloss laquer. The laquer turned the silver and copper dark!!!. It does not look good and now I know why the instructions say do not spray the gloss laquer on metallic paints.

The front horizontal grill is definitely going to get a copper paint job. The black and copper sort of reminds me of the Duracell copper top batteries. Hmmmm....copper top.....I'm sitting here looking at the top of the case and wondering what it would look like in copper......

In the meantime the northbridge/southbridge copper heatsinks and fans won't arrive until next week. I've got the entire weekend to work on the case. I'll take photos. I also need to find out why AS Ceramique is recommended for nb/sb heatsink.

 

[bohman]

JL,

sounds cool, i was hoping you would choose the copper.

as for the CM tool-less drive system, i decided i am going to leave the HD and optical cages assembled and not chrome them, since they will not be visible anyway. this will save the tool-less system from considerable wear-and-tear, whereas i would have to bend some steel tabs to get them out, and i would rather just leave them be, especially since chroming the racks wouldnt amount to any added value.

i figured out a design for fabricating the plastic bezel out of steel, should be no problem. i have every tool imaginable at my factory, including CNC if i wanted to do anything complicated. still working on the top of the machine, where the I/O panel and power buttons are. I think I may do that on CNC and change it up a bit, and make it more like the metal-mohawk dome the cylons have.

if i get some time, i will make a mock-up on solidworks.

one mod i am going back-and-forth on is the side window. i think i am going to chop out the mesh, save that and chrome it. then expand the side window area to encompass most of the panel. install lexan (maybe with a low mirror quality to keep the chrome theme) with a hole in the center for the chrome mesh. i would want to get a clear plastic LED fan for this mod, i believe. which means i would either have to get a new fan, or use the front intake fan for this. i could always switch those two and install some LEDs on the black fan (old side fan, new front fan). but that would lose some of the effect the LEDs should have through the front grill. i will probably just spring for a new fan.

i just found out that i am going to be away most of next week on business, which is when i had hoped to chrome this case. looks like it will be the week after.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

b,

Very Kool!

Look like Fedex won't deliver the nb/sb heatsinks and fans until Monday.

When I get home from work today I am going to take apart the case and work on it this weekend.

The reason I asked about the upper drive cage is that I was planning on painting it along with the rest of the interior of the case. I seem to recall thinking the plastic pieces were probably just snapped into place.

 

[bohman]

JL,

the plastic tool-less system is held into place via four steel tab cut-outs. i tried to squeeze the plastic down to get the pieces out, but it wouldnt budge either horizontally or vertically. maybe you can have more luck.

you could bend the steel tabs, but i didnt want to risk them yielding.

i was checking the CM official forums for info on it, as well as Extreme Systems forums, but couldnt find anything, but i didnt look for too long.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

b,

Thanks for the info. I remember looking at the plastic on the upper drive cage when I removed the lower drive cage. Didn't see any obvious way of removing the plastic. If necessary I'll simply cut and remove it. I can always screw in the drives. I had to screw them in anyway on the opposite/right side because the tool-less system resulted in loose drives. No big deal for me. I'm not one to swap drives. In fact, I bought my first hard drive back in late 1985. It was a Seagate 10MB RLL drive with an access time of 110 ms. I've been using Seagate drives ever since and never had one go bad.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I stopped by Ace hardware. Over in the screws, nuts, and bolts department the had a compartment full of those tiny 40-4 nylon screws, nuts, and washers described in the ASUS motherboard forum. I purchased six of each to screw the three heatsinks to the motherboard.

I also purchased distilled white vinegar to "etch" the case's bare metal and white bare metal primer. I also found a spray can of copper paint. It's Ace Hardware's house brand. I looked at the cap and thought the copper was brighter than what I had at home. When I got home I decided to test it. I was in for a pleasant surprise. The Ace Hardware brand is brighter and actually reflects light. Happy Camper Time!!!

Time to take apart the case and prep it for painting.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

b,

I removed a few parts from the case yesterday evening.

The plastic tool-less assemblies in the upper drive cage slide out. On the left side of each piece there is a small metal flange sticking out from the drive cage. Grasp the left side of the assembly and pull towards you so that the left side clears the metal flange. Then firmly slide the assembly to the left. It may take some effort but it definitely slides out. I only had trouble with one piece but it eventually slid off.

There are two spings inside the plastic. They have a tendency to fall off when the plastic is slid off. Unfortunately on the first try the springs went flying through the air and disappeared. I was down on my hands and knees in the kitchen trying to find them. One of the springs wound up under the oven.

The upper drive cage looks kind of ugly without the plastic. I'm pretty sure I can reinsert the plastice once I finish painting. At least I hope I can.

I managed to remove the plastic window in just two or three minutes. The window is held in place with very tiny push type pins. Reminded me of miniature compression anchors. Nothing to it.

I couldn't leave things alone. I kept looking at the large mesh screen at the bottom front of the case. I had already removed the small mesh that was screwed to the horizontal grill. I kept thinking the large mesh should also be removed to improve air flow. I grabbed my drill and my 4 inch hole saw that I use to make blow holes in the solid metal tops of cases and had a go at it. The large mesh now has a round opening large enough for a 120mm fan. I wondering if I can find a sheet of copper to replace the rest of the large mesh screen. It can't be that hard to do.

I keep wanting to do something with the top front of the case. I removed that big piece of plastic that sticks up and has all those ports. I have an idea but it's going to depend on what hobby or electronic shops have available. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Bohman,

Do you think the interior of the case is bare steel? The more I looked at it the more it looked like it might have some sort of coating. It reminded me of cold galvanizing compound. What do you think?

I painted the interior of the case, the exterior of the rear panel and the exterior of the front panel. First, I "etched" the metal with white distilled vinegar. I just soaked a clean rag with the vinegar and wiped the metal half a dozen times. Then I used paper and tape to protect the parts I did not want to paint - mostly the top and bottom of the exterior. Next I sprayed the white primer. Finally I sprayed the flat black paint. Looks good - no runs, no overspray, and nice and smooth to the touch.

Then I made a mistake. I wanted to paint the plastic horizontal grill. I used the primer made for bare metal instead of the primer made for plastic. I didn't see it until I sprayed the copper paint. The primer wrinkled a little bit. Tomorrow morning I'll sand the grill. I've got plenty of wet/dry sandpaper from 400 grit all the way to 1500 grit. I'll prime it with the correct primer and then repaint. Should be okay.

Tomorrow I plan to sand, prime, and paint the exterior of the top panel. I'm going to give it a copper top. I'll paint the interior of both side panels flat black. I'm going to make a quick trip to Fry's, the hobby shop, and Radio Shack to see if I can find some small sheets of thin copper. I've got an idea for the front of the top panel. That big plastic piece with all the ports could use some improvement.

 

[bohman]

JL,

thanks for the tip, with a little extra the tool-less clips did come off. the case is now in pieces, all the rivets are out.

i plan to take some sample pieces to work for chroming. i will use the bottom exterior panel, a screen that i removed from one of the removable the 5.25 covers, and the top power supply cover plate. this should cover every base.

unfortunately, i will be away fromt the factory on business for most of next week, so i may not get it to the chome lab until the week after.

nice idea about drilling out the front/bottom mesh, i think i may do the same to increase air flow. finding copper shouldnt be tough, you could get copper mesh.

as for the interior, not bare steel, it was definatley galvanized. as for the method, idk. i tried to get the info on that, but came up short. it is very thin, though. i should have little problem removing that.

as for the I/O panel on the top/front of the case, i think i will pretty much replicate its current state out of steel. what were you thinking of at the hobby shop?

your build is sounding like it is shaping up. pretty fun stuff!

 

[JohnnyLucky]

b,

I think you're right about the interior being galvanized. If that's the case then I probably should have used zinc chromate primer. Should be okay though.

You were the source for the idea about the front of the top panel. Somewhere in this thread you mentioned mounting the ports differently. There's a small rectangul of mesh just behind the slot for the power and reset buttons. It was supposed to be for mounting an extra fan. It's just about the right size for mounting the ports on top. The circuit board is tiny and you can unscrew it from the big piece of plastic. The face plate will have to be trimmed down a bit or I'll have to make a new one. The top drive bay will house my new card reader. It's small and short so there'll be enough room for the ports. Anyway I'm thinking of covering the front part of the top with copper and bending it downards at a 45 degree angle so that it ends at the edge of the top drive bay. I think it can be done. In order for the copper to sit flat on top I'll have to remove the 4 rivets that secure the upper drive cage to the top panel. I can use the holes to screw down the copper and secure the cage to the top.

Yes, it's fun. I think I'll call my new case the "Copper Queen".

 

[bohman]

yes, i had the idea of removing the I/O's from the platic and mounting them vertically in the long oval hole the I/O cables went through. i hadnt thought about the exact mounting procedure too much, whereas i think i am going to fabricate something similar to their current housing, only out of steel.

i plan to install a 12mm fan at the top grill where you are talking about mounting the I/Os. probably an LED fan (red). i am going to install a babybus for fans and LEDs in one of the 5.25 bays, this will allow me to adjust the fans and LEDs.

i have come to the decision that i am going to attemt to recreate all the plastic parts in steel & chrome. i really like the original design. i had thought about cutting out the whole side panel and making one large window, but i think i would rather have the chrome mesh. i think it is going to look amazing.

the only major design change will be the bottom horizontal grill, where the red LED fan is. i am going to make the horizontal slats there wider, and at an angle, to allow for plenty of air flow, but less direct LED light.

actually, another mod i cant stop thinking about would be to add two small exhaust fans into the top battery port, since it would just be open space for me at the moment. should be really simple.

yeah, if you want anything flat on the top, those rivets will have to go. i plat to re-rivet the entire case with stainless steel rivets.

that copper is going to be nice. maybe laminating the copper to slow/stop the corrosion would be worth looking into.

my case will be called 'the toaster' for sure. although i hope it doesnt heat like one. depends on my video card choice.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Phooey! The weather isn't cooperating and it's almost time for NFL Football!

I did manage to prime the exterior of the top panel this morning. I spent an awful lot of time preparing to paint. I had to tape the mesh and all slots to prevent the spray from penetrating the interior of the case. I wound up wrapping the sides of the case with newspaper. So far so good. I've been painting out on the patio to avoid the fumes and overspray. The wind picked up and now it's blowing pretty good. That's not good for painting, especially the finish coat. I'll have to wait until the wind dies down or finish painting the top in the garage.

I just went outside and checked the top. The original exterior finish was not very smooth. The primer can be sanded with either wet or dry sandpaper. I'm going to lightly sand the primer and apply a second coat of primer to get an nice smooth surface for the copper paint.

Last night I attached two Scythe S-Flex 1600 rpm fans to the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 heatsink. The heatsink only comes with one CoolerMaster fan but has an extra set of brackets and screws for a second fan. The fans will not interfere with motherboard components. Should produce a good push/pull effect. I ran across a few reviews and tests indicating with two fans the Hyper 212 runs just one degree warmer than the ThermalRight Ultra 120. The brackets are easier to work with and it's all held in place with screws instead of pushpins.

Speaking of toasters. I left the case out on the patio table overnight. When the sun came up this morning the flat black paint generated an incredible passive solar effect. The case got really HOT!. It could double as an oven. I hope the paint didn't cure too fast. I live in the suburbs of Phoenix, AZ. This time of year daytime highs are around 100 degrees and the humidity is around 20%. I'll be glad when November gets here.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

b,

I just registered my ASUS motherboard. Didn't know there was a three year guarantee. I went to their motherboard forum where they have a thread with instructions and photos about reapplying thermal compound to the northbridge, southbridge, and mosfets. The instructions and photos are very easy to follow. However, there is one item overlooked. AS Ceramique is applied to the mosfets. There is no mention about the thick thermal pad on the mosfet heatsink. They pads are removed from the northbridge and southbridge heatsinks. I asked whether to remove the thermal pad or leave it alone. I am waiting for a reply. I also asked why AS Ceramique was recommended because there was no reference to a technical reason for using it.

 

[bohman]

AS ceramique (a micro-thin layer) will fill up any imperfections (pits) in the surfaces you wish to cool. remove any/all heat pads prior to application.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

b,

I received a reply from the ASUS motherboard moderator. He said not to remove the thermal pad from the mosfet heatsink. Just apply thermal compound to the mosfets and install the heatsink with the thermal pad still intact.

On the other hand, remove the thermal pads from the northbridge and southbridge heatsinks. Clean the chips, apply thermal compound, and then install the heatsinks without any thermal pad. Don't know why.

Finally they switched from AS Ceramique to AS MX-2 about 18 months ago. I am assuming it provides better results.

I popped the 4 rivets at the front of the top panel since I am going to sand the top. The upper drive and the frame are still very sturdy.

Had to watch the Arizona Cardinals lose to the New York Jets. Now the Washington Redskins are giving the Dallas Cowboys a hard time. I hope the Philadelphia Eagles do well against the Chicago Bears this evening. GO EAGLES!

 

[bohman]

huh, ok. thanks for the info. sounds odd to me.

watching EAGLES now. they need to step it up...

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Yeah, sounds odd! I posted another message asking about it.

Didn't get too far with sanding and painting the top panel. I ran out of sand paper for the sander. I did manage to get some of the surface down to bare metal though.

The new nb and sb heatsinks and fans get delivered tomorrow. Don't know how far I'll get due to Monday Night Football.

Major bummer today. I watched the Cardinals, Cowboys, and Eagles lose!!!

 

[JohnnyLucky]

b,

The northbridge and southbridge copper heatsinks and fans arrived today. They're real beauties. The bottoms have a mirror finish. There are flanges with mounting holes at two corners diagonal from each other. Each flange has two mounting holes. I haven't actually tried yet but it looks I will have to use the inner mounting holes. I should be able to mount the fans to the heatsinks without any problem.

I'm not going to be able to get anything done tonight. It's almost time for tonight's football game between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

b,

I Stopped by the hardware store and picked up some medium grit and fine grit sandpaper. Probably should have picked up some very fine grit paper too. I continued sanding the exterior surface of the top panel. I was making progress in getting it down to bare metal. I stopped when it got dark. Arizona does not participate in daylight savings time. This time of year it gets dark around 6:45 PM and the patio is poorly lit.

I have several different ideas for a slightly modified top panel I am not certain what I will wind up doing until I see what's available at electronic and hobby shops.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

b,

Success - I sanded the exterior surface of the top panel down to bare metal. I used a small orbital sander with medium and fine grit sand paper. I let the sander do the work. It took a little over an hour and a half to get the job done. It's so nice and smoooooth!!!!

Cleaning out the case will be a pain in the butt. That should be the worst of it. It's already too dark to continue this evening. I may not prime the metal until very early Saturday morning when temperature will be in the mid 70's and there will be no wind.

I'll write down some measurements tonight and stop at Fry's, the hobby shop, and Radio Shack tomorrow to see what they have for copper sheets.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

ALBINO RACCOON! That's what my girlfriend said when I walked into the house. I wore safety glasses and a face mask when I sanded the panel. There was a lot of dust and debris that settled everywhere. When I took off the safety glasses and face mask there was a perfect outline on my face that looked like an albino raccoon.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

b,

COPPER - Last night I checked the Fry's and Radio Shack web sites. Turns out the copper they had was actually copper clad board. A thin sheet of copper is bonded to a fiberglass/resin board. Among other things it is used for a special type of photo etching and electronic projects.

I wasn't sure about the board so I did some research. I found out I could purchase real copper plates in a variety of small sizes and thicknesses. I'm thinking 16 gauge would be just about right. They even have a very special clear laquer guaranteed to seal the copper and prevent it from tarnishing. Sounds good to me.

I stopped by Fry's and picked up two small pieces of the copper clad board. It's pretty cheap compared to the copper plates. I'm thinking I could do a trial run with the board. If it works and looks good I could use the boards as templates for the copper plates.

I also took a look at a power switch and power led's. They only had one momentary power switch and it did not look very good. I didn't like the led's either. I'll have to check a few of the web sites that specialize in stuff for case mods.

The biggest problem will be all the ports on top. The actual circuit board is tiny. I think you're right, the small rectangular mesh located between the front power button slot and the big fan in back is probably the best location for mounting. Just have to figure out how to do the bezel.