Feature Show us Your Case Mods

[Jsimenhoff]

This thread is dedicated to showing off your PC case mods. We're looking for tricked out, custom built cases that show off your style and taste. Simple modifications such as a new paint job, airflow modifications, mods in progress, or anything done with a dremel are also welcome!

These case mods will be posted on the Tom's Hardware home page in an upcoming feature. So if you want to get on the front page post your mods here!

Rules
■Tom's Hardware's ToU and RoC always applies.
■Everyone will respect everyone. Flames will not be tolerated at all in this thread.
■Please limit your gallery to 1 post (4 pictures and if more pictures are needed, please post a link).
■When commenting on a system gallery, please type the poster's name in your response. Do Not quote their gallery in your response.
■Please keep resolution of pictures under 1024x768 in the thread (up to 1920x1080 if a thumbnail).
■Please state your system specifications.

 

[USAFRet]

I'll start it off with a basic one. Many of you have seen this before.

Corsair 540 AIR case, painted white internally to simulate the equipment bays in a fighter jet.
Cryorig A80 liquid AIO at the top.
Most of the internals (motherboard/GPU) have changed since this pic, but the look is still the same.


A long term project marinating in the back of my mind is a dual PC built inside this:

Late 1970's Pioneer RT-707 7" reel to reel.
Yes, I have one. Yes, the heads are shot, among other issues.

 

[why_wolf]

oh yeah I still need to buy those custom length cables for my PSU. I kinda forgot about that.

 

[g-unit1111]

Mine is kind of a work in progress:

I will get everything cleaned up and get closeups when I get the sleeved cables and the Kraken X62 then I will get everything going.

 

[brandonclone1]

Adore my custom GPU backplate! There are Youtube tutorials on how to create your own. I spent less than $10.

 

[Karadjgne]

Remember the cheapo edge glide that comes with every one of these that nobody ever uses.
screen capture windows

Kinda looks like this.


Took a blowtorch and a hammer, bent it out straight, dropped a 90 on the tip with some heatshrink for good measure and a coat of satin black.
free jpeg images

Viola! Meet my gpu support

 

[rubix_1011]

I'll post up from a project from several years ago, 'Askew'.

It's a custom built wood and paneling exposed watercooled PC.

Original build log can be found here: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/270779-29-build-project-askew

 

[Lutfij]

Some good ol' memories coming here.

USAFRet,
Two tone paint jobs, FTW

rubix_1011,
Still think Project Askew was my favorite across the entire forum! 😉

brandonclone1,
Something as simple as a GPU backplate can have a profound effect on the overall aesthetics of the build.
Good job!

I'll post some of my works in a while. I came by just to give you guys a little heads-up. I'm inviting some folks who are considered heavy weights in the modding industry 😉

If you see them, just be sure to give them a warm welcome!

 

[rubix_1011]

Thank you Lutfij - it was a fun build but I would do it very differently today if I were to build something completely new like this.

Looking forward to see who you have invited along.

 

[Karadjgne]

@Lutfij

Thats awesome if they'd come. I love seeing pros do case mods. Never could understand why ppl settled for what designers said cases are only possible for. Who needs drive bays? That's what the old optical slots are for. Only 2x ssd mounts? Ppl never heard of velcro? And of course, let's add some TG!

 

[ritvarsdavis]

@brandonclone1

Now that's a sexy looking build. Very moody like. And cardboard on a PCB, would have never thought of that myself, hehe.

 

[Karadjgne]

Cardboard? Lol, dude, the cardboard is to protect the piece of acrylic sitting on it and the table underneath. (look at the thing that says Optix)

 

[ritvarsdavis]

Lol, it's confirmed, I'm blind. 😀
In my defense, it's very transparent, easy to miss.

 

[Lutfij]

rubix_1011,
That's the part about designing. I mean, after all modding is part of designing the build, right? As such, it's a cyclical process. You can and will have that moment where you incorporate the latest and greatest, or change up something according to the times.

You're welcome though it deserves more than that. Back then a mod with EL wire, killer!

Don't hold your breath 😀 they should be here.

Karadjgne,
Thanks! It's not about if they'll come. It's when they'll come. They're busy with other projects. Some on Computex... 😉

On another note, you should use a cutting mat, not a card board since an NT Cutter can slice through some tough materials. Soon you ask yourself, how did you scratch the dining table? + Wife is all mad at you.

 

[david.p.cathey]

Hi folks! Lutfij asked me to drop in a share some of my work, don't know if I'd consider myself a heavyweight though, LOL! I'll start with my baby, my personal rig Shinai.

What it looked like when I first finished it and it was MRM in CPU Magazine.

And it's current incarnation after some upgrades.

Current specs: i7 6800K, Gigabyte GA-X99 Ultra Gaming, 16 GB HyperX Predator RAM, 2 x GTX 980Ti, CM V1200 PSU, and OCZ storage(RD400 + Vector 180 SSDs). Cooling is 2 Hardware Labs 360 rads, EK pump, fittings, and fans, Primochill res, Swiftech CPU block, and MNPCTech fittings. The case is an Antec P380 with all sorts of mods. Custom paint, bamboo veneer, and perforated aluminum accents, replaced side panel with acrylic, added SSD window, MNPCTech billet feet, custom mb tray, custom PSU cover, and custom sleeved cables.

Although I'm working on its replacement at the moment, this is still my favorite.

 

[Bolo1800]

Hey everyone,

I'm going to start with my own PC.
A truly work in progress, as i started working on it more than a year ago 😀 too much work, not enough time.
Still not done as I still need to do the front panel.
The case used to be TT chaser A71.

 

[Karadjgne]

One of the 'cleanest' builds I've ever seen, no clutter, but no jumbo wasted looking space either. Nice.

 

[Jsimenhoff]

I'll start with my baby, my personal rig Shinai.

And what a beautiful baby you have there. What kind of wood did you use for the veneer?

 

[david.p.cathey]

_Johnny5-
Thanks! I used bamboo veneer, with what seemed like a thousand coats of lacquer. It's replacement is getting a dyed curly maple, definitely easier the second time around.

 

[Jsimenhoff]

_Johnny5-
Thanks! I used bamboo veneer, with what seemed like a thousand coats of lacquer. It's replacement is getting a dyed curly maple, definitely easier the second time around.

Looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Are you transferring the innards of baby 1 to baby 2?

 

[Lutfij]

david.p.cathey,
Thank you for the mention, kind sir. A very warm welcome to the Modding Mega Thread! 😉

I personally think that your baby is very minimal and elegant 😀 Has been the build I show to my friends as to how sleek a mod can be. Do I see a Swiftech Heirloom edition water block in the latter pictures? Feel free to post a build log of your system.

Bolo1800,
Ah nice to see you here as well. Welcome to the Modding Meg Thread!
I know you've got more pics of that system. A build log would be a nice addition.

I should state to the audience though, that the cables are all made by the modders themselves so yeah a tip of the hat to the dedication for everyone posting 😉

 

[kgrevemberg]

Here is my mod that fixes the low air flow in the Evolve cases. Its a steel piece I cut out held by magnets I adheared to the case.

Not sure how to make my imgur links show as pictures

Edit: Fixed

 

[JoeMomma]

MagicBox Workstation.

ASUS Z97-AR Motherboard
Intel Core i5-4690K - overclocked to 4.5 Ghz
Thermalright Macho Rev.B CPU cooler
16 GB 1800 MHz Crucial Ballistix DDR3 RAM
400 GB SSD Intel 750 - C:\Windows
3TB HDD Western Digital Red - D:\Storage
4TB HDD Western Digital Re Gold - E:\Backup
iStarUSA Hot Swap Drive Bay - F:\Backup
512 GB SSD Crucial MX100 - G:\Games
HP Lightscribe DVD-RW Drive - H:\DVD
500 GB SSD Samsung 850 EVO - S:\Steam
OCZ StealthStream2 700W Power Supply
be quiet! Silent Base 800 Case

MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Aero video card
Sound Blaster Z audio card
Micca MB42X & Logitech G5.1 Speakers
HP OMEN 32 1440p Monitor
Gigabyte K85 Keyboard
Cougar 550M Mouse
WACOM Bamboo Fun Tablet
HP 6988 DeskJet Photo Printer
Epson Perfection 2400 Scanner
CyberPower 1000VA Battery Backup UPS
Windows 10 Professional 64 bit

I was going for subtle on the outside and wild on the inside. I don't use the tempered glass side panel that I made. Because I prefer to open my black box and blow people's minds. There was a lot of custom paint in my case but I made small orange, Chrysler metallic red, Mazda metallic grey auto paint, and black accents instead of making it garish.

 

[Jsimenhoff]

Here is my mod that fixes the low air flow in the Evolve cases. Its a steel piece I cut out held by magnets I adheared to the case.

Digging the purple LEDs you have on there. It's got a Marvel Comics sort of vibe. Nice!

 

[Lutfij]

kgrevemberg,
Your build has a grunge'ish industrial look to it! Did you do any sort of treatment on the front fascia(the slab of steel you've got there has a marbleized look or maybe my screens all messed up)? I like it!

JoeMomma,
How did you do the side panel or does it come that way?

Here is my first proper contribution to the thread 😉

The third image shows two cases back to back. They were both sponsored builds for the local ICT Fair back in 2017. It's held every year around October in my country, Dhaka,Bangladesh.

Specs for the builds:

Intel i5-8600K
MSI Gaming Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
TeamGroup Night Hawk 8GB DDR4 3000MHz kit
Transcend SSD220S 240G SSD
TT Pacific RL360 kit w/ TT Riing white fans in push set to intake. Mounted to the rear of the chassis's fan location.
Sapphire RX570 OC edition
TT Smart 600W PSU
TT G21 TG chassis custom painted in Pearl White with Charcoal Grey and Burnt Orange racing stripes.

AMD Ryzen 7 1700
MSI Gaming X370 XPower Titanium
TeamGroup Delta RGB DDR4 16GB 3000MHz kit
Transcend SSD220S 240GB SSD
Zotac GTX1060 6GB
TT water 3.0 240 Riing RGB AIO w/ push/pull setup set to intake
TT SFX 450W PSU
TT G3 chassis custom painted in Midnight Blue with off centered Silver racing stripes.

You can follow the progression of the build in the album, here.