Tom's Hardware Member System Gallery

[aznshinobi]

So off the topic, just a tiny bit, but has anyone done painting on an Antec 300, 900, or 1200 of any version? I'm thinking of taking apart the computer and doing some paint work on the bezels, etc, since I'm about to upgrade to BD (when it releases) why not give the case some new life.

Anyways, I've got the gist down. Cleaning the case first with some degreaser, then sanding, primer, then the actual paint (or at least I think I do).
But I don't know what to use for what.

What sand grit to use, what primer to use, and which paint to use. Help! (Oh it'd also help if you went more in depth)

 

[toneekay]

If your case is already pre-painted like most, I would recommend the aircraft paint removal to strip the existing paint off. Sand it down with a medium grit sand paper like 800-1000, then work your way up in 400-500 grit increments until you get to a fine smooth, yet textured surface. Then you can do your initial prime, followed with the paint, then another coat of paint (if you're making it a solid color), and then a layer of clear coat. After that I would recommend doing a water sand/buff with a super high grit just to get out the bumps, bubbles, and etc...

I have no experience with painting what so ever, but this just sounds like the best way going about it. Maybe someone else with more experience can chime in. I've been wanting to pick up a really old case and mod/repaint it as well... Sounds fun!

 

[aznshinobi]

I believe it is the opposite, but that's since I took shop class.
In between coats how much time should I allow? IE the primer how many layers, then in between prime coats how long? And between color coats how long?

 

[toneekay]

The opposite way I described everything?

I'm not sure how much time between each paint coat, but my guess would be when the previous layer looks about 50% dry. You kind of want the second layer to blend in well with the previous, and waiting until it dries will only make it look like you just painted over something that was already painted (could have uneven areas). Not sure about primer...

I don't even know why I'm answering you when I have no experience with this ROFL!

 

[toneekay]

Here's a YT video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_YY83dGbEI

 

[aznshinobi]

Haha well, what I meant was the finer the grit the higher the number. The "grittier" the grit the lower the number.

 

[1His Nibs1]

Um I can't figure out how to post photos of my build.....D'oh!

 

[Uther39]

Heres a cheap EBAY gaming rig ive built/building for a friend, all parts from ebay, and ive heavily modded the cheap case to have good bottom to top airflow like the Silverstone Raven series.

Specs will/are.
Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 2.40GHz/2m/800 OCd to 3.0GHz = £35
MSI P43T-C51 ATX SKT LGA775 Motherboard = £20
4Gb (4x1Gb) OCZ DDR2 PC2 6400 RAM Memory = £25
HIS Radeon ATI HD 5770 ICEQ5 Turbo Pre-Overclocked Card =£42
Samsung F1 1TB HDD = £20
Samsung DVD-RW = £9
Antec Earthwatts 430w = £18
Non Descriptive PC Case = £14
4 x Akasa 120mm blue LED + 1 x 80mm blue LED case fans = £13
Auto Fan Controller, With Temp Zone Control (Not sure who makes it) = £12
TITAN FENRIR Cpu Cooler = £10

OS is ubuntu11.04, but will be installing Windows 7

All intake fans are filtered, did some serious dremel work on the case to get all the holes cut into it.

 

[Lutfij]

^ bloody crap!!! thas a good looking cheapo build there good cablemanagement and i suppose you had a good amount of time getting those bottom 120mm fans placed in that position so close to the mobo...?

that fan contorller looks simple yet cool :thumbs up: and i can see you're using corsair dimms...how long are you planning on snagging the parts for this build?

hang on a minute! can we post pics of rigs that were built for our pal's? if so I've got 3...to post

 

[Uther39]

Errr not sure, could we change the title to members builds?

 

[Lutfij]

^ if you're changing the topic then i think its best you start the topic and not change this...then ask the mods to delete this post for sake of sticking to the thread topic.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

@Lutfij, yes as Techmo's original guidelines state you can post any rigs you've built, in fact, heres a restatement of the thread rules....

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, only add finished rigs, not work-logs.
•Please state your system specifications.
•Please PM the respective poster when your discussion is off topic or a component specific type quesiton.
•Please report dead or non-working links to the original poster first. If you get no response, please send me a PM.

If you have questions, feel free to contact me (Techmo) by PM. Enjoy it and post your System images

Maybe now we can get back to some Rocking Rig pics hehe
Moto

 

[FlintIronStagg]

Case: HAF- 912

CPU: AMD Phenom IIx4 925@3.3Ghz w/ CM hyper 212 cooler

Ram: 8G of 1333

Mobo: MSi 970A-G45 AM3+

GPU: MSi GTX570 @ 786/1572

PSU: Cooler Master 600W Silent Pro.

HDD: Wester Digital 1TB

 

[Lutfij]

you wanna know something...? with the light on, your rig looks clean but doesn't that 570 need an 8 pin+6 pin pci-e connector?

@ techmo34 - didn't want to waste thread space...so reply to later post...

gotcha!!!

 

[tecmo34]

It is acceptable to a post system that YOU built that might not be yours currently. Example, I have a post of a build I did for my daughter that is now my father's. The key is that you built it, not someone else's build.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

you wanna know something...? with the light on, your rig looks clean but doesn't that 570 need an 8 pin+6 pin pci-e connector?

@ techmo34 - didn't want to waste thread space...so reply to later post...
http://freeemoticonsandsmileys.com/animated emoticons/Dancing Animated Emoticons/hamster dance.gif gotcha!!!

Thanks, I know I could manage the cables a tad bit better, but they are for the most part out of the way, and i get good airflow/temps, so ima leave it unless i get a wild hair up my butt to get it all tidy. And, no, the 570 needs 2 6pin connectors, not one 8 and one 6. those are both 6+2 connectors.

 

[Lutfij]

@ FlintIronStagg - that HDD looks to me like a Caviar green 1TB - you could spend a lil and get a fast boot drive - IMO

yeah i know of the pins going into the 570 just thought i saw an 8 pin socket on the left of the connectors ... :/ my mistake

here's the "other" rig i sold to on of my pal's and he asked me to rebuild it when he got a new table, speaker, case,ODD and HDD's after a few of his older parts passed away.

Spec's;
Intel DG965RY
Intel Pentium D 915 @ 2.83GHz
Thermaltake Big Typhoon w/ 1300cfm LED
2x1GB Transcend 800Mhz DDR2 ram 5-5-5-18
2x320GB WD Caviar Blue w/32MB cache
Asus DVD+/-RW
Nvidia 8600GT Fatal1ty Passively cooled 256MB/128bit DDR3 Edition
Delux case and PSU - 450W
Thermaltake Challenger Ultimate Keyboard
Microsoft Sidewinder mouse
Altec Lancing VS4121 2.1 Speaker setup (in black + it ain't the new Chinese crap)
Samsung 732N plus 17" monitor

he's happy with it so I'm happy with it...FYI this rig has half my old parts(the GPU, monitor and cooler) and half my bro's old parts, i.e:here. Don't mind the pics, i didn't have the Rebel Xt with me while taking them pics so i took it with a Nokia E75.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

I dont have a need for anything faster, honestly. I never find myself waiting for long at all. My Os boots up rather quickly, as I dont bog down the startup with alot of programs. I have looked into getting an SSD for my OS but I'm not sure how to justify it to the wife.

 

[saint19]

I dont have a need for anything faster, honestly. I never find myself waiting for long at all. My Os boots up rather quickly, as I dont bog down the startup with alot of programs. I have looked into getting an SSD for my OS but I'm not sure how to justify it to the wife.

Don't do it

 

[blackhawk1928]

^Thats my rig...don't have any pictures of the entire interior, because I've had some upgrades.

If you click on my profile you can see the full specifications!

At this point, I'm waiting for the 1366 replacement...which I've heard is socket 2011. EXCITED!

 

[tecmo34]

Is Socket 2011 Z68/1155? I thought that was the replacement.

No... LGA 2011 is the replacment for LGA 1366 and LGA 1155 is the replacment for LGA 1156. The Z68 is just a highend chipset within the LGA 1155 family (think AMD's 890, 880, 870 structure).

 

[ChromeTusk]

Heres a cheap EBAY gaming rig ive built/building for a friend, all parts from ebay, and ive heavily modded the cheap case to have good bottom to top airflow like the Silverstone Raven series.

Specs will/are.
Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 2.40GHz/2m/800 OCd to 3.0GHz = £35
MSI P43T-C51 ATX SKT LGA775 Motherboard = £20
4Gb (4x1Gb) OCZ DDR2 PC2 6400 RAM Memory = £25
HIS Radeon ATI HD 5770 ICEQ5 Turbo Pre-Overclocked Card =£42
Samsung F1 1TB HDD = £20
Samsung DVD-RW = £9
Antec Earthwatts 430w = £18
Non Descriptive PC Case = £14
4 x Akasa 120mm blue LED + 1 x 80mm blue LED case fans = £13
Auto Fan Controller, With Temp Zone Control (Not sure who makes it) = £12
TITAN FENRIR Cpu Cooler = £10

OS is ubuntu11.04, but will be installing Windows 7 ... All intake fans are filtered, did some serious dremel work on the case to get all the holes cut into it.

Great looking build, but I do not see the HD5770. Is it right below the cooler or is the rig still incomplete?

...
here's the "other" rig i sold to on of my pal's and he asked me to rebuild it when he got a new table, speaker, case,ODD and HDD's after a few of his older parts passed away.
...
he's happy with it so I'm happy with it...FYI this rig has half my old parts(the GPU, monitor and cooler) and half my bro's old parts. Don't mind the pics, i didn't have the Rebel Xt with me while taking them pics so i took it with a Nokia E75.

As long as the end user is happy, it is fine to use our old parts. That's my excuse for upgrading parts on MY personal rig 😗 . Already saving funds for a "Bulldozer" upgrade and a media center rig for the family.

 

[Deleted member 362816]

Hi all here is my 1st ever INTEL rig i love it

[url]http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/449/24082011.jpg[/URL]

[url]http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4217/24082011001.jpg[/URL]

[url]http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/2663/24082011002.jpg[/URL]

Specs:
intel core i5 2500k oc'd to 4.5ghz 24/7 on stock voltage (was at 5.1ghz)

g.skill ripjaws x 1600mhz x.m.p 8gb

gainward gtx 480 (1 died due to pushing the overclock to far waiting to save for another)

msi P67A-GD53 motherboard

noctua NH-U9B SE2 heatsink

silverstone strider 1000watts fully modular 80plus psu

2x samsung spinpoint f3 1000gb in RAID 0

xigmatek utguard chassis.

Looks good to me

 

[Deleted member 362816]

@amd655 Yeah I was a amd fan boy for along time, Still am but Atm intel has them by the balls lol.

 

[Deleted member 362816]

I am building a new computer next week I will make sure to post it up here.