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Custom Computer Case (Updated 12/13/13 with changed design, building started!!)
toloveistorebel 
Impressive. Most impressive. Central FLRegistered User regular
Impressive. Most impressive. Central FLRegistered User regular
Hey guys. So I'm going to be building a custom PC case from scratch. I figured I would post here to keep track of my progress, to share with you guys, and to get some feedback. Farther down the page is more recent.
System specs for what's going inside (from current build):
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Storage 2: Undecided. As of now I have a bunch of smaller drives. WIll be a 1-2TB 7200RPM drive at some point.
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card
Power Supply: Rosewill Stallion 500W ATX12V Power Supply
So the case I'm building is going to sit on top of my corner standing desk. I'm going to use it as my monitor stand as well as just a cool looking (hopefully!) case. Its going to have acrylic for the top and bottom and either acrylic or thin wood for the sides. I'm also playing with the idea of aluminum sheeting on the front. So far I've done some sketches on paper and now I've done a quick frame design in Google Sketchup. I really don't know how to use Sketchup so please forgive the lack of detail and the blockiness. The top and bottom acrylic pieces are not there. The corner side will be the back.
Update 10/9/13
Update 12/13/13
Well, I've begun working on a prototype. But I've changed the design. I decided that the corner idea may not be best for the long run so I made it square instead. The layout is still very much the same, just a bit smaller and rotated internally. I also added some stuff to the front for aesthetics. Since its just a prototype I wanted to experiment a bit
I will be painting this white, with some black highlights here and there.
Getting started. Using mainly MDF and wood supports for this prototype.
All cut out! (Pretty cool how the previous tenants painted the floor blue...)
Started the assembly using little blocks for support. But that was terrible. Had to change plans.
Doing some design work for the front.
For the support pieces inside the case I cut out some triangles. Much better than the little blocks i tried using before.
At this point I realized that the holes I cut on the back panel for the I/O plate and GPU were exactly a quarter inch too far right (left, depending on where you're looking from). UGH. Not too big a deal though. Just had to take a 1/4 inch off the side of each. There will be a slight gap now but shouldn't be too bad. Its just the back, no one ever sees that right??
Here's a video of my power button.
System specs for what's going inside (from current build):
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Storage 2: Undecided. As of now I have a bunch of smaller drives. WIll be a 1-2TB 7200RPM drive at some point.
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card
Power Supply: Rosewill Stallion 500W ATX12V Power Supply
So the case I'm building is going to sit on top of my corner standing desk. I'm going to use it as my monitor stand as well as just a cool looking (hopefully!) case. Its going to have acrylic for the top and bottom and either acrylic or thin wood for the sides. I'm also playing with the idea of aluminum sheeting on the front. So far I've done some sketches on paper and now I've done a quick frame design in Google Sketchup. I really don't know how to use Sketchup so please forgive the lack of detail and the blockiness. The top and bottom acrylic pieces are not there. The corner side will be the back.
Update 10/9/13
Alright, for the most part I've completed the 3D model in Sketchup. I'll hopefully get some supplies and start the building process this weekend. Here are some screenshots:
Update 12/13/13
Well, I've begun working on a prototype. But I've changed the design. I decided that the corner idea may not be best for the long run so I made it square instead. The layout is still very much the same, just a bit smaller and rotated internally. I also added some stuff to the front for aesthetics. Since its just a prototype I wanted to experiment a bit
I will be painting this white, with some black highlights here and there.Getting started. Using mainly MDF and wood supports for this prototype.
All cut out! (Pretty cool how the previous tenants painted the floor blue...)
Started the assembly using little blocks for support. But that was terrible. Had to change plans.
Doing some design work for the front.
For the support pieces inside the case I cut out some triangles. Much better than the little blocks i tried using before.
At this point I realized that the holes I cut on the back panel for the I/O plate and GPU were exactly a quarter inch too far right (left, depending on where you're looking from). UGH. Not too big a deal though. Just had to take a 1/4 inch off the side of each. There will be a slight gap now but shouldn't be too bad. Its just the back, no one ever sees that right??
Here's a video of my power button.
toloveistorebel on
+4
Posts
Thanks for the input!
because you won't want things like the gpu facing towards you, as that's where most of the heat/noise of most computers comes from.
Your going to want fan filters to be easily removable so you can take them off every week or so and wash them, so you don't want them screwed in.
Yeah the corner part will be facing the corner of the wall (17in side is the front). Thus everything should be exhausting away from me. Good call on the filters being removable... I'm probably going to need to make the top to come off easily so that I can access components. I can probably make slots for the filters.
As far as the noise goes, I usually just end up playing on my TV. My desk is close enough to be connected with a 15 ft. HDMI cable. We're going to be moving in a few months though and I plan on building a proper desk and having a dedicated room for gaming. So this case is going to be temporary and practice. If it goes well enough I'll build something more fitting for a larger space next time.
Thanks for the ideas though. Any input is great.
However, what size MB are you using? If you are going with ATX or Micro-ATX, it will be ~9.6" wide and a standard PSU is going to be 3-3.5" think which makes me think 12" for that side isn't going to cut it. Unless of course, you are using a different MB size or a low profile PSU of some sort, in which case never mind.
Also, at the risk of stating the obvious, I'm assuming you aren't actually putting that flush against the wall? If you are, it seems you are going to have some airflow issues if not cable issues.
Thanks! Definitely valid points. I probably will have to adjust the size a bit. My board is a full ATX, but its actually 8.6 inches wide for whatever reason. But my measurements aren't completely exact. The mockup is more or less to just get the design nailed down. I'm going to lay out the actual parts and finalize the dimensions when I build. It hopefully is pretty close. One thing I will have to change is the exhaust fans by PSU. There's not really enough room for them as they overhang the motherboard. So it may need to end up being about 13 inches back there anyway.
I do plan on having it close to the wall, maybe about two inches of clearance on the back sides. There will be plenty of air above and under. I built the desk with a cut out in the back so exhaust should be able to get down there as well. (Which reminds me... The back corner foot I have in my design is completely pointless lol.) My current case, while having plenty of room around it, is not that well ventilated. But system temps stay pretty low. So hopefully this one will be even better. We'll see!
Also, I'll go ahead and add the system specs to the OP for reference.
I've done a thorough reworking of our budget so I've had to put this project on hold for a couple weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to get working on it soon.