Battle Dragon Bag - Scratch Build

[bitterfun]

Battle Dragon Bag Case sponsored by:

TT eSports


Click Image To Case Mod Store









Greetings! This is my first work log with Xtreme Systems and I've got that modding itch. This new project was inspired by TT eSport’s Battle Dragon Bag.





http://usa.ttesports.com/products/product.aspx?s=22

When I saw this bag my eyes glazed over and I went to that happy place in a modder’s head. I couldn’t see any reason why you’d only want to tote around peripherals in that bag. Why not put a whole desktop in it? Why not make a desktop-monitor combo that easily fits inside this bag? I can make a sweet computer that can be easily toted around in the Battle Dragon Bag. When I spoke with a representative with ThermalTake eSports, they seemed excited by the idea.

To start things off, I made measurements to determine exactly how big I could make the computer case and still be able to fit the various components in the bag as well. I took into consideration that I can remove the middle partition of the bag then reattach it with Velcro. I've even consulted with a seamstress who can do it for me. The case height needs to be statically set to 12" (30.5cm). The length and width can be modified as long as the proportions oscillate inversely. The maximum length is 20" to a 5" width and the maximum width is 6" to a 18" length. I've designed this case to be 18.5" long by 5.5" wide. I've also designed the case to have the motherboard set reverse in the case. What this means is if you look at the open side panel of the case the I/O ports will be on the right side, rather than the traditional left.

The first picture is a view of what will be the front/top/bottom panel and the back I/O panel. The middle strip will be a piece of illuminated red acrylic that will run the whole perimeter of the case. It will be lit up with two custom made red LED strips. Both of the power and reset switches will be Vandal LED switches. The fan/radiator port on the front of the case will be framed by a MNPCTech Overkill "Honeycomb" 120mm Fan Grill.



Overkill "Honeycomb" 120mm Fan Grill



The back panel will show the Thermaltake TTeSports logo. The TTeSports logo will be back-lit with lighted piece of clear or red acrylic. The front panel will have a window with a Chinese dragon etched into the window and a small Tt trademark in the lower right corner.



Here is the general layout of the case components. I've left enough space to work with either air cooling or water cooling. The video card will be placed horizontally with the motherboard using a 5" PCIe flexible extender ribbon. Originally, I made this design for an enclosed water cooling system, so I’ll probably have to shuffle the hard drives around if I install a reservoir and a pump.



First question people have asked me when I describe this project is: Why not just buy a laptop? Simple answer: a good desktop will have more power than ANY laptop on the market. I like power.

So… what do you guys think? I apologize in advance for the simplistic drawings. I’m working on learning Sketchup and figuring out how to make represent my ideas in a better fashion.

[bitterfun]

Update #1: Material Gathering

I received my first two packages!!!

An extra special thanks to:

TT eSports

The first package had the bulk of the ingredients:



Battle Dragon Bag
Shock One Gaming Headset
Big Water 760+ (with CPU block) Water Cooling set
TR2 RX 1000w PSU
2 Thunderblade case fans
And a top I/O port assembly from one of their cases to add to this scratch build.

The second package had a Dell Monitor that I will be adding to the mod. I have some ideas that include a swing arm. So far my preliminary warranty voiding has come up with some interesting results and ideas. *plot* *scheme* *plot*



I made some runs to the local plastic and metal vendors picked up the .5” square rods and .25”x.5” rods for the framing, one REALLY big sheet of aluminum 8’ long sheet of .25” thick aluminum, and a smaller sheet of thinner aluminum. I picked up all my aluminum at $3 USD a pound at scrap prices (w00t! basically saved .50 to 1.00 a pound). The .5” thick piece of acrylic was free!





I decided to hit up a new acquaintance of mine that has a plethora of laptop HDDs. I was able to get a Seagate 7200rpm 500GB HDD for a decent price. I will also be using the Intel 510 Series 120GB SSD I received at PAX Prime 2011 in the BYOC.




I'm just waiting on one more package to arrive. In the meantime, I'll start working on the frame. Stay Tuned!

[bitterfun]

Update #2: Another Package!!

I received the other package I was expecting!!!

An extra special thanks to:

Click Image To Case Mod Store


MNPCTech was nice enough to supply this project with some pretty killer stuff.

First and foremost is the Overkill Honeycomb 120mm Fan Grill. This will end up being right on the front of this case and the center piece for a head on view. Online pictures of these grills only give you a portion of their awesomeness. These aren’t some flimsy piece of low gauge aluminum. They’re chunks of heavy-duty, in-your-face style. They’re clean, solid, and absolutely flawless.

Overkill "Honeycomb" 120mm Fan Grill


I can’t wait until the frame is all welded together so I can slap this baby on. Here’s the in-person, unboxed view:



Next out of the box was everything I needed to give my cabling a little extra style.

PC Cable Sleeving




Of course, you can’t do your sleeving properly if you don’t have the tools. Since I already had a heat gun, MNPCTech was kind enough to fill a gap in my toolset:

ATX Molex Removal Tools





To help me set my acrylic in the case, I’ve asked to put the Tape of the Gods to the test. I’ve seen the videos. I’ve heard the hype. Now it’s time to work the magic.

Scotch 4010 Mounting Tape




The last thing in the box is quickly becoming my favorite item. After getting these glasses, I decided to take them for a spin. I had to run to the hardware store for some home improvement items, so I accessorized. I even got a compliment from one of the contractors at the store asking me where I got my safety glasses.

Safety Glasses


I've placed them next to my old pair so you can see the difference.




Now I’m just waiting for the seamstress to finish up with the bag and to complete the welding on the frame. Once these two things are completed you’ll start seeing the work log take off. Thanks for reading!

[bitterfun]

Update #3: It begins.

I just got the bag back from the seamstress after she removed the inner separator.

Link to unmodified Battle Dragon Bag


She’s still working on taking that insert and making it so it can be put back in with Velcro and so it can double as a monitor pad. I appreciate all the work she is doing for me because for all of my abilities, sewing is pretty low on the talent scale.

Also, I just received the frame from Rusty with Hazard Factory. While he is a fine instructor for both welding and casting, my skills are not quite up to par for doing a professional looking aluminum weld. So I’ve hired him to get me started. And here’s the welded frame he created to my specifications:



I’ll need to do some clean up around the couple of the corners but I am amazed how well he can weld. All of my attempts with steel and iron are usually pock marked and crooked.





Since I didn’t have any time to start work (received the frame 10pm in the evening), I started placing some of the parts on/around the frame to give me an idea of just how cramped this case might be… The Overkill "Honeycomb" 120mm Fan Grill is going to look AWESOME on this case.



Overkill "Honeycomb" 120mm Fan Grill


As one final double check I had to put the frame into and bag just to make sure it fits…


…and it does. I can’t wait to get home from work so I can REALLY start digging into this project. Thanks for reading! More to come later this week!

[bitterfun]

Update #4: Prep work.

Here is a quick little update. I needed to get everything ready for some serious work on this project. So I got all of my parts ready to be worked on. I cut two strips of 1.25” wide 30” long polycarbonate. I did two just in case I snap one of them in the bending processes. I’ve worked with acrylic but this is my first time with the polycarbonate. The people at Laird’s Plastics seemed fairly enthusiastic about the product (http://www.lairdplastics.com/product.../polycarbonate). I’ve also cut out the piece two pieces continuous pieces that will be the top and front plates. Each plate is 32” long and 2.75” wide (although I’ll probably cut it slimmer). The bottom plate will be one single piece 10.5” long 5.75” wide. Both the plates and the panels will be a thicker gauge (8 or about 1/8” thick) for protection for travel. This will cause it to be a little heavier but if I don’t like it I can always use a thinner gauge.



I’ve also decided to void my warranty with the BigWater 760+. While I think this would be an excellent product for a comfortable ready-made case, I’m more interested in its individual parts. Before:



After:


I’m still debating (and leaning towards) doing a custom reservoir. I really want to utilize the handy “refill” indicator I pulled out of the reservoir. I might have to do some creative jury rigging to get the fan control to work with the Red LED fan I was provided. Also, I’ll have to find a use for the Thermaltake fan grill since I’m using MNPCTech’s Overkill "Honeycomb" 120mm Fan Grill in the front.

And then my wife decided to pop in and take an impromptu picture while I was using the table saw to cut the polycarbonate… you can tell how happy I am that she went paparazzi on me. These safety glasses go well with the Vespa in the background… I get negative hipster points for selling off my two `73 Honda CB450s. I miss those old café beaters.



My next steps are to shave down the inside of the frame so that the 120mm fan and radiator will fit snuggly. I will also have to cut out the groves for the polycarbonate in the columns of the frame so that the cover plates lie flat on the frame.

Thanks for reading! More to come!

[bitterfun]

Update #5: Tinkerin’.

I like to put in a little work every day on my case. Even I am only working on the case for 30 or 40 minutes. I still feel like I’m making some progress. These little sets tend to add up over the weeks and sometimes months. That and they’re great for documenting processes as well. He’s what I did last night.

I cut out the sections in the columns of the frame for the polycarbonate.


I didn’t get around to cutting out the spacing for the fan but it’s marked and ready to go.


I wanted to see if the polycarbonate is as workable as acrylic. So I started bending one of the pieces with my heat gun and let gravity set the angle. Note, I made a little notch on the back to help influence where the polycarbonate bends once it’s heated up.

First bend:


Second Bend:


Result of the first piece:


Bending the second piece:


Thanks for reading! More to come this weekend!

[bitterfun]

Update #5.5: Another Package!!!

I just received the last of the prizes from my 1st place in the PAX BYOC Casemod contest. And they’re perfect compliments to this scratch build.



The Azurues Mini FPS Mouse is as sleek as it looks on the TTeSports webpage. So far I’ve only played League of Legends with it and it is performing without a hitch. The DPI settings are nice… but is there ever a reason not to have it at 1600 dpi?



I am both excited and apprehensive about my other prize: the Meka G1 Keyboard. I’m an avid ergonomic keyboard user. I have one at work and at home. While I have no problem using a standard layout, I just feel (albeit psychosomatic) more comfortable using the ergonomic keyboard. However, there was something …nice… about the responsiveness of the mechanical keys that I don’t get with the ergo keyboard. In my future-dream world, there’s a mechanical ergo backlit gaming keyboard available for under $200 USD. Yeah, I know, I’ll keep dreaming.

[bitterfun]

Update #6: Mistakes I can’t live with.

It’s been a busy week for me. I started a new job on Monday so I haven’t had as much time to work on the case as I would have liked… and what work I’ve done I am unsatisfied with. I did get the front and back panels cut, drilled and tapped to fit with the frame. As you can see here, I have all the tools necessary to do a great job tapping.





After I attached both front and back panels with a couple of screws, I was able to begin cleaning up the edges around the panels to making sure they fit just right. For the most part, I did a pretty good job. When cutting I tried channeling the attention of detail of Attila. The back panel was perfect.





But apparently my Attila mantra was slightly off. My table saw ended up chewing up a little bit too much edge on the front panel. I was hoping it was something I could correct… but when I placed the top and bottom pieces next to the front panel you can really see how far off it was…





Unfortunately, I’m going to have to buy another 18.5” x 12” piece to replace this panel. It’s just a little too off for me. I did, however cut the two panels for the top/mid/bottom sides. They are nice and straight and I just need to start bending them into place.

A buddy of mine came over to look at the progress. He questioned why I made the frame so sturdy and the side pieces 1/8”thick. I simply flipped the case over and stood on it (I’m 205lbs or 93kg) and said no reason. Next update will have pictures from the perspective of me standing on the case.

Saturday To-Do List:
Buy a new sheet of aluminum to redo Windowed Panel
Look for black ½” 6-32 flat head machine screws (stainless steel or zinc)
Look for black ½” 6-32 pan head machine screws (stainless steel or zinc)
Begin drilling/tapping the top/mid/bottom pieces
Bend the top/mid/bottom pieces

[bitterfun]

Update #7: The Correction and Bending.

I'm still getting the hang of my new job but it is a lot of fun and very interesting. But enough of that, here's a couple of the pictures of the progress. I've actually got more done than I'm posting but only so much time in my days.

Replacing that front/side panel was the right thing to do. I am much happier with the results. Here is a comparison of the panels so you can see what the difference was with the mistake:



And here are two pictures of the frame with the front and back panels:




As you can see, I'm building to be tougher than it probably needs to be... but why not?

The top and side pieces will be two continuous pieces that run the perimeter of the case. In order to do this, I have a bit of bending to do.








I was incredibly careful, if not gentle with my bending. AFter cutting a line, I gently bent an angle. Then I'd reattach the piece and check. I'd take the piece off and bend it slightly again. Little by little, I got my bends just right.
All I can say is my Attila mantra is starting to pay off. When you take your time and be extra careful, aluminum is easier to work than wood!

Tomorrow, I go to the printer to pick up some carbon paper and print a large version of the dragon to use as a pattern for the etching.


I'm also waiting for my package of screws to arrive. McMasters-Carr ended up having the Black Oxide screws I need.
I'm still looking for the perfect scroll work to etch into the plastic cover panels for inside the case...

Thank you for reading!

[\/icious]

great project subbed

[Morphling]

Nice hard work

[bitterfun]

great project subbed

Thanks!!

Nice hard work

Thank you!!

[bitterfun]

Update #8: The Outsides.

Here’s some of the catch-up work-log.
I finished getting the left and right front-top panels and bottom panel done. I also decided that I need more dragons in my basement for focus. The only poster I had from PAX with a dragon on it was a Dungeons and Dragons poster. But that’s ok, the red and black are right in line with this case.

The McMaster-Carr package arrived. So the screws you see holding the case together are only temporary. I want to have the real screws recessed so they’re not sticking out.








Next, I started fitting the Overkill "Honeycomb" 120mm Fan Grill to the front of the case.

Overkill "Honeycomb" 120mm Fan Grill








Here’s the planning for the dragon etching on the side-front-facing panel.



The next set will be for some of the inside fabrication and the etching. Thanks for reading!!

[bitterfun]

Update #9: Placement.
Sorry I haven’t had a post in a week but this new job has me very busy and I am planning a 200 seat LAN party in Seattle, WA, USA (with a casemod contest hopefully) with several of my associates. It doesn’t mean I’m not modding, just means I’ve been a little latent with my posts.

First things first, I’d like to introduce my latest addition to my project log. Gigabyte has been gracious enough to allow me to put one of their fine boards in my case: the GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3

This little MicroATX beauty is the perfect fit for this case. It’s form fitting, great on-board audio, 4 slots for RAM with a 32Gb max, SATA 6Gb connections, USB 3.0 ports, and the option for an SLI or Crossfire configuration. Now I just need to find two nice video cards to go into the case, otherwise I’ll just have to make do with my single XFX Radeon 5750.

I can’t wait to try the Cloud OC and see how it works as an Overclocking tool.

Now, on to the modding…
I finally got the insides of the frame machined so that I could slip the fan in between the bars.

I’ve tried the placement of the radiator so that the intake is in a couple of different spots. I like this placement. But I think I’m going to have to mod the intake port so that it points toward the CPU rather than the 90 degree bend towards the bottom.

Here’s a view with the intake on the other side and the pump and reservoir placed for review.

Once more but with the PSU put in to measure spacing and review placement:

And now with the motherboard:

And finally with a single stunt video card (since the 5750 is in my current computer):


After seeing all of these things in place I’m confident this is going to be a killer case. It’s just going to take a little bit of finesse to get it all to fit together.
To do list:
- Mod the radiator intake to work with the case.
- Fabricate a new reservoir that will have a downspout at the bottom for draining
- Flip the fan guard on the PSU so it’s right side up.
- Decide if I’m going to go dual or single GPU. Right now, cost is saying only one but who knows… maybe some mystery Christmas angel will help me find a way to get two cards in there.

Finally I’ll leave you with the start of my next post, the etching. Here’s the placement of the to-be etched dragon in the frame. Another update will be out soon!

[hallaor]

hey man, nice work... waiting for more updates.. xD

[lowfat]

interested in this

[bitterfun]

hey man, nice work... waiting for more updates.. xD

interested in this

Thank you both, as per requested, here's the next update. If my work or planning this LAN doesn't kill me I should have at least weekly updates.

[bitterfun]

Update #10: A little bit of LAN and Etching.

And on tenth update he said,”Let there be pictures.” Lots and lots of pictures.

First off, I got a chance to try out my new keyboard, headset and mouse at a LAN. My cohort Big Red throws small LAN parties on a semi-regular basis. There’s usually only about 20-25 people but they’re immensely fun and always filled with the best of people. I’m not going to show you the pathetic case I brought to this LAN. I’m too ashamed of it. The pathetic case is one of the many reasons I have to work on this Battle Dragon Bag Case. I appreciate TTeSports for giving me the opportunity to work on it.

Here 4 quick pictures of the LAN and then it’s back to the modding! First picture has all the things I need for a LAN:



I got seating next two parts of awesome: Beta_Angel and LordMoon (seen in this picture). LordMoon will be featuring some of our gaming antics for the local news. If you get a chance check out some of his review at http://www.nwcn.com/entertainment/game-reviews



The next two pictures were on the Friday night so it wasn’t as packed as it gets but you can see the setup:






Now, on to the modding:

First I had to get set the pattern onto the polycarbonate. This is where I noticed that the dragon was missing a leg… huh… I put the pattern and some carbon paper on the polycarbonate and traced away.



After I got done tracing the pattern, I added the missing leg and then used a black marker to make sure I didn’t wipe off the pattern.



Then I had to double checking the polycarbonate is big enough to be the window. I didn’t want to waste all of the time etching something that wasn’t going to fit.



I gathered up all of my needed supplies: A foam backing so I didn’t scratch up the opposite side, my dremel with a tip I like, blackberry-pear cider, and my Smith & Wesson “Elite” Safety Glasses courtesy of MNPCTech.



Then I got nervous. I had never etched before on polycarbonate… so I made a practice piece.



Tried my hand with a couple of different tips and tried some shading. I’m going to need a lot of practice with the shading. Cross-hatching is a little trickier with dremel.



But I felt fairly confident about my line work so I dove right in…



Here’s the view after I finished the initial line work:



And here’s the back view. I still have to peel off some of the plastic coating so it looks a bit more filled in than it actually is.



I’ll probably spend some more time touching up the line work and maybe get brave enough to fill in some of the scales.

That’s it for now. Thank you for reading!

[dreamaxx]

Coool

[Hondacity]

keyboard bag? sweeet

thats one tough case...

[bitterfun]

Coool

Thanks!

keyboard bag? sweeet

thats one tough case...

That's the point, make a case that can take beating and keep on gaming.

[bitterfun]

Update #11: Frame work and the beginning of the assembly.

First off, I've finished the etching!!





I have to admit, I really like etching. I'm half way tempted to try the back TTeSport dragon as an etching as well. Aesthetically, I think I could make it look good and have fun doing it. Although... it might detract from the whole traditional front/back design, so I'm taking it into consideration.

For now, I began working on making the framework for the parts. At first I tried basic bars:





Then I had to factor in the reservoir and the pump and well two bars just wasn't cool enough.





I still have to do a bunch of filing and cleaning up but I like that shape over two plain bars. I also did work on the radiator. The intake pipe was at a 90 degree angle pointed down.



That wasn't good for my design so... I chopped it off.



I lucked out when I looked inside the pipe. I can simply drill and tap the pipe to work with a fitting.

Next I had to widen the screw mounts for the radiator it could be connected to the Overkill "Honeycomb" 120mm Fan Grill. Another stroke of luck, the existing hole was big enough that all i had to do was widen it with a tap.



Next, I started fitting the Overkill "Honeycomb" 120mm Fan Grill to the front of the case.

Overkill "Honeycomb" 120mm Fan Grill


First shot, without the modder's mesh:



Second shot, with the modder's mesh:



Here's a side view:



Thanks for reading!!

[bitterfun]

Update #12: IT’S UPDATE TIME!!!

Excuses:
New Job
New Job with Holidays = Busy
Holidays
Holidays with Friends and Relatives = Busy
Planning and preparing and spinning my wheels while motivating our webdev for the Emerald City LAN = kind of busy? I’m sure Big Red’s will scoff at that one.

Apologies:
Sorry I’ve been “absent” with my updates. I’m noticing that I do quite a bit more modding work when I’m unemployed or under-employed. I’ve been doing micro work here and there but constantly working on my case.
I also have to apologize that I haven’t taken as many pictures of my work and a couple are blurry. I’ll probably be looking at getting a new camera at the end of this project.

How I will make it up to you:
This update will be filled with content (18 pictures) and will probably cause you to wear out your scroll wheel.
I will be turning my slowness into your benefit. I’ve done parts orders from three different modding online retail stores (and received free parts from a fourth) and will be posting an opinion/review article in the near future (the article will be vetted and hosted at DeviceUnknown.com). The article should be completed and sent to the editor by Friday.


Now, onto the update and let’s start with some of the goodies!

My package from Xoxide.com arrived! Contents: two strips of LEDs and a remote switching controller. I’ve never used any of the premade LED strips so this is a bit a lazy experiment. I could have gotten a bunch of LEDs off of Ebay, calculated my load and soldered in the wires for a fraction of the price but I wanted to see if the convenience was worth the price. The remote switch is for me. I like gadgets.



My package from FrozenCPU.com arrived! Contents: two Vandal Switches and two red 8” Cold Cathode Ray Tubes. The switches are just plain cool looking. They’re fairly easy to wire up and give a particular style and look to the case. The CCRTs will be used to light the etched panels and give an ambient red light to the inside of the case.


I got a sweet holiday present from my mother! Content: One awesome stand-up drill press. I technically didn’t get this present until the 6th of January (and excitedly assembled that same day). But it’s just too awesome of a gift not to mention. And yes, I tested it. It works effortlessly. However, I’ve already broken one drill bit playing around with it. I have to learn to gauge my pressure/strength better with the drill press. *giggles like an excite little school girl*



I also get a bunch of bits with some of my holiday money! Contents: stuff.



My main goal this holiday was to get the skeleton completed. I got pretty far but still have to do the mounting bracket for the video card and the HDDs/SSDs (one piece for both parts). I decided to raise the mother board and PSU mounts so I could better manage my wires. So I installed risers for the mounting plates:



After further inspection, I decided to redo my forward plate. One of the things I’m finally starting to figure out is how you cut your aluminum will often determine how long you have to spend cleaning up the part. Bad cut = many days filing and sanding. Good cut = many hours filling and sanding. I’m starting to assess my pieces by figuring out if it’s quicker and cheaper to just scrap a piece of aluminum and cut it properly or spend the many hours filing an under-cut piece to perfection or correcting an over-cut piece to acceptable point.



Next I designed cut my reservoir and pump mount:









Some of you might call me a modding noob for this, but working with aluminum is a discovery process for me. I just figured out you tap from the opposite side and still be able to insert screw on the intended side. It saved me a lot of awkward tapping and creative drilling.



Then I attached all of the pieces with temporary screws. Does anyone else do this? I find that I like to use beat up screws to hold it in place as I evaluate placing and while I determine if I’m going to recess a screw.



Next I worked on increasing the screw size and recessing all of the screws on the top, front and bottom panels…. And apparently too much schnapps or mulled mead leads to dead taps. Fortunately I didn’t screw up the panel and was able to remove the broke tap with no real damage.







Finally (for this update), I began working on the back panel:








So… what’s next? Well I already have a bunch of work ready for this next update. I’m excited to utilize my new drill press. I have an ordered package coming in from Performance-PCS.com. I purchased and received a 2GB Radeon HD 6950. So I’ll include my upgrading the 6950 bios to a 6970 bios in this worklog. That’s modding right? I also received some exciting news from a new sponsor. Plenty of content and much more to come!

(and I promise I won’t leave you hanging so long next time)

Thanks for reading!!

[bitterfun]

Update #13: The unlucky update?



This update I have a great announcement! The reviewing website DeviceUnknown.com has been gracious enough to provide me with a HD 6970 EK waterblock and back plate!



This water block provides me with both a challenge and a reassurance. The challenge is that I’ll be suspending the water block upside down. Now that might seem so challenging but when you think how a GPU water block works you might see it differently. The reassurance comes from knowing the GPU will be cool after I’ve upgraded my HD 6950 to a 6970. When I bought this video card I did so for two reasons. One, it has a plate that can be easily modded into a mounting bracket. Two, the Radeon HD 6950 with 2GB can be BIOS flashed to a 6970. The process was simple enough.

For step by step guide I followed this template: http://www.overclock.net/t/942034/ho...-to-6970-guide

Basically, I downloaded ATIWinFlash, downloaded a 6970 BIOS, flipped the BIOS switch on my video card, flashed the BIOS and then reinstalled the drivers. Here’s the before and after on my videocard. It works like a charm.



I’ve also received the first of two orders from Performance-PCS! My water-cooling glands are salivating? Does that even make sense?



Any rate I’ve started on the back panel as well. This is where a CNC plasma cutter would come in incredibly handy.




It’s not going as easy as I would have hoped for… there are some parts that I’ll have to either repair or decide to refabricate. I’m still thinking about this one. Attila! HOW DO YOU MAKE IT LOOK SO EASY!!! YOU GLORIOUS BASTARD!!!

Two Thank You Notes:
First, I won a N580GTX Lightning Xtreme Edition video card and a Z68A-GD80 G3 from a MSI contest. Thank you very much. If my gaming doesn’t improve after this… then it’s the lag… yeah, that’s the ticket.


Secondly, I’d like to thank Robert Dailey at DeviceUnknown.com for providing me the water block for this case and for giving me the opportunity to try my hand at writing. Feel free to take a look at my first foray into the online writing world see if my review on Online Modding Part eTailors sparks any interest or conversation.
http://deviceunknown.com/?p=794

Once again, thanks for reading and comment away!

[bitterfun]

Update #14: The repeat update.

As part of my hobby I’ve been working on writing some article for DeviceUnknown.com. It has been a lot of fun. Yesterday, I had the privilege of chatting to Bill Owen, the famous modder of MNPCTech.com. While I won’t give away the whole course of the interview in my update (you’ll have to wait and read the article) I will say that he reminded me of two main things that keep me interested and excited about modding: learning and craftsmanship.

Learning:
I’ll admit I don’t know nearly as much as most modders out there. I still consider myself new to the scene and new to modding. I’m sure there’s several people out there that can tell me exactly what drill bit to use with a 1/2 inch tap that a 3/8 th inch water cooling fitting will fit snugly into… But I don’t, so I play. I call it play because this is how I have fun. I figure it out like it’s a puzzle that I want to solve. Basically, I do little things like this to remind me of certain parts of my puzzle:

I’ll be stopping by the hardware store to get a drill bit tonight. It might be the wrong one. But I don’t care. You learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes.

Craftmanship:
The title of this update is all about this section. While I was working my aluminum with the jigsaw, attacking the design with as much precision as a butcher cutting a prime steak only to grind it into hamburger patties, I ended up breaking off three pieces of the design. I suppose I could have fixed it. But I know that when it was done, I’d be able to lean in and see the flaws just under the paint, mocking me. So I decided to recreate the back panel and figure out a better way to do it. I want it an whole continuous part with smooth edges and hard lines.

First I copied the shape and overlapped the edges so that it fit with the frame.


Next, I created four screw holes over both the old and new pieces. Then I put the old piece over the new piece to make exact placements of the existing screw holes.


Here, I measured and placed the TTeSport Dragon design on the panel.


I etched the lines into the metal in case I wiped away my lines while I was cutting the metal. I also circled the areas that I had problems with last time so I knew to be sensitive with how much stress or pressure I put in these spots.


Now, it began prepping my metal with drilled holes so that I could fit my jigsaw blade into the metal. I put a hole at every turn or angel so that I could cut lines as straight as possible.


And then I went crazy… I just kept drilling holes. My wife begged me to stop. But I couldn’t. I just kept drilling. I can still hear the distant sound of drill press calling me….



In other news, two more packages arrived: my second shipment of Bitspower fittings and some nice red acrylic for the back panel!


That’s it for now! Stay tuned more to come this week!
Thanks for reading!