A Positive Look at the Antec Nine Hundred (900) Case

[al-]

Could you post a picture of the front of your case (in the daylight) so i can what the kaze master looks like in the 900?

thanks

Sure-

[k0rben]

Sure-

Well i think that this isnt daylight. its flash from camera. youll only reach this state when the sun will be shining right in front of your case

//2al- lol dont ya use my "well i think" phrase

[al-]

Well i think that this isnt daylight. its flash from camera. youll only reach this state when the sun will be shining right in front of your case

Well I think you might be right!!

[Goreg]

thanks a lot, think I'll be buying a kaze master soon

[cyclometric]

Could you post a picture of the front of your case (in the daylight) so i can what the kaze master looks like in the 900?

thanks

This is actually a Kaze Server, not the Kaze Master, but the look of the two is similar, afaik, plus I have some other mods going on in the front of my case.

I have been meaning to put this all in a worklog, but haven't gotten around to it, so thought I would just put this down here & now, hope that's an OK way to show off my mods & get feedback.

So far, along with doing the bottom hole/PSU flip, and holes in the Mobo tray for cable management, and flipping my HDDs, wiring the Sata cable using the inline connectors (what a cable crunch saver *that* is!!) I have also...

• removed all of the nine stock grill covers, and replaced six of them with a custom grill/bezel I made from a sheet of mesh panel from CrazyPC for $6.95, painted with ACRyan UV Green from Performance PCs
  
• installed the Kaze Server
  
• and a Mountain Mods Acrylic UV Green 5.25 bay cover to make it "pop".
  
• Obviously I switched out the fans, too, opting instead for UV Green/Orange (and vice versa) ACRyan Blackfire4 fans -- the airflow is a bit better at high speed, and I like the look.
  
• Since the entire fan looks cool, not just the round part, I also removed the black plastic fan mounts
  
• instead I have mounted the fans directly on the mesh front bezel, using UV Green Silicone fan mounts, which work nicely -- the only drawback being that it is a bit awkward when removing the bezel mesh piece to clean the filters, but not terribly so, and for the look, I am willing to have a bit of hassle anyway.
  
• That move also allowed me to install fan filters behind the front fans. I am using the DEMCiflex Fan Filters, which are magnetic, and so they stick to the front of the HDD cages perfectly and trap everything. I'd say that these filters effect on airflow, if any, is minimal.

I haven't decided whether I like the green bay cover with or without some of the mesh behind it, here are pix both ways, any thoughts on that? Currently it is out, and I am leaning towards putting it back inside, as I think it makes the front look more "together".


By cyclometric at 2009-08-24

I was working on making a mesh fan grill/guard for my side fan (also an ACRyan Blackfire4), since I have removed the stock metal mesh for more of an inside view (pic below).


By cyclometric at 2009-08-24

But now what I'd like to do instead is make one large window, removing both of the stock clear acrylic pieces, and replace them with a single rectangular UV Green acrylic piece. I would like to get this with a fan hole cut to where I know it fits for my setup (about .75" down and towards the back) -- but, and I read on a website based in the Phillipines or Malaysia, that this can be done so that a laser cut fan grill is cut directly into the window -- which would be so awesome! Plus, then I could get screw holes for the fan drilled directly into the window as well, and I would use more of the silicone fan mounts to attach the fan.

Has anyone heard of a shop somewhere that would laser cut such a piece for me, if I provide the specifications (and possibly the acrylic as well...)?? I have been searching without any luck and am considering asking that website in Asia to do this for me. I just think a single piece, with an awesome fan grill cut directly into the window, would set off the case beautifully.

I still have quite a bit of cable management to do . . . I have done some but wanted to wait til my UV Cathode lights came in, which they did last week so now I have no excuses!

[cyclometric]

This is actually a Kaze Server, not the Kaze Master, but the look of the two is similar, afaik, plus I have some other mods going on in the front of my case.

I have been meaning to put this all in a worklog, but haven't gotten around to it, so thought I would just put this down here & now, hope that's an OK way to show off my mods & get feedback.

So far, along with doing the bottom hole/PSU flip, and holes in the Mobo tray for cable management, and flipping my HDDs, wiring the Sata cable using the inline connectors (what a cable crunch saver *that* is!!) I have also...

• removed all of the nine stock grill covers, and replaced six of them with a custom grill/bezel I made from a sheet of mesh panel from CrazyPC for $6.95, painted with ACRyan UV Green from Performance PCs
  
• installed the Kaze Server
  
• and a Mountain Mods Acrylic UV Green 5.25 bay cover to make it "pop".
  
• Obviously I switched out the fans, too, opting instead for UV Green/Orange (and vice versa) ACRyan Blackfire4 fans -- the airflow is a bit better at high speed, and I like the look.
  
• Since the entire fan looks cool, not just the round part, I also removed the black plastic fan mounts
  
• instead I have mounted the fans directly on the mesh front bezel, using UV Green Silicone fan mounts, which work nicely -- the only drawback being that it is a bit awkward when removing the bezel mesh piece to clean the filters, but not terribly so, and for the look, I am willing to have a bit of hassle anyway.
  
• That move also allowed me to install fan filters behind the front fans. I am using the DEMCiflex Fan Filters, which are magnetic, and so they stick to the front of the HDD cages perfectly and trap everything. I'd say that these filters effect on airflow, if any, is minimal.

I haven't decided whether I like the green bay cover with or without some of the mesh behind it, here are pix both ways, any thoughts on that? Currently it is out, and I am leaning towards putting it back inside, as I think it makes the front look more "together".


By cyclometric at 2009-08-24

I was working on making a mesh fan grill/guard for my side fan (also an ACRyan Blackfire4), since I have removed the stock metal mesh for more of an inside view (pic below).


By cyclometric at 2009-08-24

But now what I'd like to do instead is make one large window, removing both of the stock clear acrylic pieces, and replace them with a single rectangular UV Green acrylic piece. I would like to get this with a fan hole cut to where I know it fits for my setup (about .75" down and towards the back) -- but, and I read on a website based in the Phillipines or Malaysia, that this can be done so that a laser cut fan grill is cut directly into the window -- which would be so awesome! Plus, then I could get screw holes for the fan drilled directly into the window as well, and I would use more of the silicone fan mounts to attach the fan.

Has anyone heard of a shop somewhere that would laser cut such a piece for me, if I provide the specifications (and possibly the acrylic as well...)?? I have been searching without any luck and am considering asking that website in Asia to do this for me. I just think a single piece, with an awesome fan grill cut directly into the window, would set off the case beautifully.

I still have quite a bit of cable management to do . . . I have done some but wanted to wait til my UV Cathode lights came in, which they did last week so now I have no excuses!

Update: Have now added a custom side window. I cut out the metal strip between the two clear plastic side windows, and evened out the basic shape (rectangular with rounded/cutoff corners). I had bought a piece of 13"x16" Flourescent Green Acrylic from a local plastics shop, and found a local signmaker shop that could do custom laser cutting. I designed a laser cut fan grill directly into the side window, along with holes to mount the fan, and I think it came out looking great. I still have some cable management to do, and am waiting on an order from Performance-PCs to finish that up, along with swapping out the LEDs on my Xigmatek CPU fan (going to make them UV LED as well, since I also painted the fan blades UV Green).

The other mod I did was to buy a custom mount bracket for the Xigmatek 1283, so that now I have mounted it vertically. I think I shaved off a couple of degrees, plus there's room now to cool my RAM, and/or to add a fan shroud, which I am considering as well.

Here are the pix:

[Onoff312]

Just ew

[cyclometric]

ew?

[HuffPCair]

not my style but its different and definitely a cool mod.
Nice work bud.
On the window though I would take some black paint to hide the gray metal showing.

[Brian MP5T]

Yikes...

[CyberDruid]

Love that optical illusion on the grill. I had to look twice at that.

God love Antec for making the 900...it has become a legend. I was looking through some footage of a LAN I was editting and there were more 900s there than any other case...slews of them.

I still love the one I built my son...recently upgraded it with a PA 120.2 and Stinger WB. Possibly the quietest PC in the whole house.

[cyclometric]

not my style but its different and definitely a cool mod.
Nice work bud.
On the window though I would take some black paint to hide the gray metal showing.

that's good advice. Actually, if I had known about modding at all when I first built this one, I would have liked to have painted the entire inside, but for now, I'll probably practice on an old, unused case and maybe my next rig will get a paint job before installing everything.

Thanks, but I ended up buying some grommeting from Performance PC's, which did not fit the cut steel edges of the side window (the grommeting is way too big) so if anyone wants four feet of it . . . real cheap! I went to Auto Zone and found a good alternative -- black rubber U-channel door protector strips, about $3.50 for enough to go around the entire window, fits very well and has an adhesive in the middle to keep it stuck to the metal. I'll post pics soon, once I get the cable management under control and do something about my now-glowing-orange PSU (yikes is right... but hey, I'm learning as I go, and I'm the only one who has to look at the beast).

thanks,

[CyberDruid]

Nice find. I didn't know they had that at Autozone.

[cyclometric]

Love that optical illusion on the grill. I had to look twice at that.

Glad you liked that... I spent an embarrassing amount of time on the design, fumbling in Inkscape, and Sketchup, and finally, Illustrator, because the sign shop required a proper vector art file. All the while wondering if the "Mercator" would look as 3-d once cut as I hoped. Posting a nice pic of it again because it is the one part of this mod that do feel really good about.

I think the hex mesh in front has got to go... will look into some of the acrylic designs I've seen in this thread and elsewhere, to make a more consistent look.

[DoNER90]

I took some time off to finish my mod. Here is the end results:












Please mind the rough details on some of the pictures. I am not happy with the end results as I visioned it but I am going to work on it and finish it off properly.

Enjoy

[al-]

Please mind the rough details on some of the pictures. I am not happy with the end results as I visioned it but I am going to work on it and finish it off properly.

Enjoy

Very Nice!

[Vivi]

wow Doner's case looks awesome. !!

Weldone!

[Fendulon]

That is absolutely beautiful DoNER90. I love the BTX mod with all the sheetmetal. It looks so clean and unique. Full mod all around, good work.

[sailrabbit]

Original Price: $139.99
You Save: $40.00
$99.99
($59.99 after $40.00 Mail-In Rebate )
Free Shipping*


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129021


* Free shipping not available to AK, HI and PR.

[Dark-Energy]

Did this a while ago, about 6-10 months ago, can't remember. I haven't posted on here in a few months so I figure I should repost this. I remember I spent about 5 hours trying to drill and wire manage this case, it's a pain in the butt. But I got some amazing results.

[Nathanpetswalri]

internal watercooling

[INFRNL]

^^^; I do not like the top of this case, but I do love the above rig. Very nice. Got pics of the build or anything?

[Nathanpetswalri]

i'm srry i do not I get to anxious when i build so i just go for it

[Sturdius]

Haven't posted a while. Here is my 900.

[Sturdius]

Did a few more mods. Replaced the nine drive bay covers with a solid sheet of mesh. Also mounted a hard drive on the side of the hard drive bay.