Lenovo Case modding.

[SirSlaughter]

Alright guys, Not sure IF new thread for this was really needed, But after seeing our friend make his HAFX case mods ( http://virtualcustoms.net/showthread.php/37794-A-New-Carbon-Fiber-Psu-Shroud-And-Haf-932-Mod-Build-Log ) I thought I would try my hand at doing something as well. Now I know this may seem Cliche, But I did go with the Red and Black theme on this one. I only did it as no other colors really looked that pleaseing and I alrady did a Black and Green/Blue theme with my NZXT Phantom case so...here you go:


As you can see I started out with a simple stock lenovo Thinkcenter.

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And then the masking tape began:

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I swapped out the CPU cooler From that stock one to a Thermaltake Slim X3. The fan sucks but I hope to replace that soon. I need a Thin 80mm Fan to do it.

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Oh And I will be changing out that blue 80mm fan hopefully with a red LED 92mm or if I can't I will just stick a 92mm Fan with red blades in there.

But I took the side panes and front panel off and Started the painting process today:
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I will post pics later on as I progress, But I plan on making fast progress as I already have about 70% of what I need on hand. :D

[Big V]

Quick call the Doc their another member infected with the modding bug!!! lol

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Looking forward to seeing how you progress bud.

[SirSlaughter]

Well I did on a little bit for today. I still need to drill some holes into the other side panel and see how any 80mm Fans I can fit into that thing without being constricted. I tried larger fans but the size of the case and the location of everything made it impossible.
So here is what it looked like before:

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Then I did the black:
55528Then Add the Little plastic side piece: 55529

Now let's put them together along with the Front panel that I am still not done with:
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And now That I finished at least this side panel here is what I managed to get. I am pleased with the results, But I think I should have done another coat of black, But oh well. First try at this and I am happy with my progress.
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Let's hope tomorrow I can get to marking out holes and putting a fan on there. After that I will have to cut out a slot so I can put a filter there as well. I will have to order the filters and a few other little things, But I can still do plenty before that.

[SirSlaughter]

OK, I got to work today and got the holes drilled to allow 80mm fans to be mounted and I also got to work painting some more. I also ordered the filters, Shrinkwrap and red cable sleeving. So in a week I should have more to do and you will see even more progress. But for now, Let me show you what I have done so far.

As you can see I painted the front panel and the other parts of the case now:
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And then I went and started drilling holes into the other side panel. I also put the fans on it to see how it would all fit. You can see I can't really drill properly to save my life being a first timer with a drill and all... But that is not the case. ONWARDS!
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So now that this is all out the way, I just need to wait for my packages and I can get some more stuff done. Well actually I need to stop by Lowes or something so I can pick up a metal cutting tool. That way I can cut the holes for the filters. Then I will post more pics when I get the sleeving done as well. Until then, We wait.

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[RICH2466]

Ben watching your post it`s looking good GRATE JOB

[Azt3ck]

Looking good bro. I see you putting some 80mm fans in there. if you havent cut out yet here is a template for the fans.

When priniting make sure you dont scale it.
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=49478&d=1098399932

[SirSlaughter]

Looking good bro. I see you putting some 80mm fans in there. if you havent cut out yet here is a template for the fans.

When priniting make sure you dont scale it.
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=49478&d=1098399932


Thank you so much for this. I will have a much easier time getting the large holes in for the ventilation now.

Well I am still waiting for the red cable sleeve and the filters. After that I need the red LED fans. That will take a while but once I get it all in I will have some more work to do and I can update.

[SirSlaughter]

Alright I finally managed got get my sleeving kit, shrink wrap, and the 80mm fan filters in.

So I got to sleeving today as that was pretty much all I could do for now.
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This is before I sleeved everything today: 55690


And then I began the process:
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After all was said and done I finished putting what I could do with the materials and tools I had on me and I put my computer back together.
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And well that is all I got done for today. The red heat shrink was a bit pink and some sizes would not fit so I had to use white heat shrink as it was the perfect size for some parts. You can also see where I used the black. Overall I am happy with the way the whole thing came out. I just wish I had a pin removal tool or kit so I could individually sleeve each cable for certain power supply plugs. But oh well. That will have to wait another day. This computer was originally supposed to be trashed anyway. so This is a great test project. Hopefully more to come soon, But I have a trip to Puerto Rico next week planned so this is all You guys are probably gonna get for the next week and a half.

Oh and if anyone can show me a good pin removal tool/kit that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for looking.

[odinlives]

Coming along nicely mate. I know sleeving can be a pain but in the end it's worth it. Seems like almost everyone that calls heatshrink red should just be honest to the buyers and tell us it's pink...lol

[designfjotten]

cool mod bud :) like that style u did on your case :D good too see its not only me who is bitten by the modding bugg :D hihi keep on cooking bro :D

[SirSlaughter]

Alright I am back from my trip From Puerto Rico...I will never go there on my own free will ever again. But that is not the point of this post. I am happy to say the day after I got back (today) I went ahead and finished up my cutting. I got the hole saw and went to town. I chose a 70mm whole saw and proceeded to finish my project.

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Well I put the hoes and mounted the fans. A fairly painless process. Other than me not expecting the grip from the hole saw to be so much...Almost cut my damned leg off...But anyway I Ran into a little Speed bump when I was putting the sidepanel on the case. I thought the fan would fit right underneath the HDD tray holder. I was wrong ever so slightly so I did a temporary job and used a reglar metal saw and cut what I could reach on the sides. From there i took My Gerber and bent the fram underneath and snapped a small piece off as well to accommodate the front most 80mm fan. As you can see in the following picture here:

56293 Like I said, A temporary solution until I can get a tool to get a clean cut for that bottom section. After all was said and done I went ahead and mounted it all in and placed the components inside. I bought a molex extension while I was at Puerto Rico and some LEDs so I can solder 2 red ones to replace the Power LED and HDD LED.

I am not quite done just yet though. I am running on 3 hours of sleep and I was helping my dad put racing seats in my pickup truck (did not go so well) so I am going to save the soldering tomorrow and then see about ordering 3 Red LED fans and a red 92mm fan for the back of the case. After all is said and done I am finally finished. But sadly in the process of modding the case My amateur self did quite some damage to the panels. Scratches everywhere and a few dings here and there. But hey, It was a pet project and I don't feel to bad. But here is a picture of the progress so far.

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I will post more when I get the stuff done.

[maurice82]

cool bro!

[SirSlaughter]

WOOT!!! I am nearly done. I did some soldering and After some really realy twitchy hand work I managed to get the solder on just right. It wasn't perfect but it was mediocre enough to work perfectly.

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Before I did the soldering.


56319This was getting prepped and making sure I had it all.

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After I went and did the soldering. As you can see the fact that the material looks like a ball means I overdid it. But it worked and the conductivity works great.

Now witness the fruits of my labor!

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DAHAHAHAHA!!! VICTORY IS MINE!!!!!!!!! Ok maybe That was a bit much...VICTORY! I merely await my 3 Red LED rosewill 80mm fans and a 92mm fan. Then...I will be done.

[SirSlaughter]

well i can now say i am finally done with this project of mine. I got my 3 rosewill Red LED fans and a SilenX 92mm red bladed fan for the rear. I put them in after shaving off a little plastic to make 2 of the fans sit right and I am done. It ooks good and the airflow those things give even though they have LEDs in them is immense. I am so happy that even the dust filter does not stop them. I think i will suggest those fans to anyone who needs red ones now. But here are the pictures. Project Phoenix is done!


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And one last one to compare to My beautiful Adelaide:

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And with that I am done. And here are teh specs of this tiny machine:

Lenovo thinkcenter Desktop
H61 Chipset motherboard (Lenovo)
i3 2120
8GB RAM
1TB 5200 RPM HDD
128MB integrated Graphics

[gor17981]

56421

Damn thats a nice set up you have in the corner there, bet your neighbours love you lol i just turned green with envy lol :Smile:

[JokeStar]

Looks like your putt'n it together with flair.....nice!

[eloliverrap228]

Excellent, I Like It

[kajih]

very nice job man:happy:

[Extroah]

Looks nice :O

[Luciel]

Hey, nice idea but I have to ask, what paint and process did you use on this? It just doesn´t look quite right.

[SirSlaughter]

Hey, nice idea but I have to ask, what paint and process did you use on this? It just doesn´t look quite right.

Yeah I just used some regular old Krylon paint. I didn't sand it down or anything beforehand. It was my first mod and I guess now I know to do a little more work. That and even after the masking tape some of the red bled underneath but in gaps and corners you don't really look at anyway. But still, I have some practice that needs to get done. Which is why I really hope that I can get my hands on some more old or busted up computers and see what I can do there.

[Luciel]

Sounds good mate, I´m in the process of posting some worklogs here, one of them is called "Tutorial Project Nº2", you will find everything you need to know about paint types and procedures within it once it´s posted : )