Any of you guys into painting your PC's case?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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The other day I was a bit bored and starting idly thinking about different things I wanted to do (It’s usually dangerous when I get in those moods- I never know what I’m going to get into).

One thing I thought about was the idea of repainting my monitor’s bezel. The one I have now is looking ratty and it’d be nice to have it redone and in a different color.

Now, I know this can be done because I did it before years ago on a system a friend of mine had. But this time, I wanted to do it right.

So, I plug in some key words into the search engine, hoping to find some sites explaining what paint to get and how best to go about it, and back came the responses.

To say I was stunned is an understatement.

Some of the sites that popped up are truly amazing. I had no clue people were into this is much as they apparently are.

Take a look at some of this stuff-

In the link below, the level of detail in number 276 is not only amazing, but actually kind of cool. In the one beneath it, it looks like they inlaid stained glass into the case…

Blue Smoke Gallery 28

Amazing…

In this series, number 294 apparently is from a guy who can’t stand noise. But, I have to admit, entry number 292 is not only up to date, but it’s kinda cool.

Gallery 30

This guy, towards to bottom of the page, and from a different site devoted to this stuff, built a case made out of walnut…

Fast MHZ- Gallery 6

And finally, this one completely takes the cake- the one at the top of the page is pretty nuts, but take a look at the mini-refrigerator thing towards the very bottom. Oh, my…

Gallery 13

I’m not being critical of these guys, but I feel old all of a sudden- I had no clue this was going on or actually a field of interest to people.

Is this a the thing to be doing these days? Whatya think?

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I want one!

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Sorry I don’t have a link, but I’ve seen a case inside a RC car. The headlights were the power and HDD LEDs, and cables came out he back where the exhaust pipes should have been.

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Wow. Reminds me of those whippersnappers who do strange things to their cars. I can see sticking a few Hello Kitty stickers on my case, but stained glass? No one ever sees my case anyway, it’s hidden in the bowels of my desk.

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This keeps getting more and more amazing. I’m in an odd state of awe and almost shock…

A couple more links to people who have not only tweaked out their cases, but devoted whole websites to them.

Words fail me…

Here’s a hot rod model…The hot rod model. Check out the louvered vent on top!

This guy went so far as to carpet the interior… Picture.

Wow is right.

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Hey CNoteChris, thanks for posting this! That soundproofed PC (#294) is really giving me ideas. I’m starting to get into computer music and want to create a music studio in a spare bedroom. The fan noise from the PC is definitely a problem. Music equipment companies sell soundproof boxes that you can stick a whole PC in, but they cost about $1000.

Looking at the homemade job, I think I’ll just do it myself.

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blue smoke gallery 28
That top one gives a whole new meaning to paint your wagon! :eek:

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“Plus my pride and joy, an operational cigarette lighter.”

classic, truly classic.

I saw one recently where the guy made an mp3 player for his car, just built a box around the mb and went to town.

and talked to a guy who wants to get the liquid cooling system and put a blacklight in the case with a clear side panel and neon dye in the liquid.
cool stuff indeed.

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Heh, heh… I didn’t even see that the first time I saw it.

Truth is, I really haven’t been reading any of the descriptions so far… I’m too afraid.

I mean, all across the board, and anyway you look at it, these things- and the people who build them- are truly astonishing.

Simply astonishing… and in so many ways.

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I’m sorry to keep posting to this thing, but I really wish I had the writing skills to explain what I’m thinking right now. It falls somewhere between amazement, and almost fear.

When I say I’m at a loss for words, I’m dead serious.

I mean, here I am thinking I’m probably a bit goofy for even thinking about painting my monitors case, and only painting it to make it look snazzy again, and here I find people who have devoted untold hours- probably days, for all I know- obsessed with doing the same thing… only on a completely different level.

It’s frightening… I don’t want to get like that! I simply was looking for a site that had recommendations on what paint to use to make it come out looking normal… not looking like one that I saw that resembled a ferrarri, or the other one that had an operational fish tank in it’s case… just normal.

But lo and behold, not only do I find the information I’m looking for- amazing enough in itself, to me, that stuff like this is out there- but what’s out there is at the level that it is.

The first site I found that talks about painting cases and whatnot was this one- PC Workshop- Getting that mirror finish… with a spray can. Five pages devoted to this guys obsession on getting a mirror finish on his computers case… five pages!!

And look at how much time the guy must have spent on this thing. A rough tally on my part brings it out to… man, I have no idea, I lost track. From the looks of it though, it must have taken well over a week. A week he spent on this thing!

Then, then, I go back to the first links I gave- to see what Critical was talking about and… actually start reading some of the descriptions.

Wow!

I run across a box that is simply beyond what I can put into words. At the top of that picture, I see a glowing, or almost chilling however you want to look at it, description of the thing from it’s owner… complete with web pages.

Well, I gotta click on that. I mean, I can’t not, at this point.

Look at this… LOOK!

The House of Rage (I have no clue why he named it the ‘House of Rage’, but it’s somehow fitting).

Check out page six… yes, page six. This guy is installing sixteen- count 'em- sixteen fans in one application alone… and I bet that’s not the end of the it.

On top of that, he has a friend document the whole process to put on a website devoted to his obsession.

I’m… speechless.

I’ve gone from simply thinking about touching up my monitors case- by slapping a coat of paint on it- and now am frightened by the notion.

My God!! How far is it from wanting to simply liven up my bezel to devoting hours upon hours of my time obsessed with it… a devoting web space that documents it, no less!!

I’m frightened, and serious trying to wipe my initial idea completely from my head…

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Here are some things to help you make your case:

window & light kits, etc.

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Stop it!!

A site that sells this stuff doesn’t help me. I want a site that can offer me memory lapse pills or something… anything to get rid of fact that I ever even thought of this idea.

I mean, it must have started that way for these guys, right?

Look at what happened to them.

You don’t want me to turn out like that, do you?

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Strange that this should come up now, I’m stopping at the local computer shop (run by real computer geeks!) to purchase the beginings of my first Modded PC!

Specs:

  • Antec ATX SOHO case w/300 watt ps w/4 80mm cooling fans
  • MSI K7T266PRO RAID mainboard
  • Athlon XP1600+ cpu
  • Super mini Orb Cpu cooler
  • 512mb 266mhz DDR RAM
  • 2 20gig 7200rpm hard drives in RAID 0 configuration
  • GeForce 2 GTS PRO Video w/64meg DDR RAM
  • Logitec Cordless Desktop Pro Keyboard & Mouse
  • CD-ROM, Floppy, NIC, etc.

I’m going to paint the case purple and red on the outside and flat black on the inside, change all the LEDs to blue ones and add a LED VU meter behind the front to start with. Later I’ll cut a window in it and add mini spotlights to show off the cool red mother board and CPU cooler! Of course I’ll be taking pictures…

Boy, talk about MPSIMS! :wink:

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The ironic thing is that most of these guys are probably the same folks who sneered at the design when Apple introduced the iMac.

I mean, covered wagons? Neon lights? This is why industrial design is not done by amateurs…