Making sweet custom computer cases

[mah300274]

I am looking at building my own custom case. When I was looking at a plexiglass cases they look pretty straight forward, except what thickness should the acrylic be?

But I was looking at some computer cases like....

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.random-pictures.net/uploads/case9.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.random-pictures.net/gallery-show.php%3FID%3D27&usg=__ENvTGyXkVI65--2qq7nfbHy-upw=&h=413&w=500&sz=25&hl=en&start=17&sig2=76JMMtXZLefRvtnKaukrAQ&zoom=1&tbnid=GfsqyKSkbiv4vM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=177&ei=yK2WTYWPFdO1tweDqI3DDg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcool%2Bcomputer%2Bcases%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1332%26bih%3D597%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C298&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=320&vpy=282&dur=390&hovh=204&hovw=247&tx=146&ty=108&oei=w62WTfWZIOO80QHb-NWMDA&page=2&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:17&biw=1332&bih=597

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://lh3.ggpht.com/abramsv/SHZ9qe4LrGI/AAAAAAAAVP4/OFjduChTJXk/ertjdhjgh.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/07/cool-computer-case-mods-part-2.html&usg=__jCXjKoNiEwQEvEjWclsfpYx_21Y=&h=473&w=640&sz=138&hl=en&start=17&sig2=sBHlLNHRNOVhNYyPBERccw&zoom=1&tbnid=G_3nuINHjw7xDM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=177&ei=pending&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcool%2Bcomputer%2Bcases%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1332%26bih%3D597%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=514&oei=w62WTfWZIOO80QHb-NWMDA&page=2&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:17&tx=35&ty=34

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://thecontaminated.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/r2d2-computer-1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://thecontaminated.com/r2d2-computer-case/&usg=__CbOpWVNo0eDDYOPppF7Yh22xpec=&h=533&w=400&sz=33&hl=en&start=36&sig2=LT381N16BGse0ukq5e89JQ&zoom=1&tbnid=UOWaxqlU_O2emM:&tbnh=153&tbnw=114&ei=KK6WTaygCMSTtwexhIiTDA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcool%2Bcomputer%2Bcases%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1332%26bih%3D597%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C823&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=504&vpy=243&dur=2371&hovh=259&hovw=194&tx=105&ty=161&oei=w62WTfWZIOO80QHb-NWMDA&page=3&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:36&biw=1332&bih=597

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.coolcomputercases.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/case-41-300x238.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.coolcomputercases.com/&usg=__2nXA941kqmOsNZpHzZGArtv7Yls=&h=238&w=300&sz=24&hl=en&start=338&sig2=VSEMHYCy0TI2WDVb_vDszg&zoom=1&tbnid=H-Y4didskfKQDM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=158&ei=5q6WTYyDAdCjtgeUib31Cw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcool%2Bcomputer%2Bcases%26start%3D229%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1332%26bih%3D597%26output%3Dimages_json%26tbs%3Disch:11%2C7508&chk=sbg&um=1&itbs=1&biw=1332&bih=597&iact=rc&dur=125&oei=0q6WTfTWEImP0QHA_uiADA&page=17&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:338&tx=102&ty=86

I mean how would I go about making somthing like these, what materials, how to form the metals, and etc.

Plus what do you think would look cool for a computer case? But keep in mind that the motherboard would probobly be an extended ATX, I would want several video cards and use the other PCI Slots (I found high speed x16 PCI slot extender cables so manuvering them will not be terible at least). I will have liquid cooling in the future and I think that will make it look beasty with UV sensitive lines running around?? Somthing, thats where I am stuck and am not sure on what design. If I fall in love with the idea I will try my best to be able to make it, what ever it takes....

[saxmaster49]

I built my own case out of aluminum, kinda a standard case but it let me pick and choose where everything went and I had my friend do a custom paint job.

For one of these projects you are going to need a ton of tools.

I have not worked with plexiglass as the support material before so I can;t tell you much about working with it but I will say this, Make sure you do a motherboard tray first! it is by far the most important part and then you can do your measurements from there. also keep in mind all the cable management you have to do and that the fans will sick inward.

go here http://www.formfactors.org/formfactor.asp for info on atx form factor so you know the specs for where the screws have to go.

Good luck, and be prepared to be frustrated. I thought that this would be a simple project but it took far longer than I expected.

[rubberman]

Cooling is critical for todays' systems. Make sure you have good air flow through the case, and that it routes over the motherboard and its components and the hard drives as well. Note that Seagate drives over 500GB tend to run very hot! My 1.5TB Seagate drives, even in specially cooled enclosures with mongo-big fans, run up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Memory sticks that get over 105 degrees Centigrade (100C == 212F == boiling water) will start to fail. My memory under load runs up to about 95-100C under prolonged heavy load (100% CPU utilization on 8 processor cores).

In truth, designing computer cases/enclosures is not only a visual and material design problem, it is an industrial engineering problem with a lot of thermodynamic aspects. Don't minimize. Over-designing for these issues is not a fault here, as one who has experienced the effects of under-designed cases on computer components can attest.