Computer case plans 16

[craigey]

hi all,

I have been in contact with some engineering firms in the UK and have come up with the idea of designing my own custom Pc case.

Just hoping that someone may have some plans for an existing case or some measurement's of a full tower case or any other helpfull advice.

I know this is going to become an expensive project, but if I get enough interest I may be able to sell the idea to an existing manufacturer.

Let me know if you have ay ideas, whether it be about the shape, additional parts etc etc.

 

[Grenage]

Aye, use seperate PSU and swicthes on front of case for mine, much easier for turning off

 

[Tezdread]

I do my own case modifications, including spraying and case cutting.

Following on from the inter-changable cases, you could have sides that you can purchase that have pre-cut designs. These could be cut in bulk easily enough and customers could have the option of perspex backing etc.

Also I see that you can buy pre-made water cooling kits, so you might look at building cases suitable for these. This would eliminate some of the noise (and they look great)they could be sold separatly or with the box. Obviously this is only good for cooling the CPU so you would still need space for extra cooling/air ventalation.

I also like the idea of a handle or carry strap as this would be good for LAN gaming.
Tezdread
"With every solution comes a new problem"

 

[madonnac]

Hinge everything - I personally get so annoyed trying to put memory chips under some misplaced power supply or drive bays

 

[tmCCNA]

Smaller is definately not better if you are a technician. Everything is much too cramped and difficult to access and for God's sake don't pop-rivet the power supply to the case like some of the HPs I've worked on. To make things worse, it is pop riveted over the processor and memory. Its dang near impossible to even put memory in. Travis McGuire
CCNA, Network+, A+

 

[jimcr]

out of all the great ideas here no one said anything about power, a good reliable power supply and internal wiring.
Have you ever opened a case that was so crammed with Y adapters to power all the drives . Wouldn't it be nice to be able to plug in the power supply to the case much like plugging into the mother board. wire the case as if every bay was going to be used, and all wires put neatly into some type of plastic casing. with just enough of a pig tail to pluig into a harddrive or cd or what ever. Don't forget about power to the fan ventalation areas too.

 

[Metaliczombi]

As for my thoughts, I'd like to see built in clips that will hold the Floppy, hd, etc. instead of those screws that always fall on to the floor and under the nearest heaviest object. Instead like the earlier idea of the leave in place screws.

 

[ceh4702]

I think a more square case might be nice. There is no reason a case has to be so tall. It is a matter of function and placement. A full size ATX motherboard is 12 inches by 9.6 inches. There is no reason to make a case too tall.

One important thing is the cooling and airflow. The front of the case should have enough ventillation to allow the air to flow through the front. I see no reason why there can not be heat removal at the top of the case either. By adding a couple extra fan grills, the existing fans could all spin at a lower RPM which would reduce noise. It is of limited value to place fans in the front of a case. I think this just increases the noise factor. There may be some advantage of a lower rpm fan blowing on the hard drive/s keeping them cool. This might actually make them last longer. Hard drives and also CDROM's can create a lot of heat; so, by allowing the heat to escape or be evacuated and replaced by cooler air, the components should last longer. It does no good to have a big fan blowing air that is already over 90 degrees on the CPU, so that is something to think about. I have read some different ideas on this one is to suck the air straight out instead of blowing air on the fins. Either way air comes across the fins and the CPU cools down. Light is also a nice thing; if there was a way to add a clear panel in the top of a case, it might make it easier to work on and see what you are doing.

I have thought that possibly a redesign of a computer case could be made so the drive assembly and the motherboard assembly could be seperate but connected like a modular stereo. Or they could have a solid barrier between them. This might be easier with Serial ATA due to the length limitations on the Hard Drive/CDROM IDE cables. Making cases taller makes it harder to connect the components due to the length limitations on the cables. Longer cables cause data loss and slow down the sytem.

Some of the smaller computer cases use a cpu cooler with what they call a heat pipe that looks like a little radiator attached to the CPU with pipes. They also use aluminum, because it cools off faster. Aluminum has its advantages. Making a case just a little wider would allow using 12 CM fans as opposed to 8 cm fans. I would consider this. You could compare the fans by looking at the Cubic Feet per minute of air that they can move. The air holes often block the ability of the fans to move the air, so that is a factor also. If a really fast fan is needed, perhaps enclosing the fan inside a sound deading tube like a baffle might help deaden the sound. Maybe a new type of fan like a turbine design miight use less electrity and make less noise.

A wider shorter design might work better. The full size ATX motherboard is only 12" by 9.6". Technically, a 12.5 inch square cube is big enough. I have seen some micro ITX cases with an external power supply. They use a small board inside the case to distribute the power from. The power supply often takes up lots of space in the case, so it could be a separate unit.

Some case manufacturers like Checker Cube and Lan-Li already have case designs that are cubical in dimension for the Mini-ITX form factor. By just enlarging the design a little it might make a nice statement.

The problem is to get a large number of people interested in buying it. Here, advertisement might be a factor if you had a prototype, some of the Hardware test sites might be interested in testing it for you. There are a lot of players in this market, but not much innovation. If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[ceh4702]

Check this case design out???

http://www.lope.com.tw/i-tee.htm

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[ANFPS26]

Here's a review of this case:

http://www.deviantpc.com/reviews/itee/index.shtml

I couldn't find a US supplier, so I don't know what is costs in the USA.
In the UK, it can be found here for £81.50:

http://www.specialtech.co.uk/

Jim

Please come back and let us know if your
problem is fixed and what fixed it!!

 

[cbestengineer]

LOL that black one kinds looks like an old FBI spy movie briefcase that they bring in for the bombs...

craigey,

First of all, nice Handle Name.

Try looking at

http://www.Tigerdirect.com.

You can spend up to $400.00 for a case, even have one custom built, and they come with some of todays best cooling systems.

The main problem with cases today, is that no matter how you manipulate air or water flow, you are going to trap heat somewhere.

It depends on what YOU want. Performance or looks.
Are you into lights? Clear sides? Maybe all Clear? Make the whole thing out of clear Lexan Plastic sheets.

I suggest you buy something that performs well, and modify it for looks.

The cubes are nice looking, and if propperly done will move hot air out quicker as it doesn't have a lot of room to store it.

And FYI - stay away from the Liquid cooling. I had one. Yeah, it was cool, no pun intended, at first, then the radiator fan went out, the heat got to the system, probably within 1 min of the fan going out, and melted the plastic pieces of the system and the cooling system. what a mess!

The water also shorted the AGP slot too.

It costs hundreds of dollars, hust for something I thought was cool.....no pun intended.


Craig Keep Learning!