I found this great desktop micro computer case.

Some call it a micro computer case, some call it small computer case and some call it mini computer case. What ever you call it, it is one cool computer case.

I think this would look good in the living room. It’s small, sleek and smart looking. The cool design also makes it look like a stereo amplifier. So it will go great with the hifi stereo set. With a micro computer case like this, you can it will fit anywhere. Sometimes you can even use it the computer for kiosk or at public places. A great innovation from Lian Li.

Though being small, it has quite a list of high tech features. It has a hard anodize brush aluminum finish. It also has three controllable 60mm fans. Though being small, this micro computer case has the power for optimum cooling. The three fans is also very quiet.

Sometime, with an LCD computer monitor and having it in the living room, it’ll be great as MP3 player or a VCD player and also for work.

How does this water cooled computer case works? Well, on top of the computer case, there is a water pump. The water pump will pump in water into the inside of the computer. Water that goes into the computer will attract heat to it and then continues back to go out of the computer. When it is back to the water pump, there are fans that will blow the heat away. Take a look at the diagram below to understand how a water cooled computer case works. This is just like a radiator in a car. There are also special coolant liquid for your water cooled computer cases.

But of course, other cooling parts also need to be water base. This are like the CPU cooler, chipset cooler, hard disk cooler, all need to be water base.

You can see from the picture here that the quality cheap computer case from X-Dreamer has a nice acrylic window. This way you can showcase you hardware.

It also has pretty nice LCD panel on the front.

Wooden computer case. Better still, this wooden computer case comes with a great looking window and an LED fan.

Why would you want a wooden computer case? Well, the water cooled computer case is picking up in popularity and with the wooden computer case, you can still have a unique kind of computer case.

This wooden computer case also has a unique pattern that can never be reproduced. You and you alone the one with the wooden pattern you have.

Actually, there is a normal steel computer case underneath the wood. The wood is real though.

What would be suitable is a clear acrylic computer case. With a clear acrylic computer case, all of the sides of the computer case is totally clear. This way people can really see what’s inside your computer case.

This clear acrylic computer case has quite an extensive list of feature. What I like about is that it is ready with blow holes. Apart from that, there are also 5 bays for hard disk or CD-ROM.

For me, with this clear acrylic computer case, you can really stand out from the crowd. Add in together some cool lighting to the clear acrylic computer case. That would make your clear acrylic computer clear glow beautifully.

I just would like to tell you that assembly is required. I am sure that you can handle that. This clear acrylic computer will be shipped flat. You need to handle with care. Use a pair of gloves to avoid scratches and don’t use to much pressure when tightening the screws. Too hard, the screws might just snap.

Let me just precaution you that if you still have warranty on your computer case, you will definitely void it. Make sure that you really want to do this. Always use gloves and goggles when using hardware tools. By reading this, you agree that you will never hold me responsible for any damages or injury that might occur.

Preparing for painting

When everything else is done, what you want else do you want to do? Maybe you would want to paint you computer case. Let me just tell you the process of painting your computer case would take several days. The process that you would have to go through are Sanding, Priming, Painting and Finishing. But before you do all these, you must be prepared not being able to use your computer for several days. To paint you computer case, you need to de-assemble all computer components and let the computer case empty.

Sanding

Sanding is the process of taking the clear coat off the metal of your computer case. Why do you want to take off the clear coat off the computer case? This is because the clear coat of your computer case is a layer that will prevent new paint to stick well. So that is why you need to take off the clear coat layer.

You can do this with the wet / dry sand paper or water-proof sand paper. This way you can use water together while sanding the surface. For the front panel of the computer case which is normally made of plastic, you can use 300 to 400 grit sand paper. For the metal surface of the computer case, you can use a 600 grit sand paper that is more fine. When you feel that the metal surface is smooth, your sanding has been completed. You might want to sand down all the way to the bare metal, but you don’t really have to do that.

Priming

After sanding, you want to coat a layer of primer on the computer case. A primer coat will hold the paint layer to the metal surface. You may want to to do 3 layer of the primer coat. You must wait for each layer to dry before you can apply another layer. You can get a primer coat spray easily at many hardware stores.

Before you spray the primer coat spray, make sure that the computer case is clean and dry. Then use a steady left-to-right motion when spraying. When you are done, let it dry. Give it 24 hours to dry. When waiting for it to dry, make sure you put it in a clean environment. You don’t want dust to fly and stick to the wet spray, right?

OK … for the rest of the layers, make sure that the earlier layer has dried totally. And to make the layer smooth, in case there aren’t due to dust flying around or your naughty fingers, sand it again with a 400 grit wet dry sand paper just like when you are sanding it to remove the clear coat.

Remember, do at least 3 layers of primer coat. I know that this is going to take days. But be patient. It’ll be worth it.

Painting

Now choose your color. When you have choosen you color, go and buy your spray paint. Painting will be just like priming. Depending on the number of layers that you decide to have, this can also take days. I really recommend three or four layers.

You will need to repeat the process exactly like priming. First you make sure the surface is clean and dry and smooth. If not, clean it, wait for it to dry, and sand it. Then, apply one layer to the computer case. Then wait for it to dry again. Let it be for 24 hours. This way you can let the surface dry completely. Then do the sanding again to make sure that all surface is smooth. The apply another layer. Do this for three or more layers.

Finishing Coat

Finally, to maintain and add a glossy, shining finish to the job, we apply the clear coat for finishing. Depending on how glossy you want your computer case to be, you can put more and more layers of clear coat. More layers mean more glossy look.

The process is the same like priming and paint. You need to wait about 24 hours to let the layer dry totally. But for sanding, use a 600 grit sand paper.

Just a last note, for priming, painting and clear coat, it is advisable that you buy sprays of the same brand. This is because that same brand would tend to bond better among themselves.

Let me just precaution you that if you still have warranty on your computer case, you will definitely void it. Make sure that you really want to do this. Always use gloves and goggles when using hardware tools. By reading this, you agree that you will never hold me responsible for any damages or injury that might occur.

Computer case fan and airflow

Having a cool computer case (in terms of temperature) is very important. Because when your computer case is cool, you can use it for a very long time and it will also last longer.

Some people simply put on blow holes and fans without planning the air flow inside the computer case. The diagram above is how the air flow inside your computer case should be.

You should have air coming in and air going out. This way you can use the air not only to cool but to carry heat out of the computer case.

To put fans, you need to have blow holes. Some cool computer cases already have blow holes. Blow hole sizes range from 60mm to 120mm in diameter. If your computer case does not have any blow holes, you can always install one by using a rotary tool and hole saw.

With the blow holes, you would also need fan grills. For intake fans, you would need fan filters so that you computer case does not suck in dust or sand.

As for the fans, like the previous projects where we put on lights, you would need to draw power from the Molex connectors again. Be sure you have calculated the power required and that you have sufficient power from your power supply.

Thanks to the evolving interest in computer case modding, there are many types of interesting computer case fans now. There are even some with its own lightings and LEDs.

Let me just precaution you that if you still have warranty on your computer case, you will definitely void it. Make sure that you really want to do this. Always use gloves and goggles when using hardware tools. By reading this, you agree that you will never hold me responsible for any damages or injury that might occur.

Power and wire connector

You might already know this that all the power that will light your computer case will come from the power supply. Your lights in the computer case will use a lot of power. You need to be sure that you power supply can support it. Click here to learn about computer case power supply first.

To draw power from the power supply, you will need get it from the Molex connector, the 4-pin connector that powers your had disk, CD-ROM. It has a wire for 12V DC, a wire for 5V DC and two wire for ground. The yellow wire is the 12V DC wire, the red wire is the 5V DC wire. The other two black wire are ground wires.

For the purpose of lighting your computer case, we will be using the 12V DC wire (yellow) and a ground wire to complete the circuit. There are several ways you can light your computer case. Let’s just go through a few of them.

Neon Tubes

Neon tubes are quite famous among computer case modding enthusiast. It gives quite a cool effect on the computer case. It is also easy to install as it can accept DC current. So you don’t have to use it with an inverter.

Electro Luminescent (EL) Lights

Electro Luminescent (EL) Lightst are a bit tricky than neon tubes. This is becuase the it requires AC power. Your power supply output 12V DC power. And from this DC power, you need to use an inverter or transformer to transform it to AC power. The best thing about EL lights is that it is flexible compared to neon lights. That way, you can bend it in many ways that you like.

Cold Cathode Flourescent Lamp

Cold cathode flourescent lamp is another type of light that requires an inverter. You need to get an inverter that can transform the 12V DC to 1000V AC. That’s a whole lot of change. But Cold cathode flourescent light can give you a bright lighting. You can also cover it with tranparent plastic wrappers to change its color. Some cold cathode flourescent lamp are sold wired together to an inverter. This is what I would recommend especially if you are not familiar with electronics.

Light Emitting Diode (LED)

This is small and quite easy to install. This is because with LED you don’t have to have an inverter. You could even line up LED in a certain row to built a running light. Of course this would require a curcuit board.

Let me just precaution you that if you still have warranty on your computer case, you will definitely void it. Make sure that you really want to do this. Always use gloves and goggles when using hardware tools. By reading this, you agree that you will never hold me responsible for any damages or injury that might occur.

Tools

Now, I am going to walk you through very briefly how you can window you cool computer case yourself.

First of all, what you would need are the right set of tools. Making a window on your computer case involves cutting acrylic sheet and your computer case. For this, I would recommend a hand rotary tool.

Now, the cutting wheels. You don’t want your wheels to break while attempting to cut your computer case or your acrylic sheet, right? So for that, make sure you have a mesh-reinforced wheels. These type of cutting wheels will last longer and are not likely to break.

Plan

Before you do any cutting, make sure that you have measured everything correctly. Take out the side panel and measure it. Measure and re-measure everything. When you already have a hole, you have a hole. There’s no fix to that. When you already know what kind of hole you want, draw it with a pencil on the side panel. Make sure that you draw it on the side of the panel that faces the inside of the computer case. What ever hole you’re planning, star, oval, rectangle, draw it first with a pencil. And always make sure that your acrylic sheet can cover the hole.

Cutting

You will be cutting two things here. One, the side panel of your computer case. Two, the acylic sheet. Remember that you have drawn your window on the side panel of the computer case. Don’t cut the side panel first, cut the acrylic sheet first and try placing it on the drawn window shape. Make sure that it covers the window well. Also make sure that the acrylic sheet is bigger than the hole, enough to secure the acrylic sheet later. A space between 1 to 2 inches will be enough.

Always be extra careful when you are cutting. If you have never use a rotary tool on an acrylic sheet before, test first on the edge of the sheet. For the side panel, you can test the rotary tool in the center of the side panel where you are sure that area will be a hole later. When you have become comfortable with the rotary tool, you begin cutting.

When you are done cutting the side panel, you remove the cutting wheel off from the rotary tool and place grinding or a sanding attachment and run it over the edges to remove sharp edges.

Securing the acrylic sheet

For your computer to look cool later, we need to cover the rough edges of the hole. For this, you can use chrome car trim. With this, you can just slip it over the edges with a small adhesive lining on the inside. This will give you a more smooth finish rather than a bare cut edges.

Now, what we need to do is to secure the acrylic sheet on the hole. What I would recommend is to use Velcro strips. Velcro is great because you can have room for mistakes. If anything should go wrong, you can always take the sheet off and put back again. You don’t really need alot of Velcro strips. For a rectangle shape hole, 4 Velcro strips, one for each side would enough.

I think, all this should do it. You can now put your your side panel back on to your computer case.

Power supply is measured in the watt value. I think you are aware that computer case power supply comes in various Watts. Normally, you can choose computer case power supply from 250 Watts to 400 Watts. At some places, you can also find computer case power supply upto 500 Watts. But how do you know the right computer case power supply for you computer?

Be sure where you live as it determines that type of power you should use for your computer case power supply. This is because that different countries supply different type of electricity from the power socket. In the USA, they use the 110V eletricity. In countries in Europe and rest of the world, they use the 240V electricity. But you don’t really have to worry much on this. Most power supply comes with a toggle for this. This is normally designed with a switch between 110V or 240V. Make sure you toggle the switch right according to your country.

To know the right computer case power supply, you need to know how much watts that you need. Watts is calculate by multiplying Amps (A) and Volts (V). You can normally see this at most computer parts. Lets take a look at normal computer parts first.

So let say you have the following

This totals upto 125W. If you have other computer parts that you want to install, know the Watts and total up the Watts. Then, when you got your figure, push up a little bit. In this case, considering that we still have fans and lighting not yet calculated, maybe a 250W computer case power supply would be good. It’ll be good to be ready for future expansion of you computer. When you total upto 300W, get a 350W or a 400W computer case power supply.

You can always go for the standard power supplu. But some good computer case power supply brands are like Enlight, Antec and PC Power and Cooling. Some computer case power supply are also built specially for a processor like Intel or AMD.

Let me remind you again about the 110V and the 240V electricty power. Especially when you are living the UK and buying from a US merchant. Set the toggle switch to 240V first before using it. This also goes for US computer enthusiast. Whether you are buying 300W or 400W, always check the 110/240 toggle switch so that you don’t blow your new computer case power supply with the wrong current.