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HQ45 Case Modding


Date
: 10/23/01 – 12:41:46 AM

Author
:

Category
: Misc

Page 1 : Introduction

AOpen HQ45 Case

Manufacturer: AOpen
Price: around $50

Cool-View 92mm Window kit

Manufacturer: Coolerguys
Price: $25.95

Neon lights, switches, LEDs

Manufacturer: N/A
Price: around $30

Thanks to Coolerguys for supplying us with the window kit!

Introduction

It has been a while since we had a case modding article here at O. That’s why we found this the right time to write up another one of these sweeties for your reading pleasure. Because after all … who doesn’t like to own a home-made sweet looking modded case without spending giant heaps of your precious $$$? And the victim is … the AOpen HQ45 case (reviewed here).

Let me tell you briefly what we’re going to do in the next few minutes. First of all, we’re going to put a window kit in the left sidepanel of our HQ45 case. ONE of the most complicated steps of the modded adventure. Our 92mm window kit from Coolerguys also includes two 92mm high performance case fans which we will also install after the window is in place. When we have finished our work on the window and the sidepanel, we move on to the finer steps of the process, the installation of the neon and blacklights. Installing the lights is actually very easy, but connecting them to a home-made switchpanel with LEDs and providing them with power is much more difficult. Also because we’re using generic neon lights that are not especially designed for use in computer rigs. To apply some kind of finishing touch to all of this, we also replaced the HDD LED and the POWER LED in the front bezel with some kickass blue LEDs.

We want to show you that one can make his/her case look futuristic and more wanted by his/her opponents at a LAN party without spending too much money.

Our System Setup

- AOpen HQ45 case
- AMD Athlon 1GHz AXIA @ 1.4GHz
- IWill KK266plus-R Mainboard
- Swiftech MC370-0A cooler
- 256MB OCZ Performance Max SDRAM
- Hercules Kyro2 video card
- Ricoh MP7200A CD-writer
- AOpen 48x CDROM
- IBM 20GB UDMA100 7200rpm hard drive
- Windows XP + VIA 4in1 4.34

Let’s start the step-by-step case conversion process now …

Page 2 : The Window Kit

The Window Kit

Just like I already said on the first page of this article, we will be using the Cool-View 92mm Window kit for the window mod. Here are some window specifications from the Coolerguys website :

• Includes one 9 1/4′ x 12′ Clear Window (Big)
• Includes four black trim pieces to cover the cutting for a clean professional look. No one needs to see how you cut it your hole.
• Includes eight thumb machine screws, washers and back pieces.These make the window look tough!
• Two laser pre-cut92mm holes for a precise fit.
• Universally fits any Mid-Tower or Tower case
• Shows off what you have inside to intimidate others at LAN parties.
• Yes we include instructions!

As you can read from the specs, this window kit includes a clear plexi window (measuring 235mm x 305mm) with two lasercut 92mm holes to put in two 92mm high output Sunon case fans which are also included in the package. I’d like to note that Coolerguys also sells a similar window kit with one 120mm hole and 120mm case fan instead of the two 92mm holes and fans in this kit. Both window kits are sold at the same price ($25.95) and it actually depends on your personal favor which one you use in your case. We got them both and they rock! The main reason why I chose the 92mm kit with two fans is because this kit has one fan blowing right on the CPU heatsink, and the other one blowing over the expansion cards. This will not only give you better overclocking results (CPU, videocard, etc.) but also makes your rig run a LOT cooler in general! Overclockers will love this for sure :). The four black trim pieces allow you to camouflage the cutting of the case to obtain a nice and clean look. This is good news for peeps who don’t have a lot of experience in cutting metal like me. Hey, don’t you laugh at me! :(

The window kit has a rectangular shape and isn’t quite as good looking as some other rounded window kit, but still it’s a great addition to your case.

Let me descibe how this window kit has to be installed in the sidepanel. Don’t be affraid, these are only a few harmless steps :

1) Put the clear window on the sidepanel and hold it tight.
2) Now take a pencil and draw a line around the window. Also mark the screw holes with the pencil.

3) Next, you need to draw a point about 5mm starting from each screw hole to the middle of the rectangle and connect these points afterwards. You should now have become a smaller rectangle than the first one. Drill the screw holes and prepare the sidepanel for the final cut :)

4) Alright, now it’s time to cut the small rectangle out of the sidepanel. You can use the good old Dremel to do this quite easy. Don’t forget to smoothen the edges on both sides of the sidepanel. This will prevent a major blood loss afterwards! Trust me :p

5) You’re almost done now … Just put the black trim pieces on the outside of the case and then put the clear window on top of them. Now screw everthing down and your window is in place. I know it sounds easy, but that’s only because it IS actually not difficult at all!

6) You can now attach the two 92mm fans with the fan brackets to the holes, connect the molex connectors and you’re all set!

Now that your AOpen HQ45 case is equiped with a sweet window kit, the rig just begs for some neon and black lights, doesn’t it?

Page 3 : Neons & Blacklights

Neon & Blacklights

I guess everyone knows what neon lights can do to your rig. No, you don’t? Well, it will attract every neon lover at a LAN party to your case and make them drool all over it. :p
Maybe it’s interesting to know that we bought all of the hardware used in this step in a small electronics store for about $30. This is a whole lot cheaper than buying all this online from well-known manufacturers.

Of course, it’s obvious that you need a window in the sidepanel of your case if you want to use neon and/or black lights in the case. I mean, it would be very dumbass to put neon in your rig without haveing a clear window to see it the neon in action inside the case.

I chose to mount one neon light and one black light in my HQ45 case. Of course, both lights must to be able to be controlled separately. That’s why I have put together a control panel in an available 3.5′ drive bay. This control panel consists of two on/off switches, two 2-color LEDs, and two resistors to convert the 12v power of a molex connector to the correct LED voltage.

What do you need to construct a small neon control panel? :

• A free 3.5′ drive bay
• Two on/off switches
• Two 2-color LEDs (green/red)
• Two resistors (12v -> LED voltage)
• About 2m of power cable
• A Dremel
• A soldering iron
• Steady hands

First you have to make four holes in the 3.5′ front panel, two for the switches and another two for the LEDs. A Dremel is one handy tool to do this. If both switches and LEDs are plugged in the holes, you can begin the wiring. This is definately not easy at all UNLESS you follow the small diagram I made. Have a look at it and I think suddenly everything will become a whole lot more clear.

The picture shows the diagram for ONE circuit. One circuit = ONE switch, ONE LED, ONE resistor, ONE powercable and ONE neon light. Let me explain the diagram for those who don’t understand it yet. (I certainly wouldn’t if I saw it for the first time!)

1) Solder the positive pole of the 12v molex connector onto the middle pin of the on/off switch.
2) The second step is to solder the outer pins of the switch to the outer pins of the LED and one of the pins also needs to be connected to the plus pole of neon’s invertor. (An invertor is the neon’s powerconvertor)
3) The negative pole of the 12v molex connector must be connected directly to the minus pole of the invertor.
4) Finalize the first circuit by putting the resistor between the middle pin of the LED and the negative pole of the molex.

If you do these few steps with both circuits, you should have two independant circuits which will allow you to control the neon light and the black light (or two neons). Now all we need to do is mount the neon lights into the case. I used ordinary tape to do this because of two reasons. 1) The tape is invisible and 2) You can easily remove it if there should be a problem.

Now, put the 3.5′ front panel back into the drive bay and you’re all set to try your neons!

Page 4 : Front Bezel LEDs

Front Bezel LEDs

One last thing I wanted to change about the AOpen HQ45 case, was the color of the LEDs in the front bezel. The original green power LED and orange HDD LED just aren’t as beautiful as some kickass blue ones. Yes, I admit, my favorite color is blue … Anyone got a problem with that? :)

This is actually almost too easy to explain, but if I don’t do it, you guys will hate me :( So here goes …

1) Remove the white front bezel
2) Remove the blue/aqua/green/gray piece from the front bezel
3) Take the green and orange LEDs out and cut the wires
4) Solder the wires onto the new and BLUE LEDs
5) Put the blue LEDs back in the front bezel and put it plug it back into the case
6) You’ve done it!

Now you see, that wasn’t so hard, was it?

That’s it boys and girls. If you’ve done all the steps in this little article just as I described them, your case should look something like this :

I know this probably isn’t the best HQ45 mod you’ve seen in your life, but you got to admit that it looks pretty awesome compared to the original boring HQ45 case. We only put two lights inside the case, but of course you can put in as many as you like.

Let’s head on to the conclusion and summarize all our readings …

Page 5 : Conclusion

Conclusion

Pros

- Cheap
- Makes your case look sexy
- Window Kit improves cooling and overclocking
- Professional look
- …

Cons

- A small case becomes even smaller
- Muchos cables/wires -> looks a bit messy
- Some steps require handyman skills

Well, I certainly hope I’ve proven to all of you that case modding isn’t something to be affraid of. I also realise that hardcore case modders already knew about everything in this article, but I hope there is at least an equal amount of peeps out there that will find this case mod article somewhat useful. Why not try changing the LEDs in the front bezel and see how it goes? You will be surprised how quick and easy it’ll be finished. Once you’ve set the first step into case modding, there’s no way back! There’s no doubt in my mind that you will be addicted to it in no time. Also remember that the Coolerguys window kit with the two 92mm fans made our CPU run a LOT cooler … 52C without the window fan and 46C with the fan turned on. Isn’t that outstanding for an AMD Athlon 1GHz @ 1.4GHz (1.85v)? I think so! Go ahead and mod your case … I assure you that you will love it! ;)