Enlight 7237 Mod Idea

[GasX]

The front intake on this case is very limited by the front cover's lack of holes.

In looking closely at the front last night, I realized that you can drill quite large holes in the recessed part that holds the part that clips to the case. In doing so, you increase ventilation drastically - I figure there is room for 4 or 5 3/4" holes. Also, you do nothing to change the outward appearance, which for some people is a priority.

 

[ISAslot]

I don't know what I was thinking, but when I put a 120mm panflo in the front of my 7237, I forgot to notice the place where the clip snaps in on the metal frame. So.. I ended up cutting it out. Now the front panel doesn't attach at the bottom of the case. I thought I screwed up, but now I'm really glad I made the mistake because I can take the panel off without lifting the computer up, and the clips on the sides hold it on just fine.

And for holes in the front, I just took a 1/8" drill bit to drill out the holes, and then I made more holes.

Here's a pic.

 

[K6 3]

Mwilding, heres an idea for you. Just enlarge the existing small holes on the front panel near the bottom. I just took a drill and enlarged them to about 1/4 in. MUCH MUCH better air flow, and very easy to do.

 

[GasX]

Does drilling through the plastic leave rough edges ? Whatever mods I make, I want them to be clean. My idea is invisible at least - although the area to drill is limited.

Thx for the feedback all!

 

[conlan]

i added 3 rows on top of the exsiting 4 , then drilled them all out to 1/4", just use a sharp bit and slow drill speeds , then remove any rough edges with a rat-tail file , works and looks great.

 

[sparkle]

I cant think of a reason to not want to change the outward appearance! That's 1/2 the fun!

 

[GasX]

Changing the appearance isn't bad, but making it look like a 3 year old got his hands on a power tool is bad.

(not that I am that much of an oaf with tools or anything ;-)

 

[sparkle]

I see what ya mean!

 

[Dan]

Mwilding: I did the same thing K6 3 recommended, i.e., I enlarged the existing holes in the front bezel of my 7237. I used a regular drill bit and the mod looks like it was done at the factory. The key is to drill from the front of the bezel.

 

[GasX]

anyone got close-up pics of a 7237 with the front holes enlarged?

 

[Tschaft]

I dont have pics, but I also enlarged the holes, took less than 5 mins. And it looks as neat as the case looked before, its really easy to do.

 

[max105]

i'm thinking about drilling larger holes in the front of my bezel too, but i was wondering just how hard this was? I want to keep ti looking like it came straight from the factory, and not noticeable that i modded it. also, what size holes did you drill the bezel with?

 

[Tschaft]

I dont remember exactly what size the holes are now. But just take your time and dont slip and it should be just fine. You might want some soft sandpaper just incase you want to smooth it out, but like i said, it looks like it was supposed to look like that, when I did mine.

 

[jdavis]

This is the same idea I (surely didn't) "invent" a couple months ago. I looked at that piece of plastic above the clip on the bezel (when it is attachted to the front of the case), and thought, "what good is that thing doing?" I calculated that getting rid of it completely (dremel cut off wheel works wonders) I could do as much good (if not much more) as I could by enlarging the bezel holes to 3/16" or even 1/4".

The entire "breathing area" turned out to be almost 3 inches after I enlarged the holes in the front of the bezel. BTW- use a drill instead of a dremel for that, unless you have a variable speed dremel. I found the drill MUCH easier to control than a 15000 RPM two speed on its "slower" setting. 3 inches is a lot of breathing room (pun intended) for an 80 or even a 92mm intake fan. Yes, I know that all those small holes aren't as good as one big hole due to turbulence, but it still looks like an unmodded bezel, if that is the look you are going for.

I also plan to make a thin wooden block (probably with some type of foam on one side to act as an air sealer) to fit directly above the fan inside the bezel. This would act as a shield against the intake fan drawing air from higher up on the bezel, and from drawing in (already heated) air from inside the case and just recirculating it. Cover all the various holes you can around your intake fan with something. Duct tape works well, and will be hidden by the bezel anyway.

Those are the ideas I have been brainstorming the last few weeks or so. Hope they help someone squeeze a little more out of thier system!