Picked up another Rocketfish FT

[Tim]

So like the title said, I picked up another Rocketfish Full-tower yesterday at Best-Buy.
Only $33 after using a $20 rewards coupon. Of course I want to make my second project outta this thing.

Hit me with some ideas! (nothing that will cost thousands please)

Hell, lets make this an AT community project, and get AT to sponsor us for the case. j/k

 

[bothra]

I cut a window in the side, cost $10

thinking of adding a blowhole up top over CPU

reverse the GPU fan to intake maybe? i may just cut out the backing and have it intake from the side instead of the back.

how's the airflow in these things at stock? i haven't added components yet, still trying to visualize airflow since i'm not going WC

maybe put some fans in the middle blowing rear-ward? the sole intake fan is about 2 feet away from the mobo

 

[Tim]

Just to give you an idea of what kind of suggestion to throw out there, here's what I did with one Rocketfish Full-tower already

Originally posted by: theplaidfad
Well, here's mine! (also my first real jump into case modding)

Inside
Upper inside at angle
Hard-drive and pump/res area
Front w/ door open
Front and top w/ door closed
The commanders area


The Specs:
Modded Rocketfish (Lian-Li) Fulltower
Intel E8400
eVga 680i Motherboard
4gb (4x1) Patriot extreme performance ddr2-800 @ 4.4.4.12
2x eVga 8800gts (g92) 512 mb in SLI
Silverstone 750watt modular PSU
2x 160gb WD Sata2 HDD, 1 external 500gb HDD for backups
LG DVD/CDRW combo drive w/ lightscribe
Swiftech MCP-355 pump with XSPC top/res combo
Swiftech MCR-320 rad with Zalman F3 120mm fans
EK Surpeme CPU water block
EK Northbridge waterblock
Thermalright HR-05 SLI southbridge cooler
Zalman ZM-MFC1 Plus 6-channel fan controller

 

[RKS]

Originally posted by: bothra
I cut a window in the side, cost $10

thinking of adding a blowhole up top over CPU

reverse the GPU fan to intake maybe? i may just cut out the backing and have it intake from the side instead of the back.

how's the airflow in these things at stock? i haven't added components yet, still trying to visualize airflow since i'm not going WC

maybe put some fans in the middle blowing rear-ward? the sole intake fan is about 2 feet away from the mobo

I actually took the bracketed fan that was blowing air onto the CPU and attached it to the motherboard tray and it is now cooling the ram.

 

[DaQuteness]

I never owned this kind of case since they haven't arrived yet in romania but from what i see in pics on Google, it's a monster case! Airflow is going to be a real pain (unless, of course, you use a liquid cooling solution), you need to do a couple of things to improve it.

From what i see, the front fan blows air on the hdd cages... that won't really help except cool down the hdd's but then the flow is busted. I think you can fit another 120mm fan in the rear, above the existing one. Warm air always goes up so you have 2 options: either that or one in the roof.
Cutting the side panel is a must-have. It's a shame to have such a big side panel and a cool interior and not see inside.you can also add a fan right above the hdd cages on the side to improve the circulation in that area. The warm air from the hdd's won't move that much so you have to help a bit. You can use Yate Loon's or Scythe S-Flex coolers since they are quieter.
Oh, and another thing, that front cooler is going to choke, it won't draw enough air from just the holes in the side of the bezel. This is your call if you want to cut the front or not. May I suggest doing that and covering it up with a strip of circular perforated stainless steel (or anything else with the same cut pattern) from left to right? I think that won't affect the overall looks if you spraypaint it black. These things shouldn't cost much but they demand a lot of work. The rest is just a matter of changing the colour of the case, the interior colour of the case etc etc.

 

[RKS]

Originally posted by: DaQuteness
I never owned this kind of case since they haven't arrived yet in romania but from what i see in pics on Google, it's a monster case! Airflow is going to be a real pain (unless, of course, you use a liquid cooling solution), you need to do a couple of things to improve it.

From what i see, the front fan blows air on the hdd cages... that won't really help except cool down the hdd's but then the flow is busted. I think you can fit another 120mm fan in the rear, above the existing one. Warm air always goes up so you have 2 options: either that or one in the roof.
Cutting the side panel is a must-have. It's a shame to have such a big side panel and a cool interior and not see inside.you can also add a fan right above the hdd cages on the side to improve the circulation in that area. The warm air from the hdd's won't move that much so you have to help a bit. You can use Yate Loon's or Scythe S-Flex coolers since they are quieter.
Oh, and another thing, that front cooler is going to choke, it won't draw enough air from just the holes in the side of the bezel. This is your call if you want to cut the front or not. May I suggest doing that and covering it up with a strip of circular perforated stainless steel (or anything else with the same cut pattern) from left to right? I think that won't affect the overall looks if you spraypaint it black. These things shouldn't cost much but they demand a lot of work. The rest is just a matter of changing the colour of the case, the interior colour of the case etc etc.

The antec P180/182 has never had any issues regarding their indirect access.

 

[Tim]

I have a 19" LCD monitor just laying around doing nothing...
I'm wondering how feasable modding the side panel to mount it with the LCD being flush on would be. I imagine I'd have to take the monitor out of its casing.

What do you guys think? probably just a little too ambitious

 

[aigomorla]

bolt the 2 cases together side by side for a cube server case.

Mount the mother board on the left case and the h2o gear on the right case.

Then pimp the hell out of it.

You just got yourself a taller version of the infamous lian li Mod Cube. Well simular.

 

[DaQuteness]

Originally posted by: theplaidfad
I have a 19" LCD monitor just laying around doing nothing...
I'm wondering how feasable modding the side panel to mount it with the LCD being flush on would be. I imagine I'd have to take the monitor out of its casing.

What do you guys think? probably just a little too ambitious

I don't suggest you do that since the LCD produces enough heat on it's own. Cool idea though. Still, if you want to do so, make a wooden frame for the LCD, drill holes in the case side for the cables, get a cloth material, stretch it over the edges of the side panel and fasten them to the back of it. Then get some fiberglass and cover the whole mesh. Wait about 24h before messing with it again. Then it get's simple... bondo, sandpaper, primer and paint, you know the drill

Aigomorla, that's a great idea... only one thing... WHERE do you place something as big as that? :laugh: It's huge for a PC case!

 

[Tim]

Originally posted by: aigomorla
bolt the 2 cases together side by side for a cube server case.

Mount the mother board on the left case and the h2o gear on the right case.

Then pimp the hell out of it.

You just got yourself a taller version of the infamous lian li Mod Cube. Well simular.

I considered that, but I think that may be beyond my comprehension. I'd have to basically cut the entire right side off of the case on the left side. Not much room for error as I probably would have a hard time finding another rocketfish case.

I do have thoughts in my head about an outside top mounted black ice quad 120mm radiator with some type of shroud and standoffs with 1/2"ID tubing going through two holes drilled into the top connected to dual shut off valves, similar to THIS. along with the MCR-320 I already internally top mounted. That's cooling power! I'd need dual pumps, and vga blocks, but I HATE the idea of buying VGA blocks knowing that they usually work for that 1 series of video cards, then when you upgrade you're stuck with em.

I've also tinkered with the idea of phase change. This case is definately big enough for it if you make a seperation plate for the PSU compartment like the v2000 series Lian-Li's.

So many ideas swirling around, but I know I want to do something uber cool here, maybe even a paint job? My imagination is failing me tonight.

 

[EarthwormJim]

Originally posted by: theplaidfad
Just to give you an idea of what kind of suggestion to throw out there, here's what I did with one Rocketfish Full-tower already

Originally posted by: theplaidfad
Well, here's mine! (also my first real jump into case modding)

Inside
Upper inside at angle
Hard-drive and pump/res area
Front w/ door open
Front and top w/ door closed
The commanders area


The Specs:
Modded Rocketfish (Lian-Li) Fulltower
Intel E8400
eVga 680i Motherboard
4gb (4x1) Patriot extreme performance ddr2-800 @ 4.4.4.12
2x eVga 8800gts (g92) 512 mb in SLI
Silverstone 750watt modular PSU
2x 160gb WD Sata2 HDD, 1 external 500gb HDD for backups
LG DVD/CDRW combo drive w/ lightscribe
Swiftech MCP-355 pump with XSPC top/res combo
Swiftech MCR-320 rad with Zalman F3 120mm fans
EK Surpeme CPU water block
EK Northbridge waterblock
Thermalright HR-05 SLI southbridge cooler
Zalman ZM-MFC1 Plus 6-channel fan controller

Did all that foam make a difference acoustically?

 

[aigomorla]

No you just need to cut out that mobo panel on the right case.

There isnt much work involved as you think. You did an excellent job on the first one, the second one shouldnt be too difficult.

You use a Brace in the bottom to connect the two cases. Also You can bolt the top with a brace as well to make the two cases 1.

The right case should be empty completely. No pannel, nothing on the bottom. The left case which u moded already would house the board and the cpu loop. The second case houses the rest of the h20 gear + pumps and whatever you want.

This was what i was thinkn of doing.

Here is the person i was going to copy.

Dayam Jedda did some nice work on his dual V2000's.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...56663&highlight=v-twin

 

[Tim]

Originally posted by: EarthwormJim

Originally posted by: theplaidfad
Just to give you an idea of what kind of suggestion to throw out there, here's what I did with one Rocketfish Full-tower already

Originally posted by: theplaidfad
Well, here's mine! (also my first real jump into case modding)

Inside
Upper inside at angle
Hard-drive and pump/res area
Front w/ door open
Front and top w/ door closed
The commanders area


The Specs:
Modded Rocketfish (Lian-Li) Fulltower
Intel E8400
eVga 680i Motherboard
4gb (4x1) Patriot extreme performance ddr2-800 @ 4.4.4.12
2x eVga 8800gts (g92) 512 mb in SLI
Silverstone 750watt modular PSU
2x 160gb WD Sata2 HDD, 1 external 500gb HDD for backups
LG DVD/CDRW combo drive w/ lightscribe
Swiftech MCP-355 pump with XSPC top/res combo
Swiftech MCR-320 rad with Zalman F3 120mm fans
EK Surpeme CPU water block
EK Northbridge waterblock
Thermalright HR-05 SLI southbridge cooler
Zalman ZM-MFC1 Plus 6-channel fan controller

Did all that foam make a difference acoustically?

I'm not too sure as I don't really know what the case would have sounded like without the foam. To put it into a poor perspective however, it is a lot quieter than my Lian-Li V1000bw was, and I had 6 800rpm 120mm fans in it. Then again the v1000 is chock full of "meshing" holes everywhere.

 

[Tim]

Originally posted by: aigomorla
No you just need to cut out that mobo panel on the right case.

There isnt much work involved as you think. You did an excellent job on the first one, the second one shouldnt be too difficult.

You use a Brace in the bottom to connect the two cases. Also You can bolt the top with a brace as well to make the two cases 1.

The right case should be empty completely. No pannel, nothing on the bottom. The left case which u moded already would house the board and the cpu loop. The second case houses the rest of the h20 gear + pumps and whatever you want.

This was what i was thinkn of doing.

Here is the person i was going to copy.

Dayam Jedda did some nice work on his dual V2000's.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...56663&highlight=v-twin

Those actually are v1000's... the case I just escaped from. However, very nice concept indeed. I think I'll sit on this rocketfish for a while and contemplate this idea, it's very interesting indeed. I might see if I can buy a couple of super cheap cases and do something similar first to cut mu teeth so to speak. I also may not have access to as many resources as that guy, or you guys have. We'll see. I'm still in the thinking process right now, and like I said earlier, my own imagination is failing me tonight.

Keep the suggestions coming, and maybe it will help and influence my imagination

 

[DaQuteness]

Originally posted by: theplaidfad

Originally posted by: aigomorla
So many ideas swirling around, but I know I want to do something uber cool here, maybe even a paint job? My imagination is failing me tonight.

If you need help with the paintjob, maybe I can help you, even though it might sound too ambitious for you. If you can send me pics of the case (Front, left, right, top) i can make a perfect replica of it in 3D Studio Max (I have 7 years of working with this software) and paint it in different ways (that you would like to see), just to see how it looks before you get to make a mistake. It takes me about 1 day to make the whole case so let me know if you want me to do this.

 

[Tim]

If you need help with the paintjob, maybe I can help you, even though it might sound too ambitious for you. If you can send me pics of the case (Front, left, right, top) i can make a perfect replica of it in 3D Studio Max (I have 7 years of working with this software) and paint it in different ways (that you would like to see), just to see how it looks before you get to make a mistake. It takes me about 1 day to make the whole case so let me know if you want me to do this.

Sounds like a great idea as long as it isn't too time consuming for you. I definately wouldn't expect you to spend an entire day on it. Perhaps a little done at a time spread out over a week or so.
This guy took a lot of pictures here, he even has some measurments on a picture or two.
-> Link here <- I'm imagining 3dmax is an expensive program or I might try to dabble with it myself.

What kind of paint (most effectivly) is used on aluminum?

 

[DaQuteness]

It's not so time consuming as you may think, certainly not a week or two... more like 2-3 days to make it as real as possible. 3Dmax is a wonderful software if you manage to unlock and learn it's secrets I also know Maya, a bit of Houdini FX, AutoCAD, CATIA, Mudbox and Z-Brush but i'm not so good at modelling characters as i am with more "technical" things. Anyway... I'll try to finish this as soon as i can, then i'll get back to you. Oh, and if you have any ideas on the paintjob, let me know.

EDIT: Those pics should be enough.

 

[Tim]

I'm thinking about crafting a racing type intake for the top of the case, So I'm thinking glossy black paint with white racing stripes. That's one idea that comes to mind. Feel free to throw your own paint sceme idea together as well!

 

[tornadog]

theplaidfad, did u pick this up at the BB in Baton Rouge. Are there any left still. I might go by tonight if I can find one.

 

[Tim]

Originally posted by: tornadog
theplaidfad, did u pick this up at the BB in Baton Rouge. Are there any left still. I might go by tonight if I can find one.

No my friend, sorry! I was born and raised in Baton Rouge, but I've been in New Jersey for 5 years now.

Good luck on your Rocketfish hunt, and GEAUX TIGERS

 

[tornadog]

ok another question. I have the ocz gamerxtream 700w PSU. Does it need the backplate to attach to this case. I lost the backplate and right now its hanging on 2 screws in my old Antec file server case.

 

[Tim]

From the pictures I see of your PSU, you shouldn't need the backplate. However, you should take note that your PSU fan will face down in the rocketfish. There are vents on the bottom of the case to allow the PSU to suck in some air, so make sure that you have the case on a hard surface rather than carpet so the PSU can breath a little more easy.

 

[DaQuteness]

quick question... is that little side fan doing it's job? the one attached to a metal box, is it useful? i want to make some of those types for cooling on a smaller project

 

[Tim]

Originally posted by: DaQuteness
quick question... is that little side fan doing it's job? the one attached to a metal box, is it useful? i want to make some of those types for cooling on a smaller project

No actually. It's very very restrictive and chokes the fan. It's not really effective for exhaust OR intake in it's current config. But of course it could have a 120mm hole cut in the casing so it's at least able to pull air more effectivly. I actually plan on cutting a 250mm hole in the side panel for a 250mm 110cfm 19dba fan and discarding that side duct completely

 

[Bluefront]

Here's my dual MB Rocketfish I've been playing with for a few weeks. FWIW..... the BestBuy in Ellisville, Mo. had three left this afternoon @ $49.