Change in Plans

The monster PC project is not going to be a steampunk design. I just don't have the right stuff for the case. It's going to get a little more updated, more of an industrial sci-fi (Serenity / Enterprise) style. But it should still look cool. Updates coming tomorrow.

Monster Case: Blueprints! sort of...

There's precious few pictures of the bubbly little HP case I started with. Here's a little one to give you at least some idea:

All that paneling broke off in transit to college, so it's just been an ugly brute since then. Again, no picture because I'm at work. Instead, mspaint!



and here's what I'll be doing to it:



I'll photoblog tonight's cuts, which are MUCH more thought out than this MSpaint mess makes them look. It should be fun.

Monster Case: cooling

So I mentioned last post that cooling was the reason for doing this. Maybe justification is a better word. I don't really have a reason, it just sounds like fun.
But since cooling is an issue with this case (1 80mm fan in the back just isn't cutting it...), I should start there. There's a spare 80mm fan to install on the front, no problem. But what about a blowhole? That'd look kinda neat too.
So, if I'm going to cut a blowhole, shouldn't I have a fan to put there too? No such fan in my junk pile. I could've just gone and bought a new fan, but why pay when you can find something instead? Sure enough, I found this:
[picture coming soon]
A 140mm air hockey fan. 110volts chugging out a promised 500cfm. For comparison, a good hairdryer is between 200 and 350 cfm. Computer cases usually run at about 100 cfm. Having this much airflow will probably suck the dust right out too, which means I'll want a filter. No problem.
So this monstrosity of a top-fan got me to thinking. I could do a few things here. Either leave the 80mm in front and the other in back and just let the 140 suck out all the excess up top; put both fans up front, close off the back and suck ALL the air out the top; or get another big fan up front, move the 2 80mm to the rear, and get even more airflow all the way around.
Time for a new front fan.

Hehe.
So this thing is going to sound like a NASA liftoff when I'm gaming, but the extra top and front fans are specifically FOR gaming, and switch on and off outside the case (ghetto-rigged, because I don't feel like rewiring the big boy). That means that I'll only have them on when the music's too loud to hear them anyway. The rest of the time it'll be the standard hum of 2 little fans.
Next lets play with the design.

Monster Case:Intro

Taking a page out of the books (technomicons?) of Jake of All Trades, Brass Goggles, and Datamancer, I decided to convert my computer case to a steampunk monster. This case is no shiner, btw. It started its life as an HP pavilion back around 2000. Only the Mobo remembers that time, but it's still far from the l337 b0>< most modders build on.
The whole reason for the build actually came up because my video card, a G-Force 6600, isn't getting enough airflow. The nVidia guys were nice enough to put a heat sensor in there and, yeah, it's pretty toasty. Not enough space for the fan to do its job, and just one little rear fan chugging away at creating airflow.
The processor was running hot too, so what the heck. More shiny silver lubricant for it, a new blowhole in the top, and an extra 80mm fan in the front. And as long as I'm working on it, why not make it look pretty.
So here's my supply list so far:
1/32" Aluminium scraps - one 2'X4' piece and a lot of scraps.
all the 4" aluminium ductwork I could want.
1 sheet copper - about 2' X 4'.
1 busted antique brass clock, all parts still inside (rattle-rattle).
1 fake-silver Victorian candlabra
1 fake-silver Victorian scale
1 temp / air pressure gauge
1 air-hockey fan (see next post)
2 cold-red cathode tubes
2 cedar 2X4's (maybe... still need permission for these)
other wood blocks of various sizes
all the bolts, bits, and iron or copper pipes I could want.

Quite an exciting pile of junk. Pics will be posted as I build it.

Hello World

# Lawrence Pit
#
# (C) 2002 BlueSorcerer
#
#example that prints Hello World!

Ook. Ook? Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook! Ook? Ook? Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook? Ook! Ook! Ook? Ook! Ook? Ook. Ook! Ook. Ook. Ook? Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook! Ook? Ook? Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook? Ook! Ook! Ook? Ook! Ook? Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook! Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook! Ook. Ook! Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook! Ook. Ook. Ook? Ook. Ook? Ook. Ook? Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook! Ook? Ook? Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook? Ook! Ook! Ook? Ook! Ook? Ook. Ook! Ook. Ook. Ook? Ook. Ook? Ook. Ook? Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook! Ook? Ook? Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook? Ook! Ook! Ook? Ook! Ook? Ook. Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook. Ook? Ook. Ook? Ook. Ook? Ook. Ook? Ook. Ook! Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook. Ook! Ook. Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook. Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook! Ook. Ook. Ook? Ook. Ook? Ook. Ook. Ook! Ook.

Nothing here is original, but all of it will (one day) be of use.
Welcome to my junk drawer.