I will echo Arlie's echo of Merc. It might take an extra day breaking it down, but this is going to be a great system and you wouldn't want to leave anything to chance.

Good luck either way bud.

There's definitely an echo in here. We've got to fix that.

You guys are right. I agree. The problem is that the Dremel was slow in shipping, so it would have delayed the build by 10 days.

I carried though with the minor surgery without stripping down the system. I spent a good 90 minutes covering everything with plastic wrap and painter's tape. I know exactly what you're talking about -- the stray bits of metal shavings -- as I had to do clean up work after receiving the case from Performance PC's (even after I had everything installed, I would come across bits of metal).

The holes are cut. All that is left to do is finishing the edges -- filing and fitting the rubber trim. After I remove all plastic and tape, if I see any signs of infiltration, I will drain the loop and strip down the box, clean, then reassemble. So far, it's looking pretty good. I realize there's a chance I might end up with a short. If so, I'll accept responsibility for that.

Don't try this at home, kids . . .

Pre-op photos after Informed Consent forms signed off on by unwitting patient:







Post-op, prior to filing:


By jmkays

If anything could catch those metal shavings, your set-up could. It looks like all of them stayed in the top compartment. You got the holes nice and round too!

Let us know how the post-wrap-removal metal shaving inspection goes.

If counsel advises that you're safe, then proceed. After all, you can always sue him later....

It looks like a pretty thorough wrap job, but I would not have done it here.

The filing and smoothing of the fan holes was more time intensive than the actual cutting of the holes. I mounted the rad to ensure it fits properly, but am waiting on C-strip neoprene molding for the holes. They will look more finished Monday with the trip installed. Temperatures are looking good: CPU's hot-*test*-('") diode reads 36C and GPU diode reads 45. Here are a few photos:

To reiterate and caution any n00b's reading this, Merc, Arlie, Chuck and David (site mod's/admin/owner) are correct in opining that cosmetic work on a case involving cutting should never be done with components installed; there is too great a risk of electrical short and equipment failure.

There was a delay in receiving mod tools and that was the reason for this 'short cut.' I have enough familiarity and experience with the components involved to know how to seal and isolate parts from metal shavings. Even with my experience, there was still a risk assumed.

If you are modifying a case at home, please do it before installing motherboard and other components.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming . . .

Uncle JMKays..I took your advice and started grinding some big holes in my case with all components in situ as you showed me, i made sure to mask up like you described, but now there is a strange smell like burning PCB and my PC doesnt wanna boot up at all..

Regards n00bzig..

I am having similar issues after cutting a 250mm hole in the side of my case just like uncie jason. I left the computer running as the board LED helped light the cut line but everything was wrapped tightly in Saran wrap and blue painter's tape just like jason's.

Good news is the hole looks pretty good , bad news is my rig won't boot. All the lights in the house went out as well (thankfully I am using a battery powered Dremel and finished the job in the dark).

I got the flashlight out and took a peek inside but the Saran wrap and painter's tape have adhered to the mobo and vid card. Tried a BIOS reset but the battery and jumper seem to be spotwelded to the board. Is this normal? Why would Asus spotweld the battery to the board? I really hate Asus.

Can anyone help me fix this? Uncie Jason? Please! Is it too late to RMA?

Once again AI proves it's metal [pun intended] in showing how to help the inexperienced user handle the more complex jobs, making sure to set up cautions signs well before every dangerous curve. Way to go Paul and Merc!!

You guys are just plain BAAAAAD

Next time I think I'll try drilling and cutting with the computer running 3DMark06.

Careful Jason - don't give away secrets to scoring higher on 3D06. This isn't a closed FWs thread. FWs08 is just around the corner and we're using 3D06.

Running 3D06 with a Black & Decker ripping through the mobo would be considered a tweak but not a cheat. May put you in the UE category though.