9780789731920

Tired of your non-descript, platinum-colored PC case? Want to show your individuality and make your friends green with envy? Interested in wringing out every ounce of performance that your timid PC can produce? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, thenThe Maximum PC Guide to Extreme PC Modsis for you! We show you how to reach PC mod nirvana step-by-step, including choosing (or making) the perfect case, cutting custom windows, painting cases, turning everyday, ordinary objects into fully functional PCs, installing neon/cold cathode lighting, liquid cooling and more. Then, we show you how to drain every last drop of performance from your PC - from simple settings within your BIOS and Windows, to more fringe overclocking techniques. If you want to pimp out your rig, then this book is a must-have. No other book combines PC mods and overclocking into one, indispensable book. Best of all, this book was written by the two top voices in PC hardware technology - Maximum PC and Que! First, we show you to cook up your idea, spec it out, gather the tools for the job, prepare your workshop and complete your mod without injuring yourself or setting your workshop ablaze. For beginners, wers"ll first show you how to choose the best off-the-shelf enclosures for "simple" modding projects, and later wers"ll show you how you can let your imagination run wild, creating kick ass mods from the most unusual objects. Along the way, we show you - with hundreds of full-color photos - how to cut case windows, paint your rig at home, add trick fans, install dazzling interior lights, install custom cables, and how to mod your PCrs"s front-panel. Once you have all of the hardcore skills down, we dive into three mod projects, which show you, step-by-step, how to build a mod from an everyday, garden-variety PC case, to creating a mod from an object you found around the house or at the hardware store, to building a mod from scratch. Each of these projects is explained in fine detail, with full-color photos that show you exactly how to do it. We then attack more performance-oriented hardware hacking, such as installing exotic cooling, overclocking your CPU frequency, and tweaking your BIOS and video card settings. Throughout the book, we highlight some of the best mods from Maximum PC readers.

Introduction

xviii

Who Is This Book Written for?

xviii

How This Book Is Organized

xix

Prep Work: Laying the Perfect Foundation

(16)

Unleashing Your Inner Case Modder

(11)

Time to Get Organized

(1)

Why in the World Would Anyone Fenestrate a Computer Case?

(1)

Did Someone Order a Nice Cold Coke?

(1)

Redefining the Meaning of ``Fanboy''

(1)

Beginning Your Project in Earnest

(1)

Picking the Right Parts

(1)

Creative Visualization

(1)

Planning: Paper Models

(2)

Never Run with Scissors

(1)

Eye, Hand, and Lung Protection

(2)

Planning Your Workspace for Efficiency and Safety

(1)

Sketch Your Creation Before You Grab the Power Tools

(1)

Stocking Your Tool Chest

(4)

Choosing a Modworthy Case

(20)

It Pays to Be Materialistic

(10)

What to Look for in a Modworthy Case

(1)

Case Design Personalities

(1)

Case Form Factors: Up Close and Personal

(4)

BTX Form Factor

(3)

The Gospel of the Case According to Maximum PC

(6)

To Think This Was Based on a Prefab Case

(2)

Making a Case Window

(18)

Why Prefab Is Not Preferred

(4)

Creating Custom Cutouts

(1)

Yes, You Can Put an Eye Out!

(2)

Hands-On How-To: Case Windows

(11)

Step 1: Conceiving Your Vision

(1)

Step 2: Selecting Materials

(1)

Step 3: Preparing Your Pattern

(1)

Step 4: Deciding on Window Placement

(1)

Step 5: Transferring Your Pattern

(1)

Step 6: Preparing for Surgery

(1)

Step 7: Preparing Your Surgery Room

(1)

Step 8: Everyone Needs a Little Support

(1)

Step 9: Drilling a Starting Point

(1)

Step 10: Gettin' Jiggy with It!

(1)

Step 11: Advanced Maneuvers

(1)

Step 12: Cleaning the Cutout

(1)

Step 13: Finishing Touches

(1)

Step 14: Painting and Mounting the Acrylic

(1)

Step 15: da Vinci Time

(1)

Step 16: It's Airbrush Time

(1)

Step 17: Mounting the Window

(1)

Step 18: Repairing Mistakes

(1)

Step 19: Cleaning Up and Finishing

(1)

Step 20: Admiring Your Work

(1)

A Study in Sublime Window Dressing

(2)

Painting Cases

(40)

Before You Get Started---Safety Precautions

(12)

Tools and Materials for Our Spray-Painting Project

(1)

About the Materials We Use

(1)

Step 1: Preparing Your Case for Painting

(1)

Step 2: To Strip or Not to Strip

(1)

Step 3: Cleaning and Masking

(1)

Step 4: Priming

(1)

Step 5: Wet-Sanding the Primer Coat

(1)

Step 6: Applying the Color Coats (and, You Guessed It, More Wet-Sanding)

(2)

Step 7: Rubbing Compound and Finishing Glaze

(1)

Step 8: Painting the Bezel

(1)

Step 9: Admire, Gloat

(1)

Easy-to-Do Airbrushing and Painting Techniques

(13)

Airbrush FAQs

(1)

Paasche VL Airbrush---My Weapon of Choice

(1)

Tools and Materials for Our Airbrushing Project

(1)

Step 1: Prepping the Mouse Pad

(1)

Step 2: Airbrushing for Shadow and Light

(2)

Step 3: Sponge Painting and Glaze Effects

(2)

Step 4: Rubber Masking and Painting the Serpent

(3)

Step 5: Admire, Gloat

(1)

How the Pros Paint Cases

(12)

Step 1: Get Yourself an Art Department

(1)

Step 2: Off to the Vinyl Shop

(1)

Step 3: Cut the Vinyl Graphics

(1)

Step 4: Weeding Sucks

(1)

Step 5: Get Yourself the Best Auto Painter You Can Find

(1)

Step 6: Smells Like...Brain Damage

(1)

Step 7: Reduce Your Case to Pieces

(1)

Step 8: Totally Ruin a Fine Finish

(1)

Step 9: Fun with Acid

(1)

Step 10: First Layer...and It's Still Not Paint

(1)

Step 11: Let's Mix Toxins!

(1)

Step 12: Apply the Base Coat

(1)

Step 13: Clear Coat Can Kill

(1)

Step 14: Preheat Oven and Bake

(1)

Step 15: Lay Down the Vinyl

(1)

Step 16: Sweet, Sweet Clear Coat

(1)

Step 17: Mmmm...Fresh-Baked Viper!

(1)

Step 18: Finish Up

(1)

Step 19: How to Scratch That Beautiful Clear Coat

(1)

Step 20: ``He Never Drives It, Ferris. He Just Polishes It with a Diaper.''

(1)

Step 21: Enjoy!

(1)

And Sometimes Even Paint Need Not Be ``Paint''

(1)

Fans, Fans, and More Fans

(22)

Positive Pressure, Negative Pressure, and Neutral Pressure

(10)

Cubic Feet per Minute

(1)

For Whom the Bel Tolls

(1)

Sleeve Versus Ball-bearing Fans

(1)

Properly Positioning Case Fans

100

(3)

Fan Gallery

103

(1)

Fan Speed Controllers

104

(2)

Fan Accessories

106

(1)

Hard Disk Coolers and Bay Coolers

106

(1)

Slot Coolers

106

(1)

Painting Your Fan

107

(4)

Step 1: Exposing the Fan Bearing

108

(1)

Step 2: Removing the Retaining Ring

108

(1)

Step 3: Masking Off the Magnet and Shaft

109

(1)

Step 4: Painting the Fan Blades

109

(1)

Step 5: Admire, Gloat

110

(1)

Making Your Own Fan Templates

111

(1)

Cutting Blowholes

112

(4)

Step 1: Measure Twice, Cut Once

113

(1)

Step 2: Cutting the Hole

114

(1)

Step 3: Marking Screw Holes and Filing

114

(1)

Step 4: Mounting the Fan Grill

115

(1)

Fan Bay Excess, Thy Name Is RagE

116

(2)

Let There be Lighting

118

(12)

The Classic Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp

120

(9)

Mounting Lights

121

(1)

Mounting Lights Continued

122

(1)

Changing Lamp Colors Without Changing Lamps

123

(1)

Lighted Fans: Keeping Your Rig Cool and Stylish at the Same Time

124

(1)

LED Lights: A Powerful Punch in a Puny Package

125

(1)

LED Facts: The Diode Demystified

126

(1)

12-Volt DC: Automotive Accessories to the Rescue

127

(1)

Turn-ons: Switches

128

(1)

Black Lights...for the Dark Arts?

129

(1)

Laying Cables

130

(12)

Up Close: The Tools and Materials

132

(8)

Step 1: Taming the Nest of Snakes

133

(1)

Step 2: Removing Molex Connectors

133

(1)

Up Close: Wire Configurations

134

(2)

Step 3: Removing Unwanted Power Connectors

136

(1)

Step 4: Installing Split-Loom Tubing and Heat-Shrink Material

137

(1)

Step 5: Applying Expandable Braided Sleeving

138

(1)

Step 6: Mounting and Hiding Cables

139

(1)

It's the Thought That Counts

140

(2)

Building the Ultimate off-the-Shelf Mod

142

(20)

Hands-on How-to: Doing It All with Prefab Parts

144

(11)

Step 1: Building the Beast: Taming the Wild Wires

145

(3)

Step 2: Installing the Motherboard and Processor

148

(1)

Step 3: Installing the Heatsink and Fan

149

(1)

Step 4: Making Connections to the Motherboard

150

(1)

Step 5: Mounting the Drives and Drive Bay Components

151

(2)

Step 6: Installing the Power Supply

153

(1)

Project Juggernaut---The Finished Mod in All Its Glory!

154

(1)

Off-the-Shelf Gear

155

(5)

Decorative Thumbscrews

155

(1)

Acrylic Power Supply Mod

155

(1)

Neon Maxx Blacklight Accent Paint

156

(1)

Electroluminescent Tape

156

(1)

Black Hole BlackFlash Power Onyx Plus

156

(1)

SuperBright LED Lights

157

(1)

Black Hole BlackFlash Special Edition Loomed LAN Cable

157

(1)

DDRMaxx Copper Memory Heat Spreader

157

(1)

North Bridge Maxx Chipset Cooler

158

(1)

Cathode Sound Module

158

(1)

Security Case Screw

158

(1)

Crystalfontz LCD Display Kit Model 632 USB

159

(1)

Military Switch

159

(1)

Sunbeam Cathode Fan

159

(1)

From the Shelves of a Bygone Era

160

(2)

Building the Ultimate Found-Object Mod

162

(14)

Hands-on How-to: Creating a Found-Object Mod

164

(11)

Step 1: Mocking Up the Hardware Housing

165

(1)

Step 2: Mounting the Motherboard and Videocard Inside the Plastic Housing

166

(1)

Step 3: Creating an I/O Bezel

167

(2)

Step 4: Creating the Skeleton

169

(1)

Step 5: Breaking Out the Paint

170

(1)

Step 6: Installing the Hardware and Final Modding

171

(2)

Step 7: Cutting the Intake Vent

173

(1)

Step 8: Adding the Mesh Grill

173

(1)

The Finished Mod in All Its Glory!

174

(1)

And It Might Even Hit 12,000 Kesselmarks, Too!

175

(1)

Building the Ultimate Scratch-Built Mod

176

(28)

The Importance of Reverse-Engineering

177

(3)

So How Do We Teach That Which Defies Teaching?

178

(1)

Choosing Your Poisons

179

(1)

Hands-on How-to: Building a Scratch-Built Case

180

(22)

Step 1: Gathering Materials

181

(1)

Step 2: Laying Out and Mocking Up the Hardware

182

(2)

Step 3: Framing with Stock Aluminum

184

(2)

Step 4: Mounting the Remaining Hardware

186

(1)

Step 5: Cutting and Mounting the Side Panels

187

(1)

Step 6: Cutting the I/O Shield Panel and Fan Hole

188

(2)

Step 7: Making a Support Frame for the Top of the Case

190

(1)

Step 8: Installing the Optical Drive

191

(1)

Step 9: Cutting the Front Bezel and Mounting Hardware (Part 1)

192

(2)

Step 10: Cutting the Front Bezel and Mounting Hardware (Part 2)

194

(2)

Step 11: Putting It All Together

196

(1)

Step 12: Making a Top and Wrapping Up the Project

197

(3)

Project Thoughts

200

(1)

The Finished Jujube Mod in All Its Glory!

200

(2)

Caution: Contents Extremely Evil

202

(2)

Exotic Cooling

204

(28)

Up Close: The Physics of Water-Cooling

206

(6)

Up Close: How Phase Change Cooling Works

206

(2)

Water-Cooling: It's Like a Little Splash of Evian for Your PC

208

(1)

Water-Cooling Hardware

209

(3)

Basic Water-Cooling Setup

212

(19)

Step 1: Planning and Hardware Placement

212

(1)

Step 2: Mounting the Radiator

213

(1)

Step 3: Installing the Water Pump

214

(1)

Step 4: Prepping the Motherboard for the CPU Water Block

214

(1)

Step 5: Installing the GPU and CPU Water Blocks

215

(1)

Step 6: Installing the Reservoir

216

(1)

Step 7: Making Tubing Connections

217

(1)

Up Close---Water-Cooling Setup

218

(1)

Step 8: Filling the System

219

(1)

CPU Coolers---Fever Reducers for Your Binary Reactor!

220

(1)

Fun with Classic Air Cooling

221

(1)

Adding an Aftermarket Cooler to Your Pentium 4

222

(1)

Adding an Aftermarket Fan to Your Athlon CPU

223

(1)

North Bridge Chipset Coolers

224

(1)

Hard Drive Coolers

224

(1)

Slot Coolers

225

(2)

Quieting Your PC

227

(2)

Sound Dampening

229

(1)

Power Supply Replacement

230

(1)

Yeah, But Where's the Hemi?

231

(1)

CPU Overclocking

232

(14)

The Overclocker's Handbook

232

(14)

All Men Are Created Equal...Processors Are Not

233

(1)

The Basics

234

(1)

Is Your CPU a Prime Candidate?

235

(1)

Preparations and Precautions

236

(1)

Let's Get Ready to Ratchet

236

(2)

How to Break into Your BIOS

238

(1)

Vamping Your Videocard Velocity

238

(1)

Overclocking Case Studies

239

(2)

The Proof Is in the Benchmarks

241

(1)

The Five Most Overclockable CPUs

241

(1)

And 4 Others That Might Just Break Your Heart

242

(1)

Top 10 Tips for the Hardcore Overclocker

242

(2)

Choosing Your Motherboard

244

(1)

Online Resources

245

(1)

Tweaking Your Bios Settings

246

(10)

Tweak Your BIOS for Maximum Performance

247

(3)

Tweak Your BIOS for Maximum Reliability

250

(3)

Tweak Your BIOS for Maximum Boot Speed

253

(3)

Case-Modding Resources

256

(10)

Tools

257

(1)

Case Materials

258

(1)

Modding Parts

259

(1)

Cases

260

(1)

Painting Supplies

261

(1)

Fans

262

(1)

Lighting and Electronics

263

(1)

Cables

264

(1)

Enthusiast Websites

265

(1)

Showing it all off

266

(8)

The Equipment---What You'll Need

268

(6)

Index

274

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Maximum PC Guide to Extreme PC Mods

0789731924

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

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