Project Sonata

[Sumgai]

So I've had my old Antec Sonata case hanging around the garage for the past 4 or 5 months now, collecting dust and taking up space. I've had some ideas floating around my head as to what I want to do to it, and I finally now have my new Dremel so I can start hacking.

This won't be anything as wild or original as Blake's Secret of the Ooze case, or Twizted and Lokies Dragon Modz stuff, and I really hope like hell it doesn't take up as much time as Blake's case did (No offense, buddy!). My main focus with this mod is going to be improved airflow, which is the Sonata's biggest weakness as far as I'm concerned. The biggest challenge will be modding the plastic front panel to accept the 92mm intake fan I have planned for it. Aside from that, I'll be making several aesthetic changes to make the case a little more eye-catching. Overall, I feel that this is good stater since the case is steel and will be much more forgiving of any cutting slip-ups.

I'll get into more detail later when I post the first set of pictures. Hope you guys enjoy, I'll try to keep this updated on a regular basis, work permitting. I look forward to getting this thing rolling, and to your input!

[gvblake22]

WOOO HOOO! I'm a sucker for project logs and can't wait to see some pics! Quick question right off the bad though... Why a 92mm fan for the front? I thought those cases could fit a 120mm fan in the front?

Also, is this an original Sonata case or a Sonata II or Sonata III?

[Yellowhello]

Yup, looking forward to the pics. Same question here, I thought the Sonata could fit a 120mm fan in the front?

[halutzparilla]

toss some pix there ... i want to see progress...

[Sumgai]

Ok. The case is a Sonata II. As for the fan choice, pictures better illustrate this, but I'll do my best to explain until I can show you what I mean later tonight when I put the pics up (I dunno about you guys, but I'm a visual person) In short, yes, the Sonata accomodates a 120mm fan. However, said fan mounts inside the case, behind the HD bays, which are oriented sideways facing the case door (I prefer this design for better cable routing/video card space). That means putting a 120 in there occupies way more space than I'd like- that also means zero room for the 8800GTS I plan on putting in here. This is one of the main reasons I decided to hack it up for the intake. Besides, where's the fun in using a stock location? Then I'd have no reason to cut hehehe... As for how the 92mm fan will mount; there's actually a recess where the stock filter assembly for the intake would go, but obviously that's getting tossed. This recess conviniently houses a 92mm almost perfect, positioning it directly in front of the HD bay for direct flow over the drives, and to the bottom of the video card. The interesting part will be nailing down an all around high volume/low noise LED fan for it. The theme will be black case (inside and out, most likely powder coat- I hope) with blue lighting.

The entire front bezel is a snap-on deal that's actually 3 seperate pieces (including the door) so I'm taking a page from MNPC Tech's Turbine mod and using the duct/bondo method to achieve the smooth front panel look by molding it all together eliminating the door- how I despise case doors...

Hopefully you guys could follow that lol...It'll all come together when you see the pics, I promise. Keep in mind to bear with me on this one, because the money for this is coming from who knows where since my loving and understanding wife (she lets me get away with quite a bit, really) doesn't understand why I'm doing this and I've since been called a dork several times in the past couple days. She determines where the cash flow goes (read: cash trickle lol) and that means the bills get paid, then the necessities, and then if I push it, the computer habit/addiction...ok, ok...obsession. Good thing she loves me.

More updates later!

[Yellowhello]

Haha, definetly need pics dude.

[gvblake22]

HAHA, cash trickle

Anyway, half-way through the first paragraph I was thinking you should do some bondo work, but it looks like we were on the same wavelength! One question though, can you powdercoat plastic and Bondo?? I thought you could only powdercoat material that was electrically conductive...

When it comes to fans, a high volume, low noise 92mm fan is prettymuch non-existant. And if you do find one, it will either be very expensive or will look ugly. I think you are better off getting a good fan that is clear or black and just using external LED or CCFL lighting to make it look good. I did have a Thermaltake SmartFan with blue LEDs (92mm version) and it is actually quite quiet at the lowest speed but it doesn't move much air at all. And it has a sleeve bearing, so it started making funny motor noises after only about a year of use.

[Sumgai]

Originally Posted by gvblake22

One question though, can you powdercoat plastic and Bondo?? I thought you could only powdercoat material that was electrically conductive...

My bad Blake...The chassis itself will be the powdercoated portion since it's all steel. It'll be sand/media blasted then coated inside and out. The front panel, however, will be painted to match. I'm going to choose a really simple black that can be easily paint-matched.

When it comes to fans, a high volume, low noise 92mm fan is prettymuch non-existant. And if you do find one, it will either be very expensive or will look ugly. I think you are better off getting a good fan that is clear or black and just using external LED or CCFL lighting to make it look good.

True. Can't have my cake and eat it too. I guess I'll be more worried about noise than airflow since the fan will be completely open to the air with no grille. It's gotta look good though, so that's always in the forefront too.

[Yellowhello]

Get a black or LED 92mm fan. I guess for mods it's more bling than function.

[gvblake22]

Also, this no-name fan might be worth a shot. But stay away from the ACRyan Blackfire fans. They look great, but they aren't very quiet (very noticeable motor noise) and make an odd growling/grinding noise when undervolted.