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Is Modding Art?(Stacker rig, pt.1)

bazza

Posted in Uncategorized on August 8, 2008 at 12:55 am

Can i first start by stating that the reason for the title (Is modding art?) is mostly because i can’t think of a decent name for my modding blog other than “Stacker rig” I know it’s a crap name but it does describe my project ( It is based around my old coolermaster stacker chassis) fairly well and it will have to do until i have any ideas or receive any suggestions (all will be most welcome) so for now at least it is here to stay.

This is my first ever post so please bare with me a bit, i am a gamer and not a blogger or one of these people that use all there spare time on facebook or myspace (why?) so if this post is all over the show i am sorry.

Seen as i have asked the question “Is modding art?” I may as well have my say. I’m sure i have heard Jeremy Clarkson when talking about a car on Top Gear say that a top art critic said to him that if something has a use and a purpose then it can’t be art, that simply isn’t true.

Why should a sculpture or some oil on canvas be considered a work of art yet a unbelievable case mod not? just as much vision, craft, thought, time and effort go into these spectacular mods yet they wouldn’t be looked upon in the true sense as art, in the same way a car could never be. Just seems plain wrong. That’s how i feel about it and i could go on and on but that isn’t what i am on here for.

Below are just a few links to some of the best case mods i have even seen.

http://www.wizdforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=311

http://fusionmods.net/?theCase=dispCase&caseID=49

http://www.gadgetvenue.com/star-wars-case-mod-12041519/

http://casemodblog.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=563

Ok so back to the project, as i say i am a gamer (mostly the call of duty series) and have been using the same rig for about 2/3 years now and despite a modest overclock (22%) it is sooo showing it’s age and last year i decieded to start saving to build a new one.

My current rig specs:

AN8 SLI Deluxe

Amd x2 4400 (Overclocked),

Asus 7900gtx (Overclocked),

2Gb Corsair ram,

Tagan 580w psu,

WD Raptor 74gb,

650gb in storage (various drives),

Coolermaster Stacker 810 (i think) and

Water cooled by a complete kit from Alpha cool (including chipset and GPU).

Last week i took the plunge and parted with my hard earned and bought most of my new kit. So i have started to strip my old rig down as i am reusing the chassis (budget wont stretch to a silverstone Tj09(mmm….silverstone TJ09)) anyway this is whats left after about an hour or so. What a better mess!

Stripping the internals is no problem but the chassis was a different matter, tons and tons of pop rivets and quite a few screws the hardest part of striping the chassis though was removing the front aluminium columns that are either side of the chassis that go from top to bottom. They are held on with approx. 6 small cross head screws that are really difficult to get to with a normal screwdriver. I had thought about trying to heat up a cheap screwdriver and then bending it but in the end i just got a small cross slot bit from my cordless drill and gripped it in a pair of pliers and with a not inconsiderate amount of torque they eventually come out.

Sorry if the pics are all over the place.

Next thing was to mod the top PSU bracket as i am putting the PSU in the bottom of the case and mounting the radiator in the top. I have gone for the daddy of all rads the Thermochill Pa 120.3, it is huge it is going to take up most of the full length of the case and because of its size the PSU mounting cage needed the front section removing inorder to let the rad slide all the way into the case(from back to front).

After a short but enjoyable outing for the scouse screwdriver the PSU bracket was flattened into a position that it could be cut easily without me losing a didget. The cut took no time at all with a decent and new junior hacksaw(they are cheap as chips and are so useful) this is whats left of the mount.

BEFORE

AFTER

Finally afte removing the roundish plastic top piece and then drilling out about a billion( Note: uk billion not us billion) pop rivets the roof was off the chassis.

So thats my old rig totalled, it’s fairly sad because i spent a lot of time constructing it in the first place and it was my first proper overclocked,water cooled gaming rig after all, but it is just like a Phoenix about to be reborn. Thinking about it that might not be a bad project title  Project Phoenix? any thoughts?

Next part, cutting the radiator apperture and painting.

• Is Modding Art?(Stacker rig, pt.1)
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