HERE WE GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

we have lift off gents, and ladies if there is any here 

well, here is the case that i worked on.

XCLIO A380 CASE :

here is a view from the front :

here is a view from the right side :

here is a view from the left side :

here is a view from the rear :

NOW THIS IS WHERE I EXPLAIN ALL MY MODS :

1) full paint job, including laquer.
2) xfi panel removed from the front and placed at rear to hide its ugly face.
3) full wire management including modifying psu cables to proper length.
4) lapped both cpu and hsf for better heat transfer.
5) removed original center panel and replaced it with a fan intake, thermal sensor and window for imon ultra bay.
6) cut out new side window and fitted a 120mm fan and also blanked out the psu section with vinyl.
7) added fan switches to right wing for x3 fans for better noise control ( movie viewing purposes ).
cut out drive bay panels with a hole saw and backed it with speaker grille mesh to prevent cut fingers  :amen:
9) added venting to right side panel for xfi control unit, heat dispersal purposes.
10) located hdd led’s on left wing to give the effect of a beacon on a planes wing.
1) PAINTING A CASE : TIPS !

pc case must be de-riveted and completely disassembled. the powder coat or original paint must be sanded down to the bare metal
for better adhesion and to avoid the paint flaking off in the future. always apply an under coat/primer and sand between coats for a better smoother finish ( i didnt sand between coats because im fairly decent with spray paint ).
always shake cans for at least 3mins before use and the room/location you are spraying paint in must be above a temperature of 15 o C, or you will find your paint discolouring if you do it in cold damp locations. always shake a laquer before and during use.
2) XFI PANEL RELOCATION : I HAD TO DO IT !

it looks terrible located in the dvd drive section and because i ended up putting the front door back on ( i originally intended not to have a front door )
i couldnt connect my optical cable and still have a decent looking pc. creative should have created something with a bit more
user friendliness.

fitting it was a doddle, all i needed to do was cut out the right dimensions ( use a dvd blanking plate and draw the outline of it ).
next came the handy jigsaw and i cut right in the middle of the line i had marked on the rear of my case.
next came the securing of the xfi and i did this with ” L ” plates from a local d.i.y store.
i bolted the ” L ” plates into the xfi unit and then placed the unit on the top panel ( while i had the case disassembled ) and marked the holes for drilling. once drilled, i riveted the plates in place, and removed my xfi panel so i could continue spray painting.

NOTE* not all pc cases can accomidate this panel to be mounted at the rear. luckily for me, this case had the perfect amount of room
to install it above the psu ! happy days .
3) WIRE MANAGEMENT. ALL PC CASES NEED IT !

the above pic displays the molex cable going to one dvd drive and then directly into the next.
usually you have 4 molexes running off the cable. i cut 2 off so i wouldnt have any wires hanging down or getting in the way.
it helps for installing/uninstalling hardware more so than air flow. well, it helps both, but i do it for neatness and then airflow.

cutting any psu wires is not reccomended unless you feel you are competent enough and dont mind voiding any warranties.
mine was still in warranty but i didnt really care if i blew it up. but i nearly took a step further and nearly blew my whole pc up. only for the simple fact that i re-checked the wiring from an un-touched cable to the one i just butchered. i need to post a pic of the diagram i drew up, but i will do that at a later stage. im a bit disorganised atm. sorry .

i shortened and cut to length every cable ( bar the 24pin atx and cpu 8 pin ) for neatness and now its like having a dell pc.
every wire is arranged for the customised setup with no overflowing of wires.
4) CPU AND HSF LAPPING : YOU CAN TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT.

no pics here guys, but there are plenty of d.i.y tutorials on loads of sites like these.
all you need is 400/800/1000 and 2000 grit sandpaper and a level surface. and start rubbing the cpu/hsf on top of the paper
in forward and backward strokes. you dont really need a perfect mirror finish either for this mod to be a success.
as long as all your cores are running at the same temp in speedfan ( idle temps ), you will know that it has been sanded level
and the heat dispersal is even.
5) CENTER CONSOLE OF THE DOOR : MOD IT !

as you can see in the pic above, the center console on the door has a clear plastic piece covered by a floating piece of black
plastic with the logo ” xclio ” carved into it.

in my pic, you can see that my center console is a completely new part and made by hand.
look closely, tell me what it is made of ?
thats right, its mdf.
yes, it really is.
to get my shape for the console, i took the clear plastic out of the door and this gave me the perfect template.
i placed it on my 12mm thick mdf board and drew around it. once the outline was achieved, i then took a jigsaw to it and cut carefully along the outside edge of my marking. and hey presto, i now have a piece of wood to find the door to a flush finish.

after some sanding, the piece fitted purrfectly and it was time to get a holesaw to the bottom edge and cut out my fan intake.
i then marked where the screen would be visable and cut out a rectangle shape.
now the hard part, in order to get straight edges on a hole so small, i had to butcher a small electrical box and cut out a rectangle from the bottom of the box. this gave me my ” lipped ” edge around the window of the imon ultra bay.
once i clicked that in, i added bondo ( isopon in uk / ireland ) and filled in around the edges.
i let it dry and sanded the whole piece to a smooth finish. i started with 600 grit wet n dry paper and finished up with 1500 grit.

once i was done, i cut out the hole for the temp monitor and then began painting.
i then bought a subwoofer port at maplin ( co.uk also ) and cut off the excess that was hanging off the rear of the mdf.

what you see above is the finished article, along with an mdf logo of batman. 
6) NEW WINDOW AND 120MM FAN : THE 330MM FAN WITH THE XCLIO IS PANTS ! TRUE.

self explanitory really. i added some vinyl to the finished window to hide the psu / xfi panel / and some wiring.
7) ADDING FAN SWITCHES :  ITS MOVIE TIME, SO TURN OFF THE LIGHTS, AND ALSO THE NOISE ! 

pretty much straight forward also. its not for governing speed of the fans, but more for turning them off completely.
for watching movies, all you really need is the front 250mm fan and the rear exhaust. which is quiet and movies are un-interupted.
CUTTING THE DRIVE BAY BLANKING PLATES FOR AIR INTAKE : ITS A MUST DO FOR MY CASE !

simple, take one drive bay blanking plate ( on the left ) and cut some holes in it with a hole saw.
use the speaker mesh grille on the right, cut it to size and place it behind the plastic plate.
and hey presto, you have airflow without cutting your fingertips off.

9) SIDE GRILLE FOR PSU AND XFI AIR VENTING : NOT REALLY NEEDED, ITS MORE FOR LOOKS ! 

easy, just go to a d.i.y store , buy a vent in the plumbing section and cut a hole behind where the vent is to be placed
and just rivet it to the panel. then paint both items at the same time.

cheap n cheerfull.
10) HDD ACTIVITY LIGHTS : ROGER TANGO ONE, BATJET CLEARED FOR LANDING : LOL 

not much of a mod, all i needed to do was find the right size drillbit and push the led’s in.
now i have the effect of a planes beacon every time my hdd’s have a fit. lol. it looks good too.
pity all i can show you is a flippin pic of 2 led’s lighting up.

it really matches the front engine theme of a plane, and also the side switches on the right mimmick the spark plugs
for the front engine.

a few extra pics because your all nice people 

THANKS FOR READING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DAVE