Thermaltake LANBOX Mod

I'm going to mod my Thermaltake LANBOX. I took it some of it apart tonight to see how it was put together. It is still loaded with my components so I didnt completely dismantle it.

I removed the 4 front cover screws, unscrewed the screws holding the power/reset buttons and the USB/1394/audio connectors in place and removed them from the front cover. I also took out the foam filter just to see if I can get better airflow.

The front cover is very solid. There are many smaller parts to the cover that I did not know were even there. I can't really mod the front cover too easily. So for now, I am going to leave it alone.

The side panels come off extremely easy. After about 2 minutes I had the acrylic laying on the floor with a big rectangle hole in the side of my case. Thermaltake did a good thing and made the acrylic side panels easy to remove. There are 8 "pins" that you have to push out and then the acrylic comes off. This made me very happy indeed!

The reason this made me happy is because I am going to mod the side panels.

To be continued....

Oooo. Keep us updated. Sounds like fun!

Got some ideas for what I will do here.

http://www.pdxlan.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=89216#89216

I finally uploaded the pictures I took a few weeks ago. Don't mind the mess of wires. When I moved things around, they werent so pretty any more.

The pins from the inside.



The pins that come out so easy.



Two pictures without the acrylic installed.





Case without the front cover.



Rats nest of cables.



Side panel reinstalled.

I picked this up at Wal-Mart for $4 in the BBQ section. I figure I'll try something with it and see how it looks.

"Installed" the new mesh on one of the sides. What do you think?

Thats looking pretty sweet. I really like the look of the grill mat stuff you picked up... im bettin its going to look cool.

The mesh looks pretty awesome. Actually reminds me of the original idea for my case... looks very industrial.

What color do you think I should paint the mesh? These are colors I have considered.

Black, White, Blue, Silver, Gold, Orange, Yellow

Did some work on this tonight. I cut the mesh and installed it on the outside of the case. The original pins barely hold the mesh on. So I will be changing those. The mesh doesn't quite line up with the holes in the case either. But I'll will work that out later. Here's the pictures.

The mesh and the tool I used to cut it. Its a very tedious task cutting mesh.


The length of the mesh was almost exactly the size of my video card box.


Cutting the mesh.


Various views of the installed mesh.

I really like the silver or even black or blue. But aren't you going to add some lettering to the side? If you do that I think you should go black. Just my thought.

Another way of increasing airflow is to mount a 360mm fan to the side, or a smaller one since you have a small box. Most of the large fans mount easily after you drill 4 small holes in the acrylic, and they are quiet because they don't spin as fast as smaller fans

My vote is black for color. It will blend in with the rest of the case.

I didnt really like the mesh. I took it off. I got a bunch of spray paint so I might paint it and see how it looks.

I have always had the idea of mounting a fan to the side for more airflow. Maybe an 80mm. Not all of us can have 360mm fans in the side of their case like you Tracy. (Which yours is totally "cool" BTW)

Thanks for the suggestions everybody.

I added a 80 mm fan to the inside of the original panel. I installed it using double sided sticky tape so I could remove it easily. The airflow was coming in from the outside and was moving air well enough to hold up a piece of paper to the outside of the panel. But, it didnt really make that much of a difference in cooling. So I removed it. I'd show pictures. But I didnt take any.

Got one of these over the weekend.

Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler
http://thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?C=1148&ID=1748



I had to remove the 60 mm exhaust fans to get it installed though. Since there is no exhaust except for the 60 mm above the PCI slots the ambient temp of everything in the case idles around 40 C - 45 C, Im working on another way to exhaust the hot air this thing moves around the case.

It looks really nice in my case.

Here's the thread over at PDXLAN Forums.
http://www.pdxlan.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8494

I am jelaous

I just read through my own thread. I should update it to let you know what I did about the exhaust.

I have a Thermaltake power supply with a 140 mm fan in it. Originally, I had the PSU upside down so it pulled in cool outside air and blew it out the back. Somebody suggested I flip it back over and exhaust the hot air from above the CPU out through the PSU. So thats what I did. So far it seems to work. Though the power supply does get a little warm, everything else stays pretty cool.

PICS PICS PICS and yeah PICS

I removed the side panel for more airflow. So far its working well. I am going to be putting some perforated aluminum on the sides instead. Ill take pictures of that once I get it done.

Pictures of the case without the side panel and with my DuOrb CPU Cooler installed.

Great Heatsink for a LAN Box with the low profile. I want one

When I got home. I had a package waiting for me. My wife got really excited and opened it before I got home. It was this...



Its almost exactly the same as what is on the front of my case.

So, now I just need to make some holes in it to mount it in the case to the exsisting holes. Then paint it. I was thinking a neon pink color. What do you think? lol. Just kidding on that. I'm not sure what color I will paint it yet. I'll keep you posted though.

All this is thanks to BobDBone from PDXLAN. Who provided the perforated metal to me free of charge. You rock man! Thanks!

Looking Good Bnash!

I'm still thinking black would be a good color for the side panel.

Thanks!

I hope to get some stuff done on it this weekend.

I got some things done this weekend on my metal.

I drilled holes in the same locations as the clear plastic and installed the perforated aluminum on the outside of the case. I will be installing the new side panels on the inside of the case when I am done.

Right now the panels are being held on the same way as the other side panels. This may change depending on how well they stay put after they are installed.

Here's the pictures.

The first piece installed to fit.






The second peice installed to fit.