Project: CM 690 (Blue Mod)

[mpilchfamily]

I went out over the weekend and picked up a Cooler Master 690 case from Microcenter. They have a great deal going on threw march on these cases. With the case running for $20 after $40 MIR i couldn't pass it up. I love the mesh on this case and the placement of the connectors on the top.

The biggest problem i have with the case is the placement of the power, reset, and LEDs on the lower right side of the case. So this is one of the things i'll be changing.


Here is a few more images of the case.




Well like i said the power, reset, and LEDs need to be relocated. I plan to get a couple of black housed Bulgin switches with Blue LEDs. One for power, and one for Reset. The LEDs in the switches will be the power and HDD LEDs. I'll be drilling holes in the top of the case just in front of the eSATA and Firewire port. The place where they where at will be filled in with some sort of filler and painted so you won't know they where ever there.
Blue Illuminated Bulgin Style Vandal Switch - Black Housing - Ring Illumination - FrozenCPU.com

But before i can do that there are a few other things that need to happen. So to start things off i stripped the front face and top off the case. I went further by removing the cables, mesh, and chromed accents from those pieces.


This revealed an odd grill that sits in front of the front intake fan and the top fans. The front intake fan is a Blue LED fan. I plan to make the top fans the same but i don't want the blue glow to be blocked by those grills. So all that has to go.


So i took my wire cutters and cut the soft plastic grill off.


After a couple of hours of filing and cleaning up the edges we have this.


Thats about all I've done for now. I need to pull together some money so i can get paints and other supplies together. As you can see by the FrozenCPU link the switches are out of stock. So I'm waiting to get an email for when they have them back in stock. I've tossed around a couple of paint ideas. I think I've settled on paining the middle section Blue. I'll leave the mesh panels black to allow the blue to show threw. Should match up well with the Blue LED fans shinning threw as well. I don't want to use the 5.25" bay covers on this case. I think I'll make a custom cover for the 3 unused drive bays to help it be more of a seamless look. I may even paint over the Chromed pieces. Have to sit on that idea for a while. I'm also considering painting the inside of the case a flat black.

Somewhere along the way i may design a window for it. I think i'll use Blue Plexi in the window.

[grady_24]

Sounds like fun!!! I have this case and have been thinking about putting a window in as well. Good idea to move the power, reset and LED's. The cheep plastic that the buttons are made of gave out on my reset button, but I'm working on making my own reset switch.

[mpilchfamily]

Well i went about taping up the panels to be ready to prep for priming and painting. Now i realized i need to get the holes from the original switches covered and filled in first. That way i can hit the front panel with a couple of layers of black before i tape it off to receive the blue. Just need to figure out what will be best for filling the holes. I need something that will sand down very smooth so you can't tell its even there after its been painted.

[JumpingJack]

This is a nice case for the money ....

[tool_462]

Bondo is what you need mpilch. Easy to find.

That case looks very nice, and mod friendly at that

It is just begging for an internal water cooling setup.

[mpilchfamily]

I agree but thats an upgrade for another time. It will be a wile before i can afford to get a water loop.

[mpilchfamily]

Today i got out to the hardware store and picked up some supplies. I got everything i needed to get the holes from the power and reset buttons filled. So here is how it went.

First i ruffed up the area around the holes so that the Bondo would stick. I placed some masking tape on the back side and then mixed up some Bondo. I liberally spread it over and into the holes as you can see. I had a picture of the back side showing the masking but it was all blurry.


I first sanded the area down with 100 grip paper then moved up to 220.


Here is the back side of the fill. The tape did a good job keeping the Bondo in place.


Next it was time ti hit it up with a few layers of paint. After each layer had a good 30 minutes or more to dry i sanded it a bit with 400 grip paper. Fortunately its been a nice day so i was able to get out and paint.


As you can see you can't even tell the holes where even there. Now there are a few small pits in the Bondo but you have to look close to see them. A bit more sanding with the 400 grit and a few more layers of paint should fill those in without a problem. But it was starting to get cold out so i had to stop.


I also hit the back with some paint. Even though it may never be seen its the details like that that count.


Here is the black i used and its a perfect match to the case. You can also see the Blue I'll be using down the middle of the case that will show threw the mesh. Its nothing special just a standard blue made for paining plastic.


So next I'll tape off the top and the front faces to receive the Blue. I think I'll go out and pick up another can or 2 of the black and a good black primer to paint the inside of the case.

[SuperFly03]

Crazy mofo of a PSU guru.

Mod on man!

[Dean]

Nice. Next time can we get a pic of you posing in a painter's outfit next to your job like a trophy though?

[mpilchfamily]

Hell i didn't even wear a mask while painting it.

Before i do any more painting i need to get those switches. But i still need to design a window and a replacement face for 3 of the 5.25" bays.

[Dean]

Just wondering, how does this compare in quality to the Antec 900 (you own one as I recall, right?).

[mpilchfamily]

I was just checking out the fans outside of the case and they don't seam to push allot of air. Sure they are very quiet but they just don't have the RPMs needed for good air flow. Looks like I'll be replacing all of them. So i guess it will be all Blue LED fans. Or i may even switch the theme over to red. There is still allot up in the air to be decided.

[tool_462]

Bondo work went well I see

[mpilchfamily]

Just wondering, how does this compare in quality to the Antec 900 (you own one as I recall, right?).

I like both cases. The 900 is a bit of a pain to build a system in. Lots of screws and its a PITA to get the HDDs screwed into place. I have to use a special tool my wife got me from one of here jewelry catalogs. Its a little 4 pronged grip tool.


Anyway both are solid cases. I'm sure once i get better fans in the 690 it will have comparable airflow to the 900. A good benefit of the 690 is it already has cable routing options. But then newer 900 do as well. But i can more easily mount a full water loop inside the 690. I also have more options for moding. I've racked my brain for the past 6+ months to find a cool mod to perform on the 900 but to no avail. My biggest issue is the window the 900 comes with. It really hinders the creativity that can be pored into the case.

Now the 690 on the other hand has many good options for moding. Though i have no idea why the placed the power and reset at the bottom edge of the case. If the front panel is going to be on the top of the case then so should the power and reset. But that is an easy fix and makes for a good mod to the case. In the past I've been skeptical of the tool less drive latches and plastic PCI slot retainers. But they look to be of good quality. If they break the case has all the srews i need. The included filter for the front and bottom intake fans is a nice feature but it requires you to remove the fans to get at the filters to clean them. For the front panel this means you have to remove the front face. Not something i want to be doing every couple of months. But the filter is needed to hold the front fan in place so i may have to remove the screen on it. This case will defiantly have a cleaner look to it then my 900 currently does.

[mpilchfamily]

Bondo work went well I see

I've been warned it may crack on me if the front bezel flexes too much. If thats the case I'll remove it and get some fiberglass boat filler.

[tool_462]

I have a thing like that in my tool box for snagging screws I drop... but this is the one I have:

Pickle Picker @ TheKitchenDrawer.com by Jensco, Inc.

[tool_462]

I've been warned it may crack on me if the front bezel flexes too much. If thats the case I'll remove it and get some fiberglass boat filler.

Bondo has so many different kinds, you can get a fiberglass filler that can flex. I don't foresee an issue though since you know to be careful with it.

[mpilchfamily]

Yeah the little mom and pop hardware store i went to had both the auto and the boat filler. I almost picked up the boat filler but i can use a bit of the auto filler on my car.

[tool_462]

Good call going to the local hardware store I always do in my hometown.

Like I said, I've seen alot of people using the standard auto Bondo with much success. I've even seen people fill 120mm fan grills with it and have it look like a smooth panel.

[grady_24]

Looking good!!! I'm excited to see what all you end up doing with this as I may try to mod mine this summer.