Maximum PC

Ok, here's the deal. I have a giant CM stacker that I just got up and running and last night I tore it apart to see if I can get my water rig converted over to it and also trying to see if the TDX waterblock will be able to work at all with the new 775. Anyway, that's how it's setting now. Ripped down.

This weekend I'll be finishing up a paint job on my buddy's cycle and I won't be back in my booth for a while and got a hair to paint this case. Coolermaster is holding a contest over at their forums, and the entries are shit so far IMO (Booradley, if you read this...get yours in there!). But I don't have an idea for this one that I think I can live with for a while besides the Repsol Honda theme. I'm a huge motorcycle fan and so that works great for me. But the aluminum is also nice, and I'll be covering all of it up. So, that's the poll. Paint over the aluminum or not.

Here's the theme I'm going for:

And my buddy was nice enough to let me experiment a bit to get the ripped edge thing down as I've never done it. He was going Orange and Charcoal, but after seeing this in person, he dug it so now that's what I have to do on the fairings now. Here's the tail to give you a little idea:

That's just one coat of clear with the pearl in it (hard to see inside) and after that I shot on 3 more clear and it's awesome!

All in all, this is going to be hard because the stacker's abilitiy to go to BTX and ATX, so the design will have to carry onto the doors so they can flip sides, but that's not a big deal, it just adds more attention.

But I can fill ya'll in as it goes along (if the votes look like I should do this) and it'll be a great tutorial on how to paint a case using REAL paint. So, let me here your opinions! Aluminum is sexy, but everyone seems to have an aluminum case. I want something I've never seen before. (I was going to go Pearl White, but MPC's Dream machine is pearl white )

RULES: If you think I should paint it, but not that color...don't vote! I'll throw some other ideas up! You can then vote for that one.

And don't quote me with the images in the quotes please.

Hey Chumly

I say go for it. Aluminum is great, but you're right, every company is coming out with an aluminum case. I really like your colour choices as well. The rippled orange will give it a fast look and the back/white should give it a good balance.

I'm already a member of the CM forum I'll be posting mine when it gets closer to the deadline. I can't think of a single thing I can do extra to my rig, but I figure I'll hold off just in case I think of something.

Thanks for the suggestion though

personally, i like the paint AND allumn...

it makes things much more difficult becuase of sanding, but i like the mix of bare metal and paint in the same job

Not a bad idea actually. The new Repsol RC211V's have a large wing on their fairing going onto the tank. I could leave that taped off to have the aluminum show through then clear it all. I did that with the carbon bodywork on my bike to let it show through and it turned out great. I'll experiment with that on the side panel I'm not going to use. Thanks dude!

This thread won't die with 6 votes! I won't let it! Bump for Friday...

i voted paint it ... so there's #7

Paint yes, bare aluminum no.

The bare aluminum case is getting to as common as industrial beige and just about as attractive.

mmmmm...carbon...mmmmmm

also, if you are good with an airbrush or just masking, you could put a design over the bare allum, surrounded by the rest of the paint job..kinda like negative space


then clear coat the whole thing

WOW, I'm really the minority on this vote

Leave it bare but polish it then clear coat it. Put a mirror on the bottom like this.

Why? Want is your take? Like to hear it...

I had thought of that. But working with alloy for quite a while, I know how hard it is to keep shiny. Even if I get it mirror smooth, the paint alone (or any covering for that matter) will take a bite out of it. The only thing I know to keep them kinda shiny is the stuff they use on wheels (kind of a powder coat) and even that stuff dulls after a little while.

Not turning it down, but chrome is really not me (I love chrome as an accent though). That's why I brought up "silver server"...it was my first thought as I've always wanted to do it. Then reality set in. This thing has to last for a couple years in a real usage atmosphere. No trailer queens here

hey this is unrelated but whats your friend running in motorbike im a fan of choppers more but his bike is pretty nice. paint jobs look better with less decals. mmmm hot rod flames.... sorry.

i would bet that the decals are sponsers....cant really do anything about that...

I've been gone for the long weekend...have you started any of it yet?

Whoe there turbo. That first bike is what I'm aiming at...not a buddy at all. I wish though!

That guy is Mick Doohan, the 5x (consectutive) world champ of 500cc MotoGP (when it was still 2-strokes only). I've only met him once, and is a swell guy. I thought we was the king before, but I was able to be in Austraila (Navy) to see him race and from then on has been one of my heros. He wrecked several times and finally had a big one and had to quit racing (one wreck forced his team to devise a thumb action brake which many still prefer).

The bottom picture was my attempt at getting some type of pattern down. It's a bit extreme on the rip, but it was by request. And it's a 2000 Kawasaki ZX-7R that he thrashed last year on our ride up to Laguna Seca. I'm a long time Honda fan, and Repsol has been the GP sponsor for years with Honda. I can only point to the American Kenny Roberts Junior to win the GP's on something other than a Repsol Honda in the last 10 years (and last year's Repsol Honda rider and winner, Valentino Rossi, has a big chance to win this year on a Yamaha...I believe it will be the Yamahamer's first win in a very long time. The kid is awesome, and Doohan put him under his wing. 4 more wins will put that KID as the all time winningest rider). There's the brief intor in that theme.

Again, saying that the above picture is my buddy would be like saying I hang with Michael Jordan or Mario Andretti. And Honda would not allow me to get within 50ft of any of their GP bikes:p Josh Norem, on the otherhand, may have some connections

Ummm...not yet. I still hate to start without getting a plan set out. It looks like I'm going to do it, but I really have to make sure I get it done right the first time. With one month, I should get going, but I need to do it right at the same time. I may end up missing the Coolermaster contest though.

I still don't have all the parts either:p I just got the real crossflow fan in the mail (I've been trying a Y.S.Tech blower just to get the jist of it down until this one was available). I'm also waiting on the window so I can get the pattern across it to match right. I can do the side I have, but that big fan hole is a gross wart to try and get right. They have a pic of it in the forums, but I can't get them to send me one directly, and FrozenCPU still doesn't have them. I just got the 3-1/2" floppy drive brackets and the extra hard drive bays as well...It's been a pain to get all the parts thus far! I thought it was a steal at $168, but they didn't mention all the additions you may want to get it right. So far I'm reaching $300 for a damn case:p

Got yours in there yet? You have to have 2 items from coolermaster, or one case...and from the entrants, you can win this thing for sure. All of the ones I've seen are junk. They've just thrown a bunch of stuff into a case! Yours is very nice dude. Wait until the last minute and spring it on 'em!

I hear yeah, you don't want to start a paint job like that on a whim. As for your Stacker, when they first came out, I thought a lot of that stuff came with it like the cross flow and at least one 4 in 3 module. Yikes, that case can become pricey quick

I'm still sitting in from my rig staring blankly at it and trying to figure out if there is anything else I can do to it. I'm sure there is lots of cheesy shit I could do, but I want to maintain a clean look without it becoming gaudy...you know? If it's ok with you, I should PM you a few pics and get your opinion.

Let me know what you think

Here's an idea, why not throw in some of both. your design would be very easy to use mostly painted with one ripped layer of aluminum still showing. I'm not sure how skilled you are at detail work but by your paint job pics it looks like you're pretty handy with a paint gun, how about throw some minor shading in there between the ripped layers to make it look like each layer is underneath the previous layer, and when you come to the aluminum layer, which should be the front corner or side make it look like it's coming out from the paint. Just a quick thought.

Me too:p I ordered it, and very soon after saw that it didn't have the crossflow fan or a window for it yet. I was wondering if I really wanted another window'd machine anyway. But to it's credit, it DID come with the HDD module with the fan on it. And then I was piecing it all together to get it going, and noticed that I couldn't put the floppy anywhere! One quick visit to the CM forum found the answer and they sent it for free. Still not a pretty cure, but it works. I may just try making my own instead of the brackets they sent.

Hey, pm away! I'm with you on the gawdy factor. I hate all the lights and crap that is out there now. It's chincy IMO. I'd simply think that you're down to the nitty gritty stuff. a nice touch here, a simple tweak there...that kind of stuff. Let me have some pics to see if we can get into the gritty stuff

I'm also at a delima with looming and such. My S/ATA cables are grey w/ Black ends, the PS fan is Green, my PS and Radiator are chrome, and my pump is blue. I need to work out this problem...QUICK. It's horrible if I ever get this window on. The motherboard is almost orange and the DDR2 is copper, so that may be the direction I need to head. Orange and chrome/polished...gawd I better start to love those colors:p