rcbyrne Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Background I have recently bought a Corsair 550D from the Obsidian series. I got this case because I loved the versatility it offers, I use my PC to game 10% of the time, and then College Work, Wed Design, Internet etc the rest of the time. I used to have a CM 690 II which was a great case and all but I wanted something quieter. The 550D was perfect for me because I could have a dead silent PC with all the panels closed up for when I don't need the cooling yet still be able to OC my CPU and play games at high settings. However the 550D seems to be designed so you can have a Silent case or a Performance case but I want both, a silent case that I can quickly pop off the sides and have a performance machine which gave me my Mod idea... The Mod The Mod is very simple, I want a switch on one of the front panel of the case that is hooked up to all the fans inside, so when I'm not gaming my PC is dead silent. The problem however, is the distance between the front door and the front panel is 3mm at best. I looked for a fan controller that would suit my need but finding a fan controller flush with the front panel is difficult and finding a fan controller that turns the fans off is near impossible. So i decided to take things into my own hands. I bought this switch from maplin (http://oc3d.net/4E), it is perfect for what I want, however the switch is too tall so i have to sink it into the front bay (See "Sunken Switch" pic). I dont have any professional cutting equipment so had to use a hot knife and then sink the switch in the panel. I did this by attaching the switch to a cut out from a milk carton and sticking that to the back of the bezel (See "Switch Attachment" pic). This works (very effectively) however doesn't look neat as you can see. I would like to redo it and have it look professional. I want to keep the same concept of a switch that can quickly turn my fans on/off but find a better solution. Can anyone give me some advice on how I could improve this mod? I have thought that buying an aluminum bay cover might be easier to cut into, but doesn't solve the problem of the switch being too big. I have looked for a button that would be flush with the panel but couldn't find one anywhere. I was also thinking maybe there is a way to mod a fan controller such as this one http://oc3d.net/4F to suit my needs? Fan Help As well as help on the mod I would also like some advice on what fans to put in the case. I am going to replace the front panel fans and my CPU fan with Corsair SP120 (http://oc3d.net/4I) which seem perfect for the job. I have a CM MegaFlow 200mm fan on the side. I was going to use Corsair AF140 (http://oc3d.net/4G) for the top exhast and bottom intake however the BitFenix Spectre Pro (http://oc3d.net/4H) seems to outdo it in almost every way; which is a shame because I much prefer the look of the AF140 as well as prefer Corsair as a company. I was wondering is there any advantage of going for the AF140 of the Spectre Pro 140? Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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