Hey Peeps! Well I'm finally starting to write up some things I've done to my personal Antec 1080AMG Case. Of all the cases I've had, I've chosen this one for my main case. As with any case though, no matter how good, there's always some personalizing that needs to be done to make it fit my needs and wants just a bit more. First let's take a quick look at what the Antec 1080AMG looks like stock. You can check out my review of this great case right here also.

First things first. It's time to make some extra room in the case. I like it clean cut and as airy as possible. I have no need for dual HDD cages, so one's gotta go!

This is an extremely easy process of drilling out the 3 rivots that hold the lower hard drive cage in place. Take out the rivots, it falls right out! Just make sure you drill out the correct rivots. I'm not responsible for someone drilling off some support bracket causing the case to collapse killing a dozen dust bunnies!

Now with that useless extra cage outta the way, let's see what kinda room we got now.....

Now, if anyone's "really" paying attention here, you may be asking yourself "How does he have 4 purple fan brackets when I only got 3 with mine??". The reason for such a question is obvious. The sx1000 series cases only came with 3 regular fan brackets and 1 hdd cage internal fan bracket, which is different than the other 3 and will not simply attach to the chassis as pictured above. I have 4 chassis mounted fan cages because I took an extra fan cage from one of my numerous other antec cases. A typical civilian would either have to use the 3 he/she has, or purchase more of then either from Antecs Spare Parts Website or possibly even on EBAY. Either way, for just the "right" look, it's worth it to have a full set of 4 since it helps the positive airflow in the case. (more air into the case then exiting).

I felt the size of the fan cages was a bit much, not to mention all that purple plastic! ACK! So after analyzing what was the "needed" plastic, I removed the rest. This is a very strategic removal and please do so carefully. If you clip it in the wrong place, the cage will be useless and not attach to the chassis correctly. I clipped the plastic handle part off the cages at precisely a 45 degree angle at the very base of them, right next to tab that attaches them to the chassis. Study the pics above if you're unsure as to where that would be.

Once the excess plastic was removed, it was time to remove the purple as well.....

Prior to painting, I hand washed ALL the plastic pieces in the kitchen sink using DAWN dishwashing liquid. It's a great grease cutter and effectively removes the grease & grime. After a thorough rinsing , I hand dried all the pieces the best I could, then I let them sit out in the sun for a bit to really dry in the corners. Remember they must be bone dry and clean prior to painting.

Once they were ready I used some Testors Silver Metallic Spray Enamel. It's basically model paint you can buy at any walmart in the toys section next to the model kits. It was perfect for what I needed since I needed paint that would bond securely to plastic. I'd recommend picking up a clear coat while you're at it. Should be right next to this paint in the same section. Clear coating the paint will make it much MUCH more durable.