Modding an AOpen HX08 Full Tower Case

Aopen HX08 Full Tower Casing Mods - Day 1 - 31 March 2000, The Arrival of the Victim!!!

Aopen HX08 Full Tower Case
4 X Foot Stand
2 X Foot Base
1 X ATX I/O Shield/Bracket
2 X Rubber Motherboard Stand/Rest
10 X Brass Stand-Offs
and a bunch of screws.


Side view of the HX08. Note the 3.5" drive cages under the 5.25" bays and above the PS Unit.		Aopen's very own 300Watts PSU with "Noise-Killer".

After confirming that all the accessories, I proceed to remove all the side panels, top panels and the hard disk cages, as I won't be using them to mount the hard disk. My two IBM hard disks would be mounted at the 3rd and 4th 5.25" bays, together with my home-made HDD coolers!!! The Aopen incorporates a slide-out motherboard tray which enables future upgrading and maintenance to be carried out easily.


The slide-out motherboard tray design of the HX08.		The HX08 stripped down and ready for operation "Dremel Mayhem"!!!!!

OK, enough about the case. I'm sure most of you knows about it. Heck, some of you even own one!!! Let's get to the tools and accessories required for this operation.

Aopen HX08 Full Tower Casing Mods - Day 1 - 31 March 2000, Tools & Accessories

Here I will show you what are the tools and accessories that I used for the operation. Please note that these may or may not be the best tool for the operation. These are the only tools that I can get hold of and if you decided to follow exactly what I have used and done, you are doing so at your own risk!! First stop, the Dremel. I bought it at a local hardware store for S$185 bucks!! It comes with a sturdy carrying box and over 40 accessories. These includes the grinding wheel for wood, plastic and also metal. The cut-off wheel that came with the kit is a little bit too small and thin, and it breaks easily. I changed that for a 15 piece Reinforced Cut-Off Wheels, which cuts much faster and deeper. And it doesn't even breaks when too much force is applied. The Dremel is perfect for cutting those large holes and hard to reach places.

Next is the hole saw. These were recommended by a friend and they cost S$90 bucks for the 80mm kit. With the Tungsten Carbide tips, this baby cuts very cleanly and smoothly. It cuts into the steel like a hot knife through butter!! OK, OK.....I'm exaggerating!!! But at least they're much much better than those cheapo China-made HSS steel hole saws!! With the China-made hole saw, 3 cuts and you'll find yourself on a trip to the local hardware store to re-grind the cutting surface!!


The Dremel Kit with the carrying box and 40+ accessories, including the cut-off wheels.		SHINTO Tungsten Carbide tip 80mm hole saw.

After browsing around on the Internet, I have found that most PC enthusiast uses a brand of fans that I have never heard before, Sunon. Most of them claimed that these fans are one of the best out there, churning out high CFM. I decided to give it a try and I find myself right in the centre of the electronics and electricals paradise of Singapore, SIm Lim Tower. I basically had to tore the place apart just looking for these babies!! They are so hard to find! When I managed to find them, they were only availble in the sleeve bearing type. I decided to buy one of each size first to test it.

Needless to say, I was pretty impressed with the performance of all the fans that I went out again and bought a whole bunch for the project and also some 60mm fans for my home-made HDD Cooler. And on this trip, I also got some fans grills and filters for the fans.


120mm Sunon Fan 12VDC 5.1Watts 0.425 Amp Sleeve Bearing 2700 RPM 97 CFM Cost : S$20 each		92mm Sunon Fan 12VDC 2.6 Watts 0.21 Amp Sleeve Bearing 2600 RPM 48.5 CFM Cost : S$16 each


80mm Sunon Fan 12VDC 2.2Watts 0.18 Amp Sleeve Bearing 2700 RPM 35 CFM Cost : S$15 each		60mm Sanyo Denki Fan 12VDC 1.68Watts 0.14Amp Ball Bearing ?? RPM ?? CFM Cost : 3 for S$10


Assorted Size Fan Grills S$2.00 - 120mm S$1.80 - 92mm S$1.50 - 80mm		120mm Fan Filter Cost : S$5.00 each

The next thing was to find some rheostats and switch to control all those noisy fans. I almost ordered the set from Cliff of Fanbus fame, but the extra cost of sending the money there made me think twice. So Cliff, if you're reading this, I'm really sorry man!! But your Fanbus notes was so clear and precise that I got my friend to help me with the wiring and stuff. Although it's not really of the same quality as Cliff's, it should work fine with me. Anyway, all these stuff are inside the case, so nobody would notice, right??

Anyway, I got 3 rheostats from the same location. The sales guy at the store was kind enough to check them for me and even showed me the correct wiring setup. Kudos to him. If any of you locals wants to buy a rheostat, I suggest you check them out. The store is called HANDY ELECTRONICS, pretty spiffy for a name, huh??? :O) Also got some control knobs and a 12VDC switch for the HDD cooler.


Back view of the rheostat setup Specs: 10 Watts, 25 Ohms S$18.00 each		Front view of the rheostat setup Knobs : S$0.80 each Switch : S$2.50 each

This rheostat setup will be hooked up to a fanbus, controlling all the fans in the case. The connectors are the type used for speakers and since all the fan wires are bare, there's no need to fix those Molex connectors, thus saving some wire-cluster in the case. Have to thank Cliff here for these great ideas!!!!

The Fanbus

Now we're going to the part where you've been waiting for, the obliteration of the HX08!!!! Brace yourself................:O)

Aopen HX08 Full Tower Casing Mods - Day 2 - 1 April 2000, Operation "Dremel Mayhem"!!

Day 2 begins with the marking out of the 120mm holes at the bottom front of the case. This is where the 120mm Sunon fan will be mounted to suck in the cold air. With the fan grill, marking the position for the screw holes and the large intake hole was made rather easy. The pictures below will give you a rough idea. Before you start this, make sure anything and everthing that is removable in the case is removed!!!! PSU, drive cages and other stuff. You do not want to have metal shavings in your PSU!!!


Marking out the location for the screw holes and intake hole with the fan grill.		About 1/3 of the hole was completed at this stage. Had to stop for a smoke!!!

As expected, the Reinforced Cut-Off Wheels did a great job at cutting the 1.0mm steel construction of the case. Oh yeah, before I forgot, the hole cuts through the location for the case speakers, so I have to find a new location to mount the speakers. Not a big problem, though!!! The cutting operation took roughly 30 minutes (not counting the numerous smoke breaks that I took!!!!!). another 15 minutes was spent smoothing out the rough edges. Pretty fast, eh????


The finished hole.		Test fitting the fan grill. Notice that the cut-off metal case fits perfectly in the inner fan hole.

The next thing to do is to fix the front bezel to the case to get the alignment for the hole on the front bezel. This took quite some time as I had to measure all the dimensions from the case and then transfer it to the bezel. Cutting the bezel was a different story altogether. Just drill some holes along the circumference of the hole you just drawn, then hack it away with a hacksaw blade, and use the plastic grinding wheel and the dremel to smooth things out.


Front bezel with the hole		Plastic bowls. Locals should know this. They are used to keep "ICED KACANG"!!! My mom keeps about 30 of these at home!!!

Using the plastic bowl to improve air flow and reduce turbulence wasn't my idea. I saw some guys on the Web doing this, so I thought why not give it a try. Turn my kitchen upside down looking for that perfect plastic bowl. (Sorry mom!!!) Finally found these bowls! Locals should recognise them easily as they are used to store the cold dessert we call "ICED KACANG"!!! They are fairly soft and easy to work with. A scissors or penknife should be able to cut them to the required diameter and depth. Put some masking tape on the clear plastic to give it that same colour as the bezel. Looks COOL!!!


Front bezel with the hole and the plastic bowl attached		The completed front air intake fan setup.

There!! All done. PHEW!!! Next will be the cutting of the top exhaust fan. The exhaust fan will also utilise the Sunon 120mm fans.

Aopen HX08 Full Tower Casing Mods - Day 3 - 2 April 2000, Operation "Dremel Mayhem" Continues!!!

Day 3 begins fairly similarly to Day 2 with the marking out of the 120mm holes at the top panel of the case. This is where the 120mm Sunon fan will be mounted to exhaust all the hot air. Using the fan grill, marking the position for the screw holes and the large exhaust hole was similarly done with the front intake hole. The depth of the fan was slightly smaller than the depth of the top panel, so no need for removal of any top metal piece for clearance. The position of the fan is centered as that is where the opening on the case structure is the largest, so the fan could suck out more air. The pictures will give a better idea.


Marking out the location for the screw holes and exhaust hole with the fan grill.		You can clearly see the markings on this pic.

The pencil markings on the top panel was replaced with a marker as the pencil markings tends to fade away when rubbed. Drilled the four screw holes and then checked its' alignment with the fan and grill. Everything A.O.K. and I proceed to cut the large exhaust hole. Use a fresh cut-off wheel and it only took 15 minutes!!! I guess the panel was made of a thinner gauge metal than the whole case structure itself.


The holes for the screws had been drilled out and the marking were made clearer with a marker.		A pretty good cut, eh??

After smoothing out the rough edges from the cut, the fan and grill was fixed to test the alignment again. The top panel was then fixed to the case structure to ensure that the fan or grill is not blocking anything. Everything seems fine!!! I even got a seal of approval for quality!!! OK, OK......it's the seal from the factory!!!


Front view of the top panel with fan and grill.		Back view of the top panel with fan and another grill.

At this point, I noticed that the area for the cables (I don't know what you call it, but I call it the "Cable Duct") was a little to narrow. Imagine having a whole bunch of IDE, SCSI and power cables there!! The airflow would be block!!! I had to cut a portion of it away but have to be careful so as not to weaken the steel structure and integrity. A fresh cut-off wheel would do the trick just fine!!


The small "cable duct".		Marking out the cut-off lines for the enlargement.

This operation took a litle bit longer due to the thickness of the steel structure. Smoothen out the rough edges and using a wire brush, polished a little of the sides!! Now you can move your fingers there without getting cut!! Not bad, eh?? :O)


Half way through for a......you know what!!! SMOKE BREAK!!!!		The completed enlargement of the "Cable Duct".

Well, got a little more time on my hand, so I thought I might as well finish up on my HDD Cooler. Check it out!!!

Aopen HX08 Full Tower Casing Mods - Day 3 - 2 April 2000, Home-Made HDD Cooler!!

As I had mentioned, all the 3.5" drive cage had been removed to prevent obstruction to airflow and also because I won't be using them to mount my HDD. MY two IBM HDD will be attached to drive rails and screwed onto the 5.25" bays on the front bezel. As they are both of the 7200 RPM type, they could get real hot! I copied the idea from the various 5.25" bay HDD Coolers out there. All of the models out there uses either 2 or 3 40mm fan and fits into a single bay. I decided to use 2 60mm fans and mount them on the face plates to cool 2 HDD at the same time.


60mm fan with the fan grill. The grill was taken from an Alpha P125 Celeron cooler HSF!		The face plates were attached to the front bezel for better alignment. You can see the markings on the face plates.

With the face plates mounted on the front bezel, it is easier to get an accurate alignment for the fan and grill. Drilled the screw holes first and test align it with the fan and grill. Next, drill holes along the circumference of the marking and use a hacksaw to remove the majority of the faceplates. Finish off with a plastic grinding-wheel with the Dremel. You should be able to obtain something like the pics below. Pretty neat stuff, if I do say so myself!!!!


Marking out the screw holes and intake hole with the grill.		Test fitting the fan grill with the face plates.

Once completed, removed the faceplates and screw on the fans, grills and the faceplates together. There you have it!! A Home-Made HDD Cooler!! You save about S$50 bucks on the HDD Coolers out there!!


Front view of the HDD Cooler		Back view of the HDD Cooler

End of Day 3. The case with the front bezel and the top panel.

Another day ends.......while another is on the break!! Tomorrow, side panel obliteration!!!!

Aopen HX08 Full Tower Casing Mods - Day 4 - 3 April 2000, Rheostats and Fanbus Unit

Well, Day 4 did not turn out the way I had planned. Had no time to actually carry out the cutting of the side panel. Maybe on Day 5.... :O( But as not to disappoint those of you who checked out the progress of this page, I decided to talk a little about the Rheostat and Fanbus units. My interest in these units began when I came across Cliff's excellent site about his custom-built fan power supply unit, www.fanbus.com. Using simple devices and electronics, he creates a central location to manage the leads from the various fans in his system. There was also a rheostat setup that I like very much. It lets you control the spin of the fan by controlling the voltage supply to the fan. So you can have some peace and quiet when surfing the Web and have the ultimate cooling power when playing demanding games.

To cut the story short, I emailed Chris and requested a quote for a custom setup. The price was was right but the Post Offices here won't do Money Orders to the U.S.!! The only way was to send an International Bank Draft, which would cost me almost half of the cost of the units themself!!! I decided to scrap the idea and live with the noise!! But then a friend saw Cliff's notes on the fanbus and he told me that he could help me build one myself. Now I wished I had paid attention during all those Electronics Engg. classes I attended back in 1991!!!:O)

Anyway, I set out and search for the components and he would help me with the wiring and soldering. First stop, the switch. That was easy as almost all the stores in Sim Lim Tower have 'em. You just need to find one rated for 12VDC.


The S$2.50 switch, rated at 12VDC, 15A.		The little dot on the switch indicates the "ON" position.

The next item on the list is the electronic hobby kit box for the fanbus, the spring wire clips, control knobs and the rheostats. The first 3 items was also easy to find but I had trouble sourcing for the rheostat. According to Cliff, he uses a 5Watts rheostat but the smallest wattage I could find was 30Watts!! Even then, the thing was to big for the faceplate!!! But then, a kind soul helped me out......it was the guy at the store where I bought the switch. He told me that I could find what I was looking for at a store just behind his. So off I went and I was presented with a sign saying, "HANDY ELECTRONICS". Could come pretty handy, I guess!!! :O) The guy was right!! They did have those suckers!!! Even though it wasn't the same as Cliff's specs, the guy was kind enough to explain to me the proper setup of the rheostat and he was also quick to understand when I told him what my purpose was for buying the rheostats. Now that's what I call service!!!! I ended up buying 3 pieces. But sad news for others.....he told me that these are the last 3 pieces and they won't be bringing in the low wattage models anymore. He said that it cost too much and they weren't selling very well. Weren't selling well?? Then how come these are the last 3 pieces???


The electronic hobby kit box and the spring wire clips. Kit Box : S$1.60 Clips : S$1.50		The Rheostat Brand : CHIBA Watts : 10 Resistance : 25 Ohms Cost : S$18 each

Having all the items ready, I called my friend and we proceed to assemble the units. I started to cut the wires to the desired length and my friend started to solder them to the connectors. Not really professional stuff, but it will do........


Outside view of the Fanbus with labels.		Internal view of the Fanbus wirings. Pretty neat, huh???

I decided to mount the switch and the rheostats directly to the faceplate. The faceplate was quite soft and easy to work with. Looks like the front panel of a guitar amplifier!! COOL STUFF!!! Now all it needs is labels!!


The rheostats and switch attached to the back of the faceplate. I soldered these babies myself!		Front view of the rheostat and switch setup.

Here's both units after being connected together. The Fanbus is attached to the Control Unit through plastic wire connectors, so it can be easily removed for setup with different controllers. Here you also see the male MOLEX connector for connection to the PSU.

Completed Control and Fanbus Units

Here is an updated schematic drawing of the setup.

Hoping Day 5 would turn out just fine............later dudes..... :O)

Aopen HX08 Full Tower Casing Mods - Day 5 - 4 April 2000, Setbacks..........AARRGGHH!!! :O(

Once again, not a good day!!! Came back from work and Sim Lim Tower and came across two setbacks, but nothing I can't handle, of course!!! First stop, the side panel itself. As most of HX08 owners would know, the case employes a slide out side panels design. Most case also incorporates this idea, but the problem with the Aopen case is that you have to slide the panels ALL THE WAY to the end in order to remove it. With fans being planned to be installed there, it might prevent the panel from sliding in when trying to close it. The pictures below will give you a better explaination. It might not have been a problem if you're not installing blowholes there, though.


Slide out side panel design of the HX08.		The "grooves" that slides onto the case structure.

It took me quite a while to come with a solution. I even thought of replacing the whole side panel with a large Plexi!! Both the top and bottom of the side panel has these so-called "grooves". Then, an IDEA!!! I opened up my In-Win Q500 tower, looked at the side panel and BINGO!!! All I have to do is to use a pair of pliers and bend the top "grooves" so that I do not have to slide the panel from all the way back anymore! Confused?? So am I!!! Nevermind, I will post the pictures of the mods tomorrow, after cutting the side intake holes.


The grooves clamps onto the inside of the case structure.		Another pic illustrating this locking effect.

The second setback is the hole saw itself. Looking at the pics below, you will find that the mandrel for the hole saw is a tad larger than the largest opening allowed by the drill chuck!!! DAMN!!! I was really looking forward to using this baby!!! With it, I should be up and running within 10 minutes!!! Oh well, back to the trusty old Dremel, I guess!!!


Drill chuck half way opened.		Fully opened and still can't get the hole saw mandrel to fit!!!

Using the same technique for the previous 2 holes, I set about marking the holes for the side panel. The bottom hole had been aligned so that it blows on the last 3 or 4 slots on the mobo. The top hole will cover the rest, including the hot AGP Slot. An OEM Matrox Millennium G400 Single-Head with 32MB of RAM awaits the cool breeze!!! :O)


Marking of side panel holes with fan grill.		The completed markings

Another glorious view before the operation!!

Having a little time, I decided to take some pics of the PSU units. Pretty standard stuff. Aopen 300W with Noise Killer. Huh?? It really can kill noise?? Anyway, came across this connector. Looks like the old AT Power connector found in older systems with an AT mobo. But why only one side?? If memory serves me correctly, AT connectors come in a pair, right?? Anyone who can explain this to me?? Please?? :O)


Aopen 300W PSU w/ Noise Killer		6 Female MOLEX Connector

2 Floppy Power Connectors		The ATX Power Connector

AT Connector??? But why only one side???

That about sums up the day.......it's 11 p.m. now, can't possibly start hacking away at the panels or I'll find myself with some explaining to do to the cops!!! Till then..........

Aopen HX08 Full Tower Casing Mods - Day 6 - 5 April 2000, Day 6 - Final Ops.......

Yawwnnnn!!! Oopss.....sorry!! WOW! You guys really followed the progress huh? :O) Anyway, here's what happened today. As usual, the screw holes were drilled first and the alignment was checked with the grills and fans. Everything's cool there. Using the Dremel, I started to cut the top hole first. Had to be careful here as the curves were a little bit tighter than the 120mm holes in the front and top. Took tiny bites with the Dremel to ensure that it stays on course.


Screw hole drilled and check the alignment with the grills and fans.		You can see the metal shavings all over the side panel.

It took about 20 minutes to complete each hole, slightly longer than the time needed for the 120mm holes. But the result was good. Using a grinding wheel attachment, the metal burrs on the edge of the hole were cleared and smoothen out. Now it looks and feel like it was produced in the factory!!! No cuts on the fingers here...... :O)


The top hole completed.		If you look closely, you could see the burrs on the edge of the holes.


Both holes are completed.		Another shot after de-burring and smoothing out the sharp edges.

I checked the grill and fan alignment for one last time to ensure a good fit and clearance for the fans. At the end of this process, the side panel was really filthy. Out came a bottle of Grease Remover and everythings clean again!!! This thing works like magic!


Checking the alignment one last time.		The bottle of Grease Remover. Powerful stuff!!

I quickly proceed to install the fans and grills. I even slap on a couple of dust filters onto the fans. That will keep all that dust from accumulating in the case. And not to forget any creepy crawlies that would like to make the case it's home!!!


Front view showing the attached grills and fans.		Back view of the side panel.

Close-Up with the Dust Filter installed on the fan.

Yesterday, I mentioned that I was gonna do a simple mod to the "grooves" on the side panel.....well, here it is!!!

I received a couple of e-mails from readers, giving their suggestions how I should go about solving the "groove" problem. Bob Palnik suggested that I installed the fans outside, instead of inside. He said that's what he did with his case and it looked like shit!! Well Bob, I tried that and you're right. It DOES look like shit!!! Hahahahaha!!!!! Anyway, thanks a lot Bob. Another reader suggest I make a plexi door or something, with hinges, and mount the fans there. Not a bad idea, but cutting a big rectangular hole in the panel could affect it's strength and rigidity, or so I thought. I decided to try what I have mentioned yesterday, bending the "grooves" out. It was a rather simple task and if I screwed up, I can always push them back into position.


Using a pair of pliers, I bent the "grooves" outwards.		A close up of the ops.

Pic showing all the "grooves" bent.

After the ops, I decided to test fit the panel to the case stucture. I would expect to see some gaps at the top, but there wasn't any!!! COOL!!! The panel fits like the "grooves" were locked in place!!!! Lucky me! Now I don't have to slide the panel all the way to the back. Much like my In-WIn Q500's side panel. I was very happy that everything was OK.


The "bottom grooves" locking into position.		Top "grooves" not locked onto the case structure.

I am now thinking of whether or not to cut away the metal piece at the top rear of the case. Thinking of slapping on my 80mm fans down there. Oh well, for now I will just cover the holes with masking tape to prevent any "Air Flow Short-Circuit". Maybe I'll decide after taking some temperature reading. I'm happy how things turn out for the moment.

To hack, or not to hack. That is the question!!!

OK......OK!! I know some of you can't wait to see what all this madness has produced, right??? Well, let me present to you, the
"NEW AND IMPROVED.....AOPEN HX08!!!!!" Aopen, take note!!!!!

Now all I need to do is make some wings and I'm pretty sure it'll FLY!!!!!!

The Modified Aopen HX08, in all it's GLORY!!!!

Well........that's all folks!!! I hope this is what you guys have waited to see!!!! :O) Once I got a temperature probe and a noise meter, I'll post the results here. Thanks for all your comments and feedback guys. And a special thanks to Cliff for that excellent Fanbus Notes!!! Not forgetting all the Overclockers Worldwide!!!! We are the Elite Forces, brothers and sisters!!! United we stand!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!


The HX08 out of its' packing. Beautiful, isn't it??		Back view of the HX08


Pic showing cables not yet "rounded"		Location of Fanbus


See the yellow cables? Those are my "rounded" floppy and IDE cables!!! Very clean, ain't it??		"Cable Duct" full of cables!!


The IWill Slocket and the PEP66		Fanbus attached using double-sided tape.


Screenshot of 3DMark2000.		"Flick" in the "A Bug's Life" DVD!!!


Front view of the system setup		Test run mode :O)