Inside the Home of Chrome

Window Mod

Clear windows in the side of cases have been around for years now. Modding pioneers used jigsaws to cut windows long before the rise of the Dremel but Far East manufacturers cottoned on to the trend and started producing factory window-mods as far back as 2002. These days, it is almost a challenge to find a case that doesn't have a side window.

As it happens, the Cooler Master Cavalier is just such a case and in order to show off both the VIA K8T890-powered motherboard and the S3 Graphics Chrome S27 graphics card, a window was needed. Once again, the challenge was to replicate any cut on one case to be identical across all four cases.

Give a man a laser-cutting machine and he can create a masterpiece in a day. Sadly, this wasn't an option for this project so a simple arched window cut by hand was the best option.



Using a small bar stool as a template for the curve, Micke sketched out the cut lines. Don't forget to mask the entire panel to preserve the anodised finish and prevent scratches. Having created the first, Micke then used it as a template for cutting the remaining three panels.



A mere plain window mod would never be enough so he engraved the official girlz 0f destruction logo onto the 2mm perspex. The trick here was to mirror the image before printing it and then engraving the inside of the perspex sheet; this keeps the outer surface clean and the logo appears the right way around.



Add some trademark pink lighting and we're in business. Yee-ha!