Mod of the Month - September 2007

Rad GT

by radodrill
Worklog

Complete case fabrication can be a difficult thing, but it's even more so when you're working with acrylic. Well, not all acrylic cases are that bad, but they are when you don't have access to a laser cutter and refuse to compromise on using anything more than fasteners in your case that are made of metal!

Why would you design one by yourself when you can buy a great case from the likes of C3? Because you need an incredibly large one, that's why! And why would you need a large one? Because you're trying to fit two 360mm radiators into it!

Radodrill's creation has some big hopes, but it's turning out to be an even bigger case that contains lots of careful planning and good execution. Let's take a look, shall we?


I've said it before and I'll say it again - plan your mod! Radodrill showed off some talent when he chose a modelling program that's not what most would consider for ease-of-use. Once the mod was planned out, it was onto the building phase. The picture on the right shows the motherboard side panel with a full ATX motherboard, just in case you needed an idea of how big we're talking.


The assembled case is huge - you can see the holes for the triple radiator on the left. The final assembly is attached using cut acrylic cubes that radodrill made and drilled by hand, allowing it to blend as seamlessly as possible.


Even the drive bays have a touch of originality to them. Radodrill created a retention mechanism based on an acrylic screw and nylon washer, pushing the drive up against the other side of the cage securely. Whether it is soundproof, however, may be another matter entirely...


The fan and light controllers for Rad GT are just one more hand-made touch - he built the thing from scratch. Now that most of it has been assembled, you can really begin to see the size of the project. You can also see the two triple rads - did we mention that this mod was already sponsored by both Danger Den and AC Ryan?

Anyone interested in a good, old-fashioned, straight-up and excellent building job should look no further than radodrill's worklog. It's well worth checking out.

And if you think this project has got the stuff for this month's Mod of the Month, make sure that you give it your vote! Voting closes on October 9th 2007.