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The
UTMod started simple enough. I was trying to think of a cool
way to make a LAN rig by bending Acrylic. I also wanted to
pay homage to one of my all time favorite games, Unreal Tournament.
After browsing the preview screenshots for UT2k4 and brainstorming
I finally decided to form it around the shape of the most
recognized UT character, I affectionately call "The Juggernaut".
The structure of the case is made from 2 - ¼"
acrylic routed sides, cut out to the shape of the Juggernaut.
Using the sides as a pattern, I bent an 11 ½"wide
piece of plex around it to match the inside contour of the
Juggernaut. This took some time and effort but it was well
worth it to have such a unique shape. All the pieces were
then bonded together using weld-on. This combination makes
the case surprisingly strong and light.
With
the basic structure done I began to build up the insides with
acrylic mounts, make holes for the fans, LED's, switches,
and a route a replica of the I/O ports from the back of the
shuttle. I designed the interior of the case so that almost
all of the wires would be hidden from site. Letting you enjoy
the beauty of the components. The modding of the exterior
used etch look vinyl around the bent section, to capture the
light of the LED's and also to subtly hide all the mounts
and wiring. The image of the Juggernaut that adorns the side
is a vinyl edge print.
The
lighting used in the case is white above the motherboard and
blue below. White LED fans and a white hyper-light brighten
up the top half. Four LED strips from perm-light, one white
strip to light up the Video card and three blue strips attached
to the bottom of the Acrylic Motherboard tray to give it halo
effect. UTMod also has blue LED acrylic feet and an Artec
clear DVD-ROM with a modified top window to allow the LED
light to shine through.
The
shuttle PSU also ended up being replaced with an Antec 350w
smart blue because the shuttles didn't have enough juice to
power the hardware. I had to take apart and modify the Antec
and make a smaller acrylic case for it, to be able to fit
it under the MB where the shuttle PSU used to be. It was a
tight squeeze but ended up matching better with the clear/blue
theme.
When
everything was said and done the component list included an
AMD XP2400+ OC'd @ 2.21 cooled with a Poseidon WC kit, 1GB
of blue PC3200 Geil Ultra RAM, a Sapphire ATI 800pro VIVO@
550/570, Zalman 5.1 surround headphones, a custom vinyl skinned
Keyboard lit with 10ft of EL wire, and a custom vinyl skinned
Logitech MX500 mouse with a matching arcylic/ratzpad UT logo
mousepad, lit with white LED's via the USB.
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