The wife PC - Pink Raidmax O2

Sizzle · Post by **Sizzle** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 8:44 am

Just completed a upgrade of my wife's PC. Her previous case was in a purple Chieftec Dragon that she has had since I first built her a computer 5 years ago before we were married. It was difficult to cool quietly, and honestly, just too honking big. Her only requirements were that the new case be pretty, but not expensive. She also likes having a window with lights. Add my requirements of something with 120mm fan intake and exhaust. The PC is in our bedroom with a now old Sony 19 inch LCD. We use it for TV and DVD's in our bedroom with Windows MCE 2005 and have an extender we got for free in the family room for streaming of recorded shows. I really wanted to upgrade her to Vista, but the extender only works with 2005 and she won't let me get a X-Box 360. Maybe I'll get one of the new extenders when they come out.

Case
-Raidmax O2 Pink atx tower $29.99 after rebate from Newegg. Suprisingly nice paint finish for such a cheap case.

Components
-Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 cpu

-Zerotherm BTF95 passive cpu cooler, it looks like a butterfly, she really likes it, plus it's not a bad passive cooler.

-Asus P5B Deluxe open box from Newegg. I really only needed the board and I/O shield, but it came with everything.

-GlobalWin NCB 120mm fans for exhaust and intake. Controlled via Asus Qfan2 set to silent mode.

-Crucial Ballistix DDR2 PC2-6400 2 gig kit BL2KIT12864AA804. We get a huge discount with Crucial via our corporate account at work.

-Antec NeoHE 430 PSU. Cheap, quiet, and modular.

-Gigabyte GV-NX85T256H video card. 8500GT, passive, HDCP, and DX10. Plus it was cheap.

-Avermedia Aver Combo PCIe. Analog, ATSC, and QAM (using AverTV as MCE does not support it yet).

-Soundblaster Live! soundcard. A loaner until Asus releases good drivers for the SoundMax 1988B onboard sound. The XP ones crackle.

-Asus DVD-ROM DVD-E616A3T and Asus DVD-RW DRW-1814BLT

-Hitachi Travelstar 72K200 HTS722010K9A00. Quiet, 2.5 inch, 100 gig sata hdd with 16mb buffer. Suspended with stretchy material from JoAnn Fabrics.

-Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop Pro painted purple to match her old case.

-Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 painted purple to match her old case.

-Microsoft MCE Remote OEM.

Mods

First thing I did when I got the case was to measure and cut the window hole. I wanted to do something different than a boring old window, so I got a 1/8 inch two-way acrylic mirror from Reflection Products. For the window molding I used chrome Trimbrite Protecto Trim that I got from a local automotive paint store, 50 foot box was cheaper than I could get 6 foot from a online store delivered to me. I used 3M outdoor double sided ashesive to mount the window. Here is a picture of the window without and with spokes model.

I picked up a dual cold cathode kit from Performance-PC's in red. I did not want to mount a switch in the front bay of the case or make it difficult with a PCI bracket switch. The front panel connectors had a spot for firewire, but no connector, so I mounted my switch there.

Finally, here are some picks of the mod in action with the cathode lights on. The camera does not do it justice as some reflection can be seen, but the insde of the case is quite visible when the lights are turned on. Once again without and with spokes model.

It is not dead silent, but it is quiet and only barely noticeable in the middle of the night with no noise in the house. My wife likes the case and she loves the window mod. Our oldest daughter likes to lay on the floor next to it and turn the light on and off and see the inside of the case.

puddnhead · Post by **puddnhead** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:18 am

Looks pretty cool! Though not my cup of tea

Only other comment I can think of, if baby likes to hang out there, be careful when she's a little older & stronger, she could pull it down on top of herself by accident

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:38 am

Can it play "I'm a Barbie girl"?

Okay, not excatly my style either, but I find it's very refreshing, and it's definately a clear style. Also a nice clean build.

Congratulations.

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:40 am

thats a pretty sweet window mod, i have to say.

my sister wanted that case at first when she was building her new computer, but too many people said that it was of somewhat poor quality...since you've got one, what would you say about it?

Sizzle · Post by **Sizzle** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:33 am

puddnhead wrote:Only other comment I can think of, if baby likes to hang out there, be careful when she's a little older & stronger, she could pull it down on top of herself by accident

That's my youngest in the picture. The older one who likes to look at it knows not to poke or pull on the PC.

my sister wanted that case at first when she was building her new computer, but too many people said that it was of somewhat poor quality...since you've got one, what would you say about it?

For $30, it's not bad. Like I said, the finish on the paint job is really good for a cheap case. The front bezel is plasticy, but it is solid. The side panels fit well, I've seen thinner. Interiorwise, it is pretty basic. Overall, I had a Evercase in the same price range and the O2 is much better. It came with a toss away PSU.

nzimmers · Post by **nzimmers** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 3:06 pm

I'm a guy

But pink LOOKS COOL!!

very nice work, kudos =)

the zerothom is working pretty well for you then? I've looked at that one several times, wish I had gotten that instead of the ninja

autoboy · Post by **autoboy** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 3:47 pm

Looks great. Refreshing change from black. I hope that doesn't become the new black though. I'm suprised you can run that heatsink passive. Impressive.

Sizzle · Post by **Sizzle** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 5:13 am

nzimmers wrote: the zerothom is working pretty well for you then? I've looked at that one several times, wish I had gotten that instead of the ninja

The hestsink is rarely warm to the touch. In her old case it was. Her machine is on 24/7, no issues.

Chris Chan · Post by **Chris Chan** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 6:12 pm

Now that's a nice computer. Quite reminiscent of what I'd build for my sister if she asked me. WIndow mod is genius.

Elixer · Post by **Elixer** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 8:06 pm

AHHHHH PINK!

My only comment is that you should think about getting a white light for the inside so that you have a nice pink glow to complete the theme.

ronrem · Post by **ronrem** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 1:12 pm

A nice blend of priorities....a wife pleasing arty scheme-pretty quiet-good power and not a budget buster