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One! One PC Modification site! Ha Ha Ha!

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Four! Four PC Modification Sites! Ha Ha Ha!

With apologies to Jim Henson Productions...

I know you don't really want to use an acrylic case, but it might be a good idea. AFAIK, Stained glass isn't the hardiest substance around, and PCs can weight upwards of 30 pounds or more, so I would think using a clear case, which is sturdy and will hold the weight, as a base then putting the stained glass on top of it might be a better idea.
I'm not 100% sure, but it makes sense that most of the strength of a stained glass window would come from the frame, right? Well, if that's the case, you'd need a real heavy and stiff frame to support all the weight of the pc parts, keep it true (Don't want to pick up a case and have it fold in on you like a stepladder) and any other unforeseen events.
Can stained glass handle being opened up and closed a bunch of times? Being knocked over?
Your dealing with something in 3 Dimensions here, not the mostly 2 Dimensions you use with a window, so you'll have to adjust your thoughts accordingly.

But, if your deadset on building one from scratch, most metal workers will build the frame you need, and fairly cheap as well. It's almost trivial to them. Then you can go online and get parts you'll need to finish it up. Hope it helps!

I know you don't really want to use an acrylic case, but it might be a good idea. AFAIK, Stained glass isn't the hardiest substance around, and PCs can weight upwards of 30 pounds or more, so I would think using a clear case, which is sturdy and will hold the weight, as a base then putting the stained glass on top of it might be a better idea.
I'm not 100% sure, but it makes sense that most of the strength of a stained glass window would come from the frame, right? Well, if that's the case, you'd need a real heavy and stiff frame to support all the weight of the pc parts, keep it true (Don't want to pick up a case and have it fold in on you like a stepladder) and any other unforeseen events.
Can stained glass handle being opened up and closed a bunch of times? Being knocked over?
Your dealing with something in 3 Dimensions here, not the mostly 2 Dimensions you use with a window, so you'll have to adjust your thoughts accordingly.

But, if your deadset on building one from scratch, most metal workers will build the frame you need, and fairly cheap as well. It's almost trivial to them. Then you can go online and get parts you'll need to finish it up. Hope it helps!

I know you don't really want to use an acrylic case, but it might be a good idea. AFAIK, Stained glass isn't the hardiest substance around, and PCs can weight upwards of 30 pounds or more, so I would think using a clear case, which is sturdy and will hold the weight, as a base then putting the stained glass on top of it might be a better idea.
I'm not 100% sure, but it makes sense that most of the strength of a stained glass window would come from the frame, right? Well, if that's the case, you'd need a real heavy and stiff frame to support all the weight of the pc parts, keep it true (Don't want to pick up a case and have it fold in on you like a stepladder) and any other unforeseen events.
Can stained glass handle being opened up and closed a bunch of times? Being knocked over?
Your dealing with something in 3 Dimensions here, not the mostly 2 Dimensions you use with a window, so you'll have to adjust your thoughts accordingly.

But, if your deadset on building one from scratch, most metal workers will build the frame you need, and fairly cheap as well. It's almost trivial to them. Then you can go online and get parts you'll need to finish it up. Hope it helps!

Do you think that electricity ignites gasoline? There is nothing wrong with the safety of a wooden case. In fact, do you recall that televisions maybe 2 decades ago where often set in wood cabinets. Also, isn't your oven surrounded by some type of wood product?

When I was younger, I had a little farm of 386 motherboards held in with a wood rack I built. I never had problems. You might say that a 3 Ghz Pentium runs hotter than a 386, but that really doesn't matter since you do not place a block of wood on top of a CPU like you would a heatsink.

Not to insult your intelligence, but have you thought about how you would secure a motherboard to a liquid like gasoline?

PCMods has a line of wooden cases.

Google: wooden computer case

Anyway, this is offtopic. Good luck to the poster in their search...

Ditto

After my DVD-ROM and CD-RW, I have my hard drive mounted in one (yes, you can get the brackets still), with fans on the face blowing over it. (Got that from Fry's.) The last 5.25" slot has a panel with four potentiometers controlling the fans. (Got that from pcmods.com, whom I recommend.) Wanna watch a movie in the same room? Dial down the fans and you can hear a pin drop!

Also, pcmods.com has LCD displays (always cool!), port boxes (convenient; has front-mounted sound, joystick, USB, Firewire, and mouse), and a bus monitor (for speed tweakers).

If you'd rather get creative and are mechanically inclined, build in a slide puzzle. If you're more technically inclined, a Cylon/KITT-style speedometer.

Be careful about how tightly you pack stuff in... too tight and you run the risk of having no circulation area near hot drives!

The problem probably was niether vibration nor heat. Harddrives are made so that they can withstand high g-forces. Some review sites have said you could throw a harddrive against a wall while it is running and it would be fine. How true this is, I don't know, but I know fan vibrations are no where near large enough to cause a problem. While continued fan virbrations theoretically could be bad, fans don't vibrate all that much. I've used fans missing fins (don't ask!) that virbrate like crazy and never had problems (Not for long though, I generally replace those with non-broken fans)

Heat is one of those things computer geeks fear most. We all want to get it as low as possible. Well let me tell you a little something about harddrive heat: Unless you have a drive spinning at 10,000 rpm or higher, you really have nothing to worry about. If HDD's weren't meant to withstand a bit of heat then you would be hearing about a lot of unhappy customers. My hdd's are warm to the touch, but that is fine, they are well within the limits. Now if it burns your finger when you touch it, then you are probably going to be having problems with all the other components in your computer as well.

Harddrives die. And they die often. If you haven't had one die in a long time, then you have been very lucky. I've had 3 drives die on me in the last 2 years. Granted 2 were IBM Deathstars, the third was a different brand. They weren't all that hot and they did not have any fans vibrating near them too much either. They just die, HDDs are not as reliable as many of us would like. (Can't wait for solid state hdd's :) )

If you decide that everything I have just said is crap and want to take the paranoid way out, that's fine! You know what they say: Better safe than sorry!

So here's what you should do:
1. Get some grommets for that fan. They will reduce fan vibrations to practically nothing. They'll also make the fan quieter too! You can pick these up from PCMods: http://www.pcmods.com/details.asp?ProdID=20
2. Get a HDD cooler. They will cool your hdd a lot more than a fan that's blowing air over it will. While I'm at the pcmods site, I might as well link there. If you shop around you will probably find better prices. Lower end cooling solution: http://www.pcmods.com/details.asp?ProdID=46 Higher end: http://www.pcmods.com/details.asp?ProdID=452 (Even has an LCD!)

I just want to stress this again: You don't NEED these two products unless you have an ultra-fast SCSI hdd. Your hdd should be well within its limits with some small vibrations and a bit of heat. But if you want to spend some money, I'm not about to stop you!

The problem probably was niether vibration nor heat. Harddrives are made so that they can withstand high g-forces. Some review sites have said you could throw a harddrive against a wall while it is running and it would be fine. How true this is, I don't know, but I know fan vibrations are no where near large enough to cause a problem. While continued fan virbrations theoretically could be bad, fans don't vibrate all that much. I've used fans missing fins (don't ask!) that virbrate like crazy and never had problems (Not for long though, I generally replace those with non-broken fans)

Heat is one of those things computer geeks fear most. We all want to get it as low as possible. Well let me tell you a little something about harddrive heat: Unless you have a drive spinning at 10,000 rpm or higher, you really have nothing to worry about. If HDD's weren't meant to withstand a bit of heat then you would be hearing about a lot of unhappy customers. My hdd's are warm to the touch, but that is fine, they are well within the limits. Now if it burns your finger when you touch it, then you are probably going to be having problems with all the other components in your computer as well.

Harddrives die. And they die often. If you haven't had one die in a long time, then you have been very lucky. I've had 3 drives die on me in the last 2 years. Granted 2 were IBM Deathstars, the third was a different brand. They weren't all that hot and they did not have any fans vibrating near them too much either. They just die, HDDs are not as reliable as many of us would like. (Can't wait for solid state hdd's :) )

If you decide that everything I have just said is crap and want to take the paranoid way out, that's fine! You know what they say: Better safe than sorry!

So here's what you should do:
1. Get some grommets for that fan. They will reduce fan vibrations to practically nothing. They'll also make the fan quieter too! You can pick these up from PCMods: http://www.pcmods.com/details.asp?ProdID=20
2. Get a HDD cooler. They will cool your hdd a lot more than a fan that's blowing air over it will. While I'm at the pcmods site, I might as well link there. If you shop around you will probably find better prices. Lower end cooling solution: http://www.pcmods.com/details.asp?ProdID=46 Higher end: http://www.pcmods.com/details.asp?ProdID=452 (Even has an LCD!)

I just want to stress this again: You don't NEED these two products unless you have an ultra-fast SCSI hdd. Your hdd should be well within its limits with some small vibrations and a bit of heat. But if you want to spend some money, I'm not about to stop you!

The problem probably was niether vibration nor heat. Harddrives are made so that they can withstand high g-forces. Some review sites have said you could throw a harddrive against a wall while it is running and it would be fine. How true this is, I don't know, but I know fan vibrations are no where near large enough to cause a problem. While continued fan virbrations theoretically could be bad, fans don't vibrate all that much. I've used fans missing fins (don't ask!) that virbrate like crazy and never had problems (Not for long though, I generally replace those with non-broken fans)

Heat is one of those things computer geeks fear most. We all want to get it as low as possible. Well let me tell you a little something about harddrive heat: Unless you have a drive spinning at 10,000 rpm or higher, you really have nothing to worry about. If HDD's weren't meant to withstand a bit of heat then you would be hearing about a lot of unhappy customers. My hdd's are warm to the touch, but that is fine, they are well within the limits. Now if it burns your finger when you touch it, then you are probably going to be having problems with all the other components in your computer as well.

Harddrives die. And they die often. If you haven't had one die in a long time, then you have been very lucky. I've had 3 drives die on me in the last 2 years. Granted 2 were IBM Deathstars, the third was a different brand. They weren't all that hot and they did not have any fans vibrating near them too much either. They just die, HDDs are not as reliable as many of us would like. (Can't wait for solid state hdd's :) )

If you decide that everything I have just said is crap and want to take the paranoid way out, that's fine! You know what they say: Better safe than sorry!

So here's what you should do:
1. Get some grommets for that fan. They will reduce fan vibrations to practically nothing. They'll also make the fan quieter too! You can pick these up from PCMods: http://www.pcmods.com/details.asp?ProdID=20
2. Get a HDD cooler. They will cool your hdd a lot more than a fan that's blowing air over it will. While I'm at the pcmods site, I might as well link there. If you shop around you will probably find better prices. Lower end cooling solution: http://www.pcmods.com/details.asp?ProdID=46 Higher end: http://www.pcmods.com/details.asp?ProdID=452 (Even has an LCD!)

I just want to stress this again: You don't NEED these two products unless you have an ultra-fast SCSI hdd. Your hdd should be well within its limits with some small vibrations and a bit of heat. But if you want to spend some money, I'm not about to stop you!

You can buy case handles for a low amount at places like pcmods and Frozen CPU for fairly a fairly good price. They are easy to install, too.

Just another thing copied off the Mac, huh? ;)

"Go ahead and flash in LinuxBios and try it out. Either it works or it doesn't. If it doesn't work, just reload the Vendor's bios"

One thing I can't figure out is how, if your flashed LinuxBIOS is broken, how you can even necessarily boot back to FreeDOS to flash your BIOS again back to the vendor's BIOS. I'm not one of those fortunates with a BIOS-in-ROM that I can revert to by just closing a jumper...

Yes, important question.

1) Make sure your bios is socketed, not soldered onto the motherboard when you buy your computer. If it isn't socketed, you don't want that computer because the manufacturer doesn't care about you. 2) Get this thingy. 3) Get a new flash chip and verify you can make/boot a backup bios 4) You can relax now.

There are other ways to get around bios re-flash disasters, for example, you can use a running PC as a crude kind of flash writer by hot plugging a bios flash chip, being careful not to short anything. But the dual-socket approach abover is really the easy and safe way to go. I'd say, whether or not you indend to reflash your bios, it's well worth grabbing one of those dual flash sockets just in case you ever need it.

This is an interesting case, but it wouldn't be difficult to recreate it. Start off with an industrial strength work table. Add some high quality casters so you can move it around. Glass table tops can be obtained from a craft store like Michael's or a place that sells custom cut glass. Plexiglass would also work, and has the advantage of being lighter. The keyboard tray is also easy; Home Depot/Lowe's/your hometown hardware sells the mechanisms for that. PC Mod sites can get you the fans, motherboard offsets, and suchlike (or simply buy a cheap case and raid it for parts). This goes for drive bays and such as well; many cases these days come with a cage for several drives. Et voila! Fit, assemble, and you've got it. You get the joy of construction, and save money too.

please, looks sell, marketers know that, manufactures know that, the unbelievable thing is that it took them damn near 20 years to realize we didn't all want beige computers. I mean, damn, look at the success of iMac, and pcmods and that will prove it. I can hear them patting their backs from here.

1. individually tailored systems, and
2. personal service

The ground-level user is looking for a good price, but if you have genuinely helpful staff and will go that extra mile to help a clueless newbie, I think they'd pay extra. If your engineers were available to go to their home and set it up for the first time, or if they took time to sit down with them in-store and go over exactly what to do, configure their web browsers for them and set up their ISP of choice, I think that this would be seen as value service worth paying extra for. I worked for a while selling computers and believe me, customers respond well to a sympathetic and non-tech-talking salesperson who's willing to take time and explain in small words.

For the geek-level user, we're looking for cool gizmos that you can't get elsewhere. Many of us will just assemble our own machines so we may not be looking at buying a standard package, either from you or from a big name. What would tempt me? Cool stuff - custom designed cases or accessories - see some of the ideas at PCMods for ideas. I'm tired of beige cases. Give me a black keyboard with a tracer pattern running up and down the numlock/capslock/scrolllock lights, and I'm your customer in a flash. And for the corporate customers, custom cases might be interesting too - offer to paint company logos on the cases, perhaps? A stencil and some spray paint, not a lot of extra cost to you.

My $0.02! =)

...Pentapod

I think a lot of readers are missing the point. This is all about having fun. I love compiling a kernel, or a new piece of software as much as the next guy; and I get a kick when one of my programs finally does whart it's supposed to. But there is really somehting great about having a Dremel in your hands, cutting a hole for a new fan. All of these sites, PCMODS, Virtual Hideout, and even [H]ard|OCP originally started out as places to exchange idea and tools for overclocking, and coooling. Once people get started it can be a lot of fun! Adding a couple of fans to my machine is great.. I can flip one switch on my machine and watch my Motherboard temperatures drop; and know that it's not because I went out and bought a lot of expensive stuff, but because I took the time to do something myself. It is a little about showing off, but a lot of it is about pride. The fact that you can admire your own handiwork, and just the fun of the experience!

Perhaps Slashdot should enter the webhosting business... "Host with us, and you'll never be affected by the Slashdot effect, unless we are." :)