Extreme Freestyle Hacking |
Project 1: Computer case into DVD/game rack |
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The idea for this project started with a trip to my mom's house. She had several old computers lying around in shambles and wanted to get rid of them.
Following my nature as a packrat, I volunteered to take them off her hands and see what I could do with them. I brought all five of the desktop units home with me. Realizing that they were too much for my little apartment, something had to be done.
I decided to kill two birds with one stone: Turn one of the cases into a place for my Xbox games, thereby cleaning up the pile they had been in the floor.
In prior scavenging attempts my dad and brother made for RAM, a power supply and other parts, this shell was already missing practically everything. All that was left to remove was the DVD drive in the front, the video card, the networking card, the motherboard and CPU. Side and front panels had been removed and subsequently lost long before it came into my posession.
To maximize the useable space within, Something had to be done about the lip at the front where the drives had been. I found games would fit perfectly in there, but had to be removed from the back as long as the lip was there. Using tin snips, I cut across the front to remove the lip. After painting, I covered the lip with electrical tape. It was sharp and I knew I would slice my finger right open when I went to get a game out.
Next, I covered it with a layer (or two, or three, not entirely sure) of black spray paint. I chose to go with a black base because the colors for the Xbox are black and lime green. After ensuring that the case was well dried, I used a tube of lime green acrylic paint to add a cracked/lightning type highlight effect. It was just too dull as just a black case.
After letting the final bit of paint dry, it was time to load it all up and see how it worked/looked. The case holds eight games comfortably in the front where the drives were, with another 26 standing along the bottom. The light guns for the game House of the Dead 3 fit very well where the power supply would have been. Along the top, I placed my extra controllers as well as the Xbox Live wireless adapter and headsets. I added two G.I. Joe figures I had that matched the color scheme for a little extra visual flair and to give it a little life. I don't know what it is, but G.I. Joes just seem to make things look more lively to me.
