Today I have a special treat. The unedited piece I submitted to CustomPC Magazine (UK) “Customisation” feature article. (thats how brits spell it!) It was on the Phenom project I did for AMD. I knew the article wouldn’t be published until after the PC was delivered to AMD, so I shared tidbits that I wouldn’t mention during the project for fear of pissing off sponsors. I lost any chance of working again with Thermaltake because I refused to bend over. (raises fist!)

If you haven’t heard of CustomPC Magazine (UK), it’s the coolest PC hardware magazine in the world. It’s published in the United Kingdom, so it’s oversized with thick glossy color pages with killer photos and juicy reviews. It’s distributed to most newstands stateside including the Barnes& Noble bookstore chains. Take my word, check it out next time you’re at the newstand!

Screen shots of article compliments of CustomPC Magazine (UK)

A Starving Modder gets fed.

My company, Mnpctech performs custom case mods. My friend Carlos Echenique (aka guru) owns the largest AMD enthusiast website in the world, PlanetAMD64.com. Carlos opened the door in landing Mnpctech a commissioned job for AMD to modify a case to be used for the launch of their new quad-core “Spider platform.” You can imagine how excited I was about this opportunity! It would open a lot of doors for Mnpctech. Never heard of AMD? (Advanced Micro Devices), why the hell are you reading CustomPC?! AMD is one of largest names in the PC industry next to Intel and Microsoft. If you think I’m not going to capitalize on this opportunity, you don’t know me very well. With AMD at your side, you can bag nearly any manufacturer sponsor you want. I say nearly because the only manufacturer I couldn’t win over was CoolIT Systems. I wanted to use their new “Freezone Elite” CPU cooler. I blame their choice in a PR firm that knows nothing about PC enthusiast community. Since AMD owns ATI, two tasty ATI 3870 Radeon HD Crossfire cards were sent my way. Did you know these cards weigh 4.5 pounds apiece? We also bagged a new 750W PSU from PC Power & Cooling. As much as I love PCP&C, I wish they would start offering modular power supplies. Hiding the extra cables in this case was a major pain in the ass. Don’t listen to people when they tell you to cut off the cables you don’t need. You never know if you’ll need one later or want to upgrade and sell your PSU. We also scored a Lachesis Mouse Lycosa Keyboard direct from Razer. Btw: Razer has been the coolest and most generous sponsor I’ve ever dealt with. I enjoyed working with them so much that I’m going to pursue them in hiring Mnpctech to mod their demo systems.

“Everything in the future is chrome!” – SpongeBob Square Pants

I knew AMD’s new Phenom chip would be a quad core, but I had no idea how I would present that selling point in a case mod. Then AMD sent me the first draft of the Phenom’s logo design, a silver rocket that looks like the bastard son of the Concord and U.S. Space Shuttle. I envisioned what the interior of this craft would look like, a triangular airlock door with a rotary latch in the center, lots of recessed surface features. The Phenom case would be designed as a futuristic cargo box for highly advanced electronics. I decided on the chrome plating for two reasons, first, I’ve never had anything chrome plated, so I was curious about the process after watching too many “Biker Build-Off” episodes. Secondly, I’ve witnessed Paul Edwards from Coolercases UK hand polish a Coolermaster case, but I’ve never seen anyone crazy enough to chrome plate one. That’s because it’s a time consuming and expensive process. Every aluminium piece must be glass bead blasted of any surface flaws first, then polished by hand before going through a 15 stage process for the chrome plating. Whether the chrome look is your thing or not, the finished effect demands attention. Especially if you want people to notice a computer at your trade show display. An excitable feeling overcomes you as you unwrap the finished parts for the first time. Whether it’s a custom show car or chopper, the allure of chrome is engrained in man’s DNA.

The Mnpctech Lunatics are on the grass.

After being issued a tight deadline by AMD, I had to assemble a team to help me quickly. I’m a publicity whore, but will always share the spotlight with my business affiliates. No PC design/engineering job is too small my friend Dave LaLopa. Dave owns PCDesignLab.com. You may have recently heard of the Qmicra SFF case Dave manufacturers in the states and has distributed to Great Britain by Coolercases UK. Dave designed the AMD logo fan grills and had them Waterjet cut from 3/16” thick aluminium for me. The 2nd talent I recruited is my long time friend, cnc mill artisan, and chopper builder, Craig Guth. Craig was building custom bikes long before there was a Discovery channel. I call him the “Da Vinci of CNC Milling” Craig programmed and cut the ½” thick aluminum panel designs. He also devised the tumbler for the rotary latches on both side panels. Mnpctech’s custom painter, Brad Galvin was ensured a role in the project. Brad painted the biomechanical theme on the rear door of the SwordM. For the black chrome base color, Brad used “House of Kolor” brand “Kosmic Krome” paint. The recessed circuitry designs, MNPCTECH and PlanetAMD64 logo were airbrushed before Brad applied a PPG Polyurethane clear coat.

Every good case modder understands that a camera is equally as important as their shop tools. Case mods of this magnitude must be shared online in community hardware forums like cpcff.co.uk. A team needs a good photographer and videographer to record every stage of the build. My shop partner, Tom Hawkinson of ThomHawk.com recorded highlights of the build including our brainstorming session in four segments. Watch all four episodes of the Phenom PC on my YouTube page.

I warned AMD about my reputation.

I threw myself a curve and chose to mod the new SwordM server tower by Thermaltake. Since it wasn’t available in the states yet, Thermaltake was kind enough to ship a pre-production sample direct from their factory in Taiwan. You couldn’t buy this case in the US yet. An exclusive offering on their part that I was about to violate. I’ve earned a reputation for modding cases so that they’re no longer distinguishable as their former identity. The SwordM case in its factory state is just plain weird looking. I have another word to describe it, but I am trying to be nice here. Screw it, the Thermaltake SwordM is fugly. It looks as if it was made in by IBM in the 70s. Black plastic castor wheels with black extruded aluminium panels, protruding duckbills that look as if somebody mounted skateboards on the top and bottom. Why are these here? What is their purpose? Am I supposed to ride my SwordM to work? They were the first things to get thrown out. Just so you know this type of behaviour is what really irritates sponsors. “How will the public identify our product if you manipulate it?!” I warned AMD to tell Thermaltake they commissioned a psychotic case modder. Of course they didn’t. After the project was listed on the engadget.com, a Thermaltake rep immediately emailed me requesting that I tell everyone it was their case. My response was “How many other manufacturers make a convertible top panel with gas shocks?” Actually it was this feature that attracted me to the case. I initially planned to replace the shocks with electric actuators so the top and side panels opened by remote control. What a cool effect for a trade show display. I still plan to do this someday to another case, maybe for Razer.

In the first segment we recorded for YouTube, I mentioned “I wouldn’t be surprised if Thermaltake used my design.” If Thermaltake doesn’t, somebody else will. In order to access the left side of the SwordM, you must remove four thumbscrews. Ugh, two was enough. Now you’re adding more? Accessing the modified SwordM is fun and easy!” Turn the rotary latch to open the ½” thick milled aluminum access panels that look like abstract puzzle pieces. The majority of time that went into this project was programming the cnc mill to cut all of the new panels. I told my wife I wanted to be left alone so I could open and close my panels. It took Craig and me twenty hours and 2 cases of New Castle Ale to assemble the SwordM’s new chrome plated shell. I spent a lot of time hack sawing and filing down machine screws to fasten together all of the custom pieces. I covered the blank 5.25 bays with machined aluminum covers from Mnpctech. I made new machined aluminum case feet. These will be sold as “Phenom Feet” by Mnpctech. I even had the Zalman MFC fan controller chrome plated.

Panic at the Modder Disco!

After all that time of assembling while drinking, something bad is bound to happen. Craig and I neglected to align our custom motherboard tray with the I/O card slots before we mounted it. Did you catch my blurb earlier about the ATI 3870 video cards weighing in at 4.5 pounds apiece? The Gigabyte 790FX Motherboard isn’t going to support their weight alone, discovering this mistake while giving onlookers a tour of your progress the next day is a bit of an embarrassment. Wait until your mod is finished before modifying your blood alcohol level. Dave LaLopa strongly urged “Since Thermaltake is already sending you a case, it wouldn’t hurt to ask for their new 7” motorized LCD screen for the case” This slick unit mounts in your 5.25 drive bay with a special adapter. I trusted Dave did all of the necessary research that this unit would fit the SwordM, but I should have confirmed it instead of a waiting to the last minute to install it. The mounting adapter wasn’t intended for the SwordM. I need to mention here that Carlos had just arrived from Miami. He wanted coverage of the build for his website. Learning the LCD wouldn’t fit without extensive modding at the last minute of the case unveiling made me panic. Luckily I could convince Carlos to grab a burger before arriving at the shop so I had more time to resolve the problem.

Heavy Metal Geek Tour

I’m very pleased with the final piece. I’ve been told it looks like a cross between a Transformer and The Terminator. That’s a real compliment. I hate to see it leave, but happy to hear it will be making smiles around the world while traveling with AMD. The only regret I have is not doing a better cable management job, but at least everything is sleeved in black.