Okay, so I've decided to finally jump into the modding bandwagon. I have a Chieftec Mid-T Ultra Dragon Case (with a window on one side). Like I said, I want to start modding, but don't know what I should do first. Do you guys have any suggestions?

ALSO: If this doesn't belong here, don't bother, but: At times a strange sound comes from my computer. It sounds like metal scraping metal or something, and starts whenever I spin up the CD drive. When I turn on my computer, the sounds starts until the XP loading screen, then comes on 2 minutes after. Strange thing is that when I apply pressure to where the motherboard is located in my case with my foot, it stops, but as soon as pressure is gone, it starts.

the noise sounds like vibration of something, like the side panels maybe. i used to get it.

get creative, the limit to modding is endless. ther is
cathodes, lights, LCD's, LED's, VCD's, cables. fan's, grills, multitool's for hole cutting. paint, gadgets, anything around the home, LED case feet or acrylic stands, windows, fan + temp controllers (make your own?). god its endless. oh u have got to have watercooling!!!!!!!!!!

waidaminute... VCD's??? i've never heard of using VCD's to mod your case... please feel free to share the mod!

the metal scraping sound could be your cd-rom... try this, shutdown yer puter, then unplug the power and data to your cd-rom... then power up and see if the sound is still there... it should go away cos it sounds like it is your cd-rom drive from how you described the times it occurs...

BestBuy has some cathodes for 20 bucks..I believe 2 a kit. And how would I go about lighting up my water cooling thing? (Maybe clear tubes with some sort of water-able light?)

I need to learn how to properly make holes with a Dremel and make fan things.....

How would I get about to making a frosted flame on the window? I know I'll need a stencil, but how do I frost?

What would be the best paint to use for recoloring my case to black with flames on some parts? That would be teh r0><0rz

LOL here it is, courtesy of Aftotech Mods:

Dang

hyper - i'd suggest buying modding over the web.. 20$ is a crapload to pay for cathodes.. at the top of this section click on "modding stores"

my favorites are -
www.svc.com
www.bestbyte.net
www.frozencpu.com

also - check out the case gallery ont his site for ideas, that's what i did

happy modding!!!

I Suggest buying some leds and going nuts. modding with leds is about as much fun as modding gets. cuttin is a pain in the ..

buy some sleeving and sleeve your PSU. thats my next mod

i got a dual uv kit at www.case-mod.com for under $7. i would advise that you check there for modding needs. they often have specials which are quite awesome.

Alright. I can get three cable ties, five LEDs. and four cathodes for about $30. Thanks guys. Nobody has answered my paint question, sooOooo, what would be the best type of paint for use on the material of my case? For the outside that its.

I think automotive-type paints look good,metal flake and all that jazz.Just do your pre-preparation-sanding,priming,and you should get good results.

Okay. Thanks for all the help guys. And one more thing: WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL WITH SLEEVING THE PSU?

I mean, why is it so difficult to wrap some wires in tape? Why do you need a heat gun? Why do you need to get rid of the little plastic pluggy thingy? what the heck is molex?

a molex connector is the little connector that connects drives and almost everything else to the power supply, its one of those things in the picture

sleeving the power supply usually involves taking off the connectors unless simply using tape where all you need is tape and nothing else

the heat gun would be to shrink the heatshrink when using sleeving

you need to get rid of the "plastic pluggy thing" to get the sleeving on but that is not necessary when simply using tape

I have that kind of PSU. So for the lazy man (like me), should I just use electrical tape?

Tape will aventually unstick, which is a pain in the a**.I would go for rounded cables