Cutting Holes in Acrylic Window

[thesandman]

This is my first post on the forum and my first attempt at modding a case. The idea is to try to exhaust more heat from the case, as it has two 80mm intake fans in front and one same sized fan in the rear.

I want to install two 80 mm case fans in my Lian Li PC60 case which has a side window. They will be powered by two fan connections on the DFI LanParty n4F SLI-DR motherboard, the connectors are situated right beside the window.

How do I go about cutting the holes etc.? What should I be aware of? Where would be the best place to situate them?

Regards......

[schowerpower]

Try this: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?p=4809199

[MaxRat]

Hey....Welcome to pc mech....

What kind of finish are you looking for...?

I would suggest 2 things...

1...most important....dont plug the fans into the motherboard....it may not like it if you're overclocking that board...if you dont have a fan controller use the 7-volt trick...easy mod...

2 use 90mm fans...larger by only a bit and move more air and quieter...


I mod ALL my cases to just 2 window fans... I put them just so the top of the fans are even with the video card and hard drives....

to cut the holes clean use a hole saw in a drill press on the lowest speed setting.....

Buy yourself some Painters Blue masking tape and tape off half of the side panel you will be working on....

I overlap the tape 1/4 to 1/2 inch... then I measure and draw a reference line for the top of the fans....

I lay out the fans and trace out the fan and mark all the mounting holes...For accuracy I make a X from corner to corner to check the fan screw hole placement...This also gives you dead center for a predrill hole for the saw...

Next....Drill all the holes in several sizes....I start out with a 1/8 drill bit and drill all 10 holes.. (5 for each fan) then I use a drill bit slightly bigger than the screw hole on the fan for the second go around... This takes care of any binding for the fan...

Then lastely drill the hole for the fan with the hole saw....

The key here is to go SLOW... going too fast will only crack the plastic...the thinner the plastic the slower you should drill....

I would in no means use a hand dril...too uncontrollable...

It usually takes me 10 minutes from start to finish to pop 2 holes....

I dont use any other fans..just the 2 side fans... as intakes.. the PSU will exhaust what you need..

too much exhaust creates hot spots....too much intake just collects dust... I'd rather clean dust every 3 months...