Solved!
Go to SolutionALIENWARE ALX Case Mod Project
Hi Everybody, Alienware featured my case mod project on their fanpage & Twitter and encouraged me to share it here. I did this mod in 2005 after buying the used ALX case on Ebay. The first ALX case I received had several plastic mounting tabs broken for the top and side panels. I had no way of replicating new plastic tabs, so this is the second, in much better condition with only these minor issues.
1. Side panel latch cover sticks a bit, you have to press real firm to release it.
2. The back cover of the bay door had one broken plastic peg, but nothing detrimental.
4. The case feet are real scratched, but this is expected with plastic feet.
The ALX chassis was manufactured by Chenming, www.chenmingusa.com/Prototype.asp
Removing the Alienware's top plastic watercool radiator that enclosed Koolance EXOS radiator.
Location of 2x 80mm cooling intake fans (not included) in Alienware's renewed cases.
Behind the front bezel
I removed the center portions between the bars of the side panel vents. These will be sanded, and prepped for flat black paint.
Modders Mesh will be mounted behind the bars.
mnpctech.com/.../modders-mesh-honeycomb.html
What Alienware ALX case lacks, is a left side panel window. The ALX design incorporates a plastic shell over it's aluminum case panel. You must cut two windows in the panel in order to see inside of the case. This is a basic run through of what was involved in making the window.
You're limited on what you can design for a window without compromising how the plastic shell fastens onto the side panel. The reason is that theres several plastic tabs on it's backside of the plastic that clip onto the inner aluminum panel. You should draw your window design inside of these fasten tabs. You'll also notice the backside of the plastic is reinforced in which I can only describe as a grate.
To draw out your design, I'll use either 233+ 3M Green Masking Tape You can buy these Home Depot or Ace Hardware stores. You also apply tape so you don't scratch up the panel with the jigsaw's steel guard.
Dremel 1.5" Reinforced Oxide Cutting Wheels, mnpctech.com/.../cutting-wheels.html
Whenever I make a side panel window, I always use a jigsaw with a 18 TPI (teeth per inch) bi-metal cutting blade. I'll make the intial incision for the jigsaw blade with a rotary tool and 1.5" reinforced dremel cutting wheels
After your window is cut, you'll need to use a rounded side hand file to clean up the edges of you cut.
More to come soon!
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Posted September 24th, 2015 14:00
Welcome to the AlienClub Mr Owen. Your famous works are sublime indeed par excellence
I've spoken to Mr Owen in a private message & he's onboard with the idea that as I introduce him to the ins-&-outs of Alien products, I'll also be informing you the reader in the process. If you have your own mod-tips to pass along, join in as we discuss Aliens of the past & present ...
- the Ultimate AlienFriend -
Ty for acknowledging our work Mr Bill. As you witnessed, here in Coliseum Airene's build Pegasus is the forum's Mona Lisa; I may be Mr Monet, but Mrs Money is the reigning mod-Queen here & the forum's one & only hex-kitten; for our fairy tail presentation brought to all on Christmas & St. Valentine's, there-in where Chapter One the Beast meets Chapter Two the Beauty, her Winged White Stallion has been taken as far as we can using off-the-shelf parts, where her & I both know it's a dream-come-true to have a waterloop for a final finishing touch; but no matter how smart & clever a girl she is, those long lovely polished fingersnails of hers may not get the chance to turn wrenches nor find their inner-plumber to see it through to the end, while hiring the job out isn't the same as d-i-y now is it. Of course the precedent was set for a loop years back so she does have inspiration from at least one A51 R1 owner, where the desire for purple anti-freeze to steal the show once & for all from the lesser-men is about as real as it gets
Area 51 Modded Build >< Area 51 Carbon Proto-type
A motherboard swap in the R1 is a pleasant reality when nature calls, but note Mr Bill: he's stuck on the whimpy stock proprietary power supply. It's proprietary nature is a hurdle we've found a work-around for, & nothing's stopping us any longer, 1500w | 1600w to press the point:
Area-51 R1 uses a dedicated AlienFx daughterboard in the case floor & reqwires a new hand-made psu harness with new modular ends in order for the daughterboard to work & to my knowledge I am the only person in the US who actively makes & sells these harnesses for any & every power supply on the market; without the special harness an R1 owner's forced to use the stock psu; thanks to my ingenuitiy & that of others & now soon yours irrespective of the flavor of the chassis one chooses to work with we are never in danger here of slowly running out of ways to reinvent our shrinking maze:
hand-made daughterboard 10p kable + 24p extensions for my XFX/Seasonic Pro 1250
a link to my seller page & hand-made psu kables or kooling adapters
In order for the Alien Command Center software & top pcb-board power strip to integrate with a new water cooling pump I exclusively offer Mind-Meld liqwid kooling adaptors:
The ALX-Files: Operation Mind-Meld: Command Center Retrofit Corsair = Corsware
La Galleria
- note the non-original sprayjob on this White Knight, though admirable, is not enviable -
it fails for & from the concept we know as 'less is more'
think what you will about the rouge et noire makeover but just this week baby brother Aurora ALX has been newly reinvented on public display to accept a full-ATX mthrbrd & premium cooling by Justin / DugiHowser
who has the where-with-all to offer his customers black as well as a peak-in lighted side-window
we'll see H100i again later, but to see it in this pip-sqweak Alien's qwite a feat: hand-modded in there, shoe-horned. It'd look cuter with an Asus x99 Broadwell-E up in that joint, a possibility. And at least one Area-51 R1's chassis was successfully powder-coated top-to-bottom in black (here here here, links do not have pics) but the pics - which I've seen but do not have, no longer exist online - unfortunate I assure u since the results were stunning:
don't leave home without it ...
Mr Bill's Ancient Alien
Your doorway into AlienClub Coliseum Mr Owen is a window-mod project for a pre-Dell A-51 ALX. Pegasus & my KnightFury are two of the finest examples of modded yet newer model A-51 R1 Phobos which I've just given a brief tour & overview of which included our pint-sized sibling Aurora Deimos. I'm sure you've seen, heard & know of Alien Nation's very latest model the A-51 R2 Triad, or A-52 for short, of which I also own & have done limited modding as my newest arrival:
The ALX Files: Operation Kalifornikation / Area-51 R2 Kase Build / Surfin' with the Alien
there are no water-piped R2's on this forum or any other I know of yet or I'd give you the head's up; the basic mods we've seen so far the past year are mthrbrd & psu swaps.
Area-51 R2 - swap to a new motherboard, is it possible?
- this is not my build photo, it was sent last week by a fellow grey -
to leave the stock offering behind this owner contacted me to help do an Asus SaberKat x99 mthrbrd swap made chilly by Corsair H100i GTX; now that this R2 build has made its public forum debut, in this teezer photo what we're seeing & for the very 1st time is that a 240mm rad can go on the right case wall of Triad & a superior mthrbrd can silence the haters
- note in R1 however, space for 120mm x 360mm in the motorized Penthouse roof-top -
Since I own both models, & can see them side-by-side on a daily basis, the R1 can not will not nor will it ever be outclassed outdone nor outshined in the looks & features department by the R2, perhaps not even by you Mr. But you could certainly try ...
Here Comes the Next Contestant / NickelBack
Therefore when you say you'd like to do an Area-51 we can be sure the lineage dates to before & after Mr Dell & his billions, so you tell us which A51 you had in mind as your trumpcard; I hope for your own sake one day you will've done them all. R1 retired in late 2011, found on eBay; the higher ticket price at purchase now off-set by high resale value now add collector value. New restoration parts are still available if you look hard enuff. Intuition tells me your heart's set on doing an R2 build however I dare say the Bill Owen Alien Collection will not be complete until he's realized & reinvented the R1 to the world's ongoing astonishment of course. Pre-Dell R1 & R2 we would know it as Owen's rendition of a personal Triad. Area-51 R1 is of the world's greatest factory-unfinished works yet required nothing at birth not to be the center-of-attention
please do think it over
I can't speak for stock Alien products, but Airene and I've done what we can to rehabilitate the Alien name; to do so we went shopping from the aftermarket in order to reach the next level & qwiet the haters. I've argued there is no better home for the world's finest hardware than when housed behind the walls of Area-51.
Welcome to the wonderful world we know here as the Art of Alienware
Welcome to Dream Land
welcome to the GLX Club
hand-polished exterior make-overs for a glassy classy mirror-finish
well hello there beautiful
below are interior make-overs using lots of Benjamins & Euros well
Blanche Neige ... Snow White SkyLake Winter Dream
using Asus Z170 Deluxe, Seasonic Snow Silent 1050 & my hand-made swap kables
MSI x99a teezer: a build I helped on, sprung to life April 2016, Broadwell-E ready
Pegasus X99 Deluxe 980Ti, before the EVGA bridge, soon to have 1080 GTX twins, also using my hand-made kables for the entire kase harness, sleeved purple/black twizzlers ...
FireAza's Haswell
Upgrade mthrbrd - what's the current trick to getting everything working?
Kiax MSI X99 5820k - Motherboard Swap Project
another Ancient Alien: one of the 1st owners to swap over to EVGA's X58, with lights
Z87 Maximus
this case was bought from Justin & wrenches were turned for TitanX later
- Wet Dream Land -
see MaxMod's in a following post below with some Agent Orange anti-freeze
this is in a follow up post below also
here we see Klengen's pride n' joy: Asus X79 Black Edition & a power supply swap using my hand-made cables, shipped from the US to Europe. He's pleased as punch to get his AlienFx back. Below are more friends just in from overseas ... off-world & very wet ... like a kamikaze tsunami
like blood th'ukin Godzillas
Asus Rampage IV Black Edition 4960X Titan Black
Mr Bill? Sir?
U din't think u was gonna top the almighty R1 with that lil' bitty R2 Triad case now, did ya?
Oh my.
... oh me oh my ...
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Posted November 19th, 2015 21:00
I see here that the MNPCTech photo links are broken, & difficult to find online. The person that hired Mr Owen to do this build has posted links (to small photos) here in a 3page build log which post-after-post keep the reader appraised of the progress of the entire build start=to-finish. The page is here if you're interested: Alienware ALX 1.5 BLACK EDITION Case Worklog
youtube: Alien Carbon Fiber Paint Case Mod
____________________
Here's Part2: Alienware ALX Build log
April 2016
Alienware Area 51 Case Mod Contest Finals
Mr Owen wasn't contacted to participate in their Wet Dream build
- he would've won by a mile -
Template for a kase window
This entry is of special note for its window design: I already looked into 'how' to do a window, & funny enough, someone else 'saw' the best way also. This is the 'optimal' way to keep the led's & the hex-pattern. You don't need etched acrylic with glyphs like they did unless you can afford it, but it helps, *** right it does. They stole my design idea I came up with last September 2015 & I'm glad they did: now they need to offer it to the public (I messaged them, with no reply ... retards ... they could make a fist-full)
Above, you lose the led's but gain a larger looking-glass window
a 'shadow-box' mod is necessary for full windows like this
'shadow box' is due to the flat metal-plate relative to the convex doorskin
In the green kustom, note 'filler' trim pieces between window & panel. Shadow-box is necessary, which is why they used it here. The prior tri-glyph window we saw doesn't need a mod like this
variation on a theme: slightly more window, in-line with LED strips
no window, but?, a 240mm rad
hardware's entombed in this sarcophagus | snuffeluffugus
like Timothy Leary said: find the others
... find the others ...
edit: PAX Event Sept 2016
two years later, here it is, the one we've been waiting for
this is a molded-acrylic design: note it's a three-section window with rounded flush edges
it needs to be offered immediately through Aliens,com/acessories
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Posted September 23rd, 2015 12:00
Hello,
Thank you for sharing this with the Alienware Community.
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Posted September 23rd, 2015 16:00
Thank you for the welcome!
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Posted September 24th, 2015 12:00
Yes, How are you? and Very cool builds! Have you or anyone else here install their own system with hard line loop in the Alienware Area 51 PC?
I'd like to customize an Alienware PC, for DELL or Alienware to giveaway. Who do I speak to?
Here is some examples of my past case creations
Tristellar mod for deepcool
Firefly mod for Corsair
Lanboy Apocalypse for Antec
Rebel A, Cooler Master Cosmos II
MZ-1
Planetside NC for Matt Higby
District 9 PC for Cooler Master
H.R. GIGER Tribute
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Posted September 24th, 2015 14:00
1. Have you or anyone else here install their own system with hard line loop in the Alienware Area 51 PC?
2. Here is some examples of my past case creations
1. Not that I recall, but Cass will know. Of course, it should include the video card(s) as well in that loop, but maybe that is a given.
2. Excellent work. A couple of those look appropriate for running Fallout-4 on.
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.6021
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Posted September 26th, 2015 05:00
Cass-Ole, Has Alienware ever reached out to you directly for your feedback or offered you a career with them? Your knowledge for their product would be invaluable to their development and technical support teams. If I was DELL, I'd already invited you to our headquarters for a personal tour and introduce you to everyone. Your passion would be intoxicating and inspiring.
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Posted September 27th, 2015 22:00
Mr Owen, ty so much for the kind words. I had to deal with some urgency this weekend and found my self off of the grid for it, which is why I'm in a bit of, well this is an unexpected surprise to get back online finally to hear you lend the type of words that lift up my spirits from out of nowhere it feels like. Again thankyou, I don't know what to say but I know how I feel which is honored, highly, no doubt about it. 'Wow'.
I haven't been reached out to in the way you've pointed out, though it would've been as delightful an experience if they had, as walking into your words here tonight are such a delight to me, I'm sure. I'm a vocal critic of this company too Mr Owen, it wouldn't be fare for me not to say that; I'm not ashamed to admit I am or can be, so there is a bit of irony here; it's possible corporate faints every time I go on the warpath up in this joint. I'm probably under a form of a never-ending probation; it could be that just when they're ready to reach out to me? ... 'cause I been a good boy? tote the flag? ... something new pops up I'm not happy about & I go off on people for it, as it should be since I'm a consumer 1st and fan 2nd. Again, ty Sir, I'm honored, it pleases me to no end to be welcomed into your thread this way.
Right now you're who they need to reach out to & let's hope that they do. My little bit of fun aside, I hope everyone's aware we're in the sure midst of Modding Royalty.
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Posted December 1st, 2015 19:00
Check my build here. I was selling Alienware Area 51 chassises on eBay and then some guy told me I can share my photos on this forum.
To be continued...
Cass-Ole
8 Professor
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1868 Posts
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9698 Points
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Posted September 23rd, 2015 21:00
Mr Bill 'Tape of the Gods' Owen, is that u? Excellent work. I'm sure I caught one of your Aliens on the ModZoo did I not?
check us out Mr Bill, we've got our own Area-51 R1 window mod zoo here:
The ALX-Files: ABOVE TOP SECRET: Uncovering Area-51's Biggest & Best Kept Secret of All
The ALX-Files: Acrylic Window Kit Mod Area-51 R1 Tower
Airea-51 Pegasus 980Ti SC SLI