Custom Built Wooden Computer Case


I've wanted to do a custom computer build for quite a while now, and I finally found the opportunity to build one when I traded an old laptop for a "mostly" working gaming rig. Some of the ports and buttons weren't functioning, and the previous owner had lost the 2 side panels to the case. The previous owner clearly didn't know what they had, and it didn't look like it had been used in some time. Hopefully he'll get more use out of the laptop.

I wanted to make this truly custom, so I tore apart the case (literally) and built my own computer case out of birch. Yup, I said birch, as in wood! I also made the top plate out of plexi-glass so you can see all that beautiful hardware.

Here are the tech specs of the hardware going in this sweet machine:

  • Intel i7 4790k processor
  • 16GB (4x4) of Corsair Vengence RAM
  • Asus Z97 Mainboard
  • Thermaltake 750W Power Supply
  • Corsair Water Cooler + (2) 4" Exhaust Fans + (1) 8" Intake fan w/ blue LED's
  • (2) 128GB SSD's
  • 1000GB HDD
  • Asus GTX970 Graphics Card
Below you can see the remnants of the original computer case. This thing originally had (3) 8" fans, and (3) 4" fans, on top of the liquid cooler. Way overkill, in my opinion. I elected to only keep 3 of the 6 fans. Not to mention, I didn't want to build a box big enough to fit all of that equipment.


Here is the simple start to the new computer. Essentially a wooden drawer with a picture frame on top. I'd guess this case was roughly 70% of the size of the original case. It was definitely tough getting all of the components to fit in such a small space!



Here is one of the trial configurations, that I ultimately didn't go with. This would have required mounting the PSU over top of the motherboard, restricting access to the RAM. I didn't want to have to deal with removing the PSU just to swap out the RAM. It's also probably not ideal from an air flow perspective to have the PSU mounted directly over the motherboard. Also, with this setup you could just barely open the drive slots to get the drives in and out.


I finally settled on a general configuration and cut all of the necessary holes. It breaks down to cutouts for (1) 8" intake fan, the PSU, all of the ports from the motherboard, and one long rectangle for (2) 4" exhaust fans side-by-side (attached to the radiator on the liquid cooler).




Here's the box with the side panel frame, and a few coats of polyurethane. I also forgot to mention cutouts for a strip of USB ports, headphone, mic, and power switch.



Here are some pics after mounting all of the hardware, and the fan covers that I made out of aluminum sheeting.






After some cable cleanup, and mounting a sheet of Plexiglas in the side panel frame it was time to boot it up! Here are a few pictures of the finished product.




This was one of the coolest projects I've done in a long time. I couldn't be more proud of how this turned out. I learned a ton in the process, and I absolutely love booting up my computer and thinking back to all of the work that went into making this one of a kind custom PC.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

New Epoxy Top for a Struggling Ikea Table

Image
I started with an Ikea table from work that someone sat on and accidentally broke one of the legs. The table was likely going to get thrown out, but I rescued it, fixed the leg, and totally transformed the boring beige coffee table. I believe it was this table in tan from Ikea:   Above, you can see the underside of the table with the legs removed. The top right corner is where the leg folded and broke the particle board. I put the piece back in place with some wood glue and left it clamped overnight. Next I added some wooden trim around the entire base to make it more sturdy. The legs have screws that protrude out of the top, and the whole leg is rotated to screw it on to the table. In order to screw the legs back in, I needed to drill holes through the trim that lined up with the existing holes in the table. When I epoxy a table top, I round the edges of the table top so that the epoxy can run over the sides. I couldn't sand the
Read more

Porch Swing

Image
I built this porch swing because my wife wanted a place that we could sit and watch the kids when they're playing in the front yard. It's not as comfortable as I would have hoped, but I think it turned out great for the space. The framing is built from pressure treated lumber, and the bench slats are made from pine. I made the frame first, from 4x4's and some 2x6's for support. I used 8" bolts to connect the 4x4 pieces, which actually felt like it would have held together without any lumber for structural support. I didn't want to risk my wife and I falling on our rear-ends the first time we sat in the swing though :-P  To make the bench, I freehand drew an 'S' curve in a 2x6 to create the shape I wanted in the bottom of the bench. I made two more copies of that to provide the frame for connecting the pine slats. It just so happened that the other side of that 'S' worked out for the back of the bench. I connected them with 2
Read more

Epoxy River Coffee Table

Image
There are lots of people out there making some amazing epoxy river tables that sell for thousands of dollars. They generally use live edge slabs of specialty wood that can cost $1000+ alone, not to mention the tables sometimes contain $500+ of epoxy as well. I wanted to try to make a low-cost version of one of these amazing tables. I spent: $16.00  (2) 2" x 6" x 96" fir construction lumber $28  (2) 1/8" x 2" x 72" flat steel ~$17.50  32oz of a one-gallon kit 2-part epoxy ~$15  finish, paint, screws, etc. That brings me out to a total of roughly $76. First I used a biscuit joiner to align and glue (4) 4-foot lengths of the construction lumber together to form the table top.  I let the glue dry for a few days before taking it out of the clamps, and filling any remaining gaps with clear epoxy. I put some parchment paper down between the center support to prevent the epoxy from sticking. The center support board is to prevent the ta
Read more

Walnut Live Edge Coffee Table

Image
I finished up my first live edge table, made from a solid slab of walnut! It started as a rough-cut slab with a few cracks and imperfections, but I could tell as soon as I saw it there was some beautiful grain beneath the surface. I got it roughly level and smooth before filling any cracks with black epoxy. Then it was back to sanding, sanding, and more sanding... I sanded down to 400 grit before applying some Danish Oil, natural. Man, did that grain pop! I did 3 coats of oil in total. While the table top cured, I welded together some stainless steel legs. Because of the shape of the top, I made one leg more narrow. I was worried the different sized legs would look out of place, but ultimately I think it helps it look like a custom piece of furniture. The legs got 4 coats of semi-gloss black paint, and I mounted them on the underside of the table. Here's the final product! This was a really fun project, and I l
Read more