Making a Blowhole - Making a Blowhole
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PROJECT BLOWHOLE
Unless you went completely ballistic when you cleaned the panel off, you should still be able to see the screw hole pencil marks you made before you started hacking the panel. To make sure that you didn't muck up the marks, center your fan over the hole, and look thru the holes and make sure its still aligned. You guys know the drill, just pretend your peeking thru that hole in the wall of the girls locker room in high school! If they are still lined up, kickass, if not then mark 'em again!! (duh!)
Now find a drill bit that is approx the size of the self tapping screws, we found 11/64 to be dead on, but be creative if need be. If anything go a bit bigger, you are not trying to thread the holes, just be tight enough so the damn screws don't fall thru!
Alright, you have your drill armed with the correct bit, now simply drill out the marks. You may find it easier to start them with a smaller bit as a pilot hole, but that is your call and really depends on the quality of your drill bits.
I do want to mention, but not recommend, the way BusterCaps does it. Buster likes to hold the fan in place and drill the holes thru the holes in the fan. While yes, this does insure you of a good fit, it also chews the hell outta the holes in the fan, so if you have an old 80mm fan around, go for it.
Ok, the mess is complete, now its time to clean the hell outta that thing. You want to make damn sure you get EVERY shaving off the panel. If you are wondering why then go back and read about metal shavings and PC parts on page 2!
If you've followed all the directions so far, you should have something like this:
Damn thats pretty as HELLZ!!! If your shiz is lookin' like this now, you are out of the woods. In celebration of completing the destruction without actually destroying anything, return to the six pack! Just one more though, we still have some screws and wiring to go. And if your shiz DOESN'T look like this, have one anyway, you need to forget your troubles!!
At this point you have to grab all that hardware you rounded up to begin with. So get your fan, your screws, your grill, and your filter if you decided to use one.
A quick word about the filter. A filter WILL cut down on the airflow into your case, but it will also cut down the amount of junk and dust that gets in. If your like the normal overclocker and are in your case more than once a day, the dust is no big deal. Just take that can of air that I KNOW you have, and clean it out once every few weeks. But if you plan to put the case back together and never open it again, then I highly recommend you use the filters.
It's all down hill from here. Put your fan (and filter if you choose to use one) on the inside of your case and align it with the holes, then take your grill and line it up on the outside. I know this sounds simple, but DAMN its a real pain in the ass if you have a full tower and are trying to control both sides, so a buddy (not THAT kind) may be handy for this. Then simply put the screws in.
Alright, we're almost home free now. At this point the temptation to sit back and admire the blowhole is overwhelming, but you MUST fight it! Go ahead and break into the six pack for just one and look at it, then get ready to move on. We still have to wire these bad boys in!!
Just one last page I PROMISE!!! Bare with us, we'll get to the rest of the six pack in just a bit, really!
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