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[-n00b-]

ok well i went down to the store today and picked up a antec performance series 2 case, its black and came w/ a 400 watt antec psu, no case mods yet.

well heres my questions:

1. what is the best way to cut the side panel for a side window?
-dremel? rotozip? jigsaw? air nibbler? (used a air nibbler on my last case worked nice but because of no guide to go against sort of a hack job) or what else?

2. what is best to cut a nice hole for a fan?
-dremel? rotozip? jigsaw? air nibbler? hole saw?(what i have experianced and heard, hole saws are the way to go, but more input always nice:)

3. what is the best to cut lexan or plexi?
-dremel? rotozip? jigsaw? scoring?

4. do hole saws work well on lexan or plexi?

5. my final question is...is it worth cutting out them pre-made fan grill things on the chassis of the case?

reason i ask all these n00b questions is i don't want to screw up this case, screwed my last one up tring different things

[cdunigan]

Well, I'm still fairly new to modding, but I'll see if I can help you out.

1. I use a jigsaw, but only because my cheap dremel is the battery version and I don't feel like taking 3 days to cut for 5 minutes, charge the battery for several hours, etc.  My jigsaw actually works pretty well now that I bought a stainless steel-cutting bit for it.

2.  I really prefer holesaws.  I purchased both an 80mm and 120mm holesaw for use with my trusty B&D drill.  Just take GideonX's advice and line the area with masking tape to avoid marring the paint.

3.  Once again, I use my jigsaw.  You can buy a bit for it that is specifically for cutting plexi-type substances.

4.  I have used my hole saws on acrylic before with no problem.  Just make sure you leave the backing on that stuff until you know good and well that you aren't going to cut it any more

5.  In my experience:  Yes.  Without measuring, I couldn't give you precise amounts, but I would venture a guess and say that the grills that consist of small holes probably block 20-30% of air flow.

I hope I've been helpful

[isisfreak]

1. Jigsaw.

2. Hole saw.

3. Table saw.

4. Yes, but use a Bi-Metal saw. Also going backwards with the hole saw sometimes leaves a better cut.

5. Yes, it lets more airflow through and reduces noise.

[suprastar]

I have no experience with using a hole saw or jigsaw for modding a case. I used a dremel for all my case mods and had no problems. I just used cutoff discs to cut my window and plexi and I only had to go through about 5 discs for both the side and top windows and a fan hole in both top and side windows. I'm sure it would've been alot faster to cut the fan holes out with a hole saw and cutting the windows with a jigsaw but my dremel did just fine so I'm not complaining. And I plan on cutting out the stock fan grills that were built into my case because there isn't very much air flow going through because the grill is just made up of tiny holes and I would much rather have a normal fan grill so I can get maximum airflow going in and out of my case.

[DurocShark]

1. I use a jigsaw, but only because my cheap dremel is the battery version and I don't feel like taking 3 days to cut for 5 minutes, charge the battery for several hours, etc.  My jigsaw actually works pretty well now that I bought a stainless steel-cutting bit for it.

Bwahahahaha

I've got one of those too... Great for taking somewhere to cut off a padlock or something, suxors for anything else.

My birthday was last weekend, and I asked my wife for a new Dremel 950. (Full kit for $60 at Wallyworld) I ended up with a $50 Fry's gift certificate. Sigh. So still on a 15000rpm battery powered Dremel. I may head over to Ganahl Lumber and get the cheap imported $16 off-brand rototool... Can't be too bad...  

[wonko]

I would have to agree that using a jig saw with a metal blade is the way to go, especially if it's a large cut out.  If your doing alot of intricate designs, a dremel gives you more control.  It will take a little longer, but it's better for the tight spots.  Isisfreak is right about running the hole saw backwards when cutting through metal.  It leaves a much smoother cut, and won't dull the saw as quick.  I've always used a jig saw or table saw for cutting lex/plex, with the same fine tooth blade I used to cut the metal on my case and have good results (in my jig saw).  a few years back I got the "roto-zip" attachment for the dremel and it's worked out great (I save my big zip for the big jobs).  I wouldn't suggest using that sort of thing on metal...I haven't found a bit that works very good for that.  Do a little experimenting and see what works best for you.

[computerfreke911]

i'd use a jig saw and hole saw for all of it, i use a dremel but only because i can't get hole saws or a jig saw at this time. Dremels r good but take a heck of a long time. Good luck on the modding