So I was looking at my computer the other day and got the bug to overhaul it.  My temps were fine, but my cable management was absolutely horrible.  It was embarrassing.
 

 
Anyone who owns the first revision of the Antec 900 case knows that cable management is non-existent.  There are a couple of loops on the motherboard tray that I could attach zip ties to, but otherwise all cables ended up in the main compartment.  I had to stuff cables in spaces that weren’t being used…  it was ugly and inefficient.  I read a few forums where people had modified the Antec 900 to be a more useful case, so I decided to try to mod mine, and take a few pictures along the way.  I also took this opportunity to upgrade some components inside, which was totally unneeded, but who doesn’t love a good upgrade? 
 
The first thing I did was to strip out every component I could from the case.  I took off all fans and covers, except for the top black cover.  For whatever reason, I could not get that cover off for the life of me, so I just tucked the remaining cables away and ignored them for the time being.  Here is what my counter looked like after it was gutted. 
 

 
One of my upgrades was an EVGA P55 SLI FTW mobo, which I had just purchased from Dubzhouse (shout out!).  I set the motherboard inside of the case to see where I needed to cut holes.  The plan was to cut holes in the tray, run the cables behind the tray, and then out of the hole nearest to the plug.  I then marked the areas which I wanted to cut, and drew them out roughly. 
 
BEFORE CUTTING - Make sure you have safety goggles and gloves.  You will throw a LOT of sparks, and run the risk of getting metal shavings in your eyes.  I used ear plugs as well, because I value my hearing.  Protect yourself. 
 
I used a Dremel 400XPR with EZ-Lock metal cutting disks, with a whole bunch of files to get rid of sharp edges.  I watched a video on YouTube which also helped with cutting technique, and made it REALLY easy.  Do this outside or in a garage for easy clean up.  I started to do it in my kitchen.  Bad idea!

 
Dremel Case Mod YouTube Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iMiH8wYTDY
 
I took it out to a garage area and put the case on a strong sturdy cardboard box.  The box will catch a lot of dust and debris.  After some slow and steady cutting, my case ended up looking like this.
 

 
I had to clean off my Hyper 212+ to re-apply the TIM.  I was an idiot and used the IC Diamond 24 that was going around the forums about six months to a year ago.  I say that because this TIM is an absolute nightmare to get off, and it will leave permanent staining on your CPU and Heatsink.  I already OC, so I’m not concerned with RMA’s, but I will never use IC Diamond again.
 
 I applied some Shin Etsu (twice to check contact, thankfully.  Apparently the mounting screw didn’t thread correctly when I screwed it in the first time, which didn’t spread the TIM properly..  Check your work!).  I use a tiny bit of TIM and a razor blade to fill in the gaps between the heat pipes,  then scrape the remaining TIM off with the razor blade.  It’s worked pretty well for me so far.
 


 
Now it’s time to bring this thing back to life!
 
First..   I rearranged my bays for better airflow.  Instead of having my DVD burner in the top bay, I moved it to the bottom bays where airflow is less important.  This opened up the top three bays for me to move a 120mm fan, and create a wide open channel from the front intake, through the CPU cooler, and out the back.  I have three hard drives total (One SSD, two 1TB Spinpoints, and put all three in the middle mounts, with a 120mm fan on all three HDs.
 
Second…  Make sure you plan out your fan placement and wiring BEFORE you mount the motherboard, because it will be more difficult to do when you have less room in the case.  I learned this the hard way, once I figured out that my 8-pin CPU connector wouldn’t fit behind the tray without removing the motherboard.
 

 
 One of my upgrades was the Seasonic X750 modular power supply, which helped when I was figuring out the wiring.  The cables are super long though, which is a blessing and a curse.  I routed as many cables as possible out of the rear holes, and then back inside the case.  Some of the metal edges were still a LITTLE sharp, so I used clear packing tape to put over some of the sharper edges.  I found it was easier to leave the PCI-E power connectors inside of the main compartment, and tuck them under the DVD drive.  It still looked clean, so it wasn’t too big of a deal. 
 

 
Third..  I installed a new SSD, so I needed a clean install of Windows 7.  Before securing ANY wires to the case, I made sure that windows installed correctly and detected all hardware.  I could only imagine the frustration if I had secured things to the case, and had to dismantle it to fix something Windows couldn’t detect.  I had zero issues with the install, so I went back to finishing the job!
 
Fourth…  The back of the motherboard tray is an ugly mess of cables.
 

 
 I secured the cables to the back of the case using packing tape, trying to make it as flat against the case as possible.  I had to move wires so they weren’t bunched together, then taping them all flat.  Putting the side of the case on was difficult, but once you put enough pressure on it to flatten the cables, it will go on.  Like this!
 


 
 
That’s pretty much it!   Now I have a case with amazing airflow, and I can enjoy the looks!
 

 

 

 

 
 
 I chose to leave the case as flat black as possible, and I removed all fans with LEDs.  There is a single channel of air from the front, through the CPU cooler, to the back, with plenty of room to breathe around the SLI 460s.  My total upgrade was as follows:
 
EVGA P55 FTW Mobo
EVGA 460 GTX SC EE
Seasonic X750 Modular Power Supply
8 Gig G.Skill Ripjaws 1600 mhz Ram
Crucial M4 128GB HD
4 Yate Loon Case fans
Shin Etsu X23-7783D TIM
Newly modded Antec 900!
 
If anyone has any comments or suggestions that could help with this build,  I’m open to suggestions.  Also,  if anyone is curious about specific things I did along the way, I can help you as best I can.  This was my first case mod, and it was not as difficult as I thought.  It just takes time, a little planning, and a few tools. 
 
I just joined Mods Rigs as well, so if you like it, hit me up over there!  I’ll get the benchmarks going as soon as I can.  Thanks for reading!

What an improvement! Nice things can be done with a dremel..! GJ!  
 
BTW. Check your modsrigs..

Thanks! I'm afraid this may only serve to fuel my upgrading addiction though.. Maybe try my hand at some painting. God help me!

And thanks for the comment on Mods Rigs, Hething! :)

zophar
+1 on the painting, You should have hit the inside real quick when you had it that far apart.  But otherwise great job.

 
I probably should have.  I would have had to take it somewhere else to paint it though, and it would have been a hassle.  They kind of don't like it when people paint things in their loft.  Next time. 

Huge difference!! Nice work, it looks great.

Good Stuff!!

Alpha Dog SLI

Looks a lot better. I am debating weather I should mod mine also with some better fans or just wait until I can get the 600T white

I got some Yate Loon fans from Petra's Tech Shop, and they were mailed out FAST.  Pretty quiet too.  The combination of new fans and better airflow (and probably the Shin Etsu) has dropped my temps by a few degrees,  but I really did it for the clean look.  The cable management is like night and day, and it's pretty nice even with a non-modular power supply.  This is what it looked like with the holes,  but without SLI and without a modular power supply.  I put it together once while I was still waiting on parts.  hehe
 

 

 
You could get an extension cable for the CPU power connector to route it behind, and use zip ties after you tuck away other cables.  I didn't bother with that because I had more stuff on the way, and didn't want to secure everything just to take it apart again.  If you end up doing it,  I'd recommend painting it as well.  I really wish the whole thing was the same flat black,  but I just didn't have the means to do so. 
 
Or I guess you could wait for a case that already has those luxuries built in...  but what fun is that? 

ipwnnoobsirl

Alpha Dog SLI

Looks a lot better. I am debating weather I should mod mine also with some better fans or just wait until I can get the 600T white

I got some Yate Loon fans from Petra's Tech Shop, and they were mailed out FAST.  Pretty quiet too.  The combination of new fans and better airflow (and probably the Shin Etsu) has dropped my temps by a few degrees,  but I really did it for the clean look.  The cable management is like night and day, and it's pretty nice even with a non-modular power supply.  This is what it looked like with the holes,  but without SLI and without a modular power supply.  I put it together once while I was still waiting on parts.  hehe

 

 

You could get an extension cable for the CPU power connector to route it behind, and use zip ties after you tuck away other cables.  I didn't bother with that because I had more stuff on the way, and didn't want to secure everything just to take it apart again.  If you end up doing it,  I'd recommend painting it as well.  I really wish the whole thing was the same flat black,  but I just didn't have the means to do so. 

Or I guess you could wait for a case that already has those luxuries built in...  but what fun is that? 

 
I was thinking of pulling all of my stuff out, cutting some holes for cable management and painting the inside and upgrading to some high CFM Yate loon fans and a good fan controller
so I could just focus on upgrading the hardware

nice work.  I find cable management the most challanging part of a built, especially when the case isn't nice in the way of help in that department.  I've noticed the more you do it, the better idea you come up with to make it better.  Nice improvement you got there.  I went as far as to buy pin extractors, just to take off the end of cable to get it through a hole it wouldn't have fit through.
 
my only stray wire is the same one you probably hate, the mobo 4pin.  Mine prety much does the same thing your does, straight up the middle right over the videocard:(  i would reroute mine but its not long enough because of my tall case.  Eventually I'll buy an extension so I can hide it too.
 

 
That's about the best I could come up with given my case, I just can't hide them any better and I didn't feel like cutting.  Corsair 800D is going to be my next case, because it is so awesome for cable management.

nookie420

nice work.  I find cable management the most challanging part of a built, especially when the case isn't nice in the way of help in that department.  I've noticed the more you do it, the better idea you come up with to make it better.  Nice improvement you got there.  I went as far as to buy pin extractors, just to take off the end of cable to get it through a hole it wouldn't have fit through.

my only stray wire is the same one you probably hate, the mobo 4pin.  Mine prety much does the same thing your does, straight up the middle right over the videocard:(  i would reroute mine but its not long enough because of my tall case.  Eventually I'll buy an extension so I can hide it too.



That's about the best I could come up with given my case, I just can't hide them any better and I didn't feel like cutting.  Corsair 800D is going to be my next case, because it is so awesome for cable management.

 
You could probably get rid of it by getting an extension cable and running it around the motherboard and behind the tray.  That was my original plan, until I got the Seasonic in the mail and found it had a long enough CPU cable.  It was JUST long enough to thread through both holes to go completely behind the tray.  With my original power supply,  I had to go over the top of the video card...  which I did not like.  (Shown in the pictures a few posts up.  My work in progress pictures.  hehe)
 
But if you didn't want to cut your case yet, an extension cable could be a cheap alternative. 

nice mod, painting the inside black would make it look even better but its a pain, right now im sanding off the entire inside of a HAF 932 to get rid of a bad paint job and prep for a good one.