I got an idea recently (While doing the eVGA GTX 650 review) that I really, really needed a Tech Station / Bench Rig so I wouldn’t have to keep opening my case and rummaging around. A Tech Station is basically an open-air rig that people use to quickly swap out hardware. I thought about buying one… but where’s the fun in that? So here’s Part 1 of making a Tech Station/Bench Rig. The first step is obviously to find a donor!
This is my old case and my up until now footrest, an Antec P180. A beautifully built and designed case for it’s time, no doubt, but just doesn’t survive well by todays standards of room and cable management. Might as well rip it apart and turn it into a tech station 🙂
Step 2: Safety first! Remember guys, any time you have potential for plastic or metal shavings to be flying around WEAR YOUR SAFETY GLASSES . There is no excuse for not to!
Step 3: Break out the drill. I picked a drill bit that was just larger then the holes on the rivets. My Weapon Of Choice here is a cheap but effective corded Black & Decker drill from Home Depot. Anything with some power behing it will work (if using a cordless, you may need something in the 16+ volt range, I’m not sure if 12v will be enough unless the metal/rivets are very soft)
Step 4: Find and drill out the rivets. Use common sense and try to figure out how exactly everything attaches in the case, and drill from there. Disassemble from top to bottom!
You may need to get creative to find some of the rivets.. turns out Antec glued on the top of the P180!
Step 5: Collect your bounty! Things I got from this case: 3 Antec 3 speed fans (ALWAYS keep extra fans around, you never know when your Passively cooled HTPC video will start to overheat when watching Netflix. Not that that’s happened to me recently or anything… 🙂 ), USB connector, Headphone/Mic connector, a On/Off switch, 3 LED’s, lots of grommets, the plastic slides that a hard drive tray (not pictured) ride in, and a variety of screws and odds and ends which will go into my Modders Drawer for use later/never. At least I have them!
That’s it for now! Stay tuned for Part 2, where I start to make sense of this pile of metal and build a great budget Tech Station!
UPDATE: Part 2 of Building a Tech Station / Bench Rig has been posted!