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First things first, the DVD player required a thorough gutting. Everything had to go to make room for the PC motherboard. Next, I had to cut a hole for the rear-panel connectors and drill more holes for the #6 machine screws that would support the motherboard.
Although compact, the micro-ATX power supply simply could not fit inside the tiny DVD player chassis. I simply chose to mount the PSU so it stuck out the side of the case- and carried the exposed components theme through the rest of the project.
Next on the list of things to install were the drives. Space limitations ruled out a floppy- only a single hard drive and an externally mounted CD-RW would fit. To keep the hardware to a minimum, I built a “drive sandwich” using a modified mounting bracket- allowing the HDD to be screwed directly to the bottom of the CD-RW. The thin steel that was the top of the former DVD player couldn’t support the combined bulk of the storage devices, so I crafted a support bracket to beef up the chassis.
The original design called for a “tower style” case, so I had to devise a way to properly support the front heavy case while propping it up on end. After a little scouring for suitable materials, I happened upon an old satellite dish- perfect! With a little cutting and drilling, I had a pair of lightweight aluminum support legs.
With the legs bolted on and the components installed, it was time for testing. The Dragon was designed to play Quake III, and that seemed the best way to stress-test the system. I was able to identify hot-spots on the outside of the case and could plan for more adequate system cooling. First, I replaced the stock fan on the CPU heat-sink with a larger 80mm adjustable speed fan. I cut a hole in the case above the new fan; now it could draw in cool air from outside the case and circulate it. Hot air built up in the top of the case; a freshly added series of exhaust holes allowed that heat to escape.
Now that the metal work was complete, I turned to the wood components. Wood proved to be a much more practical and attractive alternative to the metal and mesh I was originally planning to use. I turned feet for the scavenged-satellite dish legs using an antique lathe, and crafted panels from quarter inch cherry plywood.
