Pics please.
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Wahahaha!!! 
Turns out I got the display panel in last week. It was a small box, and I thought it was just the power supply (a generic laptop power brick, essentially) so I didnāt dig through it. Itās a pity. If I had known, I could have fiddled with testing it and maybe started cutting acrylic.
Itās a little smaller than I wanted. Iāll post the models and pics when I get some time. Itās a bit smaller than the old tube, but I think itāll look fine with a piece of acrylic which also gives me something to help it stay in place.
Once I get the sheet cut to size, drill and cut the hole, Iāll paint the inside flat black so it looks nice and shiny, hopefully.
Snow is kind of a stopper right now, though. I do want to test the panel out, at least.
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Got a start getting the acrylic cut. I need to find a way to pack up some of the āin processā parts and stuff for this so my misc. hardware doesnāt wander off.
The main acrylic cut Iām dreading is trying to make a nice bezel that will help hold the LCD panel in place. I got the rectangle cut, but need to drill a bunch of holes in it. The part Iām concerned about is making a big rounded-rectangle that will frame the panel. I think the best way is going to be to drill the corners. probably start with a small hole and then go up to a larger hole. Endgame is probably a 1/4 or 1/2 hole to make a ncie rounded corner. Then mark and cut lines between the holes to make the window.
Iāve ordered some hardware finally, too. Went a bit over my budget, but even a relatively pokey 3.8 Ghz i3 will be a step up, especially with a GT 740 for a real video card. Once thatās in I can start laying out the internals more.
I also got āsmartā in that I picked up some round-headed cap nuts that Iāll use on the bottom of the acrylic motherboard frame to keep everything happy and not gouge the case when itās inevitably opened up for one thing or anotherā¦
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Sounds so cool!
Got my Power Supply (a Corsair CS550M) in this weekend, and started fitting stuff. Still need to wait for some snow to melt so I can get to my accustomed ādrilling areaā outside, but got the front bezel acrylic roughly done, with starter holes (via a pin-vise hand drill) ready to be enlarged.
The PS is going to be interesting. Itās beefy, and will be a deciding factor on layout.
First, the CS550m is going to annoy a certain breed of OCD people. There is going to be text upside down and way you arrange it and that is wrong!
Iām thinking I should either have the fan vent up (which means the labels for the connectors will be upside down) or possibly down through a cut-out in the thick acrylic Iām using for the structure inside. Iām leaning towards up, as itās less cutting and probably slightly better airflow. The bottom ālayerā is a piece of acrylic which will hold the power supply for the PC and the LCD panel, and will need holes cut so switches and plugs are accessible.
The LCD panel works! I tested that, and will probably focus on getting that homed while I wait for other parts and time. Itās a bit messy of a rig: The panel itself has a ribbon cable to a main board, which then has a separate board for the controls (5 buttons?) and the power supply and inputs (VGA, DVI, and power). Power requires a āpower brickā which will share a floor with the PC PSU. (But not too close, as theyāre both heat-producers.
The motherboard will be on its own shelf above the PSU shelf. I plan to have a couple inches between them so the PSU isnāt cooking, and maybe a case fan to keep hot air from building up under it. The Mother Board shelf will have a motherboard (about 7 inches square), CPU cooler, and the expected bits. Then thereāll be a small partial-shelf, possible over the memory (but with some air-flow space) with space for a couple SSDs. At least those run pretty cool. Iām avoiding spinning rust as much as possible as I figure vibrations are not my friend.
One alternative Iāll investigate when I have the hardware is mounting the motherbaord vertically. However, Iām worried the large CPU cooler I got might not be happy like that. Might make cutting the case easier, though. The ports would be under the ābatteryā section this way.
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And no pictures yet? 
Sounds great so far, Iāve tried visualising what youāve described and it all seems incredibly neat, Iād never have managed to get all the components squeezed in like that!
I have a couple more pics I need to upload, but a lot of stuff is getting stuck in āplanningā as Iām pending parts, or time and space to work with said parts. Iād start fabricating the display mount, but I donāt want to use a lot of acrylic on the mount until I know the āholeā is cut to my satisfaction, for example.
More Pics!
http://rlyehdiveclub.info/node/20
I think Iām leaning towards moungint the motherboard (and video card and cooler) vertically. Thatāll put the ports on the left side of the attached, albeit with a row across for the video card. Most will be where the origional design has a battery compartment and such.
I did my first āno turning backā case mod last night: I pulled the old programmerās switch plastic out and tossed it, as it got in the way of my acrylic supports.
Not shown is some chopping Iāll need to do to accommodate the PSUās cooling fan. Right now it blows into a solid layer of acrylic, which Iām assuming is ābadā. Going vertical means I can avoid that easier, although Iām not sure where Iām going to put the drive(s).
Ordered a couple drive mount kits and standoffs this morning, I hope to circle back and cut the monitor acrylic this weekend, but home repair and such is interfering.
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Looks good so far!
Iām a bit nervous, as soon I need to start cutting up the back panel to accommodate the motherboard and stuff. No real progress this weekend: DIY on our basement bathroom took over.
Got some cables and bits in yesterday, but no time to even order the box. Probably got to finish replacing a toilet first.
Ohh, when you said it was leaking I assumed the ring was bad. A whole new toilet is just a heavy pain in the ass.
Almost went that route,a s the old one was a pain. We had to dismount it so we could paint around it properly, plus the wax ring was probably due for replacement anyway.
Wax ring?
Not to pooh-pooh (HAH!) your previous plumber or anything but ā¦ wax? What about lovely neoprene seals that the rest of the world started using in the 1950s? 
On topic though, glad the projects making progress! 
Canāt wait to see how it all fits together!
Iāve never even seen one in a store, only wax rings. Nasty things, but as long as there is no movement in the joint, wax is reliable. Iāve wondered why there isnāt a better, more modern solution available, but never really looked into it beyond the plumbing aisle at the hardware store. I guess I assumed that there was concern over rubber-based solutions rotting and failing.
Thatās kinda weird. Here the pipe seal is usually neoprene or some form of soft PVC but now you can even get entire flexi-pipe blackwater pipesā¦ which sounds like a recipe for disaster if anyone uses just that little too much toilet paperā¦
Home Depot has flexible plastic ones, but everyone has faith in the wax ring for whatever reason.
Considering the previous bathroom remodel was apparently done by a drunken monkey, I can only improve the place with my efforts. I will, at least, cut the trip with 45 degree angles on corners.
(Personal annoyance: previous owner apparently didnāt feel like mitering corners for this bathroom, so just jammed trim in badly with corners cut at 90 angles. It looks as bad as it sounds.
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Iāve seen the plastic ones, seem untrustworthy.
Wax was good enough for my great-grandfather.
You can pick up a miter saw at a pawn shop for like $50 or less. And even without that you can run a circular saw or even a jig saw at an about 45 degree angle.
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