Well hello everyone! It has been too long! I have been quite busy recently with research and school and the like. I read the forums almost every day, but I have not had any time to really respond. Thankfully, I see that many others have stepped up and are answering questions with haste and fervor. :-) I would expect nothing less from members of these forums. My purpose in posting today is to show you all something I built :-) Those of you that were here during the first months of the forums and for my two reviews will probably remember my "cooler mod." It was a contraption I built that held my speakers and all of the wires and had a mouse pad and a grate on it for the sager to sit on and allow for airflow. You can still find the pictures I posted of it if you search for it, lol. In any case, I got mad at the old mod and decided it was time for something more all-inclusive and self-enclosed. So, I built this. I took pictures of it and I'll describe them as I go. I apologize for the picture quality (lack thereof, rather) and size. I do not have a digital camera, just an old crusty internet cam, lol. Here we go!
I found a toolbox at Home Depot that suited my needs. It was of good size and shape and had wheels on one side and a retractable handle on the other.
This case was perfect, it had a lid that came off and had tons of room on the inside. Plus, the height was perfect for the sager to sit on so I could still reach it if the mod sat on a chair. I took a piece of pantry shelving, the kind that is like a grate and allows for superb airflow, and I made a little "hood" that could be opened and closed on the left side. It is what the sager is sitting on in the next pictures.
For the mouse, I took a piece of dual-thick cardboard and made a mouse holder that would sit next to the sager. You probably can't see it well, but there is an indent in the board near where the sager exhaust fan is so that air flows up and out of the case (rather than letting hot air circulate through the sager of course). Here is a different angle of the mod.
The sager sits on its grate and is at a perfect height for all cords and cables to plug in with no problems. I can reach everything perfectly. The mouse board has a mousepad glued to it and it stays in place because of the retractable handle that is integral to the toolbox. Here is a picture with that handle pulled out (as it would be if I were rolling the toolbox along).
The mouse board can be picked up from there and placed on the handle as follows:
This allows for easy access to the inside of the case. Inside, I have a surge protector attached to the wall with its cord coming out of a small hole in the bottom corner. That way, that plug is just put into an outlet and everything in the case it automatically powered. One cord for all. There are also compartments for my cds, for my cool sager utilities and cables, the lock cord, and anything else I wish to take. I installed a small light with a switch inside as well so that I could see. I lost my little coaxial thing that gets plugged into the tv tuner card when you want to use a cable or antenna, lol, so that necessitated the light. Here is a picture with the light on.
There is plenty of room for anything I want to carry. The wireless mouse receiver sits in there along with any and all power cables and speaker cables. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I mounted two speakers to the inside of the case. You can see them in that previous picture (well, you can see one of them kinda). They are ok speakers, they are mainly because I prefer some bass, and they are good with that for a 2 channel system. It sounds pretty cool because the sound hits the sides of the case and gets amplified :-) So the case is also a natural amplifier for low pitch sounds (although it does muffled higher sounds a little bit, but I have headphones too, lol). In this last picture you can see the other speaker light in the distance, lol, but mainly you can see how the sager sits on the grate to allow for tons of airflow.
When I decide I want to go somewhere (LAN party, chemistry research internship, etc), the sager is simply placed right beneath the metal grate (it fits perfectly in there, the grate lifts open like the hood of a car because I have it hinged on one side). The mouse goes inside and the mouse board just sides on top of the grate and the lid goes on. Everything sides snugly and securely, and I just extend the handle, and pull it along, lol, or I carry it if I feel like body building. It doesn't weight any more than a desktop would, lol, but it is heavy. I am just an "all in one" kinda guy, which is of course why I love Sagers :-) They fit as much as possible in a small space, everything at your fingertips. I have carted this thing across campus many times. I used it to give many Powerpoint presentations for the chemistry department where I interned this summer. It hit bumps of all kinds and had no problems. I'm happy :-)
While I'm posting, though, I will say that the sager has performed remarkably (as expected) and after having it for many months and putting it through all kinds of heck, lol, it is still running with nay a problem. The only complaint I have is with the keyboard decals rubbing off. I use my computer a LOT and the letters D, C, N, M, and L are all at various degrees of wear. I'm sure if I ask Sager, though, they'll send me a new keyboard or new specific keys without question. It is hardly a big concern considering the excellent price for all of this hardware. My friends are all amazed that they can get all of this in a laptop and get it for cheaper than in a desktop if you consider the price of desktop LCDs (which are in high demand for college students who wish to save space). :-)
I shall continue to read the forums and I am very excited about these new releases. I wish I could get my hands on one, lol, I'd be forced to pull another Beebster review :-) I hope an upgrade option is offered, though, because I may just have to try and find a way to get it. I love the idea of analogue 5.1 and a dx9 graphics card :-)
In any case, best of luck to everyone and I hope you enjoyed the pictures of my case! Many thanks, as always, to PCTorque for their kind hosting of the files.
I found a toolbox at Home Depot that suited my needs. It was of good size and shape and had wheels on one side and a retractable handle on the other.
This case was perfect, it had a lid that came off and had tons of room on the inside. Plus, the height was perfect for the sager to sit on so I could still reach it if the mod sat on a chair. I took a piece of pantry shelving, the kind that is like a grate and allows for superb airflow, and I made a little "hood" that could be opened and closed on the left side. It is what the sager is sitting on in the next pictures.
For the mouse, I took a piece of dual-thick cardboard and made a mouse holder that would sit next to the sager. You probably can't see it well, but there is an indent in the board near where the sager exhaust fan is so that air flows up and out of the case (rather than letting hot air circulate through the sager of course). Here is a different angle of the mod.
The sager sits on its grate and is at a perfect height for all cords and cables to plug in with no problems. I can reach everything perfectly. The mouse board has a mousepad glued to it and it stays in place because of the retractable handle that is integral to the toolbox. Here is a picture with that handle pulled out (as it would be if I were rolling the toolbox along).
The mouse board can be picked up from there and placed on the handle as follows:
This allows for easy access to the inside of the case. Inside, I have a surge protector attached to the wall with its cord coming out of a small hole in the bottom corner. That way, that plug is just put into an outlet and everything in the case it automatically powered. One cord for all. There are also compartments for my cds, for my cool sager utilities and cables, the lock cord, and anything else I wish to take. I installed a small light with a switch inside as well so that I could see. I lost my little coaxial thing that gets plugged into the tv tuner card when you want to use a cable or antenna, lol, so that necessitated the light. Here is a picture with the light on.
There is plenty of room for anything I want to carry. The wireless mouse receiver sits in there along with any and all power cables and speaker cables. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I mounted two speakers to the inside of the case. You can see them in that previous picture (well, you can see one of them kinda). They are ok speakers, they are mainly because I prefer some bass, and they are good with that for a 2 channel system. It sounds pretty cool because the sound hits the sides of the case and gets amplified :-) So the case is also a natural amplifier for low pitch sounds (although it does muffled higher sounds a little bit, but I have headphones too, lol). In this last picture you can see the other speaker light in the distance, lol, but mainly you can see how the sager sits on the grate to allow for tons of airflow.
When I decide I want to go somewhere (LAN party, chemistry research internship, etc), the sager is simply placed right beneath the metal grate (it fits perfectly in there, the grate lifts open like the hood of a car because I have it hinged on one side). The mouse goes inside and the mouse board just sides on top of the grate and the lid goes on. Everything sides snugly and securely, and I just extend the handle, and pull it along, lol, or I carry it if I feel like body building. It doesn't weight any more than a desktop would, lol, but it is heavy. I am just an "all in one" kinda guy, which is of course why I love Sagers :-) They fit as much as possible in a small space, everything at your fingertips. I have carted this thing across campus many times. I used it to give many Powerpoint presentations for the chemistry department where I interned this summer. It hit bumps of all kinds and had no problems. I'm happy :-)
While I'm posting, though, I will say that the sager has performed remarkably (as expected) and after having it for many months and putting it through all kinds of heck, lol, it is still running with nay a problem. The only complaint I have is with the keyboard decals rubbing off. I use my computer a LOT and the letters D, C, N, M, and L are all at various degrees of wear. I'm sure if I ask Sager, though, they'll send me a new keyboard or new specific keys without question. It is hardly a big concern considering the excellent price for all of this hardware. My friends are all amazed that they can get all of this in a laptop and get it for cheaper than in a desktop if you consider the price of desktop LCDs (which are in high demand for college students who wish to save space). :-)
I shall continue to read the forums and I am very excited about these new releases. I wish I could get my hands on one, lol, I'd be forced to pull another Beebster review :-) I hope an upgrade option is offered, though, because I may just have to try and find a way to get it. I love the idea of analogue 5.1 and a dx9 graphics card :-)
In any case, best of luck to everyone and I hope you enjoyed the pictures of my case! Many thanks, as always, to PCTorque for their kind hosting of the files.
ha ha...
for us the old timers...
