I've had this 8-bottle Cuisinart wine fridge in my basement, close to my workbench, for about 5 years. On 14 June 2024, I noticed that the display was out. In fact I think the unit had failed. Since our basement is cool enough for passive wine storage anyway, I really didn't need this wine fridge. I really don't need another computer either, but why not mod this wine fridge into a computer?
So, there are some things to consider here and I've been discovering these things during my initial teardown. I like the heavy front door, but this was a cooler - with lots of insulation and no ventilation holes. It appears big enough to hold a motherboard, a PSU and a small video card (two fan), but I will need to first pull out all the insulation if I can. I will need to do some cutting and some thinking about mounting the motherboard and supporting the video card.
Initial teardown follows. I've only put about 30 minutes into this so far. I will do more today. I could use suggestions as you see what I end up with in terms of a shell of a case.
I spent about two hours creating a mess around my workbench today. My hands are tired of chiseling away at the insulation material as I try to dig out the central plastic core. I will need all the room I can get inside this case for a motherboard and PSU - perhaps even a video card.
I started with a long screw driver and a Dremel tool. Soon I was just using the screw driver, and then an even longer one. I wore a mask since stuff was in the air when I cut the foam using my Dremel tool. That central tub is almost free but not quite. This expanding foam insulation is a real pain to remove. Once I have it cleaned out, I will basically be left with a shell of a case. It will have the front door but an open back. Then I can start thinking about what sort of system can be placed inside. I'm thinking a micro-ATX motherboard, and maybe either an AM4 or an AM5 combo system.
I spent another 3 hours today pulling out that insulation and plastic tub. I finally had to break out the Dremel tool and cut the tub to get access to the foam insulation below it. I decided to leave part of the plastic tub in the front area, as it helps to support the structure and gives a cleaner opening view. I then cleaned up the big mess again (another trash can full of this insulation foam) and put the door, feet and back plate on to ensure it 's still stable enough for a computer case. I believe it is, but I will have to fabricate all the support mountings for the motherboard and other components. Airflow will be a major issue, so I will need to ventilate the inside, perhaps with a fan in the floor.
So that's five hours of work so far with this mod. Any comments from my fellow modders? @JohWill , @eebiii, @Wally_AMD
I did that once with my Purrfection build. I don't have an existing case right now that I'm willing to cut up.
I went with option 2, meaning an AM5 socket X3D 7000 series CPU. Today (20 June 2024) I drove over to MicroCenter after checking prices on the parts I wanted and I picked up an AMD 7800X3D bundle, an ASRock RX7900 GRE two-fan video card, a 1200 Watt Gold beQuiet! PSU (price-matched to Newegg's price), and two M.2 drives, 1 TB for the OS and 2 TB for games (one price-matched to a $10 cheaper price on a sale that ended recently). Using my MicroCenter card saved me an additional 5%, so this stuff cost me just under $1,500 USD. I still need to figure out what two-fan or three-fan CPU cooler to get and then some case fans too. I might have to mount that CPU cooler outside the case, meaning the back I suppose.
Last night I was thinking about this build before finally falling asleep. I decided that cooling was going to be an issue, and that solid glass front door needed some modding to remove the glass, thus allowing airflow into the case with the door closed. Getting the ends pulled off the door wasn't too difficult, but the double-paned glass was glued to the side pieces. I was getting real close to taking it outside and hitting the glass with a hammer, but instead I took my time and by leaning on the side piece while pushing on the glass (turning it over several times) I was able to free one side panel. I repeated the process for the other side. After a bit of cleanup of the glue residue, I reassembled the front door and Now I'm trying to decide what's next.
I could mount 2 or 3 140mm fans in the door opening, but their wires would be a small problem when I open the door. I guess enough slack in the cables would work here. Otherwise, I could insert some type of screen material to keep the bugs and carpet fibers out. What do you guys think?
I spent 4.5 hours today cleaning up the interior of the case a bit and then bending aluminum bars to form the support structure for the motherboard assembly. I also ordered the last parts (a CPU cooler, namely an All-in-One (AIO) liquid cooler, 3 case fans for the front and a 34" gaming monitor tonight and those should arrive by the end of next week.
I needed to drill and tap holes for the motherboard standoffs that would mount the motherboard to the aluminum bars. My tap and die set came from my father. These tools are probably from the 1950's and 1960's.
I've done a bit more modding and I received a few more parts - three fans for the front door, three 120mm bay device fan mounts that happen to work out well in my application, a CPU cooler All-in-One that I will hang below the two aluminum bars, and a new 34" gaming monitor.
This afternoon I did some cutting of one of the 120mm bay devices so the three of them would be a snug fit in the front door. I also mounted the three 120mm fans in these mounts. I then assembled the new monitor that arrived today and hooked it up to one of my older computers (Ryzen-Sun) to make sure it worked. The box was a bit banged up thanks to UPS - and I had bought this from Amazon! But it works fine so that's a worry off my mind. The next modding step is to mount that AIO to the metal bars. Marking the holes accurately is the tough part, but I will use a drop of paint I think on the ends of the screws (or screw posts) and then suspend it in position to mark the spots that I will then need to drill. It's never easy to get these things spot-on.
Today I managed to mount the AIO radiator and then construct a support bracket to secure the video card. It's now ready to mount to the base of the wine cooler. Once I get the PSU also mounted, then I will install the CPU, RAM and connect things up. I will need to ventilate the top for the radiator, and it won't be in the center of the case (closer to the door hinge side) due to clearances I wanted to maintain between the radiator and the motherboard.
I took care of the frame mounting to the base where I had blocked the case feet. I hammered down the water drain hole and moved the frame over about 1.5 inches. That was enough to clear the case feet mounts. Then I made two brackets out of aluminum bar to mount the PSU - using my same method of marking the drill holes with paint applied to the tip of the screw posts.
With that done, it was time to address the top opening that was needed for the radiator exhaust. With the cover on, I marked the outside dimensions of the radiator and then I drew lines within that rough mark so it would look straight from outside the case. Using my handy aircraft shears, I cut out the opening and then fabricated a dust guard by cutting down one of the magnetic fan guards I had bought on Amazon last year (three of them for around $10 USD was a great deal). The last cutting needed was the back plate, which already had a small hole in the middle for the previous Peltier cooler. I wanted much more airflow (with three intake fans up front), so I gave it about 1.5 inches all away around, but keeping the Cuisinart label on the back.
Now I need a few days to rest my right hand from all the cutting and drilling. I'm close to being ready for final assembly of the CPU, RAM and of course finding ways to hide the PSU cables.
