Just to get this out of the way: 120 Volts is dangerous. If you are not experienced with electrical wiring this is not something you should even consider attempting. Improperly wired cases can lead to shock, electrocution or fire hazards. Or even worse, fried computers components.

Comfortable with the fact that we've had a few years experience doing electrical wiring we set about bringing power into the case. We used a small fret saw to cut out a hole in the back of the case for a power receptacle. In that space we dropped in a socket from an old power supply, so that a standard power cord can be plugged into the case. In the picture below you can also see the power socket we install above the 60mm exhaust fan to bring power to the large 120mm side fan. All points on the jack have been covered with shrink tubing to minimize the risk of shorting.

Control Them Thar' Fans!

We brought three control wires from the power socket at the rear of the case to hook up to two toggle switches which will be installed on the front bezel of the case. Each switch controls one of the 120V fans. So if things are too noisy we have to option of turning one, or both of the fans off.

The wire is 12 gauge and is the kind you find in conduit these days. The spot where the wire comes through the front of the case has a small rubber insert to stop any possibility of the wire casing being nicked, or damned and causing a short.

Since the 12 gauge wire we are using to wire everything up is a bit stiff, we attach some 16 gauge wire to the contacts on the back of the two switches. We measured out a location and drilled the two holes in the bezel so that the back of the switches would have ample room. The switches were then installed and the tightened into place. The short 16 gauge 'pigtails' were soldered to the contacts and then covered in heat shrink tubing. The last thing we want is to open up the case and get a nasty shock! The propane torch is being used to shrink the heat activated material.

From the front we the Fatty Case is starting to look just a little bit devilish. Beneath the main power switch for the system lay the two fan control switches.

Three 'ON' switches for a case? This modded Fatty Case has the normal power switch and two additional fan control switches located directly beneath.

Looking at the back of the front bezel everything starts to take shape. The control wires come into the switch so that each fan can be turned on or off, and the wires are secured to the plastic frame in two places so no joints break over time. All connections have been soldered, and then wrapped in the same heat shrink tubing.