Frostytech: Zalman ST300BLP Black Box PSU Mod on FrostyTech.com

Step 1. With the guts of the powersupply safely removed the first step was to cut out that nasty back grill which had just been punched out of the sheet metal. There are lots of different ways to go about this, but the key thing to remember is that you wan to cut the metal so it doesn't warp. Using something like a pair of tin snips will work, but the final result won't look too hot.

A simple fret saw with a twist blade lets you cut in 360 degrees, instead of just a straight line. Since the metal is already heavily perforated the cutting only took about 5 minutes to complete.

Step 2. Those rough edges need to disappear, and the best way to do that is with a file or a Dremel. Since I completely blasted away the sanding disks for the Dremel a long time ago it was easier to just use a good metal file. In any case, removing the small bumps so the hole was left flat wasn't that much work,

Step 3. The final step was to cut out a vent on the top of the powersupply where there was none. In most powersupplies today this space is occupied by either a secondary fan, or a set of vents so that hot air coming off of the processor can be quickly removed to the outside of the case. This was our biggest qualm with the Zalman ST300BLP when we first reviewed it. The subsequent model has taken care of the issue fully by the way.

Cutting the hole was accomplished by first drawing out the lines of the area we wanted to put grill under, and then by drilling a starter hole for the fret saw blade to thread through so cutting could begin. Cutting out this box took a little bit of time to complete since the blade had a long way to go.

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