Scratch Build – In Progress Project - Nia One

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So this is my first scratch built and second time doing anything to anything to a PC case. First one was a simple mod to my NZXT H2. Anyway, expect quite a bit trial and error and I hope it comes out okay'ish.

Since I do not really have hardware except the stuff in my almost 5 year old system, this won't be hardware galore, at all. If you are looking for that, look somewhere else. I'm also on a tight budget, so I'll try to improvise and get things done as cheap as possible.


current hardware:
Phenom X4 9750
Corsair H70
4x 1 GB DDR2 RAM (800Mhz)
some no name motherboard ...
1x WD Caviar Blue SATA II
1x Seagate Baracuda SATA II
Club3D Radeon 6770 1GB (horrible stock heatsink on this one ...)
LC Power 6550GP2 V2.2 550W PSU


need to get :
[x] Paracord
[ ] more Paracord ... especially black always seems to be gone way to fast
[ ] 4-5x 140mm fans
[ ] 2-4x 120mm fans
[ ] a modular PSU
[ ] whole new mobo + CPU + RAM combo
[ ] SSD(s)
[ ] new GPU



Anyway, the boring introduction aside, let's get it on.

I made a quick model in max, not to detailed, just to give an idea of what I'm aiming for. Note, that it's missing some cutouts for ventilation and the side window, though.



open'ed up


Basically, it will be an air cooled Phenom 9750 mATX built (which is what I have, budget...), with the case itself being kinda "future proof". Meaning; it's ATX sized, can easily hold up to 4 (long) GPUs and could fit one 420mm, up to two 120/140mm and/or a 240mm radiator with plenty of room for a reservoir, pump, ... and probably some 360(s) in the basement with some minor changes, if needed.

Since it's my first built, I decided to be on the safe side with sizing and went rather to large than ending up to small.


I got access to a metal brake at work and also a plate shear (if that's what it's called .. the thingy to cut metal plates, straight).

Started with cutting some stripes ...


... to be bent into L-shapes for the frame.


I love the picture on that machine.

Point welded the profiles together. I know that it's not the best way to fit them together just like that and they could have been angled and all, but I keep that for the next built I guess ... or maybe redo it later. It was a first try with point welding, too. But the result turned out well enough to keep it for now.






and voila ...




next to my NZXT H2. Quite a difference in size. Will dwarf my mATX board even more.


That's it for the frame, entirely made out of scrap pieces of 1.5mm galvanized stainless steel.

Got my hands on a few larger pieces of 1.5mm Aluminium, over the course of several weeks. Which will be cut into the panels. Total cost so far: lot of patience.






some test fitting



So far so good ... can mainly work on weekends, which means this will probably take a while. Might as well spent some time sleeving or something like that, in between. Hope my English wasn't to bad, until next update, enjoy.

 

That is pretty big, and i doubt you'll have any problems fitting your stuff inside. Your english is excellent - i thought you were a native speaker... Looks good so far, and Good luck!

 

The case measures about 600 x 600 x 250 mm. Kinda big, I agree. Larger than some Full Towers.

 

Found some time to sleeve a 24pin extension cable, another first here, oh well. Was a pain in the ass and took FOREVER - at least at first, until I finally got the hang of it. Also note that it's even more painful than sleeving a "normal" 24pin connector since you are looking at 48pins to get out of that damn plastic thingy and not just 24 ... D'OH! Anyway ... ordered some Paracord in Black, Red and Grey since this will also be the main color scheme of the case. I love this stuff, also works for a nice bracelet. Will be using no heatshrink on it, say hello to sore finger tips. *ouch*

Tools used




some paint on the connector ...


and here we got - in no time (just one picture later) - the final result *cough*




Have to sleeve the whole PSU at some point ... later.

 

taped the panels and sketched in the cutouts ...



and jigsawed away ...





... quite a few panels left.

Basically, I plan on using the jigsaw for long straight/rough cuts and a Dremel/File for the finer stuff. I'll get a Dremel 4000 at the end of August, can't wait! *yey*
Gotta think about the best way to get those round fan cutouts done, with the tools available to me. I kinda doubt the jigsaw blade I have will get it done right, but than again, might be worth a try.

 

mini update - painted those silver/copper motherboard screws/standoffs black while waiting for my Dremel to arrive tomorrow





Weekend should bring enough time some more interesting stuff to happen.

 

Just a suggestion , for the screws used to lock in the side panels, instead to use screws with sticking out heads, I think is better to use screws with counter sink head, in this way you can mostly hide the head of the screw inside the sheet of the metal

 

Thanks for the suggestion, that's what I plan to do for all panels that "stick". But for the side panels and the top I will use thumbscrews for easier handling. I initially planned to use thumb screws everywhere on the outside, but I'll see if I'll stick to that.


In the meantime, I finished some cutouts.











Lots of filing coming up next.

Anyone ever used that Dremel "circle cutter" for aluminium. AFAIK, it's supposed to be used for wood, but maybe it will work for the fan cutouts, too?

 

looooove that sleeving man, case looks like it's going to be really nice-I got a thing for 90 deg. mobo trays now

 

Jigsaw'ed the 140mm fan and cable management cutouts into the lower plate and added 120 and 140mm fan holes. Need to find some affordable mesh...



tape removed and filed/sanded roughly


some test fitting


I also removed some parts of the case frame for those cable cutouts...



I might use that 3.5" HDD cage from an old case (the one seen in the 2 pictures above). It has some tool-less fasteners. On the downside, the color sucks and they had an annoying logo on each side so ... Dremel'ed that down and they're ready for painting.



Not sure if I go with it, though. I only have 2 HDDs anyway and do not plan to add more, if anything I'll go with SSDs that can be placed anywhere, like on the back of the mobo tray. So I might just use a 3 x 3.5" cage in the bottom of the case.

 

A minor setback just happened. Even though it's not much of a surprise. After some more screw hole and thread drilling I figured that the frame of the case is definitely more f***ed up than I already expected. Some angles are just way off. I'll book this as "every mistake done is a lesson learned".

Long story short: I'm going to redo the frame, but this time not using point welded L-profiles. Gonna bend the front and top out of one plate and screw the back and bottom directly on that part. Probably won't happen before next weekend, though.

I still have to do some cutouts, cut/bend/fit in mesh and maybe even start priming some parts in the meantime.

 

Had some time messing around with the mesh going into the side and top panel.

Also sleeved some fans I had laying around with black paracord and painted them to fit the theme. Not sure if I'm going to use them, though. Since I only have one 140mm fan and I need 4-6. To circumvent that I added 120mm fan holes to the case, which means it can now fit both, 120 and 140mm fans, in all but two fan slots (that are 120mm only).


















Enermax T.B. Silence in it's original form.


The old frame of the case serves as a very nice painting rack.













No progress on the outer shell/frame of the case, though. I'm kinda standing in my own way. Not sure how to progress, atm.

 

Looking very cool so far. Excited for more

 

Loving this tbh

 

Thanks a lot!

Played around with paint for the first panel. Aiming for a rough, rugged look. Using spray cans only.

Basically it went like this: primed > black > some red > scratched it > some red/black here and there.

This method might change, since this was a first try, but I actually like it already. Maybe I'll rough up the other panels more randomly with sandpaper and not just straight in one direction.








after some red ...







"scratched" the red ...





If anyone got a different style/method/idea for a rugged look on those panels, don't be shy and post it.


note: This is still missing some clear coat, cause the shop I bought the paint from didn't have it in stock. Well they had glossy one, but that would kinda defeat the whole purpose of using non gloss colors and a rough look.

 

Looking really nice matey.

 

Fooled around a little bit more with paint.

Dismissed the scratched red, sticked with the "dusted" red and added a few paint drops instead. Already clear coated it, too.









I think it will give a nice contrast to the black mesh.

Currently thinking about using acrylic or even wood for top, front and back panel and cutting out some L-profiles from the old frame to be re-used. Maybe a wooden frame ... mhm

 

Awsm!!

Nice work! Subbed for this one.

Looking forward to the results!!

 

Nice work! Subbed for this one.

Lookin' forward to the results!!

 

Very nice metal work there. Not sure I like the paint though...