Case Mod Dark Water - Silverstone TJ07 mod - UPDATED 30/8/08

[mrdbristol]

Finally got the pennies together for my perfect case , the Silverstone TJ 07.

But no case is perfect !

I wanted black inside and to hide as much " stuff " as possible from view. Anodising black was an option , but that would still leave drive bays and cables etc. exposed.

So i decided on acrylic to shroud and shield as much of the inside as possible.

A sort of Z shape for the drive bays , a false floor + roof and a back panel.

2 water loops Black and Purple ( though the Purple is getting more like a Lilac colour as no-one makes "proper" purple lights and fans ).

DTek fusion + On board NB
EK 3870 Full cover
D5 and DB1 pumps
PA120.3 and 120.1 ( for gfx card ) Rads
2 Alphacool Repack Black Res'
Black and Purple Primocoils
Black Feser and D-tek dyes

Black 3mm Acrylic
1500watt Heat Gun
Dremel ( Ryobi )
Drill
Clamps


An empty shell gathering dust :




A naked TJ07 :

[mrdbristol]

The hard drive shroud and the floor :



First time using acrylic , surprised by how easy it is to use. Heatgun for bending and Dremel for cutting.
Slight ****-up with the heatgun ( too close to the acrylic ) as you can see the burn near the top of shroud.
Easily removed later with some uber fine wet and dry ( or Photoshop ).
The hardest part is keeping the protective film on the acrylic , this stuff scratches so easily.
8 of the holes are for water tubes , the other 2 are for wiring.


Internal mesh panels



The one time in my entire life i need some Black AC Ryan mesh , there is a world shortage !
Couldn't find it anywhere , only the Hexx which was too big. Managed to track down a sheet of plain Alu , and had to spray it.

[mrdbristol]

Finished the Hard Drive shroud and floor :





Finished the Back wall :



Next up , hiding the wiring. Need to cut holes in the mobo tray to hide the ATX psu lead , and then the plumbing.

Cheers,

Mark

[mrdbristol]

Few bits of tidying up done.

Sprayed the Souncard PCI plate black and some other small things.

Braiding , love it or hate it , it has to be done.

Mobo ATX Header :

Before :



After :



First problem , the Silverstone HDD caddy i had planned to use was 10mm too long.

So i made a ( far more silent ) alternative :

M3 Bolts and nuts + rubber washers :



Medium density foam ( the type a case would be packed with ) Cut into L shapes and threaded onto the bolts :



The finished article :



Far better than any HDD silencers/mounts i have previously used , well pleased

The first "incase" fitting of the acrylic pieces :

Inside Front ( fitted a 120mm fan behind the shroud ) :



Inside Back :



Outer :



( Yes , the Silverstone HDD cover is poking out , need to trim the foam behind it abit )

Taking shape nicely

Wiring to tidy up and some minor adjustments to be made to the acrylic pieces.

Plumbing the watercooling next.

Cheers,

Mark

[mrdbristol]

CPU and NB waterloop fitted.

Clear tubing , Black Feser and Purple Primocoils.









Lots of reflections ( including cat on sofa ! ) , hence the name Dark Water.

GPU loop next.

Clear tubing , my own mix of Purple dye ( DTek Purple and Blue ) and Black Primocoils.

Cheers,

Mark

[mrdbristol]

I never use the front connectors on a case , largely due to the miles of wiring attached which has to go to the mobo.

So i removed the front connector panel and replaced it with this :

Closed :




Open :




Temp display needed filing down about 2mm to fit , then just drill a hole in some black acrylic for the internal case light switch.

Simple, and much better than an empty gap !

Mark

[mrdbristol]

Anyway , on the final straight and the finish line is in sight

GPU loop had to be fitted.

Distilled water and my favourite dyes ;



A bit of mixing and a colour "close" to purple



Last minute addition , a 2nd 3870 card - but didn't have a block that fitted it.

[mrdbristol]

Had an idea to personalise the case , in a way that would not be permanent ( so i could sell the case on in the future )

Acrylic panel was cut by Tom , and then i glued some AC Ryan MeshX to the back :



Then mounted 2 x 12" Purple ( well dark pink ! ) cathodes to the back :



Then just thread the wires through the case door , and onto the inverter and switch.

You can also just see a glimpse of the smoked window panel i have used in
place of the stock clear one.

[mrdbristol]

Finally finished

[mrdbristol]

[mrdbristol]

[mrdbristol]

Currently revising the front of the case.

Bay res',Fan controller and HDD cover have been removed and will be replaced by a custom front panel.

Stay tuned

[mrdbristol]

Originally Posted by badje

But I think you need to take a look @ your frontpanel again.

And when does the second waterblock for your gpu card come?

Custom front panel is being made as we speak , out of a LianLi black brushed alu window offcut/cutout

And the second block has now been fitted ( The crossfire was a last minute addition as i picked up a cheap 2nd card ).

[mrdbristol]

Originally Posted by murtoz

Can I ask where you got the acrylic? I'm considering a scratch build with black acrylic. Also regarding the smoked acrylic - can you see through it when the internal lighting is off?

Black acrylic from Ebay, and you can just see the internals without lights.

[mrdbristol]

Small update whilst i wait for the front panel to be cut.

Coldon suggested hiding the cathodes that were visible from behind the name plate.

So with trusty modders mesh and blowhole edging , i did exactly that






Thanks for dropping by

[mrdbristol]

This is the front panel i shall be using , fresh from the Chilled PC CNC machine :



The slots will be backed with alu meshx panel and backlit lilac/purple , in the same style as the nameplate.

Then by fitting a couple of 90 degree brackets to the inner drive bay cage and using either velcro or double sided foam tape , it will fix the panel in place and allow about 3mm give to activate the 'hidden' dvd eject button.

Then you can just push anywhere on the front panel and it will move in enough to eject the disc.

It will be like a large pressure switch.

Diagram looking down on a cross section :




And for a bit of fun i'll also have this one cut :



I'll be fitting a Tribaloverkill dualchamber res into the front panel , so it bows out about 10mm or so.
Then using a small fish tank air pump and tubing , it'll have bubbles flowing up through the chambers and be back lit with white neons for effect.

Might work , might not... we'll see .

Cheers,
Mark

[mrdbristol]

Ignore , Early morning posting is a bad idea !

Now it looks like a bump , jeez i'm going back to bed

If a kindly mod could remove this post

[mrdbristol]

Originally Posted by logan'srun

this may be a nab question, but what kind of glue do you use to glue the ac ryan mesh to acrylic (it would be the same for metal right??)???

Its got the grand name of " Flash Bonder - Special Glue " !!

Cant remember where i got it , but it sets like silicone.

Basicly any glue that dries in a blob ( very tech ! ) not a liquid like super glue.

[mrdbristol]

Bit of an update - 30/8/08.

Still trying to find a front panel design that i'm happy with , i've got one in mind and i'm waiting to see if it'll work.

Had one made for the front reservoir idea , but i'm going to put that on hold - going to change the tubing and barbs etc.

So i meshed off what was going to be the reservoir window.

To mount a res in the front mean't i needed to move the HDDs' from horizontal in the drive bays to some where else.

So i used some left over acrylic and some £1.00 plastic shelf corner and came up with this , mounted vertically in the front drive bays :




Fully assembled , acrylic glued to HDD and thumbscrews fitted :



^^ Excuse the dust , acrylic is a magnet for the stuff !!!

So , how it looks at the moment ( Damn , i've just noticed the fingerprints on the front , whoops ! ):



And a "dark" shot :



Thanks for reading , to be updated ......

[mrdbristol]

Originally Posted by Cheapskate

Absolutely lovely! That thing with the aquarium bubbler you mentioned will have one problem: They are essentially a big, unshielded, AC electromagnet. You will have to put it way outside the case.

Thats why its on hold at the mo.

Rethinking that one but looking at an open water feature !

Chorus , " It'll never work , It.ll never work .......... "