Case Mod - Complete Project code name - Time.Sync. End name The Hellcat.

tremendous amount of work indeed, happy to see it breathing

 

Yes it was quite a relief tbh. Oh yeah I forgot to add, I can't run the clock yet as the Hubbys wait for a signal from the board before outputting any power. Shame, but not much I can do. I'd liked to have seen it all running, though.

 

That plex inside gets some really nice reflections but the drop down electric cover to reveal the panel behind is gorgeous!

 

It's an amazing case tbh. You know how they say (about things like The Beatles and Rolling Stones etc) that you'll never see anything like it again? well that is this case. It must have cost an absolute fortune to design and then manufacture, and it obviously didn't work out too well. Looking at the newest cases? yeah, you can see where they've really cut back on the materials and ideas. The new one? pretty much all static. It's mostly looks, and a few RGB lights. I just don't think we will ever see another case like the 2009. Shame, but it is business after all.

Then again it has allowed Dell to really drop the prices. The triad (new one) is almost affordable, where as the 2009 was just hella-expensive. We are talking a £700 or so premium for the case.

I remember a long time ago when I bought it (some time in 2012) looking up the now completely faded out service number and the guy who originally ordered it had a 980x, *two* 5970s, two Samsung SSDs and so on. It must have cost him about seven grand.

 

More done ! decided to cover the tacky Chinese logos on the ram coolers. First I found the logo...



Changed it a little bit.



Et voila (it's more Fifty Shades Of Grey, but ho hum it's an improvement).



I had to remember to flip the memory for two. Good old X99, it flips the ram banks.



Cleaned up the CPU.



Then I used a combination of AC posts and springs but with EK bolts. They are just so much nicer looking.



And.



Next up coffee and pills, then I need to daisy chain the RGBs and tape them under the board. I also need to make an IO shield.

 

Well one thing is clear, I won't need a Christmas tree or any decorations this year. Simply set the outside case lighting to red and the inside green, instant St Nick.

 

If those ram sticks could be ALED I'd be on for a set in a flash.



Really interesting...actually I find all his stuff interesting

 

haha I remember those adverts. Apparently the guy was caught with drugs, so they got rid of him and stopped running them very funny though and yeah, when you were in the USA they were a totally "in joke". Every one was saying it.

 

Daylight ! oh how I have missed thee.



Fitted the GPU into the riser, fitted the stop plugs and uh oh we have a problem. Can you see it?



I wouldn't even mind if they were actually the same bloody size *waves fist*



Total bust that was. I guess I will have to resort back to the sodding hex wrench bolts

 

Run with it. Option 2 would be to put your drain port on one of those ports.

 

Ordered two of these instead. I just felt like making less of a feature of it.

 

When your LED are so bright you can take half reasonable pics, without any flash or sunlight.



I *totally* planned on it reflecting like this *lies*



OK, so I admit I did not know it was going to do that at all but it's truly astounding. It makes the whole thing look like it's 3D. I wonder if Bitspower ever realised that when spinning around fast enough their logo turns into a pic of their flow meter? (look in the centre, concentrate, congratulations you have autistic vision )



Any one for squid ink spaghetti?



OK, so since then I have tested the screen to make sure it fits over all that wiring, it does. Literally drops in flat. I have no idea how or why but I am not arguing. I have also managed to get the 80mm fan in, right dead centre. It blows air toward the front and out, but more than anything will just allow some air to circulate down there. I was beginning to worry that I would need to extend about 30 wires for the front, so to ease my mind I measured the wire, cut a test piece and ran it where I would need to run it now that there are no gaping chasms. It reaches.. Phew.

Tomorrow I am hoping to finish up modding the floor panel (I need to create two grooves, one for the single USB wire that goes to the motherboard and one for the PWR SW, PWR LED and HDD LED) and then get that in. Then I can fit the front. Then the pump.. Hey, you know how it goes, right?

 

Looking good man

That rat's nest of wiring though Gives me the heebie-jeebies just looking at it, but it'll be out of sight, out of mind

 

LOL Reminds me of Orac3 that still one of the greatest mods ever...

 

Yup was always going to happen. I guess that is what happens when you cram pretty much every toy AC make into there, as well as loads of power cables and god knows what else. I know some at home are probably thinking they would have made their own, custom length cables but seriously, it would have taken about a year just in that alone. I will say though that I have managed to cram an awful lot into quite a small space. It's about the size of a small shoe box (so say some size 5 women's shoes) and there are 4 separate computers all running down there before you even get to the mobo.

There are wires in there I shall be removing (a whole SATA run I was using for testing purposes) and a couple of others. Probably a good thing I didn't try connecting up all 7 of the temp sensors for the AE lol.

 

Final check with external PC before I commit.

 

Startin to really take shape ! God i wish you had a high end camera, this mod deserves some studio qual pics.

I really want to do another mod with one of the small screens they look sooo sexy

 

Yeah I know, and it sucks. I am trying to save up some cash to buy some lights and a backdrop, but obviously at the moment the rig is still in progress so still costing me money haha. It's not so much the camera, just the lighting. The UK at this time of year barely gets any sunshine, and I certainly don't get any at the front of my flat (that was how they designed it at the seaside here, all about facing the sun all day in the summer). It's one of those cameras that take awesome detailed high res photos when there is plenty of light, but is absolutely poo when there's not. Obviously the rig is the most important thing right now..



Few problems.

The GPU almost touches the board. You can't mount it further forward on the mount either, so I would bear that in mind if you were thinking about buying one of these Cooler Master mounts.

It's also stopped me from hooking up the loop into the back of the card, as there's simply no room. On a positive note though, I don't need the caps I just wasted £4 odd on lol.

I need two more 90' rotary fittings and extenders, so I have ordered those.

A kink has developed in the cold over night and I can't get it out (right down at the pump where it meets the hose going to the flow meter.). To fix this I am going to measure it up, then buy one of those extenders that looks like a bar. This will bring out the 90 deg fitting enough so I can literally straight pipe it right into the flow meter.

I am going to go away for the weekend I think, given that there's not much more I can do for now.

 

OK so I ordered two of these.



And one of these.



An issue I was having was with the Q adapter. It is so bulky that you can not put a regular fitting next to it. The only way was to extend out a little, but I want it out further so I got that ^. Not only should that clear the Q adapter but it will also look tidy. The 90' are EK, and unbranded (I hope). They should fit in well with the Bitspower stuff.

I have also decided (today) that I am going to make a cover for the GPU. That block just doesn't look right in copper and it needs something else. So, I think I will make a full cover fascia for it, but keep the cut out, if that makes sense.

I will design it when I get back home. I am away for the weekend now.

 

I wish i could get away for a weekend hope its not a working weekend for you

Those GPU brackets are aways a trade off .... kinda why i did mine DIY so i could get it closer to the side away from the MB.

I like the idea of a cover for the gpu, white to match the clean look of the internal panels?