Well, someone got to do it with the Pandora, so why not me ? First part of this mod is a weekend mod, i need to free up my current workstation case for a project, so im putting it into the Pandora. But, is it possible to just use a case without some modding? nooo Later on, a part 2 of this project will be made with some more crazy stuff. But, here we go for part 1 The Pandora on the table, its the Black version with window. After a couple of minutes, its naked! Time for the work to begin Radiator in the picture is only used for mockup, not used in a loop When i was cutting and looking at this, it probably will be more than a weekend mod Found more and more stuff i want to do! Starting off with some templates to see how it may look. And short after, the acrylic floor. Time to think about holes and exits i need for cables, reservoar and front facing radiator. Im not really pleased with the sharp edge on the floor, probably add some rounded edge to match the rounded front panel.
Next step was to remove the top buttons, i dont like them, too big for something i hardly will use. I moved the power/reset to the back of the case with small push-buttons. Made the top panel into a smooth panel instead, added a picture of the original panel also for comparison Aaaand, what i wanted. Except for color...
I was stupid thinking i could be pleased with just one weekend of modding This has escalated to something more, as usual... I wanted to make some sort of floor to cover up the cables a bit, and somwhere to hide the pump and part of the reservoar. BUT, using the the cutout in the window to display the SSD, why not put the reservoar and pumpc-bombo there, so, i got to work I have a bunch of ITX motherboards, so i will go with that for this one. Maybe update later. Made some smooth backing to cover the holes and whatnot inside the case. Also has begun on the floor, due to width of the Pandora i had to cut out the PSU from the side. Some have asked why sinking the pump and res? - because the watercooled GPU will hit, or get a awkward position if i do not sink it into the floor, or put it horizontal and my DDC pump doesnt like that (the manual say). And already have alot of pump-res combos, not keen on ordering new stuff so i go with what i have Some pics... A overview The floor hiding everything below A quick rendering of the floor, just to get a feeling of what i´m aiming for. Pump/res is not designed accurate, just the measurements
Waiting for some acrylic tube fittings from Bitspower, hopefully arrive tomorrow or Wednesday I´ll update it a bit more later tonight, have done the lower floor ready and fine-tuning the edges and stuff
Something like this.... Time to hit the sander and prep the panels for paint, or wrap. Haven´t decided yet wich way to go. I dont like the waterblock for the 7950, but its the only i have that fits in this case, Pandora is only 16cm total width. I´ll have to look for a nice backplate, or make my own. More problems. Was planning on using the PrimoChill Ghost fitting, but that one on the GPU is too wide. The side panel is 100% tight against the GPU block, and that fitting is 2-3mm more. Ghost fitting that´s too big down right. The two top ones is what i have to choose from. Maybe incorporate a metallic red theme... hmm Or... use Ghost fittings all over, except for GPU where i use the black ones? (top left) Here´s how it stands out. This is how it looks trough the panel, pump got pretty nice positioned I tested the Ghost fitting with side panel on, it doesnt bulge, and its not visible that the fitting is head on with the side panel window. That would be the best solution, i like the Ghost fittings. Third day now, still stuck on how to route the acrylic tubing Any suggestions ? First routing idea. Pretty straight forward, one of the pipes has 5 bends in it. Not sure if i´ll pull that off This one is more complex, where the inlet for the CPU goes BEHIND the GPU. And the other one just trough the GPU and down. Its really tight pulling anything in front of the GPU due to case width (only 160mm) Bending testing goes well, the left one is done. Doing some testing with the right one, trying to run it paralell with the other. Quick notice... The black PSU/Floor shroud is NOT the final finish. Black paint is just a easy way to see scratches and other surface damages needed to be fixed
Ran out of pipes, so i got stuck. Yesterday i got a message that the delivery will take alteast 10 more days... So, i did some testing... And, i´m just stuck again, i like the copper in some way, and the acrylic in another.
A quick mockup pic. before the last teardown. Some small stuff to fix still. The sleeving for example, orange did not go well with this Next up is leakcheck and final pics tomorrow i hope
Did you find that the aluminium parts could have done with a little better finishing. Every edge I have found is super sharp
Some pics after it was done. Wish i spent more time on the GPU, its sagging a bit, but lifting the pipe the pipe started to sag instead. Focus for this project was the reservoar solution to make it visible trough the window, instead of the SSD as original. The top part with the copper/gold accent color. The outsides, looks pretty much like the Pandora out of the box. Exept for the reservoar The insides
