Case Mod - Complete Zeuligan build - white leather Be Quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 (finished 20180113)

Congratulations on the sponsorship! Oh and by the way, this is starting to look very sexy! I love it! I think even my wife might approve and maybe even allow something like this to be exposed publicly in our home HAHA!

 

Thank you so much /bow
I guess you did read my first post About GF approved computer at home, hehehehe

 

Time to finish the custom light ramps I planned early in this build based on the included 2 LED strips from be quiet! The challenge is I want them to be indirect lights, so it’s crucial they are smooth, but powerful.





First, I drilled some mounting holes to the vertical diffusion lid made out of 3mm acrylic and 3 layers of frosted film. I have also sanded the inside of the acrylic to diffuse it even more. The holes makes it possible to attach the light directly in the motherboard tray.




Started to cut an inside shelf in 3mm acrylic with my Dremel Moto-Saw. This shelf will serve two purposes. One for adding the reflective tape, but also to make an edge for the diffusion lid to stand on, preventing it to be pushed down in the case.




Added reflective tape to the bottom of the case in the area of my custom uplight.




Trimmed the lower corner edge of the reflector shelf, to make it snug in the bottom of the case (small edge in the bottom of the case where its riveted together).




Glued the whole thing on the bottom of my custom carbon floor with super glue.




Perfect fit!

The original be quiet! LED strip is about 40mm to long for the area created by my custom floor. After a quick and very helpful session with be quiets! support I got a confirmation that cutting the LED strip would not ruin it.






Dremel time. Cut 40 mm of the LED strip and it indeed still worked.




Took a small exacto knife and removed the LED pins from the connector. Marked them with some tape to put them back in the right place




Sleeved the whole cable with MDPC-X Carbon-BTI sleeve small. Tight fit, but did manage to get all 4 cables into one small sleeve.

 

I thought I would show my products used in project Zeuligan as I'm getting close to putting everything together. Extra special thank you to be quiet! for the sponsorship of their products. As it's my first mod, it has been equally fun learning to take photos.































Also added the product pictures into the first post. Made more sense to have them there.

 

Small update, but important. Can be one of the last modded items for this build.

Last step of the backside is to create a cover for the be quiet PWM hub. Everything in the backside is black carbon fiber, so decided I needed to add some white accents.




The PWM hub and LED strip connector is small and need to have height enough to give room to remove and add cables.




Marked the shape and size on a 3mm acrylic sheet and put my Dremel Moto-Saw to work.




Did a shape on freehand that felt relevant. Each 45° part is exactly the same length to give a sense of symmetry.




Looks good. Some trimming to do with a file, but will look good. Layering two color of carbon fiber.




The PWM cable is fixed to the circuit board so decided to sleeve it. All peripheral cables are sleeved in MDPC-X Carbon-BTI making me take a decision to sleeve the PWM cable in MDPC-X white-xxx.




This turned out really good in my humble opinion. Adds a dash of white to the otherwise black and black carbon fiber as well as some contrasting lines.

 

Nice project!

 

Thank you so much for both taking the time to check out the project and to give feedback. Much appreciated <3 /bow

 

It is an amazing feeling when you start to assembly items planned months ago. My EKWB D5 PWM pump and Aqualis XT 880ml reservoir custom bracket created so long ago is no execption. Will it work together with my custom carbon fiber floor and PSU shroud? Only one way to find out.

One major concern since I started this project has been the tight space between the case floor and my custom floor. Now filled with an amazing be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11, EKWB D5 PWM pump, Aqualis XT 880ml reservoir, custom bracket, cables and the need for a drain valve. As a result, I need to find a solution to hook up my new Alphacool 6mm pass throughs with the pump and reservoir fittings.





I started with sleeving the Aqualis XT 880 ml reservoir cables with MDPC-X Carbon-BTI sleeve. Same sleeve and theme that I've used in the entire build. Then I mounted the reservoir to the custom bracket.





The pump is positioned at an exact distance from the reservoir to make room for an angled Alphacool rotatable black nickel fitting with a 6mm extender fitting. This should align the pump and reservoir with the holes I cut in my floor together with the pass through. Hope I measured this one correct





Can't leave the beautiful EKWB D5 PWM plexi pump without some love. Sleeved the cables in the same MDPC-X Carbon-BTI sleeve. Even if they will never be visible beneath the floor / PSU shroud. I would know and that is enough for me.





It's so tight. The Alphacool angled fitting clears the bracket with less then 0.5mm. How I will fit my baguette sized fingers to tighten that once the floor is in place I don't even dare to think about at this point.





Added the rest of the needed Aphacool fittings for the floor connection. Shame they will never be visible, but wanted to add fittings rather than bends. Feels safer in such a small space. Specially as I need to fix this prior to installing the custom floor.





This gives an idea both on how I will secure the pass through and floor to the pump / reservoir, but also how insanely tight this is. In the picture above, I have just placed the loose floor / PSU shroud on top to do a last control. Looks like it will work.





Here is where I will place the custom pump bracket using the existing fan holes. I will then add a fan below the case to pull air out from the custom floor and secure the bracket with fan screws. Neat and modular. The lowest front fan will push air in and I should have nice circulation.





I just love those black block of awesomeness that is Alphacools three way fittings. Heavy, exclusive and functional. It's a shame I will hide it below the floor, but this will be a great solution for my drain valve. Using rotatable fittings will ensure tight fit as well as a more flexible solution.









Cut a piece of 13mm Alphacool PETG hard tube in the correct length and secure the drain valve solution. As I use a rotatable 90 degree fitting on the pump side as well I end up with a solution that can move in 3 axis. It is needed, as I can then attach the 3 way fitting to the floor prior to lowering the floor the last 20mm. That extra room is all that is need to have room to secure it. Super happy with that solution!





That flash enhanced picture isn't the best, but it shows just how tight that fit is. But more important, it worked. Millimeter precision fit needed in XYZ for this to work. Finally I feel a big stone lifted from my chest. This will ensure my entire design and solution worked and no need to redo anything.




This shows how flexible the drain solution will be with dual rotatable Alphacool fittings. I can twist it both in and out and rotate the drain valve.





The EKWB D5 plexi top tilts a little forward, even if the bracket is straight. I will need to fix that somehow, but this looks stunning. The plexi top combined with the huge 880ml Aqualis reservoir filled with white pastel will add a super nice contrast to all the carbon fiber. A major milestone passed today as the custom floor / PSU shroud with its complicated tube routing is required for this concept to work. So happy.

Please let me know what you think by commenting, I would love your feedback!

 

I dislike ugly cables as much as I love sleeved cables. The "mess" that the front IO brings to a mod like this is a challenge. Not a challenge I want unanswered. The choice is simple, either sleeve them and deal with the routing problem of that many cables. Short cables to increase the problem or solve it by hiding them all together.

I decided to kill two birds with one stone and hide them together with some of the last unworked parts of the backside.





Masked and measured on a 3mm acrylic to make an L-shaped base.





More than one part included in my master plan to hide all the cables. Masked and cut them with my Dremel Moto Saw that I'm beginning to love more and more.





Acrylic cement is the right way to go to join acrylic. Just need to be careful not to spill on the surfaces of the pieces as that will ruin them.





My mini-clamps are awesome for this kind of work. Put the L-shape under pressure while waiting for the Acrylic cement to set.





All 4 base pieces done. Two L-shapes, one top cover and one small surprise for the backside of the case.





Really happy with both my plan and the result. Snug, tight and straight. Just as we like it. It will work as a cable canal and hide the IO front cables. Next step is to make the pieces sexy...





I love that carbon fiber look. I also decided, before wrapping to create the two L-pieces with a twist. To make it a little harder. I will show you what I had in mind in next few steps.







Top cover with a small cut out for a rivet I don't want to move and my small surprise piece for the backside.





Drilled some holes for mounting and created two fastening clips to use inside the HDD-ladder.







I managed to align the 2 different pieces exactly in pattern with the previously created carbon fiber backplate. This creates one fluid pattern for the entire backside. Took some measuring, but extremely happy that I took that extra time. Looks amazing and is one of those details I will know I did. It also creates a solution for hidden cable management that I'm very happy with.





Voila! The backside cable management with a hidden cable canal as well as one fluid carbon fiber backside.



And the surprise? There is a small indentation in the backside of the case. Decided to give it a white carbon fiber accent.



What you think, how did I manage with this mod?

 

Nothing as scary as tearing a 800$ ASUS GTX1080Ti GPU apart and voiding warranty, but that is also part of the thrill. I love the look of EKWBs Acrylic and Acetal water block. With the GPU mounted vertically there is no need to spend time on a custom backplate, so went with the black backplate from EKWB.



Such a beautiful card, even if the cooling capability and noice levels can be discussed.





Small screws requires small tools. Few screws to remove the backplate, but don't let that fool you. The work starts once the backplate is removed. Two small bowls to keep the screws sorted while dissembling.





There it is. The inside backside of the amazing ASUS Fe GTX1080Ti. 20! screws to be removed to release the big and heavy frontside. I went counter clockwise and did the 9 GPU screws last. Also counter clockwise. No particular reason, I just tend to go counter clockwise when I remove stuff and go clock wise when I put things together. That way I can more easily keep track of all the progress.









This is how it looks, once all the 20 screws are removed and both halvs of the card is visible.







Simple and clear instructions included by EKWB. Just follow it and do one thing at a time and it's really uncomplicated. Only thing I felt was a little unclear was the reference to the LED. But after checking EKWBs website again, it states that LED is not included but is optional. If you want the plate to light, order that LED or you will need to break your card apart again, once you want to add it. I left mine without, due to that reason.





Thermal pads added according to the instructions. Just a scissor and some measuring needed. Anyone can do it.





Much better. THAT is how a real ASUS GTX1080Ti should look like. With a beautiful water black keeping the awesomeness cooled. Used Grizzly Kryonaut as new paste to keep it cool.





Backplate mounted and card is done and EKWB logo unpeeled Will look amazing mounted in my custom vertical GPU bracket.





Block photographed by my GF with a real camera. I just love the black and transparent combination. ASUS and EKWB awesomeness. Like 1 + 1 = 3.

 

I decided to ditch my sleeved extension and go for a more slick cable management solution with a custom cable comb in carbon fiber. To route cables first and cut the end once done. More sleeve and cable needed, but easier to route the cables.



This is what needs to be sorted. I thought of several different ways to solve this, but decided to use the holes in the motherboard tray and also make the cables the heros.





Printed a template for 24 pin and the outlines to match the rubber grommet outline for the motherboard tray.



Drilled 24 holes with my Dremel Workstation and a 3.2mm drill. Fairly good precision with that station. Almost a little surprised. The variable speed helped to prevent the 5 mm acrylic to crack.





Base shape done with 24 good holes.





After sleeving the cables in MDPC-X I need 4mm holes, so used my Bosch and drilled with a 4mm drill in all the previously made holes. Bugs me I can't find a drill for my Dremel that is 4mm. Will need to stort that for next project.





Final test of the fit and size of the holes. Very happy, this will be awesome. Perfect size and glad it didn't crack after all those holes.





Cut away the inner part of the rubber grommet and sanded down the edges to fit the shape. This could be really good.





Carbon fiber vinyl on this piece as well. Will blend with the build and make the sleeved MDPC-X cables pop.





Glued the finished carbon fiber cable comb onto the rubber grommet. Spilled a little, but was easy to remove with some pure alcohol.







After adding a second cable comb with 14 holes (8+6) for the GPU and adding a 14 slot black Alphacool aluminum cable comb to keep the dual GPU cables together and a 24 slot comb this part is done.

 

Wow, nice layout and choice of hardware

if youre on FB, I've started a be-quiet group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/141549496471147/

 

OFC I am Feel free to join my page. Applied to your group
And thx for the friendly feedback, much appreciated.

 

I have reached a mile stone and that is real assembly. I thought I would drop a few pictures on the status so far. Most of the parts should now be finished and it's about putting everything together.

Left to do is all the hard tube bending and component installation, but that is fast. I would love to hear what you think so far. Please drop a comment, question or just a hi. Would love to answer any questions you have.

 

After creating the cable comb plates attached in the mother board rubber grommets I had to sort the rest of the backside cable management. I tried a few versions av acrylic combs, but realized that they would become to thick or crack to easy.





This is what I need to stort I'm not sure if I finally reached a point where I had taken on to much. So many cables. Oh well, might as well get started. One cable at a time.





After a few different tries I ended up with an aluminum bracket idea. Just small stripes of aluminum sheets bent into the right size and shape. I hand bent a first version and measured the size needed for my cables. 24+8+6+7. The last 6 is 4 fans, 2 front panel cables and the white PWM cable for the cable hub.





Cut 3 equal aluminum stripes and bent them with a plier into shape. Filed all edges and corners soft to reduce the risk of messing with the cables. Don't want to put aluminum into a cable.





Carbon fiber vinyl was a challenge to wrap such a small and fairly soft item, but after some tries I found a good methods. 1 down 2 to go.





Three equal sized and wrapped cable management clips. This could work, but would these small clips actually hold all those cables. Had I measured correctly?





Not bad, not bad at all. Folded the two GPU cables under the 24pin cables to keep an intact look of the cables. I like the soft curve the GPU cables give. Need to fix the fans for the top radiator, the 4th fan mounted in the backside and the front fans.





Seven awesome be quiet! Silent Wings 3 to sleeve. They come sleeved, but I want MDPC-X Carbon-BTI sleeve on all fans and extras (pump, radiator leds etc). Here is actually something I noticed. It's better to get un-sleeved fans for re-sleeving. Why? They 4 cables are still glued together. That makes it super fast to sleeve as you don't have to mark each individual fan cable. Just unplug the pins, add sleeve, put it back in the connector.





The carbon fiber sleeve really works with the look of the fan blades.





I managed to sleeve all 7 fans in less than 30min. Mostly due to the fact mentioned above about the fan cables. Only need to fasten them in the case and route the cables to finish the backside cable management.





If the sleeves are easy, this feels daunting. So many cables Oh well, one at a time and this should be doable.





To ensure that I put the right cable in the right place I measured all the cables. One fast beep and good to go. Will ber very exciting to see the finished result.





Decided to hide the over clocking switch for the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 as a lid for my backside cables. Unfortunately I broke the acrylic angle when adding the last cables, so need to fix that.





Backside done. The vertical white lines is mirroring the hard lines in the case, that I will show in next update.

 

lookin good dude, nice attention to details, btw have you seen the detailed review of the dark base 700?

 

Yes I sure did. Love be quiet!'s cases and the 700 is no exception. I do feel that I'm not entirely done with my 900 so I hope that I can do a new mod on 900. Got some ideas from this mod I would love to test to implement in a new build. But with the leather it will require a completely new case, so maybe it has to wait a bit.

 

As I did a vertical GPU bracket in a previous mod I ended up with more than a little sag on my GPU. The structural integrity of the perforated case wall isn't enough to keep the GPU up.

As I want to keep the build as clean as possible a big GPU brace was out of the question and fishline solutions unthinkable.

How do you solve a brace that should be small and preferably invisible?
You make one in acrylic!



This was also something that I had in mind already when creating my custom floor. The placement of the pump top and reservoir.



I cut a small piece from 5mm acrylic and sanded edges down. Rounded corners and drilled a hole just shy of 13mm to keep a tight fit to my 13/10 Hard tube. To ensure that physics keeps the brace in place I also warmed the part after the hole and bent it about 10°.





After some sanding it was possible to squeeze it on the hard tube and it fit's tight and almost to good. I did one version with a beveled edge to keep a o-ring beneath the brace, but that didn't turn out either good or good lucking. Snug was the way to go. The shape and size of the hard tube was my original idea, but after a final test fit I came to the conclusion it will look better if it's shorter, so the finished loop design, this bend is about 50% of the height.





This is how the GPU brace is positioned and the weight of the GPU will squeeze the brace in place due to the bend I did.

 

Stunning, stunning work, but I'm really not sure about supporting 1kg of GPU on some PETG tube!

 

Hi there, again, nice job!
I would like to suggest you tu put something under your pump, because it looks a bit tilted. But on your last photo it seems that you fixed it!
PETG won't break with 1Kg, even 2kg, but maybe your support will slip, and do scratch on your tube.