Case Mod - In Progress Project DARK RGB - Almost complete

So.. Home from work, isolated and bored.. What to do?

A NEW BUILD..

Hi everyone.. So, it's time for my first project log. So let me introduce myself
I'm a bit of an oldschool nerd and have been building my own PC's for almost 25 years now (is there any other way!) Professionally i work with people, but in my spare time enjoy reading about/building/using PC's and the hardware part of PC's have always been a huge passion of mine.

Enough about me, and let's get to the fun part!

Parts:
Lian Li PC-011D XL
Ryzen 9 3900X
EVGA GTX 1080ti FTW3
32 GB G.Skill Trident Z Royal 3600 MHz CL16
Aerocool P7 platinum 850W
1TB Intel H10 Optane (OS) (This got scrapped.. Apparently optane isn't really usable with AMD.. Live and learn i guess.. Looking for a fast alternative ASAP)
2TB Intel 660P (Games)
2x3TB WD Black (movie storage)
2x250GB Samsung EVO 850 (might get retired)
EZDIY-FAB Moonlight 120mm RGB case fans (took a chance on some chinesium fans because i liked the look, and have heard decent things about their fans.. Time will tell!)


2x360mm XSPC EX360
D5 pump
Barrow pump housing, block and 14mm hardline fittings + misc watecooling parts.



First I needed to paint some of the fittings and other water-cooling parts as i failed to find anywhere that had all i needed in stock in black, so i opted to reuse som old parts.. So, a few hours with a Dremel, sanding and degreasing to prep for paint, and I ended up with this!

That should take care of the first stage and I just need to wait for the rest of my parts to get here!

And a few days later the remaining water-cooling parts have arrived!

Now i just have to wait for my fans, and everything i need for the custom sleeving!

While I wait, I might as well get started on the cover for the cables (and reservoir mounting plate), so it's time for some custom work!
First I cut a piece of plexi to fit in front of the side radiator/SSD mounting, and it needed some decorating, which went like this!

And for the finer details, I needed a little help!

Then a little paint

Cant wait to get the masking off, so here you go!


I think it looks pretty decent.. What do you guys think?

Next up will be painting the rear of the cover and get the subtle lighting sorted.. But I'm all out of paint, so i'll have to do some more shopping tomorrow.. Hope you enjoyed so far!

Update 1:
So, the initial plan was to hide my cables behind the cover, but i kind of had to scratch that plan as either the cover would be too bulky, or the would be visible trough the cutouts, so I revised the plan and came up with a new!.. The weather has been pretty bad the last few day, which has slowed down progress a bit more than i would like.. It's cold, and it's been rainy, so painting has been out of the question. (The shed is like a small doghouse, so painting in there is next to impossible!) Today the sun came out for a bit, so i jumped on the next part of the project.. It's a small one, but I thought I would share it with you guys anyways!

Out with the Plexi, and let's get cutting..


Then into the kitchen (wifey loves that!) for some glueing and A LOT, of sanding.. Man I wish I had a workshop!

(The white stuff isn't what you think! )

So.. A few hours of sanding and testfitting, sanding.. etc. etc. i ended up with this... Not 100% how I would like it, but in order to get in. some compromises had to be made! My CDO really hates compromises.. Still a little sanding to do, but I'll tackle that when doing the next part!

A nice cover to hide the ugly spaghetti they put in the rear of the PC-O11 DXL.. Now i just gotta make the bottom part and pray for some nice weather, so I can get painting!
This was a short 1, but I hope you liked it.. More to come!

 

First update is out.. A bit short, but I hope you like it none the less!

 

I follow only because I love your slippers



And very like your draw too!

 

Amazing that work on the cover, I like it

 

In theese COVID times.. Who needs shoes

 

Not bad i like it
I am impressed of your cover how did you made this?

 

You've never met the random coral snake in the garden, then.
This has promise, keep throwing plexi at it.

 

I printed an image and cut it out of the protective film on the Plexi, then i painted it mat black and peeled off the remaining protective film to expose the clear Plexi

 

So.. It's time for an update!
Sorry to those waiting, but sadly, during the project, I lost my best and most loyal friend!

She'll truely be missed.

Anyways.. Even though i haven't been posting a lot (or been online for that matter) I still found time to work on the build, as using my time on something else took my mind off the sad stuff.

I got out the fine toot saw and some Plexi, to start working on the sides of the cover plate, and it was time for some more sanding, using clamps to keep them parallel.


And I ended up with theese, which i forgot to photograph when i glued them to the back of the cover plate *facepalm*


Then it was time to tackle the next issue.. Fan wiring.. Of course the wires was too short, so i had to pull out the soldering iron and get some soldering done!

Did i mention those wires are supidly thin.. And there is 6 for each fan.. Yay for choosing RGB fans!

72 solder joints (and a bit of cable management) later this was the outcome!

Not quite as tidy as I would have liked it, but they will not be visible in the end product anyways, so i let it go for now and went on to other things.. Testing if i screwed anything up!

Nope.. It looks like i managed to not screw up!

This made me notice an issue with the top radiator... The plugs on the back side hots the roof of the case.. Crap.. Out with the radiator and out with the drill (and some files since i didn't have a 22mm drill) and this was the result

I ofc. had the file slip a few time.. Great.. Now i have to fix scratches aswell! Note to self.. Skipping masking tape=stupid!

I also got the reservoir fitted while i was drilling anyways.. Another mistake, but this one actually turned out to my liking, as I should have put Calvin on the opposite site, and higher up from the beginning, so he's discretely hidden now, which I like!

Cover is press fit between grommets, and the front of the case where i drilled shallow holes to fit over the screw protruding from the front which gives a nice clean look!

Time to fit some hardware into the case!







Phew.. It all fit!

 

Then I had to tackle my next issue.. Mounting the pump housing.. Maybe i should have just chosen a pump/res combo, but i really like the look of this monsoon pump housing, and then it doesn't look the same as all other builds
After a bit of moving it around in the case and realizing that space was a bit limited, I decided to mount it on top of the fan on the bottom rad, so another piece of Plexi had to be made!

Firstly some sawing!


Then some filing.


Only to realise that I wasn't happy with the placement.. So I scrapped it and..

Some sawing and filing.


And i could finally fit the pump housing!

First iteration is lying nicely on the table, waiting to be trashed!

Time for some fittings and TUBING!!!! (Can't wait to see this thing finished!)

Added an easy(ish) way to empty the loop for easier maintenance and cleaning!

Let's get the heatgun hot!

This piece was a B**CH to get in there! LOL

Moving on!


And on..


Looks pretty good i think! Here's a nice shot before the video of filling the loop!

Not too bad if i should say so myself!

Aaaaand.... This is where i learned what a B**CH these Raijintek fitting is to work with .. Was making a really nice video for you guys to show the loop filling, and I made it half ways into the filling, and then i threw my phone and sprang for the kill switch..
Fluids were literally everywhere..
Had to tear down everything, clean it, and then i had to heat crimp the tubes to a very tight fit to try and make the fittings waterproof..

 

After hours of cleaning and quite a few bottles of Isopropyl alcohol, burning my fingers over and over i was ready to give up.

But.. I persevered and!


I did it!

And.. From the back..

Looks nice and clean.. Except the few wires at the bottom.. But sadly the USB-C cable is too short for the cover to fit and sit flush, and I'm a bit reluctant about cutting it up, as I have no idea how sensitive it would be to some manhandling.. But maybe when I've done a bit more research and I'm sure it can be done without ruining it.

Finally.. I can see an end to this...
Murphy's law has definitely come true for this project.. Everything that could go wrong did!
Parts not being in stock.
Wrong parts arriving (several times), and I'm still waiting for the sleeving to arrive!
Getting X570 to recognize my drives was a complete nightmare, and took hours of research.. THX MSI! (gonna write a proper tutorial on the website after this!)
And not least the loss of my beloved dog!

But.. I fought trough it all, and I'm proud to present you with the (almost) finished build (still need to do the sleeving! )
Enjoy!

First startup!



And then i got the system installed and tweaked, and the lighting sorted like i want it.. Quite toned down! Even sitting with it on my desk, and monitor as the only light in the room, it's in now way obnoxious or too bright!






And last.. A little B-roll


Hope you enjoyed it.. Now i just have to do the sleeving, and I'll cal this one complete.. But I hope to get to do a build again soon!

 

It looks so clean great job!!

 

Thank you.. Was some rough days! She was very special to me.

 

Thank you.. Next I'm already planning a scrap build. Want to see if i can't build the case no one wants to sell me.. 100% clean lines and cables completely hidden! But it's still in the planning mode

 

Short update:

Started on the sleeving, but being an idiot and overly self confident, I didn't make a schematic, and ofc. a few pins fell out, because i didn't secure them properly.. Being a dud at electric stuff, and no help to be found online or from Aerocool, i opted for a Seasonic Prime Ultra Platinum 850W unit and started over, not to risk frying my rig.

So.. While i waited for the new unit, i also ordered a Lamptron tool kit.. And it's AMAZING.. If you plan to sleeve, I can only recommend it, well worth the money, used to use the Phobya set.. And that's junk compared!

Oh yeah!

Well.. Stuff arrived and I got on with making some spaghetti!

Making spaghetti in my awesome slippers!

After some hours, and burning my fingers a few times i ended up with this!

Finished the 24-pin and the 2 PCI-e for gfx.. Sadly my first attempt left me with too little sleeving left to complete the two 8-pins, but more sleeving is already in the mail.. Also ordered some silver grey and white, so while I wait, i get to decide if I want to change thees up a bit with some color.. But at least i can get these fitted for now.

While I wait, I'm going to make a cable tray for my desk and put in some cable grommets into the desk..

More on that later!

 

You didn't clean the heated plexiglas tubes with alcohol, did you? If you did, watch them very closely.

 

Nope.. Only the hardware components that got soaked.. Rest was just cleaned with water and microfibre cloths. Would never put solvents on acrylics unless i was gluing them.