Welcome to my latest project log, The project name i've gone for is "Crystal" The name and the whole concept is based on some new products that's coming/come to market this month that i'll be using in this build. The Game Rock 3080 from Palit is one of the inspirations for the theme. I like to try new things with every build and hopefully learn something new, so along with the usual painting, 3D printing and other techniques I'll also be using texture plastics and resin for the first time as the main 3D printing material. This allows for lots of clear detail and very solid parts when using the correct resin kindly supplied by monocure3d. The case i'm using is a Cooler Master MasterCase SL600M, mainly aluminium with a glass window on the main side. I plan to sand, polish, paint and try some other things with the aluminium parts and any plastic. Plenty of space on the inside for water cooling however, I will only be water-cooling the CPU for now with a Cooler Master AIO and might do a full custom loop when GPU blocks are available. Wouldn't be a crystal build without some Crystals, so I will be making some from resin and possibly standard filaments like PLA. The lighting is alway an important part of my builds, I'm not a rainbow RGB lover however I do love RGB for the amount of colour options it gives you without needing to replace all the parts when you fancy a change. Thanks to the timing of this build i'll be entering into the Case Mod World Series 2020 #CMWS2020. Hope you enjoy the build log and final result. Full build specs to be updated, CPU - TBC MB - ASrock B550 PG Velocit GPU - Palit OC Game Rock RTX 3080 RAM - Team Group T-Force XTREEM ARGB DDR4 Gaming Memory SSD - Team Group T-Force Delta Max RGB SATA SSD M.2 - Team Group T-Force CARDEA Liquid M.2 PCIe SSD PSU - Cooler Master V850 GOLD-V2 WHITE EDITION CASE - Cooler Master MasterCase SL600M FANS - TBC AIO - Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360P Silver Edition LIGHTING - TBC 3D RESIN - Monocure 3D Thanks to the sponsors who've been working hard to get things arranged swiftly during difficult times. #asrock #coolermaster #palit #teamgroup #monocure3d #tforce Parts, will be updated as they arrive.
Starting off with the case, mainly because it's the first part to arrive, meaning I can start work on some of the main parts straight away. The SL600M has the PSU at the front, this means I can have most the wires hidden in the front and try to keep the main window free to display the GPU, MB and most the components without having to remove much. The case comes with 2 big 140mm fans on the bottom, I might keep them as this first part of the build will have the GPU air cooled, I will if I get time and a block becomes available then go for a full custom loop for the GPU and CPU. Case fully stripped down ready for stage one, sanding and painting.
After I stripped the case down I got to work sanding and priming the plastic parts and the main structure of the case. 1st coat of silver, started to rain so quickly moved it all back in the shed for the second. The external metal panels are getting sanded down, although the paint on the metal is very nice, I need it a bit more reflective. Original paint on the right, sanded one the left prior to buffing. Painting it chrome was considered, however I will also be working with very high heat on the panels along with cutting and this would damage the paint. So only the plastic around the metal panels will be painted chrome.
The main GPU for this build, and the inspiration is the Palit OC Game Rock RTX3080 A very solid card and a nice change from the normal black plastic, especially as this wont be watercooled for now. Comes with a nice plexi brace, manual and a PCIE adapter.
The motherboard is a ASrock B550 PG Velocit, also got a nice surprise hoodie Wanted a silver board for the same reason I painted the case silver and polished some parts, to help with lighting and background.
Working with new materials on this project, the crystal style plastics im using on this build are a bit tricky to bend but easy enough to cut and sand. For the feet I went with fake diamonds, was going to use real ones but couldn't find a sponsor unfortunately the front looks great, some nice texture to it and some added depth thanks to the metal polishing, without that it looked too milky. Display window cut for the crystal display that will be the main focus on the front of the case. The power button also got a makeover, the metal will be painted dark chrome to match the corners and a couple of other parts.
Thanks Had a look at them and some other options but for full control and hopefully better lighting options I went with resin printed ones, along with the sheet instead of paint and some fake diamonds for the feet. the resin tests so far are very good but im awaiting some more resin that should be spot on. Bit of a noob with resin but getting the hang of it and luckily most of the things I needed to know like 3D modeling, id already worked with on the last project so that made it easier. Loving your build btw, as a massive alien fan and fellow PC modder
is that lighting diffuser? Tread carefully. It was used on everything in the '50s. You could accidentally be doing a retro build. If this is going to be RGB'd, covering the motherboard tray with fiber optics would be neat too.
Hi mate Yes and no, its more like backing/covers instead of wraps and paint, although under most of it will be painted apart from that power button thats backlit, the main lighting will be the 3d printed crystals, lighting the back of the covers will takeaway some of the effect from the crystals. Will post some crystal progress later today. Awaiting some new resin for the final crystals but plan to post what i've done so far later today. Plan to cover some of the MB, had some lighting planned for it but not fiber, some retro LEDs lol
For the main window crystals I worked on 2 options, they'll be printed in resin and for the smaller ones that's also getting done in resin I printed some tests as I await the crystal clear resin from Monocure3D, far as I know I will be the first to use this new resin so im looking forward to seeing the results. Another 3D part is the hole surround for the front of the case, printed a test again then a better detailed final part that will be sanded, primed, gloss black then airbrushed. Thanks to a clever design by cooler master this panel can be in the standard position or turned 90 degree, so I'll be spinning it around so I have more options for positioning the GPU. Cut most the front away as it wont be needed and leaves me with a bit more space for wires and other things. Paint for the top of the case is also now completed, forgot to take a photo of the mesh on the top of the case thats also been done in silver/chrome.
Been a bit of a delay with the final part of the build due to missing parts, mostly COVID related issues I've now finally completed the build and will finish of my posts with the last couple of updates before the final photos. Here's one of the crystals that will be used on the inside of the case with some RGB lighting, the plan is to have the build mostly white with some slight blue here and there, when completed it will be my daughters 1st PC and she loves how it reminds her of Frozen the movie. 3D printed a surround for the front crystal display to tidy it up, this will be painted the same as the other parts of the case in a nice silver chrome effect. First time painting glass side panels, but its worked out well, changed the black edges to the same silver chrome, used some etch primer on the bottom and it looks to be holding well, but I did also sand the glass parts before painting.
I've made cuts in the top of the case to make some air flaps, this will mean I don't have to remove the top for some extra airflow for the RAD, although it can be placed in a floating position around 10mm from the surface without any modding needed. This cover I've made will house the SSD and also help hide the PSU and wires, replacing the original cover that comes with the case.
Must say, I normally use Afterburner for overclocking but the software that comes with the Palit 3080 (ThunderMaster) is really nice, no bugs so far and makes changing the lighting and overclocking a breeze! The last of the Monocure3D clear resin prints, a very impressive Crystal logo for the top of the case. Here's ,me testing the lighting for the crystals and planning the layout for the wires.
The final build parts have been fitted, 3 more Masterfan MF120s for the bottom to replace the other 3 I tested with and the MWE 850 Gold V2 PSU from Cooler Master.
Crystal project completed. Thank you to all thats been following on social media and the forums and if anyone has any questions feel free to ask me on here or my other social pages @megadeblow Although this build is intended to be used with white lighting I have included some RGB shots
My daughter is happy to have her 1st PC, she loves the Frozen movies so likes the style and politely asked if she could have the PC for her birthday, how could I refuse
