Case Mod - Complete ⭐ Project A.R.E.S.

Oh my, I fell behind on updates... I mean... I have like 60 WIP photos and just finished the project today. Guess a marathon is coming!

So, the finish on aluminum I was talking about in the last update. Basically did a brushed finish as a base and then went on random patterns with a drill and a 75mm sanding disk.



Then got part of the base painted in usual copper and blue, masking off the pockets for the acrylic pillars though, since they're already super tight and didn't want to mess around with the thickness of the paint later.



Time to finally peel off the film from the center piece! Done that and started assembling all the parts, after having finished the aluminum disks, clamps and motherboard/GPU tray











Getting that sci-fi clear display vibe with some blue LED strips embedded in the acrylic





Finished off the PSU armor parts with an acrylic marker in copper colour. It's not a metallic finish like the spray paint I'm using, but it works just as well in this matte finish





Mounted that as well and started cable management, straight PITA. Also because I got the wrong pinout from CableMod (Cooler Master has the same name on two different versions of the PSU), so I basically had to re-pin every cable in order to make the thing work. But these clear insulated cables are sooo slim and work so well in this specific case, also perfectly fitting the theme!

Also, my girlfriend wanted to photograph me and the progress so guess I'll just leave it here for the lulz









So here you can see what I was talking about with corrugated tubes and custom fittings for that. Routing cables towards the insides of the case was a super smooth process and delivered a super clean look! Specifically, I routed power chord, power button cable, and two molex to use splitters on once inside the case, since the space in the tubes wasn't a lot and I had to use the least amount of cables.



Cable management is done! Now onto tubing



Ah no, the pedestal first! Got the aluminum base painted, unwrapped the acrylic part and installed the aRGB LED strip





Done!







These pump brackets are basically invisible in the build, but if you look at the bottom searching for them, you'll kinda see the standoffs. So I grinded those to cylinder look instead of the classic hexagonal look. Then got them painted in blue as well



Tubing done! I was actually still missing the short run at the back left corner, eventually managed that with just a 45 degrees and male to male rotary since it was too short to make a tube for it





Now it's just missing the soft tubing inside the case, the goal is to make them the right length and find the best layout so that they can move when the central system rotates



The pump got a small makeover, I didn't want the cables to stick out from behind so adapted it to have the cables coming out from the side. Eventually routed them better

 

The whole project is absolutely amazing, a masterpiece, and certainly the most original and outstanding modifications on a C700M ever, and even if it is less complicated than the other incredible parts you crafted, I had a crush on your PSU armor this is just a fantastic idea , between many other fantastic ideas

 

Thanks a lot man, I really appreciate all of the compliments!

And hey believe it or not, the damn PSU armor was one of the most headache-worthy design to figure out. I just couldn't get to something I liked, but eventually found this way which was both pretty functional and clean looking

 

I believe you of course, but I wouldn't have expected it.. that's great anyway, in terms of design, and by the fact that you're the first one doing it, AFAIK

 

The mod is outstanding ! but i just get too distracted by whats going on the in the background all the time

I want to do a series maybe call it .... "Inside the Modder's Studio" I'd start with your amazing setup..... then Bill Owens @mnpctech , next would be abbas-it and then my life time goal of meeting TantricmodZ

 

Fellow Winter-hippie.
The build is getting insane. I LOOOOOVE it.

 

My workshop is currently an UTTER MESS after six months of abuse from this project and other side ones... but it might come after I make it presentable again

Thanks man! The last update coming in minutes should set the real standard tho!

 

Final update is here! This will be the last post before the final pics, so let's enjoy every single word of it!

Going on with the paintjob, I finished up the side pieces and installed them, together with the white dimmable LED strips.











Now time to start the works in the hidden section of the case, so all around the exposed internals. Top and bottom are populated by the two 360mm radiators, while I used front and back to route the cables for power, fans, lights and pump. Of course I made the soft tubing and found the perfect balance to offer a nice and smooth movement when the pivot is rotating





Quick fit test for the parts painted so far



After having fit the three reservoirs to their panel, with hard tubing between each other and soft tubing behind, long enough to be able to remove the panel and set it aside when it's needed for maintenance, it's time to fill it up!







And now my personal favourite part (I probably said it at every single part of this project... whatever ), the externals!

Starting with the front, I painted all the parts blue and went into the engravings with the copper marker. Also made a clear midplate to mount both the acrylic face and the resin casting to the front itself, so that I don't have to disassemble a bunch of parts when I have to reach inside.







ARGB LED strips for backlighting, resin casting painted black to highlight the fibers, which were shortened for clearance. It was when I powered the LEDs on that my jaw just... dropped. I was frozen in front of it for a good bunch of seconds before I realized that I had made that thing. I had expectations on this piece but I never imagined it would've looked THIS cool, I actually feared it was going to be the tackiest part of the whole project. Well this will end up enhancing the look of the whole project A LOT!







LIFE = COMPLETE





After I cooled down a bit, I kept going and it was the top's turn. Same treatment, blue all over and copper marker in the engravings





Same, again, with the back parts, with the twist that I added warm white LED strips inside to enhance the space helmet looks from the reservoirs and clear domes.





And with this sneak peek of the final shoot, I announce that A.R.E.S. - Astral Robot Enclosure System, is officially complete! Final pics coming tomorrow

 

epic build
a personal query if I may, I wish to see higher RES pictures

 

This is simply stunning, beautiful, and amazing! I love it and am very impressed! Well done!! You set the bar amazingly high...

 

Thanks man! I'll link to the full res gallery tomorrow with the final pics!

Thank you so much! I'm aiming the highest I can this year, so the bar had to be proportionally set for that! I hope I can live up to my own expectations

 

Karrek used all the words. It came out wonderful. There are so many lovely details.. The blue with copper trim, the domes, the base, the casting. It's kind of a cheat how contest cases don't factor in the I/O cables, though.
I want to see an entire case of the optic + casting. I know rounding the casts would be impossible, though. Perhaps drilling tiny holes in a plexi mirror to fit fiber optics, casting, and adding mirror tint to make this effect with infinity mirror too.

 

They might not factor I/O cables but I always think about that anyway. You'll see, but as a hint, you can look what's on the acrylic piece, in proximity of the mb I/O

Fibers and acrylic could be a thing too, just takes some extra time to fix the fibers in place, while with resin you just hang them in until the resin cures

 

Project A.R.E.S. has landed.
My entry for Case Mod World Series 2020 is a tower mod based on the C700M case. I wanted to tell a story with this project: the starship used for the space program ARES, comes in contact with some sort of organic alien technology, which starts to merge with the starship, covering the external structure and contaminating the propellant.
This is visually identified in the colours used (blue and copper for the alien technology, aluminum and silver for the human technology), and the lines which are more curved for the alien technology, and straight for the human one.
The three astronauts at the back, impersonated by the Hex reservoirs, look into the void while trying to communicate with the alien being. The front is a mirror which reflects the destination of the starship, the Copper Nebula, so called for the peculiar colour that appears to have.
Eventually, the humans and aliens succeed in communicating and join each other in a common cause: survival.
Back to reality: this project is a story, told in art form. A.R.E.S. took me over six months to complete, my most ambitious project to date, with countless different techniques, and unique features like the rotating system, the cosmic eye and the floating structure.

Here are the specs for you more down-to-earth people:
Cooler Master C700M
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Asrock X570 Steel Legend
Inno3D RTX 2070 Super iChill Frostbite
Adata XPG D60G 32Gb RAM - S40G 512Gb m.2 SSD
Cooler Master V850
Bitspower watercooling
CableMod custom SFF cables

I want to thank all of my sponsors: HWLegend Modding - Trippodo - Cooler Master - Inno3D - Asrock - Bitspower - Cablemod - ADATA XPG

I hope you guys like it, and enjoy the pictures!

Full res photo gallery here: https://imgur.com/a/qBV7j30

 

ABSOLUTELY STUNNING

 

Of course, a starship wouldn't work without its very own command center! For the peripherals mod, I decided to carry on the A.R.E.S. theme and create a dedicated command center for it.

This was created for the Peripherals Mod category for CMWS20, but I also want to talk about it here, as there is a specific feature that I didn't talk about before, which is the I/O cables management.

From the pics, you'll see the there are pass-throughs on each side, that can be used to connect corrugated tubes to the back of motherboard tray, in proximity of the I/O ports, allowing a perfectly tidy cable management.

Full res photo gallery at: https://imgur.com/a/8FA7heQ

 

Thank you very much mate!

Thanks a lot man! There was a lot of thought into the choice of the blue, so many different tones and not all of them match copper well. The first light blue I used created a Perry the Platypus kind of contrast

 

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME! I really love the front! Definitely remember the "Lost in Space" alien robot!
Also the back is very cool! And the idea of the rotating motherboard is really unique!
Bravo, complimenti!

 

Grazie mille!