SUPPLY DROP A few weeks ago i was delighted to hear that NZXT had been kind enough to sponsor my project, for me this is fantastic, although sponsorship is a day to day affair for the more established in the modding community but for the new guy sponsorship is a big risk as they cannot be 100% sure there not being conned or that the project will not fizzle out to nothing. So once again its a HUGE thank you to NZXT SUPPLIES After mugging my deliveryman and fighting my way in to the packing box (cudos on the secure packing) Lets see now we have....... The HALE90 (850watt) Sentry LXE Blue LED lighting kits Unboxing the PSU, what's in the box... well ok a PSU... i ment what else Nice to see a total lack of the typical polystyrene in favour for the non crumbely packing. Everything in perfect condition The PSU its self, NZXT have gone for white on the HALE90 series, with the recessed grill and 140mm fan the looks are pretty striking, and of course it IS modular Plenty of modular cables provided, all have good quality connectors, and with the all black sheathing have a nice uniform look. and all kept safe in a little carry case The main loom has plenty of connectors all sleeved in black braid On to the Sentry LXE fan control Again we have the same foam packing to keep it all safe, no part of the LXEs main unit was touching the box it was suspended in the foam for max protection, so many times have i seen components resting on cardboard after removing the cover package Main unit is very rugged 5mm alu face plate sadly i could not get a shot of the screen (camera flare central) Main PCI, Connectors a plenty here with power, 5 3pin PWM fan connectors and 5 temp probe connectors They have even included EXTRA temp probes just incase Also included, screws for pci mount, 8 pin pci plate to control lead, pads to affix the probes and a back up battery Last up the Blue LED strings, nice little blister pack, in the case of components like these i often see way to much in the way of packaging In the box we have pci plate, power lead and the string its self, the one pictured is the BLUE 100CM edition, 200CM is available On the rear plate we have a slider for 3 brightness selections and ofcourse the On/Off switch Once again a massive THANKYOU to NZXT for the sponsorship
@ mnpctech cheers dude, gunna look sweet finished @ kelmannen hopefully more to come, im on a small budget so every little helps
Grats on the sponsorship! I love it when my thread subscriptions get the attention they deserve. (It's like watching a winning sports team.)
Cheers dude, ive landed some more but not revealing till ive got it in my hands @ ALL. finialy a weekend to get some work done, side panel is 90% finished needs detail sanding and painting... update later
BUSY BUSY BUSY, finialy has a chance to get a good run up putting the side pane together and making sure it all fits before final sending and painting Electrical tape, the modders friend This was a nightmare to get all the components in place to drill through what was technicialy a sandwich of cast polyester, steel and acrylic More drilling.. jeez...... Making sure the holes line up for bolting This could have been a lot easier and faster but with limited resources one hast to think out of the box Test fitting the bezel The gaps are intentional, i will be covering them with brushes alu to add a little accent Tapping the holes for the fan/grill assembly MNPCtech 120mm overkill grills, Bill Owen over at MNPCtech is making 2 140mm versions of these for me for the top MORE DRILLING MORE, MORE DRILLING....... UUUU thats rough Most of the forming done, dremel+lap sanding wheel+awesome Main door fab finished, plenty of adjusting to come but thats the BIG fab done The fans are perfectly central trust me..... CURSE YOU CAMERA ANGLE NOTE the 2 triangles outside the bezel are intentional, not sure if there going to remain tiny windows or to cut them through in to blow off vents And no way in hell am i removing the protective film untill im done So much still to do, but its gunna be great fun
Finaly got time for an update, here goes.... Time I started work modifying the NZXT Sentry LXE to modify it for the front of my case top Cutting is going to take a while, love or hate NZXT most will say there products are sturdy and the LXE is no different, the front bezel is 5mm anodized brushed alu let the cutting begin, for this i will be using the trusty Dremel with MNPCtech.com reinforced cutting discs but even with good discs this will take a while... i will spare you a million shots of cutting 2 hours.... YES 2 HOURS later...... ok now I have got the bottom off time to make it fit the shape of the case top...... time for this to go on a diet ok now its the correct size On to the next problem, this is black anodized and brushed so i have 2 problems... i need bare metal..... AND the brushing is in the wrong orientation SANDING TIME Flat sanding using 400grit wet and dry paper, very similar principal to lapping a CPU, but with the larger surface area this will take longer After 30mins After an hour After 3 hours and 30 seconds under a mouse sander to rough the surface Next up... rebrushing to match the direction of the metal i am using on the case, 800grit wet and dry until silky in apperance (you must sand only in one direction or your just sanding not brushing) after a uniform finish is attained its on to 180gritsand paper untill you end p with... There fixed.... coming up in next post New supply drop
What's on the menu today???...... Filling... mmmmmm my favourite... *Runs ff to cry in the corner* I hate filling but these things must me done, the first plan for the side had 2 vents on the side of the window using the old window shape as a guide, but on reflection it just looks like I missed a bit so time to bring out the filler Spot the missing bits?? Ok here we go, first up, making plates to fill the gad befor I fill. I have cut off a lot of metal to make the window shape and i need metal of exactly the same thickness to bridge the gap in the panels....... TADAAAAAAAA use offcuts for spare material OH look a perfect fit.... LLLLIKE A GLOVAAAA!!!! Time for the filler, i wont be giving a tutorial on this as most brands differ by huge amounts on the part to part ratios, this one is a 1-50 mix with a working time of 5mins, sandable in 20mins and complete cure in 2 hours FYI... love the smell of the stuff...... from the yelling i am going to assume my wife does not Worked with it a little to long but made sure i applied thick enough to get away with it.... Now on to the sanding....... there did you like that.. me too After a full cure it is ready to prime but first..... NURSE???????? BRING IN THE PATIENT!!!!!!! It is time to operate on the NZXT HALE 90 PSU I need to get it apart to mask off for priming A naked PSU.... shield the children's eyes Primed. And i found out a matter of note.... spraying in a room with zero ventilation that is only 40cubic feet is not good for you......... but it sure is fun
Spray in small rooms with no ventilation is only for professional modders That is why i'm outside in the shed with my rattle cans whilst there is some light outside! Looks great dude
One of my fave activities today..... Chassis cutting The NZXT Tempest Evo can accomodate a 240 this rad in the roof although you wouldnt know until you take the 140mm fans out. So i was about to make some templates for some rad holders when as i took the 2 140mm fans out of the roof i found a set of mounting holes, now if these are for a rad im not sure but they match up to the middle set of mounting holes perfectly with 120x15mm spacing and apart from mounting i can see no reason for them to be there. The airflow is very restricted though due to the centre plate so without further ado.... LET THE CUTTING BEGIN First up, marking out the areas to remove with extreme prejudice and a dremel....... HINT... dynamite is not accurate enough do not use.. although i doubt it would scratch this case, rugged is not the word All marked up, now for the fun.... erm i mean "now to cut out the areas with supreme precision" ok thats the top cut out, now for the side.. when making the side wondow i completly forgot to make sure that the fan would fit next to the drive bays..... whoops it didnt.... and so..... MORE DREMEL By a massive stroke of luck the removed bays make a great area to install my PSU hood and new drive holders..... and now if you will excuise me i have work to do and i plan to pretend i intended to remove the bays all along...... coming up..... Cereal boxes and there many uses
