Time for something new, meet project Wood Ridge A scratch build based in an AMD first gen Ryzen launch kit box. A huge shout out to the awesome and kind people over at TechTesters for providing this opportunity to do a build in this Like most of my projects its first time to figure out what is possible in the given space by the enclosure. Especially this time around since it internal volume of the box is sub 18L. At first I was thinking about going the more convencional layout route for the GPU while implementing a custom loop for the cooling. But soon after I realized that this wouldn't give enought room for all the other parts. That is when I swaped to a sandwich layout which is more convencional these days for SFF builds. Ventilation for radiators is gonna be handeld by cuttinng holes in the top and bottom of the box with cover plates with hexagon cutouts for airflow. The top is also getting some handles for easy pickup. The top IO that is gonna be used is out of a Fractal Design ERA ITX case. With the real also getting a cutout and frame for all the hardware IO. This should provide good modern mix of IO For the loop I have come up with this layout on the front side. The rear of the box is gonna be replaced by a custom distro place. This makes the remaining tube runs a lot easier and should give a clean look while also being able to see the GPU More updates should come next week
Sheetmetal arrived Some cleanup needed from the lasercutting Time to get to work Most parts needed some cleanup from the lasercutting and holes countersunk. First GPU went better as expected To finish off the GPU spacers, casefeet and case handles got done. Test fitting handles Next up prep for paint Trying out a new paint for this project Don't forget the PPE's
Something arrived early last week while I was on a little vacation A big thank you goes out to Ruben from TheDutchManModifies for helping out getting this distro made!
Yesterday it was time for the scarry part, cutting the box for the new interior. First marking all the area's that needed work. Double checking against the sheetmetal parts Cutting time Checking against the sheetmetal agian Some small fixing needed at a one point Ready for assembly
These goodies from Slovenia arrived A huge thank you goes out to EKWB for supporting this project! Enjoy some eye candy
Productive weekend update First had to trim two panel a bit to get the fit in the box perfect. Then it was prepping time for paint. This was done by sanding all parts by hand and cleaning then with isopropyl alcohol before paint. Then it was time for the paint. Tried a new product that hadn't tried before. After 3 coats it was time to let it dry with some help of the sun. I'm amazed by the results of this Steelit in a spray can Now the big moment assembly time of the frame in the box Some quick photos of the result And to finish off some sleeving of the front IO. I kinda forgot to do that before installing it
Update back side finished First it was time for the gpu block install but with some tweaks Spacers to go in between the midplate and gpu backplate. Turning logo around It fits great in the case with the spacer mounts And the IO lined up To give some wiggle room for small misalignment the distro plate had some space around it. Used some double sided tape to fill this space out. Snug fit in the box All installed and leaktested Next up the front side
Small update, getting close to being done All radiator screws needed 3mm trimming due case This allowed a test fit with both rad and fans + the pump res combo. I'm not looking forward to cable managment Bios all setup: Latest bios, memory OC and pcie 16x set to gen 3. Time for the cpu block to go on It all fits First the easy tube run I thought, it took 3 tries to get right Other run from the res to the cpu block was a lot easier. Only had to come up with a diffrent route due to the pcie riser being 5cm longer then plannend. On the final stretches now Currently waiting on the storage, custom cables and PSU to arrive. Once those are here its time to take the rads, fans, motherboard and pump/res out and do final assembly with cable management
This is coming along really nicely! It's nice to see a project resemble the drawings so clearly. I think a lot of people create a drawing and then go to town on it without really have the tooling and skills to do so. This doesn't mean what they create is rubbish, it's just not 100% as expected. This however as said bucks that trend and I like that a lot! It's good to see a plan come together
Thank you! I really like the freedom of the 3D designing part and give time to refect on design idea's to see if it possible to make them Thanks Its is a close fit with all the tubes to the edge of the box but indeed levels out all parts quite good
Final assembly update Partial loop leakdown test. Gettiing this this final psu screw in was a nightmare Pre running the psu cables Cable managment on the small wires All main parts in Installing SSD Final leaktest