I had to think about this next idea for a few weeks!! the original plan to hold the top water tanks in place , was to glue small plex plates into the sides of the tanks like plan flaps, then drill holes and bolt the tanks down onto the top of the case! well i gotta admit! i wasnt keen to spoil these sexy lookin little tanks by gluing ugly wings! today it came to me! a "locking slide latch type system"!!! yup! a mothfull in theory! but in practice a really easy simple design! its kinda hard and ling to explain so add comment and hope the pics tell it right The latches! these connect to the existing top bezel bolts and silde back and forth The Strom Res's have groves cut @ both eands ..these will be cleaned and flame polished!! The Storm res's can then be lowered in from the top of the case and locked into place using the slide latch system.
Time to test the Storm Res's in the case. this was a great momemt i was itchin to get a full look @ how the top of the STORM'D was going to look with the paper off. Off with the brown paper and on with a fesh smoked plex top panel Next was to put the top bezal or "Storm Tank flange"!!! and bolt it down Bolt the lock slides onto the existing 2 innner middle bots @ each end Theres only a few mills of movement in the slides, but the tanks were made to be a tight fit so thats all that will be needed to lock them into place. Drop in the tanks and lock em in!
what the heck! a few more shots it's the first time iv'e really been able to get a good look @ the tanks as they should be.
i must admit..this is a damn amazing case, i love the grey/black acrylic and the mesh with it.. yeah, great wiremanagement! Good Luck
Oh my venerable mod.god, please speak to me.... Tell me, in your enormous glory, how heavy is now that case towards the weight it had at the beginning? You've layered some thick plexy here and there, so I imagine you've doubled the case weight... Isn't it? Respect for your work.
frodo as always mate! your support is rock solid, and i appreciate every post you make STORM'D is now on the home stretch! i hope is dosn't dissapoint papeniglio , thanx mate it does add abit! but not really anything that isnt managable. i think in the end an extra CDROM and +3 more HDD's would have added more weight than the plex addons. It's usually the water system that boat anchors cases. Lex & Dozr thx guys the original plan was for STORM'D to go streight on display! but A VERY BIG plee form my son Zak for this to become his new PC has won out The PSU is a KIMEX brand 550watt chosen because i like the Black finish to it. As seen below the orig idea was to use a a SFF atx mother board! the small board "when stealthed" would have allowed for an area to hide nasty cables! BUT! since this this is now goin to be Zaks PC it was decided that a new P4-3.4 cpu will be used in a Asus P5GDC-Delux board a new XFX 6600GT with a Gig of GEIL ram added. Prolly doing a case like this the justice it deserves For the bolting in of the cards and blanks ive gone with the some sexy SS HEX Heads with washers. these are actually way easier to install and suit the theme. With the parts in place! i could now get on with the LOOMING! Going for some more "uptown" looking RCA style plugs this time for power. The NEW RCA power plugs will supply power to the MPC-350 pump and to the 4 X Front STORM fans. The excess loom tucks behind the MoBo
Not wanting to just go and buy a round cable for the CDROM i decided to make one that would fit in. a bit of twisting..... some heatshrink and more split loom and on matching IDE cable. STORM'D wil also need power supplied to its REAR BIX Rad. Again in the same mannor as HP2 and HevyPlex SLB , a female RCA is used.
For the top Dual STORM Res's i wanted a intense but even light. The choice of light is a 4" CCF tube. Not on of the cheeper ones that can be brought from PC shops but on of the more expensive ones from Jaycar. Ive often seen a few horror stories about the cheeper ones dying and taking out whole systems with them. Touch wood in 2 yrs of using the Jaycar CCF's and inverters, iv'e never had a prob. I decided just to make the light a bit more "robust" to cover the CCF with some clear plex tubing. Cutting the Clear plex tube to the right lenght will allow me to "anchor" it to the top of the case with fear of braking the raw CCF a "dob" of glue is udes to secure the CCF inside the Plex tube then some HeAT SHRINK on the ends and the Light is ready to go in. These shots show how the light sits up in the area btween the to STORM Tanks.
I reall wasn't happy with the clear plex adaptor for the rad so i decided while giving thr RAD a fresh coat of paint i'd also cover the Adaptor With the power wire covered and an RCA added the RAD can be slotted on Next was to clamp on the hoses Tidy up the wireing dis-enguage the STORM Tanks.
Next was time to fill the system Again a mixture of Demin water, coolant and a cap of metho is used... The tanks are lifted up and the system is fully filled. qick check for leeks! With the tanks uptop and "movable" this was a vey simple system to fill and bleed!
what would a Defyant mod be with-out a motherboard cover of some sort! ? The idea was NOT to box the board in again, but like PeRs-pLeXeD! make just a feature wall. Using the Same 3.5mm plex the sheet was cut so that would simply slide into place. When an upgrade or system check is need 4 screws will allow the cover to again be easily removed. TO keep in-theme with the rest of the mod the cover will have a small aire mesh grill above the NB chipset and SS HEX heads bolts will be used to dress the cover up a bit. the cover is cut and drilled Custom 3" standoff "POSTS" are made using threaded rod and clear plex tubing Glue is used to secure the threaded rod into place. The 4 new standoffs are screwd into the 4 corners of the motherboard into the orig standoffs The cover after having its bolts screwed in and its small grilled glued into place can be slid into the case and screwed into place i personally love this look! and think its the best and most simple cover ive done yet...the shine give the inside of the case an infinite "depth" about it as well as highlights the green tubes and all the SS hex bolts. The reflectivness of the PLEX makes it difficult for this cam to get good close up! but will try again in daylight.
All thats left to do! is give you some final shots The original 3D Type lettering idea is being scrapped in favour of some custom made "STORM'D" silver stickers...i'm hoping they will be made by weeks end. The possible inclusion of a DUAL BIX2. And REPLACING of the side door/panel fans! unfortuatly they press up against the water tubing. Creds to all the ppl that have taken the time to comment and support yet another Defyant mod. Again to Micheal and Jenny @ X-com computers for theyr support and sponsorship. STORM'D altho draggin on for a few unexpected extra weeks was a joy to build and altho im all "plexe'd" out for now and looking forward to completing HP3 its time for a break from plex cases.
holy crap your son is the luckiest kid on the earth just a quick question for zak, you still play a51, if so you want a game tonight? i cant believe this project, so damn good so clean so sexy keep up the amazin' work
This is awesome mate! Very clean looking. Seems your little weekend project became something BIG. Love it though.
