I made a Bit-Tech account after completing this build, so unfortunately there are no updates to post, but I am very proud of it and would still like to share the experience! This build started as a concept as a sort of 'halo' PC, using some of the best hardware I could attain to make something truly unique. This will be my gaming and (hopefully) media production PC for a good while before needing any upgrades. Much of this build was inspired by previous Corsair 570x builds during the Crystal Series 2017 build competition. I saw several of those systems when I first got into building PCs. They seemed more like abstract art than real computers to me, and making something similar has since been a goal of mine. My criteria for this build was gorgeous cable management, a CPU water loop, and a good amount of custom fabrication. Once I decided on the basics for hardware (Processor, case, mobo, PSU) purchased some hardware and started the journey! The first step was to drill out the rivets on the case, measure, and design a to-scale model in Fusion 360. Originally the build was going to use SLI 1080s or 1070 ti's, hence the dual PCI cutouts on the rear panel. This is the rendered prototype. After finding some decently-priced 12mm acrylic, I took a class on using a CO2 Laser, and went to work cutting out the motherboard tray, and front and rear panels. The acrylic was then drilled and tapped for over 30 M4 screws, which holds the whole chassis together. The chassis is super strong, as it should be. The rear panel was designed with easy installation and removal of the GPU in mind. As well, an old logo of mine is etched where the rear 120mm fan would normally be. The motherboard tray has built-in cable combs positioned relative to the connectors on the motherboard. The front panel houses 3x 140mm fans, up from the 3x 120mm fans in the stock chassis. I also decided to use a 2080ti GPU, forgoing the SLI setup. I did a lot of test-fitting throughout this build as this is my first time A) using a laser cutter B) designing PC panels, and I needed to be sure my hardware would fit into the custom components. Each successful test was a small victory for me. Next was to start on sleeving the PSU cables. I had already decided on a pattern for the 24 pin, and now I just needed to match the EPS and PCI power cables to that design. I also ended up cutting cable routing brackets from the same 12mm acrylic. They worked like a charm to get everything neatly routed where I wanted. Things were going smoothly and everything was lining up well. By this time I had watercooling parts on the way. The final pieces of the puzzle would be fitting the radiator and mounting the reservoir. Even after modelling everything to excruciating detail, I wasn't 100% certain that the 360mm radiator would fit, sandwiched between 2x 12mm panels and a front intake fan. However, by a small miracle it did.. barely. I needed to heavily modify the top panel to mount the radiator to it. I ended up aquiring some 3mm aluminum from a recycling depot and constructed a bracket to support the radiator. After a custom reservoir mount and power supply shroud, I had all the necessary pieces together. Now for paint!! With the namesake Tsukuyomi referring to the God of the Moon from Japanese mythology, I thought silver paint would be fitting. So, I proceeded to completely disassemble the build, fans and ram heat-spreaders to prepare for paint. Let me tell you, the Corsair LL120 and LL140 fans arent the most fun to mask off with all the LEDs, but it was very worth the effort. And now for reassembly also added a mirrored floor to hide all the ugly cutouts. You can see the support panel for the radiator I mentioned earlier. I added another namesake detail to the centers of the fans. A decal of Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan from Naruto is on each of the fans. After some final details, tube-bending, and leak testing, windows was installed. And now, the final reveal!! This build was an amazing learning experience for me, and surely wont be my last. I am currently in the process of modifying the system I used prior to this one's completion. I'll be posting a thread on that as well. Full Parts List: Intel i9-9900k Gigabyte Aorus z390 Ultra Motherboard 32gb, 3200mhz Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB Ram (painted) Corsair RM1000x PSU (cusatom cables) Corsair Crystal 570x Mirror Black (heavily modified) EVGA RTX 2080ti FTW3 Ultra Western Digital Black SN750 500gb NVMe Boot Drive Intel 660p 1tb storage drive Corsair Commander Pro Corsair RGB Fan Hub 3x Corsair LL120 Fans 3x Corsair LL140 Fans Watercooling: EKWB Supremacy Evo Nickel CPU Block Corsair XR5 3560mm Radiator Singularity Computers Protium 200mm Pump + Reservoir Combo, Silver and Polished acrylic EKWB D5 Vario Pump Bitspower fittings, Silver Shining finish Bitspower 12mm acrylic tubing EKWB Cryofuel Solid White Concentrate Others: Mainframe Customs Telios Sleeving, White, Black, Carbon Fibre Overkill PCs Silver Cable Combs Mainframe Customs Stealth Cable combs - acrylic 16 gauge wire for all power cables Thanks for reading
Lovely. I like heavy plexi. I've never heard of anyone laser cutting 12mm/ 1/2". Did you have to clean up the mounting point edges to get them square? Also, Welcome to Bit-Tech.
Thanks for the warm welcome!! There was only one edge that needed to be mated square, and I used a jig instead of flattening that one edge. Since most of the panels are mounted directly to the metal parts of the chassis and are hidden from view I didn't see it as necessary to do any more refinement. The 12mm needed 3 passes to get all the way through with a nice finish. It was definitely doable but very time consuming XD I think next time I will try using a CNC router and see how that end up working.
A finishing pass on a laser? Yeah, I think I know why now. Most people with the machines I've run into don't want to do ONE pass...or calibrate.
