Case Mod - Complete VAULT BOY - A Fallout Inspired Build (modded Bitfenix Prodigy)

Hey guys. My name is Alex and this is my first post on the forum. I'm a student from Gold Coast, Australia who loves PC building and gaming.

I would like to introduce you to the Vault Boy, a Fallout inspired build:

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Over the past 2 months or so I have been working on my first mod project on this itx Bitfenix Prodigy over on the LTT forum and I decided to share it with you guys as well. I know the Prodigy has been out for a while now and there have been plenty really nice looking builds in it but I always wanted to build in one and never had the chance until now. The case mod is pretty much complete, I would post a link to my thread in the LTT forum though I'm not sure if it's allowed.

Firstly I'm gonna let you guys know the purpose of this build as I already have another pretty functional one lol. I'm gonna be using this in my bedroom as a HTPC and for console like gaming, meaning mostly games that you can play with a controller. So pretty much HTPC / Steam Box. However once it's done I will be using it as my main rig while I revamp the other one with some modifications to the case, haven't really decided what exactly yet. Also another reason I started this was because I just wanted to do some case modding for the first time and I gotta tell you it has been a joy working on this. I went with a Fallout theme and mostly with the vault boy because Fallout 3 is my all time favorite game and also I just wanted something different. Most mods for this case have been inspired by Singularity Computers.

Now, what has started as just a case modding project has turned into an actual build sooner than I thought it would.

Anyways enough about that, here are the SPECS:

Case - Modded Bitfenix Prodigy
Motherboard - ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe
CPU - Intel i5 3570K
GPU - ASUS R9 290
RAM - 2 x 4GB G.Skill Rip-Jaws 1600Mhz
SSD - Crucial MX100 256GB
PSU - Silverstone Strider 550W Gold ST55F-G

Radiators - Alphacool NexXxoS Full Copper ST30 280mm, Alphacool NexXxoS Full Copper XT45 240mm
Fans - 2 x Cougar CFD 120mm Blue LED fans, 2 x Cougar CFD 140mm Blue LED fans
Pumps - Dual DDC Pumps with dual pump top
Reservoir - Bitspower Water Tank Z-Multi 150 Full Acrylic
Fittings - Various Bitspower Enhance Black Sparkle Fittings
Tubing - EK 12mm Hardline / Rigid Tubing
CPU Block - EK-Supremacy Clean CSQ Nickel Plexi
GPU Block - EK-FC R9-290 Nickel Plexi
RAM Block - EK-RAM Monarch X2 Nickel Plexi, EK-RAM Monarch Modules

Cables - Blue and yellow individually sleeved and custom length

Lighting - White DarkSide Connect LED stripd from DazMode

Mods - Blue and yellow custom paint work, fitted 280mm radiator in the top with the Koolance shroud, fully custom 10mm clear acrylic front panel with 240mm radiator fitted, acrylic floor mod, dual DDC pumps mounted to the floor, custom case feet, PSU covers, repositioned power/reser switch to the back, fully custom 2mm clear acrylic side panels, some 3M carbon fiber vinyl, various grills, also I might replace the front Bitfenix badge with a custom Vault Tec badge if it's not to expensive to make.

Other - Gonna try fit a Vault Boy bobble head in there somewhere once the build is finished


I already have some of the components and some are on their way, I will feature everything as I start building.

Let me know what you guys think.

Here it is:





















And some shots with the blue LED fans on

 

Hey guys,

I decided to upload some pictures of the actual modding process on here as well and a quick overview of some of the components so far

Here we go:


The case as I got into it





Cutting the front with a rotary tool





I originally wanted to use this for the front panel, around the acrylic





The two DDC pumps that I purchased for $50



280mm Koolance Shroud



Bitspower 150 reservoir



This was the first parts arrival, pretty much what's in the case at the moment



280mm vs 240mm rads



Love the look of these Cougar fans



Cutting out the top, used a jig saw for this as well as the rotary tool



Small mistake there but it can't be seen due to the Koolance shroud mounted on top



Power/Reset switch relocated



Koolance shroud and top rad test fit



Cutting out the front panel acrylic, used jig saw for this



Sanding and filing the cut



This is the mock up I used for the cut



Mounting the case feet, also you can see the cut I did for the end tank of the front rad



Test fit



Side panel test fit, this was 3mm thick, however I ended up using 2mm thick



Took the entire case apart



Acrylic floor test fit




Test fitted the PSU side covers



Mounted the power/reset switch



That was pretty much it for the mods, next up painting



Used some sanding paper for prep and the just Rustoleum Spray Paint. Really good spray paint by the way



Once the painting had dried up nicely after about a week, I reassembled the case. Used M4 allen key bolts where I could and rivets where needed, mostly in spots where they won't be seen.













Grills painted





And installed



This is what I had originally planed for the top but just didn't like the look of those dust filters in yellow. I wanted the fans to be seen. This was also the reason why I went top intake and front exhaust



Another test fit of the front panel acrylic, now with the protective cover off



Also test fitter the rad here









This was the back-up top dust filter that I got, but it ended up being too big. However it does stay in there pretty nicely and it's easy to take out and clean. I will see how the dust build up is in the case when it's done. If it's pretty bad than I'm gonna use this




That's about it guys, afterwards it just looked as you've seen it in the first post.

Hope you've enjoyed my fast tracked little journey of doing this mod.


Also thank you everyone for the kind words and for liking my build so far. I have more ideas of how I can take the mods further but need more components to test fit.


Right now I am waiting for more components to arrive, I'll keep you guys posted as I go along with this build

 

UPDATE

Actually a pretty small one. Just a brief overview of the components I have so far:

Second hand XFX R9 290 which I purchased from eBayAu for $290



Pretty good condition cosmetically, I haven't had the chance to test it yet as I still need a motherboard. Also don't really care that it's reference design since I will be putting a waterblock on it anyway.





2 x 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws 1600Mhz memory from my previous build. I purchased the EK Monarch RAM Block and modules for it, it's the nickel plexi CSQ version which I'm gonna change the top to the clear plexi version. I'm thinking of painting the modules in the same blue as the case



The following were purchased new:

Crucial MX100 256GB SSD. I'm also thinking of painting this yellow





SilverStone Strider Gold PSU, only 140mm deep.











First thing I did was remove that ugly sticker. No point to paint this as it won't really be seen with the PSU side covers I have.



The cables waiting to be cut and sleeved



Mayhems Pastel Sunset Yellow coolant, 250ml concentrate makes 1L. Should be enough for this build



And lastly the Intel Pentium Anniversary G3258 CPU




I do have the CPU however I did score a better one for a good deal on eBay. I've also got my eyes on a different motherboard too. Can't really confirm until I know for sure that I'm gonna get it. Anyways the CPU will be much better than the pentium K if everything goes through nicely with the MB, fingers crossed. Though I'm still curious to try the little one out, might use it in a future build for my girlfriend.

That's it for now. Once I get the motherboard I will be able to fit everything in the case and test the components to make sure everything is working.

Once that is done I will be looking at getting all my sleeving gear and the rest of the watercooling gear I need. Also need more funds for that so it might be a little while. I will keep you guys posted.

I'm currently looking into setting up a custom home made photo studio, hopefully I'll have that ready in a short while for future picture updates.

Stay tuned!

 

SMALL UPDATE

I can now say for sure that the new CPU and MB that are going in this build are the Intel i5 3570K and the ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe.

I have been wanting to get my hands on that motherboard ever since it came out last year but I never had the chance or funds to get it then. And now they are not in production anymore. I was really bummed when ASUS droped the black and blue colour scheme on their motherboards.

Finding this MB on eBay was what made me change my mind about my CPU and MB, also the 3570K is much better that the Pentium K and even though it's Ivy Bridge and not the latest Devil's Canyon I'm sure it will last me a while with what I'm planning on doing with this build.

I picked up the CPU for $160 on eBay and the MB just today for $200, though I had hoped to pay less than that for an older Z77 MB I guess there were other people like me who really wanted it. Also it fits my colour scheme nicely.

However this now means I will have to drop the MSI Z97I Gaming as well as the EK-FB MSI Z97I-Gaming full cover water block coming out for it from EK, though I haven't heard anything further about it other than the announcement on EK's website. The CPU block I will be using now is the EK-Supremacy Clean CSQ Nickel Plexi. I will use the Pentium K in my next build for my girlfriend.

The CPU just arrived today and the MB should be here next week.

Anyways the build is coming together nicely.

Will post an update with pics next week when I will start assembling and testing everything. Also now that I have pretty much everything I need I can continue some further mods I have in mind with this build.

Stay tuned!

Alex

 

UPDATE

Hey there guys and girls. Here's an update to my build

I decided to pull the rads out and give them a paint job, same colour as the case .

Came out pretty good in the end, the case is now reassembled and currently I'm awaiting my motherboard to arrive so that I can start fitting components in it and think about cable lengths and sleeving.

Here are the painted rads


No prep really just sprayed them with Rustoleum spray paint . Came out pretty good
























The both dried nicely by the next day and I had the 280mm one reassembled back into the case







I decided to do some stripes on the 240mm one, which goes on the front panel. Some edges didn't turn out too good as I may have removed the tape too quickly out of excitement.





I then easily fixed it by cutting some thin lines of carbon fiber vinyl that I have, same one I used on other parts of the case. Came out really good in the end.

























Also this week I went around my area to find someone that can make the Vault Tec logo for me out of metal, acrylic or something, to put on the front panel instead of the Bitfenix logo. However they all wanted to charge more than a $100 for something like that and I just can't afford to spend that much money on a logo.

I then went ahead and cut the Vault Tec logo out of the carbon fiber vinyl and stuck the Bitfenix logo on top of that in the middle. It looks pretty good though I not giving up on the idea of a proper Vault Tec logo! I'm gonna get one of those spiral cutting attachments for my rotary tool and try to cut it out of acrylic, if I can't manage that then it will remain as it is now. Fingers crossed though!

 

UPDATE

The motherboard arrived today and I'm very happy with it. I tested all the components to make sure everything works, especially since most of the components were purchased second hand. I can say that everything is working all good . Please excuse my ghetto mounting as there was no way I could get the PSU and those stiff cables in the case.























SUCCESS !!!

















Hope you enjoy and please share some feedback. I'm still new on this forum and would love to hear from some lovely people

Cheers, Alex.

 

UPDATE

Painted SSD and EK Monarch RAM Modules

I first disassembled the SSD, yup warranty void



Removed the sticker. I will replace it later with a custom Fallout sticker



Went ahead and painted it yellow. Once it was dry I reassembled it

The yellow is much more vibrant than in these pics. Here it appears greenish





Here are the EK Monarch RAM modules ready for painting. I just removed the EK logo.



Painted them blue, only on the outside though as it wasn't necessary to paint the inside as it won't be seen. Also stuck the EK logo back on.





Sexy naked RAM





The G.Skill Rip Jaws heat spreaders



And the EK Monarch module is now on and looking really sexy I might say. These would look good even if someone wanted to use them on their own.



I installed the EK Monarch modules in such a way so that the EK logo will be seen on both sides of the MB and that line that was not painted will not be seen on the inside with the water block on





Also after seeing TTL's latest RushKit video with the XFX R9 290, I had another closer look at my box and noticed that my reference model also has the unlocked voltage



That's it for now. Thanks for viewing.

Alex

 

UPDATE

So I had a pretty big surprise arrive in the mail today . My lost and now found Heatkiller dual DDC pump top from watercool.de that I've been waiting to arrive for about 2 months now. The people over at watercool.de were kind enough and offered me a full refund for it a while ago and I gave up hope that I will ever get to see this dual pump top.

I was already looking for another one to get on my next order from PerformancePCs or FrozenCPU. Though I had no idea what to get as no one had this pump top and the reason I really like this one is because of the top inlet and nice acrylic design and there are none other like this. I'm so glad it arrived ! I have no idea why it took so long, though I'm also waiting for another package from Hong Kong and it's been over a month (non-build related).

Here it is:









I took these just before I left for work, had no time to play around with it and mount it on the pumps.

I will install it tomorrow as I'm very anxious to test those two pumps out. The story behind those is that I got them both for $50 from a local . They are some old DDC1 pumps from an Apple computer I think. However they are different from the normal DDC pumps, a bit taller. From what I can tell everything on the inside of the pumps looks good, fingers crossed they still work.

Here are the pumps:











If all goes well I will be giving the pumps the blue treatment as well, on the outside

 

UPDATE

I tested the pumps and they both worked. I then went ahead and painted them blue .

Here is the pump and res config before painting







The res is just connected with a small male to male fitting



This is the way I tested them





And here is the config with the painted pumps











Test fit in the case





I will need to cut those cables shorter and sleeve them

 

This looks awesome, well done! I really like the look of the Blue with the Carbon fiber

 

Thanks a lot! My first reply to this build on this forum

 

I love prodigy and I'm planning to do a build for the second time with it!
You have done a great work..really compliments!

 

Hi. Thanks a lot. Yea I also love the prodigy, been wanting to build in it since it first came out

 

UPDATE

Hi guys. I haven't had an update for this in a while as I've been very busy with uni.

Here is the R9 290 and EK water block assembly. You can also see the very small mods I did to the EK block, carbon fiber vinyl . I think this will blend in nicely with the carbon fiber strips on the side panels.

This is a different R9 290 that I purchased as a combo from eBay with the EK water block already installed. Unfortunately the water block was corroded when it arrived. I was very disappointed as this was not mentioned in the description and the only pictures shown was with the card still in the system so the corrosion was not seen.

I used some Brasso metal polish on the block to clean it but unfortunately the corrosion already ate at some of the nickel and the copper can be seen in certain spots. I also used some plastic polish on the plexi. Overall it came out pretty good after polishing it, other than the copper showing in certain spots, hopefully this will be all good in the long run if proper coolant is used.

Here are the results and also the full assembly and test fit in the case:



How the water block looked on arrival









After polishing









After also polishing the plexi and doing the carbon fiber vinyl wrap







Back plate





Here is the full assembly















Test fit in the case















That's if for now guys.

I hope you are enjoying this build log and here is what's to come next.



I have been very busy with uni lately and due to that I have decided not to sleeve the cables myself and thus I ordered all the cables custom made from IceModz.

Here are the colours and design. Paracord was used in order for the cables to be very flexible to allow for the shortest possible length. They are currently in transport on their way to me .




I also ordered the final parts I will need in order to finish the build and they are also on their way atm. While I'm waiting for all the components to arrive I have two more exams at uni and then I will be able to finish the build.

Stay tuned!

Cheers, Alex.

 

UPDATE

Been pretty busy lately with uni but I did manage to get some work done for the build this weekend

I worked on the motherboard tray acrylic cover and also on a cover/plate for the rear I/O and the raised power delivery pcb on the P8Z77I Deluxe.

The motherboard tray cover is 2mm thick clear acrylic. I'm gonna carbon fiber wrap that as well but I'm gonna wait till the EK Supremacy EVO arrives to make sure it fits, if not then I might have to make a cut out in the middle of the acrylic.

The motherboard cover is made from 1mm thick aluminum. I had a pretty hard time bending that with just some pliers and a hammer haha. Came out pretty good in the end. Once I carbon fiber wrapped it, it looks good and blends in with the GPU. I made sure I wrapped most of the aluminum where it touches the mb, I read somewhere people saying it's not good to use aluminum but I think it's gonna be all good how I did it.

Here are the pics






Test fit









You can also see here a small cover I made for the Wi-Fi card in order to cover the green pcb showing on that





Here's the motherboard tray cover









And here's the carbon fiber wrapped covers []







You can see here how it is on the inside, covered most of the spots where it touches the motherboard

















The good thing about the motherboard cover is that it sits there pretty snug so I won't have to tape it to the motherboard or anything. For the Wi-Fi card cover I will use some double sided tape





Stay tuned as most of the orders I have coming in order to finish this build should arrive this week

 

UPDATE

Hey guys!

Just a quick update.

I'm still studying hard for my last mid semester exam at uni this Saturday while I'm waiting for my final packages to arrive for this build

My fittings from PerformancePCs arrived. I was hoping my other packages from FrozenCPU and DazMode to get her by today so I can work on it in the weekend but unfortunately that didn't happen.

So I haven't got an update on the build yet.

Here are just some shots I took of some of the fittings with my new photography set up. I'm still learning how to use it so please bare with me














Thanks for looking, Alex

 

UPDATE

I have been very busy the past couple of days working on the build. I hope you guys are gonna be as pleased as I am with how it looks. It's nearly ready to start tubing up. I'm just missing some screws for the ram block as when I changed it to the clear top, some screws where shorter than other for some reason EK!!! I had to order some screws and they're still on their way.

Here are the sleeved cables from IceModz






















Here are some fancy shots of the case while it was still empty












Then the work continued. Here is the finished motherboard tray cover, with the LED strip stuck to it facing down so that it will light up the edges of the acrylic





And also here is my version of the EK Supremacy EVO!










AND finally here is the build

I gotta tell you, it was a struggle trying to get all those cables in while they where all connected to the PSU haha. They are long enough to just reach the components while the PSU is inside fully, otherwise they wouldn't fit inside the case. So I had to hook them all up to the PSU first








Notice the Vault Boy logo
















You can just barely see the SSD hiding behind the 24 pin cable




Stuck another Vault-Tec logo on this side of the pumps too





Thanks for checking it out.

Cheers, Alex

 

Wow, that looks ridiculously nice! Very, very nice work, dude.

 

Awesome build, I've enjoyed reading the log, I've been playing FNV and Fallout3 while you've been building this. I love the attention to detail, great work.

 

amazing..nothing else to say!
great build and great fallout