Neptune's Trident

[msmrx57]

Wow! 8) Looking good. All your work is so clean, the extra effort on the masking definitely paid off. +rep

[KiLLERMAN21]

That looks REALLY nice. Good stuff.

[AntraxLife]

cant wait to see it together! :D

[Boddaker]

I was getting the holes cut out of the motherboard tray this morning, but I decided to take a break from
that and put the monitor together. Then I had to see how it looks in the sun, and oh man, is this paint amazing!
The metallic flakes add a whole 'nother dimension to the components in the sunlight, and actually takes little away
from the water droplet effect, due to the depth. Luckily, this will be displayed indoors lol. Anyway, here are the eye candy shots! :D

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Monitor1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Monitor1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Monitor2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Monitor2.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Monitor4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Monitor4.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Monitor3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Monitor3.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Monitor5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Monitor5.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Monitor6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Monitor6.jpg)

The monitor looked so good, I had to see how the keyboard looked in the sun as well:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/KB1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/KB1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/KB2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/KB2.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/KB3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/KB3.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/KB4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/KB4.jpg)

And here is what I did with the mouse. Logitech offers custom G9 grips for $20. You upload a picture to their site,
and they print it onto the grip and send it to you. Pretty cool!
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Mouse1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Mouse1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Mouse2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Mouse2.jpg)

Ok, back to the mobo tray! ;-)

[Liquid_Scope_99]

Man that shade of blue is awesome great plexi work as well

[mofo]

So Boddaker I'm guessing this mod will be done by Intel Lan. Will we be seeing it there?

[Boddaker]

So Boddaker I'm guessing this mod will be done by Intel Lan. Will we be seeing it there?

i was planning on going to the one in Sacramento, but unfortunately I didn't get my seat before it sold out. :facepalm: I will, however, be attending PDXLAN the week prior, and PAX in September.

[Boddaker]

WOW! Two updates within a 12 hour period! :shock: The assembly part of a build is the most exciting, and gratifying.
So much so that I just couldn't stop!

Here are the holes I cut in the mobo tray for the cabling. A couple along the top edge (of the tray (on the bottom in the pic)
for the front I/O cables and pwr/reset, one for the case fan, and the long one is for the IDE cable.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/MBtray1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/MBtray1.jpg)

Here's with the back plate and cover on, with matching holes:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/MBtray2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/MBtray2.jpg)

I'm using both counter sunk and white rivets to put the case back together.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Rivets_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Rivets.jpg)

Here's the tray back in the case:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/MBtray3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/MBtray3.jpg)

Back shot:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/MBtray4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/MBtray4.jpg)

A shot of the side panel latching hardware:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SPlatch_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SPlatch.jpg)

Back shot with side panel on:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly5.jpg)

left side panel:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly6.jpg)

Right Side panel:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly7.jpg)

Well, I couldn't stop there, I had to get the rads in too! Here is the rad/fan assembly with the revised mounting brackets:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly8.jpg)

In the case:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly9.jpg)

And with the mesh boxes:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly10_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly10.jpg)

Tomorrow I'll get some shots with the mesh boxes in and the side panel on. I will be getting the window in as well.

'Til then! :D

[The boy 4rm oz]

That is the coolest monitor and G15 I have even seen, that effect is amazing, love the custom G9 grip. The rad array turned out beautifully mate, looks great.

[mercerman318]

That is absolutely gorgeous bod!!!, i can't wait to see this whole thing put together, your mods are just absolute perfection!!! +rep

and the boy 4rm oz, it's a g19 ;)

[Boddaker]

That is absolutely gorgeous bod!!!, i can't wait to see this whole thing put together, your mods are just absolute perfection!!! +rep

and the boy 4rm oz, it's a g19 ;)

Thanks mercerman! :D

Actually though, boy4rm oz was right. The mouse is a G9. It's the keyboard that's the G19. My fault, I mis-typed. :redface:

[Boddaker]

Of course system installations never go issue-free. I ran into a problem with the video card heatsinks (Swiftech GTX200).
It appears that two of my 260 cards have a slightly different board design than my other one. As such, the heatsink
won't fit properly. So now I must modify it!

Here's the card with the heatsink:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC29_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC29.jpg)

You can see here how the heatsink is designed to fit around the components on the video card.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC30_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC30.jpg)

however, on the newer GTX260, it doesn't fit quite right.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC31_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC31.jpg)

The chips and capacitors have been relocated.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC32_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC32.jpg)

So I lopped off the offending section of the heatsink...
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC33_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC33.jpg)

Now it sits flush onto the video card, but what to do about the exposed components that need cooling?
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC34_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC34.jpg)

Enter the stock cooling solution!
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC35_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC35.jpg)

I cut along the dotted line...
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC36_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC36.jpg)

Made a couple adjustments to take advantage of the screw holes...
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC37_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC37.jpg)

and voila! Problem solved.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC38_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC38.jpg)

Gave the stock part a coat of black to match and it's done.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC39_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/VC39.jpg)

So now installation can continue (until the next problem arises) lol.

[p0Pe]

this just gets better and better:) keep it up m8! the monitor and g19 is absolutely GORGIOUS!

[gaz_the_chav]

B-E-A utiful!

-gaz

[AntraxLife]

WAUW!!! all i can say for now! :P :D

[Drum Thumper]

I was glancing over this. I thought you had moved the chips and caps. Had me thinkin "damn, this guy just took it to another level" to say the least lol.

Can't wait to see the end result!

[Boddaker]

Ok, here's an update (not that I have time for it, seeing as how I haven't even installed the motherboard yet lol)

I had to leak-test the floor before mounting it into the case. So I hooked up a bunch of hoses so that I could test all channels at once.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_test1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_test1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_test2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_test2.jpg)

Once I knew there were no leaks (yay!), I prepped the underside for paint and taped off the top.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_prep1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_prep1.jpg)

In order to get the same white/pearl effect on the floor, I had to spray the pearl first directly onto the acrlyic, followed by the white.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_paint1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_paint1.jpg)

Looking at it from the top down, the effect is intact.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor10_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor10.jpg)

To finish off the floor, I wanted to make a nice logo trim piece to go along the visible edge. So I took some blue
transparent acrylic, scuffed it up and applied some custom lettering. I first printed them out on label paper, then
cut them out of that masking material with an exacto knife.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_edge1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_edge1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_edge2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_edge2.jpg)

Painted.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_edge3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_edge3.jpg)

un-masked (the blue you see through the letters is the blue masking tape on the back side).
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_edge4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_edge4.jpg)

Close up of the un-masking.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_edge5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_edge5.jpg)

And here's the overall shot of the final effect. When I designed the floor, I left a cavity behind the letters for a 12" ccfl.
Should glow nicely! :D
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor12_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor12.jpg)

That's all for now. It's back into the garage for me (and a late night I'm sure!)

[SXRguyinMA]

thats seriously insane :bowdown:

[Dane Bramage]

that floor is just insanley sick, man... too cool. can't wait to see that under UV.

+rep

[msmrx57]

:eek: Just plain WOW!!! :bowdown:

[b4i7]

Bod, ive been watching this mod pretty silently since the beginning. but that is just pure amazing

[Waynio]

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor_test1_sm.jpg
Incredibly cool :bowdown:.

[DonT-FeaR]

as the first lot of modding i have seen in 3weeks other than my own..

its a good sight for sore eyes.. or whatever the saying is :)

very nice

[The boy 4rm oz]

WOOOHOOO, never have I felt so good after coming back from holidays, mate you made my day (especially seeing as I just sat through Bruno lol). The floor turned out amazingly, much better than I expected, then again, considering the quality of all your other work, that is to be expected. +rep

*EDIT*
Damn, I need to spread some around first lol

[DonT-FeaR]

yeah /\ i agree.. ill rep him :P

[Boddaker]

haha thanks guys. Well, I got back from the lan (and our mini vacation), so now I can continue assembling. I was trying to at least get fluid into Trident, but last minute set-backs prevented that from happening. I will be re-doing a couple things including the floor. Yes, it holds water, but it looks terrible and I know I can do better! I got some clear-setting epoxy to try this time, so hopefully I can get it completely bubble free.

Anyway, here are some assembly pics I took last week:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly11_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly11.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly12_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly12.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly13_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Assembly13.jpg)

[The boy 4rm oz]

Saweeeet!!! It is coming together very well. It's every bit as awesome as I expected ;).

[Tech-Daddy]

*jaw on floor....
Speechless bro... excellent work Bod!!
Now, to go find a towel... ;)

[KiLLERMAN21]

Now that's hot.

[DonT-FeaR]

sexy/// and agree with above

[p0Pe]

MOAR!!! :D its wicked dude!

[Boddaker]

Yes, I'm still alive. After the LAN, I kinda went a bit backwards and disassembled the case again
to re-do some things that didn't quite work the first time. I'm spending a lot more time in the cabling department
this time. I didn't like how the SATA cables came out so I'm completely remaking them using white wires.
I'm also using these shorter pass-through connectors, but only one at the end of each cable.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA1.jpg)

These make it easy to swap out the wires. Just pry the back cover off.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA2.jpg)

I cut the white wires to length and soldered the pins on.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA3.jpg)

Then pressed each wire into their slots and put the cover back on.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA4.jpg)

For the ATX cables, I wanted a different effect than sleeving. Something that would match the case theme, and pass through
the floor. So I'm making an extension with all white wires that I'm coloring blue, to match all three shades of the coolant.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX1.jpg)

Using the female side of the ATX connector, I adjusted the wires til they created a smooth 90° curve.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX2.jpg)

Then after allowing for additional length needed to pass through the floor, I temporarily tied them together to make my cuts.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX3.jpg)

Once they were all cut to length, I soldered the pins on.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX4.jpg)

But before I put the connector on, I'll need to feed the wires through the floor, and I can't do that until I finish
up some other things first. 'Til next time!

[DonT-FeaR]

wicked cable work mate!

[The boy 4rm oz]

Very nice work on the cables, I love the ATX connector, very cool, reminds me of Sniipe Dogg's latest mod on Bit-Tech.

[Dane Bramage]

dig it. can't wait to see the cables installed.

[Boddaker]

Thanks guys!


Very nice work on the cables, I love the ATX connector, very cool, reminds me of Sniipe Dogg's latest mod on Bit-Tech.

Yes, his ATX cables are very nice. I was originally going to do the same thing! So I'm glad I decided to do mine a bit differently.

[Boddaker]

Wanted to show some in-progress shots of the new floor. This time I used a 2-part epoxy and got a completely bubble-free result. Check it out:

After mixing in a small container, I poured it onto the first piece. In order to promote adhesion, I lightly sanded
the surfaces with my orbital sander.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor14_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor14.jpg)

Spreading out the epoxy with a squeegie
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor16_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor16.jpg)

Full coverage! I let it sit for a few minutes to let the epoxy flow out (this particular epoxy had a 45minute work time)
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor17_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor17.jpg)

Out came the clamps. I found that I couldn't use my smaller spring clamps because they were too strong, leaving a dry
spot at the pressure point. So I opted for the lighter plastic clamps with some wood scraps to even out the clamping force.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor18_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor18.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor19_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor19.jpg)

Bottom and center piece glued:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor20_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor20.jpg)

And the final part. Completely clear with no bubbles. :D
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor21_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Floor21.jpg)

After the gluing, I cleaned it up a lot, removing drips and smoothing out the edges. I drilled cabling and mounting
screw holes, cut notches here and there, getting a perfect fit. All that's left is paint and polish (to get rid of any fingerprints
on the top) and I can finally get back to installation.

[rendermandan]

Very Nice.

[SXRguyinMA]

nice work!

[The boy 4rm oz]

Yep, looks great my friend, I really can't wait to see this completely together.

[DonT-FeaR]

thumbs up from me :P

[AntraxLife]

wauw, great idea with the cable's, nice job on the epoxy job as wel :)

[Boddaker]

A smallish update: DVD drive mounting and cover

Here's how I mounted the optical drive: It sits in a recessed area of the floor, just underneath the bottom T3 reservoir.
The drive I'm using is the Pioneer K05 slimline slot-loading drive. It's a DVD player and recorder.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVD1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVD1.jpg)

To mount the drive, I am utilizing this dual drive 5 1/4" bay mounting plate. Just the part above the dotted line.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVD2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVD2.jpg)

Bent the tabs at the appropriate height...
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVD3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVD3.jpg)

... marked the holes, drilled and tapped into the floor.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVD4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVD4.jpg)

Since the slot-loading optical drive is situated beneath the bottom T3 and will be visible, I needed to make a cover for it.
I did a quick cover for the lan, but it wasn't perfect. So I used it as a template to make a new one, with some
changes. This shot shows all the pieces before gluing.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVDcover1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVDcover1.jpg)

Once glued, I proceeded to carefully cut the slot in front. I used the thinnest file I had to slowly widen the slot.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVDcover2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVDcover2.jpg)

A shot from the end shows it's pretty straight and even. Time to stop filing!
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVDcover3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVDcover3.jpg)

Sanded, primed, sanded, painted, pearled, and positioned over the drive.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVD5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/DVD5.jpg)

A bit of double-sided tape will keep it from moving around (it won't need anything more, since it will be basically locked in place under the res).

[The boy 4rm oz]

Very simple yet effective cover mate, looks very nice.

[DonT-FeaR]

very very cool!

[Boddaker]

Some more cabling...

Here are all three SATA cables I strung up with white wires and L connectors.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA5.jpg)

I cut holes in the back cover, ran them through and plugged them in.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA6.jpg)

A close up shot. But I don't like how the cut wires show through the connector.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA7.jpg)

So I whipped up some quick covers for them...
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA8.jpg)

and glued them on.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA9.jpg)

Ahhh, much better! :D
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA10_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SATA10.jpg)

[Cheron]

Those covers make it really nead. keep it going I really like where you are heading.

they say: the devil is in the details.

But watching you I would say:Modding is the Details.:up:

[The boy 4rm oz]

Nice work on the SATA power cables, now do the same for the data cables ;).

[DonT-FeaR]

i think boddaker is the devil as he brings the detail!
nice work mate

[AntraxLife]

wow, it just cant get wqorst so he just makes it better! :O WOOW! great man, go on :D

[Drum Thumper]

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/DT-Stamp.png

[Boddaker]

lol thanks Drumthumper! :D

Welcome to my cabling nightmare! :twisted:

I've been cabling for the past two weeks and I'm now officially SICK of cabling! lol
Here's what it looked like a few days ago, as I was just starting the arduous task of shortening the ATX cables.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Wiring1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Wiring1.jpg)

Not sure if I showed this before, but it's the 8pin cable extension I made using white wires.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/8pin1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/8pin1.jpg)

After coloring and installed through the floor.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/8pin2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/8pin2.jpg)

Getting back to the ATX cable, I stuffed each color group through separate holes in the floor. Not as clean as I
would have liked, but it will have to suffice. I had originally intended on sleeving them with clear tubing to mimic
the watercooling. But it just didn't look right. I need some kind of triple boot to cover the end of the hose at the
connector. But that's for another update, I'm done messing with it for now!
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX5.jpg)

So after the wires were through the floor, I could put the other connector end on. Then I could measure and shorten the
cables from the psu.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX6.jpg)

Instead of cutting and putting new pins on each wire, I opted to just cut out a section of wire out of the middle and solder
them back together. I put the connector back on after sleeving it. I did the 8-pin cable as well.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX7.jpg)

Here's a shot from the underside to show the connection. You can also see the recess in the floor to accommodate all the cabling.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX8.jpg)

The cable recess from a slightly different angle. You can see the PCI-e cables as well.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX9_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/ATX9.jpg)

Speaking of PCI-e cables, here's a shot of the future location of the connection point between the psu and
extension cables. That large square cutout is where the extension cables will be coming through from the cards. I
drilled holes in the motherboard tray for the zip ties that will hold each connector in place.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe1.jpg)

Now I can shorten each PCI-e cable to reach the connection point.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe2.jpg)

Here's a before-and-after shot to show the difference in length. Again, I cut a section out of the middle and soldered
them back together. One down, 35 to go!
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe3.jpg)

One group of six complete.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe4.jpg)

Got the two hard-wired PCI-e cables from the psu done. The other 4 are modular.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe5.jpg)

I temporarily folded the modular cables over to the correct length and tried a test fit. Well it turns out I won't need to
shorten them, I'll need to lengthen them. After placing the rad/fan/mesh box assembly in last night, there is
no more room on top, so I'll have to route them down under the mesh box and back up.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe6.jpg)

I finally got all the extension cables cut to length, pinned, soldered, and connected last night.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe7.jpg)

Here's a shot with the cover on in front. Looks like I'll need to do something about those yellow wires that are still visible.
A couple well-placed zip ties should take care of those unruly wires!
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PCIe8.jpg)

As a parting shot, I thought it appropriate to show just how much of the cabling I removed.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Wiring2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Wiring2.jpg)

"I've lost the fat man and I'm runnin' lean!" -Kramer

[SXRguyinMA]

amazing :bowdown:

[msmrx57]

amazing :bowdown:

What he said.:alien:

[The boy 4rm oz]

Mate that seriously looks cool, you definitely removed a lot of cable mess. I really like the recess in the floor for the cables, great idea. Shame that the 24pin power connector looks a bit "off", I do like the idea you tried of passing the wires through tubing, it would looks awesome with compression fittings and all lol. Perhaps you could make something similar to the GPU power connector covers? But then I guess you will have to do the same for the 8pin connector and that just wouldn't look right.

[Rivera82falcon]

Awesome job so far! Intense coming in and reading through 31pages, but still a great read. I can't wait to try a mod of my own soon.

[DonT-FeaR]

bod.. ur making us look bad.. just stop k mate :(

jokes..!!1 thats wicked keep going

[Boddaker]

Moving on to the leds. Moddersmart sent me some of these killer led pigtails. They're just ready-made led strings that plug into...
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/LED2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/LED2.jpg)

... this 20-station board. Has a standard 4-pin molex hookup and has the resistors incorporated into the pcb. No fuss, no muss! :D
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/LED1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/LED1.jpg)

I strung two UV leds together and sleeved them,
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/LED3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/LED3.jpg)

So they would fit into the led holders that came with the T3 res.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/LED4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/LED4.jpg)

Two more sets like this one, then I can move on to some accent lighting.

8)

[billygoat333]

thats a pretty sweet setup with the leds!

[SXRguyinMA]

:stupid: nice setup

[The boy 4rm oz]

That's a really cool LED setup, you got a link mate, I am very interested in getting some :D.

[Boddaker]

That's a really cool LED setup, you got a link mate, I am very interested in getting some :D.

I would provide a link, but they are not available yet, due to no stock. As soon as they get more in and make them available through their site, I'll post a link for ya. :)

[The boy 4rm oz]

Cheers mate, I really wanna get some :D.

[DonT-FeaR]

looks wicked mate

[Boddaker]

Almost done! :D On the home stretch now. Got the last couple of items painted, and the loops filled. woot!

Before I could finalize the tubing, I had to paint the tubing guides. So I did that while I was doing some last minute cabling.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Guides2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Guides2.jpg)

Here's a wide shot of everything so far with the guides on. I swapped out those silver sata cables for some UV blue ones.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Wide1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Wide1.jpg)

Here's a close up shot of the lower rad compartment. Don't even ask me how I managed to hook it all up lol!
(no, really. I don't remember. :P)
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Rads6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Rads6.jpg)

Upper main compartment with guides:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Tubing3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Tubing3.jpg)

Close up shot of the T3 side:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Tubing7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Tubing7.jpg)

Close up shot of the component side:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Tubing8_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Tubing8.jpg)

Finally I get to fill the system! I carefully turned the case onto its back and started filling. First the CPU loop:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Filling1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Filling1.jpg)

Next is the NB/SB & middle video card loop:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Filling2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Filling2.jpg)

Lastly, the loop for the two remaining video cards:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Filling3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Filling3.jpg)

All three T3's filled and ready to go! I used a spare psu to cycle the pumps, bleed all the air out, and check for leaks under pressure.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Filling4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Filling4.jpg)

Money shot of the floor with all three shades of coolant flowing through it:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Filling5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Filling5.jpg)

And finally an overall shot:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Filling6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/Filling6.jpg)

I did have a few leaks I needed to address, but nothing catastrophic (which is actually amazing considering how many
fittings I'm using lol). I just have a few final items to address, then I can call this thing D-O-N-E.

8)

[Cheron]

Whoooooo..... you got me speechless.

Still I would like to know your temps on the dual gfx loop.

Thumps up plus rep deff.......

[SXRguyinMA]

:stupid: looks incredible!! :bowdown:

[mercerman318]

Just absolutely unreal. I really don't know what to say, it's almost TOO amazing, keep up the god-like work

[Mach]

Absolutely speechless! Every time I think you've done the impossible, you keep one up yourself. Amazing!

[luciusad2004]

Read through this whole thread the other day and just wanted to say that the floor is absolutely spectacular. I really think it is the centerpiece of this whole case, I've never seen anything like it. It's even more stunning now that you have it filled with coolant.

Great work!

[The boy 4rm oz]

The tubing guides look great and the floor looks absolutely fantastic, truly one of a kind. +rep

[DonT-FeaR]

very very cool.. great work mate!

[AntraxLife]

ALL HAIL TO THE MASTER MODDER!! :D i love your pc mate, keep the work up and you should be able to win every award that you can get in shows :D

[Vitz¥^]

Awesome work :omg:

[Boddaker]

Thanks guys! :D

Well I had issues with the ATX 24pin extension cable I made, and it wouldn't power up. After jumping the psu and getting power to the fans, lights, and pumps, then hooking a spare psu up to the motherboard and getting it to power on, I determined that extension cable was the culprit. So Brian at Moddersmart is making one for me and overnighting it up to Seattle for me. woot! Words cannot express my gratitude! :)

So while I had the spare psu hooked up, I got Windows 7 installed. And while that was going, I worked on mounting the side panels.

Here are a couple shots of the case with the windowed side panel on:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SP34_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SP34.jpg)

Gotta address some alignment issues with the lower mesh boxes, but otherwise looks pretty good.
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SP35_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SP35.jpg)

The trident window is blue transparent acrylic, while the top and bottom pieces on the right are mirrored acrylic.
(the camera flash kinda makes them look like smoked acrylic)
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SP36_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SP36.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SP37_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/SP37.jpg)

Driving up to Seattle tomorrow for PAX, so I'll try to post some pics of the event.

[Luke122]

Sadly I wont be at PAX.. a whole pile of things went wrong at once. :( My brother and one of my friends are on the way there now, and I hope to have tons of updates from them!

System looks great!

[The boy 4rm oz]

Dude that really does look insane, I think you have outdone yourself lol. Good luck at PAX mate, I wish I could get there lol.

[rendermandan]

I've always wanted to go to PAX. Hope you have a great time. The case looks killer!

[KiLLERMAN21]

That looks so good. I want to eat it all up.

[DonT-FeaR]

/\ agreed!

[Waynio]

Yep, easily by far the best looking water cooled rig I have seen, I just love the floor bit to keep the tubes neat and it looks awesome, fantastic colour scheme too.

Seriously, a very drool worthy case Boddaker. :D :banana: :bowdown:
+rep if I have not already :up:.

[SinCrisis]

absolutely fantastic. How heavy is it?

[Boddaker]

I would guess it's about 60-70lbs. If I remember, I'll put it onto the scale and get an accurate weight for ya.

I took some quick shots of the case set up at PAX:

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PAX1_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PAX1.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PAX2_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PAX2.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PAX3_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PAX3.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PAX4_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PAX4.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PAX5_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PAX5.jpg)

The flash pretty much overpowered the internal lighting, so here's a couple non-flash pics:
http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PAX6_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PAX6.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PAX7_sm.jpg (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/PAX7.jpg)

You can kinda see in that last pic the new and improved extension cable. Once I get Trident set back up, I'll take better shots with the side panel off. I'm also lining up a professional studio shoot so I can get some real nice desktop-worthy shots. :)

[Liquid_Scope_99]

Man your creativity and attention to detail never ceases to amaze me

[The boy 4rm oz]

Man your creativity and attention to detail never ceases to amaze me

+1

[AntraxLife]

+rep and Awsomeness to you man!

[Dane Bramage]

by far one of the best mods i have seen at this site.

+ rep

[DonT-FeaR]

looks wicked

[Drum Thumper]

Once again, Bod delivers. Bravo!

[Raceface]

Very nice work with really good details.

Well moved ideas.

A lot of fun with the PC

[OvRiDe]

Truly a fantastic build Bod!! Looking forward to more pics.

[jdbnsn]

Whoa....you really don't disappoint dude. Fantastic execution!

[Liquid_Scope_99]

Man just awesome !

[TheMainMan]

Went away from the forums for the summer and man, I missed out on a lot going on! This case is mind-boggling in the detail and execution! Fantastic job!

[rendermandan]

Let me be the first (I think) person to congratulate you on making the cover of CPU magazine AGAIN!!!!!

You never cease to amaze us, Keep up the excellent work!

[Oneslowz28]

Congrats again Brian. Check out the front page. http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/frontpage/?q=node/407

[Boddaker]

Let me be the first (I think) person to congratulate you on making the cover of CPU magazine AGAIN!!!!!

You never cease to amaze us, Keep up the excellent work!

Thanks man! The cover and spread came out really awesome. Here's the cover shot :D

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/CPU_Cover.jpg

Should be making its way to mailboxes now, and on newsstand shelves in a week or so.

And thanks for the front page news flash! :)

[The boy 4rm oz]

Once again, congratz mate, you really deserve it :D.

[billygoat333]

that is one sexy case and it looks amazing on the cover of cpu! good work!

[SXRguyinMA]

awesome!

[slaveofconvention]

Thanks man! The cover and spread came out really awesome. Here's the cover shot :D

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/CPU_Cover.jpg

Should be making its way to mailboxes now, and on newsstand shelves in a week or so.

And thanks for the front page news flash! :)

LOL - yeah I could have used that image last week lol had to use a teeeeeny tiny one on CPU's website for your newsdesk banner lol

[Dane Bramage]

that's pretty friggin awesome, boddaker. gratz.

[EspoNation]

awesome job man, another ultimate achievement!

[mDust]

I'm a bit late (as usual...:)) to the celebratory party for the mag cover. I was walking down the magazine aisle at my local Meijer store and something familiar caught my eye...I saw this mod on the CPU mag cover! Congratulations! That's seriously the coolest thing ever. I bought one just to see what they said about it.:D

EDIT:

BTW: I'm pretty sure everyone here already thought you were a 'flat-out modding genius', but now it's been confirmed and has been published...lol (editor's notes on back of second page)
The only two copies of CPU magazine I have purchased are this one and the September issue with Dark Carbon featured...which was before I stumbled onto this website. This site oozes talent and creativity.

[p0Pe]

the last few pictures on the latest pages looks wicked. gratz on the frontpage!

[Luke122]

Featured on Engadget!!!!

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/23/neptunes-trident-case-mod-honors-the-god-of-liquid-cooling/

[Boddaker]

Featured on Engadget!!!!

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/23/neptunes-trident-case-mod-honors-the-god-of-liquid-cooling/

LOL gotta love the bone-head comments. :facepalm:

[The boy 4rm oz]

Congratz on the right up om B-T mate, well deserved.

[Boddaker]

Congratz on the right up om B-T mate, well deserved.

Thanks man! :D

[Boddaker]

So I've been meaning to make up a couple wallpapers of Trident, and I finally got around to it. :D

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/TridentF_1920x1080_sm.jpg

1680 x 1050 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/TridentF_1680x1050.jpg) | 1600 x 1200 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/TridentF_1600x1200.jpg)

1920 x 1080 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/TridentF_1920x1080.jpg) | 1920 x 1200 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/TridentF_1920x1200.jpg)

3360 x 1050 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/TridentF_3360x1050.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/Floor_1920x1080_sm.jpg

1680 x 1050 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/Floor_1680x1050.jpg) | 1600 x 1200 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/Floor_1600x1200.jpg)

1920 x 1080 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/Floor_1920x1080.jpg) | 1920 x 1200 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/Floor_1920x1200.jpg)

3360 x 1050 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/Floor_3360x1050.jpg)

I'll be making up a few more, as I get the time. Let me know if there is any other resolution you would like these in, and I'll resize them for ya.

[Trace]

That's my new background. The First one tht is

[mDust]

wallpapers of TridentNICE!

[Boddaker]

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/TridentF_1920x1080_sm.jpg

1680 x 1050 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/TridentF_1680x1050.jpg) | 1600 x 1200 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/TridentF_1600x1200.jpg)

1920 x 1080 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/TridentF_1920x1080.jpg) | 1920 x 1200 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/TridentF_1920x1200.jpg)

3360 x 1050 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/TridentF_3360x1050.jpg)

http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/Floor_1920x1080_sm.jpg

1680 x 1050 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/Floor_1680x1050.jpg) | 1600 x 1200 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/Floor_1600x1200.jpg)

1920 x 1080 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/Floor_1920x1080.jpg) | 1920 x 1200 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/Floor_1920x1200.jpg)

3360 x 1050 (http://www.bods-mods.com/Trident/WP/Floor_3360x1050.jpg)



Added 1600 x 1200, and 1920 x 1200. :)

[The boy 4rm oz]

Sweet walls mate, the 1920x1200 looks awesome on my new 24" :D.

[Boddaker]

As some of you already know, Bit-Tech is having their Mod of the Year 2009 (http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2009/12/24/mod-of-the-year-2009/1) competition, and Trident was nominated. woot! If you haven't yet, head on over and check out all the great builds (21 mods this time!).

If you want to vote for your favorite one (wink-wink, nudge-nudge), head to the last page and register. ;-) Voting ends January 14th.

[Waynio]

Wish I could vote for a few, I'm so torn between this and Cygnus X1 by Attila Lukacs (oldnewby) I'm blown away by the workmanship, and yours for workmanship + innovation, both should be a tie as number 1 imo, but since you covered 2 things with excellence I'll vote for yours, I look at both of these and just see 100% sheer quality :banana:.

I absolutely like all of them, they need a top 5 at least for a mod of the year, too many good mods, just can't believe they are not having runners up :?.

The only 1 I'm confused for being in mod of the year is overclocked orange, it even got media coverage by the bbc, it is just a paint job or powder coat with stickers and watercooling, it's nicely done but what actual modding went into it really :?, there were better mods that could have filled it's space, hint hint air cube v2 :D.

[Boddaker]

Yeah, Cygnus will most likely win, as it is a work of art. If you look up perfection in the dictionary, you see a picture of Cygnus! lol But thanks for the vote anyways, maybe I can grab the second place spot. Fortunately, they have prize packages for the top 3 places. :D

[Drum Thumper]

So Bod, what's in store for 2010?

[Boddaker]

So Bod, what's in store for 2010?

lol

I'm actually in the design stages of my next case right now, so as soon as I get the logistics ironed out, I'll start a log. Don't want to give too much away, but I will say that it'll be a scratch build, with some sort of automation involved. :twisted:

[Trace]

<3 to see it. Loved this one, I'm sure to love your next one

[Boddaker]

The results are in (http://www.bit-tech.net/news/modding/2010/01/14/mod-of-the-year-the-winners/1), and Trident came in 3rd behind Cygnus and Flow. :) It was an honor being nominated, and I'm pleased to be coming away with some cool prizes! :D Thanks everyone who voted, and I'll try to have something worthy of consideration this year.

[DonT-FeaR]

goodwork bod.. now i have to come and rob you right? :D

[_ferry_]

Congratz, on your 3th position!

[The boy 4rm oz]

DAMN!!!, I FORGOT TO VOTE!!!!

Oh well, congrats on the placing all the same mate, you deserve it.

[Waynio]

Congrats on getting 3rd Bod :banana::banana::banana:
There was some awesome pieces of functional art in the moty, so much quality work in all of them and my top 2 made it in the top 3 :), fantastic prizes to be had also, I was quite surprised, had no idea the awards would be so great, I'll have to get to work and give it my best shot on a new piece soon, but honestly I would be really lucky to even get nominated for a motm with my impatience to finish a mod lol, oldnewb mentioned about another in the works gulp lol :).

[msmrx57]

Congrats!! Not much surprise with Cygnus X1 winning, but I had you in 2nd for sure. Still great placement with the competition. :up:

[AmEv]

extreme thread revival....

[985323]

Sorry for the bump, but i was just watching penny arcades tv show and came across this.
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm81/895232/Uhhh.png

[Boddaker]

Sorry for the bump, but i was just watching penny arcades tv show and came across this.
[IMG]

Cool, thanks for that! I didn't know they got it on video too lol. I'll be going up to PAX this year with the TRON case, but it will be displayed at the EVGA booth. They are working on a special promotion involving the case and Facebook. Should be fun! :)

[Attila]

Ah so that's what PAX is all about. Kinda like Mecca for geeks. :bunny:
Very cool for trident to get caught on video. 8)