Project: Xtrykr M4T4

[Xtrykr]

Xtrykr's Case Mod Project
I've been toying around for nearly 2 years now trying to get this case mod project lifted off, and not too long ago, I have actually began construction of my case. The case that I will be basing my build off of is the Coolermaster Storm Scout, which I bought used from Guitarguy during Christmas/09. It's a solid mid-size case, with ample room for a full RAID configuration, a bottom loaded PSU, and has a cpu bracket punchout on the main mobo tray. Its a relatively clean design, but due to size restrictions, it can only fit Radeon 5850 as there's not enough clearance between the back to the hard drive cage to fit the 5870 and higher gpus. The chassis is made of high quality steel, the metal masked by a matte black paint job. There's couple of dings here and there, so I'll be doing a repaint when the build gets near the final stages of development.

CPU Specs
I haven't ordered the main PC components yet, but here's what it'll be (some have arrived already, some haven't because they aren't for sale yet):

+ AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
+ Asus Crosshair IV Formula
+ XFX 5850 x 2
+ Crucial C300 128GB SSD
+ Hitachi Deskstar HD31000 IDK/7K 1TB SATA HD x 4
+ Enermax Revolution 85+ 950W PSU
+ G.SKILL F3-17600CL7D-4GBPIS PC3-17600 x 2 (8GB total)
+ Hitachi-LG CA10N BD Reader (Slot-Load)
+ IOGEAR 56 in 1 GUH287 Card Reader
+ Arduino Duemilanove Atmega128

Display
+ LG LH90 42" LED

Cooling
I have already received my cooling kit from various sources, primarily DazMode. Would like to thank Eyekanspele for the referral.

+ EK Supreme HF Copper Acetal CPU WB
+ EK DCP 4.0 Brushless Pump
+ Feser One XTC 360 Radiator
+ 3/8" TFC Tubings UV Red ~ 10 Feet
+ Koolance Klamps
+ 6 x Scythe Kaze Jyuni 1200RPM 120mm fans
+ 1 x Scythe Kaze Maru 2 800RPM 140mm fan
+ Danger Den Fillport (1/2" <-- I need to convert this to 3/8").
+ Feser Barbs for 3/8" x 10
+ Primochill T Line for 3/8" Barbs
- Switftech Kimodo 5850 Gpu Water Block x 2

Materials
+ Fiberglass Mat
+ Resin
+ Bondo Original
+ Corrugated Plastic (Coroplast non-conductive, 786lbs per sq. inch)
+ Glass Ornament Light
+ RGB Leds x 10 (Anode type)

Warning
+ This is my first major case mod, as such, I'm a n3wb. I welcome all criticism and feedback.

Lessons Learned
+ I need a proper workshop.
+ I want the fabrication machine that Tony Stark has.
+ Wear long sleeved clothing when working sanding fiberglass.

Commentaries to follows, here are the pics.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/000.jpg
This is the CM Storm Scout.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/001.jpg
This is the front bezel removed. Won't be using it because its not the shape I want.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/002.jpg
The hard drive rails stick out about 1/4" towards the window. I am planning on putting a cover on the right side, so I am reversing the hard drive cage so that the rails come out from the other side.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/003.jpg
See little rivets?

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/004.jpg
Punched the rivets out at the bottom.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/005.jpg
Punched the rivets out at the top.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/006.jpg
Hard drive cage comes out.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/007.jpg
Space!

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/008.jpg
Plopped the hard drive cage back in, put new rivets in at the bottom.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/009.jpg
Since the holes at the top don't line up with the old rivet positions, I had to drill new holes and use screws to secure the hard drive cage in place.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/010.jpg
Core of the front bezel is composed of very strong corrugated plastic. Cut them to shape.

[Xtrykr]

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/011.jpg
I layered the plastic sheets on top of each other until I got the basic form. The layers are held together by cement, pretty much impossible to remove, and does not lose its holding strength from heat/cold.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/012.jpg
Oh, look at what just came in, the Arduino board. I am using this to change the lighting effects in my case based on temperature, load, etc.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/013.jpg
Blue = Cold.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/014.jpg
Here's a layer of fiberglass with resin applied on the core structure.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/015.jpg
Grinding away the excess.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/016.jpg
2" plumbing pass through. That is where the glass eye will be situated (it's real cool). Inspired by the Zaku and Daleks.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/017.jpg
Glass too big, won't fit, need to thin out the inner walls of the tube.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/018.jpg
Grinding...

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/019.jpg
And some more...

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/020.jpg
Yah! Snuggly fit!

[Xtrykr]

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/021.jpg
Slightly raised to give it a more 3-dimensional feel. Had early planned to have it sitting inside the case, but having it raised is cooler.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/022.jpg
First layer of bondo.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/023.jpg
Second layer of bondo.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/024.jpg
Got this automotive front grille from the junkyard. Using the fins on it for the air vent at the front of the bezel.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/025.jpg
Chopping away.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/026.jpg
That should be enough fins for the front.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/027.jpg
The fins...

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/028.jpg
Another front grille that my friend Eissan hooked me up with. Will be using the grille as a cover for the drive cages. Real cool effect when pressed against the side panel window. Unfortunately, the grille is very thick, so I need to grind it down, will take some time...

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/029.jpg
Cut it to size.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/030.jpg
Oh look, another sand job.

[Xtrykr]

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/031.jpg
Grille is to dimensions, its just still too thick, I will grind this away another time.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/032.jpg
Starting to take form. Sanding it down. Will need probably 1 more raw layer of bondo, followed by couple touch up layers then we should be good for some fine sanding. Btw, I covered the blu-ray drive slit with bondo so that I can shape the bottom and top lip better. Also, it is easier to drill and shape bondo then fiberglass and corrugated plastic, that is why the core had such a large slit.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/033.jpg
Sanding it down more...

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/034.jpg
I'm excited!

Next Update: I need to go and buy some plexiglass sheets and put it on the back of the front bezel so that I can drill holes and mount it to the chassis. The corrugated plastic doesn't allow screws (coz its's corrugated). That is the reasoning behind it. Once I get that on the back, I should be able to fix up the edges of the front-bezel as well as the dimensions are pretty raw at this point.

[diluzio91]

nice start! one piece of advice i would chip in, you might want to go with a bigger PSU such as this one, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371032. Looking good.

[x88x]

Looking good, I like how the front panel is turning out; can't wait to see how the 'eye' and those grills fit in. :D

As for the PSU, I would respectfully disagree. 950W will be more than plenty for the system you have spec'd. That's not to say there's any reason not to get a more powerful one, but there's no need to either.

I noticed your note on the DD fillport; you don't need to worry about converting it or anything, they just have a standard G1/4 threaded hole on the bottom. The 1/2" is just the fitting that they happen to include with it.

[Xtrykr]

Looking good, I like how the front panel is turning out; can't wait to see how the 'eye' and those grills fit in. :D

As for the PSU, I would respectfully disagree. 950W will be more than plenty for the system you have spec'd. That's not to say there's any reason not to get a more powerful one, but there's no need to either.

I noticed your note on the DD fillport; you don't need to worry about converting it or anything, they just have a standard G1/4 threaded hole on the bottom. The 1/2" is just the fitting that they happen to include with it.

Thanks for the comments guys. x88x, yeah, I'm just not sure where I can get the 3/8" fitting with it, can I just replace that with a 3/8" barb? (nvm, it works, my first time doing a water cooling setup, I have a friend helping me out, I got all these parts but haven't opened any of the stuff yet, so just test it worked) :D

As for the psu, I calculated that at load, the total power draw from the system is about 700W, so 950W should be more than enough. Like i mentioned in my post, I can't fit anything longer than a 5850 because the hard drive cage is in the way (its just the way it is with a lot of these mid-size cases).

[mDust]

This looks pretty hard-core.
Those are some wicked re-purposed materials you have there. You have my attention!

[x88x]

Thanks for the comments guys. x88x, yeah, I'm just not sure where I can get the 3/8" fitting with it, can I just replace that with a 3/8" barb?

Yup. The core of the fillport is just a tube with a G1/4 threading at each end, one for the fitting, one for a cap. If you order it directly off DD's site (http://www.dangerden.com/store/fillports-and-t-lines/), you can specify what size/style of fitting you want with it.

EDIT:
Oh, and for the PSU, I think 700W is even pretty high for the actual power draw of that system. For context, I ran my system off a 500W PSU for about 6-7 months with no problems (changed because of a case change, not too little power).

[Xtrykr]

Yup. The core of the fillport is just a tube with a G1/4 threading at each end, one for the fitting, one for a cap. If you order it directly off DD's site (http://www.dangerden.com/store/fillports-and-t-lines/), you can specify what size/style of fitting you want with it.

EDIT:
Oh, and for the PSU, I think 700W is even pretty high for the actual power draw of that system. For context, I ran my system off a 500W PSU for about 6-7 months with no problems (changed because of a case change, not too little power).

Thanks, it works, just tested it with the package of 3/8" barbs I had. I got all this stuff in the shipping boxes still, haven't had a chance to open them up, but yup, it works, thanks!

[msmrx57]

Awesome start! Will definitely be watching this one. :up:

[Loki]

Cool!!! I'll follow this log!

[Xtrykr]

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/035.jpg
Got a plastic sheet, not very thick, its primarily to make the backing flat so I can drill some screws in to mount the bezel to the case. I should have done this from the very beginning, but I didn't, so I gotta use this to patch the dimensions as well.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/036.jpg
Drawing the outline.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/037.jpg
Horrible cut, the plastic is too thick for scissors, and too thin for jigsaw. I'm not that good with an x-acto. Brute force and sanding I guess!

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/039.jpg
The tool-less hard drive locks extend out almost 1/2" towards the side panel. It is blocking the cover I want to use.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/040.jpg
Snip...

[Xtrykr]

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/042.jpg
Voila.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/043.jpg
The hard drive cage cover is still pretty raw, but this is how it would look like through the window. There will be some LEDs behind a diffuser to give it a real cool ambient lighting effect.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/044.jpg
Applied another layer of Bondo and sanded with the new dimensions. It's getting there...

[Xtrykr]

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/046.jpg
Waiting for it to dry...

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/048.jpg
Sanded... Still a bit off.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/049.jpg
A little better...

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/050.jpg
That's it with 60 grit sandpaper! Now that I have the right dimensions for the front bezel, I will be working on the raw structure of the side panels in the next couple of days. So this baby will be parked on the sidelines until that is done, then we get down to the real fine sanding and touching :)

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/051.jpg
The eye! O:

[Xtrykr]

Put the order for the AMD Phenom II X6 1090T, Asus Crosshair IV Formula, 8 gigs of G.Skill Pi 2200 DDR3, Crucial C300 128gb SSD, 4 x 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 Hard drives.

[x88x]

Very nice. I can't help but think it kinda looks like Iron Man's chest plate... :whistler:

Sweet parts too...and I see you switched to the F3 for your storage. And I didn't even have to rant! ;)

[Xtrykr]

Hehe, yeah, I was looking at getting the deskstar for its quietness and low heat. but then i was like, with this thick of case, not much sound will go through, so might as well go with the F3 which has like awesome performance :D

[Xtrykr]

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/052.jpg
Scythe Kaze Jyuni 1200rpm 120mm fan x 3

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/053.jpg
TFC 360 Triple Rad

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/054.jpg
Unboxing

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/055.jpg
Yum!

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/056.jpg
With the 3 fans.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/057.jpg
Where it will be mounted on the case.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/058.jpg
Where the cut will be made.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/059.jpg
APC Surge bar that came in today.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/060.jpg
Case with top cut off.

[Xtrykr]

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/061.jpg
Mounting the front-bezel to case to see where I need to drill the holes on the back to mount.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/062.jpg
Drilled the mounting holes.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/063.jpg
Inserted 1/4" hex nuts.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/064.jpg
This is what it will look like when mounted.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/065.jpg
The eye! O.o

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/066.jpg
Gave the case a couple of coats of flat black anti-rust paint.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/067.jpg
Got some cheap spleen to cover the rough edges so it don't scratch the radiator fans.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/068.jpg
A little rough, but the top of the case will cover it.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/069.jpg
That's where the fans are mounted. There is a bit of a gap between the 2nd and 3rd fans, its cause the case had 140mm fan situated there, so I drilled past it. It works out at the end because the fan wires go through there.

[StormRider]

lol, we have the same problem: can't cut a straight line:D

[Xtrykr]

lol, we have the same problem: can't cut a straight line:D

Rofl! No kidding. You know what I think it is? I think the metal is too thin and because it is floating between the 2 beams of the chassis that it gets flimsy. Nothing to hold it down flat. That and the little vent holes don't help much either because the teeth of jig get caught. Ah well.

Anyway, I don't think the spleen will work too well. I think I need to buy some rubber mat or something as it's not quite level enough, so I'm worried the fans may cause some vibration. Stay tuned!

[x88x]

Anyway, I don't think the spleen will work too well. I think I need to buy some rubber mat or something as it's not quite level enough, so I'm worried the fans may cause some vibration. Stay tuned!

No no no, you need to buy a good set of hand files. ;)

[raistnox]

i concure and forget the jigsaw on those thin sections that have little to no support go with the dremel and cutoff wheels

[Xtrykr]

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/070.jpg
The PSU. 950W of pwnage.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/071.jpg
Unboxing...

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/072.jpg
Back of box.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/073.jpg
Modular cables.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/074.jpg
Comes with a cable organizer.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/075.jpg
All the stuff.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/076.jpg
The PSU exposed.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/077.jpg
Close-up.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/078.jpg
Inside the case.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/079.jpg
Scythe Kazemaru 2 800rpm, front intake fan.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/080.jpg
Rubber padding where the radiator will reside (removed the plastic spleens).

[Xtrykr]

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/081.jpg
Better look. Rubber absorbs vibration.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/082.jpg
Working on the padding for the slot-load blu-ray drive (not standard 5.25").

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/083.jpg
Cushions on the side to absorb vibration.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/084.jpg
Snuggly fit. The back padding will be replaced by a more sturdy padded plastic block.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/085.jpg
I got this from a hexagonal shaped mat. I had to ditch the front car grilles because they are too curvy and too hard to fit. This mat is great, its cheap, and its extremely sturdy and temperature resistant.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/086.jpg
Drive bay cover.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/088.jpg
Working on the core of the side-panels.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/089.jpg
Layering the corrugated plastic.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/090.jpg
Layering complete. Left side-panel has exposed window.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/091.jpg
It's pretty raw, but again, bondo will cover it, so it don't matter, just need to fill it up with some volume for shape.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/092.jpg
Right side-panel has no window.

http://www.nova-uno.com/case/093.jpg
Isometric view.

[x88x]

Interesting drive cover effect. I like it. :D