It looks really good, makes me wanna mod a case just like it. :)
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It looks really good, makes me wanna mod a case just like it. :)
Ok, so a brief update. The weather has finally let up, and as of now I am off of work till Friday. I got some paint and other assorted goodies in this weekend, but I'm still waiting on a particular little box of paint to come in so I can go further on the case. After some erands today, I'll be spraying the inside of the case with primer and a coat (or two) of Milano red. And as soon as the rest of the acrylic paints get here I'll get to work on the outside of the case.
Internal parts are NOT here yet, but I wanted to see how the bezel looks attached, so I tossed it on one of my computers and I was pleased with the results
Fullsize version: [ 2816 x 2112 ]
http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklog...7-fullsize.jpg
I was worried how the grey would look with the red lighting, but I think it turned out nice. I have some finishing touches to do to the paint before I do the clear coat. But overall I'm pleased ^_^
Mate you have nothing to be worried about. Fantastic work buddy.
JUST put in the order for the goodies, I decided to quit World of Warcraft, and my accounts look like they'll pay for the remainder of the project (and then some). So, I ordered the following to get the mod going. I'm going to mess around with the configuration possibilities a little bit and maybe post a little pic to give an idea of what I'm doing here. Still waiting on the weather to finish painting the interior of the case, it's primed black now ... but we've had tornado warnings, snow, and lightning storms over the past few days ... not kidding. Gotta love Arkansas.
From NewEgg:
ACCES FAN|THBLADE 80 A1908 RD TT RT - Retail ( Qty=4, Price=$19.96 )
ACCES CS| IBOX ACC 5.25 A2315 BK RT - Retail ( Qty=1, Price=$6.99 )
DVD BURN SAMSUNG|SH-S203B % - OEM ( Qty=1, Price=$29.99 )
HD COOLER MASSCOOL|SHF1-UTRA-BK R - Retail ( Qty=2, Price=$49.98 )
From PerformancePCS.com:
4 x ACE 40x20mm LED Fan - Red (ACE-40-R) Black Sleeves and Heatshrink [$23.80]
4 x Thermaltake Thunderblade 120mm Low Noise Red LED Case Fan - Black Sleeves and Heatshrink [$43.96]
1 x *** NEW *** Black Delrin Vandal Proof Switch - Black Sleeves and Heatshrink - Red Dot [$29.95]
1 x *** NEW *** Black Delrin Vandal Proof Switch - Black Sleeves and Heatshrink - Red Ring [$29.95]
1 x ***NEW*** XSPC LCD Display Temperature Sensor - Red [$8.95]
Hell yea, that looks badass!Quote:
Originally Posted by Vertigo
Looks like you have allot of creativity going on the front. Can you post some more pictures? I'd like to see the detail.
I'm in the process of picking out parts for the inside of this new beast. I've decided on dual hard drives. One, a partitioned WD Raptor with all of my programs and a dual boot of XP and Vista. The other I'm deciding if I want to go with another raptor or ... one of those sexah 1 terabyte drives from Toshiba for copious amounts of storage space.
As for the rest:
I've decided on my motherboard and processor:
ABIT AW9D-MAX LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - 219.99
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - $269.99
For memory, I'm thinking of going with 4 gigs of Corsair Dominator ram. And a BFG GeForce 8800GT. I'm thinking also of adding some new cooling parts, since I have some Zalman Fatal1ty Coolers and assorted bits laying around from some tournaments. I'll be back with a more in depth parts list and some pics of the interior panting soon. Thanks all :D
Edit:
I've decided to move to this century and upgrade all of my computers with Wireless Cards too, I also got a new wireless Printer/Scanner combo from Lexmark. So ... weee. The compy room is getting a serious facelift!
tri-monitor's, nice:D
Yep nice.
So, it's a good news bad news situation.
First, the bad news.
As you'll notice one of my 19 inchers is on my coffee table along with my towers. The thing died, and I'm currently in the process of trying to RMA it, but I'm not sure how well that's going to work since it's a couple of years old. But, worst comes to worst, I'll get a new one. And possibly upgrade my middle monitor to a widescreen, then I'll have 19 on each end and a wide 19 in the middle. We'll see.
Onto the good news:
The weather finally gave me a break recently, so I managed to get the interior of the case primed and painted over the past couple of days. And as more of my WoW accounts sold, I've been ordering parts. Today, the first delivery of parts arrived 2x Sytrin HD coolers, 4x 80mm fans, 1 Samsung DVD burner, and a thermaltake iBox for a little extra physical storage.
I had intended on getting just red fans, but somehow I ended up with these Thermaltake fans that switch from green, red, and purple. The 120mm fans I have ordered are just bigger versions of these, so I need to figure out how I'm going to switch these. I have the bulgin switches, temp gauge and a few other odds and ends en route now. So, more work coming soon.
And in an odd twist of fate, my wife and I were out touring local head shops for posters to decorate the house with and we found this:
It is a sign ...
I'm getting the Giger poster, and a couple of others I bought today framed in the morning. And hopefully the replacement fans for the Sytrins will be in tomorrow, meanwhile I'll be doing some more detailed painting work on the Sytrins and other smaller parts. So, more as it develops.
Nice gear, get cracking.
Good news:
Since the case will be done once I get the parts in from PerformancePCS.com (other fans, fans for the Sytrin Coolers, and the switches and temp gauge) I made another order from NewEgg, so I can get started setting things up on the motherboard tray. This ram btw, has a $40 mail in rebate for anyone looking. So, I'm probably going to get a second kit, but later after I get the machine up and running. I'm going with an 8800GT, a modular PSU (I'm leaning toward the 620w from Corsair) And a WD Raptor and Toshiba 1TB drive for copious amounts of storage. So, in all the computer should be running pretty soon, another week or two. Oh, and I need to find a controller for the fans lighting. Suggestions?
MB ABIT AW9D-MAX 975X 775 RETAIL - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$189.99)
CPU INTEL|C2Q Q6600 2.40G 775 8M R - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$254.99)
FAN CORSAIR XMS|CMXAF1 RTL - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$19.99)
MEM 1Gx2|COR TWIN2X2048-6400C4D R - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$94.00)
So, UPS guy didn't show today so I'm still waiting on parts and other parts to dry before I continue work on the project. Meanwhile, I got some decent frames for the posters and got them hung.
Did some work on the optical drives today, primer is drying on those parts now but here's some of the work in progress. I'm changing out the bolts on the Sytrin to some bigger meaner looking ones I had laying around, and adding a few kit bashed bits to the panels, along with the same dry brushing treatment I gave the Li statue pieces on the bezel. These pieces should be painted and clear coated tomorrow, hopefully UPS will finally get here with pieces I need to actually get this crap installed, then I can get the case finished and ready for components.
Right now I'm waiting on the camera to recharge, but I've made a bit of progress, all of the optical drive pieces are painted and clear coated. And they fit the theme pretty nicely. There's only one 5.25 bay that still needs work, and it's arguably the most important. I'm modding a standard Lian Li bezel to include the red lcd temp gauge, and a pair of black/red vandal proof switches (red circle for power, red dot for reset). I've got the LCD fitted, it's tight but that's what I was going for. I don't think it needs any glue, but I'll probably add a little once the bezel is painted and ready for fitting. I've got my buttons marked and pilot holes drilled ... then I realized I forgot the new drill bit when I was at the store ... shoot me please.
Recent Progress List:
* temp power/reset panel - 1/2 finished
* DVD Burner - Complete (need to get a new copy of Nero though)
* Thermaltake iBox done.
* Sytrin Masscool - Complete (Just need a new hard drive to put in it)
To Do List:
* Order Remaining Parts
* Mount case panels and bezel pieces permanently
* Wiring
* Fan Placement!
Need a bit of advice on that last part, I noticed when I looked at the other Lian Li case that I'll be giving the same treatment after this one ... the stock fans are set up a little odd. The rear fan which I would've expected to be an exhaust is actually sucking air in. The blowhole fan up top is infact the only exhaust. I'm wondering if I should stick to this configuration or not. Any thoughts?
Now that's interesting. I just checked mine, and my single fan is blowing inwards too. It should be blowing outwards, because the heat is generated over the CPU. Then again mine does have a duct from the cpu to the outside. (Has a slot in the side)
I think i'm gonna check my temps then spin the fan around, and check them again later, see if it's changing anything.
Logic says cool air comes in from the front, and hot air gets pushed out the back.
Parts for the next phase of the project (2 bulgin switches and a red lcd temp monitor)
There's the donor bezel, I <3 Lian Li cases
A quick gander at the case with a couple of drive bays set in, there will be better pics up with higher detail on the front of the case, as soon as the project's done.
Made a run to Lowe's for a new drill and 3/4 inch hole saw, worked beautifully for the switches. Drilled out some holes for accent bolts and cut out the hole for the lcd and did a little filing with the dremel. Waiting on primer to dry now so I can hit it with some acrylic (tonight) and clear coat (tomorrow).
Also tomorrow, I should be getting atleast the major guts of this beast from newegg. Motherboard, processor, ram. I'm having some parts overnighted this week (ran out of accent bolts) and a new ruby orb cooler for the processor. Now just have to decide on the psu (I'm leaning toward a corsair) and vid card(s) I'm thinking dual 8800 GTs.
Panel looks good, can't wait for more.
Well, I got a surprise this morning ... I go to work at 5 AM, and we had a flood. So I ended up staying home. Thankfully the UPS guy didn't have any problems, and I got some goodies:
I tried hooking everything up with a hard drive and video card I had layin around, but didn't do much good. I also goofed and bought a crossfire board instead of an sli board (newegg had it listed as sli on all but the last page of the description, where it finally says it's ATI Crossfire compatible) but the board is great, and this is a chance to get out of my comfort zone and try Intel and ATI. I'll be grabbing the new HD and GPU Thursday, after that I'll post some high res pics along with some 3d Mark, Super Pi Mod scores, etc. Basically, the mod is done. Just have to make the second one now :D
I was considering getting that abit board a while back before I got my DFI board. How is it?
The board is pretty nice, good layout plenty of connectors for fans, and the 7.1 surround sound card is a nice bonus. Today hopefully I'll be able to get the thing running and mess around with the BIOS, overall though I really like the motherboard.
Good to hear. If I'm not mistaken it also has on bard blue LEDs with different flash modes.
The only problem I've found with the mobo so far is the space around the cpu. Stock heatsink and fan BARELY fit between the board's heatpipes and sinks. SO, I think I'll have to nix my idea to put a thermaltake ruby orb in here. So, I'm on the lookout for a different cooler.
So I've got good news, and I've got bad news. I made a run to Best Buy today, picked up a pair of 500gig seagate drives, a pair of ati video cards, and an 800w power supply (along with a few games) got home and tore the computer apart, even got a wireless card and an aftermarket cooler for the video cards. Plugged it in, hit power ... nothing. Checked all of my connections, even tried starting it with the motherboard's power button, and it's as dead as a doornail. SO, tomorrow morning it looks like I'm going back to Best Buy to get a new psu. *sigh* Sadly, the motherboard has a 20+8 pin connection, and the 4 power supplies I have on the shelf atm are 20+4.
Well, the lights are pretty. But ... it's still not doing anything. According to the lcd on the motherboard it's trying to boot, but there's nothing showing on the monitor, it goes black as soon as I hit the power. So, I'm working with tech support from abit to try to track down the problem. It could be the psu I bought at Best Buy, I don't think it's the video card though since I've put 3 cards in, including the one that's in the PC I'm typing this from, and that card DEFINITELY works. So, we'll see. I'll keep you guys posted. Hopefully, I can get this fixed before Monday so I can actually install windows and try out the new games I bought.
Have you tried removing some of the RAM?
Yeah, right now I'm testing just the bare system. I've tried each piece of ram individually in each DIMM seperately. (IE 1 gig of ram at a time) And even tried subbing in some OCZ Ram I have with the same results, I also tried switching out the ATI card for 2 different nvidia cards. A 7950 and a 7950 GX2. Right now there's a motherboard with processor, psu, video card, case speaker, mouse and keyboard with a monitor on my desk and I can't get an image on the monitor. I've even tried using different monitors with similar results (trying to eliminate every possibility.)
Sounds like the Mobo. Will it let you eject the CD drives??? If not it is the mobo, same thing happened to my mate.
Yeah, I took the thing into Best Buy yesterday for a second opinion. So, tomorrow I'm going to get with newegg and rma the board and processor.
Bit of an update:
Just dropped off the motherboard and processor with FedEx, it looks like the motherboard did a number (as in burnt good on the processor) so ... I think I found the problem :P
Anyhow, hopefully in a week or two I'll be getting a new board and chip in, meanwhile I'm going to do a little more finishing touches on the case, and get a new power supply (Thermaltake Tough Power Modular PSU). I'm putting some collapsable case handles on top of the case, and doing a mesh window on the side of the case, I also ordered a Ruby Orb to keep the processor cool. I'm trying to find out how to disable or change the blue LEDs on the motherboard, since it doesn't really jive with the red light setup I have in the case. I love the back-lighting effect, just not the color. Also, I'm looking into video card possibilities. The motherboard says Crossfire enabled, but it came with an SLI Bridge. After a little light snooping, I found out it's not a mistake. And that there are some open source drivers that might unlock SLI on this board, so I'll be doing a little more research there (if I can drop a pair of 8800GTs on this board I'll be VERY happy). So, more as it progresses. I'll be working on the handles, and window next week. Meanwhile, I'll be cleaning up and prepping the other two cases for the mod.
While I was doing research on that board when I was looking to get it I was under the impression that you could turn them off through the BIOS. I wouldn't think you could change to colour of the LEDs cos they are soldered directly to the mobo and the fact that they aren't a "globe" as such I would think it to be impossible to do. I think the blue will go well with the red. I have seen it done before and the colors mix to make this coll eerie purple colour.
Yeah, I was thinking along those lines after a little research, in the end I've opted to replace the board entirely. My wife wants a new computer so she can play some games with me, and she oddly enough wants a blue themed computer. SO ... she gets this motherboard, I wanted SLI anyways. So it works out for me. I'm looking at this board for my own system:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188024
And I'm going to put the abit one inside a Cosmos case in a month or so when I get to work modding hers (though it'll be a somewhat lightweight mod project, it should be good)
So, this new board will allow me to put in the Ruby Orb I ordered, and a pair of superclocked 8800 GTs from evga. Today I'm going to be painting the dominator cooler, mouse, and a few other odds and ends while I wait on parts again.
Just ordered the following for the computer: (Hopefully my replacement processor will be back shortly)
EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
2x EVGA 512-P3-N802-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
Thermaltake Toughpower W0128RU ATX12V / EPS12V 650W Power Supply
This little baby should scream, if I can ever make it function :P
Pics are forthcoming of the progress on the other parts. Dominator cooler is being cleaned right now (lots of glue from the Corsair stickers to be removed) mouse has a coat of primer on it drying now. And a few other surprises are in store very shortly.
Nice hardware, those 8800GTs will get hot and loud lol maybe some coolers? Can't wait to see it going.
Actually, I've already got a pair of Antec Cyclone Blowers, they fit in the expansion slot next to the card and and have a vent that goes out the back of the case. I'm not sure if I'm going to eventually add a 3rd GT or not. Right now though, my main concern is getting this beast up and running. I picked up some NetGear Wireless Cards and ordered some more goodies, putting collapsable case handles up top, and a mesh window on the side. Here's some shots of what I've been doing with my time.
The mouse turned out sweeter than I'd expected. The texture on the new G5 is almost like leather when you give it a good coat of paint clear.
I gave the chassis 3 coats of black cherry over the milano red and black primer, then 3 coats of clear. I'm also going to hit the inside of the right panel with the same treatment, but I'm going to leave the motherboard tray silver, infact I might polish it. ALL of the wiring inside will be black sleeved when I'm finished.
I'll be taking the FANG apart today and doing a little kit bashing on it, I'll likewise be reassembling the dominator fan assembly. After that it's all waiting till UPS starts showing up again.
Awesome red colour.
UPDATE
Things are a little sporadic between school and work.
Here's the newly painted Corsair Dominator Cooler:
The shot doesn't do this black cherry justice, the interior of the case and the smaller parts that I've started painting are really beginning to look sick.
And I got my case handles in, Spring Break next week. So I've got a date with the metal shop, going to cut the holes for the handles and the new window (maybe even mounting the mesh) in the next few days. So expect some updates SOON.
P.S. Newegg received my motherboard and processor yesterday, so hopefully I'll get my stuff back sometime over break.
That cooler looks fantastic, great work. I like those handles, I was thinking of getting a pair for my next mod but I don't know how they would go being attached to acrylic.
I managed to get a little bit of work done before the great deluge, Arkansas weather has been really kindly disposed to this project.
First, I did a little touch up work on the Ideazon FANG and the custom power/reset temp gauge panel I made. Here are the results:
Here's my tip for the day, all those little plastic boxes that you get nuts and bolts in make excellent temporary holders for parts while you work.
I was greeted with a simultaneously awesome and annoying surprise today. UPS showed up with 3 packages, and my RMA from NewEgg should be here any day now. (Which means I'm only missing a processor now to fire this baby up). The annoyance was a result of the UPS guy who knocked once lightly put my beloved electronics down in the rain water and walked away. I could have strangled him.
According to my tracking number, the RMA should've been delivered today, so I'm hoping to have my processor tomorrow. More as it develops.
Dang, I want a 780i lol. Oh well, my DFI 680i LT works just fine.
A quick update before the big finale:
I got the rest of my parts in today, the system booted up beautifully on the first try. I'm running 3DMark on it right now, and I'll also be running Aquamark and finishing my installation of a few other programs. I'll be testing it with a single 8800 GT first, and later testing it with SLI. The thing is a BEAST, I'm pretty sure it weighs somewhere around 50 lbs now. I've still got to add the case handles to the top, but I'll just be using another lian li case top for that then swapping them when I'm done. Pics and the final update on the performance should be forthcoming.
