Bravo dude. Bravo.
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Bravo dude. Bravo.
More!
Defyant style frosted plex HDD light.
I decided to scratch the the top panel mod... i like the mod!! it looked sexy..but for me, the mod was just too overpowering
and overshadowed what i wanted to be the main feature of hpr3mega...
i decided to still make a feature... and thinking that i still needed a HDD signal light i'd try somthing that i thought would be sleek stylish and suit this mod better.
the top panel of HPs come apart into 2 sections, the panel that pops out has a nice round edge with a sunken middle..i decided to use this part to install the new custom
HDD light.
first off was some crude marking
close eunf was good enuf as the new plex light could be made to fit the shape.
using some thin sheet plex and scissors cut out a template
transfer the shape onto some 10mm plex and cut it out.
putting the cut peice underneath you can see it wont sit flush!!!
some some channel edging is done to allow a section of the plex to raise up thu the hole and sit even with the top of the panel..
some heat is applied to the plex light to get the contour of the top panel...its bends three ways!!! but a few goes got it perfect.
a fit up to see all is good.
next it was inside for some final wet rubbing for shape and a one more to get the frosted themed look to match the rest of this mod.
40 mins later and some very wrinkly finger tips the new light was created!!
Next was to try a fit up...
and of course....lights action! i was impressed , i think thiswill look very classy flashing to HDD activity and wont over power the whole mod as the original idea would.
of course! dual colours will be added!
you are absolutly amazing
wow simplyfrikin amazing man i love it
MEGA RES
You all knew HPR3-MEGA was going to have a "MEGA" res! but what no one was to know was the external effect of this res was to be.
the back custom back board lighting effect was not only to provide light internally but externally as well!!
The board gives off more light then id ever expected.. and is truly an amazing effect to see in RL.. and will also provide light for the MEGA RES Feature!
First off was to finish building HPR3's Mega-Resthis is is HUGE..and it had to be :P @ 400mm long and 80mm accross the RES is going to be a main feature.
i opted this time for full 10mm thick tops and bottems as these would also act the the main and only anchor points for the MEGA res.
the partially built res.
Top peice and 1/2" fittings
the HEX head bolts that will secure the res to the motherboard back wall.
using a "thing-a-majig" to find dead centre of the circle, these things are great.
the innner thread on the bsb gas type fittings is 12mm spot on. an 11.5mm drill is used for the holes.
DRilling and tapping the threads.
A good clean thread is important a perfect seal is a must.
Next is to drill and thread the top and bottem of the MEGA res
Next drill and counter sink the motherboard back panel.This will allow the HEX head bolt to sit down flush and avoid touching the MB..also looks spiffy too!
Bolting up the MEGA res for as test run! a view from inside the case....i think you can already see the light effect this is going give off!
Again the flush fitting of the HEX bolt.
a view from the outer side.
NEXT! was to put those LED's to good use!! and i gotta say......its great to see somethings just work to plan!
the first shot was under almost full light....and still i was impressed.
Next was with one light on in the workshop
Finally lights out!!!!!!! the MEGA res looks so classy really catches the light off thr back panel.......
Next was to try the MEGA res with the "bondo'd" custom side panel......the effect is more than i'd had hoped for... thelight that comes thru is very even and intense.
Whats that i hear you say?? "but defyant! dosn't the back panel have "RED" lights as well!"
Well it sure does guys :) take a look see HPR3's Mega Res can not only look cool! but RED HOT as well :P
And perhaps for the most amazing side bonus of having both RED and BLUE lights!! heres somthing i didnt see comming!
im having soooo much fun playing with this new technique.... and i may still "frost" the whole res yet!!
More soon guys.
Damn thats hot! Fill it and run it man! I want to see it in action!!!
I think I must have missed where you said what the cylinder of the reservoir is made of, but could you repeat it? Making a reservoir to fir that spot was really cool. Great job!
Defyant,... I have been thinking. There's one thing that concerns me about the reservoir. You only have those two bolts holding the reservoir to the mobo tray. I REALLY think you should make some other means of supporting it. If you were to knock into it or pick it up or put it down wrong,... those bolts will either crack your beautiful reservoir or crack your gorgeous mobo tray. It wont take much to break either because of how you have it mounted. It is nice as hell though, again great job. Just dont want you to have an "Oh, ****!" moment down the road. Peace.
Most likely acrylic.Quote:
Originally Posted by [DGN]Nexus
Cheers tribal, the res is supa solid, you can actually pick the hole case up...6kg+ by the res :) 10mm plex is solid as :)
Ok then:) So whats next?Quote:
Originally Posted by Defyant
that is the one really sweet mod. :D keep up the good work man!!!!! :D
how can something that blatantly came from PC World look so goddamn good !?!?!?!?!?
Because defyant is the man! Hands down:). A true professional. He's has to be one of my favorite modders. Easily.Quote:
Originally Posted by rajjinator
Mr. Defyant,... a stupid question. What are the tubes inside the reservoir for? Mixing? So the outlet doesn't pull the coolant right from the inlet? That is the only reason I can think of. Thanks.
maybe to create an effect similar to that of the aqua-jet in an aqua computer reservoir? who knows, maybe its just to look good (if so he's succeeded ;) )Quote:
Originally Posted by tribaloverkill
Cool looks was the original intention :)..i just thought the reses i made looked bland....later i learnt that it helps with bubbles caused thru turbulance...
spent alot of time watching the way these things work, and some of these pumps really push water hard!
All Res makers now seem to use some sort of "partitition" of feeder tubes.
Speeking of water!!!!
Now that ive decided to run a P4 sys in HPR3M, i can start sorting out the rest of internal modding.
Before i could move on tho, i need to sort out what waterblock i'll use..... i had an only DD-TDX laying around from an old AMD sys, unfortunatly..the mounting holes aren't correct....rather than bodge up an adaptor plate i decided to make a whole new top.
I call it the "The Frog TDX".
Your all know the familiar TDX block, this is the one i used awhile back and had had a custom made green persped top.
The bracket i'll use to mark the "intel" mount holes, this will also act as a guide for the general shape.
A full 12mm thick! this stuff is as stong as any bracket.
Heres the shape! "The Frog"
After a quik cut out with the Jigsaw and sone "pre drilling" its over for some dremal work.
A quick check to see all is good!
I decided that the "sharp" edge disnt have that "factor finished" look to it
So it was off the to router some some round edging.
Next was to thread tap and clean the holes up.
Off for some edge buffing!
Fit the block and its new Frog p4 top together
and finally a "Fit test" on the board
Some final photo shoot shots :)
I'll water test tonight, but its a cleaner solution that using an extra bracket witch always seems to look like added clutter.
With that out of way i really start to make some proggy....
You all knew that HPR3 was going to have a motherboard cover :) just like HP2 and Heveyplex SLB i wanted to carry the tradition into this mod as well.
But knew i had to come up with something new....something or an idea that hasnt been seen before.
The hole internal frosted plex theme was goin to be the biggest bonus for this next mod and would allow me to do something that was a little more "out-there"
Of course the material of choice is plex!! a pretty much freehand pattern is cut using the good o'l jigsaw....
Next was to bend the edges to make the" Cage"
The paper is stripped off and the cage is layed in for a test fit :)
I picked abunch of these little fans up,while i dont think the cage needs any extra cooling i just thought the frosted look of the mini fan would make a geat looking addition.
A hole is meaured, marked and cut
Another is added for the AGP card and allows for the water cooling.
With the 2 main holes cut with only the CPU cooling holes to be added later the cage is taken inside and frost sanded, with 800g wet and dry.
A back wall that was previously cut was also sanded.
the new panels are slotted in and again checked for fit.
The cage will allow for plenty of airflow to pass thru its large claw type arches
The previously modded DD-TDX block is bolted in, holes are marked and drilled for the the water lines to pass thru.
All thats left to at this stage is to see how the cage works with the rest of the lighting.
with all blue lighting , the cage only needs 2 extra lights for a full effect.
With the backbard lit red and blue lights in the cage
and again using both red and blue lights to produce a purple effect on the back board.
DEFYANT YOU ARE GOD LIKE!!! HO CRAP!!! I LOVE THE MOBO COVER!!! I was going to make a mobo cover but decided not to because I want to be able to swap out the mobo for a new one and still be able to use the cover. Now,... I am still going to make a cover but its going to be different. With it I will be able to use any mobo with as many pci cards as I want. I figured this out a cay or so ago. that and many other things. Anyways,... great job dude. I am drooling all over myself.
ive never worked with plexi and was wondering, how do you bend it?
You have to heat it up. To little heat will make it not bend as easy and to much will create bubbles. You also need some sort of jig or method to bend it. You just cant throw it over the knee and ebdn. #1 its hot. #2 you have to hold it there until it cools down. #3 It's hot.
That's about as sick as it gets folks, spectacular mod Defyant.
That is looking really sweet ... love the Mobo Cover.
Defyant, I saw your HPRES2 mod featured in PC Modding Magazine (I think that's the name). Nice job. Too bad the picture they took didn't show much of anything, but still nice to see one of the guys from TBCS in the magazine.
Anyone who doesn't have the magazine should pick it up, especially newbs to the mod circuit like myself. It has great articles on the basics of watercooling, jsut about every part of a computer (processors, mobos, PSUs, RAM, etc, etc, etc) and lots of other good info.
Anyway, mad props. The mobo cover turned out great!
yer!! thats the second time the case has featured in a mag and thyve used a less then stellar pic :(
thats what happends when you send these guys a bunch of pics and ...let them decide wich ones to use...
we all know theres way better pics...but i'll live and learn :)
Thanx for the great comment tho guys :) i really do appreciate the feedback
Better post this update while im here :)
The original plan for the CDROM was to simply cut a slot for a pioneer slot loading cdrom........ but after using that idea on H-1 i decided to scrap that it and go with something that was a bit more challenging and suited the rest of the mod more.
A pioneer DVR-109bk was chosen for the mod. It has a "thinner" type tray and is shorter in overall lenght.
The tray is measured @ around 12mm so 14mm thick plex will be needed to make the new front.
A "thingamajig" is used to get the shape of HPR3's facia then transfered onto a peice of 14mm thick plex..this is then "ruff cut" using a jigsaw.
A therapudic solid hour of sanding and wetrubbing almost get the new front to its final shape theres still a few bits to go over but this is pretty close to the final look.
this next part was going to hurt!!! i was cutting into what i thought was an already perfect shape :P to say there was no going back is a bit drastic.... but it still felt wierd!
The door slot is of course not a final look.... more bondo will be reaplied around the edges and to cover up the old light holes below.
This gives you a look @ how the end reslut will be...i think the new "dummy" door is now a feature ...the second or "middle" light will be sortened and all 3 lights will eventually be lit.
...........................c o o l b l u e d o o r..... dang, i'm speechless
thanx dgmkr :) the end result with the matching 2 lower lights will have a distinct look.
i really needed to get on with finsihing off the rest of the lighting for HPR3...as will all the lighting so far its been double the effort...for every blue LED i install i have to install a red one as well... all up so far a whopping 20 RED and Blue LED's go to make HPR3's internal lighting.
Power is added to the front CDrom and HDD cage.
a molex is depinned, a hole cut and fitted back into the unit..this will supply power for the front of the case.
The original idea was to add some old intel slot type heatsinks to the side of the HDD to help cool.... i scrapped this idea and went with a cutom drilled
plex bracket mod instead.
2 peices of polished cut to size 10mmthick strips of plex are drilled.
Then re-drilled to add a stepped type counter sunk channel to both the brackets.
This allows the HDD screws to fit all the way down the tunnels.
These will act as "risers" and lift the HDD above the clear 80mm fan that will be mounted in the bottom of the box.
Holes are drilled and counter sunk for the 80mm exhaust fan. Again steinless steel HEX head bolts are used.
The set of RED/BLUE Leds are installed and wiring completed for power.
The 4 LEDs installed are to supply Light to the Lower Fan box, Small holes are drilled and the LDS poke thru the base of the HDD box shining down onto the Fan Box.
Looking UP @ the unit you can see how the lights will shine down.
This shot shows both blue and red LEDs running @ once.
Just blue LED's
The end result..showing all three colour effects.
Defyant You Are A Gaaaawd!!!
"The Plexi Masta" or "THE CAse Mod God" :)
