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Project: LEXA
Welcome one and all to Project Lexa. This is my first major mod and computer build so first I’ll tell you about what’s gonna happen.
The Mod:
This mod will revolve around a standard NZXT Lexa midi tower (www.nzxt.com/products/lexa). I intend to keep the sleek, black look of the outside of the case and move it into the interior. Keeping with the overall case theme and design there will be very little exterior structural work done. The whole interior will be painted with either a matte or gloss black paint to match the outside. There will be extensive use of mesh (AC Ryan MeshX Panels or equivalent) and Perspex to hide all of the drive bays (including Hard Drives and CD drives) and to give the case a sense of simplicity, class and cleanliness (I mean cleanliness because the viewer will only be able to see a few cables, the case interior will be dominated by the Water Cooling and UV reactive components).
I have chosen all of my hardware to reflect the overall case mod. The motherboard, graphics card and RAM are all based around a blue and black colour scheme with UV reactive parts involved. The motherboard (DFI LANParty UT NF680iLT SLI-T2R) will be a big feature of this mod due to its UV reactive plugs and components that seem to jump out at the viewer (under UV light). Along with the motherboard there will also be UV reactive cables, fans and a UV reactive Water Cooling kit to complete the mod. The UV green coolant that I will use will off set the blue glow from the case fans and will grow brightly providing perfect contrast to the black case paint and other UV reactive components.
As you can see this mod won’t be overly difficult but may take some time due to water cooling.
(Colours indicate status) Previous Build, New and Have Ordered or Need to Order
Note: Not all components showed in picture.
Components:
Hardware:
Case – NZXT Lexa (No PSU) x1
PSU – Antec Neo HE 550 x1
Motherboard – DFI LANParty UT NF680iLT SLI-T2R x1
CPU – Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 x1
RAM – G.Skill F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK (1GB x 2) DDR2 RAM x1
GPU – ASUS EN8800GTX x1
HDD – Western Digital Caviar WD3200KS 320GB HDD x1
Maxtor 250GB IDE HDD x1 (in Cooler Master X-Craft external enclosure)
Monitor – AOC LM925 19” LCD Monitor x1
Speakers – Altec Lansing VS.2120 Speakers x1
Keyboard – Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard x1
Mouse – Logitech G7 Gaming Mouse (2007 Edition) x1
Software:
Operating System – Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM x1
Other – Microsoft Office 2003 Student and Teacher Edition x1
Water Cooling:
CPU Block – Swiftech Apogee GTX Waterblock x1
GPU Block – Swiftech MCW-60 (With 8800 Adaptor Plate) x1
Radiators – Black Ice GTX 120mm Radiator x1
Alphacool NexXxos Pro II - Rev. 2 x1
Pump – Danger Den Mag II LE 12V Pump x1
Reservoir – Danger Den Bay Reservoir x1
Coolant – AlphaCool UV Green Coolant x2
Heatsinks (For GPU) – Swiftech MC-14 (8 Pack) x1
Swiftech MC-21 (4 Pack) x1
Fittings – Danger Den Fillport (Black) x1
Danger Den 1/2" Polly 90 Degree x4
Danger Den 3/8" to 1/2" Fitting Kit x1
Tubing – 3 meters of ½” ID tubing
Misc:
Too many things to list here. I will show you when I use them. Parts include fans, HDD enclosure, CCFL’s, cables, cable ties and mounts,…well you get the picture.
Well that’s enough talking, on to the modding.
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Re: Project LEXA
Well first of all I’ve stripped the case and have removed the front panel to allow me to sleeve the cables from the switches and LCD etc.
Here is a picture of the mass of cables:
The first thing I have to do is free all of the cables from their ties and measure the sleeving. I am going to do this in stages as to allow me to join individual cables into one big one (you’ll get what I mean when you see it). If I stuff up and cut a cable I have a whole new set along with a whole fascia. Yes I have two case fascias. On the first one the door hinge broke and NZXT sent me a whole new fascia free of charge. I am currently using the one NZXT sent me but am considering transferring the polished aluminium panels of the old fascia to the new one because they are shinier.
Here’s a picture of the two fascias together. (The one on the left is the older one)
I removed the Brushed aluminium panels to protect them from scratches as I sleeve the cables. I also removed the USB, Audio and Firewire card to help protect the circuit board from damage.
I then removed the Power LED and the HDD activity LED because these are the two I would be sleeving first.
Well that’s all I have for tonight. I will have more to show you tomorrow including the completed cable sleeving. Until Then...
Happy Modding.
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Re: Project LEXA
This Looks Interesting! You have any idea what you going to do to it?
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Re: Project LEXA
Gotta love the Lexa ohh a 8800GTX very nice.
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Re: Project LEXA
I'm basically going to be spraying the interior black and using mesh and acrylic to hide all of the drive bays. There will be a strong emphasis on UV light that will give the case an interesting look.
I can't tell you everything, you'll just have to wait and see :)
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Re: Project LEXA
Ok as promised you shall have the pictures of the completed cable sleeving.
Here’s a picture of what it looked like before I started.
I had to remove the door off the fascia to be able to reach the LED cables.
Here are the two completed cables just needing to be heat shrunk over the zip ties.
As you probably would have noticed the cables are sleeved only about halfway down the cable. You will find out why later on.
Ok, next up will be the power and reset switches. I start by removing them from the fascia and then following the same process as the LED’s.
Here’s a picture of the four semi-sleeved cables.
Next up is the power cable and thermal probes for the LCD screen.
I think I will leave these until I get my motherboard because the probes need to be measured to size. I am also waiting for my Molex de-pinning tool so I can remove the power connector for easy sleeving.
Well that’s about it for today. Over the next few days I will complete sleeving the cables completely and you will find out why I left them half sleeved ;) Until Then...
Happy Modding.
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Re: Project LEXA
I have put the sleeving on hold for now so I can do this minor update.
I have decided to cover the air vents on the lower part of the front fascia with some old mesh I have from an old pair of speakers. This will help with the overall theme of the mod and dust management.
I start by getting my mesh and marking it for cutting. I didn’t need to mark the mesh for the two small vents near the USB ports because I will just use a few off cuts.
I then cut it to size and shaped it how I wanted it.
Insert picture of cut and shaped mesh
Now to install it. I think I will use some clear silicon or super glue to attach it to the plastic of the front fascia. I left about 1/2cm over hang either side of the mesh to allow it to be attached with ease.
I have decided to use the clear silicon because super glue makes everything go white. I apply the silicon and leave it to dry and now we have the finished product.
You can’t see the mesh really well in the picture but up close it looks pretty good. I considered using silver or plain aluminium mesh instead of the black because it would tie in with the front of the case but I didn’t have any laying around and don’t want to buy silver spray for this minimal amount of work.
Well that’s the end of this little side project. Only took me about 1-2 hours tops to complete. I will now try to complete the sleeving but I have some school assignments that need to be completed by the new term on Tuesday so my time is limited. Until Then...
Happy Modding.
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Re: Project LEXA
Sorry there hasn't been an update for a while. I got all of my home work done so things should start to pick up tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed :)
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Re: Project LEXA
Another really small update. Today I got my de-pinning tool. It is for the male Molex plugs only but I tried it with a female connector and guess what...it worked better than with the male connectors. It tends to snap the pins on the male connectors. This works out well for me because now I don't have to buy two haha.
Here's a pic:
Happy Modding.
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Re: Project LEXA
This part of the mod needs to be completed before the rest of the cable sleeving can be completed properly.
I went to my local hardware store and bought a pair of 1/2” grommets.
I then mark the part of the case I need to drill out to install them.
These grommets will allow me to route the power and LED cables through the lowest possible part of the case so there will be very few viewable cables.
I’m gonna go do the drilling now so pics of that will be up later today. Until Then...
Happy Modding.
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Re: Project LEXA
Ok onto the drilling.
Before I started I thought I should remove the plastic case feet and plastic “accents” to stop them getting scratched and to also keep the case flat.
Here are the drilled holes.
I didn’t have a big enough drill bit so I had to grind about another 60mm of with my Dremel like substitute. I also made the holes slightly larger than they had to be to allow the grommets to stretch to allow the Firewire and USB plugs to fit easily.
I inserted the grommets.
And with a cable to show you how it will look.
I will get started on the rest of the cable sleeving tomorrow. Until then…
Happy Modding.
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Re: Project LEXA
Sorry there hasn't been a post in a while but school started last week and you know what that means...homework. I managed to finish the sleeving yesterday. Enjoy.
Ok, it’s now time to finish the sleeving.
First the power and HDD activity LED.
Well you can see the problem now from this pic; the zip ties don’t fit through the space allocated for the cables. I now have to remove the zip ties, thread the cables through and then re zip he sleeving.
Much better.
Both LED’s threaded through.
Back to the way it was, but now it looks much better.
The power and reset switches went back in with out any problems at all.
A picture of all four cables.
I then sleeved the bundle together leaving enough room at the end of each cable for individual sleeving for more flexibility.
The remaining viewable cable is now sleeved.
The cables fit perfectly thought the grommets I just installed.
Well that’s all I have done at the moment. Next I will make a mesh shroud for one of my dust traps and later on try to make my fan blades UV reactive. Until then…
Happy Modding.
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Re: Project LEXA
I was gonna get that case but my friends called it a dishwasher :(
goodluck on the modding though
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Re: Project LEXA
A dishwasher? Haha I can see what they mean though. Oh well everyone has their opinions. Thanks for the luck haha.
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Re: Project LEXA
I have that case. Please, be careful....
+Rep
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Re: Project LEXA
yo, could you pleeeeeeeassse link the fotos proper i hate klicking on each pic to get full sized image, 800x600 is not so bad to load
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Re: Project LEXA
Or he can use photobucket they can automatically resize them :)
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Re: Project LEXA
Sorry about the pictures. I do use photobucket but i will upload the pictures as a larger size from now on.
Thanks for the +rep TheGreatSatan, I will be careful.
I should have a small update up later today.
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Re: Project LEXA
Four simple items right? Well yeah they are but that’s not the point. I’m still waiting for orders to come in so I decided to make a cover for the ugly stock NZXT dust trap that’s on the bottom of the case. This won’t have a fan on it due to limited space for the water pump but I just want to conceal it a bit, and anyway the white looks good under the black mesh.
Ok, I start by marking on the mesh where I want the whole for the screws that will hold this onto the floor of the case.
Now that I’ve got the mesh market I can drill out the mounting holes.
Because the mesh came from an old speaker there is about a 1cm over hang where they attached it to the speaker housing. I’m going to cut most of this away but I still want it to cover the side of the dust trap.
I stuffed up the cutting of the overhang so I cut it off completely to give me a simple square.
I used a permanent marker to colour in the raw aluminium of the cuts and the sides of the dust trap.
Note: That’s not raw metal it’s just the camera flash.
They fit perfectly on each other.
I won’t show you a picture of it installed because I haven’t got the correct screws for the job yet. I will be using a standard screw cut to size threaded in from the underside of the case and attached with a dome nut on top of the mesh. Until then...
Happy Modding.
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Re: Project LEXA
Are these pic sizes ok? I think they are a little too big. This is 800x600, I can do the size smaller (640x480) if it suites you better.
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Re: Project LEXA
nah i think they are fine, look good that big. Nice job too mate, keep it up and good luck
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Re: Project LEXA
Thanks mate. I will start work on my fans tomorrow.
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Re: Project LEXA
Well I have some really good news. Stocks on my long awaited motherboard will be replenished later this week. I should have the motherboard and Vista by the end of next week :)
Just about to start work on the fans so finished product should be up later today or tomorrow.
EDIT: 500th Post Yay
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Re: Project LEXA
Ok time to start my small fan mod.
Here is a pic of the 4 fans I will be modding.
The small fan is from my Thermaltake Extreme Spirit 2 North bridge cooler.
Making sure that they all still work.
A little off topic but here is my test PSU that I made a while ago thanks to Bucko’s work log. I am using this to power my fans and I will use it to test my water cooling.
To make the fans UV reactive I will be using a gel/liquid highlighter. Here is a pic with the heatsink fan UV CCFL and the highlighter.
Here is the first fan done.
Lit up and under UV light.
All of the finished fans under UV light.
Well that’s all for now. I don’t know what I will do next, probably the water cooling. Until then…
Happy Modding.
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Re: Project LEXA
thats a neat trick i might try once i get a black light, thought i will try it with my blue lights and see what happens. +rep
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Re: Project LEXA
All of those fans have blue LED's, that's why I chose the green highlighter, they compliment each other very well. As you can see by the picture of the small fan It glows quite well, that pic was taken without any UV light.
Thanks for the rep BTW.
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Re: Project LEXA
Glad my Test Power Supply worklog was good for you.
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Re: Project LEXA
Thanks for your help mate.
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Re: Project LEXA
Very minor update:
I may have to wait a while for my water cooling. Stocks on the Swiftech Apogee GTX CPU block and the Swiftech MCW-60 G80 adaptor plate for the 8*00 series graphics cards should arrive in about 1-2 weeks. So the only thing I can do now is order my radiator, pump, res, tubing and all the fittings. This is good in a way because I can get started on cutting holes for mounting my radiator (I intend to mount it outside of the case and pass the tubing through some holes). When the radiator is mounted I can start the disassembly of the case and start painting the interior. I should get my motherboard and Vista later next week so I will have some nice pictures for you. Until then...
Happy Modding.
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Re: Project LEXA
love the fans, who knew a little UVpen and some fans would ever meet and make a baby like this! :D nice job bro, expecting to see more
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Re: Project LEXA
I have good some good news people. In just under an hour I will finally be getting my motherboard and Vista. I will post some pics of it later under some UV light.
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Re: Project LEXA
Motherboard came sooner than I expected, so here are the pics.
The box in all it's glory lol.
Here is the board and it's accessories.
And here it is under UV light.
Sorry the second and third pics are a bit blurry. The second one is through plastic and the third...well it's just really hard to take a good pic of UV light lol. I have to order the last of my water cooling and will start some more work on the weekend. Until then...
Happy Modding.
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Re: Project LEXA
well, the fans look great the way you colored them! And with all the UV goodness, this is sure gonna be a good looking build. Also, keep in mind to order some more pieces for watercooling.. I ordered with some +50cm for the tubing and an extra fitting.. Never know what I will plan in the future, plus it rocks to have one shiny object to study and digitize ;) Of course, I forgot to order some AS5.. will do so next time I order.. Just waiting for a stock update on chipset blocks at my regular and local shop.. "coming soon" LOL
The packaging of the mobo gave me an idea: look at the
lines that come from one side and end like nice circles.. reminds me of circuits and.. keyboards.. I think it is a sign.. For a nice side window etch..
Oh, did you check the vents you made for ease of flow? I mean, you can take the fan that will be mounted in the front and see at which speed it stops moving air and starts making noise only.. The mesh will reduce the airflow by a third / increase resistance > noise :( A 5V~7V fan can work well in those conditions, but a high-flow one.. errm..
Well, keep us updated and ... have some +rep for playing with such a nice toy :)
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Re: Project LEXA
I noticed the line and circle design too, at first i was like "wow awesome case paint job" then realized it was only the mobo box :(
would be a bitch to stencil, machining is the only way to go.
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Re: Project LEXA
Thanks for the input guys.
@dgrmkrp - The mesh I installed is fine because the fan I'm using is only a 7V fan. I also noticed the box design and was thinking of cutting it into some mesh and putting some UV green acrylic behind it. I might see if I can take a clear pic and post it up for you guys just in case you want to use it for reference. Oh and thanks for the +rep ;)
@D1337 - It would look cool as a paint job, you could start with a white case and layer silver, grey and black lines to get a stunning effect.
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Re: Project LEXA
Ok here are a few close up picture of the "circuits". I have decided to etch a replica (as best I can) into some UV green acrylic that has been painted black. I think this will look cool because the design will leap out of the painted surface. I will experiment with this idea tomorrow and post some pics on the progress.
Here are the pics.
Enjoy.
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Re: Project LEXA
Whilst you have the Hdd & Power LED's removed from the case, it would be a simple job to replace them with Superbright ones.....You can get them very cheap on ebay and it's a very simple soldering job!
You can choose any colour you like to match your theme. Also you can crack open your keyboard and fit super bright LED's instead of the Caps-Lock and Num-Lock ones as well: this gives a nice matching look....Just a thought.
Ouch!
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Re: Project LEXA
The LED's that are standard are really bright as is so I'm going to leave it as it is. Anyway I'm a shocking solderer ;)
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Re: Project LEXA
i like your thinking on the etch! that will be really cool once done
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Re: Project LEXA
Thanks. I was meant to start it today but ran out of time with some other stuff I was doing. I will have to try and at least get a practice piece completed tomorrow.