So I will be adding much more to this post when we get back from PDXLAN (which by the way is this weekend where this build will be featured), but I wanted to share a few very quick shots of this build I just finished last night. As some of you may remember, Toxic, was Jim's build from about a year ago. Due to a crazy work schedule, the build sat unfinished. I decided to take it upon myself to reconstruct it with Jim's influences in mind. Hehe... he didn't even know about it until I had already dismantled everything
Overall we are very happy with how it turned out, and EVERY mod was done completely by hand, no CNC machining anywhere with one small exception. The motherboard tray which extends to the front of the case was somewhat already made. I made the pass-throughs for the res and tubing. The tray was also cut back about an inch to fit the fan mount in the front of the case.
The parts:
ASUS ROG impact mITX MB
EVGA Titan
Seasonic X650
280 UT60 x 2 in push
Swift-tech MCP655
i7 4770K
MDPC toxic and shade 19 sleeving
NZXT LED airflow fans (120mm/140mm)
EK water blocks
EK 250 X3 res
Samsung SSD 840 x 2 (raid 0)
MNPCTECH case feet
also when i read the thread title " a CL house build" i first thought someone got a tx10 and decided to live in it, or mod it to be livable in some way
also when i read the thread title " a CL house build" i first thought someone got a tx10 and decided to live in it, or mod it to be livable in some way
I think it came out really well - there are a lot of interesting details when you see it up close
The amazing thing is how much was done with a ridiculously tight schedule. I might add that all this happened during one of the biggest production surges we've had to date. Maybe he didn't sleep... Maybe Kevin is a robot
Thanks! This was my first time with acrylic tubing too
No there is nothing at all wrong with mods made by CNC machinery. I said it for two reason: 1. These parts are one-off and they are not available for purchase 2. I was taking pride in my metal work. Among other things, setting up the SSD mounting plate with the door was a bit tricky and I am proud to have done that by hand.
Thanks! This was my first time with acrylic tubing too
No there is nothing at all wrong with mods made by CNC machinery. I said it for two reason: 1. These parts are one-off and they are not available for purchase 2. I was taking pride in my metal work. Among other things, setting up the SSD mounting plate with the door was a bit tricky and I am proud to have done that by hand.
I sometimes see such odd discussions when people accuse others of not being modders because they use modern machinery. I struck me as odd if an employee of Caselabs would have this opinion.
I sometimes see such odd discussions when people accuse others of not being modders because they use modern machinery. I struck me as odd if an employee of Caselabs would have this opinion.
I think the debate over CNC and by hand really just comes down to what you have access too. I mean come on, if you had access to a laser you wouldn't use it ?
I always have access to CNC equipment, but the amount of programming and fabrication time it would have taken to make all the modifications could not have been done in the time it took me to build this. I started this the weekend of June 21st. Thats only 2.5 weeks!!!! Considering all of the other work coming through the shop there is NO WAY we could have made everything in time.
I have been working on another build (my SM5), but sadly funds are limited. I got a 780 specifically for it and its just sitting there drying out in a stream of warm air... someday
Thanks! Here is a quick shot of the rear with a little cover plate I made.
The inside looks just like this pic from the site.
The same exact rads are even used but the pump is flipped around the other way. The space was sooo tight I had to use soft tubing down there too, and getting the fan mount in the front was also interesting. I will have more/better pics next week.
I also misread the thread title and excitedly clicked thinking I was going to see someone building their computer into the house, like mounted in some wall or something! That would be sweet! But, this computer is also very sweet. I love S3's, part of me wishes my computer had lived in my S3 for longer.
Ya the bitspower fittings worked out very well! Though I did need to ream out the center of the locking cap, or whatever it's called? Otherwise they would not slide well over the acrylic and scratched the hell out of it.
Quote:
I also misread the thread title and excitedly clicked thinking I was going to see someone building their computer into the house, like mounted in some wall or something! That would be sweet! But, this computer is also very sweet. I love S3's, part of me wishes my computer had lived in my S3 for longer.
Thanks, and now that I'm back I will start my "reverse" build log with how I did it
So I chose to go for the 120 hex pattern on the rear of the pedestal, but I also wanted to get my hand in there considering it would be my only access point once the case was fully built.
I couldnt find a pic of the rear pattern, but its exactly the same as it is on the rear of the case (next to the PCI slots).
Of all people I should have that picture....
I used a pair of sheet metal shears and cut each one of the little sections between the hex pattern around the perimeter. Then I used a disc sander to clean up all the leftovers.
Once the rough cuts were made I finished it off with with a few different files. Then the fan mounting holes were then drilled out for the PEM nuts I was going to use. (A PEM nut is what we use on most all case parts and they come in many sized and types. Think of it like a regular machine nut, but with little metal teeth on one side that are pressed into a specific hole size with a hydraulic press). The cover plate was also just a matter of drilling out the four holes in the corner and popping in the same thumbscrews (also a type PEM nut) we use on the PCI backplates. After a final sanding, wallah!
So the rear of the pedestal was actually the very first thing I did because I was itching to get started and I knew it was something I was going to need for sure. After that I really started to plan everything out.
The original plan was to side mount the res in the drive compartment here
A test fit showed there was no way it was going to fit without major modification. When trying to find a new place the most obvious location was just behind the Flex-Bays. With that thought, the planned 240 monsta that was going to go there got nixed. Besides a mITX build with 2 280 UT60s was plenty of rad. I really liked the look of it there, but it was too low sitting on the floor and the base of it was going to be shrouded by all the wiring. It was then that I remembered we had a custom MB tray left over that MSI used for a case at CES. The only thing it needed was a hole for the res and a trim for the 240 Flex-Bay mount in the front.
We didn't have a way of making a hole that big without programming a new part so I traced a circle around the base of the res and center punched every 5mm or so around the circle. From there is was a matter of drilling out a bunch of holes and filing between them just like the hex pattern in the pedestal. Here is a pic I stole from pOPe showing the process. Thanks pOPe, hope you don't mind
A little bit of u-channel around the hole and I put the remaining hardware in just so I could see the complete look of it all.
I attached the Pedestal and thought it was perfect!
It's funny how just adding that plate made such a difference to the entire feel of it. Haha, I don't mean to be so artsy, but I really like the look it the horizontal mounted MB and how the case just drops off the sides. The new MB tray exaggerates that effect.
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