[p1en1nja]

Hi OCN,
I've been in the wonderful world of computers for about two years now, and last year I built my first computer, a basic gaming rig in a 650D. A good highschool friend of mine, Oliver1234, the guy behind Magnum (The Acrylic Loop 350D on here) has showed me around the other side of computers, dealing with more the aesthetic and "cooler" side of things (See what I did there?

). Since then, I've been opened up to the world of modding and watercooling, and figured I'd try my hand at something a bit more... interesting.

Idea
So I wanted to do a somewhat compact build for college to allow good portability in between home and school. I'm a man of color, and am not a HUGE fan of the classic stuff, so I figured I'd try a somewhat obscure color scheme. Through much conversation with Oliver, and tossing around of concepts, we settled on a black, white, red, and purple. Right now we're thinking something along the lines of purple tubing, red carbon fiber accents, a white paint job to the case, and sleeving, which will feature all colors.

Parts List
I plan on this build lasting me through college (Junior in high school currently), so I pretty much aimed at the latest and greatest of today's hardware without getting too ridiculous. Feel free to criticize the part choices, but I can't promise you will change anything.

Components:

• Intel i7-4790k
• Asus Maximus VII Gene
• Asus Radeon 290X
• G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB)
• Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD
• Western Digital Passport Ultra 2TB External Hard Drive
• SeaSonic SS-750KM3 750W Power Supply
• Windows 7 Home Premium

Watercooling:

• CPU block: EK- Supremcay Clean CSQ - Acetal
• GPU block: EK-FC R9-290X DCII - Acetal+Nickel
• Reservoir: EK X3 150mm
• Pump: Swiftech MCP655 G3/8 Threaded Edition
• Radiators: 1 240mm and two 120mm Alphacool Radiators
• Tubing: Primochilled 1/2in Rigid Acrylic Tubing- Purple
• Fittings: Bitspower Black Sparkle Fittings

Modding

• 2.5mm Plexiglass
• .1" Aluminium Sheet
• Red Vinyl Carbon Fiber
• 1/8" Acrylic Sheet
• Scotch 3M Mounting Tape
• LutroO's Color Sleeving

Updates

1. Photography Setup
2. The Case
3. Window Material
4. Cutting the Windows
5. Cutting Top Panel and Disassembling the Case
6. Watercooling Packages
7. Temporary Loop
8. Miscellaneous Parts Arrive
9. Components Arrive
10. Painting Started
11. Painting Finished
12. Sleeving Started
13. Fans Painted

 

[p1en1nja]

[RESERVED FOR FINAL PICS]

 

[Oliver1234]

Hey guys,
Magnum is still up and running just fine, and I had the itch to build again, yet my wallet is still feeling a little light, so I figured I'd help out the ninja with a build!! Neither of us have modded this heavily ever before, yet I've worked with an acrylic loop before. Between the two of us, we figured we could probably pull something pretty cool off. So we're doing this build at my house because I have a slightly better work space, which means I'll be posting some of the updates on this build, but this is still fully the ninja of pie's build. Also, throughout the summer, we will be out of town at various dates for various times, so there may be a lack of updates, but we'll try our best to let you guys know in advance!! So here's a few pics of what we're working with, not much, but for two highschooler's on a budget, it's not that bad:

This is where we'll be taking pictures of the case as a whole, simple, but it works

Our makeshift lightbox, pretty much a few trifold boards thrown together with some posterboard inside, and a white t-shirt acting a diffuser for the top light

And now in the dark, with the lights powered up... puuuurrtty

And now we head into our lair where all the magic happens

Here is the mysterious slab where the forging of our creation will take place (of course with a stereo system, absolutely necessary

)

AND THE WALL OF GLORY!!!!

 

[Oliver1234]

Now lets see how the first of our setups worked when put to the test. Before I forget, we are using a new Canon PowerShot SX510 HS that Ninja just got Monday, so we're still getting used to it, but from the pictures I've taken with it so far, it's very nice! The 250D arrived a couple days ago, and it's pretty much what we expected. After having seen and worked with the 350D and the 650D, neither of us were surprised by it.

The desk turned out to be a very nice place for the shots, because the natural light from lots of windows on the other side of the room provided great lighting for us.


The case just looked so tempting from the first minute we saw it, so we stripped it down as much as we could without touching the riviets (yet), and it's surprisingly light to carry like this, but it seems like a very workable case!



That's all we have for today, but hopefully we'll get some more work done Friday morning, and if you're lucky you may see us chop up a few side panels to make room for some windows!!

 

[Oliver1234]

Ok, little update!!
Today we went to our local hardware store, and looked around for anything we might need!!! We had some pretty good success for materials needed to make windows, our next step (after painting)!!

First off we got two square feet of plexiglass for the windows, any good ideas on how to cut the stuff? We've looked around, got some fair ideas, but I'd take your opinions over the rest of the internet's...


Secondly, picked up some Scotch 3M mounting tape


Third, and most unfortunate, the Aluminium. We decided to order some sheet Aluminium from onlinemetals.com, because it wasn't sold anywhere locally, and it arrived today in a REALLY big package


We opened it up to a big disappointment, a huge scratch down one side of the metal


We'd heard this company had a pretty good reputation, so we were expecting much better. Usually, I would just say use the other side, but some of the panels and brackets we're making will be visible from both sides, so we wrote to the company's customer service, hoping it's as good as the reputation of the website. We should have a response by sometime tomorrow! Until then, playing around with the jigsaw, and destroying stuff!

 

[p1en1nja]

Update time!!

We got a response a response from Onlinemetals.com asking for pictures of the aluminum, so props for the good customer support. They were kind enough to let me know of my errors, there was a thin layer of plastic covering the aluminum. Today we did some testing with the jigsaw to make sure that it will cut the aluminum fine.


Goodbye top panel and hello...HAMMA TIME


This is what I mean when I say modding

(Don't worry the top panel will be replaced to house a 240mm radiator)

Removed the mesh/ grate area from the window


Time to get your grind on...

but be sure to file in to see what is happening.


Before

After


Took a trip to Oliver's Grandpa's house to find out that we can use his spray gun and air compressor. Looks like it's time to order House of Kolor paint then.

 

[Oliver1234]

Hey guys!!! No physical progress, but we planned out a lot, and ordered some stuff!!! So after doing a lot of research on paints, we settled on House of Kolors, the best of the best. Tonight we ordered primer, a white base coat, and the Pearly Snow White which we will paint the entire case in. We also figured out our sleeving designs, and we will be using LutroO's Telios line of sleeving, I'm soooo excited!!! I made a little diagram of our plans, and here's what we have come up with so far, hopefully it will work well!

Oh... if niether of us mentioned this so far... This will be MATX!!!!

 

[Oliver1234]

Hey guys!!!!!!
Small update! After a weekend of white water rafting and rock climbing, I'm finally back to work, it seemed like forever!!!! Today ninja and I dissassembled the case by drilling through all the pop rivets, and it honestly was really easy and turned out pretty well!!! The case is surprisingly flimsy without the extra support pieces, so it looks slightly bent, but even the addition of just the side panels straightens it back out.


Second thing we did, which may have been the scariest part of the project yet for me was cut the to-be top panel from .1" Aluminium. It went fine, but my ears are still ringing from the jigsaw blade, and my hands still are vibrating from holding the metal steady in the clamps!


Jigsaw, loud but extremely effective!!!

Finished product!!! As usual, will look much better with some House of Kolor on it!

You can see just how thick the metal was... if we do this again, I'd seriously consider getting some thinner stuff.

We ordered a good amount of WC'ing gear, and some paint as well which should be arriving soon, along with custom sleeving! We still haven't ordered fans, anyone have any recommendations of brands?

 

[EpIcSnIpErZ23]

I'm liking how this looks! Subbed. (I'm a Sophmore in Highschool, so maybe i'll get some inspiration.)

 

[Oliver1234]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EpIcSnIpErZ23

I'm liking how this looks! Subbed. (I'm a Sophmore in Highschool, so maybe i'll get some inspiration.)

Thanks! Nice to know somebody is looking in here, I thought Ninja and I were all by ourselves for a while!

 

[Jedi Mind Trick]

Subbed as well, this looks like it will be amazing!

 

[EpIcSnIpErZ23]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oliver1234

Thanks! Nice to know somebody is looking in here, I thought Ninja and I were all by ourselves for a while!

Haha, you're never alone....

 

[Oliver1234]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jedi Mind Trick

Subbed as well, this looks like it will be amazing!

Thanks again!!! Neither of us have never gotten into modding so deep as this before, but there's gotta be a first for everything!

 

[EpIcSnIpErZ23]

I'm thinking of building my own case soon...I really want a full ATX case with a horizontal motherboard layout and support for multiple radiators.

 

[Smithcity]

Great work so far, looks like you are getting pretty detailed! I'm looking forward to seeing how the color scheme comes together.

 

[Oliver1234]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EpIcSnIpErZ23

I'm thinking of building my own case soon...I really want a full ATX case with a horizontal motherboard layout and support for multiple radiators.

Well, if you have the money, the Caselabs S8 is awfully hard to beat, but if you don't have a ton of money, like us, or want a bit of a challenge, also like us, find a smaller case, and rearrange it, like us as well, I promise you besides the occasional frustration of a failed plan, it's sooooo much more fun than just plugging together a few pieces of a computer!!

 

[Wiz766]

Unique so I am in!

 

[Oliver1234]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smithcity

Great work so far, looks like you are getting pretty detailed! I'm looking forward to seeing how the color scheme comes together.

Me too!! We're pretty much going all out on this build, figuring we've just gotta see how good we can get, it's all working so far!!!! (Key words being "so far")

 

[Oliver1234]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wiz766

Unique so I am in!

Unique was the goal!!! Thanks a ton for all the kind comments guys, it means a ton to us!

 

[Wiz766]

Love catching these in their birthing stages, so I am stoked to see final product.