[Yianni89]

Dear all,

welcome to my first ever solo build, thus christened The Marathon (at least for now as I think its going to take a while) (also quite fitting as I'm Greek and the colour ways are white and blue.... just by coincidence).

I'm editing this opening post because much is not relevant any more and its just going to get messy with this many strikthroughs.

You will have to have some patience as i think its going to be a long one however here is the plan.

Case: NZXT H440 (Arrived)
Mobo: AsusTUF X99 Sabertooth (possibly white if it is released)
CPU: Intel i7 5960X
GPU: GALAX GeForce GTX 980 "Hall of Fame Edition" x2 SLI or 1 single Titan X 980ti
RAM: G-Skill Ripjaws 32GB (8x4gb) 2666MHz
SSD: 2x Samsung 850 Pro 500GB (RAID 0)
PSU: Corsair AX860 EVGA Supernova G2 850W Arrived

Watercooling Setup:


Radiator Front: Alphacool NexXxoS Monsta 360mm White (push-pull) - ordered
Radiator Top: Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 240mm Black (will paint it white) (push) - ordered

Pump: PWM D5 pump, brand unknown, custom top mounted to custom shroud - Diamond Cooling
Reservoir: Custom built - wait and see - Diamond Cooling
Hard Tube: Clear 12/10 - Diamond Cooling
Fittings: Custom painted hard tube push fittings powder coated in blue and white - Diamond Cooling
CPU block: Custom Block in white - Diamond Cooling
GPU Blocks: GTX 980 HOF Water blocks and back plate (custom colour ways) - Diamond Cooling

As well as the custom water cooling parts Dimaond Cooling are also going to make me a new shroud with pass throughs for hardline pipes, ssd Cables, and GPU-PSU cables. It will also include top mounts for 2 SSD's, and a bottom mount for the D5 pump

Big Thank you to Diamond Cooling for even considering taking some of this stuff on, really making a fanatical dream a reality!



so there is much to plan...

things I've seen that I'm worried about with solutions I'm considering:

1. airflow with the case

while its not a huge concern for me initially as i wont be over clocking straight off the bat i know once i start with my custom loop it will most likely be an issue, however the case looks too good to pass up and has mad reviews so far so i shall workaround it.

Solutions: laser cut the front and top panels (tastefully to keep some of the aesthetics of the case) to increase the airflow.... may also give me room for a push pull system... but that's yet to be determined for both front and top positions.

2. where do you mount a reservoir....
this is where i think i need to get very creative.... everyone so far has cylinders in this particular case however I'm tempted to look into the possibility of a plexiglass reservoir made to measure to replace a certain part of the case.... more to come on this in the future...

3. fans cost a fortune at the moment but there will be a full on fan replacement occurring at some point... most likely for Noiseblockers for performance as well as they stock colours..... i have also recently found out that noisblockers don't work so good when up against another surface and pulling air in, so I'm going to have to offset them to allow them to actually work while maintaining as high SP as possible.

4.I WILL be sleeving my own cables, bar 1 (the sata power cable) as it will fit much nicer if i get a single out connector custom made from Icemodz)

5. I'll be doing a bit of colour changing inside the case and on the GPU backplate and fan covers.

6. there is a possibility I will do some funky lighting system inside which I think is feasible but I will let you know once I crack the case open

so for now some things i want to get started on and opinions on are the cut outs for the front panel and top panel..... I think i have narrowed it down to a couple of options

1. keeping it modern

http://www.primochill.com/product/triple-carbon-bicolor-rad-grillz/

with this grill

http://www.primochill.com/product/primochill-hex-2-layer-rad-grillz-120mm-2/

this i think keeps the clean lines and modern feel of the case quite well and will allow me full access to the cleaned out panel at the back for a possible push-pull (I'm hoping)

So let me know your thoughts, ideas and experiences

 

[spacetoast31]

Before the final decision of my panel mod, i was actually considering buying the bi color grills. Those are very similar to the standard look of the case. I bougbt extensions for my sleeved cables... Only becUse im kind of impatient..

 

[Yianni89]

Christmas came right on time! Excuse the poor quality... Camera from htc One M8...








Thanks to Santa some work might start sooner than expected

 

[Yianni89]

Decided i will sleeve my own cables... i think on the whole it will work out cheaper to do so

looking at Kobra sleeving kits

 

[Yianni89]

My Case is void of everything

shell dismantled... will work on the Rivets over the weekend maybe

if the weather permits i may start painting some stuff

 

[white]

subbed looking forward to see what you can do with this case

 

[Yianni89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by white

subbed looking forward to see what you can do with this case

thanks

hopefully will be a good one.... not sure how to remove the rivets holding the case frame together though... that's my youtubing for tomorrow night

from what i gather i hit them out with a nail and a hammer....

 

[spacetoast31]

I know a lit take them out by drilling them

 

[Yianni89]

Few photos from last night's dismantling session... Again excuse the poor quality.
Starting with the drive bays






I'm taking these out permenantly and using a seperate led controller and my mobo will control the fans.... All 4pin


Fans are gone...



Pane grills out for painting and bellow the plastic away from the steel.
changing the LED little NZXT logo to a brighter blue.



Empty shell ready for the rivets to be drilled out... Small progress I know but even small progress is some progress. Hope you all had a great Christmas ?

 

[Yianni89]

Just a quick update, going for a shock blue interior with white cabling, keeping the white exterior with the black vents sprayed the same shock blue with white grills behind.

Ordering Some white rivets and a rivet gun tomorrow as well as all the paint.... hopefully the wind will die down enough to be able to actually spray everything.

also on a small side note, the covers for the PCI cards will also be resprayed white (from black) and possibly also the screws that hold in stuff, though I'm not decided on that or whether it will work.... we shall see...

I think that's about all for now

chances are nothing will arrive before new year so Happy New Year to you all

 

[TTheuns]

I like that you're not afraid to cut into the plastic panels of a brand new case, I'll be following this build closely.
Also, that colour scheme was exactly what I was thinking for my build.

 

[spacetoast31]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TTheuns

I like that you're not afraid to cut into the plastic panels of a brand new case, I'll be following this build closely.
Also, that colour scheme was exactly what I was thinking for my build.

The panels are actually metal sheets on a plastic base panel. So its double the fun.



I cant find the one of the plastic yet ill look in a few
Found it

 

[Yianni89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TTheuns

I like that you're not afraid to cut into the plastic panels of a brand new case, I'll be following this build closely.
Also, that colour scheme was exactly what I was thinking for my build.

like space toast said, its more of a layers thing (bit like a small Ogre or large Onion. Its 0.8mm SECC Steel on the top and ABS Plastic under it which has sound proofing foam stuck to it..... got to cut the lot...... will then hopefully have enough room for fans between the case structure and the front of the steel..... i think i will have to make the cut in the plastic a different to that on the steel so i can gain a few extra millimetres and avoid the panel warping.

And i think the colour would look great, i think flat-pack cases are something that companies should seriously debate where people can easily swap in and out panels for different colours. i'de pay £50 extra for that any day if it saved me paining and sanding and riveting.

The Ikea Deshkatopa... get on it

haha

 

[Yianni89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacetoast31

The panels are actually metal sheets on a plastic base panel. So its double the fun.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I cant find the one of the plastic yet ill look in a few
Found it

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

What does yours look like with the fans set 25mm back from the front of the case??? or have you managed to put your fans in between???

 

[Yianni89]

Just a quick one... I've ordered...

- PSU (EVGA Supernova G2 850W)

- Sleeving:
White - Lutro0 Teleios 4mm Premium Grade Cable Braid
Blue - Shakmods 4mm Dense Weave Round Cable Braid

- Cable Combs: clear

- Heatshrink white and blue

I was thinking, can i heatshrink the wires before braiding them? so that there is no chance of other colours or wording coming through the braid???

 

[spacetoast31]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yianni89

[/SPOILER]

What does yours look like with the fans set 25mm back from the front of the case??? or have you managed to put your fans in between???

i have some black steel mesh behind the cutouts so you dont see them directly, but it doesnt look bad when you are really trying to see them... plus it gives it some depth and dimension. The in between thing was a thought before but went this route. and to be honest if, you really wanted to squeeze the fans in there you could always get the thin 12-15mm ones. for between it for a guaranteed fit. but i dont think a 25 would make it. I would try but i dont want to risk damaging the mesh.





Ive since, only removed the fan filter.

 

[Yianni89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacetoast31

i have some black steel mesh behind the cutouts so you dont see them directly, but it doesnt look bad when you are really trying to see them... plus it gives it some depth and dimension. The in between thing was a thought before but went this route. and to be honest if, you really wanted to squeeze the fans in there you could always get the thin 12-15mm ones. for between it for a guaranteed fit. but i dont think a 25 would make it. I would try but i dont want to risk damaging the mesh.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Ive since, only removed the fan filter.

My thought was to cut a fan diameter cut into the black plastic and then make the white metal top just have circular cuts for the fan blades to show, should give me about 8mm I think once the sponge is removed too.

 

[Yianni89]

Big thank you to Icemodz.com for all their very helpful information about wires and sleeving! will definitely be ordering some stuff in the next few days!!! feeling much more comfortable with this prospective sleeving now !!

Waiting for Payday

 

[Yianni89]

Those with a keen eye will have noticed I'm ordering a different graphics card....

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-008-GX&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1812

GALAX GeForce GTX 970 "Hall of Fame Edition"

Drool much??

 

[Karan98]

Hey! Nice build! I was just wondering, how did you get the panel off the PSU shroud?