[SPARC_PWR]

I've been building PCs for years now, and while I've done quite a few semi and full mods along the way...I've never really posted them up and I've never made use of a build log. I finally decided with this build that I wanted to post up a build log, so bear with me as this is all new to me.

Project Name: Artic Assault

Parts Used: *Subject to change without notice
- Cooler Master 690 II Advanced Case
- AMD Athlon II X4 640
- MSI 880GMA-E55
- PowerColor 5570
- 4GB ADATA Gamer Series DDR3 1600

Cooling Parts:
- XSPC RS240 Radiator
- XSPC H2O 750 Pump / Res Combo
- Xigmatek XLF Fans (Blue / White LEDs)
- 1/2" ID 3/4" OD PrimoChill White Tubing
- Matte Black Bitspower Compression Fittings

Colors:
- Black
- Blue
- White

Build Progress

I started off by stripping the case and preparing the chassis for the Xigmatek fans and water cooling gear.

The XSPC radiator will go in the top location along with 2 120MM Xigmatek fans. I've built a false floor from 22GA aluminum to cover the PSU and aid n making the bottom a little cleaner (No pics of it just yet...have to wait)

After I stripped the case and did a little work on the chassis, I started on the outside of the case. I didn't want to go overboard and add a lot of color, so I decided to add white accents to a few subtle locations. After stripping, prepping, and painting I came out with this:

It came out great and really makes the case pop when everything gets put back together.

Warning...No pictures for the next updates

After the paint, I decided to cut a window in the side panel. It came out okay, but I've got a little cleanup left to do.

Still Waiting On...

I'm still waiting on the rest of the water cooling gear to get here along with my sleeving materials. I'm hoping to finish this mod up pretty quickly and get it entered into the Cooler Master 2011 Competition, but that will depend on how quickly I can get parts in.

I may switch the PowerColor 5570 out for a different card, but I need something that fits into my black and blue theme. If anyone knows of any good cards out there that fit that mold, let me know.

Stay tuned for more updates...coming soon

 

[Canadarocker]

I like it already, the silver looks great.
Will it have a side panel viewing window?

Edit:Oh ya you will

 

[Liighthead]

subed

 

[SPARC_PWR]

Thanks guys! The side panel has been cut and I have the lexan sitting here waiting to be installed, but my order of goodies has not arrived yet with my window molding and other things. I thought about going without the mold this time, but instead I cut the decision in half and went with a smaller molding. If I don't like the way it looks, I'll put it off and go without.

I also may be switching the mobo and chip to a MSI 890FXA-GD65 / 1090T combo if I can sell my "old" HTPC setup.

Stay tuned...I should have plenty more updates tomorrow since I'll packages arriving almost daily from now until completion.

 

[SPARC_PWR]

The rest of my watercooling gear finally came in yesterday so I was able to make some really good progress and almost finish round 1 for this case mod up.

Items Received

- XSPC RS240 Rad
- 6FT Primochill UV White Tube (1/2" ID)
- 6 Bitspower Matte Black 1/2"ID 3/4"OD Compression fittings
- Some of my sleeving material

Now...my new Corsair HX650 power supply still hasn't arrived, so I'm still using an old Thermaltake PSU for now. It will be sleeved and switched out once it arrives. I'm still trying to sell my HTPC setup so I can upgrade the chip and board or at least retire something older and move these into a new home.

Almost Complete Pics

I took these pics in a hurry because the wife was busy (she's the photographer) so I'll get some better ones up soon, including dark shots showcasing the lighting. The colors came out great and I really like the blue/black/white theme.

Let me know what you think.

 

[pjBSOD]

Awesome, you have excellent cable management.

 

[frankth3frizz]

can i see pictures of ur sigrig? lol.

 

[SPARC_PWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by E-Peen Awesome, you have excellent cable management.

Thanks, I worked pretty hard on hiding everything that I could. I still need to sleeve the front panel connections and the fan leads.

Quote:

can i see pictures of ur sigrig? lol.

I'll try to get some pics up of it soon. I have some older ones that I'll have to find. I'm a computer engineer in my 9 to 5 so that allows me to build some amazing machines. I generally keep a system or two from each camp just to have toys to play with.

 

[SPARC_PWR]

Update:

My motherboard has been acting a little screwy since I received it from NewEgg and last night it finally went ahead and died. The temp sensors never read correctly, usually either 0C or 1C with ACC off and negative numbers with ACC on. I'm 99.9% sure the VRM circuits burnt out so it's going back to NewEgg and the credit is going towards a new board. I also ordered some new lights and other modding materials that I'll put to good use.

New hardware coming in:

- MSI 890FXA-GD65
- XFX HD6850 GPU
- Antec TruePower New 650W PSU

I may order a FC water block for the HD 6850,but I can't seem to find one from EK so any advice you guys can give would be great.

Stay tuned for more updates and tweaks

 

[Heartl3ss]

your false floor that covers the psu is just AWESOME mate..i wish i had the knowledge or tools to do something like that...could u tell us how u did it? it would also be cool if u removed the bottom HDD cages and make a longer false floor that reaches the other end of the case..just under the front 140mm fan..

 

[SPARC_PWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heartl3ss your false floor that covers the psu is just AWESOME mate..i wish i had the knowledge or tools to do something like that...could u tell us how u did it? it would also be cool if u removed the bottom HDD cages and make a longer false floor that reaches the other end of the case..just under the front 140mm fan..

The false floor wasn't very hard to make, it just took a lot of minor measurements and adjustments to get it to fit right.

- I started with a 12" x 24" sheet of 22ga aluminum (bare, not zinc coated like some places sell) and marking off my rough size, simply it out using a jigsaw and 18 TPI bi-metal blade.

- After getting my rough shape, I used two pieces of wood that had rounded edges similar to the curve I wanted and bent the floor into the shape you see.

- Once the rough shape and curve were there, I simply kept test fitting into the case and marking where I needed to make adjustments. I notched the rear and around the floor to allow it sit flush, and also notched the side near the hdd cages to clear the slight raise.

- To finish it off, I sanded the entire piece with 320 grit paper and laid down a nice even coat of matte black paint to match the interior

I'm working on a second one now that is built like you described. I'm planning to slice a few hdd cages off and add a slight bend to ensure the floor fits right under the 140MM front fan. It should still leave me with 4 hdd slots which is more than what I need.

I may also build one out of lexan. I've been wanting to try it out and use a very dark tint to make it appear black, but add white leds into the lexan to make it glow nice at night. I don't want it to look like a strip club neon sign, but I think I can pull it off.

Thanks and stay tuned for updates. The new motherboard arrived today along with more modding supplies. I'm hoping to spend a few hours on it tomorrow since the weather is going to be nasty here.

 

[Heartl3ss]

Do you think the false floor though will be a cable management problem? Cause i covers the bottom cable management holes that are used for the power,reset switches and Sata connectors.. Or maybe u could add a second hole on the false floor to allow them to go through there as well.

Sent from my Brain using Telepathy.

 

[SPARC_PWR]

The only cable managment hole the false floor covers is the main one directly by the PSU. With a full ATX board installed, it's right at the bottom and still gives enough room for routing all of the cables at the bottom of the board

 

[Rogy56]

I really like the mods you did on your case

I'm also considering modding my CM 690 II:
-False floor
-Some extra holes for cable management
-Paint the chrome thingies on the front and top bezel red
-200mm fan on the side panel and a window

 

[SPARC_PWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rogy56 I really like the mods you did on your case I'm also considering modding my CM 690 II: -False floor -Some extra holes for cable management -Paint the chrome thingies on the front and top bezel red -200mm fan on the side panel and a window

That sounds like a great plan. I was thinking about painting my chrome strips a nice blue to match the blue on the inside but I started reassembling everything the chrome really grew on me. It doesn't stand out as much as it does when the case is still black, but it's a nice subtle contrast.

I may contact CM and see if I can purchase replacement strips for my case and paint those. That way I can see how it looks and not worry about causing irreversible damage.

Thanks guys. I'm getting ready to start work now, so I hope to have some updates soon!

 

[Rogy56]

Can you please post their reply?

Kind of interested myself if for some reason I would want to change back to chrome.

 

[SPARC_PWR]

I sure will. I e-mailed them not long after my post above regarding the subject, so hopefully I'll hear something soon.

My wife is pregnant and hasn't been feeling so well today, but I've still managed to make some progress. I've been prepping the new motherboard and getting everything ready to drop into the case. I hope to have pics up soon.

My new PSU did not get delivered today, which really kinda bums me out right now. It should be here on Monday though which means I'll just have to keep using the old TT 430 until then.

 

[Rick Arter]

Great mods love the way you set it up and painted it. False floor looks sweet as well really miss my 690 II.

 

[SPARC_PWR]

Major changes have been made

I decided to go a little wild, and so I changed the project name to Arctic Assault and added some digital camo patterns into the front and top mesh. It still needs a little touch-up, but it came out pretty good.

Sorry for the crappy pics. My house has horrible lighting for photographs, so better ones are coming

Also, I've gutted the inside and will be installing a brand new Sandy Bridge setup once my EK CPU block and 6970 GPU Blocks arrive. I also switched the WD Caviar Black 500GB for a patriot inferno 120GB SSD and a 1TB WD Caviar Black.

Stay Tuned...this thing isn't dead or finished yet