[Frozen-Q]

Update 1 6/5/16 - Case, Parts, and More
Update 2 7/19/16 - Case Painting and GPU Backplates
Update 3 8/11/16 - Putting the Case Back Together, Radiators, Lower Shroud
Update 4 8/24/16 - Power Supply and Hardline Time!
Update 5 9/5/16 - Last Acrylic Plates and Final Pictures!

The Build



A "nexus" , while traditionally defined as a hub connecting various things, can also be defined as a collective of ideas, all culminating to a certain point. This project serves to do just that, as I'll be incorporating most of my favorite ideas and techniques that I've accumulated over the years. There are two key factors in the patterning and/or scheme of this project.

- The first, as is most obivous, you can see in the header image, the scheme is very reminiscent of the Asiimov pattern, a very popular weapon skin from CS:GO. Being a CS:GO player myself, this has always been my favorite skin, and I've been itching for the opportunity to do something with it.



- As always, the design must incorporate the hexagon, which is a staple for the design scheme of our business.



The Specs

I want to start out by immediately thanking our sponsors for this project. The support we get from other companies within this business is next to none!

Case: In Win 909 - Silver Aluminum
CPU: Intel 6800K
Motherboard: Gigabyte X99 Phoenix SLI
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB 2666MHz
GPUS: 2x GTX Titan X
SSDS: 2x Intel 730 Series and Samsung 950 256GB Series M2 SSD
HDD: 2x WD 2 TB Black
PSU: InWin Signature 900W Black Aluminum
Fans: 6x Corsair AF120 - White LED

Cooling
- CPU Block: Watercool Heatkiller Pro IV
- GPU Blocks: EK Titan X Full Coverage
- Radiators: Alphacool Slim 360 and 240
- Reservoirs: 1x FrozenQ LE-2016 Reservoirs
- Pump: Alphacool Laing DDC w/ Heatkiller Pump Top
- Fittings: Primochill Rigid Revolver

Current State

FINISHED!

 

[Duality92]

moved

 

[Frozen-Q]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duality92

moved

Thank you!

 

[Duality92]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frozen-Q

Thank you!

Your projects are always amongst top tier modders, I can't wait to see what you make of this project

 

[In Win Insight]

Definitely looking forward to this mod!

 

[Jedson3614]

Yes this will be a great experience and build !

 

[Willius]

Lovely chassis, looking forward to updates!

 

[Frozen-Q]

As of now the case should be arriving to us early next week. Once that comes in, we'll do some pictures of it, give our first impressions, and start to show what we're planning on doing with it!

 

[Frozen-Q]

Straight out of the box, this case makes an insane first impression. While quite heavy, the quality of the construction is simply next to none. I'm going to stray away from doing a full on review, because as the build log progresses, we'll go into detail about the smaller details.



Beautiful inset logo bezel. Kind of nice to have something that isn't protruding from the case. It lends itself to the sleek smooth surface.



The back really struck me when first opening this case up. The outside of this case seems to be made from 3mm brushed aluminum, with all the holes beautifully machined into the surface. Every edge is also deburred extremely well. You won't find a sharp edge anywhere on the outside of this case.



Side view with the glass panel removed.



The 909 compared to the significantly smaller NCase M1. Both of these awesome cases arrived the same day.



This is why I do most of my mod work at the shop and not at home. This guy insists he can offer some form of help to the design process.



So lets break down the overall (very simple) layout plan.

1. Triple rad, no less than 50mm thick, with fans in push config for the GPU loop. My intent is to make a custom shroud to make the whole module over there look much more uniform while lending itself to the design of the case.

2. PSU bay, probably going to keep this simple and make a cover for the PSU that still showcases the Corsair logo on the side of it.

3. Dual rad, most likely 25mm thick so we don't encroach on the motherboard area, for the CPU loop.

4. Two FrozenQ LE-2016 Limited Edition reservoirs, with dual DDC's below. These have yet to be announced, but they'll be coming soon!

5. E-ATX motherboard...fairly straightforward

6. 5" LCD Screen, going to be used to probably display something like Precision X. Or Rick and Morty stuff at LAN's...who knows.

7. Dual Intel SSD array. Probably going to make some sort of cool angled mount with some lighting from above to show them off a bit.

8. System temp hub. I'll be making a custom panel here full of small LED readouts for various temperatures and voltages. The smoked glass on the side should help tone down the brightness of those modules.

Dan is in the process of doing dimensions for the exterior of the case, and then he'll start working his photoshop magic to begin to make a FrozenQ/Asiimov themed exterior. Once the exterior of the case comes back from the powder coater (going to be a gloss white exterior), he's going to start the decal work.

Next Update: Dismantling the case and exterior design plan

 

[catbuster]

Subbed

 

[nzphil]

Subbed!

 

[Frozen-Q]

The new beauties that will be going into this build!

 

[Duality92]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frozen-Q

The new beauties that will be going into this build!

That looks so good! I can't wait to see more!

 

[Frozen-Q]

Lots of stuff in this update, so lets break it down!

New Components and Test Fitting

X99 Phoenix SLI from Gigabyte. Honestly, this has to be my favorite board I've ever had the pleasure of working with. It's not often you get a motherboard that perfectly fits the style of your build. Lest we not forget, the board has a ton of features, which in a later post, once the build is complete, I'll do a short review on.







Corsair Dominator Platinum Memory. I've always been a fan of Corsairs memory, for two reasons. I am a big fan of the simple, yet sleek design that doesn't look out of place in most builds. They offer pretty much everything from low profile, to large high performance in a variety of colors that work for various schemes and if they don't (in this case the Dominator Platinum), it's usually designed in such a way that it's neutral but still lends to the "high quality" look you want in a build like this.

The second is quality. I think I've probably used over 20 Corsair memory kits over time, and have not once had a single problem that required an RMA.





Some pictures of me test fitting the board and memory into the internal case frame just to see how it looked.







Set in the new LE-2016 reservoir to see how it stacks up against the board. It will obviously sit a bit higher, but it was more just to see how the colors worked next to each other.





Just a little test bench time to make sure everything works properly. Good news, it does!



Painting the Case

Got the outer frame of the case removed. Honestly, this is by far one of the nicest things about this case. The super thick aluminum shell comes off the internals by just a few screws. For modding purposes, this is an extremely nice feature.



Getting ready to get a coat of primer on here.



White pearl base coat applied.



After the base coat dried, Dan got to work on the vinyl detailing, applying some gloss black vinyl on the front and top.



Skipped ahead a bit here, but here's the finished product after he was done with it. After this it's going to be readied for clear coating, to protect the paint and keep the vinyl details from peeling up.



Custom GPU Backplates

I was really excited for this part, because it's so simple and yet lends a really nice design element to the build. I started by measuring out the mounting holes on the GPU, and laser cutting a test piece.



The whole thing is made from two layers of 1/8" acrylic, the top being a really nice quality matte black. I used a pretty standard solvent to adhere the two layers.



Dropped and glued the colored inserts in.



And there you have it, much nicer than just the bare card showing in the middle of the case. The plate attaches to two of the free holes on the GPU that the water block doesn't use.



Next were going to get the internal frame put back in the case, and we'll get to work installing parts!

 

[Duality92]

Looking great!

 

[sinnedone]

Very nice indeed, can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[SBSROGUE]

Wow, looking amazing.

 

[Frozen-Q]

It's time for a long awaited update. We're almost there!



I decided since that we weren't using all the HDD bays that the space would be better suited to making a nicer looking sponsor logo light box. Pretty easy to drill out the rivets and remove this part. In some cases the rivets can really be in difficult locations, but this was pretty straightforward.



Laying the aluminum frame next to the internal frame.



Securing the internal frame back into the case.



The two Antec TruQuiet 120mm fans I'll be using for the lower radiator. (Note: These later got changed out to Corsair AF120's)



Sleeved UV orange with Ultimate Personal Computers AEGIS Sleeving.



Attached to the dual radiator and ready to drop in.



Lower dual radiator secured and ready to go.



Lining up the decorative shroud that I made for the bottom portion. This will cover all the metal bits from the fan and radiator mounts, and also conceal where the GPU power cables connect to their extensions.



Peeled off the protective film revealing the matte black surface, and glued in the orange inserts.



Attached the side panel with the hex design.



Gluing the orange inserts into the hex design.



All finished!



Final shot with the side shroud reattached.

 

[nzphil]

Awesome work with the custom acrylic pieces. Looking forward to seeing more.

 

[axiumone]

Really gorgeous. I love the paint scheme so much.