- last edited on by
ROGBot
Hey guys, Boddaker here! I'm new to this forum, but not so new to modding lol. Been at it for about 10 years now. You might remember me from such mods as "TRON Lightcycle," "Neptune's Trident," and "Battlestar Galactica". ASUS asked me if I would like to build a PC involving one of their new Strix series of products, and I enthusiastically accepted. So I'm here with a new project called "NightStrix." This will be a scratch build, and will feature the new Strix R9 280 graphics card.
Components to be used so far:
ASUS Maximus VII Hero Motherboard
Intel i7 4790k proc
16Gb DDR3 ADATA Memory
ASUS Strix R9 280 Video Card
4x 128Gb ADATA SSD
Coolermaster v1200 Power Supply
Coolermaster Nepton AIO CPU Cooler
Here is the concept art, with difference viewing angles..
I'll be posting more pics as I accumulate all the pieces for the build. Thanks to ASUS and Coolermaster for giving me this great opportunity to continue doing what I love most. Cheers!
Components to be used so far:
ASUS Maximus VII Hero Motherboard
Intel i7 4790k proc
16Gb DDR3 ADATA Memory
ASUS Strix R9 280 Video Card
4x 128Gb ADATA SSD
Coolermaster v1200 Power Supply
Coolermaster Nepton AIO CPU Cooler
Here is the concept art, with difference viewing angles..
I'll be posting more pics as I accumulate all the pieces for the build. Thanks to ASUS and Coolermaster for giving me this great opportunity to continue doing what I love most. Cheers!
Some great progress over the weekend. Seems like all I've been doing is drilling holes and tapping lol.
I positioned the bulkheads on the base, with the psu set in the middle.
Then made brackets to mount the bulkheads to the base at their correct spacing...
Then I proceeded to drill a bunch of holes through all bulkheads at once to save time. These will be for the threaded rods and spacers.
I also got the motherboard tray mounted to the base and the first bulkhead via screws and spacers at the top.
A close up shot of the 1/2" spacers behind the motherboard tray.
And with the ASUS HERO motherboard installed temporarily to test the fit.
I continued adding the spacers and threaded rods throughout all four main bulkheads until all 13 were done.
Of course I had to set the ADATA SSD's in place to see how they looked..
Once the main part of the case was built, I started the painful task of assembling the doors. I had to measure, bevel, mark, drill, tap and mount each cross piece, one at a time. 11 slats per side! This took the majority of my weekend.
Amazingly enough, there was still time left in the day, so I managed to get the Cooler Master Nepton radiator mounted on the backside, with...
You guessed it, More spacers! When designing the case, I made a slot in each bulkhead to allow for the Nepton's tubing to pass through to the front towards the motherboard.
Once they're in place, these special pieces will fit into the slots to fill them in.
Work continues at a feverish pace...
I positioned the bulkheads on the base, with the psu set in the middle.
Then made brackets to mount the bulkheads to the base at their correct spacing...
Then I proceeded to drill a bunch of holes through all bulkheads at once to save time. These will be for the threaded rods and spacers.
I also got the motherboard tray mounted to the base and the first bulkhead via screws and spacers at the top.
A close up shot of the 1/2" spacers behind the motherboard tray.
And with the ASUS HERO motherboard installed temporarily to test the fit.
I continued adding the spacers and threaded rods throughout all four main bulkheads until all 13 were done.
Of course I had to set the ADATA SSD's in place to see how they looked..
Once the main part of the case was built, I started the painful task of assembling the doors. I had to measure, bevel, mark, drill, tap and mount each cross piece, one at a time. 11 slats per side! This took the majority of my weekend.
Amazingly enough, there was still time left in the day, so I managed to get the Cooler Master Nepton radiator mounted on the backside, with...
You guessed it, More spacers! When designing the case, I made a slot in each bulkhead to allow for the Nepton's tubing to pass through to the front towards the motherboard.
Once they're in place, these special pieces will fit into the slots to fill them in.
Work continues at a feverish pace...
Got more carbon fiber vinyl in, so I was able to cover both sides of the main bulkheads last night..
Applying the vinyl onto the first bulkhead. One side done.
First bulkhead finished, both sides, and trimmed.
Close up of slot filler piece in place with matching CF.
Proceeded to do the other bulkheads. Here is a detail shot of one of the fan grills.
I like the look of the CF with the red edging! I should be able to get everything else covered in CF tonight, then I can move on to finishing the doors and getting them mounted to the gears.
'til then!
Applying the vinyl onto the first bulkhead. One side done.
First bulkhead finished, both sides, and trimmed.
Close up of slot filler piece in place with matching CF.
Proceeded to do the other bulkheads. Here is a detail shot of one of the fan grills.
I like the look of the CF with the red edging! I should be able to get everything else covered in CF tonight, then I can move on to finishing the doors and getting them mounted to the gears.
'til then!
Lots accomplished over the weekend! Let's get right to it...
Earlier, I had formed a metal base out of some steel sheet, as well as some aluminum angle brackets to hold the bulkheads and GPU in place. One of the major items on my to-do list was to prep and paint them..
I pilfered some case feet off an old box and added some CF to snaz them up a bit..
After applying all the pieces with the carbon fiber vinyl, I started mounting the gears. I used 1/2" acrylic solid rod for the axle. I glued it in place on the bulkhead
I glued it in place on the bulkhead, then drilled/tapped a hole in the center and put a fender washer over the gears to keep them in place.
Here's a shot of both bulkheads with gears mounted.
Next up will be mounting the GPU and final assembly. Stay tuned!
Earlier, I had formed a metal base out of some steel sheet, as well as some aluminum angle brackets to hold the bulkheads and GPU in place. One of the major items on my to-do list was to prep and paint them..
I pilfered some case feet off an old box and added some CF to snaz them up a bit..
After applying all the pieces with the carbon fiber vinyl, I started mounting the gears. I used 1/2" acrylic solid rod for the axle. I glued it in place on the bulkhead
I glued it in place on the bulkhead, then drilled/tapped a hole in the center and put a fender washer over the gears to keep them in place.
Here's a shot of both bulkheads with gears mounted.
Next up will be mounting the GPU and final assembly. Stay tuned!
Mounting the GPU was a bit more involved than merely adding a bracket. I had to first figure out how to mount a bracket directly to the card, then get precise measurements so the eyes were positioned perfectly through the front panel.
I ended up using the existing mounting tabs for the card's heat shield. I drilled them out a bit so I could use pop rivets to secure the new bracket to its frame.
Then I cut a piece of red acrylic to raise the card up to the correct height, and added an angle bracket to the bottom of it.
Finally I could mount it to the base. I made a secondary bracket on the right side for the IO plate for added stability.
Getting the rest of the components installed..
The front panel needed to be glued up before it could go on.
After that set up, I mounted it to the case.
Just about done..
I ended up using the existing mounting tabs for the card's heat shield. I drilled them out a bit so I could use pop rivets to secure the new bracket to its frame.
Then I cut a piece of red acrylic to raise the card up to the correct height, and added an angle bracket to the bottom of it.
Finally I could mount it to the base. I made a secondary bracket on the right side for the IO plate for added stability.
Getting the rest of the components installed..
The front panel needed to be glued up before it could go on.
After that set up, I mounted it to the case.
Just about done..
Some shots of the CM Nepton 280 cooler mounted on the back side..
Close up shot of the tubing slot
And with the back fan grill mounted.
Final pics coming up..
Close up shot of the tubing slot
And with the back fan grill mounted.
Final pics coming up..
Here are the final pics. I was unable to fit the doors properly due to the cooling tubes on the Nepton, and I didn't have time to make any adjustments, so I had to leave them off for now. The case still looks good without them tho..
Thanks again to ASUS for letting me be a part of this project, and to Cooler Master for providing the V1200 psu and Nepton 280 CPU cooler, ADATA for supplying the SSD's and memory modules, and finally Primochill for laser-cutting the acrylic and for the carbon fiber vinyl.
Thanks again to ASUS for letting me be a part of this project, and to Cooler Master for providing the V1200 psu and Nepton 280 CPU cooler, ADATA for supplying the SSD's and memory modules, and finally Primochill for laser-cutting the acrylic and for the carbon fiber vinyl.
