Project Ruskea - Arc Midi Build

Hello guys!

This project is actually an update from my first computer I built in July of 2012. There will be many updates to the case itself and the hardware inside it.

So to start out, why did I name this build "Project Ruskea?" Ruskea means "brown" in Finnish, a language I find very interesting. And since I am having Noctua products in my case, I figured why not!

My plans are to:

-Wrap carbon fiber around PSU and 5.25 bay
-Get the 700 series when it is released
-Buy NF-A14 FLX fans -- DONE!
-Sleeve or buy PSU extension cables
-Make my own window side panel using smoked acrylic
-Remove lower hard drive cage -- DONE!

More things may go on the list, but for now these are the only ones I can think of.

I will try to post as many pictures as I can and keep you guys updated, but unfortunately school has been crazy lately. I also have to learn how to be a better photographer with my iPhone 4S camera!

Parts:

Part 1: Drilled out the bottom hard drive cage and bought fans!

Part 2: Fans arrive along with mouse pad. Redo cable management and install fans. Mount SSD behind motherboard tray.

Thank you for reading!

welcome to the OC3D forums and your log..
once you got a pic or two come join in the OC3D Fractal Design Case Club

Quick update:

Just placed an order on three NF-A14 FLX fans. Should arrive next week.



I also drilled out the bottom hard drive cage:



Once again, sorry for the bad pictures!

dont forget the included driver in the parts box to remove the upper cage guide.
remove it and secure it to the rest of the cages for future use (if needed). it'll
free-up 8-10mm of room and not look like something's missing.
great start!

airdeano said:

dont forget the included driver in the parts box to remove the upper cage guide.
remove it and secure it to the rest of the cages for future use (if needed). it'll
free-up 8-10mm of room and not look like something's missing.
great start!

Click to expand...

Thanks you for the compliment and tip!

My next step is to wrap the 5.25 bay with carbon fiber. For now, I will not wrap my current PSU as I am getting a new, modular one in a couple of months.

practice, practice, and more practice:

airdeano said:

practice, practice, and more practice:

Click to expand...

Good job! Opening the PSU and painting the fan white takes guts. I know I could never do that!

It will take a few tries at first, but I hope I will get the hang of it. Did you use a hair dryer or heat gun?

1200watt hair dryer. small and not a direct jet of air, kinda difussed.

I have a big update for you guys!

My three NF-A14 FLX fans arrived today along with my new mouse pad.



Had to take out the rubber grommets on one side, as the clips wouldn't close with them on.



Super clean working area.



So, the last time I installed my NH-D14, I noticed the cables were pretty long on the fans. I tried hiding the cables as much as possible and think I did a pretty good job.







I also mounted my SSD behind the motherboard tray.



Got hurt in the process..



Cable management after about two hours:





Two of the NF-A14's in the front:



Front of case:



Inside case:



Excuse random PCI-e cable in the back. I later zip tied it.

If you don't mind me asking, why did you remove the Harddrive cage? Do you plan on watercooling? It couldn't have helped airflow THAT much, could it?

KyleSimmons said:

If you don't mind me asking, why did you remove the Harddrive cage? Do you plan on watercooling? It couldn't have helped airflow THAT much, could it?

Click to expand...

No, but I don't see any point in keeping it. All I have is one SSD. It looks cleaner, which was the main reason I drilled it out. And no, there wasn't a big drop in temperatures. Only about 2-3c.

did you hard mount the SSD or use velcro?

looks great!

it looks great, im not the biggest fan of the cooler because i don't like the look of them but im sure it gives great cooling performance also i have the ASRock extreme 7 motherboard and i think there great!

Thanks!

And I used some 3M Scotch double sided tape.

Looks very clean