Project White Knight : Air Cooling at it's Best..

[naveen58]

Hey all,i'm Naveen from India.

This thread is of my First ever modding project,it's been around a year since i've started this project & it's about to end in a few days.

i'm simply pasting my modding post from other forum wrt it's date.

ENJOY..

my search for a good air cooled full tower case was going on for a long time,until i found this

i'll be upgrading from my CM690 to this case,but i've decided to make this case one of a kind.

so,here's a list of mods that i've planned to do on this case.

1) Mod the side panel to fit the Lian Li Window.

2) Add support for 2 x 140mm top fans.

3) Add support for 2 x 120mm fans behind HDD Bay.

4) Sleeve every damn Cable.

5) Change all the fans to Xigmatek white LED Fans.

6) Tint Side Window.

7) Paint the case from black from inside & white from outside with some designs using other colors.

8) Cut some holes on the motherboard tray from better cable management.

9) Make the motherboard tray removable.

10)Add support for 2x120mm fans on the back side like antec 1200.

11)Mod the front fan support to house 2x120mm Fans.

 

[naveen58]

List of Tasks already Performed

UPDATE - 18/11/2010

Something arrived at the door today.

Lemme See,it's something from our Lian Li Dealer

hmm,it's Plexi Glass for the side panel

i liked that it comes with it's own protective skin.

got something from US as well

Techflex 1/8" Clean Cut sleeve + 1/8" heatshrink (for those who can't afford MDPC Sleeves

)

So,i had a some free time & so i started to strip the case down

some pics.

while taking the case apart i found out that the motherboard tray is not removable,i thought it was

so,added that to my modding list.

also planned to something with the tool less PCI Card Holder

stripping it down.

you'll have to remove 2 screws to take it apart

then i moved on to the side panel,i used a 0.75" wide painters masking tape & covered entire panel with that.

here's how it looks

then i used the glass & marked the outline with a pencil.

then i draw marked another sketch of the glass 1.5cm inwards of the line,this is where actual cut is to be made.

 

[naveen58]

UPDATE - 20/12/2010

first of all i deriveted some rivets & made the motherboard tray removable.

here's the motherboard tray

some unnecessary stuff

,removed that as well.

so,the motherboard tray is now removable. yipee. :clap:

since there was too much space on the back so, i thought that it would be better to make the back of the case look like antec 1200.

two exhaust fans one above the other.

did some markings.

then used a A4 paper & made a template of it.

tada,here's the end result

i was searching for 140mm xiggy orange fans but noone not even Xigmatek India Importer was able to source them & icc quote was like 1.5k per fan

so,i decided to mod it so that it can be installed with 2x120mm fans.

here's the end result

all good so far.

FEW STUFFS THAT I ORDERED FROM ARRIVED..

first up mediahome..

my products from HK Arrived.

here's what's inside the package.

then i marked wrt to size of air filter on the top panel so that i can cut 2x140mm holes

then comes the package from ebay seller boltbase

here's what was inside the package

 

[naveen58]

UPDATE - 21/12/2010

Finally i was able to cut the side panel.

it took me about 5 hours to cut it & file it.

i used a 1/8" drill bit & drilled some holes out then i used a saw blade to cut it & after filing it here's the result.

i think it's almost perfect.

what do you guyz think??

 

[naveen58]

UPDATE - 26/12/2010

Got some free time to work & completed the top panel.

i used a 1/8" drill bit to drill a series of holes inside the line,filed it & then sanded it to make it look professional.

here's how it looks like -

so,what do you guyz think??

will start preparing the outer panels for the case for paint from now on

 

[naveen58]

UPDATE - 30/12/2010

I Searched for a Professional Painter in my city & came across one.

the outer panels are now sanded & primed using Self Etching Primer

here are some pics (two to be precise

)

apologies for bad pic quality

 

[naveen58]

UPDATE - 04/01/2011

After sanding the filler a bit he applied Surface Primer to all the panels.

here's how it looks after the job

 

[naveen58]

UPDATE - 09/01/2011

THE CASE HAS BEEN PAINTED WHITE,HERE ARE SOME TEASER PICS

I'M A HUGE FAN OF PINSTRIPING ART BUT SINCE THIS BEING MY CITY WHICH IS MORE OF A VILLAGE I HAD NO OPTION INSTEAD OF PLOTTER

The black part is Stencil on which i'll be painting up tomorrow.

BEHOLD THE MIGHTY LION

 

[naveen58]

UPDATE - 13/01/2011

Got the Front & Top Panel Completely painted & Cleared today.

this is how it looks like -

i think it looks amazing

 

[naveen58]

THANKS ALL

UPDATE - 15/01/2011

Got the other two panels from the painter today here's how they look..

all the panels together

unfortunately today was kinda windy day which screwed the panels,loads of dust was accumulated on the panels

here are few pics

i'm not satisfied with the way it looks so i'm going to sand it & get it cleared again.

Hope this time god will be with me & they'll be good

 

[naveen58]

UPDATE - 14/04/2011

sorry for keeping the thread dead for 2 months,will try to finish the mod this time.

since my TX650 was going strong enough & still had more than 3 years of warranty on it,i didn't want to void it's warranty by sleeving the PSU.

instead bought some extension cables + a LED light kit.

here are the pics.

Took Some time as well to finish off the front panel assembly.

here's how it looks

then i Modded something that i didn't planned.

i'll let the pics talk & see if you can find out.

for those who can't notice the difference in the pics above,it's the HDD bay orientation.

just opposite of Stock.

then moved on to some actual cutting on the chassis itself.

tested the location by placing the custom frame that i made earlier.

the back now looks more like antec 1200, isn't it?

it's raining here every afternoon from the past 3-4 days,so it's very hard to get the paint work done on the chassis

meanwhile got the primer done on the other components.

all primed.

the aluminum is so light that it was making it very hard for the painter to paint on,even by using little amount of air,the aluminum clips were flying here and there as you can see in the last pic.

Finished Sanding Using Wet 1500 Grit Paper by mixing shampoo in water for less friction between sand paper & the color.

here's the result.

all the dust that was settled after the clear coat was completely removed,now it's ready for one more clear coat.

Finally got the other two panels from the painter today,both the panels are Recleared.

Sanding Efforts Worth it

Just have a Look at the Reflection

Comments & Suggestions are Welcomed

 

[naveen58]

UPDATE - 16/04/2011

Made a Custom Aluminum Panel Yesterday for two Purposes -

1) Better Cable Management

2) Vertical Mounting of 2.5" SSD Drive

here's the pic

marked it for SSD mounting holes & hole for cables to pass through

test fit after cutting & bit of sanding as i wasn't able to get the file in there

finished product

then it was painters turn for the primer

he primed it today by 11:30AM IST

some pics

the front 140mm to 120mm conversion panel

the rear panel for housing 2x120mm fans

till now it's seems to be going great but then Disaster.

it rained like hell today & there was snowfall,the weather was very windy as well.

so the bench on which all the parts were placed was blown away & all the parts including chassis were eating mud

have a look

i took the HDD Cage washed it with water & then i was shocked

Fortunately all the other parts were good & needed washing,but now i have one more thing to do,repair the HDD Cage.

 

[naveen58]

here comes the new update -

UPDATE - 21/04/2011

EXHIBITION UP AHEAD

i did reminded the painter to use NC filler a bit on the panels that have minor dents in them but he forgot so i asked him to put the filler & reprime it

so above is the pic of the panels with NC filler applied.

other panels have been primed as well

& then the painters leaved for vacation for a 2-3 days

else the build would have been done sooner.

anyways will wait for two days & get them painted

 

[naveen58]

UPDATE - 27/05/2011

sorry for not updating you all in a long time but i have been working on the build,the only thing that i didn't do was update the worklog.

so here goes the update

everything has been painted up here goes some pics during the work

i decided to paint different color on fan grills,motherboard tray & PCI Slot covers for some extra highlights

the painter working his magic on the parts

i know he doesn't look professional but he indeed is

i also tried searching a lot for xigmatek 140mm orange blade white led fans but wasn't able to source them.so,i thought of something & finally ended up on more modding i.e.

changing led of 140mm blue led fans to white,visited a local store & got hold on some white leds

so i started the work here is one pic to be precise

changed one led & tested it unfortunately all the leds were of different shade in white & they were not as bright as blue.

so,i've ordered some high brightness white led off ebay,will wait till they arrive.

some teaser pics of the update that will follow soon

 

[naveen58]

Hi all,I feel really very sorry for leaving this build in the middle of nowhere but i was preparing for the competitive exam which are done now & i expect to complete the rest of the build in next 3-4 days,since only PSU Sleeving & System assembly is remaining. Here goes today's Update ....

UPDATE - 23/12/2011

as all the modding & painting work was done earlier,all that remains now is sleeving & assembling.

Sleeving first -

Xigmatek Fan Sleeved

Same fan with Painted Grill on it

Power Led & HDD Led

Power Switch & Reset Switch

Front Panel Connectors - as this was my first time with sleeving it was real PITA to sleeve these connectors,time & patience got me through here.

other end

Now,time to finish up the top panel - it was hard getting power buttons & reset buttons on the top panel,so a little bit of sanding the holes with sand paper & the buttons are in & working.

next is the 140mm fans (already sleeved),i've swapped all Blue Led's with White Ones,i'm sorry as i forgot to take pictures of the fan while sleeving & changing the leds.

Fans are secured using 35mm long black M4 Button head screws,M4 Nyloc Nuts & to dampen the vibrations of the fan i've used the rubber grommets that came in with the case for HDD's.

this is how i placed rubber grommet to dampen the vibration of the fan

both fans in the place

Inside View

Top View

The Center of 140mm Lian Li Fan doesn't have any sticker,the copper winding in the center was not looking good.

Time for a Quick Fix

got all these plotted in no time,my mind was not working on what to plot so i went with the Project Title,if any of you have any image(s) that can be plotted on a 4x4 sq cm area without any distortion then it would be great.

Oh & here's how the fan looks before & after the sticker

applied on one fan,

and on both

that's all for today..

next to come is PSU Sleeving & Reassembly.

 

[naveen58]

UPDATE - 25/12/2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

From the beginning of this project my Parents noticed the hard work that i've put into this project & they also heard me saying 100% Modular PSU blah blah all the time,so my Parents Sponsored me one & here it goes

Look Mom no Cables

so,where are the cables?

ohh, here they are

PSU is not the only thing that my Parents Sponsored,there's more.....

Time to Sleeve MDPC Style

it took me near about 2 hours to get the first cable out as i was using about 10% of the pulling force required to pull the cable

but as soon as the first one got out the others didn't took long

The 8 Pin Cable after Sleeving (My First Ever PSU Cable Sleeved)

This is my Best Christmas Ever & I'm Lovin it..

PS - Thank You Everyone for your Support without which this would not have been possible,you all drive me to do all these things :thumb:

 

[naveen58]

UPDATE - 26/12/2011

Well,it's a small update to be honest

started sleeving the GPU Cables & i'm done with it,those cables had capacitors in them,so took me a while to study what are those for and ended up removing them

here is the pic of GPU Cable before sleeving

& here are a few after sleeving

i've also started sleeving 24pin connector & it will be done by next update.

 

[naveen58]

reserved for final pics..

 

[naveen58]

reserved for final pics..

 

[naveen58]

reserved for final pics..