Rise of the triad, The 2014 Area 51

Awww fudge :D I forgot something lol.



It's the front/bottom intake panel. This is the panel the fan with the nose cone will go in and I forgot that I hacked it around when I got the rig. It had a 2mm deep channel around the fan and because the fans I switched to had rubber gaskets they wouldn't fit. So as you can see, I did a sterling job of modding it :D I didn't think you would see it but it was visible and looks like poo.

So today I will prep and try and get that done. I also forgot to paint the mobo heatsink cover, so that can go in the booth with it.

Here are all the painted parts happily drying :)



I have also removed the masking on the bottom panel so it's ready to have the strip covers fitted and the cathodes.
 
Well that didn't go as I thought it would :D it turned out that in my impatience when removing the lip over a year ago I broke into the surface, so it wasn't just a case of sanding it flush. I had to do some bodywork on it.



And it's masked up ready for cleaning and painting :)

 
It's now been over a week since I painted the first run of panels and as such I haven't really had that much to do apart from sitting around twiddling my thumbs and thinking about future projects.

I made up some GPU extension cables but the blue Cable Mod ones (I made the black ones) are thin and don't hold in the combs I have properly. I may end up not using them, but it saved me from terminal boredom yesterday so that's good, I guess.



However the paint seems to be nice and hard now so I can present this, the first almost completed part, hurrah !*



*This is the panel that needed bodywork and it's come out splendidly :) it's not complete yet because I have not assembled the nose cone but I think it looks awesome.

I will start work on the nose cone later tonight :)
 
Here's what I have been up to today :)

Firstly the completed nose cone assembly.



I'm very happy with that. Especially as it literally came from junk.

Here is the back/side PSU cover and the radiator covers (they are numbered :) )



The front of the PSU box / control panel.



The SATA port cover.



And finally the "main deck"



The only panel I have left to do now is the upper deck where the SSDs will live. However, I now need to focus on wiring and fitting lots of LEDs (and of course the cathodes) so I will probably tackle the SSDs last.

I absolutely love this phase of a mod. It's when all of the ideas you have had comes to fruition.
 
Part two of today's fun !



And with the grommet in place.



And lit.



I'm probably one of the most morose, melancholic persons alive but man, seeing that really made me smile.
 
Last update for the day as I'm knackered now ! The SSD platform is now being made.



















So basically both of the SSD plinths (the UFO mod and a standard 5mm) are now fitted. I need to then make a comb that can be bolted down, as there will be quite a lot of wiring running over this panel.

The message on there is how I feel about modding some days :D

 
Last edited:
Damn dude, you've been busy! Great stuff! Are those cathode tubes for lighting, or LED strips? They look like tubes to me, but that would seem strange these days, kinda retro. :)
 
The front intake panel is now complete.



Just waiting for the glue to dry, it should be good tomorrow. Then I soldered the loom onto the switches. This loom provides two +/- 5v for the LEDs in the switches, as well as 12v switched (for the cathodes) and 5v switched (for the SSD UFO and nose cone).



I've promised myself a new XXL mouse mat and wrist rest but only when the build is complete. Here it is all lit up.



And all working as it should :)

I have decided I want custom GPU cables made up with a 14 pin comb x4. So they should be in some time next week, then I can press on and build it all :)
 
So I just placed an order with a chap on Ebay, who makes up custom cables. It was quite expensive, but I wanted four 14 pin combs in there rather than the two he does normally. These cables need to be as straight from their source as possible, hence me wanting more combs.





So hopefully they (well it, it should be one thing) will arrive soon, then I can break the rig down and start building it back up :)
 
Can't believe I'm actually posting this.

Well guys and girls, this will be the penultimate post in this thread with work in it. I really can't believe it's actually almost finished.

I started out today with the rig moved around so I could work on it easily.



After some jiggling I realised that the SATA cables Tom sent me (hail the Tom) were not long enough to loop around and then go to the SSD floor. It was OK though, as thankfully I had a couple of joiners left kicking around from an old project.



I then fitted the SATA port cover.



And finally completely built the SSD panel.



And fitted it.



Then I started to wire up the side panel but catastrophe hit and the positive wire for the nose cone snapped off :( so it was out with the soldering tools ! the nose cone also decided it wanted to fall off too.



Then I fitted the main floor and glued the nose cone to the fan.



Then I fitted the radiator covers.



And then the back side PSU cover.



Then I powered the rig on.



And pressed in the two buttons whilst holding my breath...



And tidied everything up.



Then tested the lights again.



Wicked, nice and subtle ! let's take a peek in the rig..



And a rig pic.



So all I have left to do now is fit the new PCIE extensions, fit the mobo cooling cover (for the top fets) and well, that's really about it. Hard to believe that in one more hour or so of modding this will be all done !
 
Oh no.

You're not done yet.

Not by a LONG shot.

Not until you've posted pictures of that amazing rig lit up in a dark room, so that we may pleasure ourselves uncontrollably.
 
Davva2004 said:
Oh no.

You're not done yet.

Not by a LONG shot.

Not until you've posted pictures of that amazing rig lit up in a dark room, so that we may pleasure ourselves uncontrollably.
Click to expand...

hahaha that made me laugh :D

Yeah I can't wait 'til it's really dark either :D I suppose it'll have to be after Celebrity Big Brother.
 
Couple of night shots. Sadly there was only so much I could do as my phone has no ISO adjustment and my camera that does is knocking on ten years old.



 
It's 99% complete yes. I am just waiting on two GPU cables I ordered (that were finished yesterday and shipped). I wanted captive combs for the GPU cables as they look really nice and the GPU cables are sort of in your face being stuck out like that. They are custom 14 hole combs that he's machined and then made the cables to fit in. Plus I wanted four combs visible too so yeah, had to custom order. He's sent me pics of them finished and has apparently shipped them now. Not sure whether he's used 1st class or not though.

Hopefully the postie will bring them today so I can finish it up. I still have to fit the mobo cooler cover thing too but that shouldn't take long :)
 
Now with added cableage.







Sadly it's still not 100% finished because I haven't painted or fitted the cooling shroud.
 
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