Black and Blue

RevBillyG · 20 Jul 2014 at 13:08

Well, my first ever build log. In fact, my first truly custom build.

I'm looking to update my system pretty soon but am having great difficulty in finding a case I like. I was leaning toward the Corsair 540 but it wasn't quite what I wanted.
My current system is built around my old but much-loved Lian Li PC-7 Plus. This has served me well for the last 7+ years but it now just too old and small for my needs.
Current spec is (for those that care):

AMD 550BE - Unlocked to quad@ 3.6ghz
12 gig of utterly mismatch RAM (but, hey, it works!)
Asus M4A70XTD-EVO Mainboard
Corsair H50 cooler
120gb Corsair Force 3 SSD
1x 1tb Samsung HDD
1x 3tb Samsung HDD
1x 1tb Western Digital Green HDD
1x 250gb Ancient Seagate back up drive.
Sapphire HD7850 gfx
3x Belinea Bel2230S1W Monitors (1680*1050 each)
Saitek Eclipse KB
Logitech M510 Mouse
Cambridge Soundworks DTT3500 speakers
Gamecom 780 headphones
MS Xbox wired controller

So, seeing as I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted (or was prepared for pay for), I decided it would be kinda fun to try a self-built case.
Firstly I fired up 3d Max and came up with the basic idea.
Here’s some very simple renders to give you an idea of what I’m aiming for.

Now, my woodworking skills pretty much amount to putting up the occasional shelf and building furniture from Ikea. So this will be fun.

It’ll also not be very fast, since I don’t get much time to do this stuff and we’re in the middle of house-hunting at the moment.
Yes, it’s blue and black which is dreadfully old fashioned but I like that

RevBillyG · 20 Jul 2014 at 13:16

So, onto the build.

Some old parts salvaged from a very old case.

Some MDF (acrylic is underneath), kindly cut to size by the man from Gamma (like the Dutch version of Homebase)

With some simple brackets, we have a basic shell.

I’ve cut a hole in the back panel of the case to allow for the PCI cover…tested placement…..it fits!

Internet cookie for anyone that can recognise the old MB/CPU/GFX combo I’m using for test placement

That’s all for today. It’s too blimmin’ hot out in the man cave to do more (by man cave, I mean the garden shed but that doesn’t sound so cool

)

RevBillyG · 20 Jul 2014 at 15:22

shock33 said:
ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe, I assume paired with a Athlon 2500+ and 9800 pro? (like mine was!)

Render looks good, the blue and black should look amazing.

So close

I think there's an Athlon 2000+ under that cooler.
But it's a X1950 pro card

One of the last AGP cards I believe

RevBillyG · 21 Jul 2014 at 18:17

Thanks for the encouragement all. I thought that black/blue might be a viewed as a little old fashioned since everyone seems to be going for a red theme these days.

I'm hoping to do some more cutting on Thurs/Friday afternoon (weather permitting as I'll need to get the jigsaw outside to do it) so should be able to get an update done then.

I'll be needing to order some blue 120mm LED fans at some point. 12 of them

I'm hoping to get a H100i and do a push pull configuration since it worked so well with my H50.

Anyone have any recommendations for fans? I'm trying to keep costs down as much as I can mind.

RevBillyG · 22 Jul 2014 at 18:53

Yes it going to be heavy. But I won't be lanning it anyway

Watercooling's nothing I've ever really been interested in to be honest. Too much faf and expense for me. I will be getting a H100 though.

RevBillyG · 26 Jul 2014 at 13:15

Today, I have mostly been making 'oles.
Not much of an update but things are slowly moving along.

Made a hole for the PSU:

Made a hole for the fans and test-fitted:

You'll notice the fans are fitted flush to the front of the case. This was a design decision since, if I was to put the fans behind the MDF in a more traditional fashion, I think they'd get lost since the MDF is a lot thicker than your normal PC case.
For this reason, I've started to build a fan support into the case. This will also support the H100 rad that I'll be getting.

There's only one support at the moment as I just managed to break my last drill bit

Obviously, there's a lot of tidying up still to do. The fans and PSU are just old parts I'm using for fitment.

RevBillyG · 6 Aug 2014 at 20:06

Not much to show so far since I'm busy painting stuff. Takes a while

However, this little lot was delivered today

RevBillyG · 11 Aug 2014 at 19:54

Thanks chaps. Still not much to show as I'm painting the panels one-by-one and it's taking ages........ paint, sand,paint,sand, spray,spray,spray,sand, polish, polish.......

RevBillyG · 25 Aug 2014 at 10:43

Another small update.
The fan array for the front of the case is done.

Looking pretty sexy I think

Also, the reason this is taking so long is the amount of painting, sanding and polishing that needs doing. I'm not even being very careful with the inside of the case. Still takes ages though.
Here's a shot of what will be the top of the case.

It's not perfect by a long shot, but I'm pretty poor at paintwork and I have a distinct lack of patience

Couldn't resist a quick mock-up. The photo doesn't really do it justice, but I'm so happy with the way it looks so far

RevBillyG · 9 Sep 2014 at 19:32

Hi all, just a little note to let you know that work is progressing along a a slow but steady rate.

Just have the window-side panel to paint and some tidying up and it'll be done

I have to say, it looks blimmin' gorgeous

Hopefully, I'll have some pics up over the next week or so.

RevBillyG · 18 Sep 2014 at 19:40

So, the case is built

Needs some touching up and a darned good clean but here's some poor quality shots for you.

RevBillyG · 19 Sep 2014 at 06:54

Thanks

Of course you could build something like it. I don't have any skills at all. Compared to most of the builds on here, it's nothing special but I'm still quite please with it