[HEXGEAR] | IDORU |

[B N3GATIVE]

“The future is already here – it's just not evenly distributed.

The Economist, December 4, 2003”
― William Gibson

Welcome everybody to my latest log and one that I have had to keep quiet for a few weeks now so im glad I can finally get this rolling.

Its a very very great pleasure to introduce a new case maker to the world,run by 2 of my good friends and all round nice guys,Nate and Hans from their new case company,HEX GEAR.

Im working on their new case,the R40 mATX.

http://www.hex-gear.com/

The case is a steel and aluminum constructed unit with a emphasis on quality and sleek lines,they have aimed this at the watercooling community with solid rad support (240 + 360) and has nice options available for those wanting something a bit different from the plastic fantastics.



Obviously,as Im doing one,its going to be heavily but subtly modded,again sticking to the ethos that I dont want to lose the 'Character' of the case but enhance it.

The theme? As a longtime William Gibson fan,I took cues from his near future 'world' and adapted the 'look' for myself. Copper...polished,mirror black and forced copper patination. Patina'd copper tube work. Normal I blow out and tell you what Im going to do with it but not this time,you will have to wait and see but I promise you this..its going to be pretty awesome!

As im discussion with a few interested parties,hardware specs are....fluid...right now but its not all about the hardware,this is about me stretching myself into new techniques and doing something special for a pair of good friends.



“When you want to know how things really work, study them when they're coming apart.”
― William Gibson, Zero History

I think some pictures are in order.....















The cable routing for the hidden PSU cabling









Thats all you get for now,I still have my awesome DFM LAN box to finish before I give this my full attention.
This is going to be a slow burner but the ride will be worth it.


“Secrets...are the very root of cool.”
― William Gibson, Spook Country

 

[josh_king]

can I see a hint to what motherboard is going into this build ? or is it a random IO shield you have laying around ?

 

[FloppyPoppy]

can I see a hint to what motherboard is going into this build ? or is it a random IO shield you have laying around ?

I would say it's one that's just laying around, I could park a bus in the space where it's not put in correctly!

 

[B N3GATIVE]

I would say it's one that's just laying around, I could park a bus in the space where it's not put in correctly!

My fault,I rushed it a bit taking pics.

 

[B N3GATIVE]

After the wait for LUMO to be finished,I am now devoting time to this build.
And what a great way to start by introducing Crucial memory to the build with their excellent storage and memory solutions.

After speaking the the helpful guys at Crucial UK,they sent me 3 of the yet unreleased M200 series SSD's and the Ballistix Elite memory kit I like so much
You can see the drive specs here: http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/storage-info













Ram.

For now its the lovely Ballistix DDR3 kit that I love so much,however..this may become DDR4 after all......







Currently working on the copper cover boxes for them and the panels that are being re-cut are being lasered right now,new copper SSD mounts and pump mounts also!

Also does anyone know of a copper plater that will do alu extrusions?

 

[Deus Ex]

Looks good, wonder how much less than £200.00 the case will be for mere mortals.

 

[Mads1]

Looks good, wonder how much less than £200.00 the case will be for mere mortals.

£199.99.

 

[B N3GATIVE]

Brown boxes...the best kind!

Even better is whats inside...thanks ASUS UK!

 

[colinmcr]

What have you hidden under that desk I wonder? Something from EK and maybe some Mayhems fluid?

 

[B N3GATIVE]

"That's something that tends to happen with new technologies generally: The most interesting applications turn up on a battlefield, or in a gallery.”
― William Gibson, Spook Country

Now things are moving along with the hardware,ASUS UK sent me 2 980 STRIX cards to go with the z97 GENE that is on its way.

The coolers on these cards are something else,all metal with reinforcers around the card,shame its being blocked up but...well.....you know......blocks are <3....











Im not sold in the back plate...a nice solid copper replacement is required...











That reinforcer loops around to the IO plate so the card is rock solid,I will have to try and incorporate that into the WC kit...I like the idea of more stiffness to the PCB.

A pair of very solid feeling cards,thanks ASUS UK for stepping forward,they are an amazing addition to the build.

Also,the 36% HCL and peroxide are here for the acid etching of the copper panels,when the panels arrive then I will be diving into that with excitement!
Im not really keen for chem burns tho...a few practice runs on scrap need to be done too.

“Somewhere, deep within her, surfaces a tiny clockwork submarine. There are times when you can only take the next step. And then another.”
― William Gibson, Pattern Recognition ​

What have you hidden under that desk I wonder? Something from EK and maybe some Mayhems fluid?

Its the parts box for the EK vulture build im doing as part of their mod off.

 

[B N3GATIVE]

“Stand high long enough and your lightning will come.”
― William Gibson

The board has arrived,a nice purty Z97 GENE,to go with the stonking GPU's.



It comes with all the usual bits and bobs and a quite lovely black chromed I/O panel.



Not often im even remotely interested in stock coolers but these STRIX ones are nice to look at for a change.



The matt finished board with teh awesome rams.



I like the roughcast look to the stock heatsinks but they do pick up fingerprint grease easily.
You can see the two colour finish ASUS make a point of mentioning...not really my thing....unless they expanded it to a whole board look rather than the VRM only.







Got room for a 40mm rad top and bottom,I will be using XSPC AX rads for this...I have always wanted to use them as they look so good and are ideal for painting.



Next on the list is waiting for Bitspower to finish their New Year and getting the loop planned out,drilling holes THEN painting for a change!

“Things aren't different. Things are things.”
― William Gibson, Neuromancer

 

[B N3GATIVE]

The 2mm laser cut copper panels are back and the first of the sanding passes has been done just for some pics....

A LOT more polishing to come yet,along with a cut copper top panel.

For me...this is pron.....

Now im focusing on the res and the accent pack that I want...white is doing nothing for me......

"Addictions ... started out like magical pets, pocket monsters. They did extraordinary tricks, showed you things you hadn't seen, were fun. But came, through some gradual dire alchemy, to make decisions for you. Eventually, they were making your most crucial life-decisions. And they were ... less intelligent than goldfish."

WILLIAM GIBSON, Zero History



Copper is <3

 

[russell664]

Amazing.

Copper looks the biz!

 

[DaleTheWhale]

That copper looks awesome, not normally my thing but looks damn nice.

 

[jimbaw]

this is ridiculously nice!

 

[colinmcr]

Ops...Nerdgasm all over again ! The copper is amazing, stunning aesthetic.

Just hope it doesn't suffer from dissimilar metal corrosion too much, lots of polishing me thinks.

 

[fantasticCG]

This is awesome dude.
Can i ask what happens to all these sponsor built projects?
do u have to give it back or do u keep them?
look forward to more updates

 

[chrismelling]

Loving the look of this build already, cannot wait to see more

 

[B N3GATIVE]

Amazing.

Copper looks the biz!

Yeah,its definitely pornographic.....

That copper looks awesome, not normally my thing but looks damn nice.

There is a reason for using copper....
You will see the first examples soon.

this is ridiculously nice!

If it turns out like it looks in my head.....

Ops...Nerdgasm all over again ! The copper is amazing, stunning aesthetic.

Just hope it doesn't suffer from dissimilar metal corrosion too much, lots of polishing me thinks.

And lacquering. Polish once,lacquer lots and enjoy it forever!

This is awesome dude.
Can i ask what happens to all these sponsor built projects?
do u have to give it back or do u keep them?
look forward to more updates

I get to keep them,I dont get paid to do this,sponsorship allows me to do what I love with more regularity,if your builds are really original and finished well then anything is possible. Choose the companies that fit your ethics and that you genuinely support.

 

[B N3GATIVE]

“If you’re fifteen or so, today, I suspect that you inhabit a sort of endless digital Now, a state of atemporality enabled by our increasingly efficient communal prosthetic memory. I also suspect that you don’t know it, because, as anthropologists tell us, one cannot know one’s own culture.”
― William Gibson

The good folks at Be Quiet have been busy bees and sent me the PSU and fans for the build,I chose the Silent Wings 2 and a Power Zone 1000w for this,both products have exactly what I need,bomb proof quality and a nice spec sheet!

Start with the fans?

These are 120mm Silent Wings 2 fans,PWM and open cornered with a plethora of bits in the box,I have opted for the single side mounts as the rads will be inside the case with the fans in the bays.

Specs:
Fan speed @ 12V (rpm)
1500
Air flow @ 12V (cfm, m3/h)
50.5 / 85.8
Air pressure @ 12V (mm H2O)
1.63
Noise level @ 12V (dB(A))
15.7

And the PSU,the same one as I used in the EK build I have going an and CLOS3 IMPACT although i used a 750w for that one.

The hardware is in and has been tested,not aircooled for years too,I had to go and buy an aircooler can you believe! Not one in the house! The Bitspower package is on route from the ever fantastic team at Bitspower tho so it will be coming off again really soon!next up is the res and acid etching!


“I'm away for a while. But there's no cash on the premises, no drugs, and the pitbull's tested positive. Twice.”
― William Gibson, Pattern Recognition