Nuclear Blast Project - Custom Acrylic Case

Bart_Hunt

Bart_Hunt

Bart_Hunt

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Joined
12 Jan 2013
Posts
2,066
Location
Gdansk, Poland
Hello guys

It's time for my next project ;)
I was thinking about building a new rig for some time.
Blame the almighty 'upgrade bug' :D

Back to the topic.
I currently own a CaseLabs S8 and as much as I love it, I also think it is to big and bulky for my taste.
I want a case which will be slim and elegant.

I think that is good enough for an introduction.
Some information about my new project.

Color theme:
Black
Yellow
Red

Size:
70 H x 20 W x 45 D, subject to small changes.
Materials:
Acrylic, aluminum skeleton and some parts.
Aluminum parts I mentioned will be coming from CaseLabs i.e. SM5 TechStation, PSU mount, hdd/ssd mounts, possibly radiator mounts.

Hardware:
MSI x99S SLI Plus motherboard, possibly water cooled if I can find suitable blocks
4x4 gb DDR4 Avexir or G.Skill w/ EK blocks
5820K w/ EK block
EVGA GTX 780 SC x 2 w/ EK blocks
M2 128gb card
EVGA 1000w P2 PSU, custom sleeve
SoundBlaster Titanium X-Fi
2 x D5 + Tube res
Aurora 2 coolant ( 2 colors )
3 x EK PE 360 rads
12 x Powercool Glacier Pro fans, custom painted
Solid acrylic tubing or 11/16 normal tubing, not decided yet.

As usual you'd like to see some pictures, but to tell you the truth I have most of the plans in my head or on paper, so it will take time :D
But don't worry, I will keep you updated.
You can expect something new at least once a month first and more, when I get all the parts together.
Most time consuming part will be getting parts from CaseLabs and custom cut acrylic.

So far I have ordered fans and MTN spray to paint them, I expect the delivery by Tuesday.
You will see first pictures then.
Maybe I will scan some drawings too :D

Wish me good luck and stay tuned !

Bart
 
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Thanks :-)

I am not sure about the sleeving yet.
EVGA have cable kits for g2/p2 psu's and I may buy black one.
I would like to keep colors in balance.
Acrylic parts will come in yellow and black, red will appear on fans and one of the coolants ( Aurora 2 Tharsis Red ).
I will keep your offer in mind ;)

Edit: I forgot to add the budget. I would like to stay below 1500£.
I expect to spend around 800£ for hardware, rest will be materials.

Edit2: Checked acrylic cost at my usual supplier, as I suspected cost around 200£. Have to add another 100£ for cutting. I can do some simple cuts myself, but more precise things have to be done with laser or water jet.
 
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Sleeve probably best left black then mate to avoid any clashing.

Wow 100 quid for cutting acrylic. I've been looking at lazer cutters and wondering if it would be a worthwhile investment doing gpu backplates etc with it, if companies are charging that much it might be a good investment.

I see you have no storage drive budgeted for, is machine for everyday usage?
 
Yes.
M2 card is for OS.
I have 2 sshd's ( 500 and 750 gb ), 60gb ssd and 2tb wd green from my current rig, which I did not put on the list of components.

I am using theplasticman for acrylic. If you provide them with pdf or jpeg with image of cuts you want made, with exact measurements, they will send you a quote with a price.
 
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Might be worth asking the parvum boys for a quote.
It will not be the quickest route (as they are very busy)
But the acrylic the use is sooooo much better than perspex
 
Hey guys

I just ordered some goodies from CaseLabs.
They are all painted in primer grey and will be re-painted in black/fluorescent red and yellow.
I ordered these first, because I will need it for some measurements for acrylic.

Complete list:

Cart_zps2eed0e8a.jpg


I guess I should get it within next 2-3 weeks.

I made a rough sketch of front and side panels too.
Black = solid wall
Yellow = cutout for window/fan.
Red = vandal switch (power and reset)

Front panel.


casefront_zps465d9b81.jpg



Left side panel (right will be the same except no window).
Large cutout = window
Small cutouts = fans/rads.

Caseleftright_zpsb83dbd5d.jpg


Those are external walls only. Internal walls will have more cutouts, mostly small flat ones for mounting purposes.
There will be 4 chambers:
- bottom (2 rads)
- middle (m/b and rest of components, pumps)
- back (cable management)
- top ( 1 rad, psu)

Top and bottom chamber size will be no more than 20 x 20 x 45 cm, middle no more than 30 x 45 x 16 cm, back no more than 30 x 45 x 3 cm.

That's it for now, I think this gives you general idea of where the name came from :)
 
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I very much hope so :)
I spent a month on thinking about it, then another week or two drawing stuff.
Sometimes at most weird times (3 am at work, just had to grab a piece of paper and draw something).
I am not sure about adding aluminum skeleton.
It would be only in one place and completely hidden from view, but I would have to drill few holes too, they might weaken the acrylic, not sure if it is worth it.
I used acrylic from this supplier (theplasticman) and they have very good quality plastic, very stiff, so I am hoping it will be good enough.
There won't be any huge cutouts in weird places, only necessary ones.
 
Not a great fan of HL ;)
I prefer Doom 2.
By the way, I already spent 20% of budget.
There will be a lot of goodies arriving in coming weeks.
I made a drawing of the loop today, version without motherboard blocks.
I know it's still soon, but I always like to start planing it early.
Will post it tomorrow morning.

EDIT:

I made a radiator cover panel drawing instead.
These will be cut from black acrylic, picture below:

Radiator_zps1caac1ff.jpg
 
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Hey guys

Small update.
Ordered those goodies from CaseLabs and I am expecting delivery within 2 weeks.
Just in time to have good view of x99 capabilities :)

I received delivery of spray paint today, but unfortunately not fans.
I will post pictures when I receive them.
 
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