Project Rainbow (ITX)

[famas]

Yeah same problem, Mine has a 10 + 17 pin going to the 24 connection which strangely only has 23 pins???

Unfortunately knowing how tight for space it's going to be in this case I doubt I'll have room for any extension cables, think I'm going to struggle with what I've got already.

I've sleeved the 24 pin now I just had to add a bit of heat shrink onto the double wired pins. It's not looking great at the moment but hopefully once it's in the case and has the cable combs holding it in position it will look okay.

 

[famas]

I've been away for a few days so not had a chance to get much done to the build but I did manage to cut the grooves into the inside of the case front which I'll be adding the mesh to later.


Same process as before, using a pin on the over head router.



I should have cut the larger grooves before the smaller ones as you get a lot of burrs but I was unsure of the design at first.



Thankfully the burrs clean off easily with a file.



Next job is to cut the mesh to fit.

 

[famas]

I got hold of some cable combs but because of the extra wiring on the 24 pin cable They didn't work out how I was hoping, Also because the wiring doubles up and crosses over in a few places I found the combs would not stay in place.

So for the 24 pin I've reverted back to cable lacing but this time used the same paracord rather than the usual 1mm nylon I've used before. I wanted a chunkier look this time.

It's certainly not as neat as I would have liked but I'm not sure how much will be on show until I start the build. In the past I've laced extension cables which has worked out much better but I just don't think I'll have the room in this build to use them.

 

[famas]

Got the mesh cut for the front panel.

Cutting it to width on the band saw was easiest.



Then I rounded the ends over to match the grooves.



One down.



The mesh is a tight fit into the grooves so I don't think they will need much to hold them in place.



Last one, I just used masking tape to mark the cut line.



Having never done any thing like this before I'm pretty pleased with the results.
On hindsight I should have cut the grove slightly deeper to bring the mesh closer to the front but I don't think it looks bad as it is.





The case is starting to take shape now.

I'm hoping to get some deals in the black Friday sales so I can get this done before Christmas.
Unfortunately It's a bad time to start a new build what with RAM, GPU and SSD pricing going through the roof. I've already gone well over budget with all the little modifications to the case but its all fun.

Hopefully more to come soon.

 

[famas]

Cheers buddy I appreciate the comment.

 

[famas]

Front grille looks great, very neatly done. What did you use to attach the mesh, some kind of adhesive?

Thank you.

The mesh is just a pressure fit at the moment. I might add a bit of adhesive later but they are such a tight fit they hold themselves in place pretty well. Should only need a drop of glue if any at all.

Very Nice

cheers

 

[famas]

Got the case back together to see how its looking so far.

 

[famas]

Dare away I'm all for constructive criticism.

I did have a look into some designed guards but they where expensive and a little garish.

I might get some 1mm aluminium and make some to match the front grooves.
The main reason I went for these ones are because they restrict air flow the least.

 

[famas]

That's a good idea I know what you mean. I could raise it up on some motherboard stand offs or similar to help with air flow.

You've got me thinking now

I don't dislike the current guards but I think something a bit "prettier" could be made.

 

[famas]

Yeah I see what you mean, with them being black there is to much of a contrast.

I might have a go a spraying them white, they should blend in a lot better.

I'm also chucking some ideas around for some inserts but it's quite a lot of work.


Thanks for the feed back guys.

 

[famas]

I wanted to add a little height to the case again to try and improve air flow through the bottom but also so I can hopefully get rid of the internal power cord and plug directly into the PSU.

The standard Metis feet are only around 6mm tall which means there is no room for the power cord to plug into the psu. Instead an extra internal power cord fits to the PSU then runs to the back of the case.

I started by turning some Maple feet.



I didn't want any thing to ornate or complicated so just went with a simple taper and I love Maple wood.



I had some left over anodized washers from another mod so added them to the bottom.



Nothing overly complicated about fixing them in place I just used screws through the exciting feet holes.



And how they look fitted. With the case the right way up you can only really see the red washers, you have to get right down level with the case to see the wood which was kind of what I was after, just a subtle hint of wood.



And in some exciting news....This happened!



my wallet said ouch!

 

[famas]

Cheers.

I've been mega busy again over the past few weeks so not had the chance to get much done.

I tried fitting the radiator and unfortunately it didn't fit where I needed it to go, It is a lot bigger than I was expecting. So I had to butcher the back of the case some more.

It's a six port rad and the blanking plugs where hitting against the case pushing it off line.
I'm going to run a fill/drain port out of the rear of the case so needed the rad to be in the right position. I also needed it to go as low to the bottom of the case as possible to give clearance for the GPU.



So I pretty much had to hack the entire rear fan space away.



So these ports weren't hitting the case. I also had to adjust some of the mounting points for the sides and bottom of the case as they where obstructing the rad.



It was a total PITA and took a lot longer than I had anticipated. I just hope it all fits as it should when I come to build it.

I covered up the mess with some edging to try and tidy it up a bit. Hopefully once the proper fan and tubing is in it wont look to bad.

 

[famas]

Cheers

 

[famas]

I decided to wrap the case. I didn't want to paint it as I wanted something easily changed.

I was looking into a pearl effect white which I ordered but when it came it was ivory white so in the end I used white carbon as I had loads left over from another job.

first job was to strip every thing apart.



Front panel was first up



pretty happy with how it came out.



next up was the top of the case. Just using a new Stanley blade to cut out.



All done.





I also wrapped the side panel and bottom of the case.



I really like the textured look of the carbon and its a much "brighter" white than the stock paint colour which was an off white.



next up was fixing the mesh in place.



I just used a couple of dobs of solder as the mesh was a tight fit any way.



Just got to get a new Raijintek sticker, having a hard time finding one though



and the side panel with the acrylic fixed in place.



It's getting there now.

 

[famas]

So carrying on from the discussion about the fan guards I came up with a design I liked and set to work!

Started off with an MDF template



From there I did a test cut to make sure it all lined up and worked out okay.



Back to the over head router to start cutting the acrylic.



I cut the external diameter first then started on the grooves.



First one nearly complete.



Once all the grooves where cut I then cut a rebate around the edge of the outer diameter.



The rebate was the exact diameter of the fan holes I cut into the top of the case earlier in the build.



Both of them machined.



Next was to wrap them, I had my complementary pack of Haribo on hand also



All wrapped up



And with them fitted to the case. They just drop into place and are a pressure fit.



Good thing about them being inserts is I can rotate them or remove them completely for cleaning very easily, they just lift right out again.







I think they suit the style of the case much batter than the original black guards. cheers for all the suggestions and feed back guys. Hopefully you like them as much as I do.

The case is pretty much complete, few more things to do but I can start putting together the rig now.....EXCITED!!!

 

[famas]

Cheers Darren

I'm wanting to add some RGB lighting to the case and not sure whether to go with fans or light strips.

It looks like strips will be a lot cheaper?

Can any one recommend some RGB fans that dont cost the earth?

 

[famas]

Thank you, appreciate the comment

As for fans I think I'll go with the Raijintek Iris triple pack. They seem to tick all the boxes and aren't mega expensive, any one have them?

I know if I spend any more money on this build a divorce is coming!

 

[famas]

Yeah I looked into those ones too but I prefer the look of the iris ones.

oh the decisions

 

[famas]

Cheers dude

 

[famas]

No not yet, whys that?