Project: Redstone

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Maidstone, Kent
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I've been looking at cases for a few years now and have struggled to find a case that suits my taste. I like a high quality metal construction with refined looks, but I also want it to look special and have a large side window. There are also many other little features I like such as a removable motherboard tray which is more of a bonus than a necessity. I eventually found that such a case did not exist and that I would have to mod to achieve my goals, so I embarked on Project: Steel Beast which was a HAF 932. As the project went on I grew somewhat tired of the HAF's looks and standard build quality (probably a matter of changing taste due to my age, I'm 15 now :) ) and soon gave up. The most annoying thing about that case and other modern cases is the plastic bezel and thin metal. So I had to look elsewhere.

I soon found the case I was looking for, it had everything I needed but would require a little modding to get the looks and cooling performance I wanted- the TJ07.

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I know what you are thinking, another TJ07 mod! Well, yes, but I hope to make this one quite special. I have a few unique things I plan to do with it such as gunmetal grey, a glossy red exterior and turning the case from a wathercoolers dream into a great aircooling case.

After much searching I finally managed to get a second hand TJ07 from Speed on these forums who kindly agreed to part-ex it with some RAM and I ended up getting it for £115 inc + some RAM which I was extremely happy with! When the case arrived it was everything I expected, the quality of this case is simply outstanding- no wonder it has stood the test of time. There were a few marks which are to be expected and can be easily dealt with. The only one that bothers me is a scratch on the right side panel, is there a way to polish them out of brushed aluminium? It doesn't really matter as that side will be going against a wall anyway.

I really like the side window on the TJ07, too many companies do a half-arsed effort by putting in a tiny window that doesn't let you see anything, or put a big one in and make it look aweful. Silverstone is the only manufacturer I know that has put a big window in and made it work so well.

The Cunning Plan

The plan is pretty simple- to take the TJ07 and turn it into a fantastic looking case with better aircooling capabilities while maintaining the refined appearance of the TJ07 and keeping it quiet. My secondary goal was to create something unique as every man and his dog has done a TJ07 mod, so this one is going to be a little different! Here are the main objectives I am aiming to achieve:

  • Paint the unibody panel and side grills glossy red
  • Add a 240mm rad grill to the midplate for added cooling to keep the GPU and motherboard chilly
  • Paint the internals a matte gunmetal colour, this will look unique and retain the lighter metallic look while giving it a more finished appearance than bare metal
  • A lot of cable braiding!
  • Swap the internal fans for quieter units that shift more air
  • Paint the blades of the new fans red
  • Possibly paint the PCI slot covers red
  • Mod the PSU (thinking a CF exterior with a red fan)
  • Improve cable management- I have a set of Corsair grommets I may use
  • Make a new PSU mounting bracket so that the PSU can be mounted horizontally so that the fans will fit
  • Look into lighting, I will probably backlight the bottom compartment with red but I want to keep the main portion a lighter colour
  • Possibly mod the heatsink of my old 9800GTX with CF of paint to use as a PhysX card (depends on how nVidia are feeling in regards to ATI/nVidia PhysX drivers)

The Components

At the moment I do not plan on making a special rig for the case. I will be upgrading to SB soon after I finish reviewing a pile of PSUs so the blue motherboard (which has given me no end of problems as it is) will be going and will be replaced with a black one, or if I'm lucky a ROG board. So once I have upgraded this will probably be a 2500K build, but here are the current specs:

CPU:
AMD Phenom II x6 1055T
Mobo:
Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H
RAM:
Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2x2Gb
Cooling: Xigmatek Thor's Hammer
GPU: XFX 6950
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 500Gb
PSU: Antec Truepower New TP-750

By the end of the build, it should be looking more like this:

CPU: Intel i5 2500K
Mobo: Gigabyte Z68X-UD4
RAM: G.Skill RipJawsX 2x4GB
Cooling: Xigmatek Thor's Hammer
GPU: XFX 6950
Storage: 128Gb Kingston SSD + 2Tb Storage HDD
PSU: Modded Antec Truepower New TP-750

So, without further ado, let's get on with the modding!
 
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Update 1- Cutting!

So to get started, I needed to do a little cutting. To make the case suitable for air cooling, I plan to install 2x120mm fans in the midplate to draw cool air from the grills and push them over the GPU and the rest of the motherboard area. The 2x92mm fans should be able to cool the CPU area nicely and the two top 120mm fans will be removing all the hot air, this is not something I have seen done before but I am pretty confident that it will work as expected.

To install these fans I am going to put a 240mm rad grill on the midplate which I managed to get from OCUK for £2.49 :). At first I was going to make a midplate cover and cut that, however I soon realised that the holes for cable management/watercooling were almost perfect (I thought they were too big) so instead I marked out and cut the midplate:

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The cutting was difficult as there was very little leeway, so I had to be very careful. Fortunately, the band saw made easy work of it. Once again, the quality construction of the case made my job easier as thin metal found on many other cases would have rattled about and would have been aweful to cut. I also had to make sure there was room for drilling the holes to mount the grill, which will have to be done with two bolts at each end as the existing holes was too wide for placing a bolt on each corner.

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The midplate along with the rest of the internals is now ready to be sprayed gunmetal grey which I will be doing myself. The reason I am going for gunmetal is that I like the silvery internal look of the TJ07 and that most black cases are too dark inside. This colour should still allow it to look nice inside while also looking finished and covering up any marks in the metal. While this was being done, I had sent away the unibody panel and side grills to the powdercoaters...
 
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Update 2- Exterior paint

I'd been away for a week on an Army cadet camp before which I had taken the unibody frame and side grills away to the powdercoaters and was greeted with this package when I got back:

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I was really excited to take a look so enthusiastically but extremely carefully unwrapped it with my knife. I was really pleased with what I found inside:

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I can't wait to see it compared to the black of the rest of the case. I may put a few bits on tomorrow to give you a bit of a preview, but all the internals still need painting so you won't be able to see it all assembled for a while. Basically, the side panels, top grill and drive bay covers will all remain black and should go with the red front and grills.

The gloss was done exactly how I wanted it, although the paint was a little closer to orange than I'd have liked. Still dead impressed with the job the sprayer did, you just can't get that kind of quality yourself! I was a bit worried about the effect the texture of the metal would have on the paint, but it was really negligible and he also managed to preserve all the holes which I was also over the moon about. Could do with a little polish though! I was more suprised with how well he did the grills, it must have taken a lot of skill to do it without filling in any of the holes and to give it a nice gloss.

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I was also pleased to find out that everything was all still nice and flexible, so flexing the unibody panel or grills would not crack the paint! It may be a while until the next update as I have a massive stack of PSUs to review as well as a 30min action film I made with my friends to edit. Next is to order the spray cans, braiding and everything else! Still haven't decided on fans either!
 
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Yeah, I had the CoolIT Vantage for a while but didn't like it so I sold it and bought another Thor's Hammer (I sold my old one). I love the shape of the cooler and the semi-reflective surface should look good with and LEDs I decide to put in.

I'm thinking about the fans and lighting at the moment because I plan to have red fans but haven't decided on whether they will be LED ones or not. For the lighting I am thinking of white LED strips as I think red lighting looks a bit dark and won't have the effect I'm looking for.

Thanks for the comments! The main aims of this was to make something unique but refined and functional- hopefully I can achieve that!
 
Thanks for the support- I'm really looking forward to it too! One question, I would like to achieve a matte gunmetal finish, like the one shown below, any idea on how I can do that with a spray can and which colour code I should look for?

I'm in the MGS CCF Contingent with 36 Engineers in Maidstone. Never been there, we tend to do most of our stuff in and around Wales because it is the closest place that is good for AT- we went to Nescliff this year and Penally the year before. I assume you are in it then, where abouts are you based?

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Thanks for the advice! I'm going to have a chat with Kent Paints (I know the owners) and get they should be able to sort me out what I'm looking for. They do custom 500ml aerosols for £12 which is pretty nice too! I'll bring a picture and see what they reckon.
 
Got the paint but not sure when I'll have time to actually spray it! Got a big drive to get it done after your comments and seeing what it's going to look like!

A few questions, first of all, lighting. What would you recommend? I want to keep the interior nice and light but I want to avoid red LEDs as they make it look rather dark and heavy, do you think white one's would go well? If so, how do you think I should light it, CCFLs, LED strips etc? Secondly, I am on the look out for some very quiet but effective fans to fill the case that need to be available in 92mm sized, any suggestions?
 
After a long period of little action things are getting moving again. I've almost finished priming the internals (pics coming soon) and I'm just finalising the top coat colour, fans and braiding.

I'm just about to order some MDPC-X braid and am wondering what you think I should get. All red? All colour X? Red and black? If I'm doing two colours for the braid, what pattern should I use?
 
Finally an update! I have ordered 10m of red braid and 10m of black as well as some heatshrink to braid the cables. I think I'll end up doing a checkered effect which should provide a good balance.

I finished priming the panels yesterday, half of them are done with red oxide primer and the other half is done with bog standard grey primer. I've also just placed an order on the top coat so things should be moving very quickly.

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I forgot to take a picture but I have also cut a large opening in the back of the midplate to allow cables to be routed around the back of the motherboard tray. Why Silverstone did not include this in the first place is beyond me, but you can't complain considering the case is over 5 years old and things such as cable management holes were unheard of back then!
 
Finally, an update. The day started with a nice package from Enermax:

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Enermax has really kindly agreed to send me some fans for the project! I'm really glad they did, otherwise I'd be spending nearly £80 on fans! They are all TB Silence fans, I got 2x 92mm standards, 2x120mm standards and 3x120mm manual speed versions!

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These also came in the shipment, although they are nothing to do with the project, if you appreciate quality PSUs, you'll enjoy this!

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I chose the fans because they are really quiet, which is exactly what I wanted, and because of their metal sides. I have decided to go with a matte black interior as getting the right colour was proving difficult, so I'm hoping these fans, along with the rad grill, will provide a nice metallic element which I was looking for.

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My favorite feature of these fans- the easily removable blades! Means you can remove them without losing or breaking washers or clips to paint the blades up!

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Really nice personal touch- do you know what it is yet?

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Yep- the best braid in the world!

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At least it is a lot better than my braiding skills!

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Braiding is a lot harder than it looks! I'm having trouble getting some of the pins back in and getting the heatshrink to line up, but I'm improving. I've got a lot more braiding to do yet so I certainly hope I get better!
 
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Thanks for the FR btw.

Is that a sponsorship from them?

One more question. Does the pack from MDPC-X come through the letterbox or is it signed delivery?

Yeah, the fans came as sponsorship, will be putting a banner up at some point! I work closely with Alexandra at Enermax due to my work reviewing power supplies for them so obtaining sponsorship was probably easier than it should have. However, if I couldn't have got it I would have had to have finished the project using poor quality fans which would have ruined the overall effect!

Thanks everyone else for all your comments and support!
 
I used to work on my own for Gundog Reviews which I started when I was about 14, I somehow managed to make a lot of progress, eventually getting products from bigger companies such as Gigabyte and Enermax. The best I got was a 560Ti but I would be lucky if I could release a review a month. However, in March I got offered a job as a reviewer for eTeknix which I gladly accepted. Rather than spending a few hours each day contacting companies which would most likely never reply, I just get to do what I enjoy- reviewing. I am now the PSU reviewer for eTeknix and have a stack of 9 PSUs ready to be tested and reviewed. I also enjoy the testing- my room now looks like the bridge of the Enterprise:

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As for the money, I'm trying to spend as little as I can! Managed to get the case for £120 which I was over the moon with! I had limited options with my requirements and I was really happy to get the best option for such a low price!
 
Finally an update- the internals are finally done, here's a sneak peek before it goes back together! By the way, winter is the season for bad photos- I normally take all my pictures using natural light in my conservatory, but when it gets dark out comes the inbuilt flash!

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Here's the midplate, the brass bolts will be changed very soon...

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Updates coming very soon!
 
Oh I'm glad your carrying on with this mate! I thought it had died after you has spent sooo much on such a gorg case.

I wouldn't dream of such a thing! No, progress is slow because of loads of things I have to do, however I'm slowly getting there and I'm nearly there now! Every time I look at my current case I am inspired to get this finished! Once the fans are done all that is left is to order the new components and build it!
 
Just ordered the Z68XP UD4 and 2500K! Went for that motherboard because the standard Z68X was out of stock, can't wait to get them! Not sure about CPU cooling though, I have a Xigmatek Thor's Hammer which is really good but a bit big and would hide a bit too much of my hard work. I also have a CoolIT Vantage which I don't really like because it just beeps at me all the time, I'd consider trading it for a Corsair equivalent but I'm not sure how I would mount the single 120mm rad and make it look good! The only other option would be a H100 which are a bit too expensive but I'd be able to make it look OK.
 
I've decided to use my CoolIT Vantage as a CPU cooler to allow a clear view of the insides of the system. However, I used to use it in my main rig but I was forced to take it out. The thing has too many features, it has an LCD display displaying coolant temperature which is fine, but the b***** thing beeps at you all the time! The most annoying one is if the coolant is below 19.5 degrees it will beep, which means every time I turn on my computer it beeps for a couple of minutes before it heats up. It also beeps just as you shut the computer down once because the pump looses power just before it turns off.

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Needless to say, something had to be done! I was waiting for their Maestro software to be released, but they have now pulled out of the retail market in an agreement with Corsair, so that wasn't happening. It seems that more direct methods were required, so I removed the lid and a few scews later I was greeted with the pump assembly.

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And the PCB that handles all the electronics for the unit. You can see the offender there...

And so the buzzer was silenced. I tried desoldering but it didn't want to have it!

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Hopefully it won't make those stupid sloshy noises too much. Has anyone ever bled one of these WC loops, it's got some air in the system but I'm not sure how I would get it out!
 
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