"Demon Speeding" HAF XB - Tek by Design

[Heath MJ Coop]

PROLOGUE

I recently acquired a Cooler Master HAF XB case from a friend. At first I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. I have several builds currently in the works and I wasn't sure I wanted to take another one on, at this time. However, after having the case in my possession for a few short days, I changed my mind. The more I studied the case, the more ideas came to mind. I knew I wanted to do something different with this case. I also wanted to try some techniques that I haven't used before. I wanted to do a completely different theme then any of the other builds I've done before. I wanted something supernatural.

I present to you:



With contributions from:









- Components -

Cooler Master HAF XB Case
Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 Motherboard
AMD FX-6300 CPU
PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 GPU
G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB 1866mhz Memory
Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 1050w PSU
Samsung 840 250gb SSD

- Cooling -

XSPC Raystorm AMD CPU Waterblock
XSPC Raystorm 7970 GPU Waterblock
6x Cooler Master JetFlo 120 White Fans
Swiftech 8-Way PWM Splitter
Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 240mm Radiator
Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 360mm Radiator
Swiftech MCP-655 Pump
Bitspower D5 Mod Pump Top V2
Bitspower D5/MCP655 Mod Kit
Bitspower Water Tank Z-Multi 400 Reservoir
PrimoChill Rigid Revolver Compression Fittings
PrimoChill Rigid Acrylic Tubing
Mayhems Pastel Coolant

- Miscellaneous -

MNPCTech Billet Machined Aluminum Case Feet
Lutro0 Customs Teleios Sleeving
Tek by Design Proline Brushed Stainless Steel Fasteners

Prologue
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII

[Heath MJ Coop]

CHAPTER 1: The Agony

"Perhaps you had better start from the beginning." - The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)




Everything that bolts to the case was unbolted and removed.




Front drive bays removed. These won't be needed, I have a better idea.




Some measuring and 4 drilled holes later, a 360 radiator is installed in place of the original front fan mounts.




The 360 radiator from the inside. It just fits. Now for some cutting.




Success, fans installed. Always a good feeling. The radiator does interfere with the upper right side mounting for the front panel.




The metal surrounding the front drive bays was removed to make room for the reservoir.




The method to my madness. An Alphacool reservoir temporarily stands in for the custom length Bitspower unit that will be installed later.




The set up to cut the acrylic for the reservoir/pump mount.




First cut, of two, in the 3/16 (4.9 mm) acrylic. So far, so good.




The two pieces welded together, yielding a final thickness of 3/8 (10.8mm). Once the solvent has dried, I will cut the mount down to it's final dimensions and drill/tap the holes for the reservoir and pump.




New reservoir/pump mount installed.




A little layout to see how it's all going to fit.




It's definitely not a large case.




Not much room for tubing or cables.




The pump, hard drive cage, lower radiator, and power supply take up all of the rest of the room in the lower section.




Time start working on the cut out for the 240 radiator. I've positioned the cut out, so the fittings on both radiators are vertically aligned.




The outline on the bottom of the case. The odd shape was necessary, because the bottom of the case isn't totally flat.




Cut completed. Now I just need the radiator. Unfortunately, the Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 240mm I'm planning on using, is out of stock everywhere.




The cut from inside the case. There is very little room between the power supply and the radiator.

[Heath MJ Coop]

CHAPTER II: A Real Solution

“We all go a little mad sometimes.” - Psycho (1960)



The new fans are here. Cooler Master JetFlo 120mm white.



A test fitting with the Cooler Master JetFlo 120 fans installed without the front bezel installed.




A test fitting with the Cooler Master JetFlo 120 fans installed with the front bezel installed.




The Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 1050W Power Supply has arrived. A big thanks to Cooler Master, Lee Harrington, and Ron Christianson for getting this to me.




Power supply and controller.




Power Supply/Fan Controller. Not sure if I'll be using this.




Cable-o-rama




The new power supply isn't fitting. The EPS connector fouls the left radiator fan.




The new power supply didn't want to fit, but I wasn't about to let that stop me. I decided to mount the power supply sideways in the case. This did pose a few issues, namely how to vent it. I took apart the power supply and reversed the fan. Now it intakes cool air from the rear and exhausts the air out of the fan area.




In order to mount the power supply sideways, I needed a way to secure it. The 4 screws that hold the fan to the power supply casing could also be used to secure the power supply to the case. The original trim plate for the power supply was used for a template, then I drilled the holes.




All four holes drilled from the top.




The floor of the case is raised below the factory power supply mounting location. I had to drill the lower panel holes large enough that the screw heads could fit through into the raised panel.




Success, the power supply is firmly mounted and quite secure. Now to make an extension to bring the plug to the outside of the case.

[Heath MJ Coop]

CHAPTER III: Creature of the Wheel

"Supernatural, perhaps; baloney, perhaps not.” - Black Cat (1934)



My original plan was to reuse the factory hard drive rack, but place it in a new location. Since I turned the power supply sideways, the factory hard dive rack wouldn't fit in the case anymore. I channeled the spirit of Ron Lee Christianson made a mount for the SSD out of polystyrene.




The SSD will mount to the front of the new piece. Several layers of polystyrene had to be built up to create the necessary height and thickness.




While I was at it, I extended the side of the new mount all the way over to the power supply. This will allow me to hide the wiring and create a much smoother look.




The new SSD mount is taking shape. There's still a lot of work before it's finished.




MNPCTech case feet, PrimoChill Revolver Rigid Fittings, and PrimoChilll 1/2in. Rigid Acrylic Tube.




Yummy




I think they're a good match.




With the pump rotated 90 degrees, the inlet and outlet ports are in a much better position.




The Bitspower Water Tank Z-Multi 400mm reservoir cut down to 320mm.




The reservoir is now a perfect fit in it's new home.




Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 240mm radiator has arrived and looks oh so pretty with those Cooler Master JetFlo fans sitting on it.




Everything seems to be falling into place. The more I see those PrimoChill fittings, the more I like them.




There's good clearance between the left fan and the pump. This should allow for good airflow to the fan. Overall there isn't a whole lot of room to spare in the basement.

[Heath MJ Coop]

CHAPTER IV: The Ecstasy

"I have such sights to show you!” - Hellraiser (1987)



I started on a motherboard shroud and checked the cable locations for all the components.




The new floor made from more polystyrene.




More of the floor from the other side.




I chopped up a P67 Sabertooth shroud and added it to the pieces I already made from polystyrene.




The holes are all approximate until I can properly fit it to the motherboard.




Finished the cut out in the front of the case that I created earlier.



Not to shabby for being done by hand with a Dremel. It only took a little bit of sanding.




I got a little ahead of myself and decided to paint the new floor, starting with a good sanding and primer.




After laying a coat of stainless steel paint, I used a piece of left over mesh and black paint to create a hex pattern.




I rather likes the look, so I kept it.




I kept moving the mesh and spraying until the entire part was covered.




I then misted a little of the granite paint to wash out the pattern somewhat and sprayed it in a satin clear coat.




While I was at it, I also painted the SSD mount in the same granite that I used on the floor and painted the motherboard tray rails in a dark hammertone. Then mounted it back into the case to see how it looked.




Being on a roll, I painted the pump and motherboard tray. The motherboard tray was painted in black and granite. The pump top was masked with only the very front being painted black.

[Heath MJ Coop]

CHAPTER V: Grease Paint

"Man, there's a lot of people who are running now. You think it's right to run?" - Dawn of the Dead (1978)




Time to paint the fans. I started with a darker hammertone for the frame.




I then painted the blades and hubs in a nickel color.




I only painted the parts of the fans that are visible once mounted. This allowed some of the fan's led light to continue to shine through.




I had previously drilled out all the chassis rivets and broke the chassis down. I cleaned up all the cuts and then gave the inside a nice coat of the darker hammertone paint.




Next up was creating the floor for the "reservoir room". Again I used polystyrene and made allowances for the window that will be installed later.




The "reservoir room" floor is slightly elevated above the rest of the basement floor, allowing some overlap. It also helps in making this section of the case feel unique from the rest on the interior.






The reservoir finally gets mounted for the last time.




I decided after I started the assembly of the case, that I didn't like the paint scheme, so I changed it. I reversed the colors for the floor, to give it a darker feel.




I tapped several of the original rivets holes for M4 screws. This will allow the case to be disassembled much easier, should a competent need servicing.




I also repainted a few other pieces. The SSD mount and the reservoir mount received a new coat of stainless steel colored paint.




I also installed cable looms during the repaint. The SSD mount features two 20 pin motherboard contectors that have been cut down and drilled out to except sleeved cables. The reservoir mount features Lutro0 Customs / E22 four 24 pin cable combs.




The pump has also now been mounted for the last time. Here you can also see the elevation difference between the main floor and the "reservoir room" floor.




The Alphacool radiator was re-tapped for M4 screws.




All snug as a bug in a rug.

[chal4oye]

The new power supply didn't want to fit, but I wasn't about to let that stop me. I decided to mount the power supply sideways in the case. This did pose a few issues, namely how to vent it. I took apart the power supply and reversed the fan. Now it intakes cool air from the rear and exhausts the air out of the fan area.




In order to mount the power supply sideways, I needed a way to secure it. The 4 screws that hold the fan to the power supply casing could also be used to secure the power supply to the case. The original trim plate for the power supply was used for a template, then I drilled the holes.

[Heath MJ Coop]

CHAPTER VI: Blur the Technicolor

"Well, why not? The world is full of inconsistencies. Unnatural things. Nature's mistakes they call you for instance!" - The Haunting (1963)



The 24 pin sleeved with Lutro0 Customs Teleios using the heatshrink-less method.




A thing of beauty.




The 8 pin looks just aa great.




Because of the space limitations, I had to be rather creative with the cable management.




All the cables hug the bottom of the motherboard tray.




Time to try bending some of that Primochill Rigid acrylic tubing.




The first bend didn't turn out to terrible.




On second thought, maybe it did. After bending the second tube, the first tube just doesn't look right to me. I'll revisit it later.




The LED lighting has arrived and I just couldn't wait to play with it. I choose a "warm white" color. This should give a feel of the case being lit by incandescent lighting.




A quick lighting test with my freshly cut side door. So far, so good on both the door and the lighting. Wow, I really need to clean my table.




I turned off all the room light and behold, the exact look I was going for.




The lighting is quite even and with them turned down, the glow is a bit creepy. I like creepy.




Because of the current low temperatures in my area, paint takes quite a bit longer then to dry, so I need to get the final painting started now. Here is the inside of the side door that I had cut earlier. That hammertone paint really sets it off.




The whole outside of the case will be painted in the stainless steel color paint I used in many parts of the interior. This will be the basecoat for the ShawNaughty Designz hydographics that will be applied later.

[Heath MJ Coop]

CHAPTER VII: Where the Sidewalk Ends

"This is no dream! This is really happening!" - Rosemary's Baby (1968)



All of the wiring is finally coming together. So much of it. I've used almost 100 feet of sleeving.




The final basecoat gets put down. I chose a nickel color, like I used on the fan blades.




I think the color will work great for the water transfer graphics that will be applied.




I think the nickel color was a great choice. The graphics need some touch up work, but Demon Speeding is due to debut at PDXLAN 23 in just 2 days, so I grab some Monster Energy drinks and get to work. All the outside panels need to get a satin clear coat to protect the graphics.




With PDXLAN 23 only 24 hours away, I'm running short on time. I know turn my attention back to the interior. The original motherboard shroud I made just wasn't working. I broke out some acrylic and created something new.




I decided I didn't just want it flat and that it needed to come apart easily, if needed. Solution, make it in three sections.




I took some Lutro0 cable combs, cut them down to length, and then added tabs to them. Earlier, I modified the case by tapping all the the rear rivets holes 4mm. This allows me to removed the back of the case and access the wiring without having to do a complete disassemble of the case.




I think the new design turned out good. I actually like this design better then my original idea.




I painted the center section in the dark hammertone paint and then used the stainless steel color paint for the out side rails. 24 hours till PDXLAN 23.




The XSPC waterblocks are in their final positions. Final plumbing, system flush, and leak testing time.




Details, details, details. I made up a cover for the rear IO. It doesn't seem to matter how much you spend on a motherboard, they all have those ugly flash chrome IO parts.




Still some sleeving to be done, but it's getting there. Less then 16 hours till PDXLAN 23. Rush, rush, rush.




12 hours till PDXLAN Everything looks good, but isn't. Somehow in my energy drink fueled fervor, I forgot to install two o-rings. : palm face :




With the o-rings fixed, I can now fill the loop with the custom tinted Mayhems Pastel fluid. PDXLAN 23 opens in 8 hours and I'm so tired.




The lighting is all installed and the leaks all fixed, but an electrical bug takes me 4 hours to track down. I am finally booted, but now I'm late to PDXLAN 23 and the case windows aren't even installed yet. I'm exhausted. I give in and sleep.




I made it! Demon Speeding isn't finished, but I made it to PDXLAN 23.




Even unfinished, she looks the part and draws quite a bit of attention. Her spot light will have to wait till another day.




The silver plate on the back of Demon Speeding covers the original power supply hole. It will become a "Thank You" plaque, for all those who made Demon Speeding a reality.




I also treated the keyboard, mouse, and Xbox 360 controller in the same water transfer graphics as the case.




I didn't have time to change out all the LED's in the peripherals before the LAN. I think red would look nice.