"MybadOmen's" New NZXT Build ?

[MybadOmen]

UPDATE

This update will be a 2 part update do to the amount of Photos i separated it into 2 parts that still make sense.


This Update will be on the GPU's and Blocks going into Legion.Legion will be running 2 Nvidia GTX680's with EK's new CSQ line of blocks and there installation .


First off here is the package sent by Nvidia as part of the sponsorship of the Legion build.



Ok lets get started. In this update i will go over doing a single card as if i was going to only run 1. Here is the 680 we will be working on.



First on these cards its very important not to miss this screw on the GPU bracket or you have a chance of breaking your card.



Next you want to remove all the screws on the back of the card that it says to remove in you block instructions. Use directions as it varies from GPU to GPU.



Now carefully split the stock cooler from the GPU also being careful of the small fan wire when separating them. Unplug the Fan wire and you should end up with something like this.



Remove all the thermal Pads and clean the thermal paste from the GPU itself.So its nice and clean like this:



At this point cut the new thermal pads according to your instructions and apply them to the card where the directions also show. And add new thermal paste to the GPU of your choice.I think i used MX4 and you can do the pea sized drop or use an X pattern when applying.That's up to you.I didnt show this photo as the directions should def be used for this part.

Here is the block i will be using the EK FC 680 GTX CSQ block (Nickel/Plexi)



Place the block on the card gently with the screws ready to go.Try not moving the block around at all once you set it down.



Next its time to add the back plate that i should mentioned has to be purchased separately from the block. Here is EK's new CSQ Back plate. I think its damn sexy.



And finally here is what a single GTX680 looks like dressed in EK CSQ Nickel/Plexi Block and Back plate.






Of course there are many different fitting configurations you use on a single card setup like this with the new CSQ blocks.I am only showing this setup as there were complaints or rather confusion when the cards first releases but now EK added another block that gives more options with the newer kits so all issues are gone with that problem. Sorry i got my blocks early so i dont have that adapter to show since i dont need it anyway.

Take care guys and will show the Dual setup in Next Update which will be a short update.

MybadOmen

[MybadOmen]

Update Or rather extended from last one.


Hiya Guys back to finish off the GPU setup that will be going in Legion so i will get right to it.

Ok last update i showed the single card setup but Legion will be running dual 680's so this will be a really quick update.


Basically all i am going to be doing next is adding an EK GPU Bridge and Blank off do to the spacing on the Asus Rampage Formula IV x79. Since assembly of the bridge is simple there is really no need to show how to assemble it so here it the EK CSQ Triple Serial Bridge with blank off. This gives me the ability to add third card if i chose to in the future but i highly doubt i will be.



The Bridge simply screws right on the the cards do to the new CSQ design. Here is the block that would be on the Card where you can see it is threaded.



And assembled here is what everything looks like for Legion's GPU power.



Lastly this is how Legion sits at the Moment but tons will be changing soon so keep watching for it.(Ignore the red and black cables)



Thanks Guys for looking and i will do my best to get you updates when possible.

Take Care

MybadOmen

[XcaliburFX]

Looking good!

[MybadOmen]

UPDATE!

"Modding Top of the case (Rad Support) to fit the EK XTX360 & 6 Enermax Cluster Fans"

Hiya guys i am back with another update ,I know going slow but it will get there. Anyway when i started planning this build which i never really actually plan a build but i did know i wanted an EK XTX360 Rad on Top & the EK XTX240 down Bottom with Push/Pull Enermax Clusters. 6 on top and 4 on Bottom plus my Intake and Exhaust fans of course.

Well after a bit of not thinking of it and working on other things i decided to fit the XTX360 in place (Those not aware its the thickest of the EK line Rads.In this order XT/XTC/XTX) . Seeing my Mass Effect 3 build had the XTC420 up top and is a Switch 810 and the NEW Phantom 820 is the same size and was made for water cooling with holes up top for a 360 or 420 rad i figured i would drop in the XTX 360 with room to spare.

Well when i got the EK XTX360 out of the box and seen how huge it was next to the case i had a feeling i was in for a fun time getting it in. Well right off i bolted it in and it was was to far back and way to low.There was no way possible to get fittings on without some major modding which i went ahead and started.

Its Kind of hard to explain as i forgot to take photos before i went to work but i will try to explain the problem of the Rad fitting.

In this Photo if you look on top of the case the top dips down almost an inch and it is directly centered bringing the Rad to close to the motherboard and rear PCI cutouts of the case.



Here is just another Photo showing how low the Rad is sitting as well as how close to the motherboard it is not to mention the rear fitting threads are literally sitting on the PCI bracket cutouts of the case.



Goal of this Mod: To Fit the EK XTX360 up top , To move it forward and a little of an inch forward from the back. Do the Mod without sacrificing the built in Hue lights, Access to to G1/4 Threads on the rad. And of course to keep everything clean looking in the end.

Here is a good shot showing the issue at hand (Sorry found these photos after )



Ok just the brunt of the work will be in this update the details and making it pretty will come in another when i know all the cutting is done.
[B]

Lets Get Started:

First i had to get a new piece of metal ready to make the new Rad support (Raised and Moved) so i got out some i believe 24 gauge sheet metal and went over to once again another antique tool which is still doing its job like the day it was new. (I love working with Old tools)

Old School Sheet Metal Sheer



This shot is showing what has to go. Its just not happening for me.



And next for the Not so old school tools. I love Using the Plasma cutter the thing is the bomb.I am now cutting out the area i showed in the photo above with the white square.
[B]


Next was time to take out the RotoZip with the angle head attachment which is one of my favorite modding tools and remove the paint that's in the area i will be spot welding. (Another tool i haven't got to play with much)For case modding its ideal compared to welding in my opinion.



Here is the new Rad top being welded together using the Spot welder /Tack Welder or whatever you know it as, I circled it for those that dont know what a spot welder is. This is a 220volt one but you can also get a smaller 110 one also.



Well like i said this update will just be the brunt part of the work. Cleaning it up and cutting out slots for better airflow around the fans is next as well as painting etc. All part of a Process and want to just get what i can while i have the use of these great tools for the day.

As you can see crude but in the end will serve the purpose perfect and be awesome.



Here you can see i have it marked out for more cutting and Dremel work when i get home. I will also smooth it out more and use a filler of some sort to make it look factory when finished.


Smoothed a out a little more as i had a little extra time and worked on straightening the inside edge a bit more.



And Last thing for this update as its getting late and i also did some other fun stuff during the day is to Punch out the 2 holes i need for the rad ports . Just in case i need them.I used a small Knock out tool to do it. You may have seen Bill Owen use the large one for Punching through cases to put in 120mm fans etc in some of his videos.



New Update soon showing the top all finished.

Hope you enjoyed the Update and thank you for watching

MybadOmen

[MybadOmen]

Update


Hiya Guys again,

Well if you look at the last update you can see we left off with a New top for my Phantom 820 Legion build making many changes to comfortably fir an EK XTX360 Rad with 6 Enermax Cluster Fans.

Ok so the job was done but it was very crude cut and it was def not optimized for airflow and that's where this update comes in.

Here you can see the basic shape is there but still a mess to deal with. Plus if i bolt a rad on the way it is it will restrict at least 25% or more of the airflow from the Fans.



So i grabbed one of my Dremel's and of course my awesome Smith & Wesson Safety Glasses from Mnpctech and got to work.



And after a little time with the Dremel its time to dig out my beat up files and do some hand filing. (Probably not necessary but im pretty picky)



Now you can see why it was so important i did all that Dremel and filing work. If you look now all of the Fans power will be pushing and Pulling air through the Top rad. Cluster Fans from Enermax are powerful yes but also pretty silent when they run but they def push allot of airflow.



As you can see from this Photo i went from not being able to even fit the rad or get to the fittings to now fit the Rad with 6 Fans and plenty of room to get to the fittings. And yet the Hue lighting is still there also.



Next it was time to try to weld around the rim where the metal was cut to make it look a little better and for a little more strength . Si i grabbed my Mig on low power and tried doing my best to fill the holes from the metal we used which was scrap and tried to fill the cap between the 2 metals to later smooth out.

Me Ready to go !



This is what i am stuck with unless i use body filler which since this will never be seen i dont want body filler in my PC where it will crack when moving it. (Might add something to make it cleaner later because even though its not seen its still bugging me.

By looking at the Photo you can also see how much its moved to the right and forward.



Photo from Underneath :



And Rad sitting in place (Not tight) but there for measurements.



And that's it for this update guys still tons to do Modding the 5.25 bays will probably be next for better airflow of the bottom front fan.

Until Next Update Take care and Thank You for Looking and all your Support.
[B
MybadOmen[/B]

[MybadOmen]

Progress to date on "Legion" will try to add more photos of the actually Using the tools etc soon. It still has to come apart a few more times before starting the theme. But i have a vision of it now and i am on a roll.

Hope you like were its heading:

[Dewayne]

Looking good man!

[MybadOmen]

Hiya Fellow Modders/Overclockers or just others that Love PC's like i do.

Well i know its been a while since i posted some updates but i have been doing allot to Legion but just still settling on some special parts and some of them being Prototypes at the moment so waiting on them as well.

Anyway here are some small updates i can post of what i have been doing.when i got the chance. I also have photos of a bunch of other things i will post soon as i can.

First off i was deciding on what color of Primochill's New 1/2" Rigid Tubing i was going to go with. I waited along time for this system to be released and decided i am going to go with the clear since i will be most likely running a milky white colored coolant. (Also still in Prototype stage).I will also be running the New Primochill Rigid Acrylic Tubing Cpmression fittings Nickel in color along side the EK fittings in the Build.

Primochill Rigid Acrylic Tubing 1/2" (Decided on the Clear) although was a tough decision.



Next i did a bunch more work with the new Mod/Smart Kobra Max Extensions. This is the best sleeving i ever used on a Mod. It is super super tight to the wire.What i actually did because i have a fully Modular PSU is got the 24" Extensions and cut and re pinned every wire on My PSU using the Kobra Max wire and sleeve from the extensions and i love it just look how clean and tight the stuff is.

Here is what the Mod/Smart Kobra Max extension material and wire looks like.



Next part i knew was going to be a real hassle but i wanted the fan controller area and the USB area's both done in white. but i wanted it done right with no paint on anything else so with a razor knife you can actually cut the strips that light up and the chrome trim off by simple looking underneath and cutting just where they melt the pins over. After cutting these you can slide the trim and LED windows out very carefully and simply use a tiny bit of superglue to put the back in.

Here is is all Taken apart (Circuit boards not in the photo sorry)



And Prepped and Painted with Plastic Paint . For those would would like to know how to spray small parts like this without peeling etc later its pretty easy. First wash the parts with Dawn dish soap. (before sanding as sanding before washing will just rub oils into the part) After washing sand lightly with roughly a 400 500 grit wet sandpaper clean it all off with 70% + rubbing alcohol and paint with a Plastic paint like Krylon Fusion my favorite or if you choose to use a regular paint make sure to use adhesion promoter first. Most plastic paints already have this and a flex additive included.

Anyway part Painted



And see how amazing something so small can look when finished? Yes allot of work but you will feel proud and really love the look when its completed. I think one of the biggest things about building a nice Mod is the tiny details.

Painted and assembled Fan controller



Here is just a shot of what it looked like before i recently tore it back down to start Modding the case itself some more.



And this is what i have been working on now which you will see more of in the next update is the 5.25 bays. I love that 220mm fan wide open so i am working on making some different tray ideas for holding 1 HDD and 1 to 2 SSD's and that's all.

Just showing the area i am working on now for next Updates coming up.



Sorry for the long wait guys and hope i don't disappoint but i am doing what i can at the moment and also keeping you guys updated the best i can.

Take Care my Friends,

MybadOmen

[SpeedBump]

Looking good. Have you gotten to do any work with the new Primochill tubing and fittings yet? Reason I am asking...I been at it all weekend and got a good bit done. This is my first go with rigid tubing and although there is a learning curve, it seems to be working out. I didn't have the silicone oring cord, so I improvised. First I tried the 3/8 fuel line. Not too much luck there. I don't know if its just the fuel line I had, or the small irregularities in the tubing. It didn't fit tightly and I couldn't get any nice bends. Looked around for another alternative and found a old work light with a extremely heavy cord. I chopped off a section and it works great. The only problem I am running into with it is after doing a few tubes, the act of pulling the cable out of the bent tubing is stretching it, thus making the diameter shrink just a bit. It isn't a big deal as I have 15-20 feet of the cable, so I just get a fresh piece often. Anyway, I am loving the look of the new rigid. Can't wait to see it all finished up. Speakin of, I'm heading back to it. Here are a couple pix of mine so far. Don't mind all the crud on them...I will clean them all up when I get them ready to install.

Shizzle gettin complicated! hmy:

[MybadOmen]

UPDATE !

Side Panel Mod:


Hiya guys this update is just a quick Mod of the right hand side Panel for my Legion build. Since i just got used to running my plotter i decided to use it again but on something bigger and with allot more detail so here is the Plotter ready to go with Masking.



And here are the results after editing the photo to make it possible to be cut with a blade. (Name for it is welding) Also in this Photo the masking has been weeded which simply means i picked off all the little pieces that i wanted paint to be.



Since i am using Fusion paint which has an adhesion Promoter already built in prep work was rather simple. First i washed the panel in my Tub with Dawn dish soap and then let it dry and wiped it all down with 70% Alcohol which leaves a nice clean surface for the paint. Prep work matters more then anything as bad Prep work with cause paint to peel ,Fish eye and all sorts of things that can easily be avoided.



Next is a horrible photo sorry but it shows the masking applied. After applying i get any bubbles out that are near any edges which is extremly important or paint will get in and destroy the final results.This was a pain to do with the shape of the Panel and the size of the Masking that is extremely sticky.



Next Simply apply a nice Masking tape around the rest of the Panel to avoid any over spray.



Just a close up trying to show some of the detail.



And another horrible photo, but all i am showing is i painted the panel. This also can be a little tricky when using masking. If you use to much paint it will leave an edge all around your image which will look not that great. One other thing to note is timing is critical when removing the Masking. If removed to late it can tear the paint and if removed to early it can be a mess. I usually do like 3 really light coats for this kind of painting and then remove the masking right as the paint starts to tack up very carefully. Anyway here is the horrible photo lol.



And finally when the custom Masking is removed this is what you end up with if done right. A beautiful side panel done in paint and not much experience needed to do a Mod like this, basically just time and of course someone with a Plotter to make you the masking.



Really Hope you guys like this update so far, Not sure if the side panel is done yet or not until i start putting things together more .

Take Care and Keep watching for upcoming Updates.....

MybadOmen

- - - Updated - - -

Looking good. Have you gotten to do any work with the new Primochill tubing and fittings yet? Reason I am asking...I been at it all weekend and got a good bit done. This is my first go with rigid tubing and although there is a learning curve, it seems to be working out. I didn't have the silicone oring cord, so I improvised. First I tried the 3/8 fuel line. Not too much luck there. I don't know if its just the fuel line I had, or the small irregularities in the tubing. It didn't fit tightly and I couldn't get any nice bends. Looked around for another alternative and found a old work light with a extremely heavy cord. I chopped off a section and it works great. The only problem I am running into with it is after doing a few tubes, the act of pulling the cable out of the bent tubing is stretching it, thus making the diameter shrink just a bit. It isn't a big deal as I have 15-20 feet of the cable, so I just get a fresh piece often. Anyway, I am loving the look of the new rigid. Can't wait to see it all finished up. Speakin of, I'm heading back to it. Here are a couple pix of mine so far. Don't mind all the crud on them...I will clean them all up when I get them ready to install.

Shizzle gettin complicated! hmy:

Yes i am Using 3/8" Silicone used for Orings from Mc Mastercarr .It Fits perfect.I hope that helps.