Project Storm Shadow (NZXT Noctis 450 Build)

[Graffix3001]

Hey everyone....  I am new to this forum but have been a Linus Tech Tips Youtube follower for a long time.  I just recently built a new computer for a friend and I got that itch again.  Its been a while since I have built a system for myself.  So this will be a many part series over the next month or two as I will not have everything at the very beginning but I do have most of the components.
 
This is project Storm Shadow............

 
This will start as an air cooled rig just so I can get it up and running then I'll install a custom water cooled loop. I am only doing that because I am currently using my HTPC to do this build log and its not the most convenient way of doing things like this.
 
Here is what the components will look like.....
 
Case: White NZXT Noctis 450  - PURCHASED
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790k  - PURCHASED
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i GTX
Motherboard: Asus x79 Sabertooth Mark S  - PURCHASED
Video Card: Galax 980Ti HOF - PURCHASED
Memory: Avexir Core Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3@2400MHz(to match the motherboard)  - PURCHASED
SSD: 2 Samsung EVO 850 120GB in Raid 0  - PURCHASED  
HDD: WD 2TB Green  -PURCHASED
PSU: NZXT HALE90 V2 Series 850W Modular PSU  -PURCHASED

FANS: Bitfenix Spectre Pro White 140mm fans  -PURCHASED

KEYBOARD: Razer Black Widow Chroma  (Painted White)  -PURCHASED

MOUSE: Razer Taipan (White)  -PURCHASED

 

There will be some led modding and some painting and some vinyl stuff as well.

Hope you guys enjoy.

 

Here is the case.

Motherboard with the RAM installed

Here is the RAM

Here is the PSU

 

Right now I have removed the front top panels and also removed the black mesh from each of those panels.

I plan on painting a white/gray camo pattern on the black mesh that will be visible on those panels.

 

Here is everything disassembled

 

 

I will update soon.

[Nonco]

Cant wait to see the progress on this one, should look awesome

[Watercooler970]

Liked and followed 

 

Looks great!

[Graffix3001]

Got a little update today......

 

My camo vinyl masking came in today.  I bought 2 sheets from Tango Down Customs online for about $20 with shipping.  He prints them out onto avery label paper and removes all the excess for you.  All you have to do is peel and stick.  Here they are.

 

So i took the mesh panels outside and did some light sanding with some 600 grit sandpaper to rough it up a little.

 

Here is the paint I am using for the lighter shade of gray.  It is just a primer.

 

After the first coat

After Second and last coat of the lighter gray.

 

I will wait until tomorrow to put on the first layers of the camo vinyl masking and then apply a another couple of coats of a darker shade of gray.  

 

I also got another delivery from FedEx today.  My Razer Taipan White Mouse arrived.  This will match the theme nicely.

It has a nice braided cord too.

 

Ok.  Thats all for today.  I'll update soon.

[Graffix3001]

Another update for you guys.....

I applied the first layer of camo masking to both the front panel and top panel mesh.

Here is the front panel mesh with the masking. I am only masking the areas that will show after the white plastic panels are put on.

Here it is with the white plastic panels.

And here is the top panel with the masking applied.

With the white panels as well.

I also had another delivery today. I got my X Trac Pads Ripper XXL Desk pad.

So it was raining when I got home today so I didn't get a chance to do any painting. Next I will apply a few coats of a darker shade of gray to the mesh panels. Then the next day after that apply another layer of masking then I'll be finishing it off with white paint and then clearing that. I'll probably just wait until all the layers of paint are completed to post the next update with pics.

See you guys then.

[X_Rated_Box]

Nice looks relly cool i like the unsusual but sexy colour scheme you got going on !

[Graffix3001]

Nice looks relly cool i like the unsusual but sexy colour scheme you got going on !

I think you are assuming the yellowish orange is part of the color scheme. It's not. That's just the color of the masking that I am taping off to get the arctic camo pattern.

[theninja35]

This is going to look kinky AF.

[X_Rated_Box]

I think you are assuming the yellowish orange is part of the color scheme. It's not. That's just the color of the masking that I am taping off to get the arctic camo pattern.

well... thats emberassing anyway i love *insert random colour here* +white combos:)

[Graffix3001]

Also I have painted 2 additional layers of different shades of gray. All I have left to do is mask off one more layer of camo pattern then apply the final color which will be flat white, when all of that is done the next day will be a few coats of satin clear coat. So updated pics will come in a couple of days.

[Graffix3001]

Another update because I am just too impatient.

 

These pics will show two more shades of gray being applied with masking and also the final layer of white being applied.

 

Here are the finished panels after spraying 3 coats of satin clear coat and removing all of the masking.

 

After reassembling the the top panel and then installing it back onto the case.

 

When trying to reassemble the front panel I messed up a small section of the paint because I was too impatient and didn't let it dry as much as I should have so I will have to do some touching up.  It shouldn't be hard though.  Here is that mistake.  This is after scraping it off a little bit so I can fix it tomorrow.

 

Right now I am trying to work with NZXT to see if I can order all of the red LED's attached to the wires that come in the black version of this case and just switch them out and seeing if I can get a hold of a side panel from an H440 with the square window to replace the one that came on this case.  Also I contacted ASUS to see if I can somehow get the pattern they used for the tread tracks on the motherboard heatsink and TUF Thermal Armor.  I would like to implement it into the build somewhere.

Stay tuned for the next update.

[colinreay]

Very nice! I like me some original builds that incorporate white. Nice to see something creative and deviating from the standard white and black color scheme!

[Guest]

The panels look great, I'm excited for the finished product. =)

[Graffix3001]

The panels look great, I'm excited for the finished product. =)

Thanks.  I appreciate it.  There will be camo in other places as well.

[Graffix3001]

ANOTHER UPDATE.....


I fixed the area on the front panel mesh that I messed up while trying to reinstall the mesh to the front panel. The area where the paint was repaired is on the lower left side in the white just below the darkest paint color. Here is the before again.


And here is the after.

Here are some pics with the front panel reassembled and then reinstalled onto the case.





Next mod to do is changing the LED lighting on the case. Since the name of this build is Storm Shadow I will be changing out the blue LED's with red ones. You know, because COBRA. lol. I couldn't get any response from NZXT to just get my hands on the red LED replacements that I needed so I actually just ordered a new black Noctis 450. I will be swapping out all the LED's with that. Then that black case will be another short build for my brother with a blue/black theme. Nothing much though.
Other things coming are painting the NZXT logo fascia on the PSU shroud.. I will be incorporating the camo pattern and possibly the tire tread pattern from the motherboard. I Still haven't really decided.
That's it for today everyone so I'll see you on the next update.

[Graffix3001]

I have a very short but BIG update today.

 

 

 I just got an email from Galax saying that something is back in stock so I just ordered this.......

 

I'll have another update in a couple of days as a few more things should be arriving.

[Graffix3001]

Update

 

I had some items show up today.....

 

Black NZXT Noctis 450 case so I can do the LED swap. (black case will be for another build)

Case apart to strip some LED's.

Also got my Bitfenix Spectre Pro White Non LED 140mm fans in and installed them.

The yellowish look on the fan blades is from the flash on my iphone.

 

Here is what the case looks like with the motherboard installed and the red LED swap competed.  The underglow LED's look a little wierd just because the case is on a glass desk.  On a regular desk it appears more as a glow instead of a red line.

 

Here is my new keyboard that I will be using.  Its the Razer Blackwidow Chroma Edition.  This will also be plasti dipped white leaving the black key caps.

 

Also had my WD 2TB Green drive arrive for storage.

 

So I still have the graphics card to install, which is on the way.  Items that I still have to buy are the processor and the main hard drive and operating system.  I will them get everything built temporarily so I can start using the computer for some things and then will continue to mod with customer braided cables from the PSU.  ( I will not be doing this myself.  I will be sending it out to be done)  Plus I still have some other mods to do to the case.  Then shortly after I will start to gather up all of the items I need for water cooling this rig.  So stay tuned.  There is still plenty more to come.

[Exploded117]

Update

 

 

I had some items show up today.....

 

Black NZXT Noctis 450 case so I can do the LED swap. (black case will be for another build)

 

ase apart to strip some LED's.

 

Also got my Bitfenix Spectre Pro White Non LED 140mm fans in and installed them.

 

The yellowish look on the fan blades is from the flash on my iphone.

 

 

Here is what the case looks like with the motherboard installed and the red LED swap competed.  The underglow LED's look a little wierd just because the case is on a glass desk.  On a regular desk it appears more as a glow instead of a red line.

 

 

Here is my new keyboard that I will be using.  Its the Razer Blackwidow Chroma Edition.  This will also be plasti dipped white leaving the black key caps.

 

 

Also had my WD 2TB Green drive arrive for storage.

 

 

So I still have the graphics card to install, which is on the way.  Items that I still have to buy are the processor and the main hard drive and operating system.  I will them get everything built temporarily so I can start using the computer for some things and then will continue to mod with customer braided cables from the PSU.  ( I will not be doing this myself.  I will be sending it out to be done)  Plus I still have some other mods to do to the case.  Then shortly after I will start to gather up all of the items I need for water cooling this rig.  So stay tuned.  There is still plenty more to come.

 

So far liking everything.... except for that razer keyboard tho.. but everything else has been great! Keep up the good work!

[Graffix3001]

So far liking everything.... except for that razer keyboard tho.. but everything else has been great! Keep up the good work!

What don't you like about it? I haven't used it yet. I got it because the software looked easy to use and it also looked like it would be fairly easy to plasti dip white.

[Exploded117]

What don't you like about it? I haven't used it yet. I got it because the software looked easy to use and it also looked like it would be fairly easy to plasti dip white.

 

The software is pretty easy to use, especially if you have a lot of different razer products linked to it.

 

However, I just haven't necessarily liked any of razer's products. Their kraken headset is just plain bad. As far as their laptops go, I still see any "gaming" laptop to be not worth it for my use conditions. And most of their other products, the green colour and ultimate gaming vibe I never really got. However, ever since they added chroma to the deathadder line, I actually find that to be a really good mouse for gaming, but I still prefer the G303.

 

As for the keyboard, it's mostly the weird razer switches. It's also too big (I consider something like the poker 3 to be more my size)

[Graffix3001]

Here's another update for the build.

I took my Razer Blackwidow keyboard and plasti-dipped it white. The top right of the keyboard has some illuminations that come through the black like caps lock and gaming mode logos so I wanted to still be able to see those so I taped that area off. I didn't get very clean tape lines so it didn't turn out as good as I would have liked it to. I actually took the keyboard apart to make the dipping easier. I tried it first by just removing the keys and taping off the switches but that didn't turn out too good so I ripped it all off and did it again. Here are some step by step photos of the process and the outcome.

1. remove 2 little black tabs on back.

2. remove the 4 rubber feet at the corners to reveal 4 screws.

3. pry open around the edges of the front cover from the back of the keyboard on the sides and the front edge then remove.

4. use a metal hanger and put one end into screw hole on back of cover to hold in place for painting.

I did about 3 light coats of the plasti-dip followed by a thicker 4th coat. I had about 25 minutes between coats for drying. If you are going to be removing any tape to try and get nice lines then you must remove the tape after your final coat and when it is still wet or else the plasti-dip will start to peel off when you try to remove the tape.

Here are some pics of the finished project. You can see the top right area where I taped off and the lines are not sharp and it started to peel a little at the bottom but that is hidden by the keys.

So like I said, I wasn't overall happy with the way it turned out so I might actually have the top cover of the keyboard hydro dipped an urban camo pattern so it goes with the overall theme better. There is a shop not to far from me that does hydro dipping. This will have to do for now though.

Also the new GALAX 980Ti Hall of Game card gets here on Tuesday. I'll post pics soon.

[Graffix3001]

ANOTHER EXCITING UPDATE FOR PROJECT STORM SHADOW!!!!!!!!

FedEx came today and delivered the heart of my build........

THE GALAX GTX980Ti Hall of Fame Edition Graphics Card. Here are some glamour shots of the sexy beast. Sorry about the quality of these pics. Had the flash on on my iPhone and they didn't turn out too good.

OK now everyone pick up your jaws from your tables. lol Stay tuned for more updates coming soon.

[Graffix3001]

Here's a quick sneak peek of the card installed in the case. Due to the card being so long and heavy I will come up with some sort of support to stop the sagging.

[Graffix3001]

Here's another update for Project Storm Shadow.

 

 

NZXT PSU shroud logo mod.  So I have switched out all of the LED's from the black case to this white case which give me red LED"s instead of blue ones.  I also plasti-dipped the black NZXT logo shroud wihite.  I chose plasti dip just incase I didn't like the way it turned out.  It turned out very nice.  In the photos due to the lighting in the room it appears yellowish just like my fan blades but it is white.  Here are some pics of that mod.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also got my 2 Samsung EVO 850 120G SSD's installed for the OS.  I decided to just go with these instead of the Hyper X Predator PCIE SSD.

 

 

 

Also here are some more pics of the GALAX 980Ti HOF

 

 

 

 

Here is a pic with the card powered on.  I really can't believe they went with a YELLOW LED that says Hall of Fame  on the back of the card.  I have to see what I can do about this.

 

Here is a shot showing the GPU sag on the right side of the card because it is so long and heavy.  There is a spot in the back of the case that I can just put a zip tie thru attached to the card and it holds it up perfectly.

 

OK.  Thats all for now.  So all I left left before I can get this up and running is the CPU and CPU cooler.  I am still going to get single braided custom length sleeving done to make things look much better and also get rid of the rats next of cables behind the PSU shroud.  And I will also be water cooling this build a little further down the road.

See you on the next update.

[Exploded117]

Here's another update for Project Storm Shadow.

 

NZXT PSU shroud logo mod.  So I have switched out all of the LED's from the black case to this white case which give me red LED"s instead of blue ones.  I also plasti-dipped the black NZXT logo shroud wihite.  I chose plasti dip just incase I didn't like the way it turned out.  It turned out very nice.  In the photos due to the lighting in the room it appears yellowish just like my fan blades but it is white.  Here are some pics of that mod.

 

I also got my 2 Samsung EVO 850 120G SSD's installed for the OS.  I decided to just go with these instead of the Hyper X Predator PCIE SSD.

 

Also here are some more pics of the GALAX 980Ti HOF

 

Here is a pic with the card powered on.  I really can't believe they went with a YELLOW LED that says Hall of Fame  on the back of the card.  I have to see what I can do about this.

 

Here is a shot showing the GPU sag on the right side of the card because it is so long and heavy.  There is a spot in the back of the case that I can just put a zip tie thru attached to the card and it holds it up perfectly.

 

OK.  Thats all for now.  So all I left left before I can get this up and running is the CPU and CPU cooler.  I am still going to get single braided custom length sleeving done to make things look much better and also get rid of the rats next of cables behind the PSU shroud.  And I will also be water cooling this build a little further down the road.

See you on the next update.

 

Have you ever thought of painting those SSD's? You could just cover the ports with some good (non-crappy) painters tape. It might look pretty cool. Might not. Worth a try imo.