Zombie Mods - The I9 Steambox

[ALXAndy]

Terribly sorry about that mate.

Zombie Mods - The I9 Intel Insicle Steambox... :lol:

 

haha never ever put things like that into the head of an Aspie

 

Mind you, with lots of blue the build could look kinda cold, so Insicle could be quite fitting. The Intel Icicle. lmao.

[ALXAndy]

The postman finally came, but only delivered the blue power button it is nice though

 

So a few days back I went to my mother's house and went into the loft (the attic) to get down my old desk. As a little hint to the last time I used it look at these...

 

 

The blue Corsair badge came with my H50 version 1 which cooled my Phenom 2 940. The ROG badge is from my ill fated Crosshair II Formula. It died when I tried to hack the bios logo

 

So after a bit of digging, some cleaning and tidying my work desk is now set up. It's also covered in parts (some 92mm fans, two 230mm fans* and lots of wiring).

 

 

OK so the 230mm fans. They're left over from The Dark Carnival mod. Now what I'm hoping is that they fit the two 120mm fan mounts on the side of the Zalman. I should be able to fit one there which would be marvellous because they are absolutely silent and will draw in lots of air.

 

 

It's also nice that they have empty 5mm LED holes. I will no doubt fit some of the blue LEDs I bought into the fan I also found this.

 

 

It's the LED and buttom assembly from my old Temjin TJ05. It was a horrible ugly case, but the buttons are alu. I'm starting to think I may use this for the front of the I9 Steambox...

 

Mod on !

[ALXAndy]

OK so looking for input on this. I've been toying with ideas for the face panel.. Thoughts please !

 

1.

 

 

2.

 

 

3. (It's Z for Zalman)

 

 

4.

 

 

5.

 

 

6.

 

[Guest Emrye]

I like No. 6 and No. 3 the best. Build looks great so far!

[ALXAndy]

I like No. 6 and No. 3 the best. Build looks great so far!

 

I'm leaning toward 5 and 6 at the moment.. Might throw some more together later.

[StormtrooperStu]

6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 

 

I think 6 looks the best.

[ALXAndy]

6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 

 

I think 6 looks the best.

 

Yeah I like it too. If I don't use my zombie on the front I'll definitely use him inside as I did with the last build

 

You're probably onto something though. I've definitely not seen a case with a zombie on the front before

[AMaleWhale]

this is very cool, never seen anything like this before. Damn, I want a W.I.P CPU to

[StormtrooperStu]

Yeah I like it too. If I don't use my zombie on the front I'll definitely use him inside as I did with the last build

 

You're probably onto something though. I've definitely not seen a case with a zombie on the front before

 

Link to the last build please.

[cl_l-CaKe]

defenitly Nr 6!

[Paolo Verwey]

I think 5 looks very good but 6 has a zombie, so... Yeah... 6

[ALXAndy]

Link to the last build please.

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/60992-zombie-mods-the-dark-carnival-roll-up-roll-up/page-7

 

I couldn't do the things with TDC that I want to do here. Basically I needed it built from day one, so couldn't go too serious. With this build I can basically hack the empty case to oblivion and it won't affect my daily rig.

 

But here is where I finished TDC. I may get some more decals made (I make the ones you see here myself but text is hard to do with scissors !) but other than that it's finished and runs as my gaming/everything rig.

 

 

That's the red and black one, this is the blue and black one

[StormtrooperStu]

I thought your fan mods were excellent. I think I might have a go at those myself.

 

I remember seeing this.

[ALXAndy]

I'm currently working out in my head how to make the hsf fan frameless. Once the cooler arrives I'll start working on prototypes

But yeah, expect the unexpected

[davidbuss]

Use 5 but flip the black carbon fiber on the bottom so it goes the opposite direction of the black on top

[CJPowell27]

5 You should yolo and plasti-dip the motherboard

[ALXAndy]

5 You should yolo and plasti-dip the motherboard

 

hehe great minds think alike !

 

Sadly I don't think I can get it in the UK. Don't worry about the logos I'm going to cover those in dinoc.

 

Morning update. OK so I'm kinda going to blog this log. IE - post regular updates daily. I hope you guys don't mind. I guess it gives those who like reading something to read, any way..

 

So the case is out for delivery today. It's with Yodel though (a terrible courier, tbh) so it probably won't arrive Any way I am expecting other modding parts, but last night I remembered just what a cock 1366 can be to overclock. One wrong move with my board and it's black screen which means removing the GPU and clearing cmos. I've had a few ideas to get around this but I think the best idea is to fit two switches to the motherboard. One will engage cmos, the other will clear it. These will need to be the opposite of the momentary switches I have so will need to be bought. It's a faff, but one I feel is worth it as I really want to squeeze the I9's balls for as much performance as I can get.

 

Yesterday afternoon I ordered this.

 

 

Which is 16mm. The blue one I have is 12mm. I'm not sure how I'm going to use them yet. The black switch was much cheaper than the blue one... I know I will most certainly need a reset button when overclocking though, so no doubt one will be for the power and the other for reset.. 

 

Remember - this build will be done as it comes so to speak, IE - there are no set plans of yet and things will be changed during the build to make it as good as it can be

 

Take care, until next time

 

Edit again. Please forgive my lack of manners... A huge thank you to those who gave their opinions on the front design. I have decided, after much deliberation, to use idea 6. I'm not sure how I will lay out the two black accents yet, but I will definitely be putting the Zombie logo on the front of the case

[Cryptonite]

 

hehe great minds think alike !

 

Sadly I don't think I can get it in the UK. Don't worry about the logos I'm going to cover those in dinoc.

 

Morning update. OK so I'm kinda going to blog this log. IE - post regular updates daily. I hope you guys don't mind. I guess it gives those who like reading something to read, any way..

 

So the case is out for delivery today. It's with Yodel though (a terrible courier, tbh) so it probably won't arrive Any way I am expecting other modding parts, but last night I remembered just what a cock 1366 can be to overclock. One wrong move with my board and it's black screen which means removing the GPU and clearing cmos. I've had a few ideas to get around this but I think the best idea is to fit two switches to the motherboard. One will engage cmos, the other will clear it. These will need to be the opposite of the momentary switches I have so will need to be bought. It's a faff, but one I feel is worth it as I really want to squeeze the I9's balls for as much performance as I can get.

 

Yesterday afternoon I ordered this.

 

 

Which is 16mm. The blue one I have is 12mm. I'm not sure how I'm going to use them yet. The black switch was much cheaper than the blue one... I know I will most certainly need a reset button when overclocking though, so no doubt one will be for the power and the other for reset.. 

 

Remember - this build will be done as it comes so to speak, IE - there are no set plans of yet and things will be changed during the build to make it as good as it can be

 

Take care, until next time

 

Edit again. Please forgive my lack of manners... A huge thank you to those who gave their opinions on the front design. I have decided, after much deliberation, to use idea 6. I'm not sure how I will lay out the two black accents yet, but I will definitely be putting the Zombie logo on the front of the case

can't wait for you to finish mate, this is what makes these forums fun.

[ALXAndy]

OK guys, here we go then - massive update !

 

So at around 10:40 AM the door bell went. It was the courier with the case.

 

 

Open it up..

 

 

The entire carton is smaller than my Alienware lol.

 

 

Time to unpack !

 

 

And it's out !

 

 

Ewwww !

 

 

Take the side off....

 

 

And some accessories. A small bag full of screws, rubber feet and so on.

 

 

And then the door bell went again. This time it was our postman with two things for me !

 

 

What's inside? well here is the logo I ordered from Germany.

 

 

It is very small, so Insicle jokes can cease  In the other tube parcel was this.

 

 

Which I am absolutely thrilled with. It's slightly darker than the photo, but it's very glossy. I love it !!

 

OK so it's back to the case. Time to rip off the front which will be going in the bin once stripped...

 

 

lmfao check this out

 

 

It's tiny ! what's nice is that it's even smaller with the original front removed ! 

 

OK so now it was time to see what my fan options are. I put the 230mm fan down...

 

 

Perfect !! I will need to drill some mounting holes but that's no issue.. So it was time to remove the hard drive holder. It won't be coming back..

 

 

And check out the acrylic. What was amazing was that the sheet fits the absolutely perfect height. This is really nice, it saves me more cutting

 

 

Time to strip the front panel of its bounty !

 

 

I managed to get the badge off without snapping it so I put it on some vinyl backing so I can stick it on without having to redo the adhesive myself

 

 

And bag and label...

 

 

And the very sad looking front which will be making is way to the trash can. Sorry Zalman, it's just too ugly !

 

 

And it was time for some fun. Sadly my lady is not feeling too good today so went back to bed. This means absolutely no noise or power tools so I decided to start making graphics..

 

 

Flip, print, stick to the back of the vinyl. And, tadaaaaaaa !!

 

 

Another job done

[ALXAndy]

can't wait for you to finish mate, this is what makes these forums fun.

 

Thank you. My main aim is to show that modding does not need to be expensive, nor require any ridiculously expensive equipment. My rotary tool cost me £20 and this entire case fitted (minus internal parts) will cost less than £30 for the entire case.

 

It's the little things that make the difference, like this. The intake side of my fan is ugly as they often are.

 

 

Pull it off gently.

 

 

Stick it to the back of some dinoc...

 

 

Cut it out.

 

 

And replace.

 

 

A ten minute, 10 pence job. No more garish sticker..

[ALXAndy]

Let's stop pissing around and make a front panel, shall we?

 

First up I wanted the old front to trace.

 

 

But it was full of posts stopping it lying flat. Bzzzp hack bzzzzzzp

 

 

OK so now it lays flat.

 

 

And finally I got what I wanted

 

 

Bzzzzzp hack cut Bzzzzzzzzp !

 

 

Edge sanding.

 

 

Remember that small black piece ? well that was for this. Oh yeah, Bzzzzp !

 

 

And another one for the other end

 

 

And then there were two.

 

 

Little wee power button, all happy but no place to go.....

 

 

Mark...

 

 

Now this bit needs to be done very very slowly...

 

 

And finally he had a place to hang out...

 

 

Minor adjustment tot he case.. Bzzzzzzp !

 

 

Does it clear? You bet your fat clown ass it does ! (Cartman, South Park, Ladder to Heaven)

 

 

Test fit after some more sanding.

 

 

And it was time for the diamond coated blade which is better for small cuts (it's a little too fast to do long cuts with).

 

 

And the relief hole is done.

 

 

Test fit..

 

 

LED holes.

 

 

And a fun part, peeling all of it

 

 

Then a visit to the shower to fully clean it and make sure it's grit free, and it was time to coat it in vinyl. First up I always lay the part on the back side of the vinyl and mark it up that way. Then you don't cut it too small..

 

 

And cover.....

 

 

And the other one...

 

 

And then the front.

 

 

Another test fit.

 

 

And it was time to fit Mr Zombie.

 

 

Bangin' !

 

 

Whoomp, there it is !

 

The glue is setting, more later......

[Paolo Verwey]

The frontpanel looks awesome dude!

[ALXAndy]

The frontpanel looks awesome dude!

 

I'm hugely pleased with it would be an understatement lol. Yeah it's kickin' ass. Once the glue sets I can toy around with fitting it

[Father Fuzzy]

modding at its best

[alpenwasser]

Noice!

Also:
 

And the relief hole is done.

That... does not sound computer-ish to my dirty, demented mind.