[Build Log] Woodland Raven - Case Mod Project [WIP]

[MEC-777]

 

Build Goals:

• Highly efficient airflow design.
• Clean & unique aesthetics.
• Use of natural materials.
• No compromises in cooling & aesthetics.

 

Specifications:

• CPU - AMD Ryzen 7 2700X - purchased
• CPU Cooler - Deepcool Neptwin V2 (fanless) - purchased
• RAM - G.Skill 16GB DDR4 3600MHz - purchased
• Storage - Crucial P1 1TB NVMe SSD - purchased
• Motherboard - Asus Prime X570-P ATX - purchased
• GPU - MSI Air Boost RX Vega 56 8GB - purchased
• PSU - Deepcool DQ-M 650w - purchased
• OS - Windows 10 + Manjaro Linux dual-boot - for now
• Case/Chassis - Heavily modified Silverstone Raven RV05B-W - in progress

 

 

The focus of this project is of course, the chassis modifications. Perhaps transformation is a better word for it. The RV05 case is the perfect foundation for this project, the design of which has been in my head for years. Time to bring this thing to reality! The bottom-up airflow design with rotated motherboard orientation is the best chassis interior design for air cooling, IMO. This case came with two of arguably the best case fans for directed airflow efficiency; the Silverstone 180mm air penetrators. They kick off a hefty column of air straight behind them with out needing to run loud and fast. 

 

I'm planning to run a large CPU air cooler and those 180mm "jets" should be able to provide plenty of airflow that I won't need to run a fan on the cooler at all. That, and there will be a single 120mm exhaust fan just above it to keep the flow moving.  

 

As for the exterior, well, that's where this project is going to take things a whole different direction... To start, I'm not going to need any of the existing side panels, front panel, nor the handles in the top or any of the plastic bits. That's all getting tossed. I kept the front I/O module to be re-mounted in a different position. I'll also be using a custom power button that will be hidden from plain sight. The completed design will keep all the ports and connections hidden.

 

To start off, here's the chassis after I picked it up for just $40 (needs to be cleaned but otherwise in great shape).

 

 

A closer look at those awesome 180mm air penetrators. You can see the stater veins on the backside that work to redirect the airflow straight back in a more energized column, instead of spraying out to the sides as with most typical case fans. A 120mm is hilariously dwarfed by these beasts.

 

 

And here's the RV05 chassis, stripped-down to it's bare frame:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More updates to follow soon. Just as a side note to keep in mind; this will not be a fast-paced project. Funds are tight and much of this will be done by hand, slowly over the next few months. That being said, the case will be done probably long before I have the new system components to go into it (need to save up). But again, the case is the main focus of this project anyways.

 

Cheers.

 

[Guest]

 

One of your case mods! o0o0o0o...

[WkdPaul]

damn! $40 ??? you're one lucky bastard!!! 

Can't wait to see the finished result!

[TVwazhere]

[MEC-777]

48 minutes ago, wkdpaul said:

damn! $40 ??? you're one lucky bastard!!! 

Can't wait to see the finished result!

Yeah, RV05's are still going for over $150 CAD on ebay. And those AP181 fans go for over $30 each on Amazon.ca. Saw the ad on local classified (kijiji) and snatched it up.

 

Saves me a heck of a lot of time and work because I was planning to build a frame of my own from scratch with pretty much the same design layout and with 2 of those fans.

[AndreiArgeanu]

Damn those fans are huge!

[MEC-777]

Quick update: The design is coming along nicely. Working out some of the engineering in CAD to finalize the hardware list. Then soon, hopefully I can start ordering some fasteners and materials and start fabricating.

[TVwazhere]

1 hour ago, MEC-777 said:

engineering in CAD 

[MEC-777]

2 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

Lol, it was supposed to be a relatively simple project. Yeah, that went out the window quick...

[MEC-777]

Front I/O w/ USB3 from the Raven is perfect to be re-mounted where I need it - hidden. And the blue LED power switch - which will also be hidden.

 

Been snooping around aliexpress, getting some ideas...

 

 

[MEC-777]

Went to Home Depot yesterday to scope out some materials and hardware, planning out what I'm going to need. While they do have most of the materials available, I'll have to put an order in through McMaster Carr for the hardware, which will be submitted later this week.  

 

I'll be building the prototype out of 3/4" MDF, mainly because it's cheap, easy to work with and doesn't matter if I make a mistake. The final assembly will be made of a different material which I haven't decided on just yet...

 

Have most of the tools I need, though I will need to purchase a few specific drill bits and hopefully I can find a good deal second-hand scroll saw. Can make the cuts for the prototype with my jig-saw, but that won't cut it for the final build (pun intended :P). Will need each part to be fairly precise.

 

Here's a sneak-peak of the CAD drawing in-progress. The design is coming along really well, just ironing out some minor details. Normally I'd work in 3D with Solidworks, but I use AutoCAD every day at work for 2D building schematics, so it's just as easy for me to do the designing in 2D CAD. Might transfer it to 3D in  Solidworks later on.

 

[MEC-777]

Another snippet of the design...

 

[MEC-777]

Aaaaaaand now I've decided to make some fairly significant changes to it.... again, lol.

 

Trying to make it so you can't see any fasteners or hardware from the outside. I believe I've figured it all out now. 

[MEC-777]

Working on the hardware list. Will be placing an order pretty soon for anything I can't get from Home Depot. Also found some fairly low-cost second-hand scroll saws on local classifieds... Need to snatch one up. Same with a table-mounted router.

 

 

[MEC-777]

Blurred preview of the design... Will show the plans in clear view once it's finalized.

 

 

Sneak peak of one of the pieces of the puzzle:

[MEC-777]

Alright, so after a lot of re-thinking and further revisions, I believe the final design has been flushed-out now, to the point where I'm ready to reveal it in full detail.

 

I wanted to reduce the complexity and simplify the design such that only a minimal number of hardware (fasteners) will be required and so that all fasteners will be hidden from plain sight. Also, rather than specifying a wide range of different fasteners, I was able to standardize everything so I'll only 2 different types of cap screws and 1 type of threaded insert for the wood panels. It also means less pieces of wood to cut, shape and fit together.

 

Without further adieu, here it is:

Spoiler

The top panel will rotate up to give quick and easy access to all the I/O. On the top view you can see where the front I/O and power button will be hidden, but not covered. Not sure yet which type of hinges to use on the top panel... Will probably use a type that hides away better than the ones shown on the drawing for reference.

 

The main side panels will lift up and out on swinging hinges. It took quite some time to find a hinge that would operate like this and fit within the size constraints, but Amazon came through. And they aren't expensive either. Normally meant for raising sections of living room tables, these hinges come with gas struts that can hold a good amount of weight, but hopefully they aren't too strong. There is a possibility of removing the gas struts and having the side panels open up mechanically powered with the push of a button... maybe.

 

Not sure yet if I'm going to include glass windows in the side panels. As much as I like to look at the guts, there's also something attractive to me about having everything hidden behind the nicely finished and stained wood panels. I want to keep the aesthetics clean and minimal as possible and adding windows might disrupt that too much. But that's something I can always change or add later.

 

For a dust filter on the bottom, I have yet to design that, but I'm thinking of using some fairly substantial filtering material, like a 1/4" foam pad that can be easily removed without tools for cleaning.

 

Cable routing will all be hidden under the top lid panel and run down between the rear end panel and the steel chassis with cable ties to keep them away from the hinge mechanisms. The cables will then come out the bottom and down off the back of the desk. A little more hassle to route everything, but worth it IMO.

 

The interior will be fitted with 1 or 2 LED strips but NOT for RGB rainbow barf!!!!!! White light ONLY to show off the guts when the sides are open.

 

More updates to follow soon...

 

[TVwazhere]

THE DOORS!!!!!

 

I cant wait to see how they turn out! I can hear the gas pistons in my head already

[MEC-777]

Found the dust filter material for the intake on the bottom. 5mm thick foam sheet. Just have to cut to size and come up with a way to fit it to a mini-frame that can be installed/removed easily.

 

 

https://www.moddiy.com/products/Premium-Dust-Filter-Material-(50cm-x-40cm-x-5mm)-.html

 

BTW, modDIY is an awesome site for PC & case modding enthusiasts. It's like I'm in a candy store every time I visit their site. Their products have been increasing in quality, their shipping time has been getting better, and their prices are really good. 

[TVwazhere]

3 minutes ago, MEC-777 said:

Found the dust filter material for the intake on the bottom. 5mm thick foam sheet. Just have to cut to size and come up with a way to fit it to a mini-frame that can be installed/removed easily.

5mm seems quite thick, are you planning on thinning it a bit? Or is thet dust accumulation that bad? I know the Air penetrators are good fans so they can probably handle the extra resistance, but it still seems thicker than normal.

[Meganter]

Wow that will be also used as sound insulation ?  

[MEC-777]

11 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

5mm seems quite thick, are you planning on thinning it a bit? Or is thet dust accumulation that bad? I know the Air penetrators are good fans so they can probably handle the extra resistance, but it still seems thicker than normal.

It is thicker than usual, but there's 2 reasons I want it this way:

 

1. Sound dampening.

2. Filtering capability.

 

Silence is one of the goals for this build and, well, this old house gets dusty. lol

 

Toying with the idea of even lining the insides of the side panels with this foam or sound dampening material, as well as the underside of the top panel to further reduce any fan noise. Wood is pretty thick and dense as it is, so I probably won't. But if it happens to produce an echo or reverberation, then the option is there.

[MEC-777]

6 minutes ago, Plouffe said:

Wow that will be also used as sound insulation ?  

Yep, exactly.

[MEC-777]

Also in the process of ordering custom sleeved cables from modDIY. They can do custom lengths for specific PSU models, just like cablemods, but they don't charge an arm and a leg. Their colour choices are limited, but I only want them a single colour anyways.

 

[TVwazhere]

50 minutes ago, MEC-777 said:

It is thicker than usual, but there's 2 reasons I want it this way:

 

1. Sound dampening.

I've found that thicker filters offer increase sound levels since they cause resistance to fans (making them try to spin faster) especially if a fan is right up against them like on my Corsair 380T. But that's the beauty of a super DIY project; You get to experiment with it!

[MEC-777]

1 hour ago, TVwazhere said:

I've found that thicker filters offer increase sound levels since they cause resistance to fans (making them try to spin faster) especially if a fan is right up against them like on my Corsair 380T. But that's the beauty of a super DIY project; You get to experiment with it!

Indeed, thicker filter material can present a situation where higher fan speed is necessary, but this stuff is fairly "breathable".

 

It's usually the close proximity of the filter or perforated holes to the fan blades on the intake side that creates more noise, like a buzzing sound. Once the fan blades are clear of any object by at least a 5mm+ gap, the noise is greatly reduced. That's why I indent to have about a 10mm gap between the filter and intake side of the fans. 

 

I do have 2x 180mm Silverstone filters that fit on these 180mm AP fans, (which came installed in the case when I bought it), but they're meant to go on the inside (exhaust side) of the fans. I'd rather filter the air prior to the fans to keep them clean and not disrupt the effect of the directional stators. I'm planning to run the CPU cooler without a fan, so I want as much unobstructed flow, up through the interior, as possible.