Project: Shadow Walker

[knight_40k]

Project: Shadow Walker

In all seriousness I don't actually name my builds, this is just a title for the sake of sounding cool.

 

INTRO

This is a transition/restructuring, not a new build, although it may seem like it.

 

I never really cared how the inside of my PC looked before, but after seeing the degree of effort some people put into their systems it inspired me. So here is my attempt to make the leap into an enthusiast class build. The purpose of this was to incorporate 4 main elements to my system - Basic Theme, Cable Management, Sleeving, Modding. This took me a little over a month to complete.

 

I apologize for my lack of actual 'build' pics as I got caught up just trying to finish but you know how it is.

System Specs

Case: Antec DF-85
Mobo: MSI Z77A-GD65
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9900MAX
RAM: Kingston Hyper-X 8GB DDR3 1600MHz (2x4GB)
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3GB GDDR5
SSD: 128GB Samsung 830
HDD: 500GB Seagate Barracuda
PSU: Corsair AX850
Sound: Asus Xonar DGX
OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-Bit
Display: 24" LCD Samsung @ 1920x1200
Speakers: 2.1 Logitech Z-3


1) Theme

To begin my transition I noticed my mobo had a Blue/Black color scheme and also most of my peripherals (monitor, speakers, mouse, power conditioner) are Black with Blue LEDs. However my case (Antec DF-85) is Black with Red LEDs, but has Blue power/hdd indicator. So the first step was to change the case fans.

If you are familiar with this case you will know that I need to use specific Antec fans to keep the easy access fan adjustment feature on the back as well as the front bay doors. This could have been semi costly @ $20/fan as I would need to replace a total of 5 fans (3 front, 2 rear). Now, one could argue 'how often do you actually adjust fan speeds' but I like having it there to tinker with once in a while. Luckily, because of my LAN room I have the same line of case for my other systems - the DF-35 which is a lower model in Antec's DF series. I decided to swap the fans instead of buying new ones. The DF-35 however only has 2 front and 1 rear so I needed to pull the fans from two cases to replace the fans in the DF-85. I also needed to order one additional fan (red) for one of the DF-35s to complete the swap.

NOTE: I am aware both these cases also have top fans but I am leaving those as is without LED.

Now, this isn't just a single PC theme, but a whole LAN room theme. Originally I wanted a semi-theme which was to have the large full tower as the master with Reds and then have the smaller mid towers with Blue, but since I had to change over my main system to a Blue Theme that threw off what I was going for in the room. I was still able to make it work though because two systems would now have Red, and two would be Blue. This makes the new room theme Red for AMD and Blue for Intel.

I would like to mention that I will probably not be theming out my other builds or be putting as much time and effort into making them look as great. As much as I would like to, they are secondary systems that are only used for LAN gaming and I cannot afford to constantly maintain 4 systems (5 if you count my HTPC, and 6 if you count my unlisted in progress LAN build). I do have other hobbies and I only upgrade as needed or replace parts when I upgrade something in my main rig, so some of my hardware might be a little outdated at times.

2) Modding/Cable Management

I wanted to add/mod more USB 3.0 ports to the front of my case, reasons being....

    1. I only have the one port.

    2. It's a USB extension going out the back. This takes away from cable management/clean looking build.

I had a Silverstone USB3.0 card laying around but I didn't want to take up a 5.25 bay, I wanted it to look built-in. I completely dissembled the top of the case and removed the housing for the 4 current USB ports. I then began cutting the plastic of the Silverstone USB cable to separate the two USB ports and to have just the heads on either end of the wire. I also needed to file down the outer lip around the tip of the port to make it fit in the cases front I/O panel. A lot of work but everything turned out great, it fit in and looks as if it came from the factory.

Upon finishing this mod I realized the cable was to short to reach the 20pin header of my current mobo. Again, lucky for me I was able to do a swap. My current rig was a Z68/2500K and not too long ago I put together a Z77/3570K as a replacement to an outdated LAN machine. The two mobo's are pretty much identical in terms of layout, both MSI GD65s, just slightly different positioning of connectors and one is a newer platform. Also, the SATA ports are lower on the Z77 which line up better with the cable routing hole in the DF-85 and the USB3.0 20pin is in its ideal spot, just below the 24pin power connector and is right angled.

Now it may be debatable which CPU is better and if it's in fact an upgrade at all. As I recall, the 3570K is 6% faster than the 2500K. Whether or not that makes any real world difference, I doubt it, but hey, I'd like to think of it as a free upgrade being as I own both systems anyways, why not use the 'better'/newer one even if it is marginal. At any rate, this Z77 is just a better fit in the DF-85 making it more ideal for my situation, plus it's a newer platform and a slightly faster CPU.

 

Also, just for the heck of it I added black screws to blend with the case a little more. For the most part I don't notice the silver colored screws to much, especially at the back but I figured why not.

3) Sleeving/PSU

Pretty self explanatory, to go along with my theme of cable management and blue/black I decided to give sleeving a try as I really like the look of it. I did the front I/O and fan wires in the case. Also, to clean up on un-used wiring I replaced my PSU (TX750) with a modular one (AX850). This was multipurpose as it allowed me to more easily sleeve the PSU cables and let me cut back on wires in the case that are not needed.

NOTE: Before you say anything, I know the AX850 is overkill for my system, but It was on sale for $50 cheaper than the AX750 and I couldn't justify spending more for less wattage. So I look at it as room for expansion later.

4) More Modding - Peripherals

To add to my level of enthusiast I decided to get a mechanical keyboard. I was just about to pull the trigger on a G710+ when I realized I had an old IBM mech keyboard. This was given to me by a friend who was going to throw it away but had brought over in the early stages of setting up my LAN as I did not have enough peripherals to go around. I was asking around how newer mech keyboards would compare to this old outdated monstrosity when I got several reply's that the IBM Model M is as good as gold. After finding that out, I figured I would update/mod it a little and make it more modern and aesthetically pleasing. Given its age, it's (very dirty) old school white and that doesn't go with my theme at all. I took it apart, cleaned all the insides, washed all the keycaps, and wrapped the body in black carbon fiber vinyl. I had planned to sleeve the PS/2 cable but the head is too big to get the sleeving over and if I go with a bigger size it is too baggy and won't look right. Also I wanted to get black keycaps made but I couldn't find anyone who made black ones with printed keys, either black with no print or different color with print, so I stuck with the originals.

 

All comments/suggestions welcome.

Enjoy!

 

Empty bay doors.

 

After taking the fans out of each door I discovered the whole cage door itself snaps out, that would have been a time saver. Oh well.

 

Taking apart the top panel for USB 3.0 Mod.

 

Out comes the USB.

 

Front I/O routing that came with the case.

 

Removed I/O routing in favor of my custom solution. More on that later

 

USB housing.

 

USB housing opened.

 

USB 3.0 cable after separating the heads. Don't mind the electrical tape, I used heat shrink on finished product.

 

Filed down USB lip to fit inside case front.

 

YAY, more USB 3.0!

 

Close up.

 

Now to start keyboard Mod. Got the socket wrench and deep socket. Look how dirty that is, lets get you cleaned up.

 

EWWW.

 

Opened.

 

Ready for Carbon Fiber.

 

Vacuumed, still dirty.

 

Washed, still a little dirty. It's really baked in there but I can live with that.

 

Keycaps back on. Scroll near end for finished product.

 

Antec DF-85 Bare Shell.

 

Mobo change. Can you spot the differences?

 

Side view.

 

Sleeved Front I/O.

 

Sleeved Zalman CNPS9900MAX. Also replaced white fan pin with black one.

 

Top 2.5 hotswap replaced with black screws and SATA power replaced with bitfenix sleeved cable. I wasn't able to sleeve SATA power good enough myself so I went this route.

 

Top fans reinstalled with sleeving, no more black/red ugliness from birds eye view. You can still see the fan speed wire but I accept this as it's minimal.

 

Rear shot. All black screws. ARGH Rivets, NO!

 

Now for the insides. USB 3.0 Cable just barely made it.

 

Inside 2

 

Inside 3

 

Custom solution for front I/O as mentioned above.

 

Before you say anything about my Cable Management, I challenge you to try in an Antec DF-85. I think I did quite well considering. Custom length cables will be considered in the future.

 

Gaming Station.

 

Gaming Station, Power On.

 

Model M. Starcraft Edition!

 

Model M. Close up.

 

Blue LED's.

 

LAN Room.

 

Lights Out!

[Coombzy]

Really good build here I like the mods you have done also DAT LAN ROOM!

[LightDust]

All you need is bigger monitors for each computer ahah.

[naca1227]

Yeah very nice. I am impressed with the keyboard mod

[naca1227]

 

It's... Beautiful!

EPILEPSY WARNING

[bennyino]

that model m looks so awesome! great job! :D

[bkrazy92]

great looking build and LAN room. I have to agree with you that cable management on the DF-85 isn't the easiest.

[Focux]

I wish I had a house big enough for a "LAN Room"...

[chirag.rh]

Man.... That looks so AWESOME!! Especially that Room. Wow.

[everything count to life]

Nice job I really like what you did with keyboard :d

[iSuzak]

Amazing :o

[nicholaswillems]

Would he see it when one computer disappeared from that LAN room? I guess not, eh? :D

[Tomislav Matic]

I wish I had a house big enough for a "LAN Room"...

or money for all the PC's anyways really nice build, clean and simple.

[MetroHD]

Love what you did to that keyboard, looks brand new!  :D

[Axis]

that keyboard!!! gimme some! :lol:

[Kuzma]

Me gusta :o  this is so amazing! You're inspired me xD might do a little keyboard mod myself.

[_wky]

Love that carbon wrapped keyboard. EPIC LAN room

[knight_40k]

Really good build here I like the mods you have done also DAT LAN ROOM!

 

Thanks, sleeving really helps to make a build look cleaner and having two USB 3.0 ports is just more functional. I like my LAN room too!

 

It's... Beautiful!

 

Thanks, appreciate it.

 

Yeah very nice. I am impressed with the keyboard mod

 

Thanks. I originally wanted to paint it black but carbon fiber is less permanent if I ever decide to restore it back to its original form. The Starcraft logo is just the icing on the cake.

 

that model m looks so awesome! great job! :D

 

I'm glad you like it so much!

 

great looking build and LAN room. I have to agree with you that cable management on the DF-85 isn't the easiest.

 

Thanks. I'm glad everyone can appreciate the amount of work I put into my PC and LAN room. I bought the DF-85 on looks alone before I knew about features like cable management, but I'm content with it now.

[knight_40k]

I wish I had a house big enough for a "LAN Room"...

 

I'm actually in a condo and this is my master bedroom because it's the largest room besides my living room. That's how dedicated I am!

 

Man.... That looks so AWESOME!! Especially that Room. Wow.

 

Thanks. Glad you like it. I aim to please.

 

Nice job I really like what you did with keyboard :D

 

Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

 

Amazing :o

 

Thanks!

 

Would he see it when one computer disappeared from that LAN room? I guess not, eh? :D

 

Yes I would. I got my eye on you! :P

 

or money for all the PC's anyways really nice build, clean and simple.

 

Yes, it is not cheap to maintain 4+ systems, that's for sure. Thank you, clean and simple was my goal.

 

Love what you did to that keyboard, looks brand new!  :D

 

Thanks you. It's too bad I wasn't able to get black printed keycaps made.

 

that keyboard!!! gimme some! :lol:

 

Send me another Model M and I will make you one. :P Glad you like it!

 

Me gusta :o  this is so amazing! You're inspired me xD might do a little keyboard mod myself.

 

I'm happy to have inspired you. Let me know when you post your keyboard mod.

 

Love that carbon wrapped keyboard. EPIC LAN room

 

Thank you. I'm glad you like everything.

[MPX309]

Great, love the keyboard.  :wub:

[NoobNeb]

love your build and room but just can't take that case seriously

[knight_40k]

Great, love the keyboard.  :wub:

 

Thanks. I'm still getting used to typing on/using it. Big change from my generic Logitech membrane keyboard.

 

love your build and room but just can't take that case seriously

 

I get that. Cases are a personal preference, not everyone likes the look/design of stuff. Thanks for your compliments on the room though.

[MPX309]

Oh yeah DAAANG. . . Didn't even notice that, think u need a bigger case. . . haha

[AraSarkisyan]

I'm so sorry to be that guy, but the psu sticker. But seriously it is an amazing build.

[hiyayhi]

Sweet build and EPIC model m!