Shinai - Antec P380 casemod [Done, done, done Jan 29, 2016]

[InsolentGnome]

When it rains it pours!  Now that I'm done with screwing around with lacquer and I'm waiting on materials to make my panel, I can actually get something done on this case.

 

Motherboard tray...mounted.

 

Now for the fun part, putting things together.

 

The ROG Hero installed.

 

The waiting line for assembly...

 

Got the processor in, but decided that I wanted to see the GPU in too so I could get my blocks lined up for easier bends in the loop.  Sometimes I do think ahead. 

 

I'm glad I did think ahead too!  I wound up flipping the in/out on the GPU block and rotating the CPU block 180 degrees to help with the loop layout.

 

Now add in a pinch of RAM and it's starting to look like something.

 

Last but not least, I threw in the pump, reservoir, and PSU for good measure.

 

Next step is to get the SSD's squared away(literally, the mounts are a bit out of square and driving me nuts), and then we can start cables.

[InsolentGnome]

Update time!

 

Nope, this project hasn't been forgotten.  Just had some issues with 1) the wiring and 2) figuring out how to pull off my coup de grâce.  So first off, wiring:

 

 

I went with a mix of dark red, dark red/black weave, and black Telios for a nice fade effect along with Gosumods aluminum cable combs in anodized red. 

 

 

It looks good from the front, but...

 

 

The back was becoming a total nightmare to control.  This picture isn't horrible, but once the SATA power was ran, it was impossible to make it look like anything and I wasn't sure the door would even go on.  The sleeve/wire combo was just too thick to work with in this confined space with small passthroughs.  So I ordered some new sleeve and wire.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get the same color.  This is what I got.

 

 

I think it works!       Actually, they shipped purple instead of the gray I ordered.  No biggie, just a bit more time.  I'm not sure gray will be the right color, but I couldn't find a dark red to try and I thought gray might go with the brushed aluminum.  We'll see.

 

And in case you missed the bad a** ROG grill cover I got from MNPCTech.  Needed something to distract from that horrible hex grill on the back panel.  

 

And for the coup de grâce that I'm working on.  It's not that the material is hard to work with, it's just hard to make perfect.  Here's a teaser.  Hopefully it all works out.

 

[Snooli]

I guess I will never get to like the bamboo decal. However, it is only getting better. Are planning on using the aurora red liquid? At least for LAN/photos.

[InsolentGnome]

I guess I will never get to like the bamboo decal. However, it is only getting better. Are planning on using the aurora red liquid? At least for LAN/photos.

 

Up close and in real life, it's not bad, at the range of some of these pictures, you loose the detail and it just looks like fake wood.

 

Yep, just got my concentrate in today.  Aurora red(with maybe some dark red dye to darken it) for photos, and blood red for everyday use.

[InsolentGnome]

So this is the coup de grâce!

 

And no, it's not the workbenches.  It's the piece of plastic that the photo was taken through.  Pretty clear, huh?  But let's look a little closer...unfortunately, this stuff photographs horribly...

 

Those red sparkles are metal flake.  But not painted on, they're actually embedded in the plastic!  Here's a short video that shows it better.

 

 

I'm a little heavy on the flake in this panel, but I can't use it for my main side panel anyways.  I kind of wound up with a huge defect due to how I poured this one.

 

That cloudiness is from incomplete mixing and some air bubbles, dead center of the panel.  But it's a learning experience and I think I can get the SSD window made out of this attempt.  With a slightly slower setting resin and a better pour technique, the next panel should be perfect!

[InsolentGnome]

Back at the wiring...again.  It sucks to do custom wires twice, but the finished product is what matters.

 

Already with only the GPU and CPU runs done, it's looking better.

 

 

I wasn't sure about the gray when I ordered it.  It's definitely different from my original plan.  It almost has a braided stainless look in the right light, which is cool.  The stainless sleeve caught my eye when I was looking for replacement sleeve because it sort of matches a lot of the other metals in the build, but didn't want to deal with trying to insulate it to keep things from frying.

 

 

And the wiring in the back is a whole lot better.  With all the power ran, it's more compact than half of the other set of wires.  All in all, it wasn't what I pictured in my head at first, but I think it works pretty well! 

 

 

I went ahead and slapped the PSU cover in as well.  I was dying to see it in there.

 

 

Now I just have to decide whether or not I want to wire up the front panel USB's and audio.  I rarely use the front panel, maybe for a thumb drive now and then, so I wouldn't miss them.  That would let me not worry about sleeving the connectors or routing them and keep the build clean.  Plus Antec's poor design on this part means you have to pull out the front panel wires to remove the top panel.  I think I just made my decision.   I guess next are some snazzy perforated aluminum loops to clean up the wires in the back then, lol.

[Tearass]

Pictures aren't showing up for me at the moment. I'll check back later, seeing as it seems you've gotten some things done.

[InsolentGnome]

Pictures aren't showing up for me at the moment. I'll check back later, seeing as it seems you've gotten some things done.

 

If you can keep me updated on the pictures showing up, I'd appreciate it.  I'm getting them hit or miss, so I can't really tell what's up.  I think it's something with Imageshack, but if not, I want to take care of it.  Thanks!

[Tearass]

If you can keep me updated on the pictures showing up, I'd appreciate it.  I'm getting them hit or miss, so I can't really tell what's up.  I think it's something with Imageshack, but if not, I want to take care of it.  Thanks!

 

Still nothing showing up. You should give Imgur a try.

[Snooli]

If you can keep me updated on the pictures showing up, I'd appreciate it. I'm getting them hit or miss, so I can't really tell what's up. I think it's something with Imageshack, but if not, I want to take care of it. Thanks!

Nothing for me too. I am really interested in how will those sparkly panels end up.

[InsolentGnome]

Still nothing showing up. You should give Imgur a try.

 

 

Nothing for me too. I am really interested in how will those sparkly panels end up.

 

I used Imgur at first, but Imageshack seemed to give me more options and better quality.

 

I think I fixed them this time, at least everything is acting normal on my end.

 

Those panels are kicking my butt.  I've got three all with bubbles.  I'm going to have to build a huge pressure chamber to put them under pressure while they set up, that will shrink the bubbles to a size where they are too small to see, hopefully.  But while I'm working on that angle, I'm gonna see about sanding the 3 panels I have down and see if I can get something workable out of them.  At $80 a pop for materials, I'd like to be able to put them to use.

[InsolentGnome]

Started figuring out my cable clips, but since I'm still missing 2 SATA cables I cant make all of them, but here's a peek.

 

 

Since I can't do the other two cable clips...time for some loop action!

 

 

Knocked out the two tight fit tubes first.

 

 

The rest of it was pretty much cake.  I had to redo a couple since I was eyeballing everything and freehanding the bends, but turned out pretty good.

 

 

Getting so close to wrapping it up.  

 

[InsolentGnome]

Did some work on my side panel today.  I've realized that I won't be able to pour a good panel until I get a setup that allows me to put the panel under pressure.  So while I'm working on that, I figured I'd see if I couldn't save any of the panels I've already done by sanding and polishing them down.

 

 

This was my first and worst panel.  Too much flake and it poured funny.  But after 3 hours of sanding and polishing, it turned out decent.  There's still a haze to it, some from needing more polishing, some from compound residue.  But it's a good test to see if I want to continue down this road.  I think I do.  Shot a short video because it really shows up in movement.

 

 

Not the final product, but a decent stand in till I get the final worked out 

[randy hutajulu]

This is porn!

[InsolentGnome]

This is porn!

 

Hahaha!  Thanks!

[Necrodead]

Glad to see some updates! Looking great!

[InsolentGnome]

Glad to see some updates! Looking great!

 

Thanks!  Should be smooth sailing from here on except for the side panels.  In the shop now getting ready to finish the wiring.

[InsolentGnome]

Aaaannnnnddd, the wiring is all wrapped up finally.  Had to wait on a few things to come in to put the finishing touches on it.  First off, I went with a RF controller for the lights so I didn't have to get an IR sensor somewhere where I could hit it with the remote. 

 

 

How much wire do these things need???  Cleaned it all up so that I could fit it in the little spot left where the  5 1/4's were.

 

 

Fits like a glove.

 

Next was taming the cables in the back.  Since I killed 3/8" of what room there was for cables when I replaced the MB tray, there wasn't much room.  I used some more perforated aluminum to carry the look and also because it's stiff enough to hold the cables flat and spread out to reduced their overall thickness.

 

[Snooli]

This is porn!

Not really. The video of second flake panel was porn. However I don't think we have a lot of forum members that would like to look at naked men in reflections.

[InsolentGnome]

Not really. The video of second flake panel was porn. However I don't think we have a lot of forum members that would like to look at naked men in reflections.

 

And that's why I always wear clothes when taking pictures or video.  LOL

[InsolentGnome]

Finished her all up last night except for a little cleaning and a wee bit of tweaking before final pics.  There was a bit more to it than I got pictures of due to a reversed SATA power cable on my part, but it was mostly tying up loose ends.

 

First off, filling the loop with some Aurora Red.  It looks cool, even though in the end I overdid the dark red tint so I'm debating mixing up another batch to cut this one with.

 

 

Hooking up the wires and putting the PSU shroud back in.  You can see how dark I got the Aurora.  Whoops!  The color in the tubes is great but the res is almost black.

 

 

I went with my original plan for the pretty side and cut a piece of 3/8" acrylic for the side panel.  Nice and chunky.  I would have liked to do the metal flake panels, and I probably will once I get everything in place to make them, but for now, this is an acceptable stand in.

 

 

Back panel on...

 

 

And now we cross our fingers and throw the switch.

 

 

I'm still deciding on LED color.  I like the orange because it brings out the bamboo, but red doesn't look bad and matches the ROG LED's on the motherboard.  And I need to go in and adjust the pump too.  Apparently, moving the top fans to a chassis fan connector from the CPU optional header turbo'd the pump somehow.    It got a little frothy.  But should be getting the kinks worked out and have finals real soon! 

[Mnpctech]

looking forward to those final pics, the overall color scheme rawks! 

[InsolentGnome]

looking forward to those final pics, the overall color scheme rawks! 

 

Thank you sir!

[Hackentosher]

Temps are going to be fun, do I spy two 360mm radiators?

[InsolentGnome]

Temps are going to be fun, do I spy two 360mm radiators?

 

Yep, 2 360's.  It should never break a sweat and be nice and quiet.