[Build Log] Zeuligan build - white leather Be Quiet! Dark Base Pro 900

[Zeuligan]

13 hours ago, Natsoup said:

I am a little confused, are you mounting the rad outside the case? I love the carbon fiber wrap, very clean and professional. Good fan choice as well. This will be a masterpiece

Thank you for your kind words. Much appreciated. 

Understand the confusion  I plan to mount the radiator on the outside of the inner case frame. Then on top of the radiator the outer case frame (the plastic and aluminum parts) so it will be encapsulated. I should have enough airflow and clearance is enough due to the thin 420 x-flow. Just above and to the side of the radiator is several vent-holes. They should be visible on some of my first posts in this thread, where I display the leather wrapping. 

[Natsoup]

Thanks. well said.

[BeardRex]

This looks awesome!

[stealth80]

some nice work here!

[Zeuligan]

On 08/07/2017 at 4:44 PM, BeardRex said:

This looks awesome!

Thank you VERY much. Very glad that you like it and took the time to tell me so. Means the world!

On 09/07/2017 at 9:17 PM, stealth80 said:

some nice work here!

Same to you. Thank you for your supporting words and positive feedback. MUCH appreciated. 

[Zeuligan]

To ensure a clean look and lines that keep the eye occupied with details of my choosing. I decided to create a small fan bracket in carbon fibre for the top part of the amazing be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 case. 

 

I wanted to hide the edge of the fans. Even if I love be quiets! fans, the side of any fan is very busy and I felt a carbon fibre fan bracket would help keep it clean and exclusive. Also with the carbon fibre look of the be quiet! fan wings it should make for a perfect match.

 

 

 

First I got some angled aluminium in the right dimension. Filed down 1,3mm to ensure a perfect match in height after adding the carbon fibre vinyl from 3M.

 

 

 

To ensure correct measurements I made a quick mockup of the fan bracket in Fusion360. Made measurements and working much quicker

 

 

 

Added some mounting brackets to combine mounting of the bracket with the top bracket of the case and fans. Primed and painted the entire bracket black before wrapping the front in 3M di-noc carbon fibre vinyl.

 

 

 

Many small angles and extrusions in the top part of the cabinet. So took some measurements and filling to make it fit, but after about 1h of work, it was all done and fitted perfectly.

 

Finished result

 

 

 

 

[Zeuligan]

It's a really big day for me, as I been approached, and landed my first ever sponsor!

It feels extra special as I had already picked so many for their products by my self, when planning the project. After their trust and generosity, I'm switching PSU to be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 and will exclusively use be quiet! Silent Wing 3 PWM fans. 

 

Feels unreal and very exciting all at the same time. I'm ecstatic and humble and will move into highest gear to finish this, my first modding project, project Zeuligan. Now with the support of my sponsor be quiet! 

 

[MrRavens]

Wow this looks great (O_O ) 

[Zeuligan]

On 18/08/2017 at 6:42 PM, LtRavens said:

Wow this looks great (O_O ) 

Thank you very much <3. 

[PoznanskaPyra]

On 18.08.2017 at 6:42 PM, LtRavens said:

Wow this looks great (O_O ) 

Yes. This is awsome

[Zeuligan]

1 hour ago, PoznanskaPyra said:

Yes. This is awsome

Glad you like it. Means the world. Will do a big mod run this weekend, so hope to add a lot of fun updates. Next step is to mod the inside front and create a large fan cover for the 3 front fans. Stay tuned

[Voxels-Box]

11 hours ago, Zeuligan said:

Will do a big mod run this weekend, so hope to add a lot of fun updates.

The progress is looking great! Im excited to see the results of your fun weekend of modding!  Out of curiosity, are you going to be using the stock PSU cables, or getting some made, or even trying out sleeving yourself? I ask not to disparage the stock cables of the Be quiet PSU, but because sleeving is a fun mod!  Cheers!

[FakeNSA]

11 hours ago, Zeuligan said:

Glad you like it. Means the world. Will do a big mod run this weekend, so hope to add a lot of fun updates. Next step is to mod the inside front and create a large fan cover for the 3 front fans. Stay tuned

Congrats on sponsorship! Followed! I came late to the party, but I am here to stay. Nice build so far. Have you approached 3m for a sponsorship opportunity? You have sung their praises quite thoroughly in this thread... Nah! Nice man!

Love the build, can't wait for the weekend to see more! 

-Nailo

[Not_Sean]

Happy I found this, Really enjoying the build, A case I've never had much attraction to but man very very nicely done. 

 

Looking forward to more!

[Zeuligan]

5 hours ago, Aelar_Nailo said:

Congrats on sponsorship! Followed! I came late to the party, but I am here to stay. Nice build so far. Have you approached 3m for a sponsorship opportunity? You have sung their praises quite thoroughly in this thread... Nah! Nice man!

Love the build, can't wait for the weekend to see more! 

-Nailo

 

You are not late to the party, appetisers are all done, time for the first DJ set

Thank you so much for your kind word. Unreal for me, as it's my first build to be approached for a sponsorship, but very humble and proud. Nope, haven't approached 3M, hehehe, but tried out 6 different brands before I got recommended di-noc from an architect friend. Love it. 

Just ordered a new Dremel Moto-Saw, hope it arrives tomorrow in time for weekend fun

 

Thank you for the follow, hope I can honor your trust and interest.

 

5 hours ago, Not_Sean said:

Happy I found this, Really enjoying the build, A case I've never had much attraction to but man very very nicely done. 

 

Looking forward to more!

I can honestly say, that I shopped around for case a long time (as I write in my first blog post on my site) for the right case and it feels like a very solid choice. Many talented modders in this forum has done builds in it and they praise it as well. Check out Bulldogge build - Amphibious as an example. I'm glad I made that pick and purchase before the sponsor. That way I feel I can keep promoting my love for that case. 

Thank you very much and hope I can keep attracting your interesting in the future updates

[FakeNSA]

8 hours ago, Zeuligan said:

 

You are not late to the party, appetisers are all done, time for the first DJ set

Thank you so much for your kind word. Unreal for me, as it's my first build to be approached for a sponsorship, but very humble and proud. Nope, haven't approached 3M, hehehe, but tried out 6 different brands before I got recommended di-noc from an architect friend. Love it. 

Just ordered a new Dremel Moto-Saw, hope it arrives tomorrow in time for weekend fun

 

Thank you for the follow, hope I can honor your trust and interest.

Is this your first major mod, or have you done this sort of thing before? Congrats again btw!

[Zeuligan]

On 2017-08-24 at 4:01 AM, Voxels-Box said:

The progress is looking great! Im excited to see the results of your fun weekend of modding!  Out of curiosity, are you going to be using the stock PSU cables, or getting some made, or even trying out sleeving yourself? I ask not to disparage the stock cables of the Be quiet PSU, but because sleeving is a fun mod!  Cheers!

I will try to sleeve my own cables. Just bought MDPC-x sleeves and tools for 350€. Scary, but will be fun to try to learn this art :-) 

 

On 2017-08-24 at 6:46 PM, Aelar_Nailo said:

Is this your first major mod, or have you done this sort of thing before? Congrats again btw!

It's my first ever mod. I have built a few computers previously, but ugly office stuff

[kanesmadness]

Looks good so far man. Keep the attention to detail going and it can only get better.

 

I really should do my own cables, but I can be bothered...so good on you for having a go at that as well...Good Luck

[Zeuligan]

To match the rest of the inside of the case I decided I wanted to cover part of the front fans and the area around it. It's a sin to cover the beautiful be quiet! Silent Wings 3 fans them self, so knew it had to be semi transparent and only from the inside.

 

After playing with some ideas on paper I knew what I wanted to create. A similar solution as the inside case wall I previously created in carbon fiber with a depth and layer in white carbon.

 

 

 

Got my new Dremel 4000 ready to help me do this mod. Would be first mod on this case that isn't 100% done by hand in that case

 

 

 

First I had to put the custom case parts back together

 

 

 

This is the where I will be creating my inside front fan shroud. My thought was to go from the custom floor all the way to the top and into the side to my previous custom inside wall.

 

 

 

First, as I always do, I created a prototype in cardboard to check my idea, design flaws and find room for improvements. Felt like this idea would be awesome.

 

 

 

Took out my acrylic 5mm and went to work. I have ordred a Dremel Moto-Saw, but it's delayed, so cut a demo piece up by hand saw. Just as previous mods

 

 

 

I bought a new 130 mm drill saw for this mod and it was just perfect. The beautiful 140mm Silent Wing 3 fans measure 135mm from inside to inside on the back. Left a few overlapping mm to my advantage. After a final test it was time to do the real deal.

 

 

 

Cut a 150mm wide and 360mm long piece and measured and market center line and where to drill the holes.

 

 

 

 

The size of that 130mm drill saw is just huge, but with some slow drilling the acrylic hardly melted and it was easy to cut my holes without any incidents.

 

 

 

Not bad, not bad at all. Perfectly centered and in the right place.

 

 

 

When I bought the drill saw I also picked up some diamond shaped aluminum mesh. It will look awesome together with my carbon fiber. Took measurements and cut a large rectangle in 145x355mm.

 

 

 

After cutting a 22mm wide and 360mm long acrylic side I "glued" them together with some awesome Acrifix 116. Invisible and strong bonding - yes please.

 

 

 

I just had to use my new Dremel tool, so sanded down any residue from my bonding (it flows very richly) and to ensure a smooth edge. When wrapping in carbon, I always sand down the corner edge into a soft round edge. This to ensure a nice smooth transition in the carbon vinyl and take away any risk of cutting the vinyl when it's heated and fragile.

 

 

 

I was very happy with the outcome. First time I used Acrifix 116, but will never use anything else for my acrylic bonding. So much stronger and better then superglue that I previously used.

 

 

 

A quick test fit with the mesh loose behind the fan shroud frame. Getting more and more excited the longer I work on this mod.

 

 

 

 

As the backside of the shroud will be slightly visible from the front, when the fans isn't spinning, I painted the whole backside  black and painted the mesh black on both sides. One step closer to finish.

 

 

 

Wrapped the front on carbon fiber vinyl from 3M di-noc. Starting to get the hang of this now. Looks stunning if I can say so my self. Will make the amazing be quiet! Silent Wings 3 look even more beautiful and match their carbon looking wings.

 

 

 

I glued on the mesh with superglue and put pressure on it while setting. Finished of with some random dots of super glue in between the mesh.

 

 

 

 

VERY happy with the outcome. Even better then I imagine when I first thought of this mod. One last thing to fix. The inside white carbon edge. Just as on my inside wall. To create depth and contrast.

 

 

 

First I cut and glued (Acrifix 116) the parts together.

 

 

 

Then I wrapped it in white carbon fiber from 3M di-noc. Hard to get such a small piece (12mm height) perfect without any edges and complete coverage on all edges. Think I did alright.

 

 

The finished result.

 

[RumSwift]

Like, this is really well done dude, pat yourself on the back, looks amazing! 

[Zeuligan]

33 minutes ago, Rhyss said:

Like, this is really well done dude, pat yourself on the back, looks amazing! 

Thank you very much m8 <3

[MrRavens]

I can't wait to see the finally product oh my gosh! xP

[Rosinbole]

Wow! Look, I was pretty proud of the mods I had done before I saw this post, (one of which you should totally check out... "Nzxt h440 elite") but holy fkn shit you work looks great! Totally inihillated my work! Totally subbed!

[Zeuligan]

11 hours ago, matias_a_etersen said:

Wow! Look, I was pretty proud of the mods I had done before I saw this post, (one of which you should totally check out... "Nzxt h440 elite") but holy fkn shit you work looks great! Totally inihillated my work! Totally subbed!

You should be proud. If you are happy with what you did, then celebrate  as we all mod to the best and for our own satisfaction. I'm grateful that you like my work. Thx m8

 

12 hours ago, LtRavens said:

I can't wait to see the finally product oh my gosh! xP

Glad you like it LtRavens. Hope I can deliver on the full project. A little nervous as it's my first mod and my first time working with water cooling. Buy hey, learn by doing

[Zeuligan]

I had planned all along to learn the skill of sleeving my own cables. Feels like the thing you should know as a serious modder. At least that is how I feel about it. The color scheme is fairly simple for this build and decided to go full pro. MDPC-X sleeves in all shades of grey combined with Black, Shade-19, Carbon-BTI and the brand new White Carbon fiber.

 

First of all I had to stock up on all tools, wires, crimps and connectors needed. Always more expensive and more of an adventure the first time...

 

 

Such amazing tools with the outcome of great result. I have studied a lot of YouTube vids about sleeving and read many guides. They all talk about the importance and difficulty of crimping and pre-crimping. I didn't have any problems with MDPC-Xs own amazing crimping tool.

 

 

 

I did some measuring inside the be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 case and came up with 50cm as the perfect length. I then cut 22 times 50cm lengths from the 18AWG black wire. Finally cut 2 times 50cm length from the 18AWG white wire. 

 

 

 

I bought a wire stripping tool at my local hardware store, but wasn't happy with length of the smallest strip. Modded the tool by supergluing a piece of 5mm acrylic to it and then filed it down to the correct size and shape. Worked perfectly after just one adjustment. Now it striped perfect amount of shield just to end at the very tip of the inner crimp of the ATX pin.

 

 

 

It's worth mentioning again. The MDPC-X crimping tool CTX3 made this so simple. The small inside edge to guide the pin just makes it dummy proof.

 

 

Three distinct clicks later and the ATX pin is pre-crimped.

 

 

 

I had no doubt that I wanted to go for the heat shrink less method. Sleeves as beautiful as MDPC-X needs the best. Got both white and black wire and heat shrink. 

 

 

 

Last, but not least, I had the actual sleeve. Beautiful craftmanship from MDPC-X. It just screams quality. I love the fact that they have so many colors to choose from and with 7 different shades of grey, I was more than happy to start sleeving for real. 

 

 

I went for Alphacool's aluminum cable combs. Very exclusive look and feel, but I have to admit that the jury is still out for the verdict. I'm trying to decide what I feel about the cap between every second cable.

 

Some progress. I admit it took me a few tries to get the right amount of heat for sealing the sleeve. Need much more time/heat on the heat shrink than I first could imagin.

 

Decided to go with a MDPC-X White Carbon backside / layer 2. Finished!

 

 

 

Hope you like it. I admit I'm proud for my first time ever sleeving. Lots of first time for me in this my first mod

Don't be shy   Feedback / comment are most welcome.