Project Zia - A build inspired by BB-8 from Star Wars

[Erina_the_Cute]

So I havent really posted here before besides the odd comment here or there, a coworker suggested I do a proper build log for my baby. Ive been working on this one in either planning/draw ups or actual building for 2 years roughly (obviously drawn out because money/time).

In short the justification for this build's name is it being my favourite character from any video game, Zia from Bastion (not related to the theme ive been calling my PC's that for years, technically this is Zia 4.0). The theme of the build started as a kind of Tracer from Overwatch inspired build early on when it was living in a Fractal R5, beyond that Star Wars VII came out and BB-8 basically made me go... Well thats just it isnt it? So it began, a build on a white and orange (and eventually silver as well) theme, inspired by a small cute droid.

 

Moving forward ill be taking A LOT more photos and also video if I can help it. I have pretty basic painting experience and have built a fair few PC's for either family, friends, the odd client or myself (nearish to 40 in my time over the years).

 

I'll do my best to detail my steps and I will add to this moving forward (probably a post per part format maybemaybe?). Thought it might be a bit of fun

 

List of parts as of current:
NZXT S340 Elite White

i7 6700k

MSI Z170 Gaming Carbon Motherboard

16GB of Kingston (I think?) RAM (getting replaced)
GTX 1080Ti (was a 1070) (to be painted watch this space)
Corsair H115 GTX (partial painted)
4x Corsair White LED "Mag-Lev" fans (3x 140mm, 1x 120mm) (painted)
EVGA 750W G2 Power Supply
Samsung 840 and 850 EVO (120GB and 500GB respectively)
DIY custom cables from Cablemod

WD Red 2TB HDD.

 

Other bits for those that care:
Acer X34 3440x1440 Main Monitor 

Benq 24" 1080p Side Monitor

Corsair K70 (painted)

Razer Naga Epic 

Seinheiser Game One Headset

Razer Goliathus (or whatever its called) Overwatch Themed Mat

 

If anyone has any questions about methods, materials, details about bits being taken apart etc etc please dont hesitate to ask  

[Erina_the_Cute]

Theme/Thought Process

 

So lets get this started I guess. The whole theme goes after BB-8 as mentioned, mainly focusing on the angular lines and similar theme of a white base, with orange and silver accents. Its started as a Tracer themed build (nods to this have been kept however I felt BB-8 fit the bill far better). I also thought that I really hadnt seen many orange themed builds so I wanted to see what would work. 

 

Despite the droid being rounded, the main thing I was looking at was the way lines and colours sit on BB-8. This is reflected in the parts choices, lots of angles and straight lines.

 

 

[Senzelian]

Looks great!
Linus would would most likely love it

[Wolther]

I love this

[Memorizer]

@Erina_the_CuteMay I ask what LEDs you used? I like the clearness of the lights if you will

[Erina_the_Cute]

Case Choice

 

So I thought for AGES about this, I wanted tempered glass but not too big, also something with a more metal construction to be appropriate to the theme. Last but not least this needed to be easy to paint.

 

Almost settled on the Enthoo Evolv but then the s340 popped up with a TG side panel and I was sold.

 

The case hasnt seen a large amount of modification, mainly painted parts (inspired heavily by Galladex by Techsource) that would constitute trim. SSD trays, PCIE slot covers, PSU bracket. Theyre all detachable and were a simple matter of painting them.

 

For paint I used Rustoleum Ultra Cover Flate White Primer and the White Blossom (also rustoleum) Satin White, along with their Gloss Orange. Pretty straight forward this bit. Did some light scuffing with a scourer pad/light grit sand paper, these parts were an easy paint.

 

 

[Erina_the_Cute]

1 minute ago, Memorizer said:

@Erina_the_CuteMay I ask what LEDs you used? I like the clearness of the lights if you will

I actually ended up taking them out because they showed EVERY speck of dust, however it was the cablemod white widebeam along the top hiding behind the blacked out edging of the TG side panel. Ended up going for a glow (also means I dont need to dust every 5 mins living in an older dusty house)

[Erina_the_Cute]

4 minutes ago, Wolther said:

I love this

Thanks!

[pagani123]

Wow this looks fantastic!

[Memorizer]

2 minutes ago, Erina_the_Cute said:

I actually ended up taking them out because they showed EVERY speck of dust, however it was the cablemod white widebeam along the top hiding behind the blacked out edging of the TG side panel. Ended up going for a glow (also means I dont need to dust every 5 mins living in an older dusty house)

The dust are very visible from the photo, however, it does show the components very clearly!

[Erina_the_Cute]

Case Fans

 

So this was a weird one, Ive painted a lot in the past, but I wanted white case fans which arent the most common, couldnt find ones that fit the build. I used a combination of painter's tape (Blue painters tape in australia, googling no tack painters tape will find your regional equivalent) and Blu-Tak (i dont know if the name is an australian name, but google it, its got a million uses dontcha know?).

 

This... took time... about 3 hours sat down making sure it was all right, I used my hands to mould the blu-tak around the edges.

For context, the Mag lev corners consist of two sections, a plastic corner piece for screwing it into the case, and a rubber dampener. The plastic can be removed, the rubber cant and I wanted to preserve that grey.

 

If I could leave any suggestions for those planning on painting fan frames... TAKE YOUR TIME AND MASK EFFECTIVELY. This was the most challenging part. Yes it was as awkward as it looks.

 

Again used Rustoleum Ultracover Primer, Blossom white satin and Gloss Orange.

 

Also please forgive the amassing of photos at the end of each post, just attaching them at this stage.

 

 

[Erina_the_Cute]

CPU Cooler & Smol bits and bobs

 

More of the same for the CPU cooler, its a Corsair H115 GTX. I like these mainly for their performance and paintability (thats a word I swear). The trims are removable, some simple lining and masking allowed me to create the line affect and 3/4 white, 1/4 orange (ish) effect that repeats a little throughout the build. I picked up some from my local PC store (they gave me like 5 for 5 bucks).

 

I did sand through so that there wasnt the outline creating lettering when light shines through, as this would shine through the paint. Low grit sandpaper did the trick nicely. I initially tried a fair few different approaches initially coming to the racing stripe esque result we see now

 

My favourite part of this was painting the CPU cooler bracket and the thumb screws, its suttle but really makes the CPU block stand out as a centrepiece.

 

The motherboard IO Shield was pretty straightforward. Light scuff and it was off to the rattlecan races as it were.

 

[Erina_the_Cute]

14 minutes ago, Memorizer said:

The dust are very visible from the photo, however, it does show the components very clearly!

It did for sure, I keep an eye out for a less intensive light alternative but as of yet nothing seems to match the build quality of the cablemod ones.

[jnkokseby]

2 minutes ago, Erina_the_Cute said:

It did for sure, I keep an eye out for a less intensive light alternative but as of yet nothing seems to match the build quality of the cablemod ones.

I don't know if it's doable but what about modding in a small resistor or smth like that on the led. From my somewhat small electricity knowledge I would think it would make the light less intensive.

[stealth80]

A little tip for you:

 

It's quite easy to split the case from an SSD to be able to spray it. I did it with mine, you could even add a Vinyl transfer suitable for your theme or just colour code it to BB8

 

Heres mine:

 

 

 

There will be around 6 plastic clips around the rear edge, just gently prise them out of the outer case, just be very gentle - I did mine without breaking any and i'm clumsy ! 

[Erina_the_Cute]

Just now, jnkokseby said:

I don't know if it's doable but what about modding in a small resistor or smth like that on the led. From my somewhat small electricity knowledge I would think it would make the light less intensive.

It runs just off a sata power connector so maybe even a step down or something. Just as happy to wait for something more appropriate to come out/be pointed out to me

[Erina_the_Cute]

Just now, stealth80 said:

A little tip for you:

 

It's quite easy to split the case from an SSD to be able to spray it. I did it with mine, you could even add a Vinyl transfer suitable for your theme or just colour code it to BB8

 

Heres mine:

 

 

 

There will be around 6 plastic clips around the rear edge, just gently prise them out of the outer case, just be very gentle - I did mine without breaking any and i'm clumsy ! 

Funnily enough I did that but was an idiot and stripped the screw holding the housing to the SSD PCB. Will post soon.

Yours looks great, did you make the stencil yourself?

[stealth80]

2 minutes ago, Erina_the_Cute said:

Funnily enough I did that but was an idiot and stripped the screw holding the housing to the SSD PCB. Will post soon.

Yours looks great, did you make the stencil yourself?

It's a vinyl sticker, I have one for the backplate of the GPU also:

 

 

I used an online company (Uk based)

 

https://www.vinylletteringonline.co.uk/lettering-designer

 

 

Also, you shouldn't need to spray the rear section which the PCB attaches to as it "inserts" inside the front cover so to speak, so you only need to spray the front face (the part with the Samsung logo in your case) 

[Erina_the_Cute]

Bonus Round - Corsair K 95 Keyboard

 

Hello frens :3

 

So little post for today, quite worn out.

 

A nice little touch that I have applied to the K95 keyboard. The wrist rest is effectively a rubber(ish) insert and a plastic mould, making it a clean easy paint.

 

Not much to this one, just a nice touch, I might take off the logo and paint that too, I hate the small bit of yellow on that.

 

Bonus bonus round: Overwatch mousemat is from Razer, and its so damn good))

[Erina_the_Cute]

Further Painting: SSD's/Blacking out the Mustard Cables

 

Finally actually getting back to this, small easy update on this one, painted the SSD's. Was an idiot and didnt realise I was using the wrong size torx head and stripped the screw on one of them, will likely revisit these but the logo can only really be seen in direct sunlight. Had fun doing this, one of the neighbours who is a barista even brought me a coffee while I was working.

 

Paints used:
Rustoleum Silver Aluminium Spray Ultra Cover

Rustoleum Flat White Ultra Cover Primer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also took a sharpie to the random coloured cables on things like the internal IO connectors/internal fan connectors, they're pretty hard to see as it is but resulted in a cleaner overall look. See below a shot of the cables before after, its nothing fancy but it does the job.

 

 

Waiting on a warmer day for the painting of the 1080 Ti, try getting an 18 degree day in Melbourne (Celsius)... short answer is you can't and plasti dip is a little more temp reliant.

[Erina_the_Cute]

Cable Management

 

Now this was fun, definitely one of the more hands on parts of this setup. Less a build log thing and more to do with the finished (finished?) product (its not, we never finish).

 

I used a hole saw bit for a drill to do 6 different holes. The aim was to achieve as close to invisible cabling as possible at the moment.

 

Before/After

 

 

 

I basically took it all apart, incorperated a bunch of adhesive hooks from the hardware store, cut the holes (was a little generous with the second monitor's one since I may want to change monitors soon-ish.

 

I also took yet another note out of the book of Techsource (Im sure others did it before him thats just where I saw it first, and fed the keyboard/mouse cables through the mouse mat (did this with a scalpel and a cut in the shape of an X). Having no cabling running to that area  above the keyboard in my opinion looks great.

 

 

 

 

Also I got new headphones, Astro A40 TR's my first non Sennheiser headset in 7 years, and holy hell do they sound good, planning on modding them also with some vinyl wrap. Also painted the logo on top of the K95 keyboard, its just removable, painted, dab of glue, back on.

 

Have a good week friends!

 

[Erina_the_Cute]

Finally an update - Painting the GPU (bonus new cables)

Ok this was the big one, going to into a fair amount of detail here. In short, painted the GPU.

 

In long:

The shroud is what I painted, I haven't yet painted the backplate as I haven't decided on a design.

The shroud comes off by first taking out the screws with the fans facing you, you need a generally pretty small phillips head screwdriver for this, there are 5 per fan area (see white circles). This will remove the fans AND the shroud.

 

Secondly (with red circles) are the screws holding down the led strips. You can either remove these screws and keep them connected to the pcb connector, or you can remove the pcb connector.

 

 

 

Finally there is the LED connector to the side panel MSI logo LED, this connector is tricky to move without removing the heatsink fin stack. I found it easier to loosen the logo LED (3 hex bit screws) and keep the LED connected to the PCB.

 

Underneath there is several parts attaching to the pcb for the purpose of fans and LED's. You do not need to disconnect this, though for the purposes of what most people will be painting this shroud, that is, to not be red and black, the LED's along the non logo side (striped red LED's) are red, so you can remove those.

 

PLEASE NOTE: Those of you familiar with how MSI have done the striped parts of this style of cooler in the past will remember that a simple wave of a heat gun/hair dryer was enough to loosen it, it is now plastic welded to the black part of the shroud and are VERY difficult to remove, hence me just painting over them in white.

 

I'm going to do a separate post on the logo LED, its not complex but it takes a lot of photos.

 

I seperated the two parts of the shroud with my hands nothing special there tabs hold it in place.

 

I applied 3 coats of undercoat lightly, and then 4 coats of their respective colours (rustoleum ultra cover primer and topcoats).

 

I video'd the process so keep an eye out for that soon.

 

And before you ask no I did not paint it inside its winter in Australia and it dried far better inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Erina_the_Cute]

The GPU Logo

This one deserves its own post just because its got a fair few bits, nothing complex by any means though.

The logo comes out with three hex bit screws, you can just slide it out, from here you are presented with an LED, a clear diffusing piece of plastic that sits on top of the main LED part, a white reflective plastic piece and then the stencil on top. These can simply be peeled off.

 

I took the measurements (stupidly I took the measurements of the plastic diffuser and not the logo, so I had to do some creative cutting), I recommend just outlining the stencil. The measurements were for the purpose of making a replacement.

 

The replacement to make was very simple, just in photoshop, making lines along the correct measurements.

 

 

 

Reattaching with some common all garden variety glue stick, I layered 3 on top of eachother to make sure the black parts werent letting light through. The paper I used was transparent (https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/diyi-vellum-paper-90gsm-a4-20-pack-diy171059) pretty much any officeworks/officeworld/stationary store should be able to print them. I decided on the cog design because I like the look better.

 

It all stayed very easily in place once screwed back in, it was just a little fiddly and getting it to be straight took about 3 tries.

 

Im overjoyed with how this turned out.

 

Bonus round: Cablemod cables arrived this morning hence me making these posts. RAM to go and we are donezo. So excited to finally almost be done (for now).

 

I took this thing apart twice in order to get things right and make sure I understood. If anyone has any questions even about really specific stuff about this cooler/shroud please feel free to ask.