NR200P MAX user

Hi everyone, I'm a bit late to the game here, just finding out about this contest a few days ago, but I have something that I think everyone might like and can do. I wish I would have been able to show you the entire process but I had no idea this contest was happening until a buddy told me about it. So I'll keep it brief and right at the start let you know that depending on your resources, the cost is anywhere from $150 and up, with the most expensive part being the water jet. "Water jet?!?" Yeah... let me explain. The NR200 Max case is a dream to me. Fantastic case with bundled power and an AIO with a huge radiator as big as the case. I absolutely will keep this case for years to come. Just in case ( pun intended ) you don't know what it looks like from the factory, see the attached image below. This was my first PC built ever. I was super excited to do it. I won't bore you with the specs because the mod is what's important here. Suffice it say, that while I was building the PC, I noticed the front panel had a bit of space behind it, intended for a few SSD drives ( see image below ). I had no need for that space as all my storage was going to be on my motherboard, but It gave me an idea: What about a touch screen? Sure. A 7 Inch Raspberry Pi Touchscreen Mini HDMI Monitor would fit perfectly. The only real question was how to do it. How do I cut the metal exactly right to have it fit? And what if I screw up? Then I have a case with no face. The routing of wire would be easy, but how to connect the screen to the front panel after a precision hole is cut into it and make sure it's sturdy enough to be a legit touch screen? Well right away I knew I had to get an extra front face, even if this meant I had to buy an entire new NR200 rig and sell the rest of it for parts on ebay. I was getting a front panel. I looked on the parts site at Cooler Master. Nothing. I called them and asked if I could buy one. Nope. I scoured ebay and other sites. No luck. Then I hit on an idea. I searched the UK Cooler Master site. ( I live in the US ). And the computer mod Gods were on my side as I found an NR200 Black front panel for sale. I immediately purchased it and shipped it to a friend in the UK as they would not ship it to the US. I promised my buddy a pint or two when I see him next and he shipped it to me, which included a crazy customs form, triplicate paper, Pro-Forma something or other - anyway a hassle. But a week or so later I got the black front panel. Step one completed. I knew three things had to happen: 1, cut a precision hole; 2, sandblast the black paint off; and 3, paint the panel the EXACT color as the NR200 MAX case. And I figured it had to happen in that order. If I had it sand blasted first and then cut, that could have damaged it more and left it exposed to the small possibility of rust. If I sand blasted, painted , then cut, well best case scenario is I would still have the tiny edge of the cut to paint. Anyways it was obvious these were the steps to do next. Step 2: the cut. How? Precisely measure the 'live' part of the screen, mark those dimensions in the exact center of the panel, then drill a hole and cut it with a metal jigsaw blade? Sure if I was a handyman god... but I'm not. At best, I'm a handyman minor deity, and that's only after hours of YouTube videos. So me doing the work was not going to be as exact as I needed so I looked to industrial options. Living in the Los Angeles area gives me a wide variety of metal working shops to call. After a huge amount of research, checking Yelp reviews, and calls, I found a company in Sun Valley who could do the job. Now this is the most expensive step but I was willing to make this investment. I'm going to have this case for a decade or more and I really want this integrated panel, so... I laid out $200 +tax to get the cut. Yes, I know. Some o you have friend who could do this and that is awesome. Some of you could do the cut yourself and I am absolutely impressed by that skill, but in this instance I made the call and DAMN am I glad I did. The cut was perfection. Down to the half a millimeter. It is perfect. Step two completed. So now the tricky part: matching color. I tried for quite some time to find out the exact color. After a few support tickets and one seriously dedicated Cooler Master employee, I got my answer: Pantone Cool Grey 3c matte finish. ( see attached image ). This was all I needed.. or so I thought. Turns out that most metal painting places don't really do Pantone color. I looked and looked for one that would do the sand blasting ( or chemical paint removal )and be able to apply the exact paint. Well I'm still looking, but more on that in a minute. I did find a place that could do the job and had a paint chip that was super close. I mean I looked at it against the original front panel, outside in the sunlight, and then under cool LED lights. I agonized over the four gray color choices they had available for me and I would have sworn the one I choose was the right one in a gloss finish ( why not make the front panel pop a bit, right? ) So they did the job. I got the piece back, and... well damn... it was not exact. Maybe it was the heating process, maybe the hue on the paint chip samples was off. Eh, whatever it was, the cool grey I got painted on it now is just a bit mossy greener than the original NR200 MAX Pantone Cool Grey 3C colored case. So freaking close, and I will continue to look for the absolute exact paint solution, but for now it's close and I'm calling it. Step three and four completed. Next the relatively easy part. Buy some 1mm sealing foam tape, line just to the inside of the hole with it on the inside of the panel, run a few cables in the bottom of the case to a USB port on the motherboard and an HDMI port coming out of the GPU. Then connect it all up and mount the touchscreen to the inside of the newly painted front panel. Now this is where, on the inside of the build, it gets a bit dodgy. I had every intention to epoxy 'weld' four brass standoff spacers to the inside of the panel, but since I am still on the hunt for the correct paint, I went with a more... um... DIY approach. FINE. I used painter's tape to attach it for now. It's fine. It's functional. And I never see it. BUT one day, a GAWD as my witness, I am going to epoxy 'weld' those spacers in place and properly secure the screen to the panel. Step five complete... for now. And there you have it: An integrated 7 inch touchscreen panel in the front panel of the NR200 MAX. Time consuming project sourcing vendors. Expensive water jet but overjoyed with those results. And ABSOLUTELY thrilled with the end result. ( see images below. Nevermind the Mac keyboard. I use my work computer and my NR200 MAX on the same monitor ). The first PC I've ever built and I made it my own. Isn't this what it's all about? Thanks all and happy modding!