ONYX H500M - Envious Mods

Calen Saddler · September 3, 2019

I was challenged to mod the H500M in a new way that still retained the originality of the case. I took the opportunity to also display the Aorus RTX2080 by tilting it 45 degrees.

It took hundreds of hours to complete but was well worth it. It also features some of the best hardware on the market:

The top, both sides, front and back have all been modded by me in house. I spent a ton of time doing detail work throughout the build including parts that are not even visable in order to perfect the ONYX case mod throughout. The closer you look; the more small detail work you'll see.

The Thought Behind ONYX:
This mod was inspired by modern design elements that I enjoy. I also centered a lot of the ONYX mod around the custom mounted GPU that's at an angle. To accomplish this I removed almost the entire back of the case and then rebuilt a small portion to accommodate the design elements. Lots of new techniques were employed. The main shroud was built so that the hidden top LEDs would shine through the shroud to give it a really neat effect. I had about 2 months to do the case mod and I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

ONYX Specs:

Motherboard: Aorus Z390 Xtreme Waterforce motherboard with mono block

Graphics Card: Aorus RTX2080 Xtreme Waterforce edition

CPU: Intel i7 9700k

Power Supply: Be Quiet Straight Power 11 (1,000watt)

Custom Cables: CableMod Pro Series custom cables, USB extensions, SATA cables, aluminum cable combs, digital LEDs.

Ram: Teamgroup 4 x 8 GB Delta RGB DDR4 Ram

SSDs: Teamgroup Delta RGB SSDs X 2 (250GB ea)

Case: Cooler Master H500M & 2 x 200mm ARGB fans

Watercooling by Watercool, ModMyMods & Barrow

Fittings and Tubing: Barrow chrome 12mm fittings , OLED temp sensor, chrome adaptors, chrome filter, 120mm fans, digital RGB controller

Main watercooling components: Watercool 360mm radiator, 2 x 100mm reservoirs, polished stainless HTFS2 360mm grill and WCP D5 Vario pump.

Calen Saddler · September 3, 2019

Hardware Arrival:

The hardware, watercooling and case have arrived and I've started to unpack everything. I've wanted to use the Cooler Master H500M for quite sometime. The Aorus Z390 Xtreme Waterforce motherboard and RTX2080 Xtreme Waterforce GPU will be epic as well teamed up with a i9 9900k.

The H500M Is So EPIC!

Calen Saddler · September 3, 2019

The Work Begins;

I started out by mocking up the GPU location using an old Gigabyte GPU I have. I ended up deciding that a 45 degree angle both looked best and worked well with the space available.

Mocking Up The Front Surround:

I spent a lot of time coming up with how I wanted the front panel to look. I ended up using multiple layers and some with an angle to give it a lot of dimension. Heres the 1st couple layers being mocked up.

The next layers being mocked up:

Calen Saddler · September 5, 2019

Getting Hardware & Watercooling Installed:

I'm fortunate enough to use the Aorus z390 waterforce Xtreme motherboard which has a full cover monoblock that really sets it out from the rest. It also gives me the opportunity to make a different looking water cooling Loop

I also decided to use 2 x 100 mm Watercool reservoirs vs one larger one. It took a lot of work to figure out but it was well worth it as it gives the mod an original look.

Next up I started work making the custom side of the PSU shroud! It took a lot of reworking to get it how I wanted it.

Calen Saddler · September 14, 2019

Front & Custom Grills:

I wanted to give all the grills a custom look so I took some of the large nickel plated grills from Watercool and cut them down to custom fit each grill found throughout the case. It's one of those small details that really :) bring it all together.

Custom GPU Extension Cover:

I didnt want people to see the ugly cable coming out the bottom of the GPU so I made a custom shroud out of acrylic; custom painted and made a ONYX badge to complete it.

Top Of The H500M:

I could have easily left the top of the Cooler Master H500M as it came stock which looked great. I decided this mod needed to be custom from not only 360 degrees but, on top as well. It took quite a while to come up with a design that didn't detract from the major features but still looked great.

More small details like the Envious Mods EM logo on the power button bring it all together.