Reminiscing, Echoes of the Future

[cyg]

Reminiscing, Echoes of the Future

 

Day one 5/17/23

"Days" are only in reference to the work log report, not how many days it took to build this. 

 

Hello, my name is Chris

 

I recently got into computer case modding. I have been going through the ideas in my head of making my perfect case, and then I ran across this event. I figured might as well build it and document it as I go and submit it to the competition.

 

It starts with a beer and some rough measurements and getting ideas on paper.

 

So the theme “crafting the present, envisioning the future” I was not really sure what this meant for me. I did spend a few years in the trades leaning all sorts of construction crafts and it dawned on me. Crafting the present is using past wisdom to envision the future goal and complete it.

 

I went with a wood case, one it will match my office very nicely and two, it is one of the oldest building materials we have known. The case will be a blend of old and new, a blend of sci-fi, steampunk and Victorian elegance. Hence the name Reminiscing, Echoes of the Future.

 

 

Edited September 22 by cyg

[cyg]

Parts list.

 

For the main components I am just going to move my computer over to to the new case. Intel Arc 770 Limited edition, some Asrock board, whatever the LGA socket 11^th gen intel is, Core I5.

 

Future expand-ability and lighting choices were the main considerations on the build.

 

Corsair hydro series X CPU block, pump and reservoir combo. I didn’t want to spend the money on a digital CPU block and my future vision for the computer will be AM5 platform and the Hydro X CPU block has some very easy brackets for compatibility.

 

I did end up getting a 360 rad and 240 rad. I wanted to have the option of using either the 240 or 360 or both in the front face or top of the case configuration.

 

I did not want to spend the money on a GPU cooling block, and the A770 is my first nice card I owned so I did not want to go messing with it. But having the two spaces for both rads will allow me to have future expand-ability if I wanted to get into GPU cooling.

 

The final configuration of the build will involve the 240 rad in the front with an additional fan below the rad so the GPU can get some better air flow while the CPU is cooled by the 240 rad. Or running the 240 rad at the top and using three front fans.

 

Fan choices were the Coolermaster mobius 120’s, three for the front of the case, one for the exhaust.

Two black noctua slims for the bottom intake.

 

Ended up getting two more mobius 120's for the top rad.

 

Coolermaster RGB/Fan hub controller for cable management.

Edited September 22 by cyg

[cyg]

Reminiscing, Echoes of the Future

Day two, 5/18/24

 

Started the day by going through my wood stock, and its really running low. I basically have no quality dimensional lumber to cut, joint, and plane. So I opted for some cabinetry quality ¾ plywood I had, its a mix of white oak and pine.

 

Today I got the Main frame of the case is cut out and started designing my joints. I opted for an easy dado and rabbit joints, as plywood doesn’t work well with the more complicated joints.

 

The Basics of Dado Joints (familyhandyman.com)

 

Came time for fitting, and the most important part of the project was a success, all perfectly squared and glued up.

 

 

Edited May 24 by cyg

[cyg]

Reminiscing, Echoes of the Future

day 3, 5/19

 

Today was a busy day, but went really slow, as every step of this part of the build is problem solving, thinking about all the components ahead of the build, what features will work in the case compared to the ones I put down on paper. What kind of modularity I will want.

 

I quadrupled measuring where the PSU, bottom fans, 360 front rad will go and where to drill and cutout is done. I have some ideas about the basement but can’t really move forward with the project until my open air chassis arrives.

 

I decided to use a very basic open air chassis, (really more like a breadboard or mining stand) inside the case as it will make mounting the mother board ten times easier and having all the metal stand out from the wood will probably make a very nice looking contrasting result.  <--- no longer doing this idea. 

 

The mounting solution for the PSU was a pain, I have several donor cases laying around and didn’t really like any of the PSU mounting areas for this case. So I took sheet metal and a chisel and made some inset areas to secure the PSU to. There will be some really slick face plates that will hide these hideous things. That is still a ways away.

Edited May 25 by cyg

[cyg]

Reminiscing, Echoes of the Future

Day 4, 5/20

 

Not much progress today. My slim noctua fans showed up today. Normal fans are too tall for ¾ wood. Really didn’t want to deal with building an external enclosure to protect them. I opted for two Noctua slim fans which will fit perfectly and not interfere with the PSU cables.

 

Also drilled out the area for the PSU intake.

[cyg]

Reminiscing, Echoes of the Future.

Day 5, 5/23/24

 

Today, I got the back wall and basement partition mocked up. Going to get some temporary brackets up. Then this weekend will be getting the top 240 rad traced and cut out, and then rear IO, rear fan and expansion slots.

[cyg]

Reminiscing, Echoes of the Future.

Day 6

5/24/24

 

Got some wood filler in for the backwall. Sand and clean up the backside tomorrow. 

 

Turns out my idea to incorporate the Open air chasis just won't work well. After re-reading the guidelines, I am pretty sure it violates the scratch build rules too. Honestly the rear IO and motherboard mounting has me sweating a bit thinking about how I am going to tackle that problem. 

Edited May 25 by cyg

[cyg]

Reminiscing, Echoes of the Future.

Day 7

5/25/24

 

Cut out the area for the top 240 rad today, my backwall is actually made up of two pcs since I only have a 12 inch planer. Got the area cut out for airflow to the back of the mother board. That is glued up and will be ready for sanding on monday as I am visiting family tomorrow. 

 

I was originally going to use the brass strips to join the two pcs of the backwall together, It was going to look janky any way even with nice brass. So I opted to glue them together. There will not be much stress on the back wall so I just glued them together and forgoed any dowels or biscuits. It will hold fine.

 

Also playing around with some solid brass stock

Edited May 25 by cyg

[cyg]

Bitpower fittings showed up. 

 

Really, really nice finish. 

[cyg]

Reminiscing, Echoes of the Future.

Day 8

5/27/24

 

Today, I figured out the motherboard mounting solution. Drilled holes and hammered in standoffs. Made my first mistake in the build, I made the cut for the rear of the CPU too large and now there is no place for the top middle motherboard standoff. That is my least favorite screw on the entire computer and usually just leave that one off anyway. 

 

A second mistake is starting to rear its ugly head. The case design would really benefit from being one inch wider. Not much room for the exhaust fan to sit. Cutting out the box shape for the fan has me concerned for the structural integrity. Still thinking about solutions, one fix would be to just cut out the fan box to flush with front panel door.  

Edited May 27 by cyg