SlackerXL Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 A last minute entry to this years CM Contest from Greece. This is my second military themed case mod (first one can be found here) and it's based on a Coolermaster 830 Stacker (imho, one of the most mod-friendly cases ever built) Please feel free to comment on anything you like or ask for any kind of clarification as you may find my English a little hard to understand sometimes.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlackerXL Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 The original idea was to create an add-on case for my CM830. Something large enough to accommodate two triple radiators, 9 fans and two pumps… But at the same time something that would look as if it was a part of the case from the start. The first step was to design something using shapes and forms inspired from the original Stacker. The second and very important step in order to visually blend the case and the add-on compartment, was the paintjob. It had to be something that would conceal the mass of the whole thing… So I decided to use a camo pattern (if it can camouflage a tank it can surely make my monster-stacker look good..) After extensive 3D modeling work with Sketchup, I came up with a basic plan of the project… A two-piece metal frame would support the actual case. At the same time it would serve as a box for all the watercooling parts. Acrylic covers would serve as sidepanels and the front faclet of the structure would look like a rocket launcher with a control panel to make things a little bit more interesting. The construction began with all the hardware work… aka cutting the openings, screwing some hundreds of hex screws, handles, latches etc… Next step was to apply a base color to prevent some parts from rusting and to obtain a uniform surface to work on with the airbrush later on. Internal parts received black matte electrostatic coating for increased strength and durability so that adding/removing parts in the future would not damage the color. The basic structure of the watercooling compartment consisted of a 3mm metal frame, based on the original Stacker skirts. I also added a set of heavy duty wheels as the expected weight would surely exceed my weight- lifting capabilities... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlackerXL Posted November 8, 2007 Author Share Posted November 8, 2007 The front faclet was build using acrylic pieces of various thickness, attached to Stacker’s original front skirt. The ventilation holes on side panels were laser cut. Finally all the pieces were put together using lots of epoxy glue, even more polyester putty and extensive sanding in order to achieve a smooth final result. In the meantime on the clear side of the work table, the watercooling setup started to shape up. With the bulls eye tank serving as my main reservoir tank in the front, the radiators already mounted in the bottom and the hardware installed inside the case, it was time for some temperature testing . After I made sure that everything was working fine it was time to finish the paintjob and add the final details on the project The original power and reset switch as well as the indicator leds and two USB ports were replaced by some custom ones on the front control panel A key lock connected to the pwr button was added to prevent unauthorized use of the equipment…. After a good cable management and tube routing the interior started to look acceptable so I found time to add a little more of my favourite details such as the custom stencil-painted MPC logos and yellow striped caution panels But because details can make the difference sometimes… I decided to add some more of them… A Logitech Bluetooth desktop set received the same paintjob to match the case. A “Modsquad†Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxession Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Hey looks good! Paintjob seems very nice, WC likewise! So, tested, and what does it says? What temps do you got (and which system)? Is it now finished or ..? BTW: I would have prefered to see some bigger pictures for more detail... but this design is nice to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlackerXL Posted November 22, 2007 Author Share Posted November 22, 2007 Hey looks good! Paintjob seems very nice, WC likewise!So, tested, and what does it says? What temps do you got (and which system)? Is it now finished or ..? BTW: I would have prefered to see some bigger pictures for more detail... but this design is nice to. Sorry for the lack of updates... i've been experiencing some serious internet connection problems lately (hope this time its back for good...) The system is based on a 680sli board. Intel QX6850 4gigs of OCZ 1066 SLi ram 2x8800GTX's (BFG watercooled overclocked edition) 2x150gb raptors raid0 Creative X-fi the cpu is overclocked @ 3.7g and the vga's are running artifact free @ 660/2100 the rigs main purpose is of course gaming @ 1920*1200... and as for the temps, the cpu idles~35C (T.Amb~25) and reaches ~55 @full load (during Orthos & SnM 100% load test) both cards idle ~50 and reach 65c after hours of gaming Surely not something groundbraking but not bad either for an overclocked and still silent setup.. keep in mind that the CM fans are almost inaudible and despite the fact that there are 10 of them inside the only thing that you can now clearly hear is the Tagan Turbojet 1100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlackerXL Posted November 22, 2007 Author Share Posted November 22, 2007 after highlighting the edges and adding some exhaust effect on the sidepanels, everything received the final treatment of dry brushing and buffer spraying (a quick way to achieve a weathered dusty look) and was fixed with satin automotive clear lacquer to protect the colors and make the parts nice to touch and easy to clean. the main idea for the lighting of the case was to achieve a "IR night vision" look with the black interior already in place all i had to do was to add onε set of green cold cathodes with the necessary aluminium frame so that the spectator could not directly see the cold cathode but only the diffuse light. In the bottom part of the rocket launcher i added one set of UV cold cathodes in each side to make the uv green fans react and light those side panels from the inside.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talescos Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 really nice.... now we need to add some real missiles there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlackerXL Posted November 30, 2007 Author Share Posted November 30, 2007 really nice.... now we need to add some real missiles there thanks m8 but to be honest, i've thought of that.. i even bought a usb missile launcher to mod and integrate into the case but it proved to be too weak.... (it could barely launch its own miniature polyurethane rockets) so i gave up the idea.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mpovh Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 really nice.... now we need to add some real missiles there thanks m8 but to be honest, i've thought of that.. i even bought a usb missile launcher to mod and integrate into the case but it proved to be too weak.... (it could barely launch its own miniature polyurethane rockets) so i gave up the idea.... usasauhsausauhsausasa nice idea ahhahahaa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colossous Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 This is the best Stacker mod i've seen !! Love it !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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