EnergyFX's Thermaltake Soprano RS build

EnergyFX · Jan 7, 2009

farlex85 said:
What is that dell doing there? Blasphemy! Great mod though energy, I've thought about this case before but there's just too many things I don't like about it, you are correcting all of them though and then much more, wish I had dem skills.

The Dell is an XPS420 being used as my media center HTPC. I wanted cable card HDTV capability so I was forced to go with a factory built system. Unfortunately the ATI Digital Cable Tuner will not work with any motherboard a normal PC enthusiast would use. SUCKS!!!

As for this case... the big challenge is going to be deciding what in the hell to do about the front panel. I have a couple of ideas, but I'm not sure what I will do just yet.

EnergyFX · Jan 7, 2009

TheCrow said:
That looks nice and tidy. I thought about mounting a fan in the bottom of mine to cool the graphics card. But decided against it in the end as i'm aiming for quitness.

The thought has crossed my mind, but I think with the 2 120mm fans in the window and the vent on the bottom there will be plenty of fresh cool air available for the vid cards.

EnergyFX · Jan 7, 2009

Since this bottom piece of mesh is going to be 'exposed' I wanted to get all the sharp burrs off the edges. I have a set of hobby files that will be perfect for this (you can also just use an emery board).

So... I just spent the last hour painstakingly filing each and every corner of the mesh piece I cut earlier. Major PIA..

Once I get this piece attached to the bottom of the case it will eventually get a coat or two of paint to cover the file marks.

EnergyFX · Jan 7, 2009

So now I have the bottom piece shaped the way I want it to give it that 3D look.

And this is what it will look like installed. (hopefully)

EnergyFX · Jan 7, 2009

Now... off to Home Depot for some epoxy and Micheal's for some felt tape.

Silverel · Jan 7, 2009

Your mod of sexy has made me feel strong humping urges.

:rockout:

MKmods · Jan 7, 2009

EnergyFX said:
So now I have the bottom piece shaped the way I want it to give it that 3D look.

Nicely done :respect:

EnergyFX · Jan 7, 2009

Silverel said:
Your mod of sexy has made me feel strong humping urges.

um... thank you?? :wtf:

Cold Storm · Jan 7, 2009

Energy...If I'm not mistaken, which I might be, your married... If so... SHE LETS YOU DO IT ON THAT CARPET.... :eek:

If your not... YOU DO IT ON THAT CARPET! :eek:

now, all comedy aside...
The extra stuff your doing is pretty good! I like how the mess is sitting pretty nice in the case

p_o_s_pc · Jan 7, 2009

EnergyFX said:
Um, yeah... about that...

but it looks nice and didn't cause any problems for me or D

My thread
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=80058&highlight=painting+mobo

D's
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=80058&highlight=painting+mobo

EnergyFX · Jan 7, 2009

p_o_s_pc said:
but it looks nice and didn't cause any problems for me or D

My thread
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=80058&highlight=painting+mobo

D's
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=80058&highlight=painting+mobo

I think it is really cool that you and D did it. It's a cool 'proof of concept'. I think yours turned out better than D's did (mainly because I would have avoided the gloss white) but it still really isn't to my taste. I think a motherboard looks best with its parts showing. Now... if I was working with a fugly brownish MB, then that might be a different story. But so long as the board looks cool naked I don't think I will ever paint it.

I'm trying to avoid sounding rude here. I would never tell you that you screwed it up, or that you shouldn't have done it, or anything crappy like that. What matters is what you think. I'm really glad you and D are happy with how it turned out. That is what is most important... it's just not my kind of mod. :toast:

Cold Storm · Jan 7, 2009

oh, POS... :laugh:

Yours and D's did come out good! But, some boards just don't need that extra stuff! Gigabyte boards are one board you should ALL WAYS paint!! lol..

Energy, can't wait for more! But I gotta say.. Your week CAN"T be bad! The case is turning out GREAT!

EnergyFX · Jan 7, 2009

Cold Storm said:
Energy...If I'm not mistaken, which I might be, your married... If so... SHE LETS YOU DO IT ON THAT CARPET.... If your not... YOU DO IT ON THAT CARPET!

now, all comedy aside...
The extra stuff your doing is pretty good! I like how the mess is sitting pretty nice in the case

Lol... I 'get away' with using the spare bedroom (which is really the office) for this stuff. There is no way in hell she would let me use the kitchen. I do try to keep the mess under control. If it gets too wild in here then I get :nutkick:

Besides, she knows when we get a place with a garage/shop/basement I'll happily set up shop there, so it's kind of a compromise thing for now. Compromise... making marriages work for eternity!

Cold Storm · Jan 7, 2009

EnergyFX said:
Lol... I 'get away' with using the spare bedroom (which is really the office) for this stuff. There is no way in hell she would let me use the kitchen. I do try to keep the mess under control. If it gets too wild in here then I get

I suggest that you go and get a 4 big teflon style mats, and then 2 plastic curtains... throw the mats in a big square area of the kitchen and curtains on both sides... There, you got a area that you can't destroy! if you do... Just roll up the mat and your all good!

You edited on me! SO I do the same! lol... I hope the house you get is great for the two of you! Marriage is hard from what I've seen with my parents... But, no matter what, Gotta have a middle to it... :toast:

EnergyFX · Jan 8, 2009

Glueing the mesh to the bottom of the case:

EDIT: FYI... This didn't work.

So I got a temporary pass to use the dining room table for a couple of hours. :laugh:

I'm using typical 2 part Epoxy to attach the bottom mesh. The piece is already formed to the shape I want it, but all that forming has caused some springy waviness to the mesh panes, so I will have to glue it in segments. I'll be applying a bit of the quick set epoxy, then applying some weight for about 10-15 mins, and then moving on to the next segment.

I used a paperclip to apply the epoxy in tiny dabs where the mesh meets the case bottom.

And I applied weight in whatever creative way I could come up with from the... er, pantry!

Cold Storm · Jan 8, 2009

Ginger Beer... It looks pretty nice! Can't believe that you did it on the "Kitchen Table" pun intended!

EnergyFX · Jan 8, 2009

Ginger Beer... it's for mixing with Gosling's Rum to make what's called a 'Dark & Stormy'. My wife and I got quasi addicted to them when we started sailing a couple of years ago.

steelkane · Jan 8, 2009

Nice job once again, I always like the un-modded look, that tells me it was done right, After all that typing I could go for one of them cokes.

EnergyFX · Jan 8, 2009

Ok, so I'm back at it again today. My 40mm fans came in so I'll be drilling the holes on the back of the case for them. But first, I got to thinking about how I am mounting the hard drives using the Skythe Hard Disk Stabilizer II. The problem with this is that there will be no air flow over the hard drives. So here is what I came up with:

So lets do something with this blank cover:

A 1.5" hole saw cuts the perfect size hole for 40mm fans

Of course I'll add some mesh and voila!! Perfect 5.25 hard drive cooler:

It turned out much better than I had expected. I honestly figured that trying to cut the holes would destroy the piano finish of the blank plate, but to my surprise the hole saw cut very clean holes. So that will be an additional six 40mm fans for the hard drives. I'll keep these at a fairly low speed setting so there really shouldn't be any discernible noise from them. Jeez, I'm well into the double digits on number of fans for this project.

Castiel · Jan 8, 2009

Very nice!

Cold Storm · Jan 8, 2009

DAMN! That many fans! :eek:

That mod does look pretty sweet! Glad to see it up and running with the fans!

EnergyFX · Jan 8, 2009

Cold Storm said:
DAMN! That many fans! That mod does look pretty sweet! Glad to see it up and running with the fans!

I know, but it was either that or move the HDDs back down to the 3.5 bays so the 120mm intake fan could blow over them. Odd thing is... that would probably be louder than using the Scythe Stabilizers and six 40mm fans. :rolleyes:

Cold Storm · Jan 8, 2009

EnergyFX said:
I know, but it was either that or move the HDDs back down to the 3.5 bays so the 120mm intake fan could blow over them. Odd thing is... that would probably be louder than using the Scythe Stabilizers and six 40mm fans.

Yeah, it would probably be even more sounding... Just glad to see it worked out sweet for ya!

EnergyFX · Jan 9, 2009

I need a break from filing so I'll post up some more photos of the progress.

Here are the fans lined up how I initially planned

But I decided three fans spaced out will look nicer and is probably just as effective.

EnergyFX · Jan 9, 2009

Cutting the holes:

System Name	n.audBl
Processor	E8500 @ 3.80GHz
Motherboard	ASUS Striker Extreme
Cooling	Full liquid (everything except power supply)
Memory	4Gb OCZ DDR2 PC9600
Video Card(s)	Dual EVGA GTX 280 SSC Edition
Storage	Dual WD Raptor in RAID 0 (300Gb), Dual WD 1Tb Cavair in RAID 1
Display(s)	Dell 2407 24" HD+ Widescreen
Case	Theraltake Tai-Chi
Audio Device(s)	X-Fi Fata1ty (bleh!)
Power Supply	Ultra X3 1000W
Software	Win 7 64bit

System Name	n.audBl
Processor	E8500 @ 3.80GHz
Motherboard	ASUS Striker Extreme
Cooling	Full liquid (everything except power supply)
Memory	4Gb OCZ DDR2 PC9600
Video Card(s)	Dual EVGA GTX 280 SSC Edition
Storage	Dual WD Raptor in RAID 0 (300Gb), Dual WD 1Tb Cavair in RAID 1
Display(s)	Dell 2407 24" HD+ Widescreen
Case	Theraltake Tai-Chi
Audio Device(s)	X-Fi Fata1ty (bleh!)
Power Supply	Ultra X3 1000W
Software	Win 7 64bit

System Name	n.audBl
Processor	E8500 @ 3.80GHz
Motherboard	ASUS Striker Extreme
Cooling	Full liquid (everything except power supply)
Memory	4Gb OCZ DDR2 PC9600
Video Card(s)	Dual EVGA GTX 280 SSC Edition
Storage	Dual WD Raptor in RAID 0 (300Gb), Dual WD 1Tb Cavair in RAID 1
Display(s)	Dell 2407 24" HD+ Widescreen
Case	Theraltake Tai-Chi
Audio Device(s)	X-Fi Fata1ty (bleh!)
Power Supply	Ultra X3 1000W
Software	Win 7 64bit

System Name	n.audBl
Processor	E8500 @ 3.80GHz
Motherboard	ASUS Striker Extreme
Cooling	Full liquid (everything except power supply)
Memory	4Gb OCZ DDR2 PC9600
Video Card(s)	Dual EVGA GTX 280 SSC Edition
Storage	Dual WD Raptor in RAID 0 (300Gb), Dual WD 1Tb Cavair in RAID 1
Display(s)	Dell 2407 24" HD+ Widescreen
Case	Theraltake Tai-Chi
Audio Device(s)	X-Fi Fata1ty (bleh!)
Power Supply	Ultra X3 1000W
Software	Win 7 64bit

System Name	n.audBl
Processor	E8500 @ 3.80GHz
Motherboard	ASUS Striker Extreme
Cooling	Full liquid (everything except power supply)
Memory	4Gb OCZ DDR2 PC9600
Video Card(s)	Dual EVGA GTX 280 SSC Edition
Storage	Dual WD Raptor in RAID 0 (300Gb), Dual WD 1Tb Cavair in RAID 1
Display(s)	Dell 2407 24" HD+ Widescreen
Case	Theraltake Tai-Chi
Audio Device(s)	X-Fi Fata1ty (bleh!)
Power Supply	Ultra X3 1000W
Software	Win 7 64bit

EnergyFX's Thermaltake Soprano RS build

EnergyFX

EnergyFX

EnergyFX

EnergyFX

EnergyFX

Silverel

MKmods

Case Mod Guru

EnergyFX

Cold Storm

Battosai

p_o_s_pc

F@H&WCG addict

EnergyFX

Cold Storm

Battosai

EnergyFX

Cold Storm

Battosai

EnergyFX

Cold Storm

Battosai

EnergyFX

steelkane

EnergyFX

Castiel

Cold Storm

Battosai

EnergyFX

Cold Storm

Battosai

EnergyFX

EnergyFX

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Pro Wifi II
Cooling	Hyper 212 EVO v2
Memory	2x16GB G.Skill DDR4-4000
Video Card(s)	AMD RX 6750 XT
Storage	WD Black SN850 2TB, various other SSD's from ages past
Display(s)	LG 27GL850 1440@144, AG Neovo EM2701QC 1440@75
Case	Zophos EVO Silent by Raijintek
Audio Device(s)	HyperX Cloud II Wireless headphones
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x
Mouse	ProtoArc EM01
Keyboard	Razer Blackwidow X Chroma Mercury
Software	Windows 11 Pro

System Name	Crossflow III
Processor	AMD 965 (4.04Ghz)
Motherboard	Asus Crosshair III
Cooling	Air
Memory	4 gigs Mushkin 7-7-7-20@1T
Video Card(s)	single 9800GT
Storage	Raptor 150's in Raid0
Display(s)	LG Flatron 24"
Case	Custom
Audio Device(s)	AuzenTech X-Raider W/OP637
Power Supply	Custom modded Corsair 750HX
Software	Win 7 64/Solaris Utility
Benchmark Scores	3DMark06--21963 so far

System Name	Haro
Processor	AMD 1700x
Motherboard	AsRork x370 Taichi
Cooling	EK Custom Loop - CPU only
Memory	32gb G-Skill Trident Z
Video Card(s)	EVGA 1080 Superclock 2
Storage	Too Many
Display(s)	Viewsonic VX2450WM-LED 24" & LG 32 IPS
Case	Cooler Master Cosmos II
Power Supply	Cooler Master V1000
Mouse	SteelSeries Rival 500
Software	Win10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	i5 750 4.62ghz pi runs // Evga FTW p55

System Name	el'lappy\|Cruncher \| Cruncher 2
Processor	intel C2D T6400 \| i7 3770k @4.2ghz \| AII X2 220 @3.4ghz
Motherboard	some Acer \| Asus P8Z77-V Pro \|Gigabyter GA-M61p-S3
Cooling	dual 80mm cooling fan \| WC'ing ) \|cheapo
Memory	2x2gb ddr3 \| 2x2gb Ripjaws 1600 \|4x512mb D9s
Video Card(s)	onboard \| 60 1GB(hd7770 ) \|8800GTS
Storage	Momuntus xt 320gb \|Kingston Hyper X 120gb SATA III\|500gb WD
Display(s)	17in \| 42" 1080P HD 3D TV
Case	lappy case \| CM HAF XB \|none yet
Audio Device(s)	onboard \| onboard \| onboard
Power Supply	Dell brick w/ acer end end \| Antec EW 650w \|Antec SP 350w(upg.soon)
Software	Windows 7 Ult. 64bit---->------->

System Name	Stealth 2 Duo Turbine
Processor	Intel e6850 @ 3.8ghz
Motherboard	Asus Striker Extreme
Cooling	CoolerMaster V8 Modded With 2 white LED's & 100CFM fan
Memory	OCZ DDR2 1066_ SLI Black-4GB
Video Card(s)	2xMSI 8800GT"s SLI
Storage	<<HDD For OS>> 2x150GB_Western Digital Raptor_Raid 0. <<HDD For Storage>> 3 x 1TB
Display(s)	ACER B273HU 27" LCD 2048x1152
Case	Apex SuperCase_Custom 7 month Build
Audio Device(s)	Striker Extreme Add-In Card HD-Audio
Power Supply	EnerMax INFINITI 720watt
Software	SE7VEN ULTIMATE 64bit
Benchmark Scores	3DMark01=NTTA, 3Dmark06=NTTA 3Dmark_Vantage=NTTA, Core Temp v0.99.5=28C

Processor	Intel i5-3570K @ 3.4Ghz
Motherboard	Asrock LGA1155 Z77 Extreme 4
Cooling	Cooler Master Evo 212
Memory	16GB (4X4) G.Skill Ripjaw 2 DDR3-1600
Video Card(s)	Nvidia gForce GTX 660ti
Storage	1x Samsung 840 EVO 256GB 6Gb/s, 1x WD 500GB 6Gb/s, 1x WD 80GB 3Gb/s
Display(s)	ASUS VH242H Black + 2 HP 2311x 23" LED
Case	Fractal Design R4
Audio Device(s)	Realtek OnBoard Both
Power Supply	Cooler Master 850w
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1