Fractal Designs Define XL Build Log

[crazyeyesreaper]

Alright so first off I would like to take the time to thank Cadaveca for the motherboard used in this build, without that motherboard this project wouldnt have gotten off the ground, thanks again Dave.

I would also like to thank Thermaltake for getting me back in the game with there Toughpower Grand 1050w 80+ GOLD Certified PSU

Alright so lets keep it simple, less talk more pictures since thats what everyone really wants that and a parts list

Intel 2500k
ECS P67 H2 A2
Mushkin 1866 9-10-9 27 2x4gb (8gb)
2x Sapphire 6970 2gb
Fractal Designs Define XL Black Pearl
2x Samsung F4 1.5tb
1x Samsung F1 1tb
1x Samsung F3 1tb
1x Western Digital 500gb
Scythe Kaze Master Fan controller
Thermaltake Frio + 2x Delta 3300rpm fans
4x Yate Loon 140mm medium speed fans
1x Silverstone Air Penetrator
Corsair HX 850
and other assorted goods

Heres the inside of the case ill be removing all the white HDD racks and PCI expansion slot covers and having those painted a candy apple red, but that means sanding and multiple coats for a nice finish.

Here i mounted the motherboard to see how things would fit after pulling the stock fans, i noticed a major design flaw, by Fractal, there 180mm fan is thinner then most others, resulting in the silverstone fan being slightly to large so the top left motherboard standoff cannot be used, this is unexpected, ill have to look into possible ways to solve the problem maybe removing some plastic from the outer fan casing will allow it to fit properly, another issue is the fan coming down as far as it does, may result in large heatsinks like my TT FRIO to not fit properly, again this is caused by the fact the 180mm Silverstone Penetrator is slightly thicker then the Fractal Designs 180mm default fan.

 

[t_ski]

In for the first sub!

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

currently sanding and painting,

so far all is going well, painted the 180mm fractal fan flat black as a back up just in case the 180 silverstone fan has to be removed.

 

[bbmarley]

be nice to see how this turns out

 

[Dreadnought33]

Subscribed

 

[erocker]

Nice man! Looking forward to seeing the work.

 

[Crap Daddy]

Nice. So you're not waiting for the FX?

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

HDD racks formerly white now candy apple red

and here is the formerly white bladed fan, now flat black and if needed ready to replace the silverstone 180 AP should my TT FRIO not fit.

 

[t_ski]

Just be careful painting fans, as the extra weight of the paint can throw them off balance, etc.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

yea i tested the fan, it works fine no balance issues, and thankfully it was the only fan i had to paint.

and i think im gonna try and find someone with a sandblaster, and use a different primer for the HDD racks and expansion slot covers, and repaint them they look good but the finished product isnt exactly what i want, in this case its close but that only matters in horse shoes and hand grenades, on another note,

with help from Reayth, and yami2ki ive been working on a custom vinyl decal
its unfinished but i used Reayths Battlefield TPU, art piece, as a base and then simplified it down, yami cleaned up my lines and gave it a higher quality finishing job, lets just hope it dosent cost me a fortune to have made.

it will have the knife, and even the small TPU logo on the hat, if everything goes well.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Vinyl Decal Update.
I still need to do some tweaking but overall Yami2ki did a fantastic job taking my rough idea and smoothing it out

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Well after making a few calls i contacted some friends was able to find someone to do a full color Print for alot less then the companies i contacted So i would like to take the time and thank Rey aka Reayth here on TPU for his outstanding work and for making this possible. Because of some friends and few acquaintances the full color print will finally be doable compared to the simplified vector versions shown earlier.

Heres the Final Design, now lets just hope it sticks to the slightly rough surface of the Define XL.

 

[p0Pe]

Very, very nice decal work!

 

[mATrIxLord]

:O awesome!!!! sub'ed to see moar pics..

 

[n0tiert]

very nice gfx

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

The Badass piece of Digital artwork you see above was created by

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/member.php?u=92489

 

[fullinfusion]

Subed for an awesome builder!!!!

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Well finally got done with the repainting, had to have the parts sandblasted and sanded to 2000 grit.

Big thanks for the sanding and painting goes out to Wayne, he did a great job

CPU shot with info

 

[MT Alex]

Yessiree, those look much nicer now, smooth and shiny.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Update:
Still need to focus on Cable Managment:
From the looks ill need to purchase some PCIE 6 pin extender cables so i can hide them beind the mobo tray, and continue to tidy things up as best i can.

Also need to pick up a new fan controller my Kaze Master does not fit, and only something like a NZXT Sentry Mesh or LCD touch screen will do the trick, these deltas are loud without a controller.

Also still waiting on the Vinyl Decal, to finish off the side panel.

Currently the HDD's sata cables are color coded for Capacity
Black are 1tb F3 and F1
Orange are 1.5TB F4 x2
Red are 500gb WD

 

[DrunkenMafia]

Looking good man. If you can get cheap decals how about copying the corsair power supply decal and doing it in red, the blue looks out of place. You could also put a small red or black cover in front of it.

Looking good!!

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

yea i had that thought as well, and im working on it now actually in photoshop

 

[FreedomEclipse]

About the case......how goods the cooling/airflow?

Im asking cuz ive chose this case over going for a Corsair 650D and we have similar setups (should have it next week some time)

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

airflow with default fans is lackluster and nowhere near good enough, after changing them out for yateloon mediums airflow is fine and still quiet if you wish to use a fan controller, get something like the NZXT sentry Mesh, or a touch screen, any knobs or the like will keep the door from closing,

If you plan to install a newer 180mm fan, pre prepared to have to modify the fan, i had to take a grinder to 1 corner in order for the mobo to fit because the Silverstone AP 181 i used was thicker then the default 180.

nnow other then those few issues case is great, now to wait for my hand to finish to healing so i can finish the build

 

[JrRacinFan]

Looking good man. If you can get cheap decals how about copying the corsair power supply decal and doing it in red, the blue looks out of place. You could also put a small red or black cover in front of it.

Looking good!!

yea i had that thought as well, and im working on it now actually in photoshop

I wonder is an acrylic cover would fit on that psu?

Like this ...
http://www.xoxide.com/aerocool-acryshield-power-supply-cover-blue.html

But find one in red "??"