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Project Beta Evolved

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Hi guys, so this will be my first real mod of any kind and I've only done it to this extent because it is for my daughter, my daughters 5th birthday. Now, this may seem kind of young to some of you but let me assure you this kid knows here stuff, she's been looking at heavily modified rigs since before she could crawl!


It all started a few years ago, I was in the shed sorting some things out and my daughter came in to me from the garden, she instantly looked up and knew what this blue box up on the shelf was and hit me with "I want that to be my computer one day Daddy", she must of been around 2 and a half at the time but every since then she's almost constantly reminded me about the PC in the shed, that it should be hers, told me it needed a window with "BGR" lights (she means RGB) and white cables (she says this because I have custom cables in my rig that are white), I even took her into the local Halfords to let her pick the colour she wants for the case which she did not let me down on, wow am I in love with the colour, I did however add something a little girly but we'll get to that later.

So here I am a couple of years down the line, what was once a quick spray job on a NZXT Beta Evo case has now started to evolve into something much more special for my daughter. I have for what I think to be obvious reasoning called this the NZXT Beta Evolved so let me get this project log started!

The specs of this build are rather old to say the least but this machine will only be playing child/indie style games and the specs are something I can work over time but the main part of this project is purely bringing back a case from 2010 into 2018!

Before I go any further I'd like to give a big big thank you to my sponsor, none other than themselves Overclockers.co.uk without them I wouldn't of been able to give this build the perfect look!

Specs: upon completion.
NZXT Beta Evo.
CableMod Pro cable extensions.
CableMod Silver thumb screws.
Asus Crosshair IV Formula.
AMD 1090T.
AMD R7 260.
Crucial Tactical 2x 4Gb 1866mhz DDR3.
Some Cooler Master PSU
Corsair H80
NZXT Hue+
NZXT AER RGB 120mm x3


It all started when I had no clue about what I was doing (who's to say I have a clue now I guess), anyways, Here's what the case looked like before I started working on it this time around and I must apologize for the bad quality photos but the first couple was taken many years ago.




I know what you all thought, what a state though right? How can I ever produce something good if this was my previous work? :O

Anyway's Here I go, lining up to make the first cut! I might of been wishing for a bit of luck here on out...



And of we cut!



As it turns out I got rather into cutting and didn't stop to take any more photos.

Time for prepping!! If I'm honest I rather like this look, reminds me of Robocop but then I remind myself that this build isn't for me...




On goes the primer.



Now this is where you start to see the colour my daughter chosen for her rig and it is Ford Purple velvet!

First layer of base coat



Second layer of base coat.



Once the final coat had been applied along with the layers of clear coat and buffed the weather wasn't so great and had to settle for this somewhat appetizing photo.



Here's a better shot though.



Now that all the panels are painted I think it is time to concentrate on the front bezel of the case. This was the hardest part of the build by far, somewhat by my own mistakes but the end results was more than worth it, let me show you the beauty after I explain the steps used to create this look.

It all started with a little sparkle...



Then... Primer, matt black paint, sprinkle with glitter whilst wet, flat off, lacquer (at least 800 times maybe more depending on how much glitter you used) flat off with 1200 then 2000 wet and dry sandpaper and a block re-lacquer and then finally buff the hell out of it!!

In the end you should end up with something looking a little like this.





I understand this look won't be for everyone but let me just take this moment to remind you all this for a little girls 5th birthday.


Now, time for some artwork on the side and top panels.







Here we go some test fitting... And we have a PSU shroud!



The pink in the front may be changed to purple acrylic mirror but right now this will fit.



... And that's it folks, you've all caught up to where I am with the build and the log will be updated accordingly. Really hope you guys appreciate the time and level of work I've put into this build, it's taken a lot more hours than I ever thought possible but I am loving this project.

The build is somewhat behind schedule by a fair bit now, my daughters birthday has passed but she has yet to see the whole thing put together despite that it was suppose to be a birthday present so as I type this I am still hopeful that she will be blown away by the build. The delay mainly is because I am waiting for the custom cables but I am hoping that won't be too long now, I got the NZXT Hue+ and AER's just today so not had time to fit them, as mentioned I will update the log when things get done this end.


Before I leave it as it is let me show a sample of cables that are on order.
 
Last edited:

Space Lynx

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Scrolling down.

Scrolling down.

This song pops into my head for some reason:

I WISH I WAS A BALLER I WISH I WAS A LITTLE BIT TALLER

and now I can't stop dancing in my chair. your build rocks mate ~ lolol
 
Joined
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Scrolling down.

Scrolling down.

This song pops into my head for some reason:

I WISH I WAS A BALLER I WISH I WAS A LITTLE BIT TALLER

and now I can't stop dancing in my chair. your build rocks mate ~ lolol

Glad you appreciate. :)
 
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We're almost ready to get some game time down!

 
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Some Cablemod gear came the other day... Oh the cables look fantastic though!





 
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I finally have the last piece for the project! It's just a case of putting the last bits together now and will hopefully have it finished some time this weekend.

 
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So applying the vinyl stickers went well, not that much could go wrong here. Here's a tease, final photos to come when the weather gets better.
 
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Processor i7 8700k 4.6Ghz @ 1.24V
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Cooling beQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200/C16
Video Card(s) ASRock RX7900XT Phantom Gaming
Storage Samsung 850 EVO 1TB + Samsung 830 256GB + Crucial BX100 250GB + Toshiba 1TB HDD
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Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 750W
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:respect:

I'm not into all the bling but also not the target market :D But damn this is sexy
 
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:respect:

I'm not into all the bling but also not the target market :D But damn this is sexy

Totally understand, this build isn't for most tech enthusiasts but as you say they are not the target market audience here and hopefully if I get the chance for more work in the future it also won't be for the typical enthusiast, I've really enjoyed doing something different from others but at the same time every enthusiasts can still appreciate. I think there is a market for these kind of builds, I'm hopeful anyway. :)
 
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
20,929 (5.97/day)
Location
The Washing Machine
Processor i7 8700k 4.6Ghz @ 1.24V
Motherboard AsRock Fatal1ty K6 Z370
Cooling beQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200/C16
Video Card(s) ASRock RX7900XT Phantom Gaming
Storage Samsung 850 EVO 1TB + Samsung 830 256GB + Crucial BX100 250GB + Toshiba 1TB HDD
Display(s) Gigabyte G34QWC (3440x1440)
Case Fractal Design Define R5
Audio Device(s) Harman Kardon AVR137 + 2.1
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse XTRFY M42
Keyboard Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint II
Software W10 x64
Totally understand, this build isn't for most tech enthusiasts but as you say they are not the target market audience here and hopefully if I get the chance for more work in the future it also won't be for the typical enthusiast, I've really enjoyed doing something different from others but at the same time every enthusiasts can still appreciate. I think there is a market for these kind of builds, I'm hopeful anyway. :)

Make a D.Va build and watch the orders roll in man. Lots of streamers would kill for it :D
 
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Project is finished, final photos ahead. Big big thanks to my sponsors once again - Overclockers UK.





























 

phill

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System Name Not so complete or overkill - There are others!! Just no room to put! :D
Processor Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
Motherboard Asus Zenith 2 Extreme Alpha
Cooling Lots!! Dual GTX 560 rads with D5 pumps for each rad. One rad for each component
Memory Viper Steel 4 x 16GB DDR4 3600MHz not sure on the timings... Probably still at 2667!! :(
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Storage I'm bound to forget something here - 250GB OS, 2 x 1TB NVME, 2 x 1TB SSD, 4TB SSD, 2 x 8TB HD etc...
Display(s) 3 x Dell 27" S2721DGFA @ 7680 x 1440P @ 144Hz or 165Hz - working on it!!
Case The big Thermaltake that looks like a Case Mods
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply EVGA 1600W T2
Mouse Corsair thingy
Keyboard Razer something or other....
VR HMD No headset yet
Software Windows 11 OS... Not a fan!!
Benchmark Scores I've actually never benched it!! Too busy with WCG and FAH and not gaming! :( :( Not OC'd it!! :(
This is so cool!! I think my girl friend might like this colour and my daughter pink.. I think I might have my work cut out for me lol :)
 
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