Hello DIYers,

I was looking for a case that had no front bezel/door, mid-size, fairly cheap, and easy to mod. Aluminum would've been better but the strength steel will do just fine. The CM 690 (aka RC 690) is my target. My goal is to fit a 3x 120mm rad inside the roof of case, with the 3 fans mounted on top - pulling. Lets hope it doesn't turn out to be scrap metal. I'm just a do-it-yourself'er, modding on the fly with no hard plans. Lets get started.

The box - how it came, reviling the inside, and sitting next to all my the other boxes full of stuff.








The case with some hardware removed.









What do you think, will a Black Ice GTS (stealth) 360 rad fit inside up top? I'll lose a few 5¼ bays, o'well. I plan to mount the fans between rad and the top plastic cover. The challenge is the fans are 5mm taller then the top cover, making modding the mesh a must (tongue twister )







The first cut is always the hardest, so I choose an easy one . Cutting out the rear 120mm fan grill, removing the raised portion. Then removing the cpu fan grill, no need for it.

Nice. I too, own this case. Looking forward to seeing it unfold.

Nice job! What kind of edge trim are you using?

subscribed

Did some work on the top

removed mesh, bent mesh tabs and pushed thought the top.....popped right out




Cut 5mm acrylic piece to fit top, made cuts for the fans, and tested placement.







I’m waiting on the rad delivery before making cuts to the plactic or chassis. I’m thinking of covering the new top with similar mesh and covering the fans with a black AC Ryan radgrillz.

@HITandRUN: the u-channel came from mnpctech.com. I like the different films they have.....use it to cover dvd/cd drives, fan controllers, ect.....great stuff.

I love watching a mod in progress.

Looking good so far.

It will be interesting to see where this goes.

Mix & match:


http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g36/c221/s...ills-Page1.html

Thanks all for looking :nod:



Stay tuned, more to come!



I'm thinking the same thing.



I got a radgrill from frozencpu with some mesh.

More progress y:Dy

Cut the top to fit the fans….looks like it might work…..:nod:







No rad yet. A template I’ve used with a 2x 120mm rad was copied to make a triple. Here’s where the cuts will be made.

Looking good

mmm...triple rad goodness

Did you use a jigsaw to cut the top out?

thank you....thank you



The acrylic I used a scroll saw (jigsaw).....the top case plastic was zipped off with a dremel cutting wheel.

Nice progress my friend!

Started work on the top mesh. I was thinking of using the mesh only, no grill. I would have to bend a new mesh cover, as my first one has a slight lift/bend in it. But If I choose to use the radgillz, the mesh would be fine. I would cut the mesh out around the fans and slap a fresh coat of paint on.

What do you think, radgrill or no grill?

A few pics of the mesh work.

Grill.

I think it looks good/stealth with no grill, just the mesh top.

IDK. I like the RadGrillz (I've got the same color & size, but mine's a Bricky). I think if you chose the RadGrillz though you mine want to cut the mesh away from that area. I think with that mesh you might catch a lot of dust.

Some of the same thoughts I have.....I like the no-grill stealth look, but worry about air flow. I also like the look of the radgrill but thought it could be used somewhere else (another mod, maybe this one in another place). If i go with the grill, I'll have a few hex-heads that will show on top.

tonight's project: prep/paint the acrylic black and see how it looks without the masking tape.

more progress:

The "stealth look is grown on me. I haven't made my mind up....keep it the way it is and worry about air flow and dust.....or.....use the grill and have good air flow with a custom look. :confused:

For now, here's "stealth"







keep'n the "stealth" theme going

I like it.

I think it would look better if the mesh was level with the front, but I don't know how hard that would be to do

Thanks!

maybe.....cut a wedge to fit and redo the mesh.....that would look better

The top mesh is amazing though. Stealth the whole case

Thanks for all the good input and ideas!

More progress.....hows this look?

Cut and sanded an acrylic piece to raise the front up and level out the top, painted it black. I reused the factory mesh....bending and curving the edges would have been a pima.






The Black Ice GTS 360 arrived.....test fitting, just to make sure the line-up is correct.





Tools used to make the cuts for the 360 rad.





Before and after cutting.....the template worked perfect











Now seeing if it all fits.....fans & rad install











Putting on the top cover








Time for a break

I'm digging this, makes me want to get off of my lazy arse and experiment with modding some no-longer-used cases I've got lying around the house.

Great job, looking forward to more progress and seeing it finished.

More progress:

Made room for a D5 pump....sacarifaced a couple hd bays....still have room for a bottom intake fan.

Have a look.








What do you think?

Not too bad. I think the rubber molding may help reduce vibrations. IDK if you D5 is a variable speed model or not, but mine is and tends to be a little loud at setting #5.

Looking real good, I like how the pump fits in so well that it appears to actually belong there.

The pump is a variable speed . Now if it rattles the case....I could push the pump back (there might be a 1/4") allowing it not to touch the hd cage.....it would be close, the discharge line might hit then.




The look I was hoping for . There won't be much room with the PSU, space is limited.

Did you say you got the rubber molding from MNPCtech? where did you find it? I can't seem to locate it on their site..

EDIT: Nevermind, just opened my eyes a little more and found it

Nice looking mod, subscribed

The U-channel came from mnpctech.com .....it's soft rubber and works great. I was almost out, so I order slim c-strip from frozencpu.com....this is thinner but a litttle harder rubber/plastic, it also has precut edging to help with corners.

Thanks for the compliments and ideas.

Here's the difference in the trim:

Are those fan positions final? Will you be blowing case air out through the radiator?

The top 3 fans will have to stay, as for all the others, I'm up for ideas. The radiator will have air pulled from the case, exhusted out the top mesh.

I have both of those in my workshop, and one other difference I'd like to point out is the thickness of the groove inside. The MNPCTech stuff works better for thin material like mesh and stuff, but the FrozenCPU stuff was needed for thicker material, like the body of my Lian Li case.

Here's a idea of the water loop.....just a test setup, seeing how things fit and if it will work. Any thoughts?

If possible, I'd suggest eliminating the combination of T-s and 90-s for the FP-res; IMHO you'd be better off using a y-line on the downward leg.

Thanks radodrill

I never liked the 90-s. My thought was less hose would be seen.

I like your idea.....something like this (the FP-res will be hard to fit but i won't need it as much here)

Here's another test setup loop. Cleaned up the 90-s and new fill line (no res)

Any thoughts?

That's a nice clean loop you got there. I think we have a winner.

More Progress:

I removed the hd cage, sanded the parts and primed. Waited 24 hours sanded and primed again. Another 24 hours later here's what I got.





Next I will be painting the case black (flat or semi), followed by a clear coat.

clear coat on a flat black? Not sure how that would look...

I thinking the same, lol. I should have said black semi gloss with a clear coat or flat black (no clear coat).

More Progress:

Here's the 2nd coat of flat black 2hrs dry time. The parts hanging from wire allows to cover all sides. (I sanded between coats and applied the 2nd coat after 24hrs of drying.)







I'm happy so far with the results. Painting a case has been an experience.

Looks perfect, good job dude.

More Progress:

The paint is dry and I reinstalled the hd cage.








Here are few pics with some hardware installed. I’ve painted the pci slot covers and redid the 5 ¼� locks in flat black. How do you like the uv green fans?








I want to tear down and do the case transfer. I think everything else can be done with it in the case. Any thoughts?

Thats looking great man...I've just about got my flat black painting done. It was a bitch to get all the little nooks and cranny's painted but it's going to look great. Can't wait to see some more progress!

Thanks momoceio Painting is harder than it looks.

I seen catkicker use this sleeving (fans too) and really liked the look. I ordered a few extras

I sleeved the D5 pump, power-reset switches and leds.

Looks real good man, I like the green gives it that bad-ass look, good job.

Thanks ReelFiles



More Progress:

The bottom 120 fan is hitting the PSU cables, I figured this would happen and just glad I got the PSU to fit.




Where will I put all those dang cables? :confused:




More bad-ass on the MB