burntcircuit Posted September 23, 2006 Posted September 23, 2006 Well I am just getting started on this build, and while I wait for a few missing items, I thought I would post a few pics for the street. Let me know what you think, I hope you like it Materials: Thermaltake Armor Jr, Mid tower with Window HW Labs Black Ice Pro II Radiator AquaXtreme 50Z-DC12 Inline 12vDC Pump AquaXtreme IceFloe Universal CPU Water Block - 1/2" Danger Den Maze4 GPU Waterblock 7/16" ID (5/8" OD) Tygon R-3603 Laboratory-Grade Tubing Danger Den Perfect Seal Fitting (G 1/4" Thread, 5/8" OD) Thermaltake A2368 120MM Fan 2000RPM 21DBA 78CFM 120MM Wire Grilles Coasters Part I The Armor Jr. being a mid tower I was surprised to find (5) 5.25" drive bays, and a slide out 3.25" drive tray for an additional 4 drives. 120MM fans front and back for cooling, I/O panel in the top for headphones, mic, USB, and 1494 interface. Optional side window panel was also a nice touch as I was never good at cutting and fitting plexi. Here is what the case looks like stock. On the outside it looks like a scaled down Armor, but on the inside things are quite different. Stock the TT Armor Jr. is ready for a 120.1 configuration, but going to a dual rad 120.2 configuration is a bit tricky. One thing this case has going for it is a pretty large recess built into the bottom of the case, that is designed to hold a reservoir. A slide in tray recess is provided, that would work well with some of the swiftech intergrated pump units. I had other ideas though as this recess looked like it could possibly be used to mount some 120MM fans, and possibly the rad. First things first we need to remove some pieces from the case before we can get started. The 3.25" drive tray will not be needed, so out it comes. It will become clearer why later on in another post. With the drive tray removed this is what the bottom of the case looks like: To get a sense of what the rad/fan mounting clearances will be, I dropped the rad into the bottom of the case. The dimensions are a tight fit, but doable. To accurately cut the mounting holes for the rad, I made a template out of styrene. You could also substitute round holes for ventilation, which may make cutting easier. I have access to an air wheel with cutting disks, so it cut through this like butta! Here is a pic of the cutting outline on the bottom of the case, ready for the cutting wheel!!! After cutting both of the openings, and drilling the holes for the barbs to pass through the bottom of the case, I dressed the cuts with a file, and repainted the bottom of the case black. Notice the casters installed on the bottom of the case. They are required to provide clearance for the rad, and also to allow the case to be rolled around on the floor. To mount the rad requires that a threaded nut be installed in each mounting hole on the rad, to recive a long bolt that will hold the rad and the fans onto the bottom of the case. Tapping these is not possible, as there is not enough clearance behind each mounting hole for using a tap, without wrecking the rad. J-nuts to the rescue. These little devils are a wonder, and bascially after enlarging the holes slightly, just slide the j-nut over the hole, and you have a threaded insert ready to hold a bolt or fastener. When drilling the holes its good to use a backing plate so that the drill does not damage the delicate rad underneath. Once the holes are drilled and everything lines up mouting the rad is pretty simple. A few long bolts thru each corner of the fans, into the j-nuts, and the whole thing comes together pretty solid. Here is a picture with one fan installed and the rad hung off the bottom of the case. And the second fan, Finally here is what it looks like from the bottom. Hopefully the rest goes just as well as this part did. In the next installment I hope to post some pictures of the completed loop, and then the final build with the mobo, drive trays, and all the other bling bling. See ThermalTake Armor Jr. - Part II for the rest of this project Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kandoo Posted September 23, 2006 Posted September 23, 2006 That is very sweet my friend....keep it coming... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thraxz Posted September 23, 2006 Posted September 23, 2006 I'm very strongly considering that setup in my CM stacker... I'm just wondering how it will work. THANKS. I've currently have my HDD's sitting out of the case ready for a real install but the rad is in the way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Blooz1 Posted September 23, 2006 Posted September 23, 2006 Excellent job so far! Very neat job of cutting on the holes - are you involved somehow with metalworking for your "day" job? This mod is truely "thinking outside the box!" Keep posting your pics - we want to see the end of this one! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollietwinam Posted September 23, 2006 Posted September 23, 2006 Great looking mod Two questions.... Why did you paint the bottom black when no-one's going to see it? And is the performance (i.e. air flow) going to be impeded in any way if the rad doesn't have enough clearance from the ground? Great job though, wish I was that handy so I could mod my fugly ThermalTake case Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickers303 Posted September 23, 2006 Posted September 23, 2006 Very nice one, to tell the truth: Personally i`m way too "scared" to mod the case, i`m not that good with a saw so i`m using an external bracket for my 360` radiator on top of the case Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpman Posted September 23, 2006 Posted September 23, 2006 Amazing...im planning on getting the same case...so this helps a lot te get a sense of size. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundx98 Posted September 23, 2006 Posted September 23, 2006 Some real nice work man, keep the pics and info coming! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronicfathead Posted September 23, 2006 Posted September 23, 2006 Cool. Hope it's going to be on a desk or laminate flooring though, as it's going to suck up a lot of dust. I really like the look though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burntcircuit Posted September 24, 2006 Posted September 24, 2006 That is very sweet my friend....keep it coming... Thanks for the kind words and encouragement "Kandoo", and everyone else for that matter! I'll be sure to post some extra special pics just for you in a future post. Excellent job so far! Very neat job of cutting on the holes - are you involved somehow with metalworking for your "day" job? This mod is truely "thinking outside the box!" Keep posting your pics - we want to see the end of this one! Funny, my day job could not be further from metalworking but I spent a good chunk of my time (10yrs) modding a hot-rod. Ground up restoration, including body and paint. I learned how to work metal on that project. Thanks for the support blooz1, I'll be posting an update soon with more progress and pic's so I hope you will stay with me... Great looking mod Two questions.... Why did you paint the bottom black when no-one's going to see it? The Bottom plate on the TT Armor Jr. is made of steel, and after cutting it up there was quite a bit of exposed metal. I was a bit worried that over time the edges might rust, or if I had a leak it would rust, so I dressed the edge with file and repainted it. Also with it painted to match the rad, the pictures just look much better;) And is the performance (i.e. air flow) going to be impeded in any way if the rad doesn't have enough clearance from the ground? Great job though, wish I was that handy so I could mod my fugly ThermalTake case I thought about the airflow, and dust issues that might have been a problem for a long time but in the end decided to go for it anyhow. With the rad and fans now installed I can tell you there is a healthy flow of air through the rad with both fans at maximum speed. As far as dust is concerned most of the systems I have owned have collected dust in them, even without holes cut in the bottom of the case, so I did not anticipate this to be a huge problem. In the event that dust is an issue I may have to fabricate a dust filter out of a pair of black nylon stockings. Hopefully some of what I have done here will help get you started on your modding project. Its not really that hard, you just need to have a plan, take it slow and you will be fine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burntcircuit Posted September 24, 2006 Posted September 24, 2006 Excellent job so far! Very neat job of cutting on the holes - are you involved somehow with metalworking for your "day" job? This mod is truely "thinking outside the box!" Keep posting your pics - we want to see the end of this one! Funny, my day job could not be further from metalworking but I spent a good chunk of my time (10yrs) modding a hot-rod. Ground up restoration, including body and paint. I learned how to work metal on that project. Thanks for the support blooz1, I'll be posting an update soon with more progress and pic's so stay tuned... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
t_ski Posted September 24, 2006 Posted September 24, 2006 Looks great. How much actual clearance is there between the rad and the surface the case sits on? It looks pretty close. I would recommend putting some grills over it for protection. Hole design for the rad was very similar to what I've done with my case, although mine is at the top of the case. The difference was I chose to remove the middle material between the fan edges, so there is only an outline of the hole thing. Nice cuts... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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