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Asus Xtreme Design Contest Stage 2 Build by TiTON - Project Synergy


TiTON

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Hey Folks,

 

First time poster here, long time lurker :) I wanted to share some great news with everyone here are Overclockers Club. Asus is hosting an awesome case modding competition called "Asus Xtreme Design Contest". This contest allows the public to submit case modding ideas, with the grand prize winner going to CES in Las Vegas to show off their mod. This contest is broken down into 3 Stages. Stage 1 - Public Case Mod Concept Submission, Stage 2 - Build your Mod, and Stage 3 - CES Finalist.

 

My case mod concept titled, "Synergy", was lucky enough to make it as one of the top 20 entries. You can check out my Stage 1 Submission Here: Project Synergy. By making it to Stage 2, Asus provided a HUGE load of parts and prizes to build the case mod.

 

Now that Stage 2 has started, I have less then 30 days to complete this case mod. The end of stage 2 is set for 12/23/09. Talk about crazy pressure. Its the 1st week of December, and I haven't started modding yet :P So I have 3 weeks to get this done.

 

With Only 3 weeks, getting the case mod completed is key. There is no way that Asus will take an incomplete mod and show it off at CES. With Work, Family, and the Holidays, there is not much free time. Every moment in the modding garage has to be VERY productive. I designed this mod to look and perform awesome.

Here is the design that I submitted for the competition:

 

IRONMODS_Asus_Pic01_Small.jpg

 

IRONMODS_Asus_Pic02_small.jpg

 

Here are some of the key features of the case mod:

 

1. Watercooled system (CPU and GPU)

2. Blue / Black / Gray Color Scheme

1. Side Panels will be painted Candy Kobalt Blue

2. Frame will be painted Satin Black, while the unibody will remain Brushed Black Alum

3. Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor color matched

4. Custom Front Face Panel

5. Redesign Fan Grills and Top Panels

5. Re-engineered Internal Structure

6. Look Bad butt!!

 

The over all concept sounds simple, but the details should be what brings this case together. So stay tuned for more!!

 

- Ton

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Grand Opening!!

 

Asus kept true to their word, they provided us with all the great gear that they promise.

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P01_001.jpg

 

Here is a list of the great sponsors for this competition:

 

Antec.jpgGskill.jpgIntel.jpg

NVidia.jpgRazer.jpgsamsung.jpg

 

Now.. lets get to do some close up of the great gear:

IRONMODS_Syn_P01_001.jpg

 

ASUS Xtreme Design P7P55D Premium motherboard and Asus GTX260 Graphics Card:

IRONMODS_Syn_P01_004.jpg

 

Intel Core i7 860 Processor Installed on the Asus Motherboard.

IRONMODS_Syn_P01_005.jpg

 

GSkill 4GB Trident DDR3, and 128GB Samsung SSD:

IRONMODS_Syn_P01_002.jpg

 

Razer Lycosa Keyboard and DeathAdder Gaming Mouse:

IRONMODS_Syn_P01_003.jpg

 

Antec TruePower Quattro 850 Power Supply:

IRONMODS_Syn_P01_006.jpg

 

All the great hardware and gear above provided by Asus and the event sponsors will be going into this awesome case that I have been saving. The Silverstone TJ07 in Black Brushed Aluminum. I really enjoy modding Silverstone cases. The craftmanship and quality of the cases make them ideal to work with.

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P01_007.jpg

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P01_008.jpg

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P01_009.jpg

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P01_010.jpg

 

That is just some of the goodies for this case mod. Stay tuned for my next post.

 

- Ton

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Test Fitting and Hacking Part 1.

 

The goal is for everything to fit perfectly, and many items I will only get one chance to make due to the time contraint. So first thing first.. install the motherboard, power supply, and see where the wires fall:

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P02_001.jpg

 

By having the motherboard and PSU in the case, I can now judge exactly where and how the cables are to be ran, and where to cut holes.

 

Here is a picture of the motherboard tray. the great news is that the standoff on the TJ07 seems slightly taller then the standard standoffs. This will make running wires underneath the board much easier:

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P02_002.jpg

 

Before placing the motherboard back on the standoff, i covered the key areas with blue masking tape. Using the motherboard as reference, I marked key areas to be cut:

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P02_003.jpg

 

Here is a picture after the motherboard tray has been cut. The goal is to have the holes big enough to run the wires, but position under the actual motherboard to keep everything lookign pretty. Techincally, I didn't have to make a CPU socket cut out, but with many new CPU fans and waterblocks havign special hold downs, this will make installation very easy.

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P02_004.jpg

 

To add a little "BLING" to this case mod, I am adding a 7" Wide Touch Screen display to this mod.

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P02_005.jpg

 

The plan is to have the display sit semi flush with the side panel. The screen will display various system information through the side panel. As you can see, I cannot mount this directly to the optical cage, the unit is too thick.

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P02_006.jpg

 

By using my scroll saw, I was able to cut a nice hole, which will let me adjust how far off the display will be from the optical drive. The goal is to have the display close to the side panel as possible.

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P02_007.jpg

 

That is what I have for now.. more modding on the way, as well as updates.

 

- Ton

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Hey Guys,

 

Thanks for the compliments. I have another update I am about to post. Didn't realize I didn't enable email notification. I apologize about the delay. As for the case, I love the TJ07. Hopefully it will come out well :D

 

- Ton

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Templates, Deconstruction, and More Hacking:

 

Before taking the case completely apart, I need to make some templates to insure that the pieces of plexi I will be cutting will fit in flawlessly. With limited material, I can't afford to cut several revisions. Construction paper is cheap and easy to work with. I am able to quickly verify that my measurements are correct. Measuring Rectangular pieces is pretty straight forward.

 

Here is a picture of the front face template:

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P03_001.jpg

 

I also made templates for the top and side optical pieces. Rounded edges are always so annoying. Getting the right curvature is not as easy as it seems. If the curve isn't right, you have strange gaps, and the outcome looks terrible.

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P03_003.jpg

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P03_004.jpg

 

Now that the templates are done, and ready to be transferred to acrylic, I can take the case apart and get ready for sanding and painting.

 

Here is a picture of the case before being taken apart:

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P03_005.jpg

 

Here is a picture of the case completely disassembled. This was all down by removing screws, no pop rivets were used :) I love this type of craftsmanship in the cases i work with:

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P03_006.jpg

 

These parts will be sanded, primed, and painted when the weather warms up a bit here in Southern California.

 

Since it is raining outside, I shifted my attention to the Antec Power Supply. My initial goal is to completely micro sleeve all these wires that will be used. Microsleeving in itself is going to be a huge chore. But Antec doesn't make the task easier.

 

Each cable chunk has these strange molded pieces of plastic that keeps the wires and the current sleeve together. If you look very closely you can see its molded. The part does not move or wiggle at all:

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P03_007.jpg

 

I decided to see how hard it is to separate the cables, and the answer is.. "its a PAIN" I was hoping that the modular cover would just shatter like a ferrite coupler, but it doesn't. It is completely made from rubber / plastic. Once I removed the plastic, i found that under each cover was a metal clamp.

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P03_008.jpg

 

Here is the final results of my 1st wire separation. its not going to be pretty:

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P03_009.jpg

 

I am really worried that all the work to free the cables may inadvertently damage the wires or expose them. I have to see if I can find a better and consistent method of freeing the cables, if not. We may have to leave them as is :(

 

That is the update for today. More to come soon :)

 

- Ton

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  • 2 weeks later...

In the last update I was fiddling around w/ the Antec Power supply. The Antec Quattro has this weird modular cable holder on them, which I was a bit concerned about. I was worried that a slight slip of the hand could cause a cable to be snipped. Well.. this is case modding, and risks are part of the game. So I decided to go forth w/ the micro sleeving.

 

First thing first.. we have to open up the power supply. This does void the warranty, so there is no turning back now. By opening the power supply, I can sleeve the cable closer to the source, which will give it a very clean look.

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P04_001.jpg

 

Before jumping way too deep into the microsleeving, I started up with the 8 pin PCIe cable first. Here is a picture of the cable freed from the stock sleeving and modular clamp.

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P04_002.jpg

 

The PCIe sleeving went great!! Here is a picture comparing the stock sleeving to the new IRONMODS sleeving.

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P04_003.jpg

 

Here is a closeup. The sleeving pattern is nice and tight. No wire coloring showing through.

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P04_004.jpg

 

With the test run done.. its now time to tackle the remain wires that are coming out from the PSU,, which includes a second PCIe 8 pin, 8 pin ATX, and the mega 24pin ATX. Shh.. we snipped off the 4 pin ATX cable, since it wasn't needed, (we used the 8 pin instead). What a tangle web we weave, when we decide to micro sleeve.

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P04_005.jpg

 

With all the PSU Sleeving done, it is time to button up the unit. Here is a picture of the 24 pin ATX all microsleeved. If you look toward the base of the PSU, the sleeves runs completely into the unit, and looks seamless.

 

IRONMODS_Syn_P04_006.jpg

 

To finish up the sleeving on the PSU, I still have to do a few modular cables.

 

That was fun. I will post another update shortly.

 

- Ton

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