[Project Log] GREEN MOLECULE (modded Fractal Design ACR Mini R2)

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Case: Modded Fractal Design ARC Mini R2
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus V Gene
CPU: Intel i7 3770K
GPU: nVidia GTX 970 SLI (still need to acquire)
RAM: 4 x 4GB Corsair Dominator GTs 2133Mhz
SSD: undecided
HDD: undecided
PSU: Corsair AX860

Cables: Icemodz custom sleeved white and green cables

Radiators: Alphacool NexXxoS Full Copper Monsta 240mm, Alphacool NexXxoS Full Copper ST30 360mm
Fans: 7 x Gelid Wing Green
Pump: Swiftech MCP35X with Koolance casing and heatsink
Reservoir: Bitspower Water Tank Z-Multi 150 Full Acrylic
Fittings: Primochill Rigid Ghost Green fittings, various Bitspower matte black extensions and angle fittings
Tubing: Primochill Rigid Clear
CPU Block: EK-Supremacy CSQ Polished Nickel Plexi
GPU Block: 2 x EK-FC670 CSQ Nickel Acetal (reusing old blocks that will fit on some GTX 970 reference cards)
RAM Block: EK-RAM Monarch X4 CSQ Polished Nickel Plexi
Motherboard Block: EK-MOSFET ASUS M5G Acetal
SLI Bridge: EK-FC Bridge CSQ Polished Dual Parallel
Coolant: Mayhems UV Emerald Green

Lighting: DarkSide UV LED strips

Other: nVidia Claw SLI Bridge, Aquaero 5LT USB fan controller

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Hey guys! My name is Alex, I'm from Gold Coast, Australia and I just joined the forum.

I would like to welcome you to my new build log and what will be my second mod project.

I also shared my first mod project, the Vault Boy in the Rig Gallery. Check it out here.

Hope you guys enjoy the project and pop by and say hi

This build is more of an upgrade of my system in a Fractal Design ARC Mini R2 in which I will be keeping most of the components as well as adding new ones and a lot of modding work to the case and other bits

Here is the build before disassembly and before a pretty major event happened ...







Now back to the pretty major event that went down with the build. One Saturday morning a few weeks back now, while I was still enjoying my sleep my partner wakes me up telling me there is a burning smell coming from the system, me thinking she's just making fun of me as she sometimes does, I choose to ignore her. However as she kept insisting and telling me that it's no joke I got up and went to the other room where the system was just to be greeted by this awful smell of burnt plastic and a couple of seconds later realising that the DDC pump had burned out.

The CPU was rocking 105C according to Real Temp but was still running fine. Not sure how long it's been like that, it was running the whole night as we stream movies to our bedroom from it and before I went to sleep it was fine. I immediately turned it off by just a normal shut down and there went my day as I decided to just dismantle the thing there and then.

The aftermath is shown in the following pics as I went ahead and took everything apart, cleaned it and installed the system on my desk to test everything. Fortunately everything was fine minus a burned out DDC pump . The little guy has been pumping my liquid pretty much 24 hours straight for the past two years and a bit and it decided it's had enough of the Queensland heat. Just when I was about to mount a heat sink on it along with the upgrade of the system.

And let's start straight with the dirty stuff







As you can see the little guys burned out pretty good, I doubt I can salvage it with a new PCB from that DIYINHK site that still sell them







If I'm guessing right the fluid must have been boiling around the CPU area that caused the tube to fog up as well as deform a little bit to the touch. My partner may have woken me up just in time to save it. Not sure if the system would have shut itself off after a while or if the acrylic tube would of just melted but I think I'm lucky nothing further happened.







Here's the empty case and by the looks of things something funny happened to the label on that Corsair Force GT SSD.

 

And everything out on the table to be cleaned and inspected

You may also spot the new side panel that I have been working on the few days prior, finished it the night before.

Here's a better look at the side panel



The plan was to have more molecules but I managed to mess up the left side of it so decided to just make the window bigger. Still think it came out pretty good in the end, minus a few painting mess ups due to an unexpected storm that occurred as the paint was drying.



These are the molecule shapes I used as I am not good at drawing things







A better look at the finished side panel as well as the very last pic of the system running

The side panel was fully crafted by me using a Dremel rotary tool, a jig saw and lots of filing

I was also playing around with this new Aquaero 5LT controller the night before. Installed the optional heatsink but didn't get to test it out.

 

The modding begins !!!

First I cut a small hole in the floor which I will use as a drain from the bottom outlet of the Alphacool Monsta 240mm rad that will be going in the front of the case.



Did a cut on the MB tray as well. I will be making a shroud for the bottom so I cut the bottom right corner of the MB tray as to better help with cable management at the back.





I made a small mistake here and started cutting higher that I wanted to. However it doesn't make a difference as I will be putting some white acrylic around the MB that will cover everything.









I then got the case ready for painting

 

In this last pic you can see how the brushed aluminum aspect of the front panel looks after painting.

Some parts will be going green while other will stay white.

The plan is to have the inside of the case white and the outside shell green like the side panel. Hopefully it will look good like I'm imagining it.

 

Here is the frame of the case assembled once the paint dried.














That's it for now. Stay tuned for more.

Cheers,

Alex

 

Looking good keep up the great work

 

Thanks mate

 

Do you have any tips reguarding a rivot gun I aquired a manual one but ive never used one my self. I like how you added the additional motherboard tray area. What thickness is that metal peice? This will be my first modification instead of just a build. Thanks for the tips and or advice in advanced.

 

Rivet guns are really easy to use. I have a manual one too . Here a quick video from Bill Owen at MNPCTech that should help you figure out how to use it.

I've only used rivets when assembling cases back after painting. When I attach something new to the case I try to use existing screw holes or drill new ones just slightly smaller than the screw I wanna use. For example if I want to use an M4 screw then I drill a hole using a 3.5mm drill bit, just slightly smaller. If the metal of the case is pretty thin it's usually very easy to screw things in and then it's easy to take out later if you change your mind.

The metal piece I used initially in the build was just 1mm thick aluminum. Drilled some holes to match some existing ones on the case and then just screwed it in . That was there in order to hide a bunch of fan cables . I will be using white acrylic this time to cover the whole MB area. Not sure of the thickness yet but most likely 2 or 3 mm.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Alex

 

Hey guys. Here's a small update of what I've been working on for the front and top panel grills of the case

I previously painted them white, I then cut some molecule shapes out of white vinyl, though any colour could have worked. I then painted green over them and after drying I took off the vinyl stickers. Very simple do to and I'm very happy with the result.





















Cheers,

Alex

 

Hey guys. I've been getting quite a few things done to the case in the past few days.

Firstly here's the case with the top and front panels finished. Pretty happy with the way they turned out.

 

I ended up fully stripping both side panels, including the windowed one as I was not happy with the finish. I will be painting them in the next couple of days



I also did some work on the acrylic panels that will be covering up the inside of the case in some places. It is a nice glossy white acrylic so hopefully it will show some cool reflections once the build is complete.

Here's the front bit





This will be the shroud for the bottom of the case. Hiding the PSU and also I will mount the Aquaero to the inside of it.



Cut and ready for bending, though it was getting quite late that night so I haven't bent it yet. Finger crossed it will turn out good. It will be the first time I'm bending an acrylic panel.



This is the panel for the back




Here it is cut and in place inside the case. The top right corner bit will be covered by the radiator and fans.



I decided to make two small windows to show off the SSDs on the back of the motherboard tray.



Haven't filled the cuts as again, it was getting quite late that night



Here it is on the case though




That's all for now guys.

Stay tuned for the next update.


Cheers,

 

Hey guys! Here's a small update on the build.

I bent the acrylic piece for the shroud. I think it came out pretty good for my first acrylic panel bend.

Firstly here's a look at the painted rads. You'll notice on the 240 Monsta I stuck some molecule vinyl shapes and painted over to have an even look. Didn't come out as I expected thought I still like the look of it.









Here is how I paint the rads. Cover up all the fins with some painters tape and use some long screws to give me something to grab on to and flip it over so that I can do both sides at once. Another option would be to hang them, though I don't have the space for that.

 

Here's the case with the shroud in, although it's not secured yet, just sitting in place. Also the front rad is just sitting there so I can visualize the look of things.





I hope I won't have clearance issues with the EK-FC Bridge for the two GPU water blocks with the shroud. Might be pretty tight once the GPUs are in.







I might have something special going in the 5.25" bays. We'll have to wait and see



A look from the back and underneath the shroud. Plenty of room for cable management and I hope that once the PSU is in place the Aquaero will have some room left in there





Side panels are still not painted. It's been way to hot and humid here in Queensland to paint these past few days. I did clean them up and prepped them nicely so they are ready to paint on the next cool .. er day





A close look at the SSD windows



I think the windowed side panel will look sweet once the build is completed





That's about it. Now I need to get the motherboard in and take some measurements for the MB tray acrylic piece. Secure everything properly inside the case, get those side panels done and the case will be near completed.

Stay tuned for more.


Cheers,

Alex

 

This is really starting to take shape. Looking good mate

 

Thanks mate

 

Hey guys. Here's a quick look at some of the components and water blocks.

EK Maximus V Gene water block painted white







Polished EK Ram block with the Primochill rigid fittings that I will be using











EK Supremacy EVO CPU block polished and painted white

 

Waterblock installed on the motherboard





Removed the heat sink for painting









Added some white vinyl to the side of the ram slot that will be seen. The ram will also get custom graphics



Batter look with all the waterblocks on



You can also see I added some white vinyl on top of the sata connectors



White strip on the RAM though I don't like the look of it, as I said custom graphics for the RAM will be coming

 

Heat sink is back on the motherboard after painting. I will be making a custom plate for it with some nice ROG graphics to match the theme of the build.









That's pretty much it for now guys. Most of the red bits on the motherboard will be covered by components so they won't be seen and the build will still stick to the green and white theme.

Stay tuned for more.


Cheers,

Alex

 

Hey guys,

Here are the Gelid Wing UV Green fans. 7 will be going in the build, 3 on the top 360 radiator in push and 4 on the front 240 radiator in push/pull. This is a quick look at the fans before painting along with the UV LED strips from DarkSide. Two of the fans have white LEDs, those will be going in the front of the case on the 240 rad and will be staying black, the rest of the fans will have the casing painted white.







These are the two with white LEDs



I have 9 of them but will only need 7 in the build












Thanks for checking it out.

Cheers,

Alex