Mass Effect 3 - NZXT Switch 810 Build Log

[mybadomen]

Special thanks goes out to "Rowey" for making me this awesome Banner including my Sponsors names.

by MybadOmen


Special thanks goes out to my Sponsors without them this build wouldn't be possible:


NZXT - Unique. Unprecendented. Inspired


Home page


PrimoChill.com


http://www.mayhems.co.uk/shop/en/

Click Image To Mnpctech Case Mod Store



Welcome to Plextor

The Cat is out of the Bag! Here is the newest Sponsor coming a board the Mass Effect 3 - NZXT Switch 810 Mod! and i am highly excited he decided to be part of it all! Please Welcome Andrew Cook (aka)" DaFrontlineTrooper" as my newest Sponsor !


We Can Achieve Epicness With Very little $ - YouTube



http://atxpctech.com/





Also Special thanks to Pete of Modern Heat for Sponsoring a bunch of Metals for the build!


Case arrived Today and Wow what a beautiful case! Thanks NZXT and incredible job designing the Switch 810. Pictures do this case no justice at all. It is just so amazing with all the room inside and avalible options for the normal builder to the extreme builders.

Here as always is the Victim of this project :






Ok an hour or less later here is where the Switch 810 is at this point in time. When i said it was the Victim i wasn't joking
Just going to enjoy a coffee and take some measurements and get back to ripping it apart.You can be assured there will not be 1 rivet,screw or piece of wiring left to it when i am done with the tear down Process. This will be a 100% Modded NZXT Switch 810 with some Mods you hopefully have never seen before on any build.

Here she is before coffee break.Will be a long night to come:

As you can tell my son has the same blood as me and Passion.






Coffee break and back to work. Like i said .I don't like any thing Stock!

[mybadomen]

Finally found and received the second Powercolor Reference HD6970 2 Gig Dual Bios (Reference) Card. You have no idea how long it has been to get one of these back.I had pair and sold one to finish the cooling in Venom and regretted it so bad.So its back home safe with me and ready to get wet.Still waiting on 1 part that might show today for the setup and that is the EK Dual 3 Slot Parallel Bridge.The links have already arrived. So great day today so far. Also have a tube of MX4 all ready so i can get the new EK Nickel (EN) Block and Black Ramplate right on today.

Here is the card i missed so badly.And if anyone is wondering the Powercolor HD6970 is a great card. Was already running 2 in Crossfire @ 1000/1500 stock voltage and right out of the box so i am very excited. Will be adding Benchmarks at the end of the build.

So for GPU's i will be running:

2 (Reference) Powercolor HD6970's in Crossfire



And for cooling them i would be using nothing other then.


2 EK Radeon HD6970 Block's - (EK-FC6970 Acetal + EN (Nickel)
2 EK Radeon HD6970 RAM Backplate's - Black (EK-FC6970 Backplate - Black)
1 EK-FC Bridge DUAL Parallel 3-Slot
2 EK-FC Link R48X0/58X0

[mybadomen]

Guys just wanted to give thanks to the guys at Mnpctech.com and share that this place has everything you can dream of for Modding Parts.And they make some incredible Custom parts,Window kits,Feet,Vinyl Wrap's Custom Grills anything you can think of they have have it for Modding. If you never checked them out please take some time to. Great Modder's Store.Not to mention they have tons of Video's and Guides on modding and on how to use their products also incredible Customer Service.

Just click Their Banner to see More. I use them and no joke the place is insane for Parts.You can dream it, they most likely have it.

Check them out! Just click on the Banner:




These are my own personal feelings on Mnpctech they honestly have everything you usually cant find and omg check out their Turbo Fan kit and i could go on all day with some of the insane Billet stuff they make.

Some examples of the great stuff that i love from their but they have everything!




I could go on for ever but i think you see my point the place is insane for parts ! I highly recommend them.

[mybadomen]

Update ! Received a box from NZXT today.


The box contained an NZXT Sentry Mix which is a powerful fan controller they recently came out with. And i am so happy to have one in my hands.
These controllers are Beast! 50 watts per channel x 6 channels. Now that's a hell of allot of Fans!



NZXT Sentry Mix Specs:

Features
Slider controls with matte rubber finish for a bold look
50W per channel power to your fans
6 channels for absolute airflow control
Comes with 5 LED colors for you to choose and save

LED Illuminated Fan Controller With Six 50W Channels
Boldly crafted for maximum power and control, the NZXT Sentry Mix Fan Controller takes its inspired construction from sound mixers that command the blast of rock concerts. Each of the six 50W channels will power any enthusiast PC fan. Simply slide and customize airflow with your fingertips.


The Unboxing :

The Box ! Exiting yet?


Or does this get you excited. The peanuts ! I know you all love these.


Ok More updates Later. LOL just kidding here we go:












The color choices are great also so no need to go through the nightmare of soldering new LED's in.Been there done that.Wasn't fun.

Check out the colors it does! Even orange. Now that was thinking.











Another great Product from NZXT..Thanks again NZXT and keep making us great products like this one!

[mybadomen]

Blah got some UPDATES done but ending up how do i say it nicely. Hmmm Vomiting so i had to stop.I guess i am still a little sick.Really best time to be sick because the parts aren't here anyway.

Oh and to the Carbon Fiber Question Yes there will be Carbon Fiber the good stuff 3M Di-Nicon from Mnpctech.com I just didn't want to speak of it till it arrives and i will do a un boxing and small review

Here are some updates :




















Not really Sure what i am going to do with the PSU box because i have no PSU yet to get measurements.I may be building something different for it.

Here is what i had started though,but like i said. I may be changing the design.



Well that's it for now Praying a some parts will arrive tomorrow so can i get the measurements i need.Mainly the Rads, Reservoirs Pumps and PSU are the things that are holding me back from really getting allot done.

More Updates soon Take Care guys.

[mybadomen]

The Theme will be mainly Based on Shepard's Uniform the Mass Effect 3 Logo and the Normandy SR-2 Cerberus Version . Some how want to get all that and some other ideas in the build. But cant really tell till i start building what will look best.Or what i will have time to get done.I am thinking just the PSU alone is going to be close to a week's worth of work.

Somewhat based on this uniform and the Red/White Logo etc.


This is the Coolant i have coming now:to Match the Mass Effect Logo:

Special Thanks goes out To Mayhem's for the support and help Sponsoring this build:

If your looking for insane Coolants this is where you can get them (Please read what you are buying first though,They sell allot of coolants for show purposes only as well as tons of coolants and dyes that can be run for long periods of time.Just make sure you know which you are ordering)

Mayhem's Store here: http://www.mayhems.co.uk/shop/en/

Mayhem's Light Red Pastel:



And his Ice White Pastel :



Also will be adding

Mayhem's Red Dye: to get the right color Red to match the theme:



The coolant will match the Logo:



That should give you a little idea where i am heading.

[mybadomen]

HUGE UPDATE !

As you all know EKWB is a big sponsor in this build and has really liked the work i done in the past.So they sent me a Huge package today and also some little Goodies like Full sleeve shirt some really nice EK badges and a cool EK cup holder.

But besides that lets get down to Business and show you what they sent for the build.Like i said before this will have a very big dual loop system setup sorta like Venom with the dual Res setup.But also a dual Loop on top of that.

Thank you So Much EK for believing in me and your Support during this whole Build.I love EK parts used them in many of my builds and would highly recommend them to anyone.

EKWB - Cooling Solutions EK Water Blocks

Here are the EK parts that will be in the build so far.and as you can see there is going to be allot of Fabricating to get it all in there.

























Will show the boxes opened as i am building.

Again Thank you EK. They even shipped these parts from another Country.So tell me that's not a great company.

Take Care and Stay Tuned. I still have an update from Mnpctech.com to post shortly also.

These are the Major Parts i was waiting for to actually get to work with fabricating because they dont just fit in so Woot time to work and get you guys some updates.

Stay Tuned

MybadOmen

[mybadomen]

"UPDATE"

GPU Time:


2 Powercolor Reference HD6970's with 2 EK-FC6970 Acetal + EN (Nickel) Full cover GPU block's & 2 EK-FC6970 Backplate's - Black







Now i am adding the 2 EK-FC R48X0/58X0 Links to the Water blocks :






Next i will be adding the EK-FC Bridge DUAL Parallel 3-Slot Bridge to the 6970's.And the Crossfire Bridge i am working on.Fittings are just there for show.Not sure what angles i will be using yet till i get it more together.There will be Lots of changes once i get the fabrication out of the way and get to actually working on the Theme.










Now for actually making sure they fit into the motherboard and case nice and smooth.







Just making sure i can get the XTC 420 in now with Push/Pull setup Bottom rad is just sitting there not sure where i am putting it yet.Also i am going to try and change these shots tomorrow if its nice out with better lighting.Anyway you can get the idea of how it is coming together you just cant see how colorful and shiny it is yet. I will fix that soon don't worry.







Ok that's it for today really sorry about the crappy camera. But this is just all design stuff and fabricating anyway.Nothing really pretty to look at yet

Almost forgot. Those Fans are not the fans that will be in this build either. Just there for Measurements .

Stay Tuned Tons more to come and its going to get Allot better!

MybadOmen

[mybadomen]

Oops this update should be before the previous one sorry:
"UPDATE"

Ok got allot of stuff done but basically just for measurement purposes so everything will still be coming back apart many times.


First thing was to tap all the holes in the Radiators which are the EK XTC 420 & EK XTC 280. They are very nice Rads and i like to thank EK for Sponsoring them.









My son helping me Mod of course.He is blowing the shavings away with an air gun while i am tapping the holes.




Ok now i started moving on getting the rear plate ready for mounting the motherboard. Basically i lined up the motherboard where it needed to go,Used my drill press and drilled the new wholes and then tapped them.I then added the standoffs for the motherboard and had to grind down the threads that stuck through the rear of the plat to get a flush mount.Still tons to do to this plate so i will be taking the build apart many times before the rear Plate is permanently mounted.



Now just drilling all the holes that will be for the motherboard standoffs.





Great little 5 speed belt driven drill press i got on sale for $59.99 at Harbor Freight . I jumped on the deal really fast, It was one of those 1 day sales for inside track members only. I also am making it into a little basic milling machine.



Next i Tapped all the holes i just drilled out with the drill press to the same thread as the motherboard standoffs.



Now just making sure everything lines up the way it supposed to and again my little helper Owen is there doing his best.This is a critical part ,you cant just mount the motherboard back plate until you have the GPU's in place or you will end up breaking your video cards if the rear plate isn't aligned perfect.Will be getting a better camera when i start getting to the more important updates because the one i have now is terrible as you can see.Also the CPU block and fittings in the pictures will not be being used.









Another UPDATE in about a 1/2 Hour or so.

Hope you are enjoying it so far.

[mybadomen]

"UPDATE" and as Promised i have some better looking pictures so you can actually see the colors.I think its the energy saver bulbs in my house that mess with my camera.



Quick install of the new CPU block which is an EK Nickel HF Supreme that i bought off a member of OCN username "Wermad". it was in perfect condition as well as the other things i bought of them they are a great seller in the OCN Marketplace. (These couple Pictures aren't great but most of the rest are)





And the Thermal Paste. I will be using MX4 this build:







Ok now finally some better looking Pictures:












Ok everything looking good? Oh well time to tear it apart again Allot of work on this darn back plate.But it is very important at the end of the build.

Never work with Metal without wearing safety glasses. I have spent a few times in the past having metal dug out of my eye at the hospital from being to lazy to put them on.

A set Like these that were a gift from Bill Owen and Mnpctech.com are incredible.



You can get your own pair here and they are very inexpensive for high quality safety glasses: Safety Glasses




Ok Back to Work now that we talked about safety.That if you watch i never practice what i preach half the time

Removed everything all over again after marking out where i want to run my wires.I also made the rear plate so it was removable for now by tapping all the mounting wholes and screwing it on.In the end it will most likely be riveted but for now the tray will have to come out many more times so its screwed on.








Lots of Dremeling Filing and Sand and still lots to go. Also allot of work had to be dont to the old motherboard tray also to pull this off.











Bunch more Filing and Sanding to go and then i believe i will be using a U channel Molding around the edges but not totally sure yet because i want the final look very clean.We will see how it fits soon.

Also more great news the Louvers i designed for the top are done being Laser Cut and are being shipped to me now thbaks to my Sponsor Primochill/Tyler Industries for supplying the materials and also doing any Laser cutting i need done. I still need to work on a hinge system for it, or i may just have them permanently Open. Thats another thing that i haven't decided on yet.I had them cut it bigger then what i needed si i can cut it to size when i have it here to what looks best.The Louvers are the correct size that i needed.

Here is the design which is very basic but should look really good on this build.

My drawing done with Google Sketchup and then paint.



Then the Proper way its done when Tyler Industries redid it for me.To show me the Correct way.Really cool guys at Primochill/Tyler Industries not only do they sponsor me but the guys are great there and have helped me in so many ways.



Again Thanks to Mnpctech.com and Primochill for your help with this build and all the other great things you have done for me.Including advice ,Swag Etc.

More Updates soon i have to stay steady on this thing if i plan on meeting the deadline of end of May.

Keep Watching the cool stuff will come soon enough .

[mybadomen]

This is off topic but can you believe my wife tolerates me? This is the kitchen. Lol and i have projects going on in almost every room in my house. She knows i love it and its who i am.If i Wasn't doing some kid of project i would probably go crazy.Modding is my big thing but i also do a million other things with electronics or just do crazy experiments that i get in my head.

Anyway off topic but thought you guys would like to see.I don't have no big fancy shop or incredible equipment.I am just an average person in my house screwing around with stuff that makes me happy.

Question is what would your wife do if she walked in and her kitchen looked like this?









Usually i have the stove and washing machine covered in parts also

But when i am done i do clean it but it's like that allot lately Plus i work on customers PC's in the Living room. Not a business just little jobs here and there.

Sorry for going off topic but had a long day and going to bad so i thought i would leave today off with a bit of Humor.

Take Care MybadOmen . More Updates shortly.

[mybadomen]

Special Thanks goes out to Pete from "Modern Heat" a local metal fabricating company, for donating all the metal's i need for the project and plenty of extra

I went down to purchase some metal and we ended up talking about what i am doing with the metal and he was excited about the PC's us Modders build and thought it was a great thing we all do.

So he ended up giving me at no cost:

A few different Gauges of Sheet metal

A really nice sheet of thin Aluminum that will be great for modding.

A nice chunk if 1/2" thick Aluminum Stock that i have plans for that you will see later in the build.

Also a Nice size sheet of real metal Mesh with roughly 1/8" holes.

This Metal would have cost me a fortune and now i have enough for many projects so Huge thanks goes out to Pete and the rest of the Guys at Modern Heat in my home town of Gloucester,Mass.

Modern heat has nothing to do with Heating it was the name from years ago.It is now a Metal Fabricating Company.

Here is some of what he gave me today and i have some more already in my shed:






Believe it or not it is extremely hard to get metal in my area because there are tons of metal scrappers in my area.And Home Depot Etc never has any real metals.Just little stuff that they want a fortune for.

Take Care More updates shortly.Hopefully Today!

[mybadomen]

Update !

This i think you guys will like.This is an old piece of metal that most people would just walk over or throw in the trash.But to me its a beautiful thing and i will show you why.


Here is that beautiful piece of Metal i was talking about!





I looked everywhere for a nice looking holder to hold 2 10 inch EK-Multioption X2 Advanced reservoirs one in front of the other.All i could find was side by side mount and none that really looked all that great in my opinion so it was off to my buddies house to play with the Bridgeport and made my own. This isn't completely polished yet or finished ,and i wont do that till i am closer to the end of the build so i don't scratch it up after spending hours wet sanding and buffing it. It looks really good just as it is now i did a little sanding and could be used just as it is but i want it to match the Nickel in the rest of the Build.

Hope you enjoy it this just shows what you can do with an old piece of scrap metal.





More updates soon believe me i have had this build together and apart a ton of times so far but not posting allot of it because its just measuring and decision making.

Keep Watching More Updates Very Soon!

[mybadomen]

"UPDATE"

Really had trouble posting this update do to confusing people or people getting the wrong idea. Please use the only as a Reference shot only.I am only showing the reservoir mounting and pump mounting in this picture.Everything is just sitting in place.The 5.25 bays are going to be totally reworked still. The reservoirs are just stiffing there with a Bungie holding them balanced for measurements.The inside of the Case will be painted and don't to match the final theme and tons tons more.Also i had to remove the Fans for this shot do to NDA i am under on them and please don't ask anything about them because i cannot answer.

I am just posting this to let you guys see this build goes together and apart roughly every day to do more work to the case and is far far from completed. Hope you enjoy the pictures.And take them for what they are Just a Reference point of the build:

Once i receive the PSU for the build it will start really coming together.Allot of measurements are needed from the PSU and whats being done to it before i go can really get moving on the project.

Here the Reference only Shots are: (So you guys can see Progress has been being Made:










And in case you missed it before .The home made Reservoir brackets . Also not complete, might do a design patter on them and still need to polish them to match the Nickel.

Before:






After:







Also the 2 EK-DCP 4.0 (12V DC Pump's) which are 800L / hour are mounted in this cage hard lined right to the Reservoirs. But like i said still tons of work to do with the Cages,They will look nothing like they do now and will have great airflow through them also when finished.

As usual i forgot to take a Photo after i cut it and Put the pumps in but i will edit this post when i have them back out again soon or will add it to a new update since so much is going to be done to the 5.25 trays anyway.But i did mark out where i cut it so far to fit the 2 pumps.




And also i would like to Thank EK for Sponsoring the Pumps,Brackets and basically both the dual loop setups for this build.Along with some swag also like cup holder full sleeve shirt and some other great stuff. Great company and they also have allot into this build.

Here are a Link to the Pumps and the brackets Plus the Specs of the Pumps:Also a shot of me Proudly Sporting the shirt they gave me. Even though i am way overtired in the picture and look like hell.I will post it.

2 EK-DCP 4.0 (12V DC Pump's)

Model: EK-DCP 4.0
Rated voltage: DC12V +/-10%
Starting voltage: DC 8V above
Power Consumption: 18W +/-10%
Load current: 1.8A +/-10%
Q-max: 800 L/hr +/-10%
H-max.: 4m +/-10%
Size: 75 x 54 x 66mm
Life Expectancy: 50000/hrs at 25°
Noise: 24.5 dB
Weight: 670g

Enclosed:
1 × EK-DCP Pump
1 x Anti-vibration Pad
1 x 3pin to 4pin Cord
2x Brackets

Link to them here: EK-DCP 4.0 (12V DC Pump) - Pumps - Pumps & Accessories

And me looking horrible. but still Sporting there Shirt to show my appreciation towards them.I wear all my Sponsors Shirts and you will most likely see all of them by the end of the build,Actually i think this is the first Photo of me without a Respirator on or hiding myself :




Lol sorry i look so Terrible. but oh well i shared it with you guys anyway:


And of Course more "UPDATE's" very Soon!

[mybadomen]

UPDATE!

Ok, I have been holding off on this update for a while now because this Company and the owner does so much for me. The sponsorship i have with them is a bit different then a regular sponsorship. I actually belong to a team of a few Modder's that they sponsor.I also got on their team i guess you would say before this build came about.



I cant even begin to explain what they have done for me and mainly the owner himself between moral support help with projects and basically any help i need .Not to mention support when my father in law passed away last week.All i can say is one hell of a company and one hell of a guy personally.


Ok to start with,They sponsored me a bunch of tubing for for my current builds and any other builds just to make sure i have different colors i may need.So this is what they sent and i Thank them for having me on their team and just for everything.


Here are some of the things they Helped me with:

Help with Covering the Sponsored Thread Fee's

Tubing




Also they helped me make this which is my new update


I sent them this which was the only way i knew how to draw something up:



[B ]And as you can see he taught me the correct way to draw it up:[/B]



Also they Supplied the Materials which is a Black Acrylic that matches the case perfect. And did the Laser Cutting for me.I had them do it to a shape bigger then i needed so i could actually finish making it from my house but having them Laser cut the Louvers makes it so much smoother and even then i could ever do by hand, since they all have to be the same size exact to fit together. Not sure yet if i am just going to have them stay open or actually get into making them open in close right now since there is so much to do still.

Here is what the Louvers sorta Look Like. This is in very Raw state and i need to make the hinges and cut it to fit.Right now i just have some fittings holding them up a little so you can get the idea.I love how it came out and was exactly the look i was going for.

Hope you guys Like it, because i really do.








Keep in mind this is just sitting there on compression fittings and not Lined up or cut at all . Also it has a protective blue layer over it.I really think this is going to help make this build look incredible.


Take care Guys and Thanks for watching

MybadOmen

And More Updates Shortly!

[mybadomen]

Just wanted to show you guys what i picked up today. I have been dying to get one of these and i have always used the Generic ones until now!

This DREMEL absolutely takes the cake for Modding and i am so excited to own one. Just to be clear i am not Sponsored by Dremel and got this on my own! But i still love showing off anything that is great from any company that i love and this is one of them.

The DREMEL 3000 Insane Modding tool. As well as there other Accessories and tools which i plan on slowly getting attachments for mine!

And here is the Tool i went with which is probably the most used tool in Modding Custom PC's or anything for that matter.

The DREMEL 3000

And a small Unboxing








Some bits and wheels come with it :



Also Grabbed an Attachment book so i can get some new attachments soon:






Absolutely Amazing tool the DREMEL 3000 is and i cant wait to get chopping away with it.I have used the same one many times but just never had my own.So as you can imagine i am excited beyond belief!

I cant even express how Highly i recommend a DREMEL 3000 to anyone Modding PC's or anything like what we do.Or you can do what i have been doing and thats buying cheap ones and replacing them after every build! Those days are finally over .WOOT!


For more info on DREMEL see their website here : Home


Figured i would show this since you guys are waiting to see more Updates and this gives you something to look at till then.

Now off the Start chopping Stuff up

More Updates Shortly !