"Demon Speeding" HAF XB - Tek by Design

[TekLord]

PROLOGUE


I recently acquired a Cooler Master HAF XB case from a friend. At first I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. I have several builds currently in the works and I wasn't sure I wanted to take another one on, at this time. However, after having the case in my possession for a few short days, I changed my mind. The more I studied the case, the more ideas came to mind. I knew I wanted to do something different with this case. I also wanted to try some techniques that I haven't used before. I wanted to do a completely different theme then any of the other builds I've done before. I wanted something supernatural.


I present to you:




With contributions from:














- Components -

Cooler Master HAF XB Case
Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 Motherboard
AMD FX-6300 CPU
Powercolor Radeon HD 7970 GPU
G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB 1866mhz Memory
Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 1050w PSU
Samsung 840 250gb SSD

- Cooling -

XSPC Raystorm AMD CPU Waterblock
XSPC Raystorm 7970 GPU Waterblock
6x Cooler Master JetFlo 120 White Fans
Swiftech 8-Way PWM Splitter
Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 240mm Radiator
Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 360mm Radiator
Swiftech MCP-655 Pump
Bitspower D5 Mod Pump Top V2
Bitspower D5/MCP655 Mod Kit
Bitspower Water Tank Z-Multi 400 Reservoir
PrimoChill Rigid Revolver Compression Fittings
PrimoChill Rigid Acrylic Tubing
Mayhems Pastel Coolant

- Miscellaneous -

MNPCTech Billet Machined Aluminum Case Feet
Lutro0 Customs Teleios Sleeving
Tek by Design Proline Brushed Stainless Steel Fasteners

Prologue
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI

[TekLord]

CHAPTER 1: The Agony


"Perhaps you had better start from the beginning." - The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)







Everything that bolts to the case was unbolted and removed.







Front drive bays removed. These won't be needed, I have a better idea.







Some measuring and 4 drilled holes later, a 360 radiator is installed in place of the original front fan mounts.







The 360 radiator from the inside. It just fits. Now for some cutting.







Success, fans installed. Always a good feeling. The radiator does interfere with the upper right side mounting for the front panel.







The metal surrounding the front drive bays was removed to make room for the reservoir.







The method to my madness. An Alphacool reservoir temporarily stands in for the custom length Bitspower unit that will be installed later.







The set up to cut the acrylic for the reservoir/pump mount.







First cut, of two, in the 3/16 (4.9 mm) acrylic. So far, so good.







The two pieces welded together, yielding a final thickness of 3/8 (10.8mm). Once the solvent has dried, I will cut the mount down to it's final dimensions and drill/tap the holes for the reservoir and pump.







New reservoir/pump mount installed.







A little layout to see how it's all going to fit.







It's definitely not a large case.







Not much room for tubing or cables.







The pump, hard drive cage, lower radiator, and power supply take up all of the rest of the room in the lower section.







Time start working on the cut out for the 240 radiator. I've positioned the cut out, so the fittings on both radiators are vertically aligned.







The outline on the bottom of the case. The odd shape was necessary, because the bottom of the case isn't totally flat.







Cut completed. Now I just need the radiator. Unfortunately, the Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 240mm I'm planning on using, is out of stock everywhere.







The cut from inside the case. There is very little room between the power supply and the radiator.

[TeeBlack]

looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

[Cyberburnout]

Will be looking for to see how this progresses

[TekLord]

More coming soon.

[killjoyjim]

Nice build. Looking to seeing it done.

[vinman]

Great little case with lots of potential I have one love it, and use it as my test bench

Have fun looking forward to seeing it completed

[Inferno]

Looking good ,one day hope to do my own new pc build

[xelosia]

Looks cool waiting to see the updates thanks for posting

[TekLord]

CHAPTER II: A Real Solution


“We all go a little mad sometimes.” - Psycho (1960)





The new fans are here. Cooler Master JetFlo 120mm white.





A test fitting with the Cooler Master JetFlo 120 fans installed without the front bezel installed.







A test fitting with the Cooler Master JetFlo 120 fans installed with the front bezel installed.







The Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 1050W Power Supply has arrived. A big thanks to Cooler Master, Lee Harrington, and Ron Christianson for getting this to me.







Power supply and controller.







Power Supply/Fan Controller. Not sure if I'll be using this.







Cable-o-rama







The new power supply isn't fitting. The EPS connector fouls the left radiator fan.







The new power supply didn't want to fit, but I wasn't about to let that stop me. I decided to mount the power supply sideways in the case. This did pose a few issues, namely how to vent it. I took apart the power supply and reversed the fan. Now it intakes cool air from the rear and exhausts the air out of the fan area.







In order to mount the power supply sideways, I needed a way to secure it. The 4 screws that hold the fan to the power supply casing could also be used to secure the power supply to the case. The original trim plate for the power supply was used for a template, then I drilled the holes.







All four holes drilled from the top.







The floor of the case is raised below the factory power supply mounting location. I had to drill the lower panel holes large enough that the screw heads could fit through into the raised panel.







Success, the power supply is firmly mounted and quite secure. Now to make an extension to bring the plug to the outside of the case.

[dharmik28]

Chopping was the critical part

[realneil]

Nice build so far. Lots of modifications too.

[TeeBlack]

love the Jetflo fans. i plan to get me some soon myself

[TekLord]

Glad everyone likes it. Still far from finished though.

[Mgutierrez33]

Love how this build is turning out so far! Very clever thinking thus far with everything, looking forward to more progress and thanks for posting this here!

[TekLord]

CHAPTER III: Creature of the Wheel

"Supernatural, perhaps; baloney, perhaps not.” - Black Cat (1934)



My original plan was to reuse the factory hard drive rack, but place it in a new location. Since I turned the power supply sideways, the factory hard dive rack wouldn't fit in the case anymore. I channeled the spirit of Ron Lee Christianson made a mount for the SSD out of polystyrene.




The SSD will mount to the front of the new piece. Several layers of polystyrene had to be built up to create the necessary height and thickness.




While I was at it, I extended the side of the new mount all the way over to the power supply. This will allow me to hide the wiring and create a much smoother look.




The new SSD mount is taking shape. There's still a lot of work before it's finished.




MNPCTech case feet, PrimoChill Revolver Rigid Fittings, and PrimoChilll 1/2in. Rigid Acrylic Tube.




Yummy




I think they're a good match.




With the pump rotated 90 degrees, the inlet and outlet ports are in a much better position.




The Bitspower Water Tank Z-Multi 400mm reservoir cut down to 320mm.




The reservoir is now a perfect fit in it's new home.




Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 240mm radiator has arrived and looks oh so pretty with those Cooler Master JetFlo fans sitting on it.




Everything seems to be falling into place. The more I see those PrimoChill fittings, the more I like them.




There's good clearance between the left fan and the pump. This should allow for good airflow to the fan. Overall there isn't a whole lot of room to spare in the basement.