Whoot! The Gen 8.5 project won the August 2007 slot for NVIDIA's "SLI Rig of the Month"! The article may be found here: slizone.com/object/slizone_rotm_august07.html. There's no actual prize other than the recognition itself. It's still an honor to have my second mod win. It was a fun, possibly tedious project, that has now validated my presence as a PC modder within the community.

If you've yet to do your own mod, and you have interest in modding, I'd recommend spending some time to plan a new project. Take your time with it, and don't rush the process. Make sure you'll be proud of your creation by spending time with every detail. You don't want regrets when you mod, or you'll be constantly tinkering with it after you've finished.

Once you've created something awe-inspiring, submit pics of it to magazines and/or online communities for contests or recognition. Even if the fame is fleeting, it's worth the effort because it builds confidence in yourself. That confidence will easily apply to other areas in your life.

Front Panel Parts and Drives. First pic is of the front panel components and drive face plates, painted the Toreado color. Second, third, and forth pics show the bay holder for the Matrix Orbital GX Typhoon LCD I purchased. This was a little tricky since the bay is all one piece of metal, and the front has a piece of protective plastic that I had to mask off before painting. The other pics show other drive bay devices and the Nexus fan controller.



Case Top Panel and Interior. I was stuck utilizing some of the few days we've had recently that didn't bring rain. Unfortunately, the humidity was still very high. This causes problems when painting, since the paint will have a tendency to dull and get hazy in high humidity conditions. The only solution I've found is to use a heat gun aimed at the surface while painting (which is slightly a small fire-hazard to say the least). I would prep the surface first by heating it, paint, then use the heat gun to help dry the paint. This doesn't eliminate dulling entirely, but it gets it to an acceptable level so that polishing later will restore it to a glossy finish.

Fortunately, I am painting at the edge of my garage, with the garage door open all the way to provide more than enough air flow. This probably brings the threat of a fire-hazard down significantly to the point of being trivial. Either way, painting went well and my heat gun did not start spewing flames.

I applied most of the color coats in better weather, but all of the clear coat and all of the Toreado color was applied in humid weather. I put a considerable amount of work into wet sanding and polishing all of the surfaces once the clear coat cured. The only surfaces I have left to polish are the side panels. Here are some pics of the top and inside of the case. The final pic shown is with my camera's flash enabled to help show the inside of the case a little more.



Smokin' Hot Front Panel. I'm really happy with the end results of the front panel. The two-tone approach with the flame red paint covered by the Toreado-colored mesh and drive bay face plates looks more like a Ferrari than a PC. It was a risk, trying two-tone on the front (at least two-tone with a color other than black for the mesh), yet I am so happy I took that risk.

Any gamer or PC enthusiast will tell you the importance of a powerful power supply when you want the latest hardware. NVIDIA's graphics proccessors (GPU) on 8-series cards are power hungry, and overclocking a CPU to its fullest will require the most stable power to achieve the highest clock rates. It is not uncommon to see consumers purchasing 850W, or even 1KW+ power supplies (PSU).

Yet, this power craze won't last forever. With PSUs easily surpassing 1KW these days, enthusiasts are asking "why"? Even the most powerful gaming rig, with the latest CPU, multiple GPUs in SLI, and a RAID configuration for the hard disk drives, will not be able to make use of a full kilowatt of power. Also, the market for these huge PSUs will crumble as manufacturers produce more efficient processors.

The trend? Smaller dies with a smaller nanoscale yields smaller traces and smaller resistors that require less energy and produce less heat. Intel is now leading the way in the nanoscale department, as AMD has already tried for years. The Intel Core 2 design is much more efficient than its predecessor, the Pentium 4 and Pentium D, requiring less power for a greater level of performance. NVIDIA will soon follow this trend, as the GPUs of their 9-series cards will possibly level-off in power requirements compared to the GPUs of the 8-series cards (aka: G80). Higher end models such as 8800GTX and 8800 Ultra will always require more power than mid-range models such as the 8600GT, but the trend will take hold in the same model class of future cards. It would not be surprising if NVIDIA's future 10-series cards (if they continue with the same naming scheme) will require less power than the current 8-series cards.

PSUs will achieve their maximum efficiency when loaded between 70 and 85% of their wattage capacity. So, purchase and enjoy your 600 to 850W PSU now, when wattage requirements rarely surpass 500W for top-end systems, but skip on those 1KW+ models. Kilowatt PSUs may very well run gaming rigs of the future with poor power efficiencies profiles as systems require less and less power.

Bondo Start. Since I fabricated my own top panel, I'll use Bondo to seal the edges, but inside the window cut-out edge, and on the outside edge of the case. More pics of this after it is painted



Final Cut-out. The case no longer needs the small metal lips to hold the PSU due to the flip. They're history...

 

Painting. I have to paint the case itself in two stages, one with the top and bottom masked off to apply the truck bed liner to the inside, and another with the inside masked to paint the top and bottom panels. Since I've added my own top panel, I can no longer remove the pop rivets to paint the panels separately. I painted each front panel component individually, since I've decided to go with a dual-color theme on the front: Flame Red (as was the original plan) plus Toreado for the front mesh and face drive face plates. Toreado is an interesting type burgundy, with red and purple highlights. It should contrast well with the flame red.

Also shown  is the DVD burner's cover painted black to blend in with the inside, and the side panels, sanded down, and painted with self-etching primer (gray-green color), then wet-sanded before applying the color coats. This is only the beginning of the paint process.



CPU Cooler Mount Mod. The Scythe Ninja CPU cooler is really an oxymoron in and of itself. Only adults would spend the money on this cooler, yet it's package appears to be marketed to grade-school kids (ie: 10 year-olds). The name "Ninja" hints at Eastern history, and the brand itself is based in Japan, but the cooler's looks like a German cross when viewed from above. And finally, the cooler is top-notch for performance, but it's mounting bracket screams "lameness" since it matches the default Intel design with plastic clips, making reliable contact questionable.

To remedy this, I'm building my own mounting bracket, starting with its metal housing. Even though some people complain about CPU cooler mounts that need to have the motherboard removed, I love them due to their additional stability. So, I'm making my own. One neat piece of information I discovered: The Intel LGA775 socket mounting holes line-up exactly with the mounting holes for an 80mm box fan. Sweetness. So, I rummaged through my spare parts and found a fan adapter, then painted it to match my front panel mesh (even though it will never be seen). To cushion this brace against the bottom of the motherboard, I used a freebie University of Phoenix mousepad. It's composed of rubber and cloth, so the pad is flexible and soft. I cut it to size easily with a blade.

The next step was to find compression-style springs that would apply constant pressure to promote better contact between the cooler and the CPU. Without springs, I would run the risk of either cracking the CPU/motherboard, or having a loose fit. Springs are essential for mounting brackets, and those without springs will have a semi-flexible metal bracket that acts like a spring. Since it's nearly impossible to find springs by themselves at a hardware store, I had to perform a creative search for them. Purely by a hunch, I found a decent selection of small springs sold as replacement parts for faucets. I bought a few different types to test them at home, and ended up selecting two of Danco's DL-4 packages (2 springs per pack) for Delta faucets. These springs provided an adequate amount of potential energy (resistance when compressed). In my bolt selection, I found the right sized bolts, nuts, and washers to hook it all up together. It appears to work very well, but I won't be able to test it until later.



Front Panel Mod. The front panel is going to get a major overhaul while keeping the original look. The most annoying aspect of the Matrix case is that it counteracts the ventilation advantage of its own mesh by putting far too much plastic behind it. To eliminate some of that, I cut out the excess plastic in front of the front 120mm fan, as shown in the first and second pics. Next was to make use of the Firewire/USB/Audio connector area. I never use Firewire for anything since USB 2.0 is almost as fast, and more commonly utilized, so I won't need its connection. I also never use the front audio ports since they're meant for a motherboard connector, and I'm using a separate sound card. Unfortunately, most sound cards are not friendly to front-panel connectors, mine included. So this leaves USB as the only connection I'd like to use.



And of course, since this case is flipped, the USB ports will be upside-down. That isn't too big of a problem, but I'm compulsive, so I'm using my own third-party USB header. To mount it, I'm cutting out part of its expansion slot bracket to mount over the existing USB cut-outs. I cut this bracket to size so that it covers the other holes. The only item left that I'd like on the front panel is a switch for the CCFLs. The Vantec Nexus fan controller comes with  a switch, but it is fused with its own CCFL inverter (will only handle 2 CCFLs). Besides, I'd like the ability to control the 2 blue CCFLs independently from the 6 purple CCFLs. To mount a switch, I drilled a hole next to the USB headers. Since the panel is different now, I also had to sand down the raised symbols that designate each port. After modding that area, I used Bondo Spot and Glaze Putty to even out the surface (I forgot to take a pic of it sanded down, but I do have pics later of it painted).



Finally, I needed to do something about that gap in the bottom of the front panel. The bottom of the panel is now the top, so that gap for front fan ventilation is now an eye sore. The front fan has plenty of ventilation now with the cut-out, so it doesn't need additional ventilation. I could easily build this up with fiberglass, but mesh here would add some cool appeal if it appeared to blend into the panel itself. Also, this panel is almost exactly the width of the cut out for the top window, so keeping its shape visible with mesh seems like a winner. I measured plastic screening, cut to size, then sanded down the area to prep for the Bondo. I'm using the spot putty here since it works better with small areas.



Hard Drive Coolers/Silencers. I am impressed with the Nexus coolers I purchased, especially after comparing it to the Scythe SQD silencers. The Nexus one show here has mounted connections for SATA, IDE, and power, unlike the Scythe SQD silencer I've used in the past with other mods. I also love the easy install process. However, the cooling design really gets on my nerves. It only has two small strips of thermal padding to make contact with the drive. That is the only way this drive will cool inside what would otherwise become an oven for the drive. So, to help, I had to cut away part of the label for each drive (most likely voiding its warranty), in order for the strips to make contact with the drive, and not the label. The Western Digital Raptor drive will work without any additional modification, but the Western Digital RE drive has a breather port at the top. So, I had to cut away part of the thermal pad to make room for it. Otherwise, I really appreciate the aesthetics of the Nexus HDD silencer. I will have to monitor HDD temps closely when the mod is complete to make sure they live up to their claims.



Power Supply Mod. One of the few components that isn't new in this mod, even though it was used only for a few months, is the Enermax Liberty 500W PSU. It is certainly a capable and fairly stable PSU, but it's sleeving is pretty ugly. Black and gold are good colors on a PSU, but they really clash when put to use in sleeving. So, like all other cables in this mod, it will be sleeved with the same color sleeving. Did I mention that the highlights on the inside of the case are purple? Well, it should really contrast against the red and black case. So, a purple, acrylic PSU cover, and some purple sleeving should help. The stock gold fan grill might be a little overkill for a purple PSU cover (it looks almost like pimp colors), so I may change this out for a plain black or laser-cut chrome fan grill at a later date.

Arr! There be booty, mateys. I've purchased component for this mod from a variety of on-line resellers, including Newegg, Directron, Performance PCs, and Xoxide. I've found that my good ol' Newegg had a lapse in being the best for pricing compared to Directron, so I saved a little under $50 by giving Directron the majority of my business. But, Newegg is still top dog, as they've corrected their prices recently. Xoxide is geographically close to me, so I order from them for speedy shipping, and Performance PCs has the best mod item selection, even if a bit more expensive.

I must say that I'm very impressed with almost all of the items. In the last photo here, I compared two different molding tapes. Scotch is really a brand of 3M, so they are both 3M tapes. The biggest difference is the quality of the dispenser and wrap: the 3M one has a tighter wrap, and is easier to handle. The 3M tape was purchased from a local automotive parts retailer, and the Scotch tape was purchased from a local hardware retailer. Either will work great in holding in 1/8" thick acrylic panels for windows, for a clean-looking window. This stuff is extremely durable, and will hold together under quite a but of stress!



Paints. The Dupli-Color brand is still on of my favorites (brand of Krylon). It's always available on-line, but most automotive parts retailers carry a decent selection. The self-etching primer is a little more difficult to find that others, but is absolutely one of the best adhesion promoters I've found on all surfaces, including bare metal, painted metal, and even plastic. The acid it has really bites into whatever it coats. The plastic adhesion promoter is also a little difficult to find, but bonds better to plastic then even the self-etching primer. However, I've learned that the adhesion promoter isn't so easy to sand, so I ended up using the self-etching primer for most surfaces any ways.

First photo shows the process for painting the exterior metal surfaces in this mod. From left to right: self-etching primer, filler primer, color coat, clear coat, mild polishing compound, and hand glaze. The second photo is the truck-bed coating I'll apply to the inside of the case. In the past, I've used self-etching primer first, then the truck bed coating or an automotive undercoating. This time, I'm using it on bare metal, after priming the surface by sanding. It is supposed to go directly on bare metal, but I don't always trust statements like that. I guess we'll find out how well it does.

 

Side Window Cut. The original window on this Matrix case is 100% fugly. In short, it has to go, and with it, all of the holes and weird handle part. This will really open up the case quite a bit, but I had to be extremely careful in marking out the area. A 1/16" too much in one area, and the side panel would never again fit the side of the case. I have almost no tolerances left after cutting out the existing window, but it will be one huge window! I marked  it, covered the metal with painter's tape, and used a jog saw to make the cuts.



Fan Cut-outs. The stock fan locations have the typical, old-school design for grills. They're not so bad for airflow, but visually, they're very boring. I cut out the front in an octagon design since the existing grill area doesn't allow for much airflow of a 120mm fan. The rear was easier, as I cut out the grill itself, leaving a smooth looking circle behind.



Top Panel Fabrication. This will be one of the most challenging parts of the mod. I flipped the case and elected not to deal with the pain of swapping the top and bottom panels. This case's panels are all unique, with different mounting styles, pop-rivet holes, and bends in the metal. Therefore, I needed to find a way to smooth out the top. If it was just pop-rivets in the way, it would be no problem. However, the case feet area are raised circles of metal, making the existing surface far too complicated for modification. This leaves me with the next best solution: fabricating a new top panel.

Since the pop rivets stick out of the panel quite far, I needed to start by grinding them down. Fortunately, the case feet areas are more shallow than the thickness of automotive molding tape. This gives me the opportunity to use the tape as both a spacer and a dampening material between the top and the new top panel I'll make. Good thing I have a few panels of aluminum left around from past mods. In the photos, I ground down the pop-rivets, marked the aluminum panel, cut it with a jigsaw, added the molding tape, applied the panel, and cut-out a section for the top window. This is the best aesthetic value gain of a flipped ATX case: a full length top window that isn't blocked by drive bay cages or the PSU!