SEBAR
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/02 21:23:39
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Nice work on the motherboard tray. Those cutouts make cable routing much easier. You should buff the support brace with some aluminum polish and make it shine. Edit: is this an aluminium or steal chassis? From the picks it looks steal. The Thermaltake Armor Jr case I have is all aluminium.
post edited by Gambrinus1 - 2012/07/02 21:26:13
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/02 22:59:49
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Gambrinus1
Nice work on the motherboard tray. Those cutouts make cable routing much easier. You should buff the support brace with some aluminum polish and make it shine.
Edit: is this an aluminium or steal chassis? From the picks it looks steal. The Thermaltake Armor Jr case I have is all aluminium.
thank you!  yes, those cut outs will certainly make likfe easier when routing numerous wires, e.g. PCI-e power connectors or some other stuff. I don't have much space in the back, but I checked and case closes with the main power cable routed over there, so I should be fine! I believe, the case is made out of steel. there is no way to bend anything by hand (not a problem with anything made from aluminum). that steel looking brace is painted silver (metallic) with a brush, a few recent pics show it like that. I have also a clear coat for it, may brush it on it when I get bored. for now I am putting my stuff back in, just finished flushing the radiator with vinegar and distilled water, something I was supposed to do right after purchase ... better now than never I guess, I believe it ruined my clear tubing in no time. Possibly, I will stay up until the job is done, few more hours including 1 hours loop bleeding and it should be ready to fire up on Z77 + 3770K! ... hopefully I get done by sun rise 
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Killmur
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/02 23:37:21
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You project makes me want to take my Armor case and build a oversized mATX media rig. In fact I have a higher end unused ASUS mATX LGA775 board laying around with HDMI support. Out of the 4 cases in the garage the Armor is the nicest of the bunch, aside from my Alienware that is.
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/02 23:49:31
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most of stuff is back in except for video cards, tubing and 240 radiator with 4 fans ... and more wiring ... also will be experimenting with my old Tt LED fans 1,300rpm and XSPC/Xinrulian 1,600 fans, aiming for a quieter rad this time (tired of 4x 1,900rpm scythe s-flex noise). will go back with s-flexes once I get my 3.5'' fan controller ... and after I sleeve those fans ... sigh, such a pain to do this ... current progress: 
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/02 23:50:43
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Killmur
You project makes me want to take my Armor case and build a oversized mATX media rig. In fact I have a higher end unused ASUS mATX LGA775 board laying around with HDMI support. Out of the 4 cases in the garage the Armor is the nicest of the bunch, aside from my Alienware that is.
go for it! this case is one of the most awesome cases, very flexible and after some hard core modding, becomes one of the best cases you ever wanted to have
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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loveha
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/03 00:15:58
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Any plans for the door? The door is the one thing that makes me hate that case.
Great work so far, looks really good in flat black.
Case: Corsair 900DMotherboard: EVGA Z170 Classified E179CPU: Intel Core i7 6700K 4.6GHzRAM: 16GB Corsair DDR4 2133 16-15-15-36GPU: EVGA GTX 1070 FTW DT SLIPSU: EVGA 1000w G2SSD: Samsung 512GB 950 Pro NVME M.2Monitor: Acer Predator X34 100Hz G-SyncSound: Schiit Modi 2 DAC~Schiit Vali 2 AmpHeadphones: AKG K7XX Massdrop Edition
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/03 01:40:02
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loveha
Any plans for the door? The door is the one thing that makes me hate that case.
Great work so far, looks really good in flat black.
thanks! I like the flat black MUCH better over silver/steel as it was before. flat black also should (don't know for certain yet, still bleeding the loop) absorb any unneeded light reflections and I have some crazy lighting mix coming up, not sure how it turns out, but flat black background was a must anyways I painted the inside of door black too, only mod I did to it.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/03 12:10:02
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The beast is alive!!!    still getting used to everything black ... now I need to use a flashlight to find anything in it LOL!  don't mind the red/black and yellow wires appearing in background of intake area. this was just an experiment (a failed one) with old Tt case LED fans on the rad. they will be going out once I sleeve my scythe S-Flex fans finally. also I haven't connected all wires to my liking yet as I need to get internal USB and firewire extensions for MB headers (original cables are too short with new routing). Lastly, I got stumped on the UV cold cathode wiring ... need to redo this completely dropping the on/off switch w/ backplate and leaving only 1 molex probably ... also need to paint all those plastics black ...  ... and something I liked on my Pandora channel:
post edited by feniks - 2012/07/03 21:15:34
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/03 15:27:54
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funny thing, I was able to return the Dremel 3000 to Home Depot for a full refund, so it didn't even add up to the project cost about to sleeve the fan wires of my Scythe S-Flex fans (5 of them, need only 4 though). still waiting for the Sunbeam 30W Rheostat 3.5'' fan controller to come in, so I can get it all connected as I like (with PCB distributor strips that is). I figured I need to re-wire the cold cathode using only the yellow and black wires from molex, this should work and should allow me to sleeve it too once I get the molex connector off it ...
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/03 21:12:28
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 sleeving fan wires while listening to Pandora, hahaha, sorry had to share this song
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/03 23:54:53
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getting closer to the perfect build sleeved my scythe s-flex fans already. will swap them tomorrow (pity I didn';t get my fan controller yet...) and also do some cable management in the back with provided Kobra clips, ties and clamps and such still, working on a UV cathode wiring, hopefully I get it running by then, want to finish it off and make focus on new CPU overclocking finally! as always from me, some background music ...
post edited by feniks - 2012/07/03 23:58:53
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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notfordman
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/04 00:29:12
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You made some pretty nice cuts with the Dremel. I can't cut that straight. LOL That will help with wire management and the backplate. Nice job!  I bet Gone Cruisin' could make a window panel if you wanted to change the side sometime.
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/04 00:59:39
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^ Thanks! I thought I couldn't cut that straight either! LOL!!! however a straight line with a thick Sharpie marker (not sure how I managed to follow it straight, probably the adrenaline did the trick he he!) and a real Dremel tool strong with a reinforced Dremel cutting disc, make it possible and so easy , no wobble at all, it just follows, I loved that tool Hey! I like my side panel! nothing to add or remove from it, just shows what's behind it and I like it this way Used to have a side panel with 25cm intake fan (which is dead by now), no fun, it was a real dust pump. I'm glad that I am back to a regular plexi side panel now
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/04 01:55:07
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hah! modded the UV cathode wiring! first, please tune in to the music
post edited by feniks - 2012/07/04 02:07:40
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/04 02:12:23
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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/04 02:22:40
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sorry bros and sistas, it's late night here (or early morning already!?), one more youtube clip, forgive me, but I am just positively tuned and happy EDIT: I am officially renaming my rig to "R3C0NF1GUR3D" in Mods Rigs. I believe the heart of computer is the motherboard, not the CPU (exchangeable) ... so ... the new rig just got born, my third one after 790 Ultra and Z68 FTW is the Z77 FTW! Hopefully it brings some nice clocks ... as I am used to those ...
post edited by feniks - 2012/07/04 11:03:40
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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powrrrplay
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/04 12:46:36
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Awsome. I have been looking at doing my own mod on this case. Really need to know accurate dimensions of the stripped down case (no panels, no feet) Thanks!
post edited by powrrrplay - 2012/07/04 13:15:44
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/04 13:58:26
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thanks! sorry, I don't know dimensions of the stripped case, never took a tape measure to it
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/04 18:54:34
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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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SEBAR
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/05 09:38:28
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/05 11:44:47
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^Thanks!
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/05 15:06:36
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some more parts for the mod came in today, namely my Sunbeam 3.5'' fan controller and the PCB strip, soon will be teaming it up with my sleeved scythe s-flex 1,900rpm fans and swapping them on radiator. finally maybe will do some better cable management in the back of case (thankfully no one can see it normally ha ha!). 
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/05 20:53:27
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all right! fan controller installed, connecting wires sleeved and my scythe s-flex fans are finally running off the controller (what a relief!) via a PCB the last round of shots, also showing the improved cable management (as far as it goes in this case) with all the crap I am running here .    and some shots I posted in MR too, the ones I think made me proud of myself after all I have done to this computer     the only minor things left are: 1. figure out why I get no display output when 570s sit in slots 2 & 4 - I suspect a FP audio connector prohibiting one of gpus to get fully seated. 2. sleeve and install the internal header extensions for USB 2.0 and firewire (now unconnected, waiting for shipment of wires) 3. overclock 4 sticks of my mushkin memory to hell and see what happens next ... and one more song from the amazing and lovely Daft Punk 
post edited by feniks - 2012/07/05 21:18:48
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/06 21:27:21
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decided to do one more quick mod. working on rewiring the cold cathode to my new fan controller, have 2 spare channels, so will dedicate the last one to the cathode. sunbeam controller allows for up to 30w on each channel (up to 10x 0.25A @ 12V fans per channel according to my calculations), so it could easily accommodate a 12v cathode too. each knob controls in range of 0V-12V or according to PWM input from motherboard (I use CPU PWM connector on Z77, it works great for radiator fans in auto mode depending on cpu temperature!!!). used the molex to 3-pin fan adapter cable which came with sunbeam kit, but for some strange reason it was wired to 5V (originally red), so I quickly rewired it to 12V pin position in the molex, so it actually makes power contact when I plug in the cathode (5v vs 12V hot wires are on opposite ends of molex standard). the second channel (now free as well) on my controller is reserved for future external radiator and its fans. the first channel I am occupying now with my 4x scythe s-flex 1,900rpm fans for internal 240 radiator, connected via a PCB. no replies, from anybody may mean you guys hate my music clips I keep posting from youtube, yes? if so, I will restrain myself from doing so he he.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/07 04:40:43
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You should run your 8 pin cpu under the gap of your cards to hide it more.
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/07 10:44:27
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You mean the 6pin pcie, correct? I may try that one day, but my psu is at the top, so I willl need to dig up some tt extensions and see if the plug fits down there with the socket downwards orientation.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/07 10:49:52
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feniks
You mean the 6pin pcie, correct? I may try that one day, but my psu is at the top, so I willl need to dig up some tt extensions and see if the plug fits down there with the socket downwards orientation.
Yeah thats what I meant. But with the top mounted psu that could be an issue. I do have 4 red sleeved 6 pin pci-e's that would look great on your 570's or help you reach that tho. I had them from my sli 460's. Very nice mod tho, loving the uv tubing, I need to get some
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/07 11:17:00
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BigH3017
feniks
You mean the 6pin pcie, correct? I may try that one day, but my psu is at the top, so I willl need to dig up some tt extensions and see if the plug fits down there with the socket downwards orientation.
Yeah thats what I meant. But with the top mounted psu that could be an issue. I do have 4 red sleeved 6 pin pci-e's that would look great on your 570's or help you reach that tho. I had them from my sli 460's. Very nice mod tho, loving the uv tubing, I need to get some
Thanks One day I plan on getting the extensions for cpu, pcie and mb connectors and sleeving them black and red. Have the black thin sleeving already, just need some red one and more extensions also, sent you a PM.
post edited by feniks - 2012/07/07 15:17:21
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/07 15:28:16
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got lucky and received today (USPS priority rocks!) the extensions for my FP usb2.0 ports (2x wires for 1 header) and firewire. since usb extensions are covered in a black plastic tube, it's fine with me, will just need to sleeve firewire (bare colored wires) to get all the functionality back from my case's FP (located at top of it).
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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Re:Modding the old Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS with a dremel, drill and spray can ;)
2012/07/07 21:20:49
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extension cables worked like a charm (had to sleeve one which was bare) and I have all the FP connectors hooked up to my case using my new stealth black on black background wiring bad news regarding the hook up of cold cathode to fan controller. in short it didn't work. in long version, it should work, but I ended up having a broken adapter cable (which I sleeved) ... there seems to be no continuity on the power 12V wire between far ends ... the wire must be broken inside and it wasn't me (I don't pull on wires or bend them at 180 angle!) ... so I will have to swap one wire (black ground checks out though) in an ugly way ... using butt connectors under the new wider sleeving since I don't have the replacement crimps for those wire ends (molex on 1 side and fan connector on the other). ... well, as wise men say, **** happens I guess ...
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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