The original thread got bogged because I didn't resize images. I tried to resize these but there are a lot of pictures...
I did not meet all of my original goals, but the most important ones were met: - The machine can be (and has been) transported several times per year
- It fits the several small places I live and lets me control light/noise/heat
- It's a showpiece of desktop hardware and the power of technology
- People stop to oogle at it long enough for me to promote Folding
- It's as stylized and artistic as I could afford, but extremely functional
- I was able to finish most of it before having to move, minimal compromise
- I loved every challenge this build presented!
except my first mobo burning 
Finished shots will go in a separate thread because I have a lot
See my Mods Rigs to get a look at how the case and system used to look!
CORE HARDWARE 
i7 920 D0 on sale from Micro Center. Got it to 4.44 (HT/Turbo 24/7) on my original X58 Micro.
Into the board it goes... I'm still blown away by how gigantic these chips are.
EVGA X58 Micro being fit tested on the chrome motherboard tray...
Try and board test fitted in the Ultra m998 mid-tower.
About to attach a Swiftech GTZ. Chose this block as it works well (not the best, but very well), was easy to install for my first block, and matches the black and chrome of everything else.
2 65nm GTX 260 Core 216s. They're EVGA of course, but I removed all the stickers for the extra cooling and clean look. These are the only items NOT painted flat black, so they stand out.
6GB OCZ Platinum 1866, found it on sale in August for under $100.
WIRING
A kit of MDPC-X sleeving
Getting both ends off a 24-pin connector, 4 6-pin connectors, and the 8-pin CPU power was very tiring and difficult (plus all the fans, power extensions, lighting cables...). I did this for about 2 weeks and it left my hands sliced to bits.
Nearly done with the 24-pin, time to add a custom UV red connector.
ta-daaaa... 24-pin extender fully unisleeved. I decided on extensions because I would have needed about 3x the sleeving (very expensive), and would have to redo it all if my PSU failed.
I was very happy it turned out so well, never done anything like this before.
SATA cables were easier to do, but needed longer heatshrink.
Sleeving tools, along with a pin remover
8-pin came apart and went back together way more easily than the rest.
6-pins were a pain. Removing those pins was seriously the most exhausting and labor intensive part of the entire project, even more than hauling the case around and cutting through steel...
PAINTING 
Splotchy expensive paint (bad nozzle) got sanded off and replaced with cheap Rustoleum.
I didn't even bother continuing to pain this, just resanded and started over with the other stuff.
I was very unsatisfied with this, too. Resanded the whole thing, added another day of work.
Paint worked fine on the accessories though. I did as many as I could but ran out of time near the end.
Swiftech MCR320-QP, originally glossy black, not matching flat black.
Giant 200mm Cooler Master fan being prepped for painting!
Yes, painted all the accessories, even the clamp ring off my Swiftech 655 pump. Just had to take it apart... (painted the pump's frame flat black, and the ring silver)
I have a disease, someone stop me please
No really, I need help, I just can't stop taking things apart
DVD drive including faceplate and door all got painted.
These PCIe connectors however were a waste of time, as the paint rubbed off as I handled it (metallic silver). I used heatshrink over them instead, which looks a lot better anyway.
Painted the PCI brackets for all my lighting matching flat black.
And finally, the HARD PART:
I carefully fine-sanded all the acrylic side panels, and taped out the windows--this meant when it was done, the windows would all have perfectly seamless edges, but it was a pain. Due to a misunderstanding of how the acrylic cutting machine worked, the first set were all wrong and we had to redo ALL the panels. It was very difficult to get perfectly flat paint to look even over huge flat surfaces, but I was happy with the finished results...
CHASSIS MODIFICATION 
The front and side of the chassis before I removed a heap of metal from it, sanded it, painted it, etc...
Yes, that 200mm fan is going where the 120mm fan mount is...
Thermaltake HDD rack, I bought it for $5 from someone here. Lots of changes to make!
I cut all this open to make for more airflow. I also trimmed the sides of the 5.25" bay extensively, so air flow through this rack and through the case frame to the radiator mounted to the side of it, and out of the case. The HDD area is its own airflow chamber with a front intake and the top 1x120mm of the radiator as exhaust (all on the same fan control channel).
Notice the gaping hole in the lower front area (ready for the 200mm fan), and the big chunk missing alongside the 5.25" rack. I trimmed the side pillar and took out a bunch of the upper area to make room for a 3x120 radiator.
A little closer, note the fan controller with holes drilled out for the knobs
Cut out a notch for my 8-pin connector to fit through once the PSU is installed.
I removed a ton of metal from the upper area of the curve, so that when it's finished you can see the power supply area. This was my first time cutting steel/metal, so I think it turned out great. Hard to see but the edges of the upper window end in matching curves, people who see it think it's factory
You can really get a sense of how much I thinned out the frame to make room....
All the cutting took 4 different Dremels, all the low-end and battery powered ones kept burning out. I finally got the XPR 400 and some reinforced blades (the others kept shattering in my face) and it worked great.
Found this stuff in the garage and decided to use a chunk, you'll see later.
Here's how I actually mounted the radiator in its bizarre location... These brackets connect to the rad via short screws, then long screws go from the brackets to the 5.25 rack. The brackets are scrap metal I cut from the HDD rack, they have a small curved edge that locks into the radiator grooves. This system is rock solid, I've transported the case many times even laying it on its side (filled with coolant) without any problems.
Took a chunk out of the corner of the motherboard tray to make room for PSU cables, also took the side ridge off and sanded it smooth so I could wrap cables behind it at sharper angles.
Borrowed the $45,000 acrylic laser cutting machines from my school's architecture department (via my ex girlfriend, who was really cool about working on this stuff with me). This stuff smells really nasty when you cut it, and took a very long time (45 mins on a few of the panels) to do al lthe intricate cutting grills.
LIGHTING 
120mm fan with red cathode, from Frozen CPU. The fan was defective but after dealing with their useless customer service (by which I mean their CEO), I didn't bother getting it replaced. I strapped the cathodes onto a clear 78CFM fan from my original build, and cut the blue LEDs.
Had to fit all of these, and all that wiring... WHY OH WHY are the converter boxes teal? *beats head on desk* Painted them flat black of course
This got used as part of the lighting. I'll see if you can catch it when I put up final pictures. (Sorta hard to see since the lights oversaturate the camera).
Acrylic panels for internal lighting effects. I posted a little about how I used them in someone's lighting thread... Otherwise just wait to see the "finished" thread
COOLING 
Chrome 88CFM fan, I like the dome in the center, like a turbine.
Sunbeam 4-channel controller before I tore it apart.
I couldn't figure out how to get the buttons off, but eventually worked up the guts to just start prying at them. Turns out they just use a tight thread system and will slide off. There's a hex nut behind each one holding the faceplate.
The PCB itself is much smaller than the frame. Big heatsinks for such a little bugger.
I removed the heatsink on the last channel to clear space for tubing running off the radiator. I cut off half the sink and reinstalled it. This didn't work well (loosened the sink too much) and that channel eventually failed, I had to replace the controller.
Koolance elbow quick disconnects... These are disgustingly expensive but I needed them to be able to take the loop apart. Got them as an early b-day gift.
Replaced the garbage hard plastic-glass clips from Frozen CPU (if you saw, I made a thread about it... the Frozen CPU CEO told me it was known issue but would not replace either of my broken clips, so I went to Performance PC and got these huge ones
) Anyway I painted the new clips too as they were too plastic-looking.
