Hey guys, I present to you my current mod project:  Achromodic!  As the name implies, this mod will be totally devoid of color.  I've always tried to do something new for each and every mod, and I recently realized I've never done a black and white theme.  And with all the RGB craziness going on these days, I thought it would be fitting to go completely off the technicolor reservation for this project. :)
I started this project just after Thanksgiving, so I've got a considerable amount of work done already.. I'll be posting several updates to get you all up to date. :)

Cooler Master was kind enough to send me their flagship case, the Cosmos C700P, along with an 850w PSU as well as their new AIO Liquid Maker 240 watercooling kit!  :)


CM has partnered with ASUS and ROG, and they've supplied the motherboard and GPU:


Zadak511 also joined in, and sent me this awesome kit with RAM and an SSD:




Here is a shot of the Liquid Maker 240 kit.. This has everything you need to put your CPU on water, and it's not hermetically sealed like an AIO would be, so you can add blocks or swap out components at your liesure!


For the design, I wanted it to be sleek and elegant, as an exotic supercar would be, but with some organic touches thrown in. So the case will be a majestic white with black chrome accents, and then some random webbing will be incorporated into the panels here and there.  Should look pretty cool when its done!  Here's a concept rendering I pieced together in Photoshop..


One thing I wanted to do was have a see-through center on this case.  The side panel is smoked tempered glass, and it's interchangeable with the other side, so I ordered a second glass panel so you'll be able to look through the case, even when the doors are closed. :)  The motherboard and GPU will be supported by the organic webbing in the center of the case, and all four interior walls will be lighted panels. So in theory, the hardware should be easily visible through the smoked glass doors. We'll have to wait and see!

Thank you Cooler Master, ASUS, ROG, and Zadak511 for allowing me to get creative once more, and hopefully end up with a beautiful showpiece. :)

bcavnaugh
Nice and Cool, Post some Benchmarks Scores on your

Haha I really need to update that page lol.. I built Trident in 2009!

Boddaker

bcavnaugh
Nice and Cool, Post some Benchmarks Scores on your

Haha I really need to update that page lol.. I built Trident in 2009!

Yeah, come on slacker, update.
Lookin good brotha.

 
Have fun with it.

jhansz
Yeah, come on slacker, update.
Lookin good brotha.

Haha thanks Jon, I will definitely.. I'll get the Speeder case up on my Mods Rigs page, and maybe even run a few benchmarks on it.  :)

Making some corner braces to connect all the flanges together.. made a paper template, cut them out of some galvanized steel scrap, and bent them to fit.


Using my spot welder, I tacked them in place while the flanges were on the case, so I was sure they will go back on after taking them off!


Once all four sides were connected, I removed the flange assembly from the case and added more spot-welds.


Love this thing.. it's quick and way better than using fasteners, if you're sure you won't be taking anything apart anytime soon lol.


The corners will be smoothed over on the front side with body filler, then primed & painted.

Work continues!

Always interesting to watch the progression of your builds...

The original CM logo badge was an unfortunate casualty of the reservoir window hole position and was lost, so I am relocating it down lower. But I didn't want to just move the thin metal badge down and re-glue it, I felt compelled to enhance it.. make a more elegant and fitting badge for this case. :)

So first step was to establish the center of the panel, and mark the new location of the logo. I had a few small logos cut along with all the other acrylic.


Once the logo was on center and traced, it could cut it out. I made sure to keep inside the line so I can trim out to it.


Initially using the dremel and then some files, I carefully removed just enough material so the logo fit snugly into the hole.


Next I turned the panel over and added a piece of scrap acrylic that I scuffed up to the back of the hole.  A single white led in the center should be plenty to light up the logo.


I painted the center of the logo badge, but left the outer ring clear, as that is the only part I want illuminated.


Here it is with the logo pieces in place over the lit acrylic backing.  I didnt want to include the actual Cooler Master lettering, as it's not really necessary.  Just the well-known shape of the logo is enough to identify it!




 

 
A lot to do there.

Thanks guys.. here's the next update:

 
I finally received some laser-cut goodness from Primochill:  Interior light panels, motherboard tray, and a few other items. :) I wanted to do something a bit different for this mod, so I came up with a web-like pattern that has a random, organic look to it.

The light panels will make up the interior walls, and are cut from 1/8" frosted acrylic.


The motherboard is 3/8" acrylic, as it will support most of the hardware.


I couldn't wait to get into the garage and see how all this will look inside the case!


Adding the motherboard..


..and a closeup shot of the top light panel with integrated 240mm fan grill.. I got doubles of all the panels in case I needed more strength.


Closeup of the back panel with a 280mm fan grill built in..


After disassembling the mockup, I immediately started in with the motherboard tray, rounding all the edges.  This will give it more of an organic look..

I'm using my dremel with an 1/8" round-over bit, and will go around the edges on both sides.


After a few hours and some cleanup, we end up with this:


Here's a close up shot.  I'll be going back around to sand the tiny ridges left by the router bit, so it's all smooth.


Now it's on to give the other panels the rounding treatment.  Thanks for tuning in!

Looking good...

Built the side walls for the back panel, added the led strip, and aluminum foil tape to keep all the light going one direction: thru the front.


Light box mounted to the fan bracket..


Fan bracket/light panel assembly mounted to the case frame..


View from the inside of the case..


Starting on the top light panel, I decided to do something different.  I have two pieces of frosted 1/8" acrylic that, when sandwiched together, makes up the 1/4" panel. I was going to glue them up when I inadvertently reversed one over the other, and I liked what I saw..


Since the panel is symmetrical, only the random holes cross over each other creating a more complex design, and adds depth.  It will be interesting to see how the light shows through both pieces now.


Adding the side walls..


Placing in the case to figure mounting tab placement. The top fan/radiator bracket is the exact same as the one in the back, so I'll be mounting the light panel in the same way, with four aluminum tabs.


Gotta adjust the gaps a bit between light panels, but overall fits well.





 

With this update, we're all caught up! 


Getting primer on all the panels.. Ziplines are good for other things too.. like hanging up parts for paint lol


After doing the bodywork and priming, it was ready for the white.. but it got cold outside so I had to throw up some viqueen in the garage.


After a few coats of paint, it's looking pretty good.


Next was the angled side panels.



Here are the parts ready to send to the chromer's. :)

 
And here are some pics at the chromers:

Motherboard tray, top grill, and the two webbing pieces hanging (gold tubes not mine lol)


Closer shot of the top grill..


One of the two webbing pieces..


Same webbing comparing it to regular chrome..


Strix 1070 fan bezel..


Front panel..


Zadak511 SSD trim piece..

 
Top and bottom alu rails..


Will get more detailed shots once these parts are back in my possession. Stay tuned!
Can't wait to get it all back and see how everything looks!

rjohnson11
You're definitely on a roll. This is coming along at a breakneck pace.

I've been working on this since December last year, so all this work has been spread over the last 3 months. Now that we're up to date on the progress, I'm just waiting on the the chrome parts to come back so I can start final assembly.  :)

I'm very curious to see the Chrome parts