Hey Everyone!
 
I want to share the way to my first complete custom build pc case. Last year I was searching for a new project to work on and I was remembering the time with my first water cooling project back in 2005. I had just a few bugs to spend on and build a custom loop with an old aquarium pump which I just dumped in a water canister near to my case and it runs for 2 years. It was awful to look at but the temps were great and I also made my first experiments with overclocking. But the time came to say goodbye to my loved system because I needed a closed case an i could not afford a real custom loop, so back to air until now!
 
I did some research and some calculations, oh boy this is not going to be cheap! 
 
Basic idea: Build a custom case as small as possible, but also ready for high end gear!
 
I made a first prototype out of an old paper box just to get the right size. By asking for aluminium parts at our university workshop they offered me to weld my case instead of rivet all parts together. So they cut all the parts I needed for the case and also welded me a nice aluminium frame:
 
After some work i am currently at this stage:

Top with mounted radiator.

Side view with example hardware (just for size comparison). Sorry for the bad quality (500 kB limit )
 
There is a lot more work to do but as I was working on this project i switched from the idea of a "keep it simple" to "this could end up pretty nice".
 
List of things that has to be done:
- Basic case work (cutting edging etc.)
- install backmpunting out of an old case for mainboard access
- Front panel with powersupply mountin, USB, FAN control, power/reset button maybe additional front fan.
- Painting (no design yet) overall colors will be green and black
- plexiglas side window with engraving and LED light ( Gear Up with EVGA Logo?)
- cover for PSU, mountings for pump and reservoir, also for SSD on the backside
 
For the top: at first I was not really happy with the design it has now, I wanted a squared opening for the radiator but ended up with round holes. But looking at them reminds me of an Engineblock, not the nice and big V8 one, but at leat a tine V3. So my idea is to cover this up with a small case and 3 throttle valves on top which opens when the pc is started. This would also prevent dust in the case while the pc is not on.
 
Bugs spend:
- Aluminium parts + welding 75 €
- EK 360 PE Radiator 109 €
 
Still to buy:
- EK Supremacy
- Reservoir
- Aquacomputer Aquastream
- FANs
- Fittings and tubing
- Fluid
 
Current Hardware:
Intel 2600K @ 4,5 GHz
ASUS P8P67 rev3.0
EVGA GTX 680 @ 1200 MHz with Arctic Accelero twin turbo II
Corsair Vengeance 1600 DDR3 8GB
Crucial MX 200
Sharkoon Silentstorm 550W
 
My current setup is still good enough, exept the GPU. Hopefully I can save enough money over the next few month to afford a EVGA GTX 1080 Ti and a waterblock (sorry EVGA the hydro Copper is to expensive). The 1080 Ti has enough power for the next 5 years, even on 1440p, so for me the best choice atm.
 
However I will participate in the EVGA Gear Up Programm and maybe get some support from EVGA
 
If you have any questions, critics or just a good day feel free to write some lines. Currently I am waiting for the next paycheck to buy some needed parts and after the next working session I will give you an update!!

+1 subbed

Good luck on the build man, do you have any sketches of what the end result is going to look like? Subbed

olf0r

jfw06013
Looks good so far, are you going to get the case anodize and in what color?

Thanks a lot guys!
 
Plan so far: grind, prime, grind and paint. Main color will be black, Highlights and Logo on Backside in green.
 
I have not decided how the logo and highlights will look like but I will definitely make some sketches!

Excellent

So next step has been finished! Basic Case is now complete and has been polished:
 

Painting will be done over the weekend and all missing parts vor CPU watercooling will arrive on monday!!
Oh and is there any possibility to upload pictures with more than 500 MB? Quality is not really great....
 
 

KiriFate
Might get better picture quality if you uploaded them to something like Dropbox, and then copied the link from the picture into the forum.

I would love to so something like this, but don't have the skills or tools to try it. In my future pic build I am planning to just do some 3D printing to create some custom pieces to enhance a case. Looking good so far, keep it up.

I have absolutely no good hand skills so I understand that perfectly
 
I use Photobucket whenever I want to drop pictures into a forum post.
 

 
Nice building skills.      =)

Any new updates?