Project: Thermaltake Element S

[Chicken Patty]

Hello everyone, decided to have some fun with my TT Element S case which I've had for a while. I've been wanting to do a red/black themed case and why not go on with this one. I was going to go with way different plans. Water cooling, etc. This time, I'm going to keep it more simple. Rig is running, pics below are of it finished in it's current state. In the next few weeks, i'll be ordering a few things and adding the final touches to it. Hope you guys enjoy :toast:. Might not be half of what you see here on XS, but at least I tried :D



Components:
Case: Thermaltake Element S
CPU: Intel Core i7 920
Board: EVGA X3 SLI (132-BL-E758)
RAM: Nanya DDR3 1066 3x2GB
HDD: Raid 0 Seagate Barracudas 1 TB each (RAID still to be done, but both drives are in)
GPU: PNY 9800GX2
PSU: PCP&C 860W Turbo Cool

What I am probably going to change as far as components is maybe the GPU, try to get something red/black to go with theme. If I get new RAM, I'm aiming for something within the theme (Thinks Corsair Dominator GT's) :rolleyes:. Or if I keep this RAM, I'll just get some spreaders to go with the theme as well.

here are the pics:

Mobo in the case with Mega Shadow :)
http://img.techpowerup.org/091111/PB104301resized.jpg
Same as above, different angle
http://img.techpowerup.org/091111/PB104302resized.jpg
HDD's installed
http://img.techpowerup.org/091111/PB104303resized.jpg
PSU in da house! :rockout: messy :( 24 PIN ROUTED
http://img.techpowerup.org/091111/PB104304resized.jpg


...and here is the final result for phase 1 of the project. This is just to have rig running meanwhile I figure the rest out. Next step will be cable management as I am not happy with the one at the moment. I am going to see if I can make a plate or something that goes in front of the PSU from the back of the case towards the HDD rack so that I can hide all the PSU wires there and it won't be visible like now. Sleeving will be happening next as well :) For now this is it, hope you like, if not, well you didn't. What can I do? :(

http://img.techpowerup.org/091111/PB114305resized.jpg

[Chicken Patty]

put your glasses on :crazytongue:


Components:
Case: Thermaltake Element S
CPU: Intel Core i7 920
Board: EVGA X3 SLI (132-BL-E758)
RAM: Nanya DDR3 1066
HDD: Raid 0 Seagate Barracudas 1 TB each (RAID still to be done, but both drives are in)
GPU: PNY 9800GSX
PSU: PCP&C 860W Turbo Cool

[Chicken Patty]

Here is what I meant by making a plate to go in front of the PSU. In the pic i put a anti static bag from a GPU in the area I want to the plate to be in. Of course I'll get it powdercoated black as well.

http://img.techpowerup.org/091111/PB114306RESIZED.jpg

[Kal-EL]

I love TECH!! :hug:

[Neuromancer]

hah hah Nice.

I almost bought a GX2 the other night, you would think I was copying off of you then:Hi:

[Chicken Patty]

I love tech too Kal :)


Neuromancer, its ok bro. Amazing how kick ass those cards still are man :)

[DrNip]

Haha whats up with the aluminum around the PSU? Looks like you have your own balloon by project going on! Sexy case.

[Chicken Patty]

Haha whats up with the aluminum around the PSU? Looks like you have your own balloon by project going on! Sexy case.
I was just showing the area that i wanna cover up with a plate or something. So you can't see the PSU wires :) thats all I had at the moment to do a mock up with :(

Thanks :)

[Neuromancer]

LOL Be thankful you dont have a corsair HX unit in there.

The wad of wires would completely fill that space and probably push the side panels off :p

[Chicken Patty]

Not if you have the one with the detachable cables :)

[Neuromancer]

I meant the TX :facepalm:

[Chicken Patty]

Woopsy I had a poopsy :laugh:

[Chicken Patty]

Well guys,

I have ordered some black powder coated HEX mesh. This will be used to cover the HDD area. Also on the way is a piece of some sort of steel that a member from another forum recommended me which is also powder coated black I believe. This will be used for the PSU area in the lower portion of the case. Once I get that out the way I'll move on to some wire management and sleeving :)

[Chicken Patty]

I just got my Hex style Mesh. powder coated black. Next step, cover the PSU area then start with the sleeving woot woot!

What do you think? I'm having mixed feelings about it, maybe when I cover the PSU area it'll all come together. Right now It just looks kinda odd. I think what I need to do is finish off the edges a bit better, or should I say mold it better to the cage so it looks cleaner. What do you'll think?

http://img.techpowerup.org/091118/photo.jpg

[Chicken Patty]

Anyhow, here is another attemp. Much cleaner looking don't you think?

http://img.techpowerup.org/091118/photo(2).jpg

[FACE]

Lookin' good! You going to do the same to the psu area?

[Chicken Patty]

Lookin' good! You going to do the same to the psu area?
Thanks :)

For the PSU area I want to use something like a aluminum plate or something. Not mesh because it's see through. I'll admit it from now. The reason why I want to cover it is because that's gonna be the nasty side of this build :laugh: Imma hide the wires, my lunch, everything in there :D

[Assassin48]

How about some smoked acrylic , it will look good around the psu area, maybe have a design with a cold cathode behind it

[Chicken Patty]

How about some smoked acrylic , it will look good around the psu area, maybe have a design with a cold cathode behind it
How hard is it to bend Acrylic or shape it? Not easy heh?

[Kal-EL]

How is airflow happening in that area if it'll be sealed from view?
Maybe some filter w/mess so it'll breath a little but still be out of view?

[Chicken Patty]

How is airflow happening in that area if it'll be sealed from view?
Maybe some filter w/mess so it'll breath a little but still be out of view?

All the airflow is behind the mesh through the HDD's. Airflow would not really be affected by covering up the front of the HDD cages :)

[Neuromancer]

Too much time spent modding not enough time spent benching:owned:

[Chicken Patty]

Too much time spent modding not enough time spent benching:owned:
Well here is what I had planned. When I get paid again Im going to try and cover the PSU area. When I do that I'll be taking all components out again and stripping down the case. Then its bench time again :)

Once I have the case stripped I want to cut out all the fan holes, meaning remove the mesh grill they have, just leave the open hole and probably figure out a way to route some wires :)

[Neuromancer]

Heh heh just kidding. I have put off building my new case and am jealous ;)

Setting up a new multiOS bench setup now. Hopefully will get time to work on the case over the weekend :)

[Chicken Patty]

Heh heh just kidding. I have put off building my new case and am jealous ;)

Setting up a new multiOS bench setup now. Hopefully will get time to work on the case over the weekend :)
good luck bro.

[Chicken Patty]

For some reason I like the look of a fanless heatsink a lot. So I loaded defaults, dropped the voltage and here it is. THe rig looks a lot cleaner. I already have the plate to cover the PSU area, just need to cut it and bolt it on :toast:

http://img.techpowerup.org/091126/PB264307edited.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/091126/PB264314edited.jpg

[Assassin48]

Looking good cpu, but i would but a Thin fan on the heatsink

like one of those Sharkoon fans

[Chicken Patty]

Looking good cpu, but i would but a Thin fan on the heatsink

like one of those Sharkoon fans
Naw, no need to bro. check out the temps. Not only does it look cleaner, but I want to have my crunchers at stock bro. I don't want these rigs to take a shit anytime soon. Not only is one of them a QX which is discontinued and if you find one they are still very expensive, but this particular i7 of mine is a very good clocker so I would love to conserve it a bit :)

Thanks to the great fan clips provided by Prolimatech, strapping on a fan or two and cranking this puppy up is just a matter of a minute. Then on to the benching :)

[Chicken Patty]

Well folks, it's been a while. Had many issues with the rig. Ended up being my PSU. So I jumped on the BFG 1000W Modular. I must say I don't know if I'll do the plate to cover the PSU. I gotta see. Now my biggest concern is hiding the wires that show behind the HDD. Next up is sleeving :)

Here is the new PSU and end result of no extra wires that are not used :D

The PSU
http://img.techpowerup.org/091205/PC044344resized.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/091205/PC044345resized.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/091205/PC044346resized.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/091205/PC044347resized.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/091205/PC044348resized.jpg

Scythe 110 CFM'ers, hooked up to fan controller :) New PSU also in place

http://img.techpowerup.org/091205/PC044349resized.jpg

Finished rig, gotta love modular, no more left over cables and wires :D
http://img.techpowerup.org/091205/PC044351resized.jpg

[Chicken Patty]

Before and after

Before
http://img.techpowerup.org/091205/PB284329edited.jpg

After
http://img.techpowerup.org/091205/PC044351resized.jpg

[Kal-EL]

Slick PSU :thumbsup:

[karmakazi]

Looks great & nice job man :)

[Chicken Patty]

Slick PSU :thumbsup:

Looks great & nice job man :)

Thanks guys, Modular sure helps with cables. Can't believe I didn't get a modular one any sooner.

[Neuromancer]

Wow man very clean looking. I must learn some of these skills.

[Chicken Patty]

Wow man very clean looking. I must learn some of these skills.

Thanks bro. Give the credit to the PSU :D

[Chicken Patty]

Well, as some may know already I am going to finish this build with an AMD rig instead of an intel. The i7 will be a strict cruncher/bencher I have the system out of the case and back on a tech station. For now I am trying 4850's on it and see what's up. But the cards will stay with the AMD rig. I am seeking ideas to mod the case while it's empty. Any ideas?


http://img.techpowerup.org/091213/PC134353resized.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/091213/PC134355resized.jpg

[Neuromancer]

Those are ASUS TOP cards? They look my sapphire cards.

[Chicken Patty]

Those are ASUS TOP cards? They look my sapphire cards.

Yessir, ASUS TOP. I had a Sapphire 4850 and the cooler is almost identical, that's why it looks alike.

[Neuromancer]

Dont expect any good mem clocks on it

[Chicken Patty]

Dont expect any good mem clocks on it

:( dammit! :laugh:

[Neuromancer]

Now the challenge is up to you.. get 800/1100 clocks on those cards :)

[Chicken Patty]

Now the challenge is up to you.. get 800/1100 clocks on those cards :)

Didn't have good luck with them tonight. I'm hitting the sack, tomorrow is another day. Couldn't even finish one run tonight :(

[Chicken Patty]

Well, I started working on my sleeving. I've done just the fan below, this one will go by the VGA slot to help vent out the heat produced by the cards. I've sleeved some wires that go in the backside and also the front panel connectors will be sleeved sometime this week. Here is the fan I've done so far.

http://img.techpowerup.org/091224/PC244358.jpg

[Chicken Patty]

Ok, got the rest of my sleeving done for now. Next is the PSU extender cables :)

Top Exhaust Fan
http://img.techpowerup.org/091226/PC264361.jpg
Misc Cables
http://img.techpowerup.org/091226/PC264365.jpg
Fan Controller
http://img.techpowerup.org/091226/PC264367.jpg
Front Panel
http://img.techpowerup.org/091226/PC264368.jpg
End Result :)
http://img.techpowerup.org/091226/PC264369.jpg

The 3pin fan extension will be eliminated soon. I'm just going to extend the connection from the fan to the fan controller and sleeve it. But for now it looks better :)

[Rogue210]

Looks awesome Chx patty!

[Chicken Patty]

Thanks Rogue :toast:

Looks wayy better now, I owe you guys a picture.

[Chicken Patty]

Ok, here is the final shots for Phase 1 of sleeving :toast: Very happy with the results.

Case Interior
http://img.techpowerup.org/091229/PC294370.jpg
Case Interior 2
http://img.techpowerup.org/091229/PC294371.jpg
Top of Case
http://img.techpowerup.org/091229/PC294372.jpg
backside of mobo tray
http://img.techpowerup.org/091229/PC294375.jpg

[Kal-EL]

Chicken Patty, you are being issued a warning.
Please refrain from posting pornographic hardware photos.
That nekkid case ooks like a stripper at Club Femme Nu, nice racks! ;)
Cute fanny too!:taunt:

[Rogue210]

Chx Patty...cute pillow cases...I like the flowers :laughing:

[Kal-EL]

Chx Patty...cute pillow cases...I like the flowers :laughing:

And now with the pillow talk, geeze! :Dizzy:

[Chicken Patty]

:laughing: when I started to read this post I was like WTF what did I do. Well it has another set of racks, even nicer ones. I couldn't show you that one just yet :laugh:

@ rogue
flowers? Wow, I never paid attention to that. Maybe I'll get some with a Superman logo all over them. :D

[Kal-EL]

:laughing: when I started to read this post I was like WTF what did I do. Well it has another set of racks, even nicer ones. I couldn't show you that one just yet :laugh:

@ rogue
flowers? Wow, I never paid attention to that. Maybe I'll get some with a Superman logo all over them. :D
Copyright'd :keeporder:

[Neuromancer]

You could always use this guy :thumbsup:

[Chicken Patty]

Who's that guy?

[Kal-EL]

Who's that guy?
SuperChicken?:cool3:

[Chicken Patty]

SuperChicken?:cool3:
MUAHAHAHA, don't mess with him. ;)

[Jeffro64]

Nice work CP!

[Chicken Patty]

Nice work CP!

Thank you. I'm working on mounting the HDD now :)

[Chicken Patty]

Well dudes, finally got the AMD setup going. This is the absolute end of Phase 1 for this project. The final tweaks was rotating the HDD cage, and flipped HDD's around to have the cables connect by the front of the case instead of towards the middle by the graphics card. This way they stay out of the way and hidden :)

Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5 AM3
http://img.techpowerup.org/100108/P1064376.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/100108/P1064380.jpg
I didn't take pics of the CPU, but I did take pics of the case front and back :D
http://img.techpowerup.org/100108/P1084381.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/100108/P1084382.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/100108/P1084383.jpg

[Kal-EL]

Nice photos :)
need to bend the pcie power cables equally tho so they match :p

[Chicken Patty]

Nice photos :)
need to bend the pcie power cables equally tho so they match :p

Should I also twist a capacitor slightly on the top card so it matches with the bottom one? :D I take your post as a compliment, thank you very much. :toast:

[Rogue210]

Nice photos :)

I second that....i wished i planned my rig better so it looked like urs!!!

[Chicken Patty]

I second that....i wished i planned my rig better so it looked like urs!!!
Thanks Rogue. As far as your rig, get creative! By some tools, and start the modding :toast:

[Chicken Patty]

It's been a while, almost a month since last update. I haven't done much to the rig as I have been busy working on my car and getting it dialed in here and there. Well, the only changes so far to the rig have been a Corsair H50, and I put my 2900xt in there for testing purposes. Pretty soon I'll have a 5xxx series card in there and some new RAM. After that I need to start with phase 2 which involves some sleeving and stuff like that. But that might be a while from now still.

Here are some updated pics of my rig in the meantime.

http://img.techpowerup.org/100129/P1294407resized.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/100129/P1294408resized.jpg

[Chicken Patty]

Well folks, who's ready for some updates? I just placed my order for sleeved extensions. The extensions are for the 24 pin, mobo 8pin, and PCI-E 6 pin. Can't wait to see those and install them. Should give a much nicer look to the rig.

In the meantime here is a current pic of my setup with my XFX Radeon 5770 :toast:

http://img.techpowerup.org/100215/P2034409resized.jpg

[Chicken Patty]

SSD is in

http://img.techpowerup.org/100216/P2164424.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/100216/P2164426.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/100216/P2164427.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/100216/P2164430.jpg

[Neuromancer]

Sweet. I smell PCmark cups coming :)

[Chicken Patty]

Sweet. I smell PCmark cups coming :)
not on this rig, I plan on getting another one for my bencher/cruncher later on.

[Chicken Patty]

Here you guys, the sleeved extensions are in and installed. The power cable and SATA cable are ran for the SSD already. The three HDD's in the front have all cables ran as well. Just a matter of installing W7 and doing the RAID then hooking up the cables.

Here we go fellas:

The 24 pin and the 6 pin PCI-E straight out of the bag
http://img.techpowerup.org/100219/P2184432.jpg
OkGEAR 12" SATA II Straight to Left Angle cable
http://img.techpowerup.org/100219/P2184434.jpg
Front HDD's Top: 500 GB Barracuda, middle 1TB Barracuda, bottom 1TB Barracuda
http://img.techpowerup.org/100219/P2194436.jpg
8pin Motherboard sleeved extension
http://img.techpowerup.org/100219/P2194437.jpg
24pin sleeved extension
http://img.techpowerup.org/100219/P2194439.jpg
Finished. 6pin PCI-E connected as well.
http://img.techpowerup.org/100219/P2194440.jpg

[Assassin48]

Thats looking better and better every time david

[Chicken Patty]

Thanks Juan. I know it's dusty, but once I hook up all the HDD"s this weekend and install W7 I'll head over to my buddies house and use his air compressor :D

What I want to do next is work on a plate to go on the backside of the HDD cage so that you cannot see the cables through the HDD cage when looking through it.

[Rogue210]

Nice work Chx Patty :)

[Chicken Patty]

Nice work Chx Patty :)
Thanks Rogue :)

[DrNip]

Nice! Very clean looking. Well not dust wise but build wise. :D

[Chicken Patty]

Thanks dr. Nip

this weekend it will get finised up and dusted. All HDD's will be hooked up.