Project: ATCS 840

C

coolmiester

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 11, 2008
Messages
130
Been wondering what to do with the new Coolermaster ACTS 840 for a while with no real plan as yet but felt if i didn't make a start at some point soon i'd be playing catch up which i've done in the past.

Anyway, whatever happens the chassis would be getting anodised black so decided to strip the whole thing down.

Pretty easy job in all honesty with only eight rivets needing removed to get the top off...............still got cut out the base to fit a 240 radiator but apart from that its ready to go get anodised.

BTW, very early stages so expect this one to take quite a while but at least its a start :D

Sponsors Include:
Coolermaster
Intel
HWLabs
OCZ
Zotac









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Still not sure what hardware is going into this and initially i had wanted to go i7 but i've still got a spare Skulltrail board though no CPU's or RAM but i do know it will be dual loop whatever hardware i end up going with.

So i thought i'd give something a little different a go which should end up keeping things nice and tidy and keep hose routing to a minimal.

The plan is to attach an Alphacool DDC top to the back end of a Dual Res.

I'll see how it actually performs first and i might end up making the two dual Reservoirs from scratch but i'm pretty happy with the outcome using the DD ones tbh.

Was a simple case of tapping 4x 6/32 holes into the backside of the res followed by a 12mm hole in the centre so the liquid can flow directly to the pump.

I'll also be tapping a G1/4 hole into the front of the res for easy filling.

Once i decide whether to use the DD Res or make my own i'll use clear silicon gasket seal before screwing the Alphacool top to the Res which should hopefully make it completely leak proof...............well that's plan A anyway :thumb:

The result is a nice compact res/pump combo which i duplicate for dual loop.

As always, on with some pictures ;)

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WOW it works :eek:

Actually, i never doubted it wouldn't tbh but i was quite surprised it didn't leak even without any gasket seal but i guess its because the two contact surfaces are so flat there's no space for leakage.

Anyway, i'm a happy with the outcome :)

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Just before i started chopping this ATCS 840 chassis up i thought i'd give this top 360 radiator mounting a go using the included brackets.

I set it up using the two stock 230mm fans pulling through the radiator but it could also be mounted using any three 120mm fans which no doubt a lot of folk will do (not sure which option i'll go for just yet)

I got to say it all works really well though one thing i would add is a small blank plate or tape up the side gap of the 230mm fans so all air is directed through the radiator.

Just got to work out what to do with the grill now??

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A bit more testing is in order to see what the best set-up is for the 360 rad in terms of noise and air flow.

Anyway, managed to sneak a bit of time this afternoon to de-rivet the entire chassis to make it easier for working on and anodising or powder coating......still haven't made my mind up on which to go for yet.

Chopped out a bit of the hard drive cage to allow for the GTX240 rad to be mounted to the base then used one of our silver honeycomb grills for a template to mark out what needs removing from the base section.

I'll have to make a decision on colour and by what method pretty soon but a quick mock up shows how it will look.

I'm happy with that!

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Not much of an update at all tbh but never-the-less i got a few pictures of the chassis back from powder coaters in satin black.

I also spoke to Willie at HWLabs earlier in the week who is going to pull all the stops and try to get me a custom GTX360 X-Flow radiator for the top as i find that its much easier to route hoses and it gives an overall much cleaner look so massive thanks the Willie for that :cool:

......i just got to work out how to put this oversized jig-saw back together :eek:

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Just playing a bit of catch-up there but this brings things up to date as of today - cheers ;)

Still waiting on a few bits so i can start the exterior so thought i'd put the chassis back together and i got to say its looking real nice and can't wait to start filling it full of new hardware.

As you can see, to fit the HWLabs GTX240, i had to remove part of the hard drive caddy so it can only take three now but then that's never bothered me in the past.

Also nice to see CM go with the black quick release buttons on this as they fit in much better with the colour scheme.

Man, i just love starting with a blank canvas like this....

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:eek:

With your assembly expertise skills, you could probably build a Liberty Prime.

Just don't command it to take out any civilians, though.

The radiator with the blue color looks like an ice cube. :p

You followed through with your project, and as which is a success. Not sure what else you have planned to do.

I'm not an expert when it comes to case modding, but you know what you're doing so keep up the good work.
 
I would love to see an aluminum case "blued" like my hunting rifle's barrel...not sure if you can blue arumium though.
 
Subscribed! Very nice work. Waiting patiently to see the finished results. :)
 
So many mods go for flash bang, but few try to be sleek and sexy. This one is definitely sleek and sexy. Im tired of umpteenthousand neon colors and lights, this really does it for me :D.
 
Fharakin said:
I would love to see an aluminum case "blued" like my hunting rifle's barrel...not sure if you can blue arumium though.
Click to expand...
anodized blue? I believe the answer to that is absolutely!

Nice looking mod! I'll be keeping an eye on this one.
 
I'm surprised that you are a 3 month old noob member. I seem to recognize that brick wall and weathered table from previous builds. Did you have to change your name or am I remembering you from another forum?
 
n3g471v3 d3c1b3l said:
anodized blue? I believe the answer to that is absolutely!

Nice looking mod! I'll be keeping an eye on this one.
Click to expand...


thats not what hes saying. If you ever look at a shotgun or rifle's barrel that seems black it actually is "blued". So its really a matte black look to it.

The process seems to take special instruments and heat.

There are "touch up" products out there like http://www.rb-treasures.com/MPI_Products/VanBlue.html that might end up working. Though this will only work on steal.
 
Well, i know the colour scheme now - or at least for the time being anyway :(

I'm quite happy tbh as its very similar to Skulltrail and if all else fails at least i'll have a couple of nice matching bookends if nothing else..............but man this poor little board looks lost in this case.

Actually, not much of an update but at least i can relax now and enjoy Christmas :)

Having said that, i need blocks - any suggestions??

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The board is okay, I've used it. Overclocking is not it's strong point but if you aren't going to then I wouldn't worry.
 
Why not get a Foxconn BLOODRAGE! It's black...and red. Much cooler than the over done black and blue color scheme every person has nowadays.
 
Monkeypillow said:
When you disassemble a a case like this, how do you replace the rivets?
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Um, with a rivet gun?
Rivets- and the "gun" used to fasten them- are dirt cheap and widely available.
Most every hardware store and big box home improvement center carries them.
 
Hi, Great mod!

If I could suggest your mirror effect in the text? I could copy the entire "Coolercases UK" and flip it and reverse it instead of just the plain gray text. This would give the mirror a better... well... mirror effect.
 
VENTS - well it wouldn't be the same without vents but this time around they go in over rather than sticking out.

I figured the ATCs chassis was wide enough without sticky out vents so went for these which will eventually be stuck in place then filler to smooth the rim so they are seamless but before that, both panels will be powder coated and wet sanded to give a good base for primer and paint.

I also have a new sponsor by the name of OCZ which i'm over the moon with tbh and are supplying 6GB of PC3-10666 triple-channel memory and couple of 60GB 2.5 Solid State Drives so a massive thanks to OCZ :cool:

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May I asked what tool(s) you used to get the cut outs so smooth and even? Whenever I use dremel with cut off wheel it takes forever #1, and I can't get round edges as nice as you did.

Only reason why I asked is because it looks like you did it with regular tools, and no specialty fancy shop tools.
 
@ Ang - i would never attempt cuts like that with a Dremel. I use a jig-saw for the original openings then draw file to clean the edge - the whole process takes no longer then 10 minutes.
 
Looking great so far!

You have inspired me to get mine powder coated as well...candy red though, and I have the foxconn bloodrage :) Hopefully I have found a Vapochill and the seller will come through, otherwise I will be on H20 like you.

Good luck, loving it so far.
 
OK, got a bit side tracked with those SSD's and Windows 7 but anyway, picked up the tins from powder coat today (Note: powder coat is only to flatten surfaces and will be painted and clear coated once the vents are finished)

I've still not decided on the final colour 100% but i've got a pretty good idea.

Anyway, vents are stuck in place and i've started with the filler and sanding but that will be repeated a few times to get it all nice and smooth.

I also got a 6mm thick piece of aluminium milled to replace the top vents and to replicate the front which still needs a little work and mesh fitted behind but more on that later ;)

These are the boring bits so not really a lot to show but things should start to pick up over the next few days......i promise :)

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I don't think its any secret that the MC-Chipset block from Danger Den is going to be a main contender for i7 but rather than going for the Lucite top version, i decided to make my own from 10mm Delrin :)

Used a fret saw to cut the initial shape out and it still needs a bit of minor filing and then a polish on the bench polisher but that's a job for tomorrow.

Decided to re-tap the base to M4 for no other reason than i wanted to use black hex bolts and M4 was all i had.

Anyway, we'll see how it performs once i get the system up and running ;)

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I love that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you complete making something and it turns out good :)

Never tried to flame polish Delrin before but thought i'd give it a go and it worked :D

Just need a matching NB one now :cool:

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