ZOTAC Mod Box

coolmister · May 14, 2009, 07:02 PM

I notice Project Logs are few and far between here at Driverheaven so thought i'd do my bit to rectify show a full mod start to finish rather than just the finished item so please feel free to ask any questions or submit any ideas

If this one comes off as good as it currently looks in my head I’ll struggle to hand it over to Zotac once its finished tbh.

A little background.

While out at CeBIT I was shown the new logo and livery for Zotac which to be fair hasn’t changed a great deal but is now more pleasing on the eye by softening the actual logo font but the main difference is the addition of honeycomb effect which can be seen on the large image on the new GTX295 retail box.

I instantly knew what I wanted to do but actually doing it is another matter.
The basic plan is to turn a ATCs 840 into a giant retail Zotac box without all the smaller logos or specific card branding so newer cards can be added as they evolve without having to re-brand the entire case and also to incorporate the Zotac Nitro so the cards can be instantly overclocked on the fly.

The main problem is I can’t airbrush so i'm on the lookout for a professional airbrush artist to take care of the paintwork.

Before I’m able to get the case to the painter its down to me to get the chassis stripped and chopped to mount a GTX240 in the base and also to get the Nitro hard mounted into the alu front section then its all off for powder coating followed by wet sanding to get a nice base for Rick to work his magic.

Anyway a few images for now……….

coolmister · May 14, 2009, 07:03 PM

After the great success with the Delrin top i7 block using the DD MCP Chipset block i decided to make a couple more for the Skulltrail but this tim i'm using the D-Tek Quick Mount.

I'll get them both finished but may swap the Quick mount for Pro Mount so a back plate can be used but for the time being it should be fine and it doesn't see, to be causing the board to warp too much.

I'll also flame polish them like the i7 ones to make them shiny black once i get them both finished.

Some pictures.........

coolmister · May 14, 2009, 07:04 PM

And then there were two.........flame grilled and polished.

I like them, just hope they work as well as on i7

coolmister · May 14, 2009, 07:05 PM

First things first......

I got the Skulltrail installed on the bench (well telly room table) to see what's what and glad to report my trusty new CPU blocks work a treat when hooked up to my mini H20 Cosmos.

Unfortunately though i had to pull the PSU from the other Skulltrail machine to get the new one running as neither the CM Real Power 1000 or Tagan 1300 have two 8pin 12v connectors but i've got another Ultimate coming which will sort that out but never-the-less, a bit annoying.

Anyway, the board had an old Alpha BIOS which wouldn't handle Tri-Sli so i grabbed the Intel® Desktop Board D5400XS BIOS Update [XS54010J.86A] which enables Tri-Sli and flashed with that so i'm all good to go for my first venture at 3 cards.

Full Skulltrail - XFX GTX 280 XXX 3-Way SLi /4870X2 CFx article by Zardon of DH

In the mean time i've been messing around with a Zotac GTX9800 and their Nitro basically running bench test just to make sure the Skulltrail is nice and stable which touch wood it seems to be so far so will crank up the volts and see what can be had.

coolmister · May 14, 2009, 07:06 PM

At long last i had a couple of Coolermaster ATCs 840's tune up this morning so its all stations go.

I first got to get the ZOTAC Nitro installed into the front bezel so it was dismantle the Nitro and use the casing as a template for the screen and three white buttons.

Marked it out then drilled pilot holes to feed the fret saw blade through followed by a little filing and bobs you uncle.....sorted

I still got to cut a bit of 3mm plexi and add black out film to it so the whole screen sits flush to the rest of the bezel and disappears when the screen is not illuminated but this is how it looks right now.

I've also got to de-rivet and strip the rest of the chassis and cut the base for the 240 rad then the whole thing is off to powder coat before Rick starts his airbrushing

Pictures....

coolmister · May 14, 2009, 07:07 PM

I'm on a roll.........and cheers guys for the nice comments

Basically couldn't wait till morning to cut the plexi because i wanted to see what it looked like

Cut the plexi to size and used Black Out Privacy film on on side.

Obviously not all mounted but shows how it will end up looking....ish

I'll sleep happy with that thank you very much.

coolmister · May 14, 2009, 07:09 PM

Wish i had more to show you guys but they say, the hard work is in the preparation and in this case it was.

Decided to make the top grill for this Zotac 840 out of a piece of 4mm sheet of aluminium which will make the whole top section of the case pretty much flush, more in keeping of an actual Zotac retail box which i'm trying to replicate.

Not really much different from the top grill i did on the previous Smackover 840 but this time it was the full width of the case and rather than a curved edge, it was more of a bevel finish to match the front bit.

Anyway, no doubt it wouldn't of taken long on a CNC but i dunno, i just love doing this type of stuff by hand so here it is, all ready to go to powder coat with the rest of the chassis then Honeycomb mesh mounted underneath on its return.

Sorry for loads of pictures that might not really mean that much but to me they kinnda justify a day in the garden doing what i love doing.......and a little Youtube showing power file, draw filing and block sanding to finish.

coolmister · May 14, 2009, 07:10 PM

coolmister · May 14, 2009, 07:11 PM

Just a few finishing touches before everything goes to powder coat tomorrow.

Tapped 6 holes in the top grill and added some threaded bar which will be used with small spacers to mount it to the chassis where i drilled holes (red arrows) so there is a small gap between the chassis and the vent which will help with airflow but the main reason is so it ends up mounted flush with the front bit.

Also de-riveted the hard drive caddy and chopped out a section out so the rad can fit and also cut the base to accept a dual radiator then riveted it back together.

BTW, i'll be using a GTX240 radiator in the base but just used the only 240 i had for pictures.

Pictures....

coolmister · May 14, 2009, 07:12 PM

Just been and collected the chassis from the powder coaters and it looks nice in satin black and i'm well happy the way the top grill turned out.

Next up is to wet sand the whole exterior then riveted back together ready for Rick to start working his airbrush magic.

coolmister · May 14, 2009, 07:14 PM

So that's things bang up to date so please feel free offer any comments and thanks for looking

comp_ali · May 14, 2009, 07:48 PM

Amazing work , I am sure it was hard to finish a brilliant stuff like this , +1

DJ BIG T · May 14, 2009, 08:02 PM

i love to see people mod there casees that rocks man...

Chaos · May 14, 2009, 09:17 PM

very nice work and thanks for the log of your project, now i want to see more

**Mousey** · May 14, 2009, 09:39 PM

Now that sir, is hella cool

Thanks a lot for sharing, you gonna share the rest?

coolmister · May 14, 2009, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mousey

Now that sir, is hella cool

Thanks a lot for sharing, you gonna share the rest?

Cheers all for the positive feedback..........from this i can only assume that Mod Logs are a good addition to the forum.

I came across the Skulltrail 3-Way SLi article by Zardon a while back when looking for information on my first Skulltrail which is well and truly added to my Favourites and have always wanted to give a little back and this was the only way i could so yeah, the log is up to date and i'll updates as soon as i can

**kris23** · May 14, 2009, 10:42 PM

amazing system..... the case.... it is so amazing

Mac Daddy · May 15, 2009, 01:09 AM

Sweet

lepel · May 15, 2009, 07:13 AM

It looks very nice just powder coated like that. Keep us posted with the rest of the log.

Cow_160483 · May 15, 2009, 10:39 AM

excellent work man

love the finish on that case keep the pics coming

DJ BIG T · May 15, 2009, 11:43 AM

keep us posted when you have everything back in it..

o_c · Jun 2, 2009, 04:22 PM

wow it's amazing very nice job man I really like the Zotac nitro integrated in the case so beautiful :P

~~RE III - Frankie~~ · Jun 3, 2009, 03:22 PM

Patience and Persistance? Nice skills man! Congratulations!!

coolmister · Jun 8, 2009, 09:08 PM

I got a new painter involved called Pete at DP Customs and no doubting the boy can paint but unfortunately his better half struggles a little in the old camera department but she's trying her best and no doubt will give me grief for posting that LOL

Anyway, its all starting to come together nice and the dragon is looking fantastic but still a long way to go.

Updates are coming thick and fast now so i should be back on track to have this complete for Multiplay i37 in August.

Chaos · Jun 8, 2009, 09:31 PM

damm thats one serious project keep the pics coming

Mac Daddy · Jun 9, 2009, 02:27 AM

AWESOME !!

procupine14 · Jun 9, 2009, 02:47 PM

My god.....its beautiful

coolmister · Jun 13, 2009, 03:27 PM

Cheers guys, i'm loving this one

Well i got a relative picture fest going on today and won't even begin to attempt to explain what's going on as i have absolutely no clue what so ever and all i can really say is, i'm glad Pete knows what he's doing

Anyway, this is how things look as of last night complete with hexagons...

Oh yeah, and where's my poor little dragon gone

coolmister · Jun 13, 2009, 03:29 PM

Continued...

coolmister · Jun 13, 2009, 03:30 PM

Continued again...

May 14, 2009, 07:02 PM	#1
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	ZOTAC Mod Box I notice Project Logs are few and far between here at Driverheaven so thought i'd do my bit to rectify show a full mod start to finish rather than just the finished item so please feel free to ask any questions or submit any ideas If this one comes off as good as it currently looks in my head I’ll struggle to hand it over to Zotac once its finished tbh. A little background. While out at CeBIT I was shown the new logo and livery for Zotac which to be fair hasn’t changed a great deal but is now more pleasing on the eye by softening the actual logo font but the main difference is the addition of honeycomb effect which can be seen on the large image on the new GTX295 retail box. I instantly knew what I wanted to do but actually doing it is another matter. The basic plan is to turn a ATCs 840 into a giant retail Zotac box without all the smaller logos or specific card branding so newer cards can be added as they evolve without having to re-brand the entire case and also to incorporate the Zotac Nitro so the cards can be instantly overclocked on the fly. The main problem is I can’t airbrush so i'm on the lookout for a professional airbrush artist to take care of the paintwork. Before I’m able to get the case to the painter its down to me to get the chassis stripped and chopped to mount a GTX240 in the base and also to get the Nitro hard mounted into the alu front section then its all off for powder coating followed by wet sanding to get a nice base for Rick to work his magic. Anyway a few images for now………. Last edited by coolmister; May 18, 2009 at 11:18 PM.

May 14, 2009, 07:03 PM	Thread Starter #2
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box After the great success with the Delrin top i7 block using the DD MCP Chipset block i decided to make a couple more for the Skulltrail but this tim i'm using the D-Tek Quick Mount. I'll get them both finished but may swap the Quick mount for Pro Mount so a back plate can be used but for the time being it should be fine and it doesn't see, to be causing the board to warp too much. I'll also flame polish them like the i7 ones to make them shiny black once i get them both finished. Some pictures.........

May 14, 2009, 07:04 PM	Thread Starter #3
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box And then there were two.........flame grilled and polished. I like them, just hope they work as well as on i7

May 14, 2009, 07:05 PM	Thread Starter #4
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box First things first...... I got the Skulltrail installed on the bench (well telly room table) to see what's what and glad to report my trusty new CPU blocks work a treat when hooked up to my mini H20 Cosmos. Unfortunately though i had to pull the PSU from the other Skulltrail machine to get the new one running as neither the CM Real Power 1000 or Tagan 1300 have two 8pin 12v connectors but i've got another Ultimate coming which will sort that out but never-the-less, a bit annoying. Anyway, the board had an old Alpha BIOS which wouldn't handle Tri-Sli so i grabbed the Intel® Desktop Board D5400XS BIOS Update [XS54010J.86A] which enables Tri-Sli and flashed with that so i'm all good to go for my first venture at 3 cards. Full Skulltrail - XFX GTX 280 XXX 3-Way SLi /4870X2 CFx article by Zardon of DH In the mean time i've been messing around with a Zotac GTX9800 and their Nitro basically running bench test just to make sure the Skulltrail is nice and stable which touch wood it seems to be so far so will crank up the volts and see what can be had. Last edited by coolmister; May 14, 2009 at 09:48 PM.

May 14, 2009, 07:06 PM	Thread Starter #5
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box At long last i had a couple of Coolermaster ATCs 840's tune up this morning so its all stations go. I first got to get the ZOTAC Nitro installed into the front bezel so it was dismantle the Nitro and use the casing as a template for the screen and three white buttons. Marked it out then drilled pilot holes to feed the fret saw blade through followed by a little filing and bobs you uncle.....sorted I still got to cut a bit of 3mm plexi and add black out film to it so the whole screen sits flush to the rest of the bezel and disappears when the screen is not illuminated but this is how it looks right now. I've also got to de-rivet and strip the rest of the chassis and cut the base for the 240 rad then the whole thing is off to powder coat before Rick starts his airbrushing Pictures....

May 14, 2009, 07:07 PM	Thread Starter #6
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box I'm on a roll.........and cheers guys for the nice comments Basically couldn't wait till morning to cut the plexi because i wanted to see what it looked like Cut the plexi to size and used Black Out Privacy film on on side. Obviously not all mounted but shows how it will end up looking....ish I'll sleep happy with that thank you very much.

May 14, 2009, 07:09 PM	Thread Starter #7
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box Wish i had more to show you guys but they say, the hard work is in the preparation and in this case it was. Decided to make the top grill for this Zotac 840 out of a piece of 4mm sheet of aluminium which will make the whole top section of the case pretty much flush, more in keeping of an actual Zotac retail box which i'm trying to replicate. Not really much different from the top grill i did on the previous Smackover 840 but this time it was the full width of the case and rather than a curved edge, it was more of a bevel finish to match the front bit. Anyway, no doubt it wouldn't of taken long on a CNC but i dunno, i just love doing this type of stuff by hand so here it is, all ready to go to powder coat with the rest of the chassis then Honeycomb mesh mounted underneath on its return. Sorry for loads of pictures that might not really mean that much but to me they kinnda justify a day in the garden doing what i love doing.......and a little Youtube showing power file, draw filing and block sanding to finish.

May 14, 2009, 07:10 PM	Thread Starter #8
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box

May 14, 2009, 07:11 PM	Thread Starter #9
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box Just a few finishing touches before everything goes to powder coat tomorrow. Tapped 6 holes in the top grill and added some threaded bar which will be used with small spacers to mount it to the chassis where i drilled holes (red arrows) so there is a small gap between the chassis and the vent which will help with airflow but the main reason is so it ends up mounted flush with the front bit. Also de-riveted the hard drive caddy and chopped out a section out so the rad can fit and also cut the base to accept a dual radiator then riveted it back together. BTW, i'll be using a GTX240 radiator in the base but just used the only 240 i had for pictures. Pictures....

May 14, 2009, 07:12 PM	Thread Starter #10
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box Just been and collected the chassis from the powder coaters and it looks nice in satin black and i'm well happy the way the top grill turned out. Next up is to wet sand the whole exterior then riveted back together ready for Rick to start working his airbrush magic.

May 14, 2009, 07:14 PM	Thread Starter #11
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box So that's things bang up to date so please feel free offer any comments and thanks for looking

May 14, 2009, 07:48 PM	#12
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,469 Rep Power: 339 System Specs	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box Amazing work , I am sure it was hard to finish a brilliant stuff like this , +1 __________________

May 14, 2009, 08:02 PM	#13
DJ BIG T DH FaN BoY Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: ORLANDO,FL Posts: 930 Rep Power: 69 System Specs	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box i love to see people mod there casees that rocks man... __________________

May 14, 2009, 09:17 PM	#14
Chaos Number Nine Join Date: May 2002 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 5,268 Rep Power: 167 System Specs	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box very nice work and thanks for the log of your project, now i want to see more

May 14, 2009, 09:39 PM	#15
Mousey Synth's Long Lost Bro Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Web Design Hell Posts: 7,189 Rep Power: 245 System Specs	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box Now that sir, is hella cool Thanks a lot for sharing, you gonna share the rest? __________________

May 14, 2009, 10:42 PM	#17
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,019 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box amazing system..... the case.... it is so amazing __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Jun 9, 2009, 02:47 PM	#27
procupine14 Why is it Beeping!?!?! Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA, Missouri Posts: 1,400 Rep Power: 58 System Specs	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box My god.....its beautiful __________________ HTPC/file server: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom x4 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 800 (2x2GB) - 1TB WD Black - 4 x 1TB Hitachi DeskStar in RAID 5 - ATi TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner - HIS Raedon 4850 512MB - ASRock N68C-S UCC mobo - OCZ ModExtreme Pro 500W PSU GF's Gaming PC: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 1066 - 500GB Western Digital GP - HIS Raedon 5770 1GB - ASUS M3A78-EM - Zalman 650W PSU Media Streamer: Win 7 Pro 64-bit - AMD Athlon x2 3200+ - 4GB SuperTalent DDR2 800 - 250GB SeaGate Barracuda - MSI K9N6PGM2-V2 - ASUS Raedon 5450 SILENT - FSP group 250W PSU

May 15, 2009, 01:09 AM	#18
Mac Daddy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,950 Rep Power: 80 System Specs	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box Sweet __________________ "My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

May 15, 2009, 07:13 AM	#19
lepel HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Belgium Posts: 552 Rep Power: 41 System Specs	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box It looks very nice just powder coated like that. Keep us posted with the rest of the log.

May 15, 2009, 10:39 AM	#20
Cow_160483 HH's only cow moooooo... Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BOTSWANA Posts: 6,821 Rep Power: 300 System Specs	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box excellent work man love the finish on that case keep the pics coming __________________ Decode! Muhahahahah!

May 15, 2009, 11:43 AM	#21
DJ BIG T DH FaN BoY Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: ORLANDO,FL Posts: 930 Rep Power: 69 System Specs	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box keep us posted when you have everything back in it.. __________________

Jun 2, 2009, 04:22 PM	#22
o_c HardwareHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 8 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re : ZOTAC Mod Box wow it's amazing very nice job man I really like the Zotac nitro integrated in the case so beautiful :P

Jun 3, 2009, 03:22 PM	#23
~~RE III - Frankie~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,754 Rep Power: 0	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box Patience and Persistance? Nice skills man! Congratulations!!

Jun 8, 2009, 09:08 PM	Thread Starter #24
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box I got a new painter involved called Pete at DP Customs and no doubting the boy can paint but unfortunately his better half struggles a little in the old camera department but she's trying her best and no doubt will give me grief for posting that LOL Anyway, its all starting to come together nice and the dragon is looking fantastic but still a long way to go. Updates are coming thick and fast now so i should be back on track to have this complete for Multiplay i37 in August.

Jun 8, 2009, 09:31 PM	#25
Chaos Number Nine Join Date: May 2002 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 5,268 Rep Power: 167 System Specs	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box damm thats one serious project keep the pics coming __________________

Jun 9, 2009, 02:27 AM	#26
Mac Daddy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,950 Rep Power: 80 System Specs	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box AWESOME !! __________________ "My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

Jun 13, 2009, 03:27 PM	Thread Starter #28
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box Cheers guys, i'm loving this one Well i got a relative picture fest going on today and won't even begin to attempt to explain what's going on as i have absolutely no clue what so ever and all i can really say is, i'm glad Pete knows what he's doing Anyway, this is how things look as of last night complete with hexagons... Oh yeah, and where's my poor little dragon gone

Jun 13, 2009, 03:29 PM	Thread Starter #29
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box Continued...

Jun 13, 2009, 03:30 PM	Thread Starter #30
coolmister HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: North East - England Posts: 93 Rep Power: 40	Re: ZOTAC Mod Box Continued again...