My new system that I am modding starts with a Coolermaster Wave Master (BLACK) with custom side window and blowhole - both with 120mm fans. Inside I have an Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe nForce4 LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA mother board with an Intel® Pentium® D 840 CPU @ 3.2GHz microprocessor (no overclocking yet). To make it scream I got (2x) BFG - GeForce 7800 GT OC 256 MB GDDR3 PCIe in full SLI rig, and I have 2 GB of OCZ Gold (2 pcs 1GB) of 667 DDR2 (PC2-5400).All drives are SATA. My hard drives are a Western Digital 74 GB SATA 10K Raptor (for the system Drive) and a Western Digital Caviar SE 250 GB SATA3G 16MB Cache (as my Data Drive). For burning I have (2x) PlexWriter PX-716SA SATA 16X DVD+RW DUAL LAYER w/BLACK BEZEL which will allow me to perform direct copy to copy burning via SATA. I decided to do a themed PC mod - Lord of the Rings. Since I blew all my money on parts I don't have a digital camera to take pictures. Hopefully I will be able to borrow my friend's camera soon.Mad Modding Moose

Sounds like you have yourself quite the sweet rig there man! Hope to see some pics soon. O and also Welcome to the site!

Quote: Originally Posted by Mad Modding Moose My new system that I am modding starts with a Coolermaster Wave Master (BLACK) with custom side window and blowhole - both with 120mm fans. Inside I have an Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe nForce4 LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA mother board with an Intel® Pentium® D 840 CPU @ 3.2GHz microprocessor (no overclocking yet). To make it scream I got (2x) BFG - GeForce 7800 GT OC 256 MB GDDR3 PCIe in full SLI rig, and I have 2 GB of OCZ Gold (2 pcs 1GB) of 667 DDR2 (PC2-5400).All drives are SATA. My hard drives are a Western Digital 74 GB SATA 10K Raptor (for the system Drive) and a Western Digital Caviar SE 250 GB SATA3G 16MB Cache (as my Data Drive). For burning I have (2x) PlexWriter PX-716SA SATA 16X DVD+RW DUAL LAYER w/BLACK BEZEL which will allow me to perform direct copy to copy burning via SATA. I decided to do a themed PC mod - Lord of the Rings. Since I blew all my money on parts I don't have a digital camera to take pictures. Hopefully I will be able to borrow my friend's camera soon.Mad Modding Moose

Welcome to PcApex, Mad Modding Moose my freind Thrasher2 should be along soon with his welcome wagon and helpfull links for you to check out.

Looks like it is going to be a nice setup, looking forward to seeing some pictures of it.

WELCOME TO PCA!!!
Great first post! we like to see people just jumping straight in
Hope you can get a camera - we like pics too
EDIT: THIRD REP BLOCK FOR ME!!!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Mad Modding Moose My new system

If you don't already know about this little thing called Folding@Home here is some info about it.


OUR GOAL
Understanding how proteins self-assemble ("protein folding") is a holy grail of modern molecular biophysics. What makes it such a great challenge is its complexity, which renders simulations of folding extremely computationally demanding, and difficult to understand. The Stanford group has developed a new way to simulate protein folding. However, this method is extremely computationally demanding and they need our help.
For more info about it stop by F@H's home page here.

With that in mind you should read up on our team Team PCApex linkage. It is a great way to help humanity and PCApec alike.

If you are the competitive type you might want to join up in one of PCApex's sub teams for more info on them check these links.

T2's Folding Army
Team Ups
Team Ator

I never got a welcome wagon ..

Wow thats a pretty good set up...cant wait to see pics

Quote: Originally Posted by Just_a_Noob I never got a welcome wagon ..

WOW!

I did not expect such a great response. It's like moving into a new hood and having the nabes throw you a kegger.

I knew there was a reason I picked this site to join (other than the cool pimp hat reviews)! I am looking forward to getting some pics up soon. My buddy is going to lend me his camera and I will try to satisfy everyone's curiosity.

So far the mod has gone reasonably well with the usual 'damn - maybe I shouldn't a done it quite that way rip it out and try it again" blues. I don't have a machine shop access any more so everything is being done with hand tools.

The interior of the case is painted 'sail blue' and all the parts are currently in. Wiring was interesting as I was trying to hide as much as possible (but not as much as I wanted). I have a limited amount of time to get this done as fishing season is coming up here in NJ and I have to feed the need to get my hands slimy.

Three key items remaining on my hit list:
1) I got my window hole cut and gasketed. I need to send out the window for 3D etching.
2) I need to find a reputable company to make me 3 sets of custom acrylic fan guards. I say sets because each one consists of three guards layered up to look like the 'Eye of Mordor'. Three sets because I want an extra set.
3) I was able to locate a company that sells minature swords and got one of Frodo's sword "STING". I had this great idea of removing the center post of the Wave Master front (that is backlit) and somehow mounting the sword in the post and backlighting the sword. I'm in the process of doing that now and look forward to about another week's worth of spare time cutting/shaping/filing to make this puppy fit onto the case.

And of course I have the usual "I can't do this until this gets done first" punch list, but if I get those three things done I can than hook it up, program it, and finish the work in the 'puter room (spare room).

By the way - I did look at the tribute rig and I would love to make a donation. How do I do it via Paypal? I already got the account (yeah eBay!) but I just want to make sure my donation goes to the rig and not the 'home for wayward cats'.

I got some pics of what I want to have etched and the fan guards that I will try to post up tonite.

Thanks for everything!

M-M-M

Spent some time in the garage tonite filing and cutting a 1/2" thick block of aluminum. I will need to replace my files after this 'cause the aluminum ain't coming out of the little grooves - even after massaging them with a stainless steel brush.

Oh and since you asked - I broke down and ordered a camera today. I told the wife and she didn't mind at all. She's been real good with this mod - I may have to make her badge and stick it on case somewhere.

Here's some pics of what I'm doing with the other mods.





This pic is the etching I'm gonna get done for the window. (It's fun shopping the web for free images)





This is what I wanted to do with the fan grills - an Eye of Mordor thing.




Got two AC Ryan Orange LED fans for the window and the blowhole. They will glow orange and with the fan grills in place they should look like the this picture.

awesome bro, sounds like a solid prject. Just try to keep yourself to a schedule, i've been sidetracked on my project countless times and i think it'll take like forever to finish. lol well good luck on yours! Awesome design by the way!

Quote: Originally Posted by Mad Modding Moose This is what I wanted to do with the fan grills - an Eye of Mordor thing. Attachment 32740

Grumblestiltskin does Custom Fangrille Work

Looking at your diagram of the Eye of Mordor fan grille, how about getting Grumble to make 2 slightly overlapping acrylic pieces, one UV-reactive yellow and one UV-reactive orange (idea from your own diagram of the grille), and backlight it with a red UV-reactive LED fan? That'd be unique.

Well I broke down and bought a digital camera. As soon as I figured out how to work it I figured I needed to test it. So I said to my wife "Show me your *its!"

"EEK!" was her reply! (Well not really, but we're not allowed to use profanity in this site!)

So I thought to myself "Self - I know where there is lady ready to show herself in all her glory, with all her private and intimate stuff available for viewing. Porn of the highest order! I pimped her out and now I'm putting her on the street corner for all to see."

Here she is:



4 switches to manage lighting and a Thermaltake Hardcano 12. Both Plextor drives are stealthed.



From Behind



MMMM... Good Stuff in a Small package!



Best I could do with the wiring



My latest work



This work piece will be Anondized Black and replace the central Bar on the bottom of the Wave Master

I will embed the mini-sword in and Acrylic casting compound (which I might do a little mini article on) and then backlight with two embedded blue LEDs.

Eventually I will try to work out a circuit for a mini motion detector (unless any one knows of cheap one I can buy). Then "Sting" can truly glow Blue when Orcs are near!

Well gotta go. Enjoy the shots of my special lady!

MMM

Wow, that lighted sword idea is amazing! And it takes a helluva lot to amaze me...ingenious!

Welcome, Mad Modding Moose! When I first looked at the pics you posted I thought that you
had the interior powdercoated... it looks THAT good, imho, nice job !!! And that "lighted sword"....
man that just screams for +rep!

Keep on going!!!

TDR

Hello Everyone,

Just a quick post cuz I've been real busy. I will try to post some photos tomorrow because...

It's Alive!

Did my first boot up and installed the XP O/S from the Evil Empire. All hardware was recognized and everything looks good. I have a couple of minor glitches with some of the fans not working correctly but I think it is because of the Fan controller (Hardcano 12) not being properly programmed yet.

Also, How can I tell if my UV CCL's are working? The 12" one is real dim and I don't think it's working correctly. The 4" one appears brighter. Any tips?

Also, I dropped off my center post for the sword to be anodized and it should be ready tomorrow. I'm waiting for the 2 part clear acrylic casting compound to arrive and then I will mix, pour and set the sword. Then it will be time to rig-up some LED's for that oh-so-cool backlighting effect.

I also finally got a price from Voyeurmods to do the laser etching on my window so I shipped that off yesterday.

As I said - Busy, busy, busy...

PS - I'm gonna contact Grumblestiltskin for the Fan Grills. Let you know waht happens.

Later.

MMM

Just thought I would post a few picks









I had to rerun my thermal probes tonite because I had them in wrong. I got the real scoop on how to install them under my CPU & GPU coolerz from CPU magazine.

I am seriously thinking about yanking out my Thermaltake Hardcano 12. It keeps beeping even though the temps are low. The "Fan 4" indicator keeps coming on because there are two fans on the circuit and is screwing up the fan sensing circuit. The fans are really quiet even at full speed, so all I really need is a temp monitor for my CPU and GPU.

Maybe I'll just leave one fan on the "fan 4" circuit and put the other straight power.

Oh well, I'm officially beat. I'm hoping to swap out computers this weekend. I'll pick up my metalwork tomorrow from the metal platers. Let you know how that works out.

later

MMM

Sorry for the lack of recent posts. Things got hectic. For one I got the PC up and running. Since I went with all new gear that meant putting together a new computer desk for it all, then rearranging the spare bedroom for the new desk, etc... you know how it goes. Then my family and I all got food poisoning which was an experience I could 'pass' up in the future. (sorry for the pun)

Anyway, I finally had a chance to get my sword mod done. I found a local plating shop that anodized my aluminum blank that I had 'carved'. It looked awesome. I also received my acrylic casting compound from http://www.industrialpolymers.com/tr...compounds.html

Man, this site has some cool crap. Styrofoam hardners, molding materials, as well as the Crystal Clear casting compound. Ther were several diffrent types but I picked an easy one to mix that required a straight one to one ratio by volume.

OK - now for the pictures.



This picture shows the two pieces I'm going to use for this mod. The Black anodized aluminum bar is standard 1/2" thick AL bar x 2" wide. I found the miniature sword "Sting" at one of those novelty sword places.



This shows how the two pieces will fit together.



A little Duct to save the day and keep the compound from running all over the place



Ready to pour. Mixed part A with an equal part of B and...



pour it in. WAIT! I had to make sure I didn't fill it all the way because I still needed to get the sword in there.



With the sword in place you need to keep it level while curing.



Had some stuff left over so decided to fill a shot a glass. I wonder if I can dye this stuff? mmm...

24 hours hours later after it is installed we have this:





The sword glows blue when Orcs are near...



Damn, Im glad that looks good!

Waiting on my custom etching to come in from Voyeurmods. Brian's been working on it but had some problems with the font. Not unusual since I had to look for special LOTR fonts.

Later
MMM

If anybody can tell me how to set up a custom avatar it would be most appreciated.

Thanks,

MMM

That sword is looking awesome! But I thought you were going to have lighting within the sword itself...but what you got goin' on is pretty cool just the same!