Silverstone TJ07 build - t_ski style

[t_ski]

I've become a little bored with my Thermaltake Spedo Advanced, so I started looking around for a case that would suit my needs a little better. I think I found that in the Silverstone TJ07, so I picked up a used one in black with the window. Now I need to make it mine.

The hardware that will be going into this case is the stuff from my siggy:

• EVGA Classified 760 with EK nickel/acetal FC block
• Intel i7 920 with HK03 nickel
• 3 x 2GB OCZ Reaper 1866
• Two Radeon 5970's with EK nickel/acetal blocks
• BIX 480 radiator
• Danger Den D5 with EK-Xtop
• Three OCZ Agility 2 SSD's
• One 500GB Seagate HDD
• Two Lite-On DVD drives
• Silverstone 1KW PSU

My current PC has an overall blue theme, with the nine Yate Loon blue LED fans, the blue LEDs on the Zalman ZM-MFC1, and the power LED on the Spedo. I also have blue Primoflex tubing throughout the case. Of course, all the watercooling equipment is either black, nickel or both, which also goes along with the black PCB on the E760 and the 5970's, as well as the OCZ ram. Here's the inside of the system (one 5970 installed at the time, of course):

The downside is all the blue does not really go with the red of the Classified, but if I go with red I'll have to buy all new fans and tubing. At this time I am looking for ideas as to which way to go with this case, so I thought I'd post a couple ideas.

If I go with red, I don't want a bright red, but something a little more subtle:

Same thing goes for blue, as a medium blue looks crappy IMHO:

I also have different ideas on this:

• Outside blue, inside black
• Outside black, inside blue
• Outside blue, inside blue
• Outside red, inside black
• Outside black, inside red (a bright red might work better here)
• Outside red, inside red
• ????

I still need to buy a few parts anyway, so I have some time to fiddle around with this before I make my decision. And, BTW - I suck at Sketchup, so if anyone has a better TJ07 model, please let me know. I'd appreciate the ability to use it!

 

[douglatins]

Just google a TJ sketchup there are loads of them, if i find mine ill send ya

 

[t_ski]

The one I used was one I found through the model finder build into Sketchup:

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=dfb1b368c4fcf538cce101f6f733eba0

This one looked good, but I can't figure out how to color it (I think it's because of the image overlay):

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=b151e0b100613667148bc7fecd0dd25e&hl=fil&ct=lc

I'll have to check this one out when I get home:

http://scc.jezmckean.com/cat/11

Ooh! and rads, too:

http://scc.jezmckean.com/cat/50

 

[t_ski]

I got home tonight and started thinking...

If I change this to red, I will need to buy new fans, new tubing, plus mod my G5 and G15 to match. Not sure I have the cash for that, so I think I will go with blue. What do you think? Blue outside and black inside, black outside and blue inside, or blue all the way around?

 

[t_ski]

Started some work on this. Sleeved a couple fans for it.

Where will these go? In the top. I started with this:

I took out the fans and put these in. Carefully. It was difficult, since the mesh wanted to bend a lot, and there is a gap under the fans...

I've also started to receive some of the parts for this build. Here is the Lamptron FC-2 comtroller:

Of course, my luck means this doesn't fit right in smoothly. I'm going to have to cut away a small section of the 5.25" bay sides to make way for the controller (remove the box in red).

I also have a Lamptron vadal switch that will replace the front power button. I got a Blue Ring style in black to match the theme, and I got the sleeved power cable for it, too.

It will go here, but I have to expand the whole a little. I'm glad I didn't get the 22mm one...

I also got a Phobya quad rad stand for my BIX rad.

It will go in the bottom section, as these cases have ample room for it. That's why I bought this case.

Next thing I need to do is find some 92mm fans to replace the stock ones in the back of the motherboard tray.

I would love some blue Yate Loons to match the ones I'm going to use in the rest of the case, but from what I can see, Yate Loon doesn't make a 92mm like these blue ones. Is there another close match out there? The other alternative is to get a murderMods backplate clean, but who knows when they are going to be back in business...

 

[t_ski]

I have been working on a few things this week. My daughter was sick so I stayed home with her on Tuesday, and I did a little work while she was napping. I made two cables and sleeved them: one long 3-pin Y-adapter and another for the power for the Lamptron FC-2. I also gutted the case, and have been painting the internal parts satin black. Still working on that, so I will have some pics posted when these are ready to go.

I would love to have the outer shell powder coated or painted with automotive paints. Anyone have any ideas of how much either on of those might run?

 

[garyinhere]

you'll save a lot on the painting(if you go that route) if you do all the prep work yourself... like sanding and taping.
Not sure on power coating best bet is just call around and get quotes... most of those guys like to work on something "different" so you might get a boredom discount lol
Looks good subscribed!

 

[(FIH) The Don]

when i asked how much my g5 case would cost in metallic red i was told it would be around 120$, and i can only imagine it would be cheaper over there

also, have you thought about red + white color scheme?

black + something is so boring(no offense)

 

[TotalChaos]

cant wait to see more, looking great so far

 

[t_ski]

also, have you thought about red + white color scheme?

black + something is so boring(no offense)

No, not really my style. I've already started with satin black on the inside, and I will be figuring what I do with the outside next. I may just end up leaving it stock I'm not sure I can make it to after the holidays to get some expensive work done on it. IDK...

 

[ckoons1]

i have a TJ07 with black internal-top-front-bottom and red panels with window. inside is red/black.
Take your time and do it the way you really want or you'll wish you did

 

[t_ski]

Pictures as promised, although they are a little dark. Still getting used to the new camera and trying a few other techniques I learned. First up is the Y-cable I made for the two fans on the top:

This is the new (longer) cable for the Lamptron:

The Silverstone mid-plate painted black:

And a few of the other black internal parts:

Here is the PSU plate with the painted black insert:

 

[TotalChaos]

sweet stuff

 

[t_ski]

New toy:

The gray metal is going to need a coat of satin black to match the rest though. I need to do the motherboard tray as well, but it's been rather cold here for a while. I'm afraid it will ruin the paint if it's not warm enough.

I also put the case back together and installed the Lamptron My cuts in the 5.25" bay sides worked perfectly. I will try to get some shots of that up tomorrow (later today really). I've been playing with some new settings on the camera, and I think I've got it figured out a lot better.

 

[(FIH) The Don]

i got one of those for a buddy aswell, its pretty good and cheap

why dont you spray it inside ? do it in a corner , and cover the area in some plastic, then open all windows and do it?

 

[t_ski]

WOOT!!! It's 40 F outside and I'm painting!

 

[t_ski]

So, this update is a bit overdue... First up, the pics I promised previously. The inards painted satin black!





I bought some Lian Li mesh grills for the front panel.



I installed the Lamptron FC2.



I decided against using the vandal switch for the front, although I really liked it. Instead, I am using the original panel button and LEDs, but I sleeved the cables in black mesh and covered the back of the PCB in acoustic foam (just for looks).





Installed back in the case:



The TJ07 comes with an I/O panel that fits in the 3.5" bay at the bottom, but it won't fulfill all my needs. Plus, it's ugly, too :shadedshu



So, I replaced it with the Silverstone SST-FP35B I showed you earlier: this time, in black!



One (other) thing I did not like about the reader was the extra wires at the ends of the cables to allow for different wiring schemes. This was not needed, so I popped each wire out of the header one-by-one and trimmed off the extra wire.



Here the card reader is installed in the bay:





I did get to do some more painting. I started on the motherboard tray, but I did not get everything finished before the cold weather started to move back in. In the meant time, I'll leave you with a few other new parts: Lian Li motherboard thumbscrews and black rivets!



I have more parts on the way which will hopefully be here by the first of next week.

 

[t_ski]

I decided I have had enough of waiting on the weather to get warm enough to paint, so I grabbed a page from the MNPCTech files. I bought a new clamp light with a ceramic base and a 250W heat lamp. I plugged this in over my mobo tray and painted away in the garage. It's dry now, but I need to wait until tomorrow to pop the rivets in place. Everyone else in the house is asleep

 

[t77snapshot]

I decided I have had enough of waiting on the weather to get warm enough to paint, so I grabbed a page from the MNPCTech files. I bought a new clamp light with a ceramic base and a 250W heat lamp. I plugged this in over my mobo tray and painted away in the garage. It's dry now, but I need to wait until tomorrow to pop the rivets in place. Everyone else in the house is asleep

Aww everyone get ready for some midnight modding!!!! I can't wait to see the paint job ski. Your pictures look great too, what camera are you using?

 

[blu3flannel]

This is gonna look good. I wish I could do a complete color scheme like this with my build, but I'm just not sure about sleeving. I don't wanna mess with all the pins and stuff.

 

[t_ski]

Aww everyone get ready for some midnight modding!!!! I can't wait to see the paint job ski. Your pictures look great too, what camera are you using?

I've used three cameras now. The ones with the date at the bottom are my wife's Samsung (great camera for a sub-$100 point and shoot), and the old pic of the current loop was from my Panasonic FZ-5. I loved that camera, but sold it to fund a new one, which I replaced with a Panasonic FZ40. The trick is learning the ins-and-outs of a different model with new bells and whistles, but a few onlines guides have helped. Try this one:

http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2010/0...ts-the-adafruit-photo-tutorial-by-johngineer/

This is gonna look good. I wish I could do a complete color scheme like this with my build, but I'm just not sure about sleeving. I don't wanna mess with all the pins and stuff.

Doing the sleeving is very easy, as long as you understand how the pins work and can be careful when trying to depress them before sliding them out if the headers. It helps to have a tool kit like this one (which I have):

SUNBEAMTECH PMTK PSU Modding Tool Kit

Oh, and there are a ton of case mods out there for the CM 690. Search the forums here and the rest of the web for some inspiration.

 

[t77snapshot]

I've used three cameras now. The ones with the date at the bottom are my wife's Samsung (great camera for a sub-$100 point and shoot), and the old pic of the current loop was from my Panasonic FZ-5. I loved that camera, but sold it to fund a new one, which I replaced with a Panasonic FZ40. The trick is learning the ins-and-outs of a different model with new bells and whistles, but a few onlines guides have helped. Try this one:

http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2010/0...ts-the-adafruit-photo-tutorial-by-johngineer/

Damn! that is one excellent tutorial, thanks t_ski, I will have to get that a try for sure. I am looking for a decent camera right now in the range of 2-300 bucks and the Panasonic FZ40 seems pretty nice, hmmm.

 

[stinger608]

Damn! that is one excellent tutorial, thanks t_ski, I will have to get that a try for sure. I am looking for a decent camera right now in the range of 2-300 bucks and the Panasonic FZ40 seems pretty nice, hmmm.

I would have to agree with Snapshot here! That is a great guideline/tutorial on digital photography man!!! Great link T-Ski!!!

 

[t_ski]

There is also an FZ38 that's a little chealer, and slightly lower specs if you can't afford the full $300 for a camera. I like this one because it has many advanced features but still can be simple to operate. Auto mode takes decent pics, too.

Samsung makes an SLR-style point and shoot very similar in specs to the FZ40, and Tiger usually has it for around $200. Did not look into any reviews on it though, but like I said, my wife's is pretty decent for sub-$100.

Also, check this thread out (if you haven't already):

Sexy Hardware Close-Up Pic Clubhouse.

We discuss some tips every now and them...

 

[t_ski]

My box of new stuff came in today. I spent about two hours swapping out some (minor) parts that were already installed in the pics above, and I sleeved the two 92mm fans that go on the back panel. Everything is starting to look like an AC/DC song...