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Thread: Project Fusion AA [Completed]

  1. #1
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    Default Project Fusion AA [Completed]

    Hi there, this was my 1st main project I worked on called project Fusion AA
    This was a big project for me and began when AMD went and bought out ATI (hence the name fusion AA representing the fusion of AMD and ATI) ...

    This mod took a long time to complete due to the heavy etching involved. This is a old mod and if you want to skip to the final build pictures goto the end of the posts..


    Hi all and welcome to the Mod Fusion AA, before we begin let me tell you about the idea behind this mod. One of our members of staff (Archer) is talented when it comes to art and quite a while ago created some of the best hand etches I have seen in some time and it had been a while since we featured a modded PC here on Xtreme.

    While I was pondering on ideas AMD went all out and bought ATi, which sort of decided the mod idea for me, A AMD and ATi inspired design was the way to go and we wanted to be sure it represented the fusion of AMD and ATi, hence the name of the mod FUSION AA!

    The idea was born and it was just a case of deciding what case route to go down, when Archer suggested we use a UV case so a full size etch could be done, we tried in vain to get a new UV case from one of the few manufactures that still offer them, but it was in vain… Oh dear… then it hit me, we still have an old one with quite and old etch, so a quick email was sent to none other than A.C Ryan of course to ask if they would be interested in sponsoring Fusion AA by supplying some panels.

    Once we had confirmed we could get these in the plan begun. Emails had been sent out to pr contacts trying to find interested parties that would like to be involved and we had an excellent response.. The most important one was from AMD themselves, which was really needed to make the mod go ahead… In the end we had 6 Sponsors and here is what they had to supply.

    Hardware

    1x AMD BlackEdition 5000+
    1x MSI K9A platinum Motherboard
    1x ATI 2900XT 512
    1x OCZ Reapers 8500
    1x OCZ ModXstream 780w PSU
    1x WD RaptorX 150GB
    1x WD Caviar SE16 320GB
    1x Pioneer BDC-S02BK (blue ray combi)

    Cooling

    2x Black ICE stealth GT II 120
    2x XSPC X20 compact 400 Pumps
    1x XSPC Delta CPU block
    1x EK-FCR600 CF - Acetal (full cover GPU block)
    1x Fesser one UV acid green mix
    1x Fesser one UV blood red mix

    Modding parts

    2x ACRYAN 5mm thick UV green Acrylpanel
    1x ACRYAN 3mm thick Black tint Acrylpanel
    2x ACRYAN 120mm Red blackfire 4 fans
    1x ACRYAN 80mm Red Blackfire 4 Fan
    2x ACRYAN 120mm RadGrille grills
    2x ACRYAN FlexiSleeve UV green braiding Kits
    4x ACRYAN Twin UV overboost CCFL packs

    As you can see there is a lot for us to work with

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Project Fusion AA [Completed]

    Now we have everything our first port of call is to prep the panels we got from A.C.Ryan, this involved a ruler, pen, masking tape, jigsaw and a dremel.

    Preparing Acrylic for cutting is a pretty easy job (I wish the cutting was too) and the best way to start of is to cover the whole panel in masking tape, this will help with keeping the panel scratch free.



    For the front panel the marking was done using a ruler and placing the fan and grill in place to mark up the holes.



    Next we done the outline of the Grill, we had a template but found it easier just to trace around the grill then use a ruler to connect it all up.



    As the panel was 5mm thick we were able to go with a jigsaw to cut the panel and it was not an easy task, but we managed to do it without any problems. The next panels that needed covering were the motherboard side and the black tint that was going over the top of it.




    Both panels needed the grill and fan location in the same place so it was a bit tricky. The black tinted sheet had to be cut with a dremel as it is so thin the acrylic would just wobble or snap if we attempted to cut it with the jigsaw.



    Once both the motherboard side panels were cut it was just a simple task of lining up the grills and drilling through, at all times we used the dremel with a small screw bit to get the screw holes started,



    next up was the roof panel, this was a bit more complex as we were re routing the power, reset switch and lights up to this, so the old front of the case was used to line up the holes.



    This was then cut, we had a few trial and errors why making this panel, including the power a reset switch holes, even though we went up one stage at a time with the drill sizes this ended up cracking the panel, so we redone the layout on a fresh piece and this time it was successful and we eventually ended up with this.



    The last panel to be prepped was the inner HDD mounting column this had to have a hole cut out to allow the second radiator to catch some air from the motherboard panels side fan.



    Although the radiator would not line up with the fan on the HDD column we decided to cut this shape out of the column, the reason was simple and that was to keep the rigidity of the panel, that helps to keep the case strong.

    Oh yeh dont forget to sand down those freshly cut edges

    Now we have all the panels done it is time to get etching, don’t you think?

    Next Part – Mobo panel Etch

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Project Fusion AA [Completed]

    Selecting the designs for the mobo side panel was not easy, but here is what we had come up with for the motherboard side




    This was the planned etch, this would be on blue UV acrylic with the black tint over it, to keep with the black edition etch on this side of the case . This image was flipped and turned black and white so outlines could be drawn and to ensure we had a rough idea of how the end result would look.



    This was pretty hard to do but as you can see once the lines on the etch are done, Archer can get to work with her dotimism work (a form of shading using dots) you can see already the shading of AMD’s spider from their black edition campaign coming out.







    Many many hours later after 1000s of dots the shaded effect is done and I must say looks well nice indeed, all that was left to do on this panel was the Fusion wording.



    First up was the outline of the wording, this is no simple task as the AA font we chose the circles did not go that well as you can see.



    All in all though after the work put in we were still happy with it and yet again it was time for Archer to weave her shading magic with the engraver again.

    Before



    After



    The completed result looked like this



    Result, Archers magic sorted out the circles on the two A’s, now this was done the by XtremeComputing was added.



    As you can see the etching is always done back to front on the inside of the panel, this then has to be thickened up a bit with a larger engraving bit. It is always best to start with the smallest then move up. As this was going to be fully engraved and not shaded though it is just a case of scratching it in, be careful here though one mistake and the whole panel is ruined…




    Phew no mistakes there thank god, now as you can see the first panel is complete and its final look is like this.

    Ha ha fooled you, you will have to wait until the mods finished for that one

    Next Part – Front and Roof panel brand etches

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Project Fusion AA [Completed]

    Time to move onto the roof and front panel of the case, these were just being etched with 4 sponsors logos, on the roof we went with OCZ and watercoolinguk, and on the front panel we went with WD and MSI.



    First up was the Western Digital logo, although simple looking, logos are very hard to do, believe it or not, it is easier to do the picture type etches than writing and logos, although the latter takes a lot less time, it is still pretty awkward.



    Bloody msi badge took up way too much time in archers opinion, and oops, I messed up a little on the little msi outline positioning.. But I still think it looks good. The final logo for the front panel was the pioneer logo, this obviously was going over the Blue ray drives slot.



    Now that was done and masking taped back up (to keep scratch free) it was time to move onto the roof,



    The outlines were done, and it was time to start filling and shading in,



    While we were here, we thought as the drive is a blueray, why not add a blue ray logo as well




    Just some shading on the OCZ needs doing and logo number one is done, let us take a look at the next logo




    This was actually the easiest etch on the whole mod, well doing the outline anyway , although arched did say it was the easiest to shade.

    Last but not least was the blueray etch.



    Now the roof and side panels were all etched and the roof re taped back up, it was time to move onto the final etching, the ATi ruby side panel, and trust me if you think the etches so far are great, just wait until you see the shading work on this…. OMFG…

    Next Part – The final panel Ati ruby etch

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Project Fusion AA [Completed]



    The Side panel choice was more of a character themed choice, the idea here was to do an etch the full length of the panel to see just how much detail could be put in, the same thing applies here as with the mobo side panel, the image needs to be flipped then turned into black and white, to get an idea of how the etch would look when finished.




    once the image was traced in Archer set about shading the panel with some amazing results and some of the best work we have done.












    As you can see the effect is excellent and in my belief the best we have achieved, although I do feel like I am cheating when I say we as I only do the outlines and guide lines. It is really Archers god like shading skills that pull it off. Now the two main etches were done, we are getting ready for the build in which we will reveal the panels in full

    Next Part – The Build

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Project Fusion AA [Completed]

    The build

    The build is almost done, so let us take stock of all the work put into this mod, first up the panels.







    Motherboard side panel, check



    Custom roof and front panel, check












    Ati Ruby etch panel, Check

    Now it was just a simple case of putting it all together, so lets begin shall we?






    The first part of the build was getting the front, and mobo side panel into place, as well as the HDD’s, the fans, a couple of the CC lights and the radiators. As you can see from the photos above the mobo panel now has the smoked tint over the etch, which almost hides it.



    Once that was done it was time to place the mobo in place, of course we mounted the CPU block to the motherboard first.



    Next in was the ATi 2900XT with its EK water block, of course this was going to get interesting now, with a PSU, memory, 2 pumps and 2 loops in the system, acrylic cases are a bit on the small side, so even with only 2 120mm radiators this was going to be a thoughtful process.







    As you can see we got their in the end, even though we got our own spaghetti junction thing going on, but the good thing is none of the tubes are touching each other, bloody tight though especially at the front.

    Now as most experienced water cooled pc enthusiast will tell you, its always best to top the system up and fill it with out any power going to the mobo, so the first thing we done was connect up the green and the black, filled the reservoirs and flicked the power switch.



    Holy… sh** that’s not good is it, a leaky black ice pro, damn, removed the radiator to find this.



    Now as it was leaking from under the screw holes, it looks like a puncture, which is very bad judgment on my side, but then I thought hang on the screws barely get through to the radiator so how the hell… so out came the pliers and I ripped open the screw mounts..



    No puncture holes behind any of the screw mounts, which is strange, never once have I seen a black ice radiator spring a leak without any abuse… Thankfully WatercoolingUK stepped in an supplied a nice shiny new replacement for us., now to get the loop in and get this rig set up.




    Finally we had all the lights in and the two water loops ready to go, it was just screwing all the panels in left to do.

    Next Part – Final Pictures

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Project Fusion AA [Completed]

    I could sit here telling you how many total hours this took, anyway no more talking here are the final pictures.









































    Next Part - Powered up

    Page 8

    Powered up, and ermm well loads of pics





















































    Got there in the end, it took some time but I think it came out as we expected.

    P.S this is a old mod log, just thought I would add it here to show you my previous work..

    Mods please feel free to remove anything that breaks the rules.

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