Project Redemption (Fractal Design Define XL R2 mod)

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Thanks man. Life has been a bit busy and holidays have taken a lot of time but I hope to resume soon. I think people, those who are into water cooling, would indeed love this look. I will be replacing the top shroud with one that I will make by myself. Stay tuned!
 
So, as you all know, I had a package coming from Noctua. They sent me some awesome stickers and a pen. And to top that, I found a nice fan keychain. I love this package already. Here're the photos of the stuff I received. Woot Woot! Big thanks to Noctua for sending me this package. I really appreciate it. I even think it is the kick I needed to get this project done asap!

The Stickers. This is one big sticker.





The mysterious boxes. I wasn't sure what they had inside and I was pleased to see the contents after I opened them.





The Pen Emerges! Sexy Pen, very sexy!





And the Keychain. Look at that awesome dinky fan. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. The fan spins and it's just a splendid thing to have.


 
Thats awesom! And I have a questing - can top panel fit the 4-fan radiator inside of the case? And why do you need that hump over the top? For double fans over the radiator? What about the noise and performance? And what about removing or replacing that top cover?
I'm trying to choose the case, any advise would be good. My topic is over here.
 


If you want to fit 4 fans then you need to get a slim, 27mm thick rad and even that is not guaranteed on this case. The reason you are seeing the radiator shroud is because I have a thick 360 mm rad with 6 fans on it. The noise is non-existence. Performance is top notch. You can remove the top panel and replace it with a custom one (that is if you know someone that can make you one.
 
Hello everyone. I took sometime to work on the case again. I took off the top rad, I am still considering putting it back up there but I am not sure about it yet. I also worked on the motherboard tray and made a new mid panel that covers the entire bottom compartment as well as repositioning the Res and pump.

I first worked on the original MB tray. I cut it down to almost the same width as the MB itself. I took one of my plexiglass and cut it to fit the back of the case. This part was added directly to the remaining piece of the original MB tray. I wish this step was smooth but it wasn't because the new saw did not allow for great amount of room when I was making the cutouts for cable routing. As you can recall, I had purchased the chicago screws and I used them to connect the new MB panel to the old one. This allowed me put the cable routing holes much closer to the MB and it also made it possible to mount the reservoir right next to the MB. I took some pictures of this process but they turned out way too dark so I deleted them.

I then shifted to work on the mid panel. I made sure that I had the right measurements and such and I drilled holes where I needed them to be. As of right now, the GPU cable goes through the mid panel and gives the interior of the case a much cleaner look.

I will have to reposition the mounting mechanisms for the res and pump so that the pump is at least 1.5" away from the motherboard and GPU. This will also allow me to use better tubing connection between the pump and GPU. And the other thing will be to make cable management clips on the back of the board. I will do these things when I find time and acquire the necessary rubber pads that will elevate the clips to allow for cables pass through. The it will be time to make the SSD mount out of the same type of plexiglass.













 
Looks good. 😀 I personally don't like Rads because they stick out of the top and leave a mountain like look to it for me. The reason I got my Fractal R4 is cause it is awesome and it doesn't look like it is from outer space. But I love what you have done with this.
 


Thanks bud. I am going to get rid of the top rad and get something that is slim or just leave the bottom one and use the one from the top for my next build.
 
Sounds good. Can't wait for more updates if there are any. I was really wanting to do a LED mod on my R4 and make it green and put some Cougar Green Led fans in there. Might do it. Not very experienced though with soldering being 14 and not trusted around the iron. Might have my dad help me with it I really want a green look to it. 😀 Again great work.
 


More updates are coming on Monday. I just grabbed a few stuff to work on that will be going into the build. Thanks for showing such interest. You don't need to solder your LED, you can get some that can be plugged into your fan controller and dim them if you want. So I say go for it. And it's a good idea to ask your dad to help you if you need it.



Thanks bud. Still WIP (work in progress)!

 
Hello everyone. It's been a while since I posted my last update. I have been busy with new life style ever since we welcomed our newborn baby boy, Elijah, on the 5th of February 2014. He means the world to us.

I bought new toys. Well I needed calliper and I found a digital Mastercraft Calliper from Canadian Tire on sell for $17.99 from $39.99. Then I grabbed a couple of 3" C clamps, also on sell.





Then I made a trip to Home Depot and grabbed a set of files, needed more lol and I also grabbed a spray paint can for other uses



I have always wanted to get these adapters for SATA to Molex and I couldn't find them online. I went to a computer shop around here and I found them so I bought 2 of them, plus a 4 feet black heatshrink:rock:



Cable Management:

I took 2 pieces of acrylic that were left over and I made some cable management clips. I drilled the holes on the acrylic motherboard tray cover and mounted them there. And right before I finished working on these stuff, we had to go to the hospital and 2 days later our little boy was born.















 
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