ZOTAC 840 Mod Box

[coolmiester]

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 got Pete at DP CustomPaint to take care of the paintwork.

Before I’m able to get the case to airbrush 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 Pete to work his magic.

Anyway a few images for now……….

[coolmiester]

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.........

[coolmiester]

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 Pete starts his airbrushing

Pictures....

[coolmiester]

I'm on a roll.........

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.

[coolmiester]

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



































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[coolmiester]

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....

[coolmiester]

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 Pete at DP Customs to start their airbrush magic.

[coolmiester]

[QUOTE=jigger;47544]What airbrush work are you planning on ?[/QUOTE]


Hopefully it might look a little like the Zotac retail box, complete with dragon and blue flames and also the underlying honeycomb effect

[coolmiester]

Update time

I got a new painter involved called Pete at DP Custompaint 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.

[coolmiester]

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

[coolmiester]

Continued...

[coolmiester]

WOW, the paint hadn't even dried on the last lot of pictures and they sent me more.

Apparently there's not much more to do before the blue flames are added and the masks start to come off so we should start to come together so i'm pretty excited about that as its hard to tell at present.

Once thats done its clear coat time so things should start to really "pop"

Great job DP CustomPaints.........thanks for the pictures and keep em coming :thumb:

[coolmiester]

I must admit, i'm one of those that can't really see the big picture until it all starts coming together and [url="http://www.dpcustompaint.co.uk/"]DP CustomPaint[/url] have been great keeping me up to date on each stage.

The dragons back and i think Pete now shoots the blue flames and highlights the hexagons.........i think anyway.

It just keeps getting better and better IMO

[coolmiester]

Updates coming thick and fast now and at this rate it looks like i should be getting the case back this week so i'm going to have to get my skates on and secure some hardware to fill it up

I was hoping to go tri-sli 285's but with the new single pcb 295's on the horizon i'm hoping we can maybe get those in time and i also have the new SR-1 (Silent Revision) rads on route from HardwareLabs which should be here early this week so looking forward to getting a system installed.

Anyway.....we have a blue flame throwing dragon...

[coolmiester]

Just about done now and ready to go to clear coat and polish when apparently it really comes to life so looking forward to that but i'm pretty happy with it so far and looking forward to getting a system in there with the Nitro in the front