In June of 2018, after decommissioning The Node 804 build, I started looking around for a new case to house these old parts.
Wanted: (1) mATX case that would hold a dual loop system.
(2) Room above motherboard and memory blocks for a top mounted rad.
(3) Room in the front of the case for my EK 280XTC rad with 2 Bitspower 150 mm reservoirs mounted to the fans in a pull configuration.
OK, so that was not going to happen.Ended up going with a Corsair Carbide 275R midtower ATX case. Not because it could natively house this configuration but because there was enough room inside to be able to move the motherboard around. That is where the name of the build comes in. The motherboard will be mounted two expansion slots "Down" and because of the secondary plate behind the board, "Out" towards the window about 1/2".
The case is fairly basic. It has one tempered glass side panel, a full length PSU shroud, big feet, and........that's about it.
The area on the right side of the midplate is for mounting SSDs but if you install a rad in the front of the case, the SSD mounting screws will not be accessible.
The HDD cage has to go because the pumps are going to be mounted in that area
Picked up a Darkside 240LPX rad and another Bitspower 150mm reservoir. The 240LPX is a nice little rad. The paint and the fins are perfect and the G1/4 ports are both straight
Started test fitting the components. This is where you can see the issue with the front rad and the SSD mounting screws
There is not very much room behind the midplate. 15mm in the motherboard area that increases to 25mm at the front of the case.
Laid the case on it's side and placed the motherboard inside to see where it wanted to sit Lots of room in there.
Made a new motherboard mounting plate out of .062" aluminum and laid it on top of the original standoffs. There are 6-32 x 1/2" standoffs attached to the motherboard. This shows approximately how far down the board has to go.
Cut the rear panel out of the case and laid out a new one using .062" aluminum. The side panel covers the rivet holes that are used to attach the midplate to the rear of the case. I wanted to use these to attach the new plate so the side panel was cut to fit around the top hole and the new panel was shaped to fit over all three holes
After the new rear panel was attached to the case, the original standoffs were removed and the new motherboard plate was screwed to the midplate with 6-32 screws. There are 1/8" nylon spacers on the screws between the plates. Robbed the rear I/O bracket from the Node 804 and held it in place with the motherboard in order to get some measurements.
The new rear I/O bracket is temporarily attached with 3mm screws and nuts Put the board and the video card back in to check for fit
Here is the rear panel laid out for the I/O bracket, two 80mm fans, and a hole for a bulkhead fitting which will be used for draining that part the GPU loop
Used a couple of old 80mm fans for measuring and fitting
Wanted: (1) mATX case that would hold a dual loop system.
(2) Room above motherboard and memory blocks for a top mounted rad.
(3) Room in the front of the case for my EK 280XTC rad with 2 Bitspower 150 mm reservoirs mounted to the fans in a pull configuration.
OK, so that was not going to happen.Ended up going with a Corsair Carbide 275R midtower ATX case. Not because it could natively house this configuration but because there was enough room inside to be able to move the motherboard around. That is where the name of the build comes in. The motherboard will be mounted two expansion slots "Down" and because of the secondary plate behind the board, "Out" towards the window about 1/2".
The case is fairly basic. It has one tempered glass side panel, a full length PSU shroud, big feet, and........that's about it.
The area on the right side of the midplate is for mounting SSDs but if you install a rad in the front of the case, the SSD mounting screws will not be accessible.
The HDD cage has to go because the pumps are going to be mounted in that area
Picked up a Darkside 240LPX rad and another Bitspower 150mm reservoir. The 240LPX is a nice little rad. The paint and the fins are perfect and the G1/4 ports are both straight
Started test fitting the components. This is where you can see the issue with the front rad and the SSD mounting screws
There is not very much room behind the midplate. 15mm in the motherboard area that increases to 25mm at the front of the case.
Laid the case on it's side and placed the motherboard inside to see where it wanted to sit Lots of room in there.
Made a new motherboard mounting plate out of .062" aluminum and laid it on top of the original standoffs. There are 6-32 x 1/2" standoffs attached to the motherboard. This shows approximately how far down the board has to go.
Cut the rear panel out of the case and laid out a new one using .062" aluminum. The side panel covers the rivet holes that are used to attach the midplate to the rear of the case. I wanted to use these to attach the new plate so the side panel was cut to fit around the top hole and the new panel was shaped to fit over all three holes
After the new rear panel was attached to the case, the original standoffs were removed and the new motherboard plate was screwed to the midplate with 6-32 screws. There are 1/8" nylon spacers on the screws between the plates. Robbed the rear I/O bracket from the Node 804 and held it in place with the motherboard in order to get some measurements.
The new rear I/O bracket is temporarily attached with 3mm screws and nuts Put the board and the video card back in to check for fit
Here is the rear panel laid out for the I/O bracket, two 80mm fans, and a hole for a bulkhead fitting which will be used for draining that part the GPU loop
Used a couple of old 80mm fans for measuring and fitting
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