F4DE | By C4B

Hello again!

After months of wedding planning, moving to a new apartment, new job and everything else Im back, and this time with a casemod, usually Im working from scratch. I will hopefully learn a lot by this small project and get more modding experience.

In my opinion I've found the ultimate mini-itx case, the Cubitek Mini Cube. Ever since I installed a computer for a friend in this case I have been in love. It is clean-looking, has A LOT of space behind the motherboard for both cablemanagement and harddrives.

My idea of this casemod is to make a "stealth" mod. Everything will be black except for some small details that will be the small contrast to all the black. So I will start by taking the case in two parts and paint everything that isnt black. Then I will be installing a 240mm radiator in the front, yes you heard me, I will be making a big hole in that nice-looking frontpanel. But dont worry, I will be covering it up with one of the most awesome-looking radiator grills from Aquacomputer.

This is the hardware Im aiming for, most of it I already have.

MB: MSI Z87I
CPU: Intel I5 4670K
GPU: Zotac GTX 760
RAM: 2x4gb Corsair Dominator Platinum
SSD: Samsung 840 120gb
PSU: Be-Quiet! Dark Power Pro P10 550W
CASE: Cubitek Mini Cube



Here is a overview of the motherboard.



I didnt like the blue/alu caps so I made them and some other stuff black, F4DE in to black! :rock:





Well here is some more hardware pictures. The radiator grill I talked about from Aquacomputer, one of the most cleanlooking I seen. Also love the kind of darker shade on it.





Also got the Samsung SSD yesterday, nice design on it I think. Dont have to make a cover for this one I think.



Last of all, the waterblock for the GTX 460, I think I will go with this card. I already have it and it still got a lot of power so why not. Easy to upgrade if I get ahold of a 760 later. I will probably paint the acrylic piece black so it fits the theme even more.



I couldnt wait to do something so I painted the waterblock today. I like it, going to fit better than clear acrylic.

Before



After



Installed the waterblock and backplate to the GTX 460 and took some pictures of it together with the motherboard. I love the backplate, that and the radiator grill will make a sweet contrast to all the black.







Some Corsair Dominator Platinum would look awesome here!

Thats all for now. Im currently planning and measuring out where to put the radiator and window and stuff like that. But I will update as soon as possible. I hope you like it. While you wait I would really appreciate if you liked to check out my facebook-page. There you will find more updates, giveaways and other computer related stuff.

With kind regards
Johan Nyman
Minimalistic PC's

very nice combo. Love the copper on the cpu block.
One question, is it not difficult WC'ing in the cubitek? I would assume there is not much space to cool much with a rad, and even if you are going with a 240, where are you putting the pump etc?

Robertmarcus said:

very nice combo. Love the copper on the cpu block.
One question, is it not difficult WC'ing in the cubitek? I would assume there is not much space to cool much with a rad, and even if you are going with a 240, where are you putting the pump etc?

Click to expand...

Its not as easy as in a fulltower case, but not that difficult either. Im planning on having the pump next to the powersupplie.

this looks amazing. following!

gankernation said:

this looks amazing. following!

Click to expand...

Thank you!

Im still waiting for the Cubitek case, they are shipping it from China so I guess its gonna take a while. But I got some good news for you, two new sponsors!

Im grateful for CDON.com. They helped me with the ram, a 2x4gb kit of Corsair Dominator Platinum.



Be-Quiet! also helped me with the power supply, the Dark Power Pro P10 550W.



Check them out and support them and me!

Finally!

I got the case from Cubitek. Before I start mod it I will be making a review for my website. But I have some other pictures to share with you.

I would like to start and thank all the sponsors again for making this possible.

Thank you:
CDON.com | Be Quiet! | Cubitek | MSI

The Corsair Dominator Platinum arrived a few days ago, really nice ram.





It really fit in with the shiny backplate too!



I also got the Be Quiet! Dark Pro 10 550W power supply. Really nice package with a lot of cables and extra stuff.





Thats all for tonight... Or wait, Ill give you a sneek peak.



I think some will hate that radiator grill and the contrast to the black, I love it though. It will look even better when everything is done.

I will be back with some real updates soon. Please check out Minimalistic PC for my projects and reviews. Means alot!

With kind regards
Johan Nyman

Digging the grill on the front looks nice.

Sub'd, already liked your CURV3D ITX build.
I like the looks of the case but for my taste there's too much waste of space for an ITX case. Looking forward to how you fill up that space.

Penance said:

Digging the grill on the front looks nice.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I was worried people would think it is a too big contrast.

raymondo said:

Sub'd, already liked your CURV3D ITX build.
I like the looks of the case but for my taste there's too much waste of space for an ITX case. Looking forward to how you fill up that space.

Click to expand...

Thank you. I like it, it gives me room to install better hardware and cooling but still is much smaller than a miditower.

I installed the hardware to measure out where to put different things. Everything really fit together, I cant wait to paint the bare aluminium black.





As you see its not a problem to fit a 240mm radiator, this one is 30mm wide but I could have a 45mm if I wanted too.



Im thinking about having a 150mm tube res either to the right of the motherboard or where the back fan is mounted. About the back fan mount, its 80mm or 92mm, with a little violende I managed to fit a 120mm fan there though, doesnt look good though so Im thinking about having the res there instead.



One more thing, I said that I would use regular tubing for the watercooling, I changed my mind! Im going for chromed copper tubes, 12mm. Going to look awesome together with the shiny backplate and the radiator grill.



Here is my review of the case. Next thing to do is start measuring out the holes for the radiator and fans. Ill be back!

With kind regards
Johan Nyman

Oi!

Update is here! Today I made the cutout for the front fans and radiator, just some filing to do left. I really love this radiator grill!







I also made a shroud that will cover the power supply and pump.





Thats all for tonight, Ill be back for more in a few days. I have a lot of fun stuff to share. I have many new ideas!

Stay tuned!
Johan Nyman

I'm looking to start something like this with some sheet metal and building the whole case. I work at an industrial plant, so im going to put maintenance to good work!

This is a super sexy mod. Got me thinking of trying something similar.

Octonaut said:

I'm looking to start something like this with some sheet metal and building the whole case. I work at an industrial plant, so im going to put maintenance to good work!

Click to expand...

Nice! Go for it!

Cruise51 said:

This is a super sexy mod. Got me thinking of trying something similar.

Click to expand...

Thank you!

Hello!

Im back for a little update. This is what I have done so far.

• Painted the case
• Fixed the cutout for the radiator
• Changed to MDPC black M3 screws
• Done some sleeving and shrouds

Primer



Add some black to that!



This is how it looks. What do you think?



All black and empty.





Shiny!



Although I have some sad news, I have to drop the chromed copper tubing. I cant manage to get it working with the loop in this case, its too small for me. I having problems even with regular tubing. I still think it will look good, I will use regular transparent tubes with regular water to keep it clean.

Keep checking in!

With kind regards
Johan Nyman
Minimalistic PC's

Hey Bro - How about using the chrome and using factory 90 ell's to tighten up the bends. Just a thought! DO it Damit! Ha ha lookin good man.

onevoicewild said:

Hey Bro - How about using the chrome and using factory 90 ell's to tighten up the bends. Just a thought! DO it Damit! Ha ha lookin good man.

Click to expand...

Haha nah Im going with regular transparent tubing.

Got a small update today. The powersupply is now sleeved in all black. I tried to make the cable management as good as possible. I really love the p-clips. This is how it looks anyhow. I will cover the SSD with a plate from the front that Ive cut, so it gets the same finish as the outside case.



And this is how it will look on the inside, not completely finished though, some fancables and stuff left to sleeve.



The blue is the res and the red is the pump. I will be using a DDC pump together with EK DDC X-RES 100mm.



Im currently waiting for the res and some Noiseblocker fans. What I have to do right now is to make the coverplate for the ssd, finish the shroud and paint it, start working on the window mod.

Thanks for now!
Johan Nyman
Minimalistic PC's

Today I was nervous while modding, why? Because I was soldering cables to the pcb of my GTX 460. Now why did I do that? Well this is a small case, the GPU is 210mm long and the PSU 170mm, so from the powerconnector on the GPU to the PSU isnt long, why route the cables around the back of the motherboard tray and to the GPU when I can go straight to it. But soldering on computer hardware isnt my every day thing, but, I started it up and it was no problemo!









Here you see how close it is between the two.





I also added some p-clips to support the cable management on the back and made a ssd cover out of the spare material from the fan holes in the frontpanel.



Well what do you think of this casemod this far? Give me some criticism!

With kind regards
Johan Nyman
Minimalistic PC's

No sleeves for the short pci-e power cable?

Other than that I'm loving this build!

lilfiend said:

No sleeves for the short pci-e power cable?

Other than that I'm loving this build!

Click to expand...

No that cable wont be sleeved, its already to stiff.

Time for a little update. I received the last hardware this week. Some Noiseblocker fans and a EK X-Res 100 DDC.



Really love these fans. 2x 120mm and 1x 92mm PWM versions of Noiseblockers Blacksilent. Really fits this mod, still looks very clean though.



This res pump combo is really nice too. I modified a DDC plexi mount from XSPC to install it in the case.







This is how I will run the loop. Im going to finish the shroud and add some fittings to it to get the tubes through it and down to the radiator.



Really love these Noiseblocker fans!



This is also how the cable management will look on the inside.



And here is the finished cablemanagement in the back.



Im pretty satisfied with it now. The molex is for the 18W DDC pump. Dont have much left to do before this project is finished.

• Clean the case.
• Repaint.
• Finish the shroud.
• Finish the loop.
• Window?

What do you think about a window mod? Do it or dont do it? Full window or a smaller one?

I will be visiting Dreamhack Winter in november to show this project and my earlier build CURV3D at the Expo they have there for a sponsor. So Ill hope I see some of you there. I also want to thank Bit-Tech for nominating me to Mod of the Month August. Go and vote for your favorites!

I am also hosting a modding contest for those who live in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland at my website. Check it out, got prizes from Bitfenix, Cubitek and others.

With kind regards
Johan Nyman
Minimalistic PC's

I think a window that shows off mobo/gpu/res would be cool, but showing off psu/rad would probably be too large

lilfiend said:

I think a window that shows off mobo/gpu/res would be cool, but showing off psu/rad would probably be too large

Click to expand...

Yep Im thinking the same!

Hello!

It is time for another little update. I have been working on the loop a little bit, right now Im just waiting for the last three fittings then its time to fill it up!

I also finished the shroud/psu cover. Got some time today to work on the window too, just need to file and sand the edges.

Installed two fillports to the shroud and painted it black.







This is how the full shroud looks like, I like it!



This is how Im going to run the loop. Only thing left is from the CPU to the RES and down to the rad.





I also started working on a window, this is the layout Im going for. Just need to trim the edges a little bit.





What do you think?

The only things left to do is to fix the paintjob, finish the loop and fix those edges for the window. Almost done with this project, feels great!

With kind regards
Johan Nyman
Minimalistic PC's

Looking good so far. Keep up the good work!

One observation/question: I noticed there is no room for an optical drive. Will you be installing the O/S from a flash drive and setting up the system remotely? Just curious...

AceGoober said:

Looking good so far. Keep up the good work!

One observation/question: I noticed there is no room for an optical drive. Will you be installing the O/S from a flash drive and setting up the system remotely? Just curious...

Click to expand...

Thank you. I will be using either a flashdrive or my usb optical drive. I dont use CD/DVD anymore.

Its been too long since I updated, so here it is.

I have finished the loop, shroud and installed OS and so on. The last two things left to do is to fix some scratches and install some lights.

I dont want to use a u-channel around the window edges and I dont really know if I want to have it like now either, maybe a frame in the same finish as the radiator grill?

However, here are some pictures on how the case looks like 95% finished.











I will probably get the lights next week so I will install that as fast as possible and then start working on the final pictures.

MSI provided me with the motherboard for this mod, a MSI Z77IA-S01 and I got some sweet news regarding to this. Dreamhack Winter is now in the end of november and they have a pretty nice Expo there with a lot of big companies. I got the privilege to show this casemod at MSI's booth there. Its going to be awesome, I hope I meet some of you there.

I hope that next update includes the final pictures! This is my first "official" casemod and Im really satisfied with it, I learned a lot. I still prefer scratchbuilds though. :rock:

Ill be back!

With kind regards
Johan Nyman
Minimalistic PC's

Well as of right now, I say this mod is finished. It has been a lot of fun to make a real casemod, I have of course built PC's in cases before, but not modded them that much, mostly been making scratchbuilds. But I learned a lot and I think there will be more casemods from me in the future.

I was not really satisfied with my pictures so I took some more this morning from different sides and angles. Im going to talk to some friends who maybe could work on the pictures in Photoshop to make them better.

I also want to say a big thanks to all my sponsors who helped me with all this. Wouldnt be possible without them!


























I also want to say thanks to everyone here for all the comments and help!

With kind regards
Johan Nyman
Minimalistic PC's

Holy smokes.... that is gorgeous. Thanks for showing it!

Bluesun311 said:

Holy smokes.... that is gorgeous. Thanks for showing it!

Click to expand...

Thank you!

Hello everyone!

Im back and Im going to remake this build. What Im going to do is upgrade the hardware aswell as the watercooling gear. I will also go for the solid chrome copper tubing idea I had at the beginning.

The new hardware will be:
MB: MSI Z87I
CPU:Intel I5 4670K
GPU: Zotac GTX 760
RAM: 2x4gb Corsair Dominator Platinum
SSD: Samsung 840 120gb
PSU: Be-Quiet! Dark Power Pro P10 550W
CASE: Cubitek Mini Cube

I also want to take this opportunity to announce a new sponsor:

EKWB is sponsoring me with new watercooling gear for this build! Thank you!



More updates will come soon!

With kind regards
Johan Nyman
Minimalistic PC's

Im still waiting for all the watercooling gear from EKWB so I havent started modding yet, I need the radiator to start measure out things. I could give you some pictures of the new hardware I got though.

I got Be-Quiets silencing kit, cause Im going to make two sets of sidepanels, one with windows and one without and with silence mats on it instead.



The MSI Z87I looks really good, black caps is awesome!



This GTX 760 from Zotac is really cool to, really short cooler and it still fit a waterblock if needed.



I also want to say thank you to Caseking.de for giving me awesome prices on this hardware!



I hope I could start give you real updates soon!

With kind regards
Johan Nyman
Minimalistic PC's

Hello everyone!

I finished Cold Winter a few weeks ago so now I can focus on this build again. I have received everything from EKWB and I started working on the mod today.

I will use a 240mm XT radiator from EK now and those are 47mm thick instead of 30mm as the old one from Alphacool I had. It was already hard to fit everything with that radiator so how could I fit a thicker one?

Well I started to look around for slim fans. I knew Scythe made 10mm thick fans but I havent had good memory of those so I kept looking, finally found Prolimatech's Ultra Sleek Vortex 12 which are 15mm thick, perfect!

I ordered some of those and they really are nice, performs like regular 25mm thick fans. But it wasnt enough there either, what I did today was to cut down the frame of the fan to be able to "integrate" the fans with the radiator. I let the images explain.









As you see there is a clear difference between these fans integrated in the radiator and regular 25mm thick fans. This actually takes less space than the 30mm radiator and regular fans.

Many might think that this will totally ruin the performance of the fans. Well I removed the fan frame, but it was replaced by the frame of the radiator. I also tried it out and it still blows a lot of air through the rad, so dont worry!

Another thing I will do is to run the custom loop with chromed solid copper pipes, I had that idea from the beginning but not the knowledge, I still dont have the knowledge. But maybe some bigger "cojones".

I started experiment some with the pipes today.







What do you think?

I will keep working on this project as much as I can, I want to finish it because this will be my new main PC to use. Right now Im repainting the inside of the case and Im also waiting for a aluminium frame that will go around the window.

With kind regards
Johan Nyman
Minimalistic PC's

Hello!

Im almost finished with the repaint of the case, just the last layer of matt clearcoat left. This time I will be putting the case together with M3 screws instead of rivets, cause I like to have my cases modular if I have to take it apart again.











Im also going to change the casefeet on this case. The original ones is the regular plastic ones that many cases use, I will change them to some that are made out of aluminium by Fannblade. I love small details like this, just the thing that I know that the feet are handmade by a person on the other side of the world just for me makes the build more special for me.

And they sure look nice too!







Thats all for me today. Im waiting for two fans and a can of clearcoat, when the painting is done I will be assembling the case and start installing the hardware and keep experimenting with the copper pipes.

If you want more updates from me you can check out my facebook-page where I post things every day!

With kind regards
Johan Nyman
Minimalistic PC's

Ive been very busy with a new job I landed so havent been modding much lately. Although, Im going on a vacation for one month in USA and I want to finish this project before that so I have some pictures of a almost ready casemod, want to see?







I added some copper pipes to the build! On these pictures its not finished, just testing it out. But what do you think?







I also added a windowframe to the sidepanel, made by E22, also thanks to HCP for the sketch. I think the windowframe fits perfectly together with the fangrill, what do you think?

Im working on finalizing the loop and installing everything else. As soon as thats done and the loop is filled I will start working on the final photos and post them for you here.

With kind regards
Johan Nyman
Minimalistic PC's

Hello everyone!

This project is finally finished, for the second time, as always with my projects. But now I feel really satisfied with the result. I will not talk anymore, except give a big thank you to my sponsors!



Want to see the final pictures? Here you go.

























Thank you for all your comments and everything! I will be back as soon as I can with another project!

With kind regards,
Johan Nyman
Minimalistic PC's

clean!

gigatexal said:

clean!

Click to expand...

Thank you!

it's such a clean build! I love the metal pipping especially. I am wondering and maybe you said it earlier in your thread, but did the PSU come already sleeved or was it a custom job? look forward to your next update.

Great build very impressive. I am about to start a very similar build but I was hoping you could give your opinion on stuff a 240mm rad into the top panel instead of the front. Thanks

Metrea said:

it's such a clean build! I love the metal pipping especially. I am wondering and maybe you said it earlier in your thread, but did the PSU come already sleeved or was it a custom job? look forward to your next update.

Click to expand...

Thank you, I sleeved the power supply myself.

86 5.0L said:

Great build very impressive. I am about to start a very similar build but I was hoping you could give your opinion on stuff a 240mm rad into the top panel instead of the front. Thanks

Click to expand...

Thank you, to answer your question, it is a lot easier to fit a 240mm radiator in the front than in the top, but it is still possible to install it in the top. So it is your choice. Let me see your build when it is finished!