Update time!
Got the motherboard and processor from Trace over @ TBCS! I'm EXTREMELY happy that the RAM placeholders DO NOT have the LEDs in them that they did in the review.
just for reference, these are the LED dummy sticks I'm glad don't actually have the LEDs
ixbtlabs.com/articles3/mainboard/msi-x48c-platinum-i48x.html
the spots are all there for them, but they're just bare solder pads with no actual LEDs (thankfully lol)
And just for giggles and to show the size of this beast, here it is next to Rockin Case. Keep in mind that Rockin Case is a 1:1 scale of a real acoustic guitar and it's sitting on a real guitar stand.
I started by removing the side panel fans and mesh vents.
Then I removed the mesh vent from the other side panel.
Then I removed this spare HDD rack that isn’t going to be needed. 10 small screws later and it’s off.
I also removed the rear 120mm fan and top 200mm fan and the LED power button for the top fan. The 200mm fan has 8 3mm blue LEDs in it. These will be swapped out with 8 3mm green LEDs
I plan to wire all the LEDs in the case to that rear power button, so they can all be turned on or off as needed/wanted.
There are 2 of these spring-loaded side panel latches. I was going to remove them, but the rear panel will stay white so I’ll leave them in.
This is a shot of how the cables from the top panel units come routed from NZXT. Everything is very neat and tidy and held with zip ties.
This is the de-meshed side panel back on the case. This will give an idea of the windowed cutout.
Next I disassembled the front door for paint. There were these 4 screws holding the door panels together, 2 more holding the top black trim piece and 6 more holding the bottom trim/vent piece.
I had this 140mm Antec fan laying around that I’m going to mount here in the front opening. It doesn’t have LEDs but it does have holes already to install 4 5mm LEDs. Green will be installed of course.
Here we have the 2 top panel units unscrewed and the wires pulled through.
And the case ready for paint!
And the large box of parts that were removed. Most of these will be reinstalled.
Next I moved onto the cutting. I decided to cut out along the fan mount flange that was already in the side panel, rather than go more like my original Photoshop design. Going lower will only show the PSU, and going farther forward will only show the dive bays. Plus keeping this shape helps preserve the sleek lines of the case.
And 10 minutes and 2 reinforced cutting discs later and it’s cut out.
Now the cuts were fairly rough. So I measured from a few select points and marked lines with a pen. I will grind and file to these lines to ensure nice straight cuts.
I got two of thefour4 sides finalized last night. I should hopefully be able to get the last two done today.
And a final shot with the panel reinstalled on the case. This should look real nice
Hopefully today I can get the rest finished, then it will be ready to send off for paint!