Define Signature

Define Signature is a modding project which has been created to compete in the LDLC Modding Trophy 2015, where I represent Fractal Design with a mod inside their Define S chassis on an international stage.

LDLC Modding Trophy is currently in it's third year with the previous years being exclusive to France. I have had the great fortune to have been selected to take part in this version of the competition competing against some of the largest names of modding and PC building. This project will be going up against modding projects created by the following people:

• Thomas Scherrer

• Peter Brands

• Tim Warning

• Ronnie Hara

Define Signature is a project inspired by a mix of raw industrial design with a Scandinavian influence. This is where the raw mix of wood and bare aluminium elements come into play with each other. The word "Signature" in the project name draws inspiration from the "S" in "Define S". Since I am representing Fractal Design with their Define S chassis, I wished to keep the overall design features of the outside of the chassis but to put a little twist on it (wrapping side/front window for example), and also to change and innovate the entire inside compartment completely so that I can achieve my design vision.

The inside of the chassis has been totally redone featuring custom hand fabricated panels and plates. These panels have been created so that I could completely change the orientation of the motherboard, GPU and PSU. This also allows the possibility for some interesting water cooling pipe routing which will make this project stand out even more from a regular water cooled set up.

The system specifications are as follows:

Intel Core i7 4790K
Asrock Extreme 9 ATX motherboard
Inno3D GTX980 Ti 6GB iChill x3
Samsung850 Pro 512GB
G-Skill Ripjaws X 16GB (4x4GB)
Fractal Design Edison 750w
Fractal Design Define S mid tower chassis
Water cooling by EKWB

Mods performed:

Fabricated custom motherboard tray
Fabricated custom inside bent panel
Cut away front section of inner chassis frame
Cut out custom window in side panel and front panel
Fabricated custom top panel for motherboard/GPU/PSU IO
Modded front panel IO section to remove all USB/Headphone holes
Sleeved all cables on semi-modular PSU
Made all new cables for PSU (for GPU and SSD)
Painted entire chassis and custom panels
Made custom wooden front panel
Made custom wooden inlay on motherboard tray
Custom water cooling loop

I would like to take the opportunity to thank LDLC for giving me the opportunity to compete, Fractal Design for wishing to have me represent them, and all of the other partners who have taken part in this event and provided the parts for my project.

Please enjoy this gallery!

Kind regards,
Justin "MetallicAcid" Ohlsen

Besök galleriet här

Thank you for the nice comment I personally don't like the Define series of chassis, so this casemod has been one of my biggest challenges

Thank you for the vote and comment man

Thank you mate The plate is something that I have not seen before so I thought I would try it. I personally would not have made it if I could have made perfect length cables from the PSU, but since it is non modular it made the cable management very hard.. So the plate came in handy

Hehe, thank you

Thank you for the score and comment! I made the front with a lot of caution and swearing, and a little cutting and filing too

I have not really tested it since I got the air bubbles out of the loop.. I had to send it straight to France after it was complete so that it can be judged.

Thank you sir!I really enjoyed this layout as it turned out simpler than I had expected.

Which cable? If you mean the PSU cables, I sleeved them myself. If you mean the actual sleeving, I cannot remember as I have had stock of the black and carbon for years now..

Cheers Matte for the awesome comment and rating!

I had considered using "fästkuddar to hold the cables in place but after I installed some, they made the cables stick out too much from the motherboard plate and it was very difficult to install the brushed aluminium dress panel over them. So I left the cables as they were.. They don't move when the brushed panel is installed so I didn't think it was an issue

Oak is used for the front panel.

Thank you all so much for the nice comments and rates. Please stay tuned as I will post the build log for this project soon, and be starting a new project using a Corsair 600C, Z170 ASUS VIII Formula and SLI GTX980 Ti Strix plus much more

Kind regards,
Justin

Thank you!

Cheers mate

Thank you too! Heat rises and will seep through the gaps in the top panel and the moduvents

/J

Ahh, I see. Not a bad idea

/J

I will be uploading a build log for this project very soon. The only thing I can for now is link the site where my blog is located, as I am not allowed to post a build log yet on other sites. http://blog.moddingtrophy.com/tag/justin-ohlsen/

Thank you sir!!

/J

Thank you man! The PSU will exhaust a bulk of the hot air from the radiator. The custom top panel made from aluminium is not closed, so air will also escape via this section as well, so I am relying on the rules of convection to remove the heat (hot air rises).

Temperatures are very promising, with the loop getting no hotter than 60c under load, and this is considering that the pump is the one in the AIO solution made by Fractal Design (S36 Kelvin).

I hope this answers your question!

/J

Nope. There is an acrylic tube in the reservoir that acts as a straw and sucks up water. You need to have the res filled 75% so that this straw will work.

Seems that you just post on my projects as you do not approve of my hobby?

I take my time with each project, and each project is unique in it's way. I don't see your point.

/J