My ABS Black Pearl, bigger is better :)

[AzN_plyR]

I decided to watercool my system, but my Lian-li A05B was not cutting it, so I decided on a similar case, but bigger!

Same reverse ATX? Check. Lian-li quality? Check. More room? Check.

Sooo I am transferring some stuff over to my new ABS Black Pearl that I got for $104 shipped after taxes and what not.

Anyways, on to the pics, and I will apologize for the crappy pictures and horrible lighting in my room.

Her naked, I ended up taking out all the hard drive mounts and psu support plate on the bottom also since I won't be mounting any drives down there, and I prefer the looks without the psu support bracket.






Here's my old rig, temps were horrible with the radiator mounted on top, so I took it out and dropped temps around 13c. ( 71 load now with my overclocked i7 920 ).




Num Num Num




Some new parts, yate-loon high-speeds, Swiftech MCR320, XSPC reservoir, 20ft maskateer 7/16" tubing, and a Lian-li EX34N cage ( yeah yeah this is a Lian-li V2000 at heart! )



I am not a big fan of cutting out my side panels to mount the radiator sideways, so I decided to cut the mid-plate and mount a triple rad there.

Here are some cuts with petra's c-strips, I used a jigsaw for most of the cuts.






Cut in the back for cable management, easily sliced through it with a jigsaw.




Filling in the mounting holes I won't be using, not quite flat enough yet so I am leaving a second layer overnight and sanding in the morning, using 320grit sandpaper.






Being primed, the holes I filled in turned out nicely, don't know why the color is different but when I apply the black paint it should blend in nicely I hope

Using Rust-oleum self-itching primer.










Any suggestions or tips are appreciated.

I also see a little orange peel effect on the mid-plate, do you guys recommend me sanding it with 2000 grit then painting? Or should I sand then primer it again?

I am not looking for a mirror finish at all, just something smooth.

Painting the internal with flat black.