3 THE BUILD
Design and engineering challenges.
CREATING THE WD BLACK SN750 SSD THEME
1 With the hardware out of the way, I then worked on implementing the mods into the build. I had one rough idea for the theme and that was to replicate the WD Black SN750 SSD’s heatsink design on the case itself. Originally I was going to go with aluminium panels for the front and the side, but the added weight and mounting methods were not going to work. I looked high and low for off the shelf heatsinks that had a similar design to the WD Black SN750 SSD’s unique heat spreader, but nothing existed. Going with CNC-cut Acetal (a high-performance engineering polymer) was a much better choice as it was already black, easy to work with and much lighter.
Having the panels CNC cut exactly like the original WD Black SN750 SSD’s heatsink was really the only way to get the exact finish I was after. As I don’t own a CNC machine, I had a friend draw up the work in CAD to be then machines by my local plastics shop. Mounting the panels to the chassis was done via screws behind the Acetal panels.
GETTING THE LOOK RIGHT
2 One last step to finish off the replica WD Black SN750 SSD panels was to create the silver edge as seen on the top of the WD Black SN750 SSD’s heatsink. If I went with aluminium for the panel material I could have painted them black, then sanded down the tops. But as I went with the Acetal material it made it bit more complex. I then planned on using strips of silver vinyl to create this effect but due to the finish and width of each piece, the strips simply would not stick. A silver paint pen did the trick with a long ruler to help keep the lines straight. I was quite hesitant on using this method at first and nearly ended up leaving the tops black.
Overall the contrast between the black Acetal and silver tops really compliments the build.
“Originally I was going to go with aluminium panels for the front and the side, but the added weight and mounting methods were not going to work. ” “I was roughly able to work out where the WD Black SN750 SSD could be placed on the back side panel and where the cut out needed to be for the CNC machining work. ”
OUTSIDE THE BOX!
3 While I was brainstorming ideas for the replica panels I was always thinking of the end goal – being to show off the WD Black SN750 SSD and its beautiful look.
Being an M.2 SSD, they’re usually one of the most hidden part in a typical PC, even though you sense the power on tap in constant use for gaming and other tasks, it usually remains unseen. Obviously this was not what we wanted here!
Over the last couple of years PCIE extensions cables for vertically mounted video cards have become popular, which made me wonder if such solution was possible to extend the M.2 slot. Funnily enough, such item existed on Ebay which extended a standard M.2 by 20cm via a flat ribbon cable. 20cm is not very much, so this was a crucial factor in choosing the motherboard for the build. As I knew some ITX boards have one M.2 slot on the rear, after some quick measurements I was roughly able to work out where the WD Black SN750 SSD could be placed on the back side panel and where the cut out needed to be for the CNC machining work.
FINISHING TOUCHES
4 As the M.2 extension cable came with its own daughter board, I had to mount that first so the WD Black SN750 SSD could be slotted in. I managed to find some very small standoffs from an old video card cooler which would act as a platform for the SSD. As this elevated the SSD slightly I took advantage and added two RGB strips underneath the SSD to create a subtle glow. These strips are remote controlled and can be changed to any colour or mode.
The last step was to cover up the horrible green PCB from the Ebay M.2 extension. I considered painting it at first, but a simple plastic cover worked so much better and also makes for an easy operation if removing the SSD is needed.