# Coolermaster 690 mod



## ScOuT

So I got home from work about 10:00 am the other day and was looking at mac550's thread about his case mod and was inspired

http://www.computerforum.com/140791-cooler-master-cm690-mods.html

I have been wanting to do this for a while and just started tearing everything apart

First thing I did was cut the top two fan grills and the rear fan grill out. Then I primed and painted Ultra Flat Black





When the paint was drying I took a couple Sycthe Slip Stream 120mm fans and cut the top rim off. That would allow me to push them through the top for mounting.





I decided to mount the rear fan on the outside to give me more room inside the case. 





I got all the fans installed...the paint is dry...time to throw everything together





I took my time putting everything together...I made sure everything was perfect. My wife had to help me a few time to hold stuff in place. The top fans gave me so much more clearance...before the fans were almost sitting on the CPU cooler 





There it is...almost ready to fire up I thought about running to the local computer store and buying a black sleeve kit for my wires. That would be much better but, having done it before, I am aware of the headaches it causes. That is a slow...painful mod that I don't have the patience for I used electrical tape instead...much quicker and it works.





I plugged everything back in and it fired right up...didn't skip a beat:good:










Best of all...got little man started off in the right direction





Except of course the paint on mom's kitchen table and chair

Case: Coolermaster 690 Nvidia Edition
PSU: Antec Neo 650w / modular cables
Motherboard: Asus P5N-E 650i
CPU: Intel Q9300 @ 2.750 GHz
CPU Cooler: Coolermaster V8
RAM: G Skill 2x2 GB @ 800MHz / 2.0v
GPU: eVGA GTX 260 Core 216 SC Edition
OP: Vista Home Premium 64bit


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## zer0_c00l

very sweet! i was thinking of doing somthing close with my 590  how many coats of flat black is on there?


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## jevery

I think that's the cleanest build I've ever seen.  Hardly any wires visible.  And the fan modifications really work well.  Impressive!


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## funkysnair

very good job, looks like the matt black is strarting to take hold!

my 1st case i sprayed was the 900 a while ago then i just sprayed my lian-li, the reason yours looks so good is the fact that the cable management is very good!

i take it the case has a removable mobo tray?

im looking into getting another psu (modular) as i think you have prooved black interior with good cable mangement looks the mutts


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## ScOuT

zer0_c00l said:


> very sweet! i was thinking of doing somthing close with my 590  how many coats of flat black is on there?



I used 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of black. I wanted to get it sand blasted and do everything all correct. I live in a small German village and the resources just aren't here. I had to settle for just a light hand sand. All in all I used about 1 1/2 cans of each.



jevery said:


> I think that's the cleanest build I've ever seen.  Hardly any wires visible.  And the fan modifications really work well.  Impressive!



Thanks...I have been waiting to do a simple easy mod to improve my rig for a while. I spent extra time on the wires and made sure everything was how I wanted it. It's like putting a puzzle together getting all the wires where you want them.



funkysnair said:


> very good job, looks like the matt black is strarting to take hold!
> 
> my 1st case i sprayed was the 900 a while ago then i just sprayed my lian-li, the reason yours looks so good is the fact that the cable management is very good!
> 
> i take it the case has a removable mobo tray?
> 
> im looking into getting another psu (modular) as i think you have prooved black interior with good cable mangement looks the mutts



Something about a computer with black interior... I had to try it The motherboard try is not removable. It does have a decent amount of space behind it  for the cables. Another PSU? Planning on some upgrades and need more power Or do you just want modular?


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## funkysnair

ScOuT said:


> I used 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of black. I wanted to get it sand blasted and do everything all correct. I live in a small German village and the resources just aren't here. I had to settle for just a light hand sand. All in all I used about 1 1/2 cans of each.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks...I have been waiting to do a simple easy mod to improve my rig for a while. I spent extra time on the wires and mead sure everything was how I wanted it. It's like putting a puzzle together getting all the wires where you want them.
> 
> 
> 
> Something about a computer with black interior... I had to try it The motherboard try is not removable. It does have a decent amount of space behind it  for the cables. Another PSU? Planning on some upgrades and need more power Or do you just want modular?



im keeping the build i have now and im going with the phenomII 955 with modular psu and the 5*** series ati gpu's when they come out.

black interior does look smart, even in my little lian-li case it looks really good


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## ScOuT

funkysnair said:


> im keeping the build i have now and im going with the phenomII 955 with modular psu and the 5*** series ati gpu's when they come out.



I have the same plan. I am going to keep mine the way it is until I get back from Afghanistan. It will be winter 2010 when I do my next build. It's super stable and my wife has no idea how to fix it when I am gone. I'll have to see what is available when I get back. Really thinking of a AMD & ATI combo this time It will be my first time using either one


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## mac550

looking good mate, paint has come out really nice . one question though, why put the rear fan on the outside of the case?


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## ScOuT

mac550 said:


> looking good mate, paint has come out really nice . one question though, why put the rear fan on the outside of the case?



Thanks man...with the rear fan, well there is kinda a story. Newegg sent me the 38mm versions of the Sycthe Ultra Kaze fans when I ordered the 25mm versions. It takes way too long and costs too much money to RMA fans back to Newegg from Germany. So...I am kinda stuck with them. The 38mm fans sit right up on the V8 with about 1/16 of an inch to spare. I just needed more room...that's all


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## Shane

Only just seen this post 

Looks awesome dude!!!!

I have the same case,exept mines the standard 690,Not the Nvidia edition.

I cant do my cable management like yours ever with with my current Power supply,The cables are just too short


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## bomberboysk

That looks AWESOME, colorful carpet btw


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## funkysnair

this is really scout----\/




ScOuT said:


>


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## Candy

Looks great Scout! Gotta love a black interior.
And good cable management helps a lot :good:


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## ScOuT

Nevakonaza said:


> Only just seen this post
> 
> Looks awesome dude!!!!
> 
> I cant do my cable management like yours ever with with my current Power supply,The cables are just too short



Thanks man...I am really happy with the way it turned out. I tried it a couple years back and it was a disaster! I was impatient then and rushed through it very quickly.

Cables too short....I have to make loops on the back of the motherboard tray because mine are too long!



bomberboysk said:


> That looks AWESOME, colorful carpet btw



Thanks man...green astro turf on the balcony, white and brown in the living room and blue in the computer room



funkysnair said:


> this is really scout----\/



He had a blast helping me...he actually did a really good job considering he just turned 6



Candy said:


> Looks great Scout! Gotta love a black interior.
> And good cable management helps a lot :good:



I've been looking at computers painted black for a long time and never had one I had to try it

I spent like 2 hours just getting the cables how I wanted them. It sucks when you get 2 or 3 things in place and then you see a better way...take it back apart again


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## bomberboysk

ScOuT said:


> Thanks man...green astro turf on the balcony, white and brown in the living room and blue in the computer room



Ah, that explains why its so... bright green lol.


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## Ramodkk

Excellent work Scout, cable management is nice and clean


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## linkin

+1 for cable management.
+1 for awesome colours.


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## ScOuT

linkin93 said:


> +1 for cable management.
> +1 for awesome colours.





Ramomar said:


> Excellent work Scout, cable management is nice and clean



Thanks guys...it was a small fun little project for my son and I

I have more planned soon...

- Removing the HD racks and mounting HDs in 5.25" drive bays.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817984001

- New fans, the ones I have I think it's an over kill. Sycthe Ultra Kaze 133 CFM...they no kidding sound like a vacuum cleaner Going to get the green LED Coolermaster fans
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=69&products_id=25752

- Getting rid of the Cold Cathode.

- New window on side panel.


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## linkin

ooh green fans are always nice, buy me some. lol.


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## PatPheFox

ScOuT said:


> - New fans, the ones I have I think it's an over kill. Sycthe Ultra Kaze 133 CFM...they no kidding sound like a vacuum cleaner Going to get the green LED Coolermaster fans
> http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=69&products_id=25752
> 
> - Getting rid of the Cold Cathode.
> 
> - New window on side panel.



i have that exact fan and love it, high cfm for low dba, though the green isnt very bright, doesnt matter to me cuz i got overpowering ones right next to it but you might care


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## ScOuT

Some updates...

Cut out the hard drive bay and mounted the hard drives in the 5'' drive bays.

Mounted the Evga 780i that I bought from Midnight_Fox1 (Thanks again...works great)

Mounted Corsair Dominators with the cooling fans.

Got a new Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB hard drive.






With these 






Still had not cleaned it up and did some cable work.


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## Bacon

Wow, looks nice Scout. Did that setup double as a hard drive silencer at all?

And I'm still amazed at how clean you manage to keep that. Electric tape works good


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## ScOuT

Bacon said:


> Wow, looks nice Scout. Did that setup double as a hard drive silencer at all?
> 
> And I'm still amazed at how clean you manage to keep that. Electric tape works good



Ya...the mounting kit is great. The black part is rubber. Locks them in nice and tight. It keeps them silent. I could not hear them any way...the Scythe Ultra Kaze fans are louder than any hard drive could ever be

That's even before I did any cable work


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## bomberboysk

ScOuT said:


> Ya...the mounting kit is great. The black part is rubber. Locks them in nice and tight. It keeps them silent. I could not hear them any way...the Scythe Ultra Kaze fans are louder than any hard drive could ever be
> 
> That's even before I did any cable work


 Hehe, those kaze fans are loud. If your just using them for case fans though, take a look at the coolermaster r4's, 90cfm at 20db. Case fans dont need high static pressure like fans on heatsinks do, 120x38's work better as fans for heatsinks vs case fans.


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## just a noob

if you don't mind me asking, what kind of a gtx 260 is that? a core 216(in the 65nm revision?)


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## bomberboysk

just a noob said:


> if you don't mind me asking, what kind of a gtx 260 is that? a core 216(in the 65nm revision?)


Dunno whether he has a 55 or 65 but i know its a core 216.


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## ScOuT

just a noob said:


> if you don't mind me asking, what kind of a gtx 260 is that? a core 216(in the 65nm revision?)



It is the Evga GTX 260 Core 216 Super Clock Edition (65nm)

I love this card Very happy with my purchase. I bought it last December and it has been great. Folds really well and plays games wonderful. Worth every penny.

I want another of the same model to SLI


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## just a noob

ScOuT said:


> It is the Evga GTX 260 Core 216 Super Clock Edition (65nm)
> 
> I love this card Very happy with my purchase. I bought it last December and it has been great. Folds really well and plays games wonderful. Worth every penny.
> 
> I want another of the same model to SLI



i want one for physx lol(probably would fold on it too)


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## ScottALot

jevery said:


> I think that's the cleanest build I've ever seen.  Hardly any wires visible.  And the fan modifications really work well.  Impressive!



If that's the cleanest build you've ever seen, you ain't seen this http://www.casemodblog.com/?p=1236


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## bomberboysk

ScottALot said:


> If that's the cleanest build you've ever seen, you ain't seen this http://www.casemodblog.com/?p=1236



There is quite a large price gap between these systems....


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## ScOuT

This mod was done on my balcony, with about 10 ice cold Beers, Not in a professional computer mod shop with hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment. It cost me about $50 and a nice sunny afternoon with the family helping me (wife feeding me beer and my son actually did some painting and cutting)


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## funkysnair

bomberboysk said:


> There is quite a large price gap between these systems....



i think that was a complement given to you

in other words for the money you spent you made a dam good job,and comparing it with the link you did is silly really cos that modder would have spent a fortune


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## bomberboysk

funkysnair said:


> i think that was a complement given to you
> 
> in other words for the money you spent you made a dam good job,and comparing it with the link you did is silly really cos that modder would have spent a fortune



*cough* This is scouts thread *cough*


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## ScottALot

Yah, my post was meant as a compliment, because Scout didn't spend a massive amount of money on his rig.


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## ScOuT

Thanks for the good comments guys...it was a fun day and it was easy.

It did not spend hardly anything and it was fun. Planning a build for when I get back. 

I wanna new case...maybe a Lian Li. Might keep the same motherboard, processor and RAM. It suits my needs well. Might get new case, power supply, CPU cooler, graphics card and hard drives. Not really sure yet...still have some time to think. If I keep the same case...I am going to take all the rivets out and get it sand blasted and paint it correctly this time.


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## bomberboysk

ScOuT said:


> Thanks for the good comments guys...it was a fun day and it was easy.
> 
> It did not spend hardly anything and it was fun. Planning a build for when I get back.
> 
> I wanna new case...maybe a Lian Li. Might keep the same motherboard, processor and RAM. It suits my needs well. Might get new case, power supply, CPU cooler, graphics card and hard drives. Not really sure yet...still have some time to think. If I keep the same case...I am going to take all the rivets out and get it sand blasted and paint it correctly this time.



Surprised you dont want the 690 II


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## ScOuT

bomberboysk said:


> Surprised you dont want the 690 II


 
I have actually considered it...clear full of the new Coolermaster Excalibur fans and a new 700w Coolermaster power supply I have saved up a nice chunk of change in my computer fund being in Afghanistan.


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## bomberboysk

ScOuT said:


> I have actually considered it...clear full of the new Coolermaster Excalibur fans and a new 700w Coolermaster power supply I have saved up a nice chunk of change in my computer fund being in Afghanistan.



Excaliburs are pretty nice, little costly though for the specs(thankfully my two were free hehe).


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