I acquired a retired server from Ebay that was slowly suffocating in this Anidees case.

Its plate glass faceplate was scratched, and two of the fans were dead, but even if all 4 had been working I felt the airflow inside was not nearly adequate for a dual Opteron server board, so I quickly parted it out and set the chassis aside.

After relocating the server to a more fitting, well-ventilated (noisy and ugly) box for the boys at Full Bore I decided to give this old box some TLC. Its plate glass side panels were beautifully low-key and simple. So even in its state of dusty disrepair I couldn’t help but see potential in it. I felt this one needed to be distinct from the usual rainbow overkill that was becoming a fast trend at LANs in builds done in similar plate glass cases. This one needed to be attractive without all that colored lighting. Something classy, clean and understated that would showcase the beauty of the components without being visually overwhelming or obnoxious.

In the automotive industry a car that has been totally blacked-out is referred to as being “Murdered out” so the moniker seemed fitting for a machine devoid of colored lighting.

The top was cut out via Dremel to allow for a temperature gauge and fillport to be added, and also increase airflow through the top-mounted radiator. I designed up a couple of grilles to replace the now wide-open spaces left by the top plate and scratched glass faceplate. These were laser-cut and finished by hand. The upper one now houses the fillport and temp gauge. I felt the nameplate I integrated into the vents on the faceplate was too hard to see, so I fired up the bandsaw and cut a second layer of polished Aluminum to place behind the nameplate.

Several plastic and Aluminum covers now trim out the interior while a single strand of silver wiring was added to the harness to contrast the otherwise all-black cables. Lots of carbon-fiber wrap vinyl was employed for minor accents. Some silver paint added to various motherboard components and memory also attribute to the overall look and feel.

My favorite part of the build are the twin GPU backplates I hand-crafted from .063" plate Aluminum. I simply love how they turned out. The water blocks they attach to are all Nickel, so they got partially wrapped in carbon fiber vinyl to fit the theme, and a mirror was placed in the floor to showcase the attention given to detail.

A touch of black Primochill dye in the cooling loop ties the build together and lends a mysterious element that is missed when not present.

Special thanks to:

KMI Metals in Galena, KS for the use of their laser
Tamara McCoy for making the vinyl GPU logos
Aaron’s Photography in Joplin, MO for these great shots!