OUTSIDETHEBOX!
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
“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. ”
“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. ”
theM.2slot.Funnilyenough,such
itemexistedonEbaywhichextended
a standardM.2by20cmviaa flat
ribboncable.20cmisnotverymuch,
sothiswasa crucialfactorin
choosingthemotherboardforthe
build.AsI knewsomeITXboards
haveoneM.2slotontherear,after
somequickmeasurementsI was
roughlyabletoworkoutwherethe
WDBlackSN750SSDcouldbeplaced
onthebacksidepanelandwherethe
cutoutneededtobefortheCNC
machiningwork.FINISHINGTOUCHES
4
As the M.2 extension cable came
with its own daughter board, Ihad 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.