Corsair Modding Challenge – The Texas Three Step
Down in the Lone Star state, three modders separated by four to six hours of hot and humid Texas terrain took on the challenge to compete in the Corsair Modding Challenge. Three teams compete for a chance at cash, bragging rights and the OOOOOOOOs and AHHHHHHHs of internet and PAX attendees. Corsair gave us the choice of the theme for the mod as long as it was something game related, we knew then and there we had to do a Star Wars: Battlefront tribute. Our canvas was the Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 mATX chassis. We chose this case to make it easier to ship as we would be shipping the case back and forth, “or how we had planned to do”, between the three of us. Down in South Texas we have Nick Blackwell, by the Gulf we have Joe Mercado and last but not least by Dallas we have Craig Tate.
We had a plan! A great plan! Then that horrible thing called a deadline came at us like a bear to honey. To make sure we made it in time, Nick worked his magic on the GPU, transforming it from the GeForce GTX 980ti stock gray, black and silver theme to an Elite Arc Trooper cladded piece of art. Craig took on the fans and Corsair AIO CPU cooler with the same treatment making the once stealthy black and grey finishes now reflect what a true soldier of the empire would look like. To wrap it up, Joe worked on the case fabrication and custom sleeving for the Corsair HX850i that was provided for the project. Through perseverance, about eight cans of paint and endless hours of filing panels, we were rewarded with the spoils of our efforts.
Introducing the Corsair ARC 240, a chassis worthy of leading a battalion of troops into battle! Both inner and outer panels where treated with the same flat white paint jobs with banner red accents. The once perforated motherboard panel has been hidden away with a nice solid aluminum motherboard skirt to hide all the unnecessary holes, and the side panel that once was indented and speckled with holes has been replaced with a smoked acrylic custom window to show off cable work and mimic the visor of a trooper. Inside we are greeted to a custom painted GeForce GTX 980ti, as well as matching fans clad in the symbols of the Galactic Empire. Corsair’s H110i GT AIO was also given the same treatment. When the system is on, you can see the faint glow of the Corsair logo shine through the paint on the CPU block. To top it off, we made a custom set of short cables using red and white paracord to keep a clean aesthetic and reduce cable clutter.
A big thank you to Corsair for giving us the opportunity to be a part of this, and to our competitors BS Mods and Blue Horse Studios/PCjunkie Mods for upping the ante and really making us pull out all the stops. Please visit Corsair’s voting page and enter the contest by voting for YOUR favorite rig and we do mean the rig you like the most. All the teams did a fantastic job so please let us know whose rig is the favorite. By doing so you will be entered for a chance to win great prizes, including the chance to choose one of these rigs as your own!
