Silverstone TJ11 / EVGA SR-2 Mac Hak Pro Build - YES, IT FITS !!!

[jarhead]

oh, also, the guys over at http://www.realredraider.com/ are pretty fucking smart, so you can ask them too, though they might give you some ribbing about koolance stuff

 

[Rabid Sloth]

I just wanted to say that your attention to detail is great. The logo you did there looks really good and keeping the carbon fiber weave lined up on the leaf speaks volumes of the build.

 

[PunkNugget]

Hey All,

Here are the final pics (form my other post here: http://www.tonymacx86.com/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=32437) of THE HACKINBEAST !!! I actually have Mac OS X 10.7.2 up and running fine now and the X5650's are OC'd to 4.0GHz stable at 34C in a 74F room, and with GeekBench (v2.2.6) scores of: 29152!!! With some tweaking I know the GB score can go higher. (Special Edit: New GB Score: 29,465!!!) This unit's total cost $3,350. A Top-of-a-Line (equivalent) Mac Pro Tower (with all the trimmings) would cost around $10,750. This HackinBeast is also 30% faster as you can OC this bad boy as with a Mac Pro Tower… you can't. Oh, by the way, for those that believe that PC's are cheaper, a BOXX Tech (PC equivalent tower) would cost around $10,600. So both Apple and BOXX Tech are about the same cost when you pay retail. Plus, half the fun (as all of you know) is building it.

I also want to give credit where credit is due:

Silverstone Tek:
- TJ11 PC Tower: (one of a kind touring model sold to me by Joel - Tech & Sales support)
- SST-CFP52B (Hot-Swappable for 4 HDs)
- CP07 6GB SATA (Cable)
- ST-1500W PSU (Simply THE BEST PSU OUT THERE !!!)
- 4 x AP121 120 x 25mm (Air Channeling Fans)
- 2 x SST-SF01 - (Foam Pad for Advanced Noise Aborption)
http://www.silverstonetek.com
THANKS JOEL FOR INPUT AND EVERYTHING ELSE !!!

EVGA:
- Classified SR-2 270-WS-W555-A1 (Motherboard)
- 480 GTX Superclocked (GPU)
http://www.evga.com
THANKS FOR ALL OF THE TECHNICAL STAFF THAT WORKS 24/7 FOR ALL YOUR HELP WITH HELPING ME UNDERSTAND THIS MOBO !!!

Intel:
- 2 x Xeon X5650 (CPUs)
SOLD TO ME BY AN EBAYER - CYRA. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP; AND ESPECIALLY YOUR TIME !!!

Kingston:
- 2 x KHX1600C9D3K6/24GX Kingston 24GB (x 2 = 48GB) DDR3-1600 CL9 240-Pin DIMM Kit (6 pcs.)
http://www.memosun.com/memail.asp (contact them directly, they'll help you personally !!!)
THANKS ANNIE AT MEMOSUN, INC. FOR THE BEST DEAL ON YOUR RAM !!! EVEN BETTER THAN NEWEGG !!!

Koolance:
- 1 x MB-EVCSR2 (EVGA Classified SR-2 Water Block)
- 2 x CPU-370 (CPU Water Blocks)
- 1 x RP-402x2 (Dual 5.25" Reservoir for 2 PMP-400 Pumps)
- 2 x PMP-400 (Laing 3.25 pumps)
- 1 x HX-CU1020V (3x120 30-FPI Radiator)
- 1 x HX-CU1320V (4x120 30-FPI Radiator)
- 12 x Quick Disconnects (QC) - Female: VL3N-F10-16S / Male: VL3N-MG (Special Note: These are the most QCs that's been installed by any PC towered system to date)
- 2 x LIQ-702 Liquid Coolant (UV Green)
- 1 x VID-NX480 (GPU Water Block)
THANKS TIM & JAMES FOR ALL YOUR INPUT AND HELP IN GETTING THE RIGHT PARTS FOR THIS SYSTEM (& EVEN SOME RETURNS) !!! OH, THANKS MARTIN (FROM MARTINSLIQUIDLAB) FOR HELPING ME OUT WITH MY BUBBLE ISSUE IN THE TUBING !!!

Mountain Mods:
- 1 x HPTX-PAN (Tray only for EVGA Classified SR-2 HTPX Motherboard)
http://www.mountainmods.com/hptx-tray-only-p-568.html

MetroRestyling.com:

- 1 x 12 x 24" Green 3d Carbon Fiber Vinyl (that was custom cut using the Hackintosh logo)
http://www.metrorestyling.com/Green-Carbon-Fiber-3D-Vinyl-p/gcf3d.htm
THANKS BRANDON FOR ALL YOUR HELP !!!

LG:
- 1 x WH12LS30 (12X Blu-ray SATA Writer Drive)
YOU GO NEWEGG FOR ALL YOUR GREAT LEAD LOSS DEALS !!!

Other World Computing:
- 1 x OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G SSD
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Mercury_Extreme_Pro_6G/
THANKS CHRIS ROBERTS FOR ALL YOUR HELP (MY RESELLER)

Hard Drives:
- 3 x WD2001FASS 2.0TB 64MB Cache Black Caviar HDs
Got them on eBay from a guy who sold them at a great price !!!

Delta:
- 8 x Delta PFC1212DE (120 x 38mm) Fans 1,500 to 5,000 RPM 253 CFM BEAST
http://myworld.ebay.com/eloot/
ALL Big-Ups go to Mark (or should I say by his eBay name: eloot). Buy the BEST fans you'll ever own and get it through Eloot ON EBAY!!!

PWM Fan Controller:
- 1 x PWM Dial Fan Controller (Up to 20 PWM fans can be controlled by this controller)
THANK YOU ED SMITH FOR ALL YOUR HELP IN CUSTOM MAKING THIS UNIT FOR ME !!!

DEMCIflex:
- 3 x Custom Made Flexible Air Filters (1 x 120 x 120mm / 1 x 140 x 140mm / 1 x 153 x 153mm)
http://www.demcifilter.com/
THANK YOU VINCENT FOR ALL YOUR HELP AND EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE - THESE AIR FILTERS ARE THE BEST THE MARKET HAS TO OFFER AND WORTH EVERY PENNY - GET THESE FILTERS GUYS !!!

I especially want to give a special THANK YOU to the contributors (programmers) at these sties called: InsanelyMac and TonyMacX86 helping me get my Mac OS X Lion 10.7.2 install working:

- SHAANKY98 - I want to truly thank you for your immense amount of patience, care and determination to want to help me. You definitely are a rare find and truly are a great man!

- KINGKONG89 - For being the initial reason why I went after wanting to build this EVGA SR–2 HACKINBEAST. It's guys like you that don't mind taking the big dive and going for it, and for that I want to thank you for being a trailblazer in this way!

- GOING BALD - What can I say, except when I needed an answer to something simple you are right there with the solution! If it wasn't for you, I would still be having trouble trying to connect to the Internet. I can't thank you enough for your help!

- LNX2MAC - Pablo, you have been an incredible, generous, giving, and understanding person when they came through my frustration in understanding how to install everything from when this all started for me a little bit over a year ago. I don't know what I would've done without you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

- EMATOS - Thank you for all your little bit of tidbits of information that helped me along the way, it's truly appreciated!

- ECHREI - Thank you so much for helping me OC my processors, and spending half the night helping me make that happen! You have taught me so much to help me understand how to tweak my BIOS to take my X5650s to the max!

also... CUSTOMAC (I bought that other PCI-Card you suggested), CYRA (for selling me those X5650's), JPA (For your time, input and friendship), POWERPCG5 (with my Dual Monitor issue on my other hackie) & TUTOR (where are you Dixie Man man, I've been trying to reach out? Call me when you get a moment)

But the person who gave me the most inspiration on all of this Mac Hak building stuff was Paulo Dourado, with this VERY VIDEO that started it all for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzxDAL_bwOo

I also wanted to thank anybody else that I may have forgotten. If I have, please let me know and I will put your name in here !!!

I hope you guys like the HACKINBEAST and look forward to your feedback.

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-07

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

By punknugget at 2012-02-07

By punknugget at 2012-02-07

By punknugget at 2012-02-07

By punknugget at 2012-02-07

By punknugget at 2012-02-07

By punknugget at 2012-02-07

By punknugget at 2012-02-07

By punknugget at 2012-02-07

By punknugget at 2012-02-07

By punknugget at 2012-02-06

 

[PunkNugget]

Sexy build! And you made [H]'s frontpage!

sub'd

Thanks for the Big-Ups. BTW, where is [H]'s Frontpage? I tried to look for it and couldn't find it. Let me know if you can... Again, thanks...

 

[colinstu]

Thanks for the Big-Ups. BTW, where is [H]'s Frontpage? I tried to look for it and couldn't find it. Let me know if you can... Again, thanks...

http://www.hardocp.com/news/2012/02/06/h_reader_mod_day

 

[Blazemore]

Nice build...where did you get the black foam?

 

[PunkNugget]

Nice build...where did you get the black foam?

So sorry I forgot to put that in there:

Silverstone Foam Pad for advanced noise absorption (Model #SST-SF01)

I also edited that in my (above) post. Hope this helps. BTW, for the $20 spent it was worth every penny, plus they include 2 x 530mm x 380mm sheets. And don't believe the hype when it comes to what other company's have for foam insulation and what Silverstone makes, it's all the same.

 

[Blazemore]

So sorry I forgot to put that in there:

Silverstone Foam Pad for advanced noise absorption (Model #SST-SF01)

I also edited that in my (above) post. Hope this helps. BTW, for the $20 spent it was worth every penny, plus they include 2 x 530mm x 380mm sheets. And don't believe the hype when it comes to what other company's have for foam insulation and what Silverstone makes, it's all the same.

Np, thanks for the information and sharing your build. I'll have to steal your idea with the foam and rad.

 

[Kirika]

Thank you for sharing. That is really awesome. I usually don't like bling but I like the Apple Skull.

How difficult was it to set up water cooling? I'm really leary about water cooling on such an expensive build because if it leaks that can cost you ALOT.

 

[PunkNugget]

Thank you for sharing. That is really awesome. I usually don't like bling but I like the Apple Skull.

How difficult was it to set up water cooling? I'm really leary about water cooling on such an expensive build because if it leaks that can cost you ALOT.

Thanks for the BigUps on the system. I just like a Hot Rod, what can I say...

About your water cooling issues. I know I've mentioned this before in my post, but that huge HACKINBEAST that I put together was literally my 2nd PC build ever. Prior to that was the other build that was using the single processor with a dual Bay, dual colored water cooling system; that one was my very 1st PC build. And as you can see it looks very much the same as you would find on a PC bill that any professional online company would put together for you (i.e., digitalstormonline.com, maingear.com and the like). I'm saying this not because I want to pat myself on the back but because I want to prove a point that with anyone that does there HOMEWORK should not have any problems worrying about LEAKS.

Now does that mean you might not have a problem with one of your PC builds, no. But so far I have not faced any issues over the last 18 months with the current 2 builds that I had put together. And that doesn't go without saying that if it wasn't for everybody's input from all the companies who I bought those PC products from I would have never been able to put together that system the way it looks right now. You can even see clearly inside the system itself all the wires our tucked and put away, to have as much positive pressured air flow pumping through the system to keep the internal part extremely cool.

If you're having any concerns whatsoever about doing this yourself and you're wanting to put together a system that is not as elaborate as mine is, and you still want to be able to make it look like a Porsche instead of a Hot Rod, then I would go with the Corsair H80 or H100 all-in-one water cooling system. It has a 5 year warranty and works just as good as my professionally built one. And when I mean just as good, I truly mean just as good when it comes to cooling. In fact I'm using the H100 right now; it works great and is very quiet. Of course I did put improved fans on them to give them a better static pull to eek out every bit of cooling that I could from the radiator.

The Corsair H Hydro series water cooling units are ready to go, as they have the coolant already in them and you never have to refill them, ever (as it's self-contained). I know other people will utilize heat sinks like the Noctua series, which are great, but I prefer a water-cooled system.

Moreover (again), I prefer doing it myself as I like to use medical tubing from Tygon. Now the reason why people love this tubing (from Tygon) as I do, is because it is complete overkill for handling the kind of pressure that pumps through those tubes. You won't find anything better. So if you want to go that route eventually you can, but in the meantime if you're just trying to introduce yourself to an all-in-one type of unit than the Corsair H Hydro series is the way to go and I would not go any less than purchasing a single rad H80 or a dual rad H100, as they will draw out the most heat from your processor.

Knowing what I know now, I am now starting to learn how to Underclock, which is more efficient, faster, and extends the life of your CPU for many more years. As well as it keeps your office or wherever you keep your PC very cool. So there's my take on water cooling coming from a N00B (and I don't mind saying that) who built a PRO SYSTEM the first time out. That's because I sought a TON OF INPUT FIRST BEFORE BUILDING ANYTHING. Please forgive the ALL CAPS, but I'm making a point for those that don't believe they can build one of these units to make it look just as good, if not better than anyone of these online PC building companies out there. I couldn't have put this system together without all the people that I mentioned who gave me the input to make this happen; and mind you a Hackintosh at that. Good fortune on your future build and if you need any INPUT you can ask me, and if I can't answer your question, I can give you someone who can...

PS - If you're going to get any one of these two units, then DON'T GO ANYWHERE ELSE ONLINE EXCEPT HERE:

Corsair H80:
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-hydro-h80-liquid-cpu-cooling-system/221846369.html

Corsair H100:
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-hydro-h100-liquid-cpu-cooling-system/221846370.html

Why do I say this? Because they are the ONLY ones online that have a 45 day return policy that WON'T charge you a restocking fee on a product like this if you're dissatisfied with it within that time frame. Nobody else offers that right now. Again, hope all of this input helps. Later...

 

[AfterBurner_1]

Hmm, a very well executed and thought out build there, PunkNugget.

I'm looking to do a similar build inside a modded Lian Li V2120+

I'm also hoping to get some fresh tops for my 295's as the items i have are cracking.