Frank's 2011 Upgrade

The1stCAV said:
My room generates a LOT of heat. I may get someone out to put in a temp controlled exhaust fan to pull the heat out of the room, especially with Summer already here in Texas as we have hit 100+ already a few times, 76F in the room is tough to hold with internal and external heat like that happening. Summer we typically put the thermostat around 78-80F which then my room still get around 90+, so that is why some pictures you see a white box fan pointed in towards my room, I am pushing cooler air in the office.
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I live in the Southeast, so I can definitely empathize with you on this one. My wife and I share an office on the second floor of our house, and we have a programmable thermostat that is set to 76F all the time. We've hit 100 degrees on several days, and our A/C units struggle to keep up. Heat rises of course, so the downstairs can easily stay at 76. Our office, on the other hand, is probably in the 78-80 degree range with both PC's running.

Now I'm looking for an aesthetically pleasing fan to blow cool air into our office from the hallway.
 
Why dont you guys look into a window ac unit or like a portable one?
 
Yeah it was very hot over here in Montgomery on saturday, I think it was 102F but a small window unit will take the heat right out of a room.
 
Wilo said:
Now I'm looking for an aesthetically pleasing fan to blow cool air into our office from the hallway.
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I went with the plain white box fan :D As my wife said "your such a guy - a decorators nightmare"

Aus10 said:
Why dont you guys look into a window ac unit or like a portable one?
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mannyman said:
Yeah it was very hot over here in Montgomery on saturday, I think it was 102F but a small window unit will take the heat right out of a room.
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As Wilo said above how he needed an "Aesthetically Pleasing" fan, window units are not that - my wife would have a heart attack if I suggested a window unit. Oh no, must look as close to a decorating magazine or its not gonna happen.

She still has her reservations on my idea of another register placed in the ceiling that looks like the other two (in/out) and just make it look like part of the Central Heat & Air system, but really is sucking the heat out of the room to outside the roof. That would draw the cooler air in from the rest of upstairs. Then I could have a 3-way switch put in and control the fan from there.

Speaking of upstairs - Wilo, it sounds like we have similar situations. My wife and I run our business from our second floor where our offices are and it is always hotter obviously than downstairs. Good luck with your cooling, I am still trying to find that "aesthetically pleasing" solution here as well.

Also, just to further solidify my compulsory tech purchasing tendencies...................here is the inbound for Vampi from PPCS (Server chassis from Geeks.com and already here).

vampi2011order.jpg


And where Vampi currently resides............

vampi2011currentstate.jpg
 
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Krazypoloc said:
Amazing stuff really, and I find your attitude and writing style awesome!.....I do have one question though....what does the rest of the room look like....as it appears that you have a very strange layout having server/workstation/HTPC in the same room.
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Here is the layout so it makes more sense than if I just took some pictures of the office. This is to scale and accurately depicts the layout and distances of the items in my office.

officee.png
 
1stCAV, what app are you using to create your order lists and room specs?
 
Wilo said:
1stCAV, what app are you using to create your order lists and room specs?
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Room specs = Visio Professional 2010
Order Lists = Excel 2010 (grids) + Snagit (screenshot software)
Order Pictures - showing what is inbound = Photoshop CS5

Franks Pictures = Canon T2i EOS Rebel 18MP + Lightroom + Photoshop to clean them up and get them into the template views
Does that answer you questions and then some? lol :D
 
I never relized this before but when you said that your fingers were sore from the compression fittings i was confused but now that i have liquid cooling i was like damn this was what he was taking about. Your fingers get really sore and i only have 6 and two rotaries...
 
AthlonXP said:
Cant wait to see how this Vampi goes.
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Me either - still have to order the rails. I decided that I was not going to attempt this build until I had the mounting rails to slide the server chassis in and out of that cabinet. Currently it would have to sit on a glass shelf that just sits on four "L" bracket type holders, so nothing keeps the glass from sliding. This means I have to keep the chassis held up as I inserted it into the cabinet until it was all the way in and then set it down on the glass shelf - and I am not too sure the shelf would really handle the weight of this thing anyway. Considering the fine folks at Standout Designs made this Horizon N702Plus out of real solid wood, I should be able to fashion some kind of spacers/blocks to mount rails on, then it will make life much easier to slide the chassis in and out of the cabinet as needed.
ChRoNo16 said:
Cav, this is going to sound weird. But I wish I had your life... :(
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Ahh it all starts with a "wish" that turns into a desire that manifests itself into reality..........no it does not sound "weird" - we all need inspiration in one way or another (that is why many of us are here on [H]) and I too "wished" I had some of these people's lives/cash on [H] as well - but as I wished, I surfed and desired, as the desire because more and more I started looking for ways to make it a reality - and here I am. I have not "made it" yet - to where I want to be in life, but I think I am heading in the right direction. You would never know today that at one point in my life all I had was a bag of clothes to my name - see what wishing and desire can do? Thank you though and please keep checking out the thread as we head towards the final push to "finish" Frank (then on to Vampi).

Aus10 said:
I never realized this before but when you said that your fingers were sore from the compression fittings i was confused but now that i have liquid cooling i was like damn this was what he was taking about. Your fingers get really sore and i only have 6 and two rotaries...
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Oh yeah no doubt- those fittings will wear some fingers out - lol.- Frank has 18 compression fittings total, so yeah I know. Wait until you start making cables...........

Hey your "Victor" is looking good though man, good job! Keep up the great work.

I was in Sante Fe New Mexico Wed night to Saturday night and while I was there my wife and I happened to walk by a Herman Miller store where they were having one of their rare sales - considering I was in the market for a new office chair, and I typically sit here 10+ hours a day, 7 days a week, I have always really wanted the Aeron. My office chairs go flat every 1-2years, so its like I am spending $300-$400 every two years on a office chair anyway. Well my wife being the sweet goddess she is (yes she is back in the "You take my breath away" mode this week), saw the look on my face when I sat in that Aeron chair and just knew I needed it - so we ordered it. We got it for 15% off, no tax and free shipping - OMG I am so happy, I think it will fit alongside Mr. Frank N. Stein very well as both are beautiful pieces of functional art and those chairs were made for long hours of working at the PC.

Coming in within 3-4 weeks will be my very own Herman Miller Aeron Chair and I am so freaking excited..........
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Ah thats why i am paying you to make my cables lol but that chair does look nice although the arm rest look uncomfey as they are really high up... I wanna see all the pics with everything.. Can you take pics from the cornors in the room? Thank you... I couldnt imagine having that many compression fittings... Also does having that window behind you ever mess with like a glar on your screens?
 
pojut said:
Not if you marry the right woman :)
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akifbayram said:
You've gotta be one lucky man for that :p
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Agree to both

Aus10 said:
that chair does look nice although the arm rest look uncomfey as they are really high up...
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EVerything on that chair is adjustable. Its made to tweak to fit your specific body type and fit with tons of differrent adjustments to conform. Those arm rests do adjust up, down, out, in, angled out, angled in, etc - they are very versitile.

Aus10 said:
I wanna see all the pics with everything.. Can you take pics from the cornors in the room? Thank you... I couldnt imagine having that many compression fittings...
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View from entry door to office:
office001.jpg


View from my bathroom to the other corner:
office002.jpg


My wife is going to find me a black rug to put down next week because the one I have now is not matching the "decor" in here. The desk I plan on painting black as well and possibly painting the metal part the same as the inside of Frank - the red color to match. When I put the rug down though I will be moving everything out first, so when I put it all back in the office I plan on basically spinning the set up around and having my desk in the corner where the "project desk" is now, meaning the monitors will be facing the entry door, removing any issues that window may cause now if I had it open. Also Feng Shui says I should be facing north in this room, so that is another small reason I am doing it (I am also into that whole energy flow thing). This will also basically enlarge my room because the way I have it now the carpet and the cords between the desk and Frank segregate the room into a smaller chunk. This turn will open the room up more. Frank will basically be sitting where I am now, but along the back wall by the window so when you walk into the room there is not this wall/barrier of Frank and a wall of monitors but will be more open.


Aus10 said:
Also does having that window behind you ever mess with like a glare on your screens?
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It usually stays shut, so no it does not bother me that way. I typicaly keep my lights off in my office and the blinds shut - even during the day. I like my "cave". These Asus monitors are also very good in terms of colors, brightness etc, so the windows can be wide open and I really do not have an issue either way. Yes it does give some glare, but nothing I cannot live without and keep me from working. The window faces north, so there again I do not have direct sunlight pushing in through the windows increasing the possibility of glare. Finally we have solar screens on all of our windows and I think they are like 90% UV or something (not sure) basically they are dark. So the bright Texas sun does not heat up our house, but the windows do reduce the inbound sunlight as well. So combined the window behind me isn't that big of an issue.

I also wanted to share this picture I took driving from El Paso to Albuqurque, NM on I-25N, just north of Truth or Consequence, NM I got this picture of the sunset and the smoke from the Arizona fires .

i25n298.jpg
 
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Oh ok thanks for explaining all that, it will be neat to see the diffrence when you get it all changed around... God i wish i had your life lol btw thats a awsome looking picture..
 
akifbayram said:
*drool* at the hand sewn cable harnesses
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Hey you can see how I did it here: http://www.youtube.com/user/FrankNSteinPC

I made a set of four videos showing how to sew the cable harness. First few minutes of the first video is not as good audio, but the rest gets pretty decent I think. Enjoy - and thanks.

Aus10 said:
Oh ok thanks for explaining all that, it will be neat to see the difference when you get it all changed around... God i wish i had your life lol btw that's a awesome looking picture..
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Yeah I am doing it for many reasons - thanks, I loved that pic, I got several more too.
 
How will that effect your rear speakers though? Also i had another question but i forgot it lol.. Oh what are all your temps? Idle and stressed?
 
Aus10 said:
How will that effect your rear speakers though? Also i had another question but i forgot it lol.. Oh what are all your temps? Idle and stressed?
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Rear speakers are on stands - they can be placed just about anywhere then recalibrated with the Yamaha calibration tool to balance the sound between all speakers and compensate for distances, etc. So the speakers will be fine. :D

TEMPS:
Idle <25c on all blocks
Load: GPU's around 45c-60C (The orig Crysis seems to stress them the most after hours of gaming at max settings and a 5980x1080 resolution)
CPU around 60c-70c MAX after hours of full on 100% load RAM/CPU

The parts have arrived from PPCS for Frank's last push and Vampi's build. Now I just have to get past this weeks travels so I can get home and begin the project's again...........

vampi2011parts01.jpg


vampi2011parts02.jpg
 
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^ Wow. That looks like it's going to be fun. Can't wait for VAMPI to come together.
 
Joe S said:
^ Wow. That looks like it's going to be fun. Can't wait for VAMPI to come together.
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Yeah, I cannot wait for Frank to be done - that means I can start on Vampi. Not that I am tired of building Frank, just there comes a time when you need to say "Enough is enough" when its only minor tweaks and no substantial performance or worthwhile visual increases can be gained by adding more to him, I just know that time is coming very very soon.

The very needed rails for Vampi were put on order today and shipped today, so this should be about all I will need to get Vampi up and running once I finish Frank. Though I had to do an RMA with PPCS becuase the 3-way GPU connector I purchased was one model number off from what I needed. I should have paid closer attention and not relied on "3-Slot" in the description as there are two different kinds of 3-Slot GPU Watercool connectors. One is to connect two GPU's in SLI between 3 slots, and the other is to connect 3 GPU's in 3 slots. Unfortunately I not only ordered the wrong one, but I ordered 3 of them somehow. So now I have to wait for them to be returned, the order processed, then the in-store credit to be given (not paying that 20% restocking fee, I would rather have the in-store credit), then I will get the right block connector ordered.

Here are they are:
Logisys SR30 3-Section Industrial Grade Ball Bearing Sliding Rail Kit - Extends to ~30"!
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?InvtId=SR30-PB
SR30-PB-unit.jpg
 
Where do you get your rads filters? I really wanted them but i cant find them on performance pcs.. Did you get the somewhere else?
 
Aus10 said:
Where do you get your rads filters? I really wanted them but i cant find them on performance pcs.. Did you get the somewhere else?
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PPCS is not the easiest for navigation or filtering to find what you need, but here they are:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=59_457_362_406

Here are the links to the ones I bought............

360 RAD Filters
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...t_info&cPath=59_457_362_406&products_id=23344

120mm
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...t_info&cPath=59_457_362_406&products_id=23339
 
Thanks.. Why did you get the uv green? Woouldnt that throw frank off a bit? lol Or is it for vampi?
I will be adding those to my cart i sent you lol :)
 
Aus10 said:
Thanks.. Why did you get the uv green? Woouldnt that throw frank off a bit? lol Or is it for vampi?
I will be adding those to my cart i sent you lol :)
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They only had the 360 in green, which did not matter, I plan on painting it red like the inside of Franks case - so the green will go away as soon as I drop a couple coats of red paint on it.
 
How do you get your compression fittings off without using like tools or something? I have tore mine up tryign to get them off along wiht my fingers
 
Aus10 said:
How do you get your compression fittings off without using like tools or something? I have tore mine up tryign to get them off along wiht my fingers
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My fingers are like vice-grips - I just grab and turn - lol. If all else fails - a cloth and a pair of needle nose pliers. The cloth is to keep the metal on metal from scuffing up the compression connection. But do not use that to tighten it, just to loosen if you find a connector not willing to budge using your fingers. I would also suggest only to do that to just get the connector moving, but then go back to your fingers to take it out. The cloth/pliers method is a last resort thing I do. I scored some of my connectors before I realized that I didnt have to squeeze them to death when trying to get them broke loose as well as I needed to protect the metals from each other - thus the cloth.

BTW - back in the saddle again (so to speak) - finished the travels for work, all the parts are here begging to be installed, so once I get caught back up on things fallen behind with work here, I will then start finishing Frank and working towards the Vampi build. The server rails are due in today. I had to RMA the Watercool GPU connector blocks because I ordered the wrong ones and I got 3 instead of one. So I still have one final order to do for that as well to get the right GPU connector for 3-GPU's for Frank. TYhen I will use the ones on Frank that used to be on the ones going into Vampi - and put them back on those blocks. I also found that one of my GTX 285's are not working - so I may do a 3-WAY SLI initially and get a warranty replacement on the bad card b4 I can do a full 3-way + Physx.
 
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My problem is that the whole thing will turn but the tubing cant turn but i never thought about the cloth idea i tore the hell out of my compression fittings... I will try that though thanks

Sorry to hear about your issues like you said eariler its nothing time and money wont fix lol
 
Well Frank was throwing a fit I guess, he must have been mad that I left him for two weeks, with a minimal amount of attention between the trips. When I returned and started using Frank again Sunday night I had a weird instant power off issue with him out of nowhere. Monday it began to get worse. It only happened a handful of times, but it was irritating as shit to be working along and then all of a sudden - no power, everything was simply off out of nowhere or no repeatable process to make it happen again.

So Tuesday I was on a call with a fellow worker via Skype and BAM! Frank shut down again. This resulted in 30 minutes of "WTF" troubleshooting and I could not locate any reason it was doing this. I reset to defaults in BIOS, removing all my OC tweaks, then fired him up - he got most the way into booting into Windows and shut off instantly. After 3 more random shut downs, I got pissed, left and went to Fry's to buy a new Motherboard.

While changing out the motherboard, I figured it was also a good time to do the upgrades to Frank that I needed to do to the cooling loops and case. I wanted to move around lights, add the fan covers, change out the water block for the CPU, change out the two internal fans to the Xigmatec fan, etc. So Yesterday was a much needed MB change out and I simply took advantage of the moment to do some of the additional tweaks planned for Frank anyway.

So far so good - Frank is running solid once again, and the new additions appear to be looking pretty much as I expected or envisioned. The Corsair Airflow Pro for the RAM sticks was a PITA to install/remove, as was the added lightshow thing that showed temps and use. With it removed, I am kind of considering not putting them back into Frank. I like them without. If I ever want to benchmark Frank again and push him past 4.8GHz, then I will consider the temp install of the cooling fans. However for now they are not needed and clutter the view IMO.

Here are the latest views of Frank:


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Aus10 said:
How do you get your compression fittings off without using like tools or something? I have tore mine up tryign to get them off along wiht my fingers
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I usually wet some paper towel and rub it in to the tubing side of the fitting to try and get the tubing lubricated so that it doesn't cause friction when twisting the fitting. Then get some nonslick pads, I use these kitchen surface grip pads from walmart, then grab the fitting with one hand and the tube with another and turn the fitting left while giving the tubing a slight twist to the right. Comes off rather quick and easily.
 
Frank needs a bit more attention in the cables down there lol.... Anyways how do you like the Ek block? Are your temps better/worse? What new mobo did you get? Also god dang dude i swar everytime we look at frank he is getting better and better. I really like the fan covers they are very sleek and sharp looking IMO I will have to get some of them. And I agree with leaving everything off the ram i think it looks better without them cuz the Corsair Dominator Gt sticks just look great i like the red heatsinks and it goes great with the red inside frank already. oh Thank you James i will look more into that, I had to get plyers and i ended up tearing up the fittings. I am getting new ones soon anyways but still. I have growen to hate my current setup cuz i hate everything being built into the rad. I plan to switch back to air cooling for a bit and order new parts. I my current stuff used so it was already in bad condition but my new parts im going to baby like frank is lol.
 
Aus10 said:
Frank needs a bit more attention in the cables down there lol....
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the problem is that the way the cable has to be made there is crossover and there will be a point in the run it clumps up, which is wy most of the pictures I show are from that ledge up, remnoving the psu section from view because it does transtion to a clump that is not as pretty as the top portiopn, but I agree, it does need some attention.

Aus10 said:
Anyways how do you like the Ek block? Are your temps better/worse? What new mobo did you get?
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The EK block actually appears to have dropped me another 4c in temps, so I am liking it. I also like the red acrylic with the LED's I put in it. The silver Koolance CPU-360 I was using looked good and matched the rest of Frank's blocks, but now that you can really see it I like the QDC's going into that red acrylic better.

I went and purchased another Asus Rampage III from Fry's - which incidentally I will never purchase another item from Fry's again - ever! But that is a totally different story. Point is I purchased the board with the intent of keeping it if it were the issue - after installing it to find it was not, I went through the pains of removing it to return and putting my old Asus Rampage III back in. Because I purchased an open/discounted item, I should have checked to make sure the serial on the board matched the box BEFORE I walked out of the store - Fry's will not take it back if it does not, but apparently someone did and I got stuck with a board. I just need to sell it off to recover some of my cash.

I purchased another Silverstone ST1500 yesterday once I realized it was not the board - it was either a board or PSU issue - so once I eliminated the board from the possible problems it left the PSU as the culprit. I should get the new PSU in today. I would have purchased a Corsair 1200w but it did not have two 12v ATX 4+4 power cables on it, which the Silverstone did and the Asus Rampage III uses.

Speaking of Corsair - I cannot say how much I really love their customer service and their dedication to making sure their customers are happy with their products. From RAM questions I have had to case issues, they are just a great group to deal with. Bad news travels fast and good news slow - but I hope this is some of that positive feedback that can travel for Corsair. I think if a company is worthy of praise it should be shouted just as loudly as companies that suck - unfortunately that is not always what happens, so I wil take the time here to say THANK YOU to Corsair for being such a great company to deal with.

Aus10 said:
Also god dang dude i swear everytime we look at frank he is getting better and better. I really like the fan covers they are very sleek and sharp looking IMO I will have to get some of them. And I agree with leaving everything off the ram i think it looks better without them cuz the Corsair Dominator Gt sticks just look great i like the red heatsinks and it goes great with the red inside frank already.
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Well that is the plan, to keep making Frank look even better. The fan covers came out the way I wanted, I love the new 120mm fan/cover in the bottom right corner where it used to be a solid red mesh cover, now it matches the rest of the fans & covers in the case. The top section took 3 120mm covers. The green 360 I ordered that I painted red would not fit inside or out. What I did was use the black mesh portions of the 360 cover and put them inside Frank on the push fans, then used the three 120mm mesh and red covers that were inside and moved them on top. I do love the hex screws that came with the 360 kit though. It was tough to get all three fans lined up with all three mesh and arylic red covers and the 360 rad where I cou.ld drop the screw through them all and get it tightened. It was like fishing in the dark, was not an easy task. End result though I was happy with the new look and how the red now really brings the inside out and ties the case in with the internal color scheme.

The Corsair Dominator GT RAM just looks good by itself - I agree. The red tips look even better as if they were made to be in there all along. I may throw a touch up of red on them to match the red inside the case as well as to cover a few spots where the red was rubbed off by the fan cooler when it was on.
 
Corsair sells extended red fins in their store for RAM accessories. Look real slick on my Corsair sticks, I have it setup Red, Black, Red Black, Red, Black.
 
NickJames said:
Corsair sells extended red fins in their store for RAM accessories. Look real slick on my Corsair sticks, I have it setup Red, Black, Red Black, Red, Black.
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Could you show him a pic? He might consider it knowing him lol

Also i see i see, I did like hex screws too on top i thought they looked great the way the black and red line up it looks good.
 
NickJames said:
Corsair sells extended red fins in their store for RAM accessories. Look real slick on my Corsair sticks, I have it setup Red, Black, Red Black, Red, Black.
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Please link me - I cannot seem to locate it on Corsair's website. I just may consider it (Yes you are right AUS10) ........... :D
 
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