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Getting Away With Murder(Mod) - TJ07 Worklog

I

IllegalEagle

Gawd
Joined
Jun 9, 2006
Messages
761
Backstory:

Long story short, I saw Charles Murderbox here last summer, and knew I had to have one. I bought a TJ07 on here only to have it destroyed and to be ripped off when it came time to getting a refund. After finally doing so, I found another TJ07 on here that turned out to be perfect. After migrating my new I7 parts over, the 5970 was finally released, and was snatched up quickly.

However, this didn't sit well with my 700W Tagan PS. Shortly after, it managed to fry my main HDDs. 2TB of data later and 3 bricked HDDs later, I upgraded the power supply, and bought 3 1.5TB HDDs during Black Friday for $80 a piece. The HDDs are in China getting new PCB's now.

I'll be uploading a lot more pictures (Of higher quality) soon, and will be posting more stories as I build the next few weeks. I may even decide to try my hand in watercooling, if I can talk myself into it. As for now, the before pics, pre-makeover.


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List of components:
Intel Core i7 920 DO - Currently O/C'd at 4.0Ghz
EVGA X58 Tri-SLI Motherboard
3GB OCZ Platinum DDR3 Ram
Dark Knight CPU Cooler
HIS 5970 - Currently O/C'd in games at 875/1050.
1x 1TB 7200.12 Seagate HDD
3x 1.5TB 7200.11 Seagate HDD
(I do have another 2x 500GB 7200.11 and 1x 1TB 7200.11 HDD coming to be soon, deciding whether to sell them or put them in for more storage)
Silverstone Strider 1000W PSU.

All in a TJ07...which means Murdermod!

The snake back panel and top serpentine grill have already been bought, which means this will be an inverted ATX case. A custom front plate will be made by myself.

On the way:
MDPC-X Sleeving
DVD-RW (I know...old IDE one didn't like this mobo)
2x SilverStone CFP52B 5.25-Inch to 3.5-Inch Bay Converter

After getting all the components, I'll be sending it off to the powder coaters for a nice black finish.

That's it for now, watch this space for more!
 
Your backstory makes me so sad :( Can't wait to see what you do, these murdermods always turn out great!
 
This will turn out well if your able to put your thoughts into form my friend.
 
Received a lot of tracking numbers today for the two HDD bays, a DVD-RW, 5 SATA cables (90 to 180), and a SATA Power cable connector with 4 power adapters so everything can be spaced out. The sleeving was purchased through MDPC in Germany, so I should hopefully be getting that sometime next week. Look for an update Wednesday/Thursday when the stuff shows up at the door!
 
I haven't updated this thread in forever. I feel bad this is becoming more of a gallery than an actual work log. Doh!

I did decide to go water cooling, so I had to wait a few weeks to get the parts and install them. I also drilled out the back panel, flipped the mobo tray, and touched a few things up. My plan is to fit everything in the case, fire it up, and run with it for a week or two before sending it off to get powder coated black.

I will note that this is the first TJ07 worklog where the 5970's length actually obscures the ideal placement/size of res. I couldn't fit anything bigger than 150mm if I tried!

Now for some horrible quick pics: (I promise better ones next time!(

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Everything is screwed in place for the mock up.

As for the mods still in the work, a clean mid plate, a sLight panel, and a back plate to cover the backs of the HDDs with a special light surprise. HOWEVER, I have no clue as to what design to do in the front. Just a straight front panel? Design? Light display? Let me know if you have any ideas!
 
Every cable will have sleeving on it, just awaiting the tool to do so. I've tried home methods with no luck at all.
 
I got the watercooling kit on and WOW. I was AMAZED at how much temps dropped by. First off, here's my loop.

Danger Den D5 Pump to Swiftech 320-QP RES radiator to GTZ CPU block to Danger Den 5970 block to EK Res 150 to start. 6 tubes in total. 2 Silverstone FM121 120mm fans on the lowest notch on the fan controller for almost silent operation)

I was too stupid to think to grab temps before, but to compare from memory:

CPU AIR: (Xigmatek Dark Knight)
Idle: 30C
Intel Stress Test 70C

GPU AIR (5970 stock fan)
Idle: 40C (On 50% fan..loud..)
Load: 70C (On 100% fan...super loud)

CPU Water: (Apogee GTZ)
Idle: 21C
Intel Stress Test: 55C (On the cores, 45C on the CPU)

GPU Water: (DangerDen 5970 block fitted with 1 and 1/2 barbs)
Idle: 21C (HOLY SH...)
Load: 35C. (OMG)

I was BLOWN AWAY at the water for the 5970. It FAR exceeded my expectations. Under Furmark it never goes above 35C. I'm using pure distilled water with two drops of Petras fluid.

The only REAL problem I had while setting the watercooling up was my 45 degree Bitpower fittings were leaking at the threads on the rad. I only had one installed so the pump could gradually turn into the rad, but instead yanked it out and put a straight barb and it sealed itself up. I have a slight, slight trickle on my res from where the bottom screws into the actual res part, but that just needs sealed.

I cut two circles to ft my PCI-E cables and my ATX mobo cables (Classified runs off TWO 8 pins!!), so you can hardly ssee them. Except for the PCI-E's right now as my cables are about two inches too short so they have to go over the mobo..ugly..

Enough talking, here's the pictures!

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So here's whats left to do before powder coating:

Install custom acrylic light panel for midplate (Awaiting acrylic, and from there figure out lighting source, either LED's or one white cold cathode.
Build custom front panel. (Will be made out of mesh and will hide two 120mm fans cooling the HDD bays seen in the pics, will include two white cold cathodes on the sides so it appears to be glowing out the front)
Build custom back panel to HDD bays. (I'm planning on covering up the backs of the HDDs with a steel panel that will wrap around and also cover the sides of the CD bays. This will be one piece hopefully, and the back facing the mobo will include rows of LEDs in white, with a red Spyder logo in the middle...if all goes to plan)
...
And sleeving. Lots and lots of sleeving.

Wish me luck!
 
ekuest said:
add to list: plug in pci power! :) looks nice man.
Click to expand...

A few days ago, I had a HUGE PCI-E power cable spanning across the FRONT part of my case making it extremely ugly because it was too short to run up behind the motherboard. I've sort of fixed it for now, however I'm awaiting some longer cables.

I've ordered some RGB light bars for a RBG sLight box (Which is already made, sans lights), and only really have to do the front panel and the panel that will hide the back of the HDDs. After that all gets done, I'll be sure to post more pics, then off to paint and for the final sshow quality build!

Oh, did I mention this had a deadline? Everything MUST be working by the 26th of March.

Stay tuned!
 
Holy update! Considering this thing has a date with Pittco's Iron Storm XI this Friday-Saturday, this NEEDS to be completed. Somehow, this week, this will get done! So here's tonight's progress:

First step was cutting the side window. All measured up and ready to go.

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Point of no return!

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Hole is cut!

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After moving back inside the house, I was attacked with a florescent bulb that shattered upon hitting my back. OW.

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Post light attack, I put everything in the case. The black mesh will cover the back of the HDDs. I wanted a slotted design for better airflow, and to help separate the case. I wanted the main focus to be on the motherboard/GPU/watercooling setup, or the heart of the computer, and not the back of my HDDs and a few messy SATA cables. Throw in a few lights behind it, and this will REALLY be near. In addition, the tan/brown thing on the midplate is my white acrylic for my RGB light box. This will really, really make the case pop. If I can pull it off right. :D

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Front view. This will be a special area tomorrow!

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Top view looking down!

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Rear view. I'm so close...yet so far away!

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What I did was do motherboard raisers screwed into the CD bay drive, and screwed the main panel into that. Three screws and it's super snug! It's not finalized yet, but I'm expecting a little molding or something along the edges as when I placed it it scratched the midplate up a little sliding into place. That's what paint is for tomorrow!
 
For the look your going for, flush mounting or inside mounting the window would look best. Looking at the window reminds me of mods from 5+ years back. If you spend a little time with a file or dremel, you could clean the window whole up and mount the window inside by using a bit of epoxy and tom plastic or metal tabs to you can replace the window if needed. The thick ruber bezel around the window takes away from the clean look of the murderbox style.
 
shawnoen said:
Wow, that window and rubber channel is just terrible. Nothing "Murdermod" about this build. Essence of Murdermod is simple and elegent.....
Click to expand...

Thanks for the words of encouragement...I already flushmounted the window today before looking here on a nice suggestion from another forum. I don't get the non-murdermod comments. There has to be a hole cut for their boxes too. The only thing on mine that is different than Charles is my own frontpanel that I wanted to help cool my HDDs (And I'm sorry I didn't do it like his, or buy the Murdermod one, I needed actually need the space and the airflow to the HDDs), and my rear HDD caddy box, which I think really looks amazing with the lights turned on. I'm trying to work within a budget and a VERY tight timeframe. Not to mention this is a WORKLOG, things change, things get nicer looking...not even half of this is done. It's not even painted yet (At least in picture form..)
 
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Using the mesh in the front is a great idea. Iv thought a few times of modding a TJ07 and thought of using mesh in the front to increase air flow while removing the uselessness of all the extra drive bays that would not be in use and having a slot load drive hidden in there somewhere.
 
Damn good build :) , you must have some patience. Final pics will prove murdermod effort and build quality im sure.
 
I did intend to update this a little more, however college full time + work full time = no time for anything else.

However college is off for the summer and work let up, so back to modding!

I just made my deadline, however the PC was sub par for my standards.

A few images were taken during the rush to get it built for a LAN I was heading to just 1 day after doing a quick spray painting job on the case:

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Truth be told, I got to the LAN one day late, and hid everything. I hated the way it looked and was rushed. The paint chipped during installation of the parts, and I was overall dissatisfied.

This is one of the only pictures taken of the then "completed" case:
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In actuality, the case looked alright. I won first place in the Case Mod contest over what I believed to be a better mod. The admins said it was so close, that only one thing tipped in my favor to win: A side window that wasn't actually a window. So I owe my first place to everyone who called me out on that ugly siding and ditching the window for that weekend.

I've acculturated parts over the past few weeks and now I'm attempting to do this "right".

A few of the upgrades:
Swiftech 3x120 QP-Rad to SR1-480.
The finish on the RAD is insane, and after only being able to put two fans on the Swiftech one, the four I have installed on the SR1 should really help cool things down.

Apogee GTZ to EK Supreme HF.
Hands down the GTZ rocked, but I heard nothing but great things for the EK block. I will say the mounting method was a lot better for the GTZ, but the look and feel of the EK just blows me away.

EK X-Top R2 for D5 pump.
It made my taped in sideways half assed pump mod completely obsolete and just blows me away in terms of both looks and how much easier it makes planning my loop out.

I'm planing on getting the case powder coated as intended before, and actually seeing it through this time. You won't see the case until it's done. ;)

As for now, a teaser of things to come...

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Lookin good Soviet! You gonna have to step it up a bit more for next year. ;) Got the DD loop installed in the modded CM case from the Pittco LAN and I'm sure to have something else from my "head" put together. BTW, wait till ya see my daughter's new case...NEON PINK with big hearts cut out of the side panel! Kinda embarassed makin a pink pc, but she's my baby and she usually gets what she wants. LOL (Are you gonna make it to Pure LAN in Aug?)
 
Oh I'm working on it! I have a few neat ideas, powder coating, wiring will be infinite times better, a lot of places cleaned up and looking the best they can. New mid plate/light plate, new bottom of the case (Almost everything got upgraded in the bottom bay), and new HDD mounts that really will be special. It's Version 2.0 hopefully done as close to 100% as I can. (The last on my scale was about a 65-70%)

As for the LANs, Pure for sure, and I really hope this little one we got invited to. (The SHHHH I can't even mention it's name one) All depends on if my mobo comes from RMA. (Audio died)
 
IllegalEagle said:
(The SHHHH I can't even mention it's name one)
Click to expand...

LOL, that's too funny rite there. I am able to go, but my son, Bugeye is stuck working. His boss takin vacation and no way of him gettin out of it so Ima gonna pass as well. If I get something together @ my place, you and your lady wanna come over? Seein how you are a couple, you get dibs on the spare bedroom, the other guys get the floor! I got no dates set yet, but looking into it soon.
 
Near necro bump!

Wow, it's been a LONG, LONG 6 months. Regarding where this thread left off...

I had my case at the powder coating shop for a month. I agreed to get the main case itself painted and not the individual pieces. Instead, I went to another local guy who turned out to be just beyond expectation. Dylan's Power Coating did the job in one day and at half of what the other shop wanted. Not only that but the job was really fantastic quality!

So that lead me to a PC part upgrade. I changed out the 5970 and put in two GTX 480s and ordered two AquaComputer blocks for them. I got the one sorted all nice, and then when installing the other block, a standoff broke off, and I had to RMA the waterblock..to Germany. Among this, something must have happened to the 480, which also had to be RMA'd.

So that brought me to September. All was working fine, when...the motherboard shorted. RMA'd. In the mean time I purchased a new board sometime mid-October when they were phasing out the E760's and got one for dirt cheap brand new with the full warranty, which is a good thing because the RMA motherboard NEVER SHOWED UP. I'm still working with EVGA on the issue!

So this brought me to last Friday. The first time I had to myself in AGES. I put it together and here's just a little teaser of a more in depth tear-down and build log. All custom cables (PCI-E and 8pin ATX) were done by Martin or Cyrs1s_Gam3r and turned out fantastic. Also note the new D3000, now my pictures can match the beauty of the case.

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Still need to fix the one heatshrink on the PCI-E 8 pin.

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To do: Single sleeve ATX cable!

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Kinda what it looks like all done. Notice the midplate which I'm currently waiting to get re-done (I made my own but it turned out horrible and I'm waiting on Charles to reopen Murdermod!). Other than that, the only real updates is top the res, clean up bottom bay just a little more, single sleeve motherboard connector and finish it up!
 
Looks great. Can't wait to see the finished product. I love the original MurderMod, especially the lighting plate on the base of the main MoBo chamber.
 
With little to no time to work on my mod, it's been very difficult to finish this project up, but in the last few weeks I feel I'm slowly getting there.

As per norm, a LAN was coming up which forced me to scramble to get my Murdermod up and running. Unfortunately, there was one major problem in that it kept crashing in everything I did. I determined it was a hard drive problem, and bought two VelociRaptor's to RAID, which didn't work. Dejected, I then went on to the possibility I didn't have enough power. I thought a Silverstone ST-1000p was enough to run the computer, however I was wrong. After picking up a Corsair AX1200 I was not only able to run everything without crashing, I could overclock the CPU and GPU and not have to worry about anything! Except heat...and a Northbridge that loved to catch fire.

So I got MIPS blocks for my mobo. I wanted them ever since I saw them on the TJ07 "Unnamed" project and fell in love. I expected the MIPS to really blow me away, but I didn't expect to remove my Northbridge stock cooler and see that only half the chip was covered by TIM. For a $300+ motherboard at least take time to put $0.02 worth of thermal paste on!

With all of that put together, she was running well, and I just needed to clean it up for the LAN, which lead me to custom sleeve the new cables. Unfortunately, I couldn't use my ST-1000p cables due to the AX1200 keying the power connectors to the PSU differently, which means I had to swap everything out wire by wire.

So after contacting Martin, I had them switched out. All excited, I started the PC up. Nothing. It turns out the AX1200 is VERY picky when it comes to pin layouts and doesn't follow any kind of standard I've seen, and thus, no power. So I re-did those, and got it to where it's at today. Thanks Martin for my awesome cables ;)

It still has a ways to go, but it's stable, runs very well, is over clocked to hell, and handles everything I throw at it. I'm happy!

To Do:
Sleeve 24-pin
Finish sleeving PCI-E Cables
Bridge MIPS blocks better
Unkink the tube for the CPU block
Finish Slight pannel correctly
Finish illuminated HDD mounts.
Sleeve SATA cables
Front plate

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Looks very nice. What are your temps on the two videocards's?

Is there room above the two videocards for a soundcard? (in the 16x slot directly above the last grakka, not the one nearest to the CPU)
 
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Once again...it's been a while. I just got my 2nd 480GTX back from RMA (A problem with the SLI connector..) and decided to share some pictures.

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I swapped out the EVGA E760 mobo with the Core i7 920 to a 2600K on an Asus P8P67 Deluxe. So far it's been running perfect, temps are cooler, and I have noticed a difference performance wise.

More pics and details to come soon!
 
Is it me or have you had a ton of bad luck with hardware dying? :eek:

Looking good... nice transformation from the beginning to where it is now.
 
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