CanesVenetici
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2007
- Messages
- 473
Because he's [H]ard on them of course!
![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
POLARity
- Thread starter oliverw92
- Start date
Because he's [H]ard on them of course!
Fantastic build!
I'm anxious to see how it all fits together.
It might be something you've already considered, but I had a thought regarding the rubber grommets you used for the hard drive isolation mounts.
I've always had a problem with those disintegrating over time.
Antec uses a white silicone grommet on their Performance One series of cases that I really like.
Although the silicone grommets can get torn up if they're abused, they're much better at isolating vibration.
They're a bit thicker than the rubber grommets, but should compress easily to whatever thickness you need.
They sell replacements at their online store.
You get 12 of them for $2.
http://store.antec.com/Product/acce...grommets-harddrive-p180/0-761345-30242-5.aspx
I'm anxious to see how it all fits together.
It might be something you've already considered, but I had a thought regarding the rubber grommets you used for the hard drive isolation mounts.
I've always had a problem with those disintegrating over time.
Antec uses a white silicone grommet on their Performance One series of cases that I really like.
Although the silicone grommets can get torn up if they're abused, they're much better at isolating vibration.
They're a bit thicker than the rubber grommets, but should compress easily to whatever thickness you need.
They sell replacements at their online store.
You get 12 of them for $2.
http://store.antec.com/Product/acce...grommets-harddrive-p180/0-761345-30242-5.aspx
Thankyou for all your comments guys 
Haha
Yeah for some reason stuff likes breaking on me - got a few more things to add to my list now:
- bi metal holesaws decided that they didn't need their teeth any more
- Enermax Revolution had serious rippple issues and took out my SSD
- Temporary OCZ StealthXtreme has gone off and isn't giving enough power
Those look very interesting! Unfortunately i don't think they will be the right size for my build - I had to find grommets with a 3mm channel because of the thickness of acrylic. Thankyou though, it is always nice to get people's opinions
Haha
Yeah for some reason stuff likes breaking on me - got a few more things to add to my list now:
- bi metal holesaws decided that they didn't need their teeth any more
- Enermax Revolution had serious rippple issues and took out my SSD
- Temporary OCZ StealthXtreme has gone off and isn't giving enough power
Fantastic build!
I'm anxious to see how it all fits together.
It might be something you've already considered, but I had a thought regarding the rubber grommets you used for the hard drive isolation mounts.
I've always had a problem with those disintegrating over time.
Antec uses a white silicone grommet on their Performance One series of cases that I really like.
Although the silicone grommets can get torn up if they're abused, they're much better at isolating vibration.
They're a bit thicker than the rubber grommets, but should compress easily to whatever thickness you need.
They sell replacements at their online store.
You get 12 of them for $2.
http://store.antec.com/Product/acce...grommets-harddrive-p180/0-761345-30242-5.aspx
Those look very interesting! Unfortunately i don't think they will be the right size for my build - I had to find grommets with a 3mm channel because of the thickness of acrylic. Thankyou though, it is always nice to get people's opinions
Riboild
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2005
- Messages
- 200
Wow man you are a monster!!!! Love the build and am sad to hear about the destructive force this build is having on your components.. Good luck on getting a new hard drive and power supply!!!
Thanks
Some of you might like to know i have released a blog/website, www.oliwali.co.uk. You can sub to the RSS feed there and i can keep y'all up to date on my progress! I am moving next week, the first blog post contains all the details. I also post my random musings on there, such as engraving donuts and how to make unexplainable images explainable
Some of you might like to know i have released a blog/website, www.oliwali.co.uk. You can sub to the RSS feed there and i can keep y'all up to date on my progress! I am moving next week, the first blog post contains all the details. I also post my random musings on there, such as engraving donuts and how to make unexplainable images explainable
Update #18 - 20/07/2010
Well now, it has been rather a while since a proper update. I haven't been slacking, I have had quite a few things on! First things that came up were my A levels. 1 month of pretty bad times. Things went pretty well though, I found out my coursework mark for Design Tech a while back, 92%. That is an A*! Only exam that went badly was maths mechanics module 3. Shouldn't be too much of a problem though.
2 days after my last exam, we decided it would be an AWESOME idea to move house to the cottage we have had for a few years in Devon! This is where it got a bit complicated:
Friday - Last exam then out all night (and morning!) celebrating and trying to forget the last few boring weeks
Saturday - Try and pack up room with a terrible hangover (frequent rests were required!)
Sunday - Help pack up rest of the house (things like hi-fi that my mum can't do)
Monday - Removal guys came and loaded everything on the van. Then once that was done, my mum and my aunt drove of down to Devon to meet the van which was driving down the next day. Things weren't so simple for me, however. I had several music commitments - I was playing bass guitar at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships with my Jazz Band on the semi finals day, so i had to be around for that. THen the following week the same Jazz Band was taking part in the finals of the National Music For Youth competition. So i ended up in limbo for 2 weeks, staying with friends and moving from location to location. It was a laugh, but very tiring!
Just over a week ago i finally made it down to Devon to join my mum here:
Modding could not commence yet, however! I arrived to a bedroom stacked to the ceiling with boxes of stuff (mainly computer components hehe) so the next few days were spent making shelves and hanging my guitars on the wall:
Weekend just gone, my mum went up north to see the grandparents, so while she was gone i decided to do a nice little surprise for her and did up the room that was to be her art studio:
I made her the massive desk, the large bookshelf on the right wall, and the two CD/DVD shelves on the other wall you can see, all in two days! She is pleased with it though, so it was definitely worth it. I then spent the next day sorting out PC components and getting my backup rig running on my techbench so i could game a bit:
Finally, today, i made it back to modding and got POLARity out for some wonderful wizardy!
Here is the case as I left it last.
You may be able to see something new, however!
This is my new floor. It is no longer going to illuminated - I could not get it to work perfectly enough for my liking, therefore the EL panel had to go. Murdermod is also having some difficulties at the moment with sourcing their sLights, so that plan is on hold at the moment too.
I managed to get into school on the last day and get half an hour with the laser cutter, just enough time to run this off. It was definitely a worthy item to cut as my last ever run on that laser cutter - I am missing it already!
The stealthres arrived in one piece too!
Here i drilled 7mm holes in the feet of the acrylic floor, ready to be tapped and screwed onto the TJ07 midplate. You may have noticed that the acrylic had warped slightly - i have no idea why, it was fine when i packed it up in its box ready to go to Devon!
It was then time to put my fittings in the floor.
I then used a step bit to widen the hole up slowly.
I should explain what i am doing here quite clearly - it is a little hard to understand at first! I got the idea for using passthrough fittings in the unusual way i am about to show you from a great modder called Rickflint. He gave me permission to use it, so mad props to him! The photo above shows the base of a BP compression. Outside of the green o-ring there is a thin metal ring. The hole in the floor needs to be larger than this metal ring so that the fitting sits flush with the acrylic.
Here you can see what i am on about - the ring and the o-ring sit inside the hole. This stops there being any leaks, as you will soon see.
This is a BP passthrough fitting that I am going to invert and screw in the wrong way round to normal, from the bottom.
Here you can see what i mean - this is 'underneath' the acrylic, and the fitting has been screwed into the passthrough through the hole, rather than on top. However at the moment the assembly is floppy and wobbled around.
To solve this, simply tighten down the metal nut on the passthrough fitting against the acrylic.
And this is what it looks like from the side (i have since placed the green o-ring on the passthrough between the acrylic and the metal nut so that there is less change of the nut coming undone).
And from the top you get a lovely clean look with no passthrough showing! Thankyou rickflint for this genius idea!
If you don't use his clever idea, you end up with what is shown below - the top plate of the passthrough is on top of the acrylic rather than below. Unfortunately, with angled fittings it is not possible to use this trick because there is no metal rim on the base of the fitting to sit in the hole.
I then drilled the second and last hole in the floor.
This is what it looks like installed in the case with the res attached. Very nice!
The one on the left is the 'traditional' way of using passthrough fittings (used here for the 90 degree fitting on top) and the one on the right is rickflint's pirate method!
Here the fittings i am most likely going to use underneath the floor. The one of the left goes down to the pump from the res whilst the other goes to the outlet of the quad rad.
Upside-down.
This is a 16mm white dot illuminated momentary vandal switch i am going to use as a power button. I dislike the stock TJ07 front switch assembly - it is a large green PCB mounted on posts with LEDs and switches on it - not perfect!
Here is all the rubbish used for the stock PCB.
First i had to widen the hole with my step bit (the whole was ever so slightly too small)
The switch fits and is slightly set back into the aluminium due to the bevel on the hole. Looks much better than stock and is also much nicer to 'push' than the stock one.
During this time i also finished working on the base of the case (counter-sinking holes and cleaning up etc)
Filled in the holes on the front with JB weld. I'll leave this to dry for about 14 hours then sand it back down so it is smooth.
Now some pictures showing some tubing ideas.
I hope this update has made up for the past few weeks of nothing. I'll be back soon!
Things to look forward too:
-Wednesday/Thurs: PSU connectors arrive so i can start sleeving
-Friday/monday: MSI Big Bang Xpower arrives!
-Friday/monday: Something very very special and unique should arrive from MDPC!
Well now, it has been rather a while since a proper update. I haven't been slacking, I have had quite a few things on! First things that came up were my A levels. 1 month of pretty bad times. Things went pretty well though, I found out my coursework mark for Design Tech a while back, 92%. That is an A*! Only exam that went badly was maths mechanics module 3. Shouldn't be too much of a problem though.
2 days after my last exam, we decided it would be an AWESOME idea to move house to the cottage we have had for a few years in Devon! This is where it got a bit complicated:
Friday - Last exam then out all night (and morning!) celebrating and trying to forget the last few boring weeks
Saturday - Try and pack up room with a terrible hangover (frequent rests were required!)
Sunday - Help pack up rest of the house (things like hi-fi that my mum can't do)
Monday - Removal guys came and loaded everything on the van. Then once that was done, my mum and my aunt drove of down to Devon to meet the van which was driving down the next day. Things weren't so simple for me, however. I had several music commitments - I was playing bass guitar at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships with my Jazz Band on the semi finals day, so i had to be around for that. THen the following week the same Jazz Band was taking part in the finals of the National Music For Youth competition. So i ended up in limbo for 2 weeks, staying with friends and moving from location to location. It was a laugh, but very tiring!
Just over a week ago i finally made it down to Devon to join my mum here:
Modding could not commence yet, however! I arrived to a bedroom stacked to the ceiling with boxes of stuff (mainly computer components hehe) so the next few days were spent making shelves and hanging my guitars on the wall:
Weekend just gone, my mum went up north to see the grandparents, so while she was gone i decided to do a nice little surprise for her and did up the room that was to be her art studio:
I made her the massive desk, the large bookshelf on the right wall, and the two CD/DVD shelves on the other wall you can see, all in two days! She is pleased with it though, so it was definitely worth it. I then spent the next day sorting out PC components and getting my backup rig running on my techbench so i could game a bit:
Finally, today, i made it back to modding and got POLARity out for some wonderful wizardy!
Here is the case as I left it last.
You may be able to see something new, however!
This is my new floor. It is no longer going to illuminated - I could not get it to work perfectly enough for my liking, therefore the EL panel had to go. Murdermod is also having some difficulties at the moment with sourcing their sLights, so that plan is on hold at the moment too.
I managed to get into school on the last day and get half an hour with the laser cutter, just enough time to run this off. It was definitely a worthy item to cut as my last ever run on that laser cutter - I am missing it already!
The stealthres arrived in one piece too!
Here i drilled 7mm holes in the feet of the acrylic floor, ready to be tapped and screwed onto the TJ07 midplate. You may have noticed that the acrylic had warped slightly - i have no idea why, it was fine when i packed it up in its box ready to go to Devon!
It was then time to put my fittings in the floor.
I then used a step bit to widen the hole up slowly.
I should explain what i am doing here quite clearly - it is a little hard to understand at first! I got the idea for using passthrough fittings in the unusual way i am about to show you from a great modder called Rickflint. He gave me permission to use it, so mad props to him! The photo above shows the base of a BP compression. Outside of the green o-ring there is a thin metal ring. The hole in the floor needs to be larger than this metal ring so that the fitting sits flush with the acrylic.
Here you can see what i am on about - the ring and the o-ring sit inside the hole. This stops there being any leaks, as you will soon see.
This is a BP passthrough fitting that I am going to invert and screw in the wrong way round to normal, from the bottom.
Here you can see what i mean - this is 'underneath' the acrylic, and the fitting has been screwed into the passthrough through the hole, rather than on top. However at the moment the assembly is floppy and wobbled around.
To solve this, simply tighten down the metal nut on the passthrough fitting against the acrylic.
And this is what it looks like from the side (i have since placed the green o-ring on the passthrough between the acrylic and the metal nut so that there is less change of the nut coming undone).
And from the top you get a lovely clean look with no passthrough showing! Thankyou rickflint for this genius idea!
If you don't use his clever idea, you end up with what is shown below - the top plate of the passthrough is on top of the acrylic rather than below. Unfortunately, with angled fittings it is not possible to use this trick because there is no metal rim on the base of the fitting to sit in the hole.
I then drilled the second and last hole in the floor.
This is what it looks like installed in the case with the res attached. Very nice!
The one on the left is the 'traditional' way of using passthrough fittings (used here for the 90 degree fitting on top) and the one on the right is rickflint's pirate method!
Here the fittings i am most likely going to use underneath the floor. The one of the left goes down to the pump from the res whilst the other goes to the outlet of the quad rad.
Upside-down.
This is a 16mm white dot illuminated momentary vandal switch i am going to use as a power button. I dislike the stock TJ07 front switch assembly - it is a large green PCB mounted on posts with LEDs and switches on it - not perfect!
Here is all the rubbish used for the stock PCB.
First i had to widen the hole with my step bit (the whole was ever so slightly too small)
The switch fits and is slightly set back into the aluminium due to the bevel on the hole. Looks much better than stock and is also much nicer to 'push' than the stock one.
During this time i also finished working on the base of the case (counter-sinking holes and cleaning up etc)
Filled in the holes on the front with JB weld. I'll leave this to dry for about 14 hours then sand it back down so it is smooth.
Now some pictures showing some tubing ideas.
I hope this update has made up for the past few weeks of nothing. I'll be back soon!
Things to look forward too:
-Wednesday/Thurs: PSU connectors arrive so i can start sleeving
-Friday/monday: MSI Big Bang Xpower arrives!
-Friday/monday: Something very very special and unique should arrive from MDPC!
vsboxerboy
2[H]4U
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2005
- Messages
- 3,661
Thanks asshole. I was supposed to be studying and I just spent the last 20 minutes on all 7 pages of this beauty. Looks awesome, can't wait to see the finished product given what you have so far!
Thankyou very much, it means a lot that you say that
Hehe thanks, I will try and update more often!
Haha i don't know whether to be offended that you called me an asshole, or happy that you spent ages looking through it
I think i will go with the latter - thankyou 
Red Falcon
[H]ard DCOTM December 2023
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 12,449
That is one of the coolest cases I've ever seen. That's a really great idea to have the white and black. I like the contrast of the white as it is true white, not beige or cream at all. Make sure to dust it regularly!
Thankyou
That is one of the coolest cases I've ever seen. That's a really great idea to have the white and black. I like the contrast of the white as it is true white, not beige or cream at all. Make sure to dust it regularly!
Thanks! I can't stand beige/cream in a computer case! It just doesn't look right
The only time i have ever seen something like that i liked was a TJ07 that had a white satin powdercoat with silver pearlescent shot over the top that made it glint a slightly silvery white. Looked really cool!Update #18 - 23/07/2010
I spy with my little eye...
a table!
Ehm i mean a box with MSI on it.
More table! Oh wait, Big Bang Xpower!
Inside the packaging are two boxes - one with the board in and one with accessories.
I can't fault them for the sheer amount of accesories you get!
- X-Fi Quantum Wave Sound card
- MSI OC Dashboard (overclocking display)
- 2x Xfire bridges, 2x SLI bridges
- Plethora of SATA data/power cables
- A load of USB and eSata backplanes
- Several massive manuals
Here is the sound card Not sure whether to leave it or powdercoat it white.
One of the best bits about this board is the black nickel 1366 socket!
Yes, you counted 6 pci-e x16 slots.
Glad to see they made the SB heatsink bigger - on the pre-release design they had a much smaller one.
Another pretty cool feature - EZ DIMMS. There are only clips on one side of the DIMM slots, making it easier and quicker to put them in.
This is the OC Genie button - will have to see how this performs. Most reviews have said it is very good.
Doctor Doctor...
As I was playing with the motherboard, DHL turned up with something from China. I wasn't expecting this for quite a while!
V1 had viewing issues with the LCD screen, V2 has these fixed.
They also sent me a load of switches for lighting control.
Hellz yeah! Not bad CAD on my behalf, drawing it perfect without having the thing in front of me!
Since when was that in there!
A massive thanks need to go out to John at MSI and Rob and Lamptron - both of them have been amazing
I spy with my little eye...
a table!
Ehm i mean a box with MSI on it.
More table! Oh wait, Big Bang Xpower!
Inside the packaging are two boxes - one with the board in and one with accessories.
I can't fault them for the sheer amount of accesories you get!
- X-Fi Quantum Wave Sound card
- MSI OC Dashboard (overclocking display)
- 2x Xfire bridges, 2x SLI bridges
- Plethora of SATA data/power cables
- A load of USB and eSata backplanes
- Several massive manuals
Here is the sound card Not sure whether to leave it or powdercoat it white.
One of the best bits about this board is the black nickel 1366 socket!
Yes, you counted 6 pci-e x16 slots.
Glad to see they made the SB heatsink bigger - on the pre-release design they had a much smaller one.
Another pretty cool feature - EZ DIMMS. There are only clips on one side of the DIMM slots, making it easier and quicker to put them in.
This is the OC Genie button - will have to see how this performs. Most reviews have said it is very good.
Doctor Doctor...
As I was playing with the motherboard, DHL turned up with something from China. I wasn't expecting this for quite a while!
V1 had viewing issues with the LCD screen, V2 has these fixed.
They also sent me a load of switches for lighting control.
Hellz yeah! Not bad CAD on my behalf, drawing it perfect without having the thing in front of me!
Since when was that in there!
A massive thanks need to go out to John at MSI and Rob and Lamptron - both of them have been amazing
Update #20 - 28/07/2010
Lots of stuff arrived.
Needed this paint to do the pumps (why, you will find out later on) and a metal piece that can't be powdercoated (it has a magnet glued to it).
Also got this gun to make my life easier!
Ultra-strong velcro in white
£25 of machine screws and a couple of new taps (my old ones are a bit shoddy)
All the screws went in my 3 little compartment boxes that needed topping up.
I also finally found the perfect SATA cables - 70cm black right-angle round sata cables.
DVD drive came back from RMA
Oooo whats this box... looks like it is from Germany
Anyone guessed what it is yet? Lets see...
Crimping tool. Nice, but not murderMod!
Nope, it isn't really murderMod.
These may be fine crimps from Nils, but they aint murderMod!
These black rivets and extra-large 3:1 heatshrink are also very nice, but they aren't murderMod either!
Oh, that's murderMod!
This is one of the last ones Nils has left (there is one other, which is his own). There was a run of 10 of these standard serpentine backplates. They were given to one of the best metal finishers in the world to be brushed and made to look spectacular. Over half of these were powdercoated by their owners, so there are now maybe 4 left in existence that still have this gorgeous finish!
As a result of this amazing finish, I shall now be changing my plans a little and i will be getting both this, the PSU plate and the cable management plate anodised black!
And a nice little pic with my MDPC sleeving i got a few months ago.
Drooling over, here is what i have been doing. I decided to cut the tabs off the two DDCs (they looked fugly with the tabs). However little did i know that they would turn brown after cutting/sanding! So the paint i got is to give these a nice satin black coat.
I also cut off the RPM cable inside the DDC - i have no need for it.
Before painting i need to sand them up to 100-grit.
This was at 40 grit. Tomorrow i shall finish sanding the pumps and get the primer coats done
Lots of stuff arrived.
Needed this paint to do the pumps (why, you will find out later on) and a metal piece that can't be powdercoated (it has a magnet glued to it).
Also got this gun to make my life easier!
Ultra-strong velcro in white
£25 of machine screws and a couple of new taps (my old ones are a bit shoddy)
All the screws went in my 3 little compartment boxes that needed topping up.
I also finally found the perfect SATA cables - 70cm black right-angle round sata cables.
DVD drive came back from RMA
Oooo whats this box... looks like it is from Germany
Anyone guessed what it is yet? Lets see...
Crimping tool. Nice, but not murderMod!
Nope, it isn't really murderMod.
These may be fine crimps from Nils, but they aint murderMod!
These black rivets and extra-large 3:1 heatshrink are also very nice, but they aren't murderMod either!
Oh, that's murderMod!
This is one of the last ones Nils has left (there is one other, which is his own). There was a run of 10 of these standard serpentine backplates. They were given to one of the best metal finishers in the world to be brushed and made to look spectacular. Over half of these were powdercoated by their owners, so there are now maybe 4 left in existence that still have this gorgeous finish!
As a result of this amazing finish, I shall now be changing my plans a little and i will be getting both this, the PSU plate and the cable management plate anodised black!
And a nice little pic with my MDPC sleeving i got a few months ago.
Drooling over, here is what i have been doing. I decided to cut the tabs off the two DDCs (they looked fugly with the tabs). However little did i know that they would turn brown after cutting/sanding! So the paint i got is to give these a nice satin black coat.
I also cut off the RPM cable inside the DDC - i have no need for it.
Before painting i need to sand them up to 100-grit.
This was at 40 grit. Tomorrow i shall finish sanding the pumps and get the primer coats done
Update #21 - 28/07/2010
Here are both pumps sanded to 100grit, ready for some primer!
Scratches look deep but it is actually really smooth - the plastic is very odd to sand.
Here is my hi-tech spray booth! A big cardboard box with a slot cut in the top!
The slot in the top allows me to hook the NASA-approved coat hanger wire through the top so I can rotate the parts without touching them. After putting a coat on i can shut the box to stop dust and insects getting in.
Feeling confident after my painting endeavours, I embarked on a daring path of DVD-drive deconstruction.
Only thing left to remove are these gears.
This is what i was hunting for - the plastic inner frame. This is a horrible beige that shows on the back of the CD drive, and therefore shows inside the case. It must change colour!
In it goes with the pump bodies.
Whilst the primer coats were drying I sanded down the JB weld i used on the LED holes.
Then a package arrived! 100m of 18AWG 2.5mm black PVC wire and 100m of 24AWG black PVC wire. I also bought my new favourite tool ever - an automatic wire stripper with depth stop.
You slide the piece of red plastic to the length you want to strip, insert the wire, squeeze the trigger and it strips off the PVC to an exact length without damaging or touching the inner metal core at all. Saves so much time!
I swapped out the Revolution for an OCZ StealthXtreme 500W on my techbench so i could start work on the revo. The Stealth doesn't have enough power connectors for crossfire 5850's so i stuck one in POLARity as a guide for cables etc.
Shiny floor!
Should be a perfect distance for the 5850 power cables to go from the holes in the motherboard tray.
After the success of the painting and the CD drive deconstruction, I got way too brave for my own good and started hacking the Enermax Revolution apart! I have decided i want as few permanent cables as possible, so i cut everything off except for the 24pin. Everything else will be modular.
CPU 8pin cut off
And there was carnage upon the battlefield of OakTable!
Heatshrinked the tips of the cables to stop them shorting anything out.
24 identical lengths of black 18AWG wire with 5mm stripped ends.
Crimped!
Om nom nom black cables
Then jump about 4 hours and we end up here! I replaced every cable of the 24pin with black ones. I also put a white connector on the end. The cables will be sleeved tomorrow in black with white heatshrink.
I also replaced the transparent fan inside the PSU with an opaque white one.
The red fan grill and the logo will be powdercoated either black or white.
I leave you with this
Here are both pumps sanded to 100grit, ready for some primer!
Scratches look deep but it is actually really smooth - the plastic is very odd to sand.
Here is my hi-tech spray booth! A big cardboard box with a slot cut in the top!
The slot in the top allows me to hook the NASA-approved coat hanger wire through the top so I can rotate the parts without touching them. After putting a coat on i can shut the box to stop dust and insects getting in.
Feeling confident after my painting endeavours, I embarked on a daring path of DVD-drive deconstruction.
Only thing left to remove are these gears.
This is what i was hunting for - the plastic inner frame. This is a horrible beige that shows on the back of the CD drive, and therefore shows inside the case. It must change colour!
In it goes with the pump bodies.
Whilst the primer coats were drying I sanded down the JB weld i used on the LED holes.
Then a package arrived! 100m of 18AWG 2.5mm black PVC wire and 100m of 24AWG black PVC wire. I also bought my new favourite tool ever - an automatic wire stripper with depth stop.
You slide the piece of red plastic to the length you want to strip, insert the wire, squeeze the trigger and it strips off the PVC to an exact length without damaging or touching the inner metal core at all. Saves so much time!
I swapped out the Revolution for an OCZ StealthXtreme 500W on my techbench so i could start work on the revo. The Stealth doesn't have enough power connectors for crossfire 5850's so i stuck one in POLARity as a guide for cables etc.
Shiny floor!
Should be a perfect distance for the 5850 power cables to go from the holes in the motherboard tray.
After the success of the painting and the CD drive deconstruction, I got way too brave for my own good and started hacking the Enermax Revolution apart! I have decided i want as few permanent cables as possible, so i cut everything off except for the 24pin. Everything else will be modular.
CPU 8pin cut off
And there was carnage upon the battlefield of OakTable!
Heatshrinked the tips of the cables to stop them shorting anything out.
24 identical lengths of black 18AWG wire with 5mm stripped ends.
Crimped!
Om nom nom black cables
Then jump about 4 hours and we end up here! I replaced every cable of the 24pin with black ones. I also put a white connector on the end. The cables will be sleeved tomorrow in black with white heatshrink.
I also replaced the transparent fan inside the PSU with an opaque white one.
The red fan grill and the logo will be powdercoated either black or white.
I leave you with this
nimbyfaygo
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2006
- Messages
- 488
Yep, absolutely amazing!
I wish I had the macro skills you have.
I wish I had the macro skills you have.
Oh man updates galore. My eyes...they...feel so much joy! Part of me wants to see the finished project, but the other part doesn't want this to ever end.
As for the PSU, if that doesn't scream warranty voider I don't know what does. Looks brilliant.
As for the PSU, if that doesn't scream warranty voider I don't know what does.
Looks brilliant.I feel honoured that you signed up just to say that! Thankyou very much, it really means a lot!
Oh man updates galore. My eyes...they...feel so much joy! Part of me wants to see the finished project, but the other part doesn't want this to ever end.
As for the PSU, if that doesn't scream warranty voider I don't know what does.
I love you guys here at Hardforum, you are all so nice
I know exactly what you mean about finished/not finished. It is going to be so weird once it is done!I haven't finished with the PSU yet!
Update #22 - 29/07/2010
Pumps mounted up after the paint dried overnight.
CD drive re-assembled.
Used a multimeter and another PSU to check PSU voltages - I got everything correct thankfully!
Then a box arrived!
Laz0r bits!
This is my new front i/o plate - two switches and a usb port.
Need to drill some mounting holes for it and it will be done.
Here is the new pump mounting mechanism!
Rubber standoffs are used to isolate the pumps from the case.
These are brackets for mounting the front bezel. The velcro is used so that it is quick and easy to access the hard drives.
Here are the two drive bay covers.
The one on the right can only be installed with everything removed from the case - it is a very nice fit, but to look as good as possible it has to be installed early on in build assembly.
It was then sleeving time and i was presented with a problem! How do you cut 24 bits of heatshrink to exactly the same length - 15mm? Here is my solution!
3 pieces of scrap screwed on to an old board. The gap here is 15mm, and the other smaller one is the diameter of MDPC small heatshrink.
What you will need: heatshrink and a large very very sharp kitchen knife! (this one is Japanese)
Slide the heatshrink down the gap until it hits the block at the end.
With a fair amount of pressure, slice through the heatshrink, using the wood as a guide and holding the other end of the heatshrink with your hand.
Perfect 15mm lengths!
And sleeved! It still needs another 'stretch' to get it looking perfect.
Pumps mounted up after the paint dried overnight.
CD drive re-assembled.
Used a multimeter and another PSU to check PSU voltages - I got everything correct thankfully!
Then a box arrived!
Laz0r bits!
This is my new front i/o plate - two switches and a usb port.
Need to drill some mounting holes for it and it will be done.
Here is the new pump mounting mechanism!
Rubber standoffs are used to isolate the pumps from the case.
These are brackets for mounting the front bezel. The velcro is used so that it is quick and easy to access the hard drives.
Here are the two drive bay covers.
The one on the right can only be installed with everything removed from the case - it is a very nice fit, but to look as good as possible it has to be installed early on in build assembly.
It was then sleeving time and i was presented with a problem! How do you cut 24 bits of heatshrink to exactly the same length - 15mm? Here is my solution!
3 pieces of scrap screwed on to an old board. The gap here is 15mm, and the other smaller one is the diameter of MDPC small heatshrink.
What you will need: heatshrink and a large very very sharp kitchen knife! (this one is Japanese)
Slide the heatshrink down the gap until it hits the block at the end.
With a fair amount of pressure, slice through the heatshrink, using the wood as a guide and holding the other end of the heatshrink with your hand.
Perfect 15mm lengths!
And sleeved! It still needs another 'stretch' to get it looking perfect.
oliverw92, Great work on the build so far, your projects always inspire me, especially on my last build.
I love looking through your log and seeing the amazing attention to detail you take.
Great choice on that mobo, I'm redoing my gaming rig with that mobo to stay with a blue and black theme. There are no other better choices then that one.
and " I know exactly what you mean about finished/not finished. It is going to be so weird once it is done!"
It's SOOOO weird. After I complete one I just feel the urge to design another one.
Keep Modding On!
I love looking through your log and seeing the amazing attention to detail you take.
Great choice on that mobo, I'm redoing my gaming rig with that mobo to stay with a blue and black theme. There are no other better choices then that one.
and " I know exactly what you mean about finished/not finished. It is going to be so weird once it is done!"
It's SOOOO weird. After I complete one I just feel the urge to design another one.
Keep Modding On!
Thanks
I already have other ideas in the pipeline that i can't wait to get on to!These switches are sweet. Very popular for high end lightsaber replicas.
Beautiful work.
They are great switches
Thanks!
formula409
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2005
- Messages
- 311
coming out so awesome
Update #23 - 06/08/2010
I have been rather busy for the past week with my entry for the eBuyer case competition:
The case used to be an £11 Casecom beige steel mid-tower that i have transformed into something rather more attractive!
Now that it is done I can get back to my main project
After getting a 3850 for my tech bench I mounted the waterblocks on the 5850s that used to be on the bench.
I will be powdercoating the nickel backplates gloss white - as much as I like the nickel i feel it detracts too much from my theme.
Since i am no longer having motherboard blocks, I can now go parallel on my graphics cards.
Tubing will be shorter than this, i just had these bit as offcuts so thought why not!
I am in the process of sourcing black o-rings to replace those green ones.
At the moment i am using threaded extenders to lift the straight compressions high enough to clear the PCB, however i may try and get some normal spacers instead - i am unsure of the look at the moment of the bottom graphics card fittings.
As i said earlier, the tubing will be shorter than i previously showed. You can see that in this pic.
I think having the backplates white will balance out the motherboard area a bit more - at the moment it is dominated too much by black.
And here you can see how the quad rad from down below will connect up to the lower graphics card.
QUESTION! White connector, as shown, or black one? I am leaning towards getting a black one.
I have been rather busy for the past week with my entry for the eBuyer case competition:
The case used to be an £11 Casecom beige steel mid-tower that i have transformed into something rather more attractive!
Now that it is done I can get back to my main project
After getting a 3850 for my tech bench I mounted the waterblocks on the 5850s that used to be on the bench.
I will be powdercoating the nickel backplates gloss white - as much as I like the nickel i feel it detracts too much from my theme.
Since i am no longer having motherboard blocks, I can now go parallel on my graphics cards.
Tubing will be shorter than this, i just had these bit as offcuts so thought why not!
I am in the process of sourcing black o-rings to replace those green ones.
At the moment i am using threaded extenders to lift the straight compressions high enough to clear the PCB, however i may try and get some normal spacers instead - i am unsure of the look at the moment of the bottom graphics card fittings.
As i said earlier, the tubing will be shorter than i previously showed. You can see that in this pic.
I think having the backplates white will balance out the motherboard area a bit more - at the moment it is dominated too much by black.
And here you can see how the quad rad from down below will connect up to the lower graphics card.
QUESTION! White connector, as shown, or black one? I am leaning towards getting a black one.
BoogerBomb
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2003
- Messages
- 6,470
I say leave the connector white just like you will be keeping the nickel backplating white to offest the motherboard.
Great build so far.
Great build so far.
Update #24 - 10/08/2010
PSU backplate arrived from the laser cutters - gets rid of that ugly square mesh thingy that was there before.
Also had a new I/O plate made - the old one was a bit too small. Here i have marked out for holes to put M3 inserts in.
Drill them out to about 4mm.
Grab two of these
Then whack them with a hammer! There are little teeth that dig in and hold the insert in place.
Ticking more things off my list of little jobs to be done before painting - here i am marking out holes in the front bezel supports.
Here you can see them screwed in with the velcro applied
I also had a plate cut out by the laser guy to cover up the CPU backplate holes and make that area a bit neater.
I realised the other day that with the motherboard installed, you can't access one of the screws that holds the 24pin i/o guide to the cable plate. To solve this, I tapped the cable plate to M4 and drilled a 4mm hole through the guide so i can screw it in from the back.
Next on my list was the drain port. This idea ended up coming from my friend Simon | Laine. It comprises of a rotary 'q', a passthrough, a 90 degree compression, a stop fitting and a straight compression. This gives a nice solid solution where all i have to do is put the case over a bucket, open the port and the coolant will drain out.
It should make tubing nice and simple too.
Here is the passthrough after i opened up a hole with the step bit.
After mounting the fitting combination to the floor.
This should result in straight tubing between the rad and pump.
Here is a hole i cut in the drive bays to allow cables for the FC5 and DVD drive to pass through.
With the SATA cable plugged in.
The bay covers will hide any cables running behind there.
PSU backplate arrived from the laser cutters - gets rid of that ugly square mesh thingy that was there before.
Also had a new I/O plate made - the old one was a bit too small. Here i have marked out for holes to put M3 inserts in.
Drill them out to about 4mm.
Grab two of these
Then whack them with a hammer! There are little teeth that dig in and hold the insert in place.
Ticking more things off my list of little jobs to be done before painting - here i am marking out holes in the front bezel supports.
Here you can see them screwed in with the velcro applied
I also had a plate cut out by the laser guy to cover up the CPU backplate holes and make that area a bit neater.
I realised the other day that with the motherboard installed, you can't access one of the screws that holds the 24pin i/o guide to the cable plate. To solve this, I tapped the cable plate to M4 and drilled a 4mm hole through the guide so i can screw it in from the back.
Next on my list was the drain port. This idea ended up coming from my friend Simon | Laine. It comprises of a rotary 'q', a passthrough, a 90 degree compression, a stop fitting and a straight compression. This gives a nice solid solution where all i have to do is put the case over a bucket, open the port and the coolant will drain out.
It should make tubing nice and simple too.
Here is the passthrough after i opened up a hole with the step bit.
After mounting the fitting combination to the floor.
This should result in straight tubing between the rad and pump.
Here is a hole i cut in the drive bays to allow cables for the FC5 and DVD drive to pass through.
With the SATA cable plugged in.
The bay covers will hide any cables running behind there.
LibertySyclone
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2007
- Messages
- 1,366
Care to explain the flow in your GPUs? aestetically it looks great, but the logic in my said "whoa back TF up, that isnt right!"
Still looking great
Still looking great
t_ski
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2006
- Messages
- 7,506
I believe it's called parallel flow, and it works fine.
Temo Vryce
Weaksauce
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2007
- Messages
- 93
Care to explain the flow in your GPUs? aestetically it looks great, but the logic in my said "whoa back TF up, that isnt right!"
Still looking great
Ok I understand it now. I was confused as well, right up until I looked at it again. Each card has an A & B port. For the sack of simplicity A is on the left B on the right. I'm going to assume the pumps are in the bottom and so the water comes into A on the bottom card. Some of the water flows through the card and out B. The rest of the flows out the top of A and into the A on the top card and through to B. The water from the bottom card flow through B on the top card rejoining with the other water and continues through the loop.
Now hopefully that made sense and I didn't confuse you anymore than you were.