Project: Beast 2.5

Stevennoland

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 5, 2006
Messages
418
I was in Barnes and Noble (a book store) and was scanning the computer mags and happened upon one that had a 'Crysis' preview. I read the article and I knew at that very moment I couldn't wait for Beast III to be finished.

This build will be the interlude. No, I haven't given up on Beast III, I'm still cranking on her. But that project is far (I mean really far) from being finished. I need a system now that will handle 'Crysis'.

So I set my sights on a system that will handle the task.

This project is just that! On with the build.

I knew I wanted to water cool (duh), and I wanted to a system that could cool rather well. I believe this system is a little over the top, but I'm famous for that (Beast III anyone).

The first thing in line was the case. So without further ado:

Newegg was the first stop and a couple days later .....
delivery01.jpg


I'm not going to need a lot of bays, but I really need depth (24 inches of goodness)
delivery02.jpg


Everthing looks good so far
delivery03.jpg


Unpacked!
unpacked01.jpg


If it isn't obvious, I'm a really big fan of Lian-Li. Their cases are the bomb!
v1200b001.jpg


The views
v1200b002.jpg

v1200b003.jpg


There is a lot of extra junk (er stuff) in there
v1200b004.jpg


Drive bays
v1200b005.jpg


PSU bay (I'm going to steal the PCP&C 1KW from Beast III for this build)
v1200b006.jpg


That divider has got to go
v1200b007.jpg


v1200b008.jpg

v1200b009.jpg


Gutted (well almost, the front panel connects needed a torx wrench for removal)
v1200b010.jpg


Next was the selection of the radiators. Since this case is fairly large, I'm going with three rads.

Delivery, mmmmm
raddelivery01.jpg


One two three boxes
raddelivery02.jpg


Packing slip (so I dont have to tell you all what I ordered)
packslip01.jpg


Single 120 (Ferrari red)
120rad001.jpg


Triple 120
360rad001.jpg


The lot
rads001.jpg


Close-ups
rads002.jpg

rads003.jpg

rads004.jpg


I was really hoping to get the EVGA Black Pearl edition of the 680i board, but I got sick of waiting. So I jimmied over to Fry’s elec. and picked up the 122-NF68-A1 board
680imobo001.jpg

680imobo002.jpg

680imobo003.jpg

680imobo004.jpg

680imobo005.jpg


I have been a really huge fan of Corsair memory, but I figured it was time for a change, so I got this (water cooled to boot)
h2omem002.jpg

h2omem001.jpg


This is a bay res I was going to use in Beast III until I decided to make my own. I added the third set of in and out holes (yes, I’m going to be using three pumps)
bayres001.jpg

bayres002.jpg


I’m also going to be swiping three ddc12v (with the plexi tops) pumps from Beast III so I ordered a few fittings
g1438fittings01.jpg


Fittings installed
bayres003.jpg


Here are the fans I’m going to use on the rads
scyth120fan001.jpg


The 3 for the 360 120 rad
scyth120fan002.jpg


In this shot is the general location for the handles, fillport, and 360 rad
casetopassy001.jpg


I printed out some full sheet labels for the locations
labels001.jpg

labels002.jpg

labels003.jpg

labels004.jpg


I started out with the painters trim tape (it was all I had laying around)
casetopassy002.jpg


I then cut and trimmed the labels. Stick it to the case!
casetopassy003.jpg


Close-ups
casetopassy004.jpg

casetopassy005.jpg


In this shot, I have all the clearance holes drilled
casetopassy006.jpg


This is the set up I’m using for cutting the top section out (God bless the rotozip)
casetopassy007.jpg


Holiness!
v1200b011.jpg


The flubs
v1200b012.jpg

v1200b013.jpg


Here is the hardware for the handles
handles001.jpg


Installed
handles002.jpg


The fan holes (all twelve) lined up! Yea!
beast25assy001.jpg


Fillport (also stolen from Beast III)
beast25assy002.jpg


The 360 rad
beast25assy003.jpg


Close-ups
beast25assy004.jpg

beast25assy005.jpg


That’s all I have done now. If it was a little earlier, I’d have an update for Beast III. I’ll save it for tomorrow.

This project is going to go quick. I want to be ready when Crysis hits! Frag on!

Stay tuned.
 
So after Beast III finishes you can give this one to me! Genius!


Also, 3 pumps :eek:
 
I'm using the Lian-Li V1200 for my current build and as an owner you know the pics (even with a fantastic camera) doesn't completely do it justice. Are you keeping the watercooling all internal?
 
I don't care what you are working on it as long as you post pics. Looking forward to what appears to be another epic build.
 
Holy crap dude, nice job! Can't wait to see this beast finished.
 
looking pretty awesome so far. I also just recently build a new comp for Crysis.
 
Nice start to this build. Have you ever used that reservior before? I have and the results were not what I expected. The top and sides cracked (not from too much pressure of the screws either). The plexiglas clouded up and I was using the recommended mix for water and coolant additive. I hope you dont have the same results. I had to remove mine and build another reservoir to keep the system running.
 
Dammit... your killing me here;)

This looks awesome.. can't wait to see what you have in store over the next few days (or weeks)... I'll be watching this... but don't use it as an excuse to "back burner" Beast 3... that would just be mean...
 
Hey all! I haven’t forgotten about you in my building quests.

I have been really busy with work, so I’m only spending a max of 20 minutes per day to work on things. I have been working on Beast 2.5 (hence this post), and hear that Crysis is going to be out sometime in November. Yea! This means I’m under the gun to get Beast 2.5 done.

On with the post:

Here is the front 120mm fan intake where one of the rads is going
beast25assy006.jpg


This is the plate that attaches the fan
beast25assy007.jpg


Here is a shot of the screw I’m using to bolt the fan to the rad (it comes really close to the rad fins)
beast25assy008.jpg


Here is the fan installed on the rad (notice the gap)
beast25assy010.jpg


Close up
beast25assy009.jpg


So what can I use to minimize the gap? Aha!
120mmgasket01.jpg


Fan with gasket installed (the gap is a little narrower)
beast25assy012.jpg


Close up
beast25assy011.jpg


With plate attached
beast25assy013.jpg


Installed (mind you this is not permanent installation, the fan still needs to be sleeved)
beast25assy014.jpg


Other side
beast25assy015.jpg


Here is the assembly that installs near the CPU
beast25assy016.jpg


You can see there is not a lot of room (the first slot might not be useable)
beast25assy017.jpg


Shot of the back plate area (no clearance problems there)
beast25assy018.jpg


The side panel just touches the rad
beast25assy019.jpg



Since I’m watercooling, and using three pumps (pump #1 for the GPU, #2 for the CPU and #3 for the support chipsets and HDD). I wanted to split the line from pump #3 and have it go to the support chipset and the HDD at the same time, so I made these
(Material is delrin)
delriny001.jpg

delriny002.jpg

delriny003.jpg

delriny004.jpg


One is for the feed and the other for the return
delriny005.jpg


Here is the north bridge block (Thanks Danger Den)
nbblock001.jpg


The TDX for the CPU
tdx001.jpg


Close up
tdx002.jpg


I ordered the brass top for the TDX and here is what they sent (there is no pic listed on their site. Hmmmm wonder why)
tdx003.jpg


Bottom
tdx004.jpg


Attachment (made of plexi! ARGH! I wanted the whole top made of brass)
tdx005.jpg

tdx006.jpg


So I decided to ditch the plexi top and make my own out of aluminum
tdx007.jpg

tdx008.jpg



Here is the HDD cage that comes with the case. Since I was originally planning on using one Raptor, the extra space isn’t needed. Time for some modification.
hddcageold.jpg


After the mod
hddcagenew.jpg


Also, the original location of the cage was a bit too close to the PSU, so I moved it (here are two of the new holes. I used the 2 back holes from the front cage as the front holes for the back cage)
hddcageholes.jpg


New HDD home
hddnewhome.jpg


I knew I was going to use a Raptor in this build, but then Best Buy put them on sale and suddenly a RAID set up seemed sweeter. So…. (The X model even)
raptor150x001.jpg


Sensitive (better not touch at all)
raptor150x002.jpg


LOL! The bag everyone talks about. Nice.
raptor150x003.jpg

raptor150x004.jpg


I think that film is supposed to come off (anyone know for sure?)
raptor150x005.jpg


Close up’s
raptor150x006.jpg

raptor150x007.jpg


The circuit board
raptor150x008.jpg


Connectors
raptor150x009.jpg


Since I‘m now using two raptors (I modified my cage to only hold one HDD, I needed a way to hold the other HDD) viola! Thanks Koolance!
dualhddcooler001.jpg

dualhddcooler002.jpg

dualhddcooler003.jpg

dualhddcooler004.jpg

dualhddcooler005.jpg

Here is the little disc that hold the HDD’s after you have slid them on
dualhddcooler006.jpg

Hardware
dualhddcooler007.jpg

Close up’s
dualhddcooler008.jpg

dualhddcooler009.jpg



I decided to rob the PCP&C 1KW Turbo cool from Beast III for the PSU. I forgot how big this mother is
psutrial001.jpg


You can see the opening for wires is blocked (I want that opening! What to do?) I know, move the PSU back….
psutrial002.jpg


2 inches should do
psutrial003.jpg


No more blockage
psutrial004.jpg


Now, how to attach the PSU with it sticking out two inches, bring on the extension posts (I was originally going to make these, but it’s much easier to buy them. About $6.00 each, thanks for the bend over Mcmaster)
psuposts001.jpg

psuposts002.jpg


The tapped ends (M3 threads, same as the thumb screws)
psuposts003.jpg


Since these are metric, they were a little longer than 2 inches in length. No prob.
psuposts004.jpg


Here are the M3 set screws to attach the posts to the case
m3setscrew01.jpg

m3setscrew02.jpg


Set screw installed
psuposts005.jpg


The nice thing about precision machined parts; all the tapped holes are the same depth
psuposts006.jpg


Here is the location of the holes for the PSU plate mount
psuposts007.jpg


2 pins
psuposts008.jpg


The rest
psuposts009.jpg


Time for a test fit
psuext001.jpg

psuext002.jpg

psuext004.jpg


This PSU weighs nine plus pounds. You can see that thing sag. What to do?
psuext003.jpg


I know. I’ll just turn up some posts (sorry, I don’t have any pics of the posts doing their job, but you can imagine right?)
psusupport001.jpg

psusupport002.jpg



Since I am building this to play Crysis, the GPU has to be good…. Delivery day
8800gtx001.jpg


I sure hope it’s in there
8800gtx002.jpg


Yea!
8800gtx003.jpg


Unpacked
8800gtx004.jpg


The card
8800gtx005.jpg


Close up’s
8800gtx006.jpg

8800gtx007.jpg

8800gtx008.jpg

8800gtx009.jpg

8800gtx010.jpg

8800gtx011.jpg

8800gtx012.jpg


Top row of memory, I don’t like the looks of that contact
8800gtx013.jpg

8800gtx014.jpg


I’m water cooling right? So what does a GPU like this need……
wb8800gtx001.jpg


Anticipation… It’s making me wait
wb8800gtx002.jpg


Yea baby!
wb8800gtx003.jpg


Close up’s
wb8800gtx004.jpg

wb8800gtx005.jpg

wb8800gtx006.jpg

wb8800gtx007.jpg

wb8800gtx008.jpg

wb8800gtx009.jpg

wb8800gtx010.jpg

wb8800gtx011.jpg



I picked up the last pieces for this project yesterday. The only way to get DX10 is…
winvistaoem001.jpg

winvistaoem002.jpg


A little office software never hurt (check that price!!!)
wimoffice001.jpg




Now I just have to find the time to finish the south bridge block and drill a couple holes in the case for some wiring. I’m hoping to have the block done by Labor Day weekend. I hope I’ll have some time to get here up and going.

Stay tuned!
 
i plan on picking up that case soon, when ever i get my money refunded back to my paypal from my canceled new egg order. i cancled it cuz i got a wrong item and didnt know it would take this long to go back to my pp. but im glad it is as i just saw the v1200b is 200 bucks at the egg with like 65 bucks off. just hope it stays on sale in the time it takes to get my refund back to pp.
 
Thanks for the update!

I really like what you've done so far, and am anxious to see what's to come.

Keep up the great work!
 
I just happened upon this thread, and this looks awesome. Definitely look forward to what you'll be doing in the future with this...beast. :)
 
I dare you to open up that DangerDen block. You don't think they went with an opaque cover just for fun, do you? I nearly vomited when I took the top off mine...


Impressive build as always.
 
dare you to open up that DangerDen block. You don't think they went with an opaque cover just for fun, do you? I nearly vomited when I took the top off mine...
Damn now you got me curious, what is underneath
 
Hey all!

Back with a little update.

In my haste to provide the last update, I forgot a few things.

My new CPU
c2de6850001.jpg

c2de6850002.jpg


The FP01 fan controller from Aero Cool
acfp01001.jpg

acfp01002.jpg


I would really have liked it if the display was motorized
acfp01003.jpg


Back ports
acfp01004.jpg


Bag-o-connectors
acfp01005.jpg


Since I’m watercooling, I knew I wanted to use H2O on the north and southbridge blocks. I really couldn’t find one for the southbridge, so I decided to make one.
I had this 3” diameter ½” thick piece of copper laying around so…. First I installed the o-ring groove
sbblock001-1.jpg


Close-up
sbblock002-1.jpg


Then the pattern (note: this block will only work on the evga 680i mobo)
sbblock003-1.jpg


Close-ups
sbblock004-1.jpg

sbblock005-1.jpg


I then added the flow area with a couple risers (the southbridge doesn’t get too hot)
sbblock006-1.jpg


Close-up
sbblock007-1.jpg


o-ring
sbblock008-1.jpg


I then ground the contact side flat to within +- .0001 inches (that’s FLAT!!)
sbblock009-1.jpg


Close-up (it’s really hard to see how smooth it really is)
sbblock010-1.jpg


Here is the acrylic top with the requisite mounting holes and 3/8” G1/4 fitting holes
sbblock011-1.jpg

sbblock012-1.jpg


This is a ¼” diameter tooling ball to aid in the installation of the double-angle holes
sbblock013-1.jpg


Close-up
sbblock014-1.jpg


Here are the double-angled holes
sbblock015-1.jpg


Thru shot
sbblock016-1.jpg


Close-ups
sbblock017-1.jpg

sbblock018-1.jpg


I then sanded the contact side first with 1500 grit and then 2000 grit
sbblock019-1.jpg

sbblock020.jpg


Here is a shot of the gap between the copper and the plexi with the o-ring installed before screw tightening
sbblock021.jpg


After tightening
sbblock022.jpg


More views
sbblock023.jpg

sbblock024.jpg


With fittings
sbblock025.jpg

sbblock026.jpg

sbblock027.jpg



This is a shot of the mounting hole for the Koolance hydra pack HDD cooler on the Raptor 150X
raptor150x010.jpg


This is the capture piece to lock the pack to the HDD
raptor150x011.jpg


Installed (I tried to tighten the piece firmly to the HDD, but I couldn’t install the hydra pack. So, I opted to read the install instructions and they stated that the piece doesn’t need to be completely tight for proper function. DOH!)
raptor150x012.jpg


First HDD installed
raptor150x013.jpg


Not a lot of room for connectors and hose, SHEESE!
raptor150x014.jpg


Second HDD installed
raptor150x015.jpg


This is certainly going to be a busy end
raptor150x016.jpg


And lastly, here are the risers for the PSU installed
psusupport003.jpg


I have some more stuff done, but no pics yet. Sorry.

Stay tuned!
 
I have some more stuff done, but no pics yet. Sorry.

Your killing me here man...... you can't say things like that........

:)

More pics..... now.

please

Seriously... amazing again. I love your work. You are one of the most creative and skilled modders I have ever seen.... I am truly in awe of your builds and I can't wait for more.
 
fuck dude, rolling your own water cooling blocks? that would give me a migraine.
 
Beautiful build,question ? Given that you bought the windowed Raptor(s),have you any plans for a window mod for it(them) ? So it can be seen and shown off ? :cool:

I plan to do something like it with my own (raptor X) once my Li Li gets here.
 
To: Stevennoland

You are really starting to piss me off.
Just joking , really nice job on everything
Keep up nice work
 
how hard is it to post pics?

apparently a little harder than crushing MY HOPES AND DREAMS>
 
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