[Project] Bitfenix Stacker - Prodigy 1.2 M-ATX Sli goodness!

[Wejjy]

So having already completed a few Bitfenix builds and posting one of my build logs on here, I decided to venture into pastures new and build something a little different. My old build wasnt too extreme, it was just about cramming as much as I thought I could into the Prodigy case, multiple Rads, more HDD's etc. I was happy with it but it never really pushed things enough, I wanted it to be more extreme!

This is how it al looked when complete...

Cute, but not manly!

So I started planning my next rig, this time based around fitting things that shouldnt fit, namely M-ATX, now after seeing other builds, this may seem lame, but at the time of planning, it was to me quite out there!!

The specs were determined by what I already had mainly, and a little extra that I could afford to throw at it, so all the water-cooling bits were things I already owned, and the fans came from the original project too as they were swapped out for the new owner, you will see.

Specs:

Asus Gene Z77 M-ATX
32Gb Corsair Vengeance RAM (I know!! Don't diss its OTT throughout!)
i7 3770k
2 x EVGA 680 2Gb
3 x Samsung 256Gb SSD's
2 x 2TB Samsung Spinpoints

Cooling

2 x 240mm Thick Phobya Rads
Laing DDC+ 18W Pump
EK Tube Reservoir
EK fittings
EK CSQ Blocks throughout!
Aquaero 5XT to control all of the above

The build is well on its way now, so here is a little taster for you all to get started, I will update the thread with build pics as I get opportunity, let me know what you all think!

 

[Wejjy]

So this is about 2 weeks of work complied into a short update. During those 2 weeks, my motherboard went boom, so progress has been a little quicker as I haven't managed to play on Sim City, so more time has been focused on the build but its still reasonably slow.

So I bought some parts, first of all the fans had to be changed, they were leftovers from the BitPac build I completed, and were completely the wrong colour, so I purchased some very tidy Enermax jobbies, simply for the colours of the fans, problem was they were USB, but more on that later, less typing more pictures!!

So there they are, tada!! Not awesome as I said they are 5v USB only, so out cam the soldering iron. Also I remade the rear panel of the case from perspex laminate, Its Black-Red Translucent-Black all glued together for a decent effect which will become apparent later on. I moved the Rads too so that they are more central in the top section of the case.

They also back up against the rear of the case so that I can route the pipes externally for the watercooling, this makes the two halves completely self contained, and draining the loop, or cleaning far easier!

The PCB is for the fans, as I said they are 5v fans and run off the USB so I made the PCB with a Molex input and used the 5v rail to supply the fans, and the 12v to supply the Aquaero which will be mounted in the top of the case.

I then moved onto the Reservoir, this was mounted above the pump, which sits below the rads, and is fixed using the EK brackets, mounted to the Rads with some foam on the jaws to grip it better and longer screws through the clamping holes.

This created a problem with filling the loop, so I made this out of a few fittings to aid the process, all you need do now is fold this gizmo upright, and the screw out the stop, and replace it with a fill port, and jobs a golden!

Then you simply fold it inside the case with the stop in, and its hidden.

Fitted the lid next to see if all was well, and tapped some holes for the original thumb screws etc...

Then it was onto the exterior fittings...

Quick release fittings, expensive but awesome!!


And a few more that need no explanations...


Getting the GPU's looking blingy, and followed by a LOT of sleeving!!

Sleeving, and soldering...

And finally a teaser for next time!!

Thanks guys!

 

[ecomastertek102]

What a monster! Looks amazing!

 

[Wejjy]

As promised heres my update!

So I started off by trying to get the cabling sorted. I installed some trunking into the base of the case and added a nice bit of Dinoc to fit in with the theme of the build again. Soldered up the Molex cables and shortened the Sata cables to make it all look a little better before I start with the sleeving.

It was then over to sleeving the various sensor cables, and LED lighting that fits into the blocks. Dont worry this was all done on the 'DEAD' mobo.

I then started to install the various components, first off the real mono, then the GPU's and then finally the CPU and RAM. I started making up the hoses and the internal fittings for the various components.

Then came the fun part, filling the loop!!!

Out came the funky spout, it folds away as I said previously...

Then we screw in the fillport...

And fill her up!! Using EK Blood red fluid, my personal favourite!

I then left her leak testing for about 4 hours whilst I took the kids to see 'Jack the Giant Slayer' :thumb:

Upon my return, there was gladly no signs of any leaks, so it was on to the next stage,
pictures!!!!

and some with the DSLR...

Whaddya think?


Heres the setup in my man Cave now

RIP Asus Gene!!

Next task, I have to make two more cables for the second 680 as I'm out of crimps. I need to do sort out the Aquaero settings as the fans are all spinning too quickly, its not loud, but also not as efficient as it could be. Then I'll start overclocking the nuts off it all!

I have some serious work to do on Sketchup too. I am designing all of the panels for laser cutting out of a mixture of acrylic, no details, as you will have to wait and see!

There maybe an X79 on the way!!

:rock::thumb::rock:

 

[Wejjy]

A glimpse of what Ive been up to, its taken a while but we are almost there now!

As I said, I got all of the parts done through a favour so they took while, but I am so happy with the results. This was the machine used, simple but superbly effective.

I will try to post a video of it in action at some point.

I then stuck on Neodymium magnets using acrylic glue and left those to dry, they moved slightly overnight as they were drying but not by a huge amount, so its still ok.

I had the panels cut from Translucent red, and Black, the red was slightly larger, and the black sat on the front so these were glued together, and left with weight on top overnight to keep them firmly held. Then it was over to the Aquaero and installing that...

On the right hand picture above, the panels arent in their final positions, these were held with sticky tape before affixing the magnets, just so I could check it all fit properly. Also the window is yet to be inserted in the side panels, so its 95% done, not quite 100%. I just have the lighting to sort now and the last GPU cable to make and we are complete!

Also Ive sourced a 30" Dell to swap for my middle display, its got the typical dead PSU so I will be fixing that in the coming weeks and getting my man cave completely sorted!!