Project "Improvision"

[Indignity]

A little background on why this started. I had a simple water-cooled setup with a single 120mm RAD cooling my CPU loop only. I was doing great on overclocking an e6300 to around 3.6GHz at the max. Then, my PSU went & I had to go through the RMA process. In waiting, I purchased another one to get me up & running. Newegg just discounted the $$ of the PSU and I moved forward. Well, I knew that the replacement PSU wasn't going to allow me to OC w/o any problems. I had to get a new PSU that was a bit "future-proof", so what could I do. I also wanted to step up to an e6600, so I went & put it on the damned card . I'm a little strapped for cash, but I had a really good CPU that I ended up trading for the Fortran 700W in my sig... Well, I put that all together, start my attempt to see how far I can take this CPU & whammo, my VGA goes..

During that whole mess, I learned that my single 120mm RAD with a 1500rpm fan wasn't going to be nearly enough to keep the CPU cool, so I had to do something. Then I started reading more & more. I had to come up with a different case, a larger RAD, a better block, ect.... I also was loving the various mod worklogs posted here. There are certainly some talented and creative individuals here! And here I am, ready to start on my first mod.
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My goals for the mod are:

• Keep it simple! (I'm a newb without many tools)
• Effectively cool the components to handle 4GHz!!!!!!!!!!
• Keep the interior clean utilizing some of the various methods others have used in their logs (Arcygenical has been a huge inspiration & great teacher )
• Keep down costs by using what I have.
• Lastly, I would like to eventually be able to inspire another individual to do their own modding.

The main components for this project are as follows:

• Intel Core2Duo e6600
• ASUS P5N-E (650i)
• Patriot (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800
• FSP Group (Fortron) FX Series FX700-GLN-E 700W Power Supply
• APEVIA X-Navigator ATXA8NW-AL Case
• eVGA GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCIe
• 4 x Seagate Barracuda(7200.10) SATA Drives totalling 1.25TB
• AuzenTech XMYSTIQUE7.1 Sound Card
• Innovatek Eheim HPPS Plus 12V WaterPump
• Danger Den TDX CPU block w/flow changing thing-a-ma-bobs
• Swiftech MCR320-QP (3x120mm) Radiator
• Lite-On DVD-RW Drive
• 3 x Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Fans for the RAD
• 4 x Rosewill RFA120L-W 120mm 4 White LEDs Fans for the case
• I've got three possible Fan Controllers/Temp Monitors
• iStarUSA BPU-230SATA Hot-Swappable SATA HDD Enclosure (3 Drives)
• CoolIT SYSTEMS RAM FAN
• Thermaltake CL-C0034 For the Northbridge Chipset
• Old CPU Heatsink/Fan for the Southbridge Chipset

Misc Stuff I also have purchased for this project

• 2 x Scythe TM02-WH KAMA THERMO Thermometer
• 2 x LOGISYS Computer CLK12BL 12" Cold Cathode kit
• LOGISYS Computer LT405BL Computers Blue LED Acrylic Case Feet
• Lots & lots of Heatshrink Tubing, Wire Loom & Sleeving material
• Some Laser Light thingys I bought from somewhere
• Bunch of bare LEDs of varying sizes with resistors
• Lots of AS5 & Ceramique
• ....... More when I can do inventory & take more pics

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Pics you say (sorry for the focus issue, next pics will be better)?

Case Side View

Case Rear View

Case Top View

Case Front View (Take note of the USB Panel that I must get rid of)

Here:

Case Front View Stripped

Bottom of Case being prepped for cutting

MCR-320 & Bench PSU

Hot-Swap SATA Enclosure taken apart to change out fan(on it's way)

Starting to wire the S-Flex fans for the RAD

Okay, that's enough torturing you with the terrible image quality. Sorry about that!!!
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I'm calling the project "Improvision" because I really need help with ideas from you folks. I'm just guessing right now, but I'll probably end up taking your ideas and improvising because of my lack of experience(and proper tools). I'm not expecting a show winner or anything like that. Frankly, I don't plan on painting it (maybe later). I just want the experience of doing this and learning lots!

Personally the way I'm feeling right now is that I want to just get the PC assembled & running and work on the asthetics over time.
As it stands now (pics will come) the top of the case is off of the frame with a rectangle opening cut in it for 2 fans. Mind you, it's horribly done as the 2 generic Dremel tools I own are incredibly inadequate for this job. Also, the nicely drawn out guide for the RAD opening is a big square opening as well. I got impatient & pulled out the cut-off attachment for my RotoZip.

I lack many proper tools, but I have the will to want to make this work! Any guidance/suggestions/assistance/do it for me would be very welcome

If all is said & down with the current case, I could also utilize the case that currently holds most of the parts mentioned and just start all over. I guess showing my hack-job on the current case would be best.
Existing Case:

 

[rsgunter]

Let's see some more pics man!

 

[OofC_S7v7N]

looks like this is pretty good, keep up the work.

 

[Indignity]

Okay, took some additional pics of my hack jobs & some of the inventory. This is pretty much as it stands today. From here on, I'm going to be asking you to help me along with this ... something is ferked up with my camera & I can't sort it .. Macro shots seem fine, just the general pics are flaky. Hopefully, from now on, the pictures will be acceptable.

Here's the opening I cut into the top

I'm coming back & cutting two circles with this nifty $14 attachment for my RotoZip

Stripped down case

Already cut a hole for the 24pin plug

Bottom Cut

Which I'm going to do over

Onto the inventory...A bunch of this stuff will go unused, I'm sure

I picked up 3 of these on clearance a while back, but I really don't like the amount of noise they make. The do push a hell of alot of air though.

Got two of these with the intention of making them a way to quickly reset the BIOS instead of moving jumpers. they are On-Off-Momentary switches.

This arrived today (Now I have to wait for the replacement fan to arrive that pushes a bit more air & is a little bit more quiet that it's stock fan) If you want to see a review of this, you can find it here: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/469/1/

I have quite a bit of misc stuff that I'm not even certain is going to make it into the case or just become something that sits in my basement that I'll find in 3 years & go "where the hell did this stuff come from?".

From here, I plan on redoing the bottom of the case & cutting better openings on the top for 2 fans. At that point, I think I'll be pretty much done with cutting/removing parts of the case & can start putting components in.

Please, if you have any ideas or suggestions for me, comment away. I need your ideas

 

[Arcygenical]

Woah Hoah!!!

Now THAT's an order!

Who makes that radiator grill out of acrylic (if I'm identifying it correctly).

Careful soldering to those switches... If you've ever worked with them before, you'll probably know how fast a 30w (or higher) iron can melt the side of the switch (about 4s)

/subbed btw, and thanks for the pimp in your OP*


*meet me out back in 15 to receive that 20$ I promised you haha*

 

[Indignity]

Woah Hoah!!!

Now THAT's an order!

Who makes that radiator grill out of acrylic (if I'm identifying it correctly).

Careful soldering to those switches... If you've ever worked with them before, you'll probably know how fast a 30w (or higher) iron can melt the side of the switch (about 4s)

/subbed btw, and thanks for the pimp in your OP*


*meet me out back in 15 to receive that 20$ I promised you haha*

I purchased that grill off a guy that made a bunch while he had axx to some type of machinery. I'm not really hip on using it as the holes don't really line up for the MCR320. If you're interested, shoot me a PM.

I just might not have to use that switch for the intention I set out to as this 650i board doesn't appear to have a CMOS jumper like all the other ASUS boards I've messed with.

As far as the pimp, you deserve it for the inspiration & answering some of my inquiries ... I'll take the $20 tho lol

 

[Indignity]

Alrighty!!!

Very small update here.

I semi-finished the new bottom to cover the canyon I cut in the case bottom.

And some other stuff arrived
Power Supply Tester I've been wanting for a while now:

SATA Enclosure Replacement fan

A little bling for the exterior

Everyone must have a pile of laptops imho

Actually, I posted a vehicle for my dad on Craigslist & just went & browsed around the computer listings & whammo, this is what I found:

There's actually a total of 33 in various stages of dis-repair. Obviously, this stuff will be my next project ... There's an old one that works off dual floppies in the brown briefcase if anyone is interested lol... The gal was apparently in no way going to do anything with this stuff as she gave me a nice 19" LCD that she said had some occasional vertical lines appear from time to time that I have yet to test. Yeah I made out in the deal for sure!!!!

Long weekend ahead, I might be able to take a few hours out & dedicate to making progress with this project.

 

[rsgunter]

Looking good so far! Keep up the good work!

I don't think you bought enough lasers, maybe you should get 10 or 12 more.

 

[Willsonman]

I too installed a switch for resetting my CMOS. I initially installed a momentary push-button along with the toggle as a precaution against my kid but I am glad I did because I end up bumping the toggle every now and then. Consider an extra precautionary button or a toggle with a cover.

 

[Indignity]

Great tip Willsonman!

Although, now I'm surprised that this board doesn't have the CMOS reset jumper on it. I haven't fired it up yet, but I'd have to assume it has something like a "last known good configuration" function.

Looking good so far! Keep up the good work!

I don't think you bought enough lasers, maybe you should get 10 or 12 more.

lol yeah, there's 3 different colors there & I wasn't sure which way I was going.. I also have some mirrors that I was going to incorporate that would have taken advantage of the lighting


Keep the comments/suggestions coming people & thank you!!!

 

[rsgunter]

Great tip Willsonman!

Although, now I'm surprised that this board doesn't have the CMOS reset jumper on it. I haven't fired it up yet, but I'd have to assume it has something like a "last known good configuration" function.



lol yeah, there's 3 different colors there & I wasn't sure which way I was going.. I also have some mirrors that I was going to incorporate that would have taken advantage of the lighting


Keep the comments/suggestions coming people & thank you!!!

Dude! I thought about doing that myself, I'll be excited to see how that turns out!

 

[WarMace]

I <3 centrifugal fans as well (cross flow) They are always loud, but their the best for narrow spaces.

 

[Indignity]

Dude! I thought about doing that myself, I'll be excited to see how that turns out!

They are actually convex mirrors & I've not totally thought it out yet.

I <3 centrifugal fans as well (cross flow) They are always loud, but their the best for narrow spaces.

Gotta agree, it's just they are too loud for my taste!

I'm thinking that I'll put up a "FT" post when I figure out everything I'm going to use to maybe get some additional items I'd benefit having for this box.

 

[Indignity]

A very small update & I'm need some help on ideas for the fan wiring.

I did a quick coat of a flat black primer on the inside of most of the case. I wasn't trying to be real accurate as I plan on at least 2-3 finish coats on the inside. That will remain a secret until I get a chance to try it out to see how it looks.

Painting the outside of the case is going to be put off for a long time. I'm going for something totally unique & the neighbor is a Professional at "IT", so I'm going to have him show me the technique on his bi-weekly returns from the job site he's at right now.

I've changed things up a bit & decided I could use the acrylic radiator grill in another capacity. I'm planning on adding a few white LEDs around the piece for bling.

These images are mainly just a call for help from you guys:

Counting all the fans I'll have on this, I'm hoping that a 3 dial rheo will be enough to control everything, but not certain.
Here's how I think it will be working:

3x120mm Fans for the RAD on #1
1x50mm Fan for the Northbridge on #2
1x60mm Fan for the RAM (RAMFan)on #2
2x80mm Fans for the back (exhaust)on #3
2x120mm Fans on Top (exhaust)on #3

I need to add in lighting, but i'll wait until I get the interior laid out before deciding on that, but there should be a number of LEDs/Laser/CCL to deal with.

I really need some suggestions now that I'm just about ready to get the components in the case!!! PLEASE!!!

 

[Jomanscool2]

Mod those rear fans to 92MM. I would suggest 120MM, but it looks like you only have room for 92.

 

[Indignity]

Yeah, good call on that, but you are right about the space (or lack of). I think I still have 3-4 extra 120mm fans.

....................................

2 ideas came into my head now that you brought that up;

This is just building a shroud to the size of the opening of a 120mm Fan... don't think I like this.

This one has the fan sort of cock-eye'd allowing it to fit in the space allowed for the 80mm fans. I would then build a shroud of acrylic.

 

[rsgunter]

looking fantastic bro! keep it up!

 

[filthysanchez]

Counting all the fans I'll have on this, I'm hoping that a 3 dial rheo will be enough to control everything, but not certain.
Here's how I think it will be working:

3x120mm Fans for the RAD on #1
1x50mm Fan for the Northbridge on #2
1x60mm Fan for the RAM (RAMFan)on #2
2x80mm Fans for the back (exhaust)on #3
2x120mm Fans on Top (exhaust)on #3

I need to add in lighting, but i'll wait until I get the interior laid out before deciding on that, but there should be a number of LEDs/Laser/CCL to deal with.

I really need some suggestions now that I'm just about ready to get the components in the case!!! PLEASE!!!

I'd use the board header to control northbridge speed, I'd hate to fry something because I didn't think to turn the fan up.

 

[RobotChild]

Just a word of warning about those acrylic feet:

They will scratch up a desk pretty well. I cut some circles of foam tape and put it on the bottom.

 

[Indignity]

I'd use the board header to control northbridge speed, I'd hate to fry something because I didn't think to turn the fan up.

Very good point, thank you!

Just a word of warning about those acrylic feet:

They will scratch up a desk pretty well. I cut some circles of foam tape and put it on the bottom.

Note taken! I might actually mount some casters on the bottom of the case for convienience sake.
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I'm really thinking about installing the DigitalDoc5 or the Ultra branded controller for the temperature monitoring abilities. Trouble is, I'm officially out of 5 1/4" external bays. I'd also like to be able to see the screen without bending over to look at it, which means a top mount maybe???
What do you guys think?

 

[Devilpup]

you can mod the front and rear fan holes to 92mm, that's what i did with a project i did a long time ago.

 

[stain.]

Suscribed.

That NB cooler looks vaguely familiar..