Project: Rogue (NZXT SFF)

Been following this one a while, but first post - Awesome job, craigbru :D

...now I'm starting to think a TEC is maybe worth the hassle.
 
HaxEJxuK said:
This got to be meant for you craigbru. :D:Dhttp://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1320854...
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Beat me to the punch hax... I saw this and immediately thought, 'Craig needs to enter his Rogue and put all the other contestants to shame.'

This is part of the judging criteria, emphasis mine...
* Technical merit. Creative placement of parts and "outside-the-box" changes you have made to existing components or your case that are likely to have a positive effect on performance and/or that make for more efficient use of the space you have to work with.
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Milkman said:
Sorry im a little late to the thread! I wasn't even aware of this project until it walked in my front door! Thanks Craigbru for coming to my LAN and bringing that awesome case with ya. Very VERY cool. Here are the better case pics from the LAN, temps picture was half way through the day of gaming if i remember correctly. Special thanks to dagger for taking the pictures because i forgot my camera.

*pic snip*

Hopefully posting this doesn't kill my poor little webhost. :)
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Thanks Milkman! We were glad to come up, and we plan on being there again next year. Hopefully you can get another event going in the winter.

Living Weapon said:
Been following this one a while, but first post - Awesome job, craigbru :D

...now I'm starting to think a TEC is maybe worth the hassle.
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Thanks man! Running TEC on this rig was really no harder than regular watercooling. Just make sure you insulate against condensation... and watch those temps drop!

HaxEJxuK said:
This got to be meant for you craigbru. :D:Dhttp://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1320854

You take glory of winning contest, hand me all the parts and money. :D:D:D:D:D:D
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SexTreX said:
Beat me to the punch hax... I saw this and immediately thought, 'Craig needs to enter his Rogue and put all the other contestants to shame.'

This is part of the judging criteria, emphasis mine...
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I would love to go to this! Not sure I could pull it off though... I will have just gotten back from my wedding and honeymoon in Mexico.
 
craigbru said:
I would love to go to this! Not sure I could pull it off though... I will have just gotten back from my wedding and honeymoon in Mexico.
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Make the effort. I have a group going (rows C1-C2) and it would be great to hang out.
 
craigbru said:
If I can get things worked out, then yes. :D
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Meaning he'll basically clean the floor with everyone else's rigs... hehehe

I mean, the only way to cram anything else in that case would be filling the (few) open spaces with water (I know, not possible because of all the holes, but my guess is that is the only reason...:D:D)... When you start talking "milimeters" (or less) when referring to clearances, you know you're packing that much stuff into a place... Kudos for that, craig!

Btw, when I found out just how much stuff was being stuffed into that case, I remembered this mini-ITX project from a while back. I don't really remember anything IT-related being so space-efficient (though you still have a loooong way to go if you want to pack as much stuff in the trunk of a car as my father... lol)

In short, my congrats on that build, craig. Very inspiring, and so much of an eye candy it makes me drool. Keep it up!

Cheers.

Miguel
 
I've got just a small update for everyone... but it's not on the Rogue. My priority has been getting the basement livable, and this last week, I accomplished just that. The carpet has finally been put down, and the kids have already moved some things in to their rooms. I've got to put in the electrical outlets, finish the lighting, and install doors and trim yet, but that's pretty minor compared to what I've got done so far. So, how about a few pics?

First of all, I'll show you what the walls look like. All walls were hand textured, and then painted with a ragroll technique. It's not a true ragroll because of the way I applied it, but it's the exact effect I wanted. The combination of the wall texture, and the paint, give it a warm and slightly rustic look.

basement012jm6.jpg


Here is the family room, and a view down the hall.

basement001li0.jpg


basement007cj6.jpg


basement008vq1.jpg


Moving on down the hall, I have a shot of my soon-to-be stepson's room. Like a typical boy, he wanted something that looked like camouflage. This was about as close as i wanted to get him. The thought of repainting a few years down the road wasn't very appealing...

basement003mm8.jpg


Finally, at the end of the hall, is my daughter's room. She is moving down, from her room upstairs. That means we'll have an extra room upstairs. Since I'm already getting an office downstairs, the extra room will be turned into an exercise room for the moment.

basement005pn2.jpg


basement009jh7.jpg


With that out of the way, work will continue at a much faster rate on the Rogue. Granted, the basement still needs some work, including the addition of a new bathroom, but the rush is over, and the space can be used.

Speaking of the Rogue, I may have myself another deadline... this one is much bigger though... I'm talking about Nvision 2008 in San Jose. I'm currently trying to work some things out, so that I'll be able to attend. Time is an issue though. I leave for my wedding and honeymoon in about a month. Nvision would start literally 2 days after I get back. I'd be gone most of the week, and then have my wedding reception a few days after I get back. It's not impossible, but it's certainly less than ideal if I don't have everything planned beforehand. Wish me luck!
 
Any links to the painting technique you used? I really like it and would like to try it myself.
 
Trageta said:
Lighting in the room is already lookin' good Craig.
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Thanks! The lights are on dimmers of course. They'll go nice and low for watching TV.

lillimon04 said:
You should question craig! Haha jk. The rogue is looking great and so is the basement. But no fun room for yourself( home theater, gaming room) down there?
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Well, the family room will be a home theater room. Maybe not quite as much now, but it's all wired and ready to go. I just need some comfy seats and a projector. :D I am getting an office/gaming room down there as well. It will be in the room where I've been working on the Rogue. It will be one of the last things to get finished though.

Spare-Flair said:
Any links to the painting technique you used? I really like it and would like to try it myself.
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No links that I know of, although this is the roller I used. I thinned the paint down by about 1/3, so it would get translucent on the walls. I believe the texture of the walls themselves, are what make the painting technique work so well. The texture was applied by sponging drywall compound on the walls, allowing it to firm up a little, then using a 12" drywall knife to flatten the high spots. The combination of the ragroller, and the texture, make for a very unique effect.
 
Finally, I've got time to work on the Rogue! Tonight's update involves PCI-E cables... They're way to long, and in dire need of shortening. So, that's where we pick up...

The stock cables...

rogue346ha1.jpg


I've marked the desired cable length.

rogue347uz2.jpg


The first cut has been made. I cut around 40 cm off each cable.

rogue349rc7.jpg


The new connectors and pins...

rogue348is5.jpg


The first cable completed.

rogue350ev7.jpg


All 4 done!

rogue351fh2.jpg


The last project for the night, involved reversing the PSU fan. Why you ask? Well, a single 120 mm fan blowing air out of the case, stood little chance against the vacuum of the six San Ace's on top of the case. As you can see, the PSU was equipped with a San Ace of it's own. Instead of fighting against the other fans, the reversal will allow the fans to work together, while still keeping the PSU cool. Some may argue that I'm now blowing warm air from the PSU into the case, and it could have a negative effect on case and video card temps. I'm guessing that the sheer volume of air moving through this case will negate that. If the temps are seriously affected, I'll flip the PSU, so the fan is on top (thanks for the suggestion Ash).

rogue353lx6.jpg
 
those cables look so cool. I never worked with them as the sleeve looked like it would make it a pain.

Who do you order the molex pins from?

Beautiful job.
(nice idea on the PS fan)
 
Are those huge chokes on those cables necessary? Going to make them pretty chunky and hard to bend... well unless the PSU is in a good spot.

Keep up the good work, can't wait to see the finished machine!
 
Well, work continued on the Rogue last night, but if I were to take pictures of my 'progress', you would think I was crazy. The case now sits completely naked on my counter. Yep, the case is completely disassembled right now. In order to fix the problem with the USB hub, I had to get back under the motherboard tray. That pretty much meant everything had to come out anyway. I also needed to remove the front of the case to fix the non-working LED on the fan controller. While apart, I've decided to make a modification to the area above the PCI slots. Right now, getting video cards in and out, is a convoluted affair. A little dremel work can simplify the whole process. I know things are tight in this case, but I want it to be relatively easy to work on. I don't want to pull apart the entire case, just to swap a video card. After the dremel work, the case will get another shiny new coat of paint baked on.

After the paint, I'll start the reassembly. I've got a few changes in store there as well. The case wiring is getting modified and streamlined. I am doing away with almost all the spade connectors under the motherboard tray, and will be switching to terminal strips. This should clean up the clutter significantly. I am also switching to a 'flag' style spade connector for the switches on the rear of the case. This will take care of a few clearance problems, and make future maintenance much easier.

Other small changes include; adding a small fan to the chipset 'Circu-pipe' for better cooling while overclocked, adding aluminum spacer tubing to cover the fan bolts on top of the case, and wiring the front LCD in to the VIA's power (duh :duh:).

So, why is the above completely crazy? Well, I'm now officially heading to Nvision 2008 in San Jose, CA, at the end of August. It should be the premier of the completely finished Rogue. I'm leaving for Mexico on the 15th of August, so that leaves me less than a month to finish up every last detail on this case, and ship it to Johnny at NZXT before I leave. Oh, and in the meantime, I have to finalize all the wedding reception plans... Things are gonna get crazy around here!
 
markkleb said:
those cables look so cool. I never worked with them as the sleeve looked like it would make it a pain.

Who do you order the molex pins from?

Beautiful job.
(nice idea on the PS fan)
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Thanks Mark! The cables weren't so bad to work with, although the metal braiding makes it look like it would be.

The molex pins were ordered from Performance PC's.

colinstu said:
Are those huge chokes on those cables necessary? Going to make them pretty chunky and hard to bend... well unless the PSU is in a good spot.

Keep up the good work, can't wait to see the finished machine!
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The chokes aren't really necessary, but they aren't hurting anything either. I wouldn't really worry about them bending... After all, just 2 weeks ago, I had all 4 cables stuffed in the case at full length... If that'll fit, these should be cake.

Thanks!
 
craigbru said:
Well, I'm now officially heading to Nvision 2008 in San Jose, CA, at the end of August. It should be the premier of the completely finished Rogue. I'm leaving for Mexico on the 15th of August, so that leaves me less than a month to finish up every last detail on this case, and ship it to Johnny at NZXT before I leave. Oh, and in the meantime, I have to finalize all the wedding reception plans... Things are gonna get crazy around here!
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Why not push the wedding back? Haha just kidding. But I hope everything turns out ok for you. Does seem like lots of stuff! Good luck with the wedding, Is it in mexico? Nicely done.

Also why ship to NZXT?
 
markkleb said:
By the way I wish you and the soon to be Mrs. Modder good Luck with the wedding thing.
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Thanks Mark. I'm marrying a very patient and understanding woman... :D

lillimon04 said:
Why not push the wedding back? Haha just kidding. But I hope everything turns out ok for you. Does seem like lots of stuff! Good luck with the wedding, Is it in mexico? Nicely done.

Also why ship to NZXT?
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Yeah, I'm sure pushing back the wedding would go over well! ;) The wedding is in Riviera Maya. We're doing the wedding and honeymoon all in one shot. Nothing fancy, just the two of us in a little gazebo by the ocean. Beats the heck out of an old-fashioned church wedding!

I need to get the Rogue to California. I really don't want to fly with it, and I'm not sure how else to get it there. That's one piece of luggage I can't lose!
 
craigbru said:
Yeah, I'm sure pushing back the wedding would go over well! ;) The wedding is in Riviera Maya. We're doing the wedding and honeymoon all in one shot. Nothing fancy, just the two of us in a little gazebo by the ocean. Beats the heck out of an old-fashioned church wedding!

I need to get the Rogue to California. I really don't want to fly with it, and I'm not sure how else to get it there. That's one piece of luggage I can't lose!
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Hey dude that better in everyway. Means more time together. Sounds great though, especially since its by the ocean. ( is there a beach? Or is it a cliff?)

Oh very true, Thats cool that they will do that for you!
 
lillimon04 said:
Hey dude that better in everyway. Means more time together. Sounds great though, especially since its by the ocean. ( is there a beach? Or is it a cliff?)

Oh very true, Thats cool that they will do that for you!
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Exactly. We'll just have a reception party when we get back. There is a beach, and we'll be right on it. Should be some great wedding pictures!

Yeah, assuming it works out. Due to scheduling issues, Johnny may not be able to bring it with him, although he'll be at the event... If that falls through, I'll need another idea...
 
craigbru said:
Exactly. We'll just have a reception party when we get back. There is a beach, and we'll be right on it. Should be some great wedding pictures!

Yeah, assuming it works out. Due to scheduling issues, Johnny may not be able to bring it with him, although he'll be at the event... If that falls through, I'll need another idea...
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Ya that will be some good pictures with that beach in the background. Maybe some funny ones if theres alot of wind(but hopefully not. :D;))

I think everyone in this thread hopes it goes through great! I hope he is able to take it, if not there will be an angry mob going after him!;)
 
lillimon04 said:
Why not push the wedding back?
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My guess is probably because his soon-to-be wife would be doing a slightly different kind of "screwing" we've all seen her doing in this thread. Probably something including any or multiple of craig's body parts, a screwdriver (or hammer, for that matter :p) and plenty of screws/nails...

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself :eek:

The most likely reason, though, is that he actually loves his fiancée more than computers (as insane as that may sound... lol :p)

Good luck, craig! All the best for you and your family.

Cheers.

Miguel
 
i got to say i am in awe to your work! incredible mod! hope to follow with a mod myself this year. Will follow this thread to the end and hope for more to come!
 
Okay, who wants an update! Yeah, I know it's a small one, but at least I'm making progress! I've only got two weeks to get this think completely finished for Nvision, and there's no way I can miss this deadline! The rig will be running again tonight, and then I'm going to allow myself about a week to get the front door done. That will leave me a week to figure out how to pack this thing up for shipping...

So, I mentioned some rewiring...

It may not be a close up shot, but here you can see the previous switch/etc. wiring in the upper right hand corner.

rogue269th0.jpg


Here is the revised wiring.

rogue356vi5.jpg


Much cleaner, isn't it? Well, it's all due to the switch to these little flag style spade connectors.

rogue354qd6.jpg


Now, I'll let you in on a dirty little secret... this has to be my least favorite picture of the whole build. This is the revised wiring under the motherboard tray. It's still not as clean as I'd like, but I had to draw the line somewhere. Especially since this will never be seen, even during a hardware change.

rogue355po9.jpg


Finally, the last little update involves extra chipset cooling. The Circu-pipe does a decent job of cooling at stock speeds, but active cooling is always better for overclocking. So, where to put a fan? Other owners have added fans, but I've not seen this kind of placement on any of the MSI boards yet. A 40mm fan fits perfectly as shown in the pics below.

rogue357vt3.jpg


rogue358zy2.jpg


More coming soon!
 
Sir, you are a golden god.

All bow to the mighty craig! ;)

Any advice for TED cooling, I've never really looked into it, but I think TEC might be a good plan for Prometheus.
 
considering how much stuff you're fitting into that rogue, i don't think the hidden wiring looks too bad at all. good luck with packaging it for shipping -- make sure to insure it!
 
Langer said:
Sir, you are a golden god.

All bow to the mighty craig! ;)

Any advice for TED cooling, I've never really looked into it, but I think TEC might be a good plan for Prometheus.
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You're too kind! If I'm a golden god, does that make you a copper god? :p

As far as TEC advice goes, keep in mind it's not terribly efficient, but it's sure effective if you're running a large enough TEC. It's also much smaller and quieter than phase change (well, smaller if you were going to watercool anyway, which I know you are).

To cool with a peltier, you basically need one with a large enough wattage to handle cooling a hot chip. One rated at 437 watts like I have, is a pretty good start. It should handle almost all the heat you could currently throw at it. I'm running below -26 C right now. Then you need an auxiliary PSU. The 600 watt, 24 volt Meanwell unit I have is highly recommended. Keep in mind, you don't need a special CPU block either. The D-Tek you have would work. I would recommend sandwiching the peltier between the CPU block, and an additional copper block. Cold side down of course. Oh, and you're going to need to insulate around the block well. Condensation will kill ya. Rigid foam gaskets are the key. You'll also need to insulate under the block, on the back of the motherboard. Just to be safe, I hit my motherboard with conformal coating too. Well, I could go on and on... Just hit me up via email if you need more info.

dystopic said:
considering how much stuff you're fitting into that rogue, i don't think the hidden wiring looks too bad at all. good luck with packaging it for shipping -- make sure to insure it!
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Thanks man! It'll be insured! I think I'd cry of something happened to it...
 
I'm continually blown away by this project. It's everything I've ever wanted in a computer and more. If I ever win the lottery, I might comission you to build me something :D. Absolutely fantastic job, craigbru.
 
considering all the stuff packed in there I would say the wiring is pretty damn nice. I am "SO" looking forward to seeing it close up at Nvision:cool:
 
Ive been watching this since the beggining, posted a few times, but i had the urge to post again once i seen how much work goes into this thing!

That basement looks awesome too craig!

I really cant wait to see finished pics of this monster, i wish i had the money/skills to stuff a full ATX into a rouge thats for sure! very very nice cases!
 
Just wanted to say that because of your mod I've registered on this site. It is beautiful. I hope one day my modding skills will come close to yours!
 
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