Project: TYPHOON (Stacker+ GTX480) **2010 REBUILD**

J

JonCl

Weaksauce
Joined
Apr 3, 2007
Messages
109
Worklog started Friday, April 06, 2007


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2010 REBUILD

This project is being rebuilt starting at post #164

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Well, here goes... post #1 at [H] is the start of a new worklog for my new workstation Typhoon. My current workstation Tornado was another project I did in mid 2005, but didn't document. This time, I'll be taking pictures along the way and will post them here. I hope you find it interesting!

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Project Criteria:
  1. Make it as quiet as possible, with maximum cooling.
  2. Squeeze in as many hard drives as possible to make one RAID 0 array and one large RAID 5 (or 6) array.
  3. Maximum hard drive cooling.
  4. Allow for decent overclock.
  5. 4GB RAM (probably need to run x64)
  6. Fit everything inside the case, if possible
Parts List:
Vendor List (no affiliation):
More to come...

Updates:
10-11-2007: Update parts list
04-26-2010: Update image link
04-30-2010: Start rebuild posts
 
Last edited:
I'm going to mount this huge radiator at the top of the case with 3 fans blowing out, and the 4th fan inverted and pulling air in from inside the top drive bay.

To cut the hole at the top, I'd like to use a CNC laser cutter, but since I don't have one of those, I resorted to a slightly different method. ;) First, masking tape went down to protect the top during the process. Then, a laser-printed template was glue to the masking tape with spray-on contact adhesive. The template was created in CAD, and for that I always use Pro/E because I happen to be vaguely familiar with it. ;) Since the template is of course larger than a letter-sized sheet of paper, it was printed to 3 sheets, and then aligned and taped together.

It's not visible in the picture, but the template also included outlines for the radiator, 80mm blow hole, and case edges (not visible in the images). These were used to align the template to the top, and to also provide a sanity check that the original measurements were good (in addition to measuring the prints with calipers to check the scale was 1:1).

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Next, it was time to cut it out! Here's the tools to be used...

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And the semi-finished product...

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While I was at it, I also cut the bottom rib out to clear the 135mm fan of the incoming Enermax Infiniti 720W power supply...

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Next, I'll be changing out the 92mm fan of the Supermicro SATA drive cages with 120mm Panaflos!...
 
Thank you for the comments!

I went for the GTX480 because of it's massive surface area and also just for the challenge of fitting it inside the case. The 480 rad basically then led me to the Stacker, which seamed like one of the few cases that could fit the rad plus everything else that's going in it.
 
I picked up two 92mm-120mm fan adapters to replace the stock 92mm fan on the Supermicro hard drive enclosures with a Panaflo FBA12G12U 120mm ultra high speed fan...

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The stock fan size is 92x38mm and probably does a good job of cooling the drives, but I'd like to hopefully get the same or better cooling with much less noise with the 120mm Panaflos:
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All that was needed is 4 holes and 6-32 bolts and nuts. It turns out that there's plenty of room for those nuts on the backside of the rear plate...
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Here's how it looks all assembled. The fans will eventually be driven by a Sunbeam Rheobus to keep them quiet.
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Next, it'll be time to paint the stacker!...
 
Is there a problem plugging in the SATA cables with the adapter, or do you have sufficient clearance?

Molex plugs don't look like any problem at all.
Good idea. I like it.
 
Wahoomcdaniel said:
Is there a problem plugging in the SATA cables with the adapter, or do you have sufficient clearance?

Molex plugs don't look like any problem at all.
Good idea. I like it.
Click to expand...

You're right, the molex plugs are no problem, and it turns out that neither are the SATA plugs!

Check out this pic of it from the side:

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The SATA plugs are barely visible from that angle. Looking at it squarely from the rear, the SATA plugs are nearly entirely covered by the fan hanging down over them. But the fan adapter gives about an inch of clearance over the plugs, so the cables end up laying right in that gap. Also, with two of these enclosures stacked, I think the gap between the fans is ~1/4". The only downside I've encountered is that all the cables have to be plugged in before the enclosures get slid into the case, which makes it interesting when spanning 3 multi-link cables among the two enclosures ;) (I'll have pics on that later). But other than that, it actually works out pretty nicely.
 
Emission, thank you for the suggestion! In this case, I'm sorta tied to using the multi-link cable that come with the RAID card (Areca 1231ML). I'll have pics of it soon.
 
Jab-Tech had them. I got them reactive blue for the heck of it :D. We'll see how they look under some UV case lights.

BTW, another update coming tonight...
 
Paint the Stacker day!

Here's the pics I took while painting the Stacker with a few comments among them.

The first thing I did was wet-sand the factory paint on the top with 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper:
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Strange how sanding it makes it green!...
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This paint took forever to dry!..
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First coat...
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After about 6 hours, I was finally able to touch it enough to move it...
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Before painting the rest, I picked up a faster drying paint. While I was at it, I picked up some clear to give it a final clear coat. These paints dried to the touch in around 45 minutes - much better!...

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Here's a picture with it all painted plus two coats of the clear. I started wet sanding the top for the final clear coat and noticed...
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The sanded surface looks familiar! Here's the windowed side panel for the case...
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The factory surface has a horizontal grain that gives it a brushed aluminum look...
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So I sanded the rest of the top in the same direction with the 320 grit wet/dry paper except this time left the paper dry...
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It actually matches better than the picture shows. The camera flash makes it look lighter than it really is...
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And finally, here it is all assembled again...
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Up next: prepare the GTX480 rad for mounting!... :D
 
Prep the GTX480 rad

I'm going to setup the radiator with the Yate Loon fans in a push/pull configuration, pulling air from the inside of the case and out the top. The inside (bottom) fans mounted up great using the supplied M40 screws, but the top screws would need to be longer to accomidate the fan + the case + the fan grill + insulation sandwiched between.

The radiator is constructed with threaded sheetmetal tabs to carry the fans. The tabs hang out over the radiator tubes with about a 3/16" gap in between. I definitely was not comfortable trying to mount the fans, grills, and entire radiator with screws from the top, at the risk of having an end of a screw go into the radiator! No thanks! ;) So instead, I decided a better way would be to mount the screw to the radiator, then secure the whole thing together from the top with a cap nut.

The hardware store (osh) didn't carry M40 screws long enough, and I didn't want to wait around (Olander probably has them but I didn't check), so I used a different screw that was long enough and available.

The 6-32 screw happens to very close in diameter and thread count as the M40 screw, and with the threaded hole in the radiator being only 2-3 threads deep, the 6-32 screwed into the M40 hole without a problem, and it was also very secure. A jamb nut was also tightened down to prevent the screw from turning into the radiator.

Here's how it looks with the screw and jamb nut in place...
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The barbs that came with the radiator fit without a problem except I could only get them hand tight before the o-ring would start to bulge out the side...
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I already had some plastic barbs I picked up from Petra's which seemed like they'd seal a lot better...
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Here they are screwed in place...
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Next, the underside of the top of the case has an extra thickness of sheetmetal at the back, which would cause the radiator to mount awkwardly. For a solution to that, I found some 1/4" thick rubber insulation that I'll eventually install to the top underside of the case, and that I'll also install around the perimeter of the fans at the top of the rad. The insulation will also force more air through the radiator and dampen any fan vibrations...
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Here's how it looks with the insulation in place...
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By the way, a hole punch works great to cut the screw holes in the insulation! :p
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Next, I'll be mounting the MCP655 pump... (don't know exactly where yet though)...
 
looks brilliant.. great attention to detail always helps in builds like this.

welcome to [H], best of luck!
 
Install the MCP655 Pump

I choose to install the pump screwed to the stacker's bottom perforated vent cover, splitting the gap between the drive enclosure fans and the power supply (hasn't arrived yet). It turns out that by flipping the pump mount around, the motor of the pump fits just right in that gap between the bottom of the case and the bottom edge of the mother board surface, while the mount surface sits pretty much centered over the bottom vent...
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Next thing to do is figure out how to install the Swiftech mcres-micro reservoir which fits perfectly between the bottom fan and the side cover...
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I'd also like to figure out how to replace the plug at the top of the reservoir with a barb so the reservoir could be filled from a fill port at the top of the case without having to open it up. I'll post what I find in the next update. Stay tuned!... :)
 
Whoohoo! I found a fitting that fits the top of the Swiftech micro res without having to re-tap it!! :D And it's got a wide and flat shoulder for the o-ring to press into.

Here it is...
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And an o-ring that fits...
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And here's how it looks assembled...
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I think it will seal well too...
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Now my plan is to mount a Danger Den fill port at the top of the case. But for the next update, I'll show how I'm going to mount it...
 
lol you do know you coulda just used the swiftech barb...its the same fitting as the cap and all swiftech barbs. probably looks a lot nice too than that nylon barb.
 
Yeah, that's what I thought I'd do - just replace the plug with another swiftech barb. But to my surprise, it's a different thread! :eek: I agree, it's not the prettiest solution, but if I can hook a fill port to it, I'll take it.
 
Ok, here's how I'm mounting the res to the case.

I used these parts from the hardware store: 3/8" lined clamps, 1/2"x1" nylon spacers, and 8-32 flathead screws with nylon lock nuts...
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Here's how it looks assembled...
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The ends of the clamps where dremeled off to form a hook. Here's how it looks assembled to the case...
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The reservoir snaps into the hooks and can be easily taken out and moved out of the way if needed...
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The reservoir barely fits. With the side door in place, there's only about 1/16" total gap between the bottom fan, res, and inside face of the side door...
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A couple things that I see could be a problem. First, the hooks are a little too flimsy to hold up for very long I think. But the problem with a thicker hook is that there's only about 1/16" of an inch between the nylon spacer and the side of the res. The second problem is that it's not going to be easy to route a tube from the bottom barb to the pump intake without it kinking.

Anyway, for now I'll put those problems aside, and wire up the fans on the radiator, then mount it up!...
 
Perhaps if you moved it up 2 or 3 inches to alleviate the tight tubing bend and then set up something like ones of the designs below...

The one on the right would use the existing upper hook as the new lower one, and then use a "hook" that actually closes at the top and can be screwed down, making it much stronger. The screw would sit high enough to be unscrewed of course, much higher than the current one.

The one on the right just does the same as on the left, but with only one large hook.... this one may hang a bit loose though, but possibly the back of the lower portion could be screwed down too.

Finally, the third image (lower middle) is an idea to replace the one on the right with a "clip" kind of setup in which no screw is needed at the top. Instead you just use your thumb to pull back on the release and then the angled part pops free and straightens out. Then when you push the angled part back in under the release it holds it tight again. You would need a kind of "springy" metal for this though.. Not even sure how they make these kind of clips, but I know I have used them before on some server hardware (though not in this exact shape).

possibility.JPG
 
arentol, thank you for the ideas! Those diagrams sure help a lot too.

The clips I've got on there are definitely going to be too weak. I was trying to fit a hose in there between the pump and rad and just from me tugging on it, the clips bend away slightly from the case, but just enough that they have to be bent back into place! Eeek! Pretty soon I think they'll break off from metal fatigue :(. Oh well, no big deal. I'll have a look around and see if I can find some longer/stronger material to use instead.
 
Or use some kind of material with a snap fastener on it to hold it closed.

Would depend on how heavy it gets though i suppose. Don't want them to snap open! :D
 
Use an elbow! The kink is probably inevitable, even thicker tubing will face serious cramps. I see an elbow as being the easiest way to handle the bend.
 
bsoltan said:
Or use some kind of material with a snap fastener on it to hold it closed.

Would depend on how heavy it gets though i suppose. Don't want them to snap open! :D
Click to expand...

The snaps are a good idea. I think it needs to "press fit" in there, which was my original intent, but the metal clips I've in there don't provide enough spring force.
 
Emission said:
Use an elbow! The kink is probably inevitable, even thicker tubing will face serious cramps. I see an elbow as being the easiest way to handle the bend.
Click to expand...

Is there any problem with the flow to use one of these in place of an elbow?

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I'm thinking to use the third leg for a drain. Would it still flow properly or would it cause a lot of pressure drop between the res and pump intake?
 
Well, a 1/2" primoflex tube between the res and pump just isn't goint to work in this case. There's just not enough horizontal distance to make the turn without a horrible kink in the hose (not to mention the clips definitely do not hold the res rigid enough with the hose connected, but I've got a solution for that which I'll post soon ;) ).

The hardware store only had the brass tee, so I thought I'd give it a try...
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And here's how it all looks installed at the bottom of the case (including a shiny new Enermax Infinity 720W PSU!)...
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I think this would be a good place for a drain, which is the reasoning behind the tee instead of an elbow...
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The drain plug I like, but I'm not terribly happy with the misalignment which causes the res to sit crooked in the clips. If the tee can be brought in closer to the res, then I think things would line up better.The ideal solution would be a tee fitting that screwed directly into the res. Or, the pump could move towards the psu, but there's not very much room to go that way either.

At the store, I also picked up one of these with an idea of a way to screw it directly into the res! We'll see if it works or not...
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But before I do that, I've got the res wired up and will post pics of it mounted shortly...
 
Here's the GTX480 wired and ready to install...
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All these wires hide behind the rad. The rad fans will use two rheobus channels which will plug into the two molex plugs pointing down. The front plug connects the 4 bottom fans, and the rear plug connects the 3 top fans...
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And here's how it looks mounted in the case! :D The front of the rad leaves about a 2" gap in the front of the case. hmmm, maybe I could put a switch panel right there in the second bay...
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The Danger Den fill port connects directly to the swiftech micro res...
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Here it is from the top (pic taken just after a fresh work bench cleaning, LOL)...
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The front rad fan will pull fresh air through the top bay and down through the rad into the case, and then probably out again through the fan behind it...
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By the way, I'm really impressed with how quiet the fans are, even at a full 12 volts! Plus, using the back-of-the-hand test, they push/pull a decent amount of air through the rad, so I think the cooling performance should be very good too.

Next update will be adding the waterblocks to the EVGA 680i mobo...
 
this looks fantastic dude, I love the work you did with the rad. Im very impressed :)
 
I'd say your newer elbow solution, if it fits, will have more success in that area, but I'm glad you're thinking in the right direction :) . If I had more $$$ to blow I'd probably do something like this :cool: .
 
@ FrEaKy, thanks!

@ Emission, the pump can move to the right, but then it's even more misaligned. The closer the tee can be to the res the better, I think.

Question: what about having a drain right there beteen the res and pump? Is that a good place to put one, or do I need one at all?
 
Mobo is here! I also had all the water blocks for it and my older Quadro FX 4400, so I mounted everything up and took some pics. Not everything went together "out-of-the-box" but here they are...

I'm using a Swiftech Apogee GT cpu block, a Danger Den 680i chipset block for the north bridge, and a Swiftech MCW30 for the southbridge...
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Nvidia did a good job placing the south bridge between the pcie slots instead of right in line with one of them. This way, a normal chipset cooler has a chance to be installed. More on that in a moment...
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There's a QX6700 under there... :D
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I'm going to stick with this Quadro FX 4400 until I can find a newer Quadro for cheap. It'll be cooled by a Swiftech MCW60 gpu block and extra Zalman ramsinks...
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I liked the backplate from the Artic Cooling NV Silencer better than Swiftech's backplate...
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Here's where I had a bit of fiddling to do in order to get the south bridge cooler to play nice with the graphics card. There's enough room (barely) for the Swiftech MCW30 and graphics card to fit, but take a look at that top screw. It's right in the path of the edge of the card! So I cut down one of the screws and mounted them upside down! ;) ...
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And here's how it looks on the back of the mobo. It happens to be that the stacker mobo standoffs are just longer than the height of those screw heads! :D...
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I also used the beefy Zalman CNPS7700 backplate I had left over from a different project...
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All mounted in the case...
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The next update will be about this guy. What the heck is a pneumatic fitting on there for?!!? ;) Take a guess, I dare you. :)
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Those reservoir clips where bothering me, so I worked on a solution for a bit and came up with these...
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It's the same basic concept, except the clip material is a lot thicker (and stronger). It's 1/8"x3/4" aluminum stock...
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bent over a 1/2" drill bit in a vise...
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Half-way through the bend, a vise grip was used to force the aluminum over the drill bit...
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Here's how they look mounted on the case. The clips ends where ground to fit between the nylon spacer and flat against the res...
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The res still "snaps" into the clips, except now it's held much more rigidly than those other flimsy clips...
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In that last pic, you can see I removed the pump. I'm working on a different way to mount it that will provide better alignment with the reservoir.

One step at a time and I'll eventually get there, *sigh*... :rolleyes:
 
The pneumatic fitting on the brass tee is a...
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tooling for my pseudo lathe! :) ...
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With the drill press on a low speed and a flat file...
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The result is a nice, flat surface for the o-ring...
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Next are the threads, which come from the same fitting that came with in reservoir kit...
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These are straight threads going into a taper hole, so it's not ideal, but I think will seal very well anyway. Besides, there's going to be an o-ring against the brass fitting anyway, so I think there shouldn't be a problem. I put a few wraps of thread tape on there just in case...
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Now we don't need the barb anymore, so we're left with a brass tee fitting that screws directly into the Swiftech micro res! :) ...
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It should seal just fine I think. There's just enough threads to fully screw into the res...
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Ready for installation...
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Installed!..
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I'm cooking up a new pump mount which will be the next update...
 
I love your pseudo lathe, very creative! I would like to see you polish those reservoir clips to a mirror finish, they look very nice.
 
warmace, thank you. I agree, the clips would look a lot better polished. What's the best way to polish them?
 
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