TJ09 Hybrid Scratch Build

[staradderdragoon]

Hey guys,

This is technically my 3rd round of modifying my precious TJ09 but let's just say this is my first "true" case mod. I started a worklog on this same case previously here but the vision for it has changed so much that I decided to create a new thread. Like the title says, this is a hybrid scratch build. I'll be keeping the outside panels, and some of the structure pieces, but i'll be recreating almost all of the internals.

here's what it used to look like (first mod):
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.ne...45318031261_503211260_9309042_916493588_o.jpg

As you can see, the motherboard tray was painted black and some cables were badly sleeved. yes, that is a HD4870 + 8800GT you're seeing there. ATI + physX

after that, i decided to individually sleeve all the cables using MDPC-X sleeving:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.ne...45321196261_503211260_9309091_199854313_o.jpg

I upgraded my parts at this point. i also replaced the top mesh with this laser cut piece of acrylic

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.ne...45321531261_503211260_9309095_956288427_o.jpg

put a little MDPC bling there haha. i really liked the serpentine grill Charles made but it was for the TJ07 only.

this was in aug '11.

Fast forward to February 2012, someone on another forum listed his total for a WC loop which got me thinking about upgrading to liquid cooling as well. I started doing some research and pricing and figured I'd suck it up and go for it. My original hesitation was the lack of funds and that my TRUE was good enough. Now that I've graduated and am now working, something like this is pretty affordable. The problem I encountered though was: how am I going to fit these new parts in my case? Previous TJ09 owners always put their rad, or one of their rads at the top where the mesh was. I thought this was kinda ugly and plus I already milled out the top panel to fit that window. After some thinking, I found that I had enough space to stick a 360 rad vertically in the middle of the case (you'll have to wait to see how I plan the airflow for this setup). After staring at the new Murderbox MKII, I pondered the idea of inverting the motherboard tray for better tubing management:

im pretty sure that's the only inverted TJ09 ever. at least I've never found one. Well i messed around with the cable management and was like, this blows (not that the TJ09 had good cable management to begin with). thus I decided to create a new motherboard tray to allow for better cable management. from there, my mind went crazy and thus decided to add a number of features into the case resulting in this hybrid scratch build. i'll let pics do the talking:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.ne...5337356261_503211260_9309146_1618453071_o.jpg

you can see that there are 2 layers for the motherboard tray. my goal with this was to NOT have cable management holes with those ugly rubber grommets showing. i think this solves that issue.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.ne...5337381261_503211260_9309147_1770671667_o.jpg

here you can see the grill for the vertical radiator as well as my placement of the reservoir in the original HDD bay. i have moved the HDDs/SSDs up to the top where I plan to implement a sort of tray less hot swap system. haven't totally figured out the details of that yet.

and here are pics of my current temporary setup:

and finally, for those wondering, here's the components list:
CPU: Intel Core i7 2600k
Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV Extreme
GPU: EVGA GTX570
RAM: Elpida DDR3-1333
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB + Samsung F3 1TB + random Maxtor 750GB
PSU: Silverstone ST75F-P
Case: Silverstone TJ09-BW

for the liquid cooling, here's what i've decided on and purchased:
CPU Block: Aqua Computer Kryos XT
Pump: Swiftech MCP35x
Radiator: Swiftech MCR320-XP
Reservoir: EK Multioption 150 Basic
Coolant: Distilled + Silver
Tubing: Primochill LRT 7/16ID 5/8OD
Fittings: Bitspower Black Sparkle Compression + Bitspower Matte Black Rotary

as far as fans are concerned, i currently have 2 scythe s-flex E, 1 s-flex F, 1 gentle typhoon AP-14, and 2 gelid wing 12 gamer UV blues. I'm gonna test these out before deciding if I want to buy more GT AP-14s.

thanks for reading!

 

[staradderdragoon]

so im too tired to make a full update tonight as i only had 2 hrs of sleep yesterday. but i have enough energy to show you a sneak peak!

i got the rest of my setup in today and just had to do a leak test so i could quickly run some tests. problem is, i wasnt putting my stuff into my case so I had no where to mount my reservoir. well the engineer in me walked around my apartment and found a piece of scrap metal that i happened to have and i came up with this:

its ghetto LOL but it works!

everything is working fine right now! hopefully no leaks in the morning. also, i have two surprises for my setup. im not sure when they come in but it changes my design just a bit.

 

[staradderdragoon]

alright full update!

look what came in from germany!

this block is gorgeous. gotta hand it to the germans for their engineering (i still like my infiniti over bmws )

there were concerns that the kryos blocks were experiencing corrosion already due to some sort of plastic attached to the base for protection. for me, the block was vacuum sealed with no such thing.

all the equipment!

bitspower fittings (im gonna need more lol)

i showed my friend this picture and he was like what are all those black dots. at first i freaked out but then i realized those were bent pins. the structure is so small that idk how they machined this in the first place.

swapping out the stock O-ring for the thicker one. if the thicker one improves performance, then i dont know why they dont just make it stock

bye bye TRUE. you have served me well these past 4 years

so when i took off my heatsink, there was TIM all over the one side of the chip and oozing almost into the socket. like 1/4 of the chip didnt even have any TIM. idk how my chip was functioning before but my temp were all reasonable. anyhow, after like 30 minutes of cleaning, its nice and clean again

and now it time to setup the equipment for leak test!

 

[staradderdragoon]

update continued:

so i had read that the mounting system for the kryos was a pain and boy, was it a PAIN. four of these suckers composed of a screw, two washers, and the hex thingy....

gosh that's sexy. i think i made the right choice going with black sparkle over matte black. i think the compression looks nice. or would barbs be better?

everything has been hooked up ready for leak testing

so the layout i envisioned ended up working pretty well. this is how it'll end up in my case (the res and pump will be in the same plane as the other components obv)

it works!

one thing i learned: the MCP35X is one powerful sucker. i left the delrin cap off the res so i could just fill it without a funnel, and when i was toggling the pump, it would just shoot water out LOL.

this rad will be temporary as i have a new one coming in and an aquaero 5 (thanks a bunch to OCN user longroadtrip). i'll be running some tests with different fans just to get an idea of temps.

i did turn on my computer for a little bit last night just to get an idea of temps and we're looking at 47,54,50,51 with intel burn test 4.5GHz@1.275V. not bad considering my TRUE used to get like 70-75 across at the same settings.

after that, i continued the leak test overnight and all the fittings were dry (i wrapped them with tissue). so i think im good to go!

 

[staradderdragoon]

here's a quick update. so remember that surprise i was talking about that would require some slight design changes?

well HERE IT IS:

what is it???

airplex modularity system?? wha???

what a minute.....this doesnt look like an airplex blah blah blah.....lets open this

ooooo aquaero 5 pro with all accessories!

ok back to the airplex....

lets see...what does it say??

ohhhhhh its an AMS360!

that is one sexy rad....get the side panels powdercoated black??

just a quick aquaero test. so water temp is 25.7C. core temp is about 31. decent deltaT.

i must say that i originally did not intend to incorporate these specific components, as they totally destroyed and disregarded my budget LOL but I think it'll be worth it in the end!
stay tuned for the next update!

 

[akg102]

Clean looking setup you have.

 

[staradderdragoon]

as promised, more pics:

The edge is just slightly wavy. Like barely. Idk how to clamp it down anymore than it already is. Maybe the small files will work some magic!

Also got new RAM! First time I've ever had to actually buy RAM as I always got it for free

Low profile RAM and black PCB? Interesting...

Old vs. New. Elpida vs Samsung...I think we know the victor :/

This will be interesting to look back on. Goes into my box of old computer collectors items (right now it just has a Pentium IV, and a 7900GX2 LOL)

Looks better than I imagined. Thats good!

Close up

 

[staradderdragoon]

So the issue was that I didn't clamp the guides tight enough. Or more that I used the wrong clamps. The cuts I made today were much better. No filing needed! I did go back and do a rough file on the other cuts so now they're flat and nice though. I havent had time to go get the small files and file card cause I've been pretty busy with work and getting home later than normal. Anyhow, here are some new pics:

 

[staradderdragoon]

Alright guys, decent sized update. I've finished cutting the panels for the main area. I just ordered screws and standoffs so I hope to assembly by this weekend.

U channel epoxied. Looks like the strength is there

Cleaned it up a bit. This part will be covered by the backplate anyways so I'm not too concerned.

Mock mobo tray

Temp setup using tape. Added the mobo rails

Added backside plate; this will serve as additional support for the rails

Added radiator grill piece. I'm seriously considering getting this cut by a waterjet. If i screw up this part, I'm just gonna end up raging so hard I might drop kick the whole project LOL

As you can see, it's a pretty tight fit. I still need to cut into the front supports

View of backside

One thing I totally forgot was the window at the top. Luckily, it just barely fits. Once I cut into the front supports, I'll have a little more room

I also already went through one blade (with lubrication too!). That .125" aluminum just eats it up. I'm so glad I bought a 7amp jigsaw instead of a 4amp one though. I can't even imagine how much longer it would take.

Comments appreciated as always!

 

[Cdirn]

looking good there, an yea i bet it would take a hell of lot longer lol. an is that gundam models i see what models you packing?

 

[staradderdragoon]

Thanks! Yeah they're Gundam models. nice eye! The two right there are a MG Freedom and a PG Strike Freedom. I have a couple of HGs sitting in the closet. As you can see, the PG is hardly finished due to this project taking over. I should be done with the PG but I'm doing a custom paint job.

 

[OofC_S7v7N]

As a Silverstone fan boy, i like what you are doing. Keep up the good work!

 

[staradderdragoon]

As a Silverstone fan boy, i like what you are doing. Keep up the good work!

Thanks! That means a lot especially cause I'm not modding the ever popular TJ07. As far as I know, the mods I plan to do have never been done on a TJ09 before!

I got some more parts in today and started to do a mock assembly of the mobo tray as I wasn't sure if my idea would work. I'm not done yet but I've been pretty busy at work so I'm exhausted when I get home. I wont be working on the project until next week as I have a busy weekend. Here are some pics to keep you guys happy:

Yay for countersunk screws

As you can see here, I decided to try using standoffs instead of tapping the channel as I was afraid the channel would be too thin. Looks like it works! I'll have to permanently fixate the standoffs to the channel

I'm so glad the motherboard tray is a perfect fit with the rails.

Until next week!

 

[staradderdragoon]

small update! I was pretty busy last week and I left my camera at home but here are some more pics:

mobo tray almost done! The standoffs don't align perfectly but I think it should be fine :/ I was waiting to pick up this old mobo (I think it's dead lol) before doing the standoffs

For those wondering about the airflow: front bottom stock structure cut for airflow. I'll be putting a grill in front and probably cover the cut with rubber u channel. I still need to clean it up though.

Made some cuts into the front top stock structure. I stopped cause the cutting disc wore out. I just got more discs though. This should give you an idea of what I plan on doing for storage though.

Bought this recently. Yay for organization!

Bottom contains my WC stuff

as always, comments and thoughts appreciated

 

[staradderdragoon]

alright small update guys. I had to cut a portion of the rails to accomodate the PCI bracket. I ended up not liking the cuts and decided to redo the rails.

Here I've cut the slots in the rails for cable management. Took LOTS of filing but I'm satisfied with the results.

I've also started filling up the screw holes in the support structure that were used for the original design. I'll show pics when I'm done as there are a lot of holes to fill. I had considered just getting flat bar to replace these but I decided that it would take it away from the whole factory look. After powdercoating, you won't be able to even tell the holes were there.

 

[staradderdragoon]

alright small update guys:

rails are screwed in! you can see how i plan on routing the cables easier

what cables? there are no cables!

cables remain in the rails when you take the mobo tray out

here you can see i filled up some of the old screw holes. these will disappear after powdercoating

 

[staradderdragoon]

alright guys. one more:

Getting stuff cold welded. thank God I bought so many clamps!

I'm cold welding a right angle piece to the back radiator panel because the panel is flexing. I'm wondering if it has to do with the size or cause it's 6061. Kind of annoying though. The 5052 sheets for the mobo tray never had this issue. Luckily the 6063 is super stiff so it serves as a good brace.

Cold welding the inner vertical support. I finished tapping the holes for the supports! The mobo tray is ALMOST done

yay for countersunk screws

I took for granted how long it took to cut 1/16" aluminum with the dremel. The right angle piece was 1/8". I can't even imagine how long it would take to cut this T__T. Can anyone guess as to what this piece will be used for??

Bought this over the weekend. Saves me a ton of time in roughing up the surface for the epoxy.

I spent most of last 2 days cleaning up this piece. I wonder what those slots will be used for.....I still have some filing to do to get the radiator panel to fit right. There's like .05" of aluminum that's preventing the panel from fitting perfectly.

These rails will be used to support the midplate whether I chose a standard midplate or the sLight mod.

I must say. I'm quite proud of myself for how far I've gotten with the limited tools/space I have. My apartment is TINY and the balcony on which I work on is even smaller. I wish I had the work space that some of you guys have. Till the next update!

 

[mannyman]

You should be proud, This is impressive. Also gundams

 

[staradderdragoon]

@mannyman
thanks! haha i need to finish that perfect grade!

small update guys. the past couple of days, I would just pass out after work until the next morning LOL.

mobo tray almost done!

I was having difficulty trying to figure out how to secure the PCI bracket to the back plate and found these standoffs that I could use

Woot, no rivets!

I just got this wire stripper. It's AMAZING. No adjusting by gauge needed. It automatically adjusts to the gauge and strips perfectly

Im debating if I should try and cut the hole out for the PCI bracket myself or get it professionally cut. I have some other cuts in the back plate that I plan on getting someone else to do so idk if I should just get it done all at once.

 

[mannyman]

Get it all done at once, Im sure you could do it too.

 

[staradderdragoon]

@mannyman
I decided to try part of it myself. I'm definitely leaving the more complicated parts to the water jet guy hahaha

anyhow...small update before the weekend:
I have lots of stock left! Which made me realize I have a lot of work left to do T__T

Backplate cut for PCI bracket

The cut was kind of rough :/ Means I've got a TON of filing to do....or maybe I can get the water jet guy to clean it up when he cuts the other part of the plate

Mock setup. Radiator isn't fully elevated yet but just to get an idea

Front view of mock setup. If you notice, I'm keeping the roots of what made the TJ09 unique in cooling properties.

I decided to cut the bottom portion of the radiator grill off. In the end, I didn't think it needed to go all the way to the bottom. Plus it helps with fitting issues as I was STILL unable to file it enough to make it fit.

Backside of mock setup

Thanks guys!

 

[staradderdragoon]

Awwww right. So check this out:

Modded Aquaero heatsink

IT FITS NOW

Just to show what kind of clearance I was talking about

Bought this Sunday, already delivered from Korea! 27" S-IPS 2560x1440

That's it for now.

 

[mannyman]

Oh shiny BX8a's also a nice monitor and even if its all rough right now that case is beautiful.

 

[staradderdragoon]

Alright guys, small update kind of...I'm cutting all the panels so that I can get them to a water jet cutter. Which means I also need to get back to work on finalized the CAD files so I can get a quote.

Decided to go forward in making the other radiator panel

Midplate support for radiator. At first it was just a rectangular piece then I forgot that I had to accommodate the angle so I cut 2 notches in the corner.

Also cut the top and bottom piece for the radiator area. Did a preliminary cut for the front piece of the radiator area. Haven't decided on final height yet or if I want to install lighting from that area to illuminate the radiator area. Thoughts?

Radiator midplate fits perfectly!

As always, comments appreciated!

 

[staradderdragoon]

So today was definitely not a good day for me....lots of screw ups. I'll have to redo most of today's work T__T. Anyhow, I was able to make do with what I got and it was something I came up last minute so that I could get the exact radiator placement so I know the exact amount of space I have to mess with for the drive cage.

Midplate for radiator support done! The left support needs to be redone....as well as the angle piece on the right....

Other radiator side panel put in place

Radiator is centered at least....

Pass through from front to back. Tubing from res to pump will go through here.

I've been getting home late from work and trying to rush I guess....ah well. That's all for now!

 

[mannyman]

Looks good, Don't rush take your time, Its better for you that way.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Looks good! Very nice photography. Subscribed.

 

[Arcygenical]

This is looking really nice. I quite love the way everything fits together, almost like it was tailored to the case.

 

[staradderdragoon]

thanks for the comments guys!

@arcygenical
that was my intent so I'm glad it looks that way to other people besides me hahaha

so my internet died last night (WHILE I WAS PLAYING D3 >:[) so here are the updates:

Other radiator panel mounted! In the process of screwing the panel in, I somehow "broke" the midplate support. This works into my advantage cause I need to cut a portion of the legs to make it level again :/

I also started to work on the front structure that I cut previously. Well that's one way to clean up the cuts lol

Countersunk screws?

NOPE. They're epoxied cause the holes don't line up perfectly. After painting, wont even be able to tell.

That's it for now. Progress will be slow this week cause of D3 (lvl 15 demon hunter!)

 

[r0b0tc0rpse]

Very nice, but I must say, why bother even starting with a case?