Case Mod - In Progress Feeding Frenzy: November-11-2009 video card fan installed

As you recall from earlier on in this project I used some silicon fan gaskets that really work well, but the they were fugly white. That has just irked the heck out of me everytime I looked at my case. So I tried vinyl dye...nada. Then I tried a Dykem color pen...nada. Then I tried acrylic enamel...nada.

Then I went to the store and got some RIT dye...YES! So for today I have been patiently awaiting for the RIT dye to do it's thing for the last 12 hours. It takes a while to dye silicon.

Here are a few pics of what it was like before.







So here it is after being in the dye for about 12 hours.








As you recall I said I was going to take care of the fugly red/white/black wires at a later date. With the Acoustifan it is not really feasible to sleeve all the way to the motor as they glued in the wires to the wire channel. So the fix was a black Dykem pen.


Before:





After:



And here is what you get.




So now here is the rad/fan sub-assembly mounted back in to the case. Hey! What's that round looking thingy in the back of the case? See if you can guess what that is.





Here I turned up the brightness so you can see the gasket in a little better detail. Notice the white looking exudate? That is the salt coming back out of the silicon. After a few days I will wipe it off and rub some silicon oil back into the gasket.





And of course a little preview of what is coming down the line a bit.

 

Project: Feeding Frenzy



The old thread is located in the Archive section right here.

The new project thread is located here.

Let the mayhem begin

Hey I just found this way to make some $$ with this moneysink....ahh project.

 

If you go back a while into this project you will see that my Aquatube is mounted into the Aquabay in a pretty much normal manner as seen below.





Well now that is all going to change. J-Pepper sugegsted that I flip the Aquabay upside down, but at first look I didn't think it was going to work well due to some asthetic and mechanical issues. However, after giving it a lot of thought I decided there was a way to make this all happen and get some advantages out of the deal. So here is what the front of my Aquabay/Aquatube looks like now. As you can see the ports are now all vertical instead of sitting at a lopside angle. This does two things. The first is that now it is possible to have the intake of the pump at a much lower part of the Aquatube. Second of all the return line gets to go in a different spot. Guess where it will be?





This pic shows a little more detail of the front. No more Aqua Computer name and everything is nice and black. The only downside here is that the notch on the Aquatube no longer matches up with the notch in the Aquabay front plate. Normally this might prove to be a problem if you need to get into the plexi plate cover a lot. Fortunately in my case I am using a DD Fillport to fill and bleed the Aquatube. The plexi will probably never be taken off.

This is looking at the completed assembly from the bottom up (or the top if it were assembled in a conventional manner). You can just see the in-line temp probe coming down through the Aquabay right near the bottom of the Aquatube. One of the other asthetics was that I got to be able to put the silver/grey pump cover back on.





And of course the reason for doing this in the first place is that now the AquaStream pump has the name right side up.





As I said before my return line is in a different place now. In this configuration the water will be coming in from the top of the Aquatube. I expect to get some decent action from having the water streaming in vertically right in front of the plexi. Here you can see what this will look like. Now in many cases this would not be possible to do, but the V2000 case has about 1.5 inches from the top of the top 5 1/4" bay to the top of the case. So in this instance everything is copasetic. The T fitting holds the Aquaero temp sensor and the two top LED mounts will be for the Aquaero dual LED setup.






Here is another pic of what you would see if you were looking in from the middle of the case. Once I get it mounted in the case I will shoot some more pics so you can see some of the other advantaghes of doing it this way.





And finally here is a pic of the way it will sit in the case from the top view.





There is one slight problem with this setup. When you flip the Aquabay the nuts pressed in the Aquabay don't line up anymore with the case slots. So tomorrow I will be drilling some holes and tapping them.

 

Well the upside down Aquabay didn't work out well. The first problem is that the stainless they use to manufacture the Aquabay is really nasty on drill bits. It took 3 drills to punch one hole and I thought for sure I was going to bust the tap. So after getting one hole drilled and tapped I realized that the DD Fillport was going to be a problem as it just barely cleared the Aquastream housing. There just wasn't enough room to get a 3/8" ID tube on it and the only way I could move the Fillport was by scraping the case. So I guess the Eheim name will have to remain upside down.

However, I was able to keep the return line in pretty much the same place although canted off at about 15 degrees from the top of the Aquatube. I suppose I will now have to consider making a new Aquabay plate that would allow me to bolt up the Aquatube so the back holes are totally vertical. Not a total loss of time as I am still waiting on some AC parts that I need before I can continue on with running the tubing. Pic's to follow tomorrow.

The back 120mm AC grill is now at the machine shop and should be back in a few days. I am taking off .150 inch of the left and right sides and .100 inch off the top side. This will then allow me a really nice fit on the back of the case.


Here is a pic of what I described last night with the Aquatube side fittings sitting about 15 degrees off vertical. Nice place to have the return line from the GPU circuit as it allows for really good water action and that line stays relatively hidden from view.

 

Well I have been thinking about how I might go about changing the color of the optical drives. That basic grey just didn't make it for me and the carbon fibre look seemed pretty much the same blase to me. So I decided to do something different and covered my optical drives with very thin balck aluminum sheeting. I got the stuff at an art supply house and you can see the packaging below.




Here's what I started out with. Your basic DVD.





I used a tape dispenser that applies a thin film of dual sided sticky tape called a Mono Adhesive. The stuff I used was made by Tombow USA and the part number is A-45. IIRC the aluminum was about $7 for a 9" x 12" sheet and the stuff is difficult to work with so if you try this take it nice and easy. Mistakes are not easy to fix. Here you can see the first part of applying the aluminum to the DVD case.





Here you can see the top of the case done.





Here we are applying down the second side.





Here it is finished and looking down from the top of the case.





A view here from the window side of the case.





And the final pic shows what you see from the back window side of the case.





What you get in the end is a very nice look and a real sense of metal (because it is) and it actually blends in well with the rest of the case.

 

Well I am waiting on parts to show up hopefully by Wednesday. Got some G 1/8 valves, Mazzer tubing, Bulgin lighted switch, and some miscellaneous push-fits so I can finish my fill and bleed system along with my wiring.

I'm surprised that no one has asked why I called this project Feeding Frenzy. The name came to me one day when the subject of Aqua Computer products were being delivered into the USA. I seem to recall more than one person talking about the feeding frenzy that a new shipment of AC parts seemed to cause. Since this computer is almost 99.9% Aqua Computer I thought that would be a suitable name. There is also another reason, but I will leave that for another update when the side panel comes back from being watercut.

Didn't realize that there was really something called Feeding Frenzy, but just checked it out on Yahoo. That screenshot looks mighty tempting for the side of my case, but I will follow through with what I already got planned. However, I do like the "Frenzy" lettering. Hmmm....I wonder if they could use that font when they cut?

 

Hi guys and gals

Need some help here. Getting ready to start the plumbing of Feeding Frenzy and been thinking of making some changes. Here is what I have been thinking about:




The original plan was to run from the CPU to the NB and then back to the Aquatube. However, then I would have to put tubing up and over the VGA card and the ram with the return line coming down between the two ram modules to go though the middle case wall. Now I have been thinking of putting the NB on the GPU circuit as then I would have very little spaghetti running around in my case. All the top mounted stuff would be through the top rad , pump, reservoir. The way I have it in the pic it the CPU comes after the rad and then goes back though the middle case wall. This would leave me room to attach the MOSFET cooler to the CPU circuit as it is relatively free flowing.

 

Decided that with the heat dropping back into the 70-80's it was time to start modding again. So today I have some pics of my TwinPlex's that go on the NB and GPU's.

These pic's shows what I started out with a stock Aqua Computer block on both the bottom and sides.









And here is the after lapping pic on the bottom. I had originally done them to about 1000 grit a few pages back, but decided that a little bling never hurt anybody and lapped them up to about 3000 grit.





Of course my name being Top "bling" Nurse I figured that it wouldn't hurt anything to do the same on the sides of the blocks.

 

Well decided last night that if I was going to do quality work I needed some better quality tools to do things with.





Also thought you might like to see my treasure chest of watercooling fittings. I just hate it when I I don't have the right fitting to do the job I want to do. I figure what I don't use will either go into the next project or I will sell it off to some other AC modders.

 

New toyz have arrived!

Picked up an Aquastream off eBay and it included the straight fittings, Eheim G 1/8 adapters, 1.30 controller, pump feet, a FMJ, and a silver aluminum faceplate for only $41 USD. Got an Evo Airplex 240 and a matching AC grill as well for only $26 USD. Both items were never used. Other stuff from Sharka as well.





For those who don't know what a FMJ is here it is. It is a pump cover for the Aquastream or Eheim 1046 pump. It eliminates any chance of electrical interference brought on by use of an AC pump inside the case. Yes the Aquastream is really an alternating current pump that is run from a 12 Vdc source and is converted into a 9 Vac signal. This is how the Aquastream can be easily changed to increase or decrease the flow as they just increase or decrease the cycles per second basic electrical signal. If you paint it (coming soon) then you have a very nice looking mod as well.






Also got on this shipment an AC G 1/8 ball valve. Was originally planning on using these for part of my fill and bleed system, but since have decided to use them as part of a drain line for each of my three loops.





And last but not least this one is for all you Lian-Li V2000 owners. A perfect place for putting a BI Pro 120mm rad is in the middle compartment where the back exhaust fan is located. While it is easy to use an Evo grill to mount the rad it is a bit oversize for the area you have to work with and ends up looking a bit less asthetically pleasing. So the solution was to get the grill milled to a size that would look nice and fit nicely. It is pictured here laying on top of a stock AC grill.





Here it is on the back of my V2000 case as a trial fit. Now I have to work on getting the edges finished and rounding the corners a bit.








For those of you who would like to do this I machined off 0.150" of the right and left sides and 0.100" off the top to get a very close fit with a little bit of black case showing.

 

I have been trying to come up with a way to preserve my lapping *bling* job on the side of my copper waterblocks. Lots of stuff failed for one reason or another. The most promising was acrylic nail polish, but it dried to fast and was difficult to get a uniform thickness. However this led me to the Art Supply Warehouse not too far from my house. The staff here are really helpful for modders who are trying to "beautify" their boxes. Seems "beautify" is an art term for adding bling to your functional parts.

I also tried some Krylon Crystal Clear acrylic spray coating, but that isn’t clear when it dries and there was a tendency for it to cause orange peel. I want something that dries crystal clear for real!

Anyway I was almost getting ready to go buy an air brush to shoot some clear acrylic on seeing as how I needed one anyway to do my side panel in a few months. Then at their suggestion I tried some Jurek Medea Top Coat (# 3051 4) and brushed it on. I got a separate small glass bottle and poured some of it in and let it settle for a while. Applying this to metal is really tricky with a brush as there is a tendency to pickup air bubbles as you brush.

Made another trip to the Art Supply Warehouse today and cornered the resident paint specialist about all this. Came back with some very pure thinner to thin out the Jurek Top Coat a bit (Grumbacher Odorless Thinner) and new daVinci series 112 synthetic brush (coincidently made in Germany) so will try this out tomorrow. Also was told that prep was everything when putting clear on anything so I was advised to scrub the part with alcohol (just happen to have some 99.9% pure Isopropyl alcohol I use in making a special blend for cleaning my astronomical optics). So after doing some more lapping to get a nice clean non-oxidized surface I will try tomorrow...again. If this doesn't work I am giving it up as a lost cause and just bite the bullet and forget the whole thing. Hopefully I will have something good to report about this tomorrow.

On another note you might have noticed a gigantic push-fit bulkhead fitting in my fitting box a few posts back. I had originally planned to use it for another wiring job but it ended up being to big for what I wanted. Then I got a PM from Grumblemarc today and started thinking more about it and decided that it would really work great for an ATX power loom. So thanks guy for the good thought! I took the collets out, cut it with a hacksaw to size, drilled out the center part, and it is being used to run my ATX power loom through the middle compartment floor. When the paint dries I will post some new pics.

 

Have you had that problem mounting a TwinPlex with the factory screws where the block moves around easily due to the small diameter of the screw in the slot of the mounting screen? This really bugged me so I tried many a different solution. The winner was by using a M3 x 20mm flat head socket cap screw and a nylon flat washer under a 3mm nut on the back side of the board. The flat head design makes it so there is no wiggle room in the mounting screen and it looks a lot cooler than those round head zinc plated screws AC supplies. Got lucky and found the screw and nut in black.





Also decided I didn't like the way I had the rad in the middle compartment as one was metal and one was black. So paint it!





Decided to paint some other fittings too. Here is my 6mm bulkhead fitting I got from McMaster-Carr. Came 100% nickel plated so I decided that a little black might look nice here as well.










A ways back you saw that gigantic fitting in my fittings box? That was a 3/8" bulkhead I also got from McMaster-Carr. Well I took out the tube holding collets and cut it in half with a hacksaw. This turned it into a nice little bulkhead fitting to run my ATX power loom through the case bulkhead floor. Painted the inside and both ends and it will be ready to go in the case once the paint dries and I can add a second coat.

Side view:



Top view:



Bottom view:

 

Got a little more work done. Finished up on my radiator/fan sub-assembly. The back radiator fan cable has a long way to go to the front of the case where the Aquaero sits. The cable is about 5 feet long as it has to go the long way around.





You might not notice it, but their is a Vantec 120mm fan gasket between the radiator and the fan. Suitably dyed in black of course.






Finally decided to give up on getting some clear acrylic on the side of my waterblocks. It just was to much trouble. So here it is with some special English wax on it (hot tip from my guy who details my car). I guess we will see in a few months how well this holds up. As you can see I spent some time getting a very nice *bling* finish on the outside surfaces. It was finished up with 3,000 grit and the bottom I did to about 2,000 grit. Used Ceramique to mount and checked the imprint and it was perfect. I ditched the Aqua Computer fittings in favor of Legris fittings as they have a nicer look and bigger holes (more flow).









Notice the nice finish on the Twinplex mounting screen? Well the sandpaper was there so I decided it couldn't hurt to polish it up a bit.









Tomorrow I will be mounting the back radiator grill and routing the wires up to the Aquaero. Also hope to finish up on the SLI power and 4 pin MB power connector looms as well.

 

Good work takes a while, but this mod seems to be dragging on and on as I have been working on this since February and I'm just getting ready to have the side panel cut. Just ordered some new stuff from Performance PCS that should be here next week so I can finish my wiring. Needed some more black Molex connectors and of course for some real *bling bling* gold plated Molex pins. Building this in a manner that is sleek and good looking is much like building a prototype car as everything is hand done and fitted numerous times. I can't even remember how many times that MB has been in and out of that case.

For example a while back some people thought I had cut a pretty jagged hole for the rear fan. Really there was a method to my madness as you can see from the following pic. I roughed it in with a jig saw and cut it to fit the fan. Suggestion: Don't buy any Acoustifan Dustproof's unless you want to do the same. I complained to Sharka about this fan being made from an out-of-spec injection molding die and the importer (Quiet PC} says they are all like this and tough tootsies. At least Sharka offered to exchange them, but by the time I realized what the problem was I had already cut the fan wires and painted them.

Looks like some new Dremel tool time as my fan gasket doesn't quite fit. I thought about leaving the fan gasket out on this side of the fan, but that is not possible. The thickness of the fan gasket is calculated into where the hole is for the 90 degree elbow. No fan gasket = no fit for the elbow. What happened to the days when I could get my hardware one day and have it completely built and programmed by the next day? Like I said this whole job has been fit, fit, and more fitting.







Well I finally got all this moved over to the new forum. Time for a little liquid refreshment. See ya all tomorrow.

 

Wow. Just wow. It's not often that I'm tempted to post just to congratulate someone on a mod (might happen more with the new format), but this is really one of those times - your attention to detail from what I've seen so far means that this should be incredible. I really want to see what this is going to be like when finished, I could've cried when I got to the end and saw that that was it for now

Pulling off three loops in that case cleanly is quite a task, but I think you can do it. Keep up the good work!

 

Agreed, and if anyone can do it, TN can

 

Small update here though it took most of yesterday to get the grill and fan fitted to the back of the case. Had to get the Dremel tool out to open up the hole a bit as the fan to grill gasket wasn't clearing. Slight problem as well because my Dremel tool burned out the speed controller and either I get it off or 30,000 RPM so I went through a few tools.

I also took some time to sand the grill down to eliminate a few scratches and then decided a little polishing wouldn't hurt as well. This is the grill that I had milled so it would have a better fit than the stock one.

This is what I started out with and had to grind off some more clearance.





Here it shows what I had to go through to get this bolted up correctly. Essentially everytime I fitted this grill I have to move the fan back as far as possible, attach the grill to the fan, attach the 90 degree elbow, move the fan/grill/rad assembly forward so that I could screw down the four bolts that actually hold it to the case. As you can see I am exclusively using stainless steel button head socket cap screws. I also used nylock lock nuts so I don't have any problems once it is all screwed down. There are two 120mm fan gaskets used here. One on each side of the fan and as explained previously they are dyed black.






I tried to get a pic of the polished grill so you could see some reflections.






This pic shows how this grill looks when it is cut to the correct size. I tried to leave just a nice thin line of black case for that stellar look.






Again just a hint of black case.






Here we ar looking fron the top of the grill and it has the grill positioned so that it mates with the radius of the case.





Well that is it till tomorrow. Got the rest of my electrical stuff coming from Performance PCS so I will probably work on getting the third Aquatube and running some power wires tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement Seems like I am getting down to the tough choices now in equipment placement. At first it's a piece of pie as there is nothing in the case. Now is where the planning comes in as it seems like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle at times. Tonight I have been working on putting in the third Aquatube. Now starts the real fun part of putting in the CPU and HD pumps and getting the waterlines in. Then comes the wiring. Look tomorrow for some interesting pics

I remember when I first started this project and the original plan was for one pump. Then it seemed two pumps would be better than one and now three pumps all on separate loops seems the correct way to go. Even Wes at Sharka (where I get my AC stuff from) thinks I'm a little touched.

 

Little update today as I finished putting in my 3rd Aquatube which is for the HD loop. The original plans were for an Aquainlet with my Aquastream. After I set it in the case I decided that it just looked kind of out of place iff you know what I mean. Here is the hole I cut for the Aquatube. You can also see now the bushing I showed a while back painted and installed. The main ATX power loom will be going through here to the MB. The smaller part in the back is an 8mm nickel plated pushfit painted on the top.






Here is looking to the back of the middle case as well. That big long cable you see in the bottom right is the fan cable that will go to the Aquaero in the front of the case.







Here is the Aquatube as you see it under the middle floor. I removed the top two HD rails to get the Aquatube in, which leaves me with three watercooled HD's for now.







Here is with the Aquatube screwed down to the case. If you are an AC fan then you probably noticed that I deviated with the size of the screws that hold the mounting plate on. I just thought it looked too busy with all those 4mm screws on the face of the Aquatube. So to break up the monotony I decided to use 3mm screws instead. I think it gives it a much better look now.







Here is a close-up of the bulkhead fittings. Debating whether to strip the paint off and sand the nickel plating off so I have a better surface to paint on.








Here is a look from the back of the case.







With this pic I think you might begin to see why I choose black fittings and black tubing. There really is an 8mm 90 degree pushfit at the bottom of the Aquatube.







Well that is it for now so see ya later alligator.

 

That latest third aquatube definately proves it... you're insane. Very cool, I wouldn't have thought to mount one aquatube in that area, let alone TWO! I'm assuming you haven't eaten in about four months to try and pay for all this lovely AC gear... I want to find out what effect having the aquatubes below half the loop has. I think with any other reservoir design it would cause some major issues but with an aquajet, the loop should remain air-free. FILLING it though... that might be another story.