Case Mod - In Progress Project : Penguin v4.0 - Closed! ALL ITEMS NOW FOR SALE!!! - 21/06/09

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EDIT : This log is now Closed and i will be selling all of the parts including case and watercooling gear in this thread - Linky


My first log and my first real mod, how lucky am I?
I introduce to you the latest of my ongoing creations except for this one is gonna remain in my head for a while, before I sketch it out (mainly because i haven't got a clue).
One thing I do know I want out of this mod is a clean, simple, understated case. So if your looking for some wacky outlandish efforts and a garish colour scheme then you might want to look away now.


I am already several weeks into the project but i wanted to get started with the project before I started posting, so you can expect regular updates on the penguin untill I am upto speed on what have done so far.


Here is a little background info:
I searched around the net looking for a suitable case, I wanted something of good quality, that could swallow an ATX motherboard, but was as small as I could go, and of course a blank canvas. That can only lead you to one manufacturer and of course only one case, the A05b. I know its an old case so I was lucky to find on in stock in the UK in black, as to my surprise it had been discontinued by Lian Li.
My first thoughts for the components was a standard Q660 based system, and this was the assumption that i had with my first order of W/C gear I bought. But as many of you know plans change alot and I have decided to go down the i7 route just because I can really, and i want the best system that i can afford.


The specs on the overall system have yet to be completely decided on but it will need a s**t load of cooling if im going to W/C i7 properly.

Here's a quick component list:

Main Rig:
Asus P6T Deluxe
6GB Corsair XMS3
Intel i7 920
1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1
700W Coolermaster Silent Pro

Sub System:
VIA EPIA PX10000G Pico-ITX
1GB DDR2
500GB Samsung Spinpoint F1
120W Pico PSU
7" Touchscreen​

Anyway lets going shall we?

Whats in here then?






My first ever new case, and my first ever Lian Li. Im very impressed with it and the build quality through out a £70 case!

I received the first of many packages for my watercooling efforts from specialtech.







The Noctua fans are great, really impressed with their quietness. Not so sure about the cooling capacity of the GT Stealth, maybe a 120mm rad isn't going to be enough?

And of course, naturally the DDC liang 12w pump with an EK acetel top.


Top removed from the pump


Side by side comparison


Fitted on the pump with a couple of 1/2" barbs.


Im going to be using the EK Supreme (with the acetel top naturally) to cool the cpu, again I'm impressed with the craftsmanship on the block, the finish is superb.


Heres is a shot of the rest of the W/C gear going into the case itself.


I choose the swiftech MCRES micro reservoir, because of space issues really, i would ave loved to have got my hands on a copper aquatube, but there is no space in the case to mount and show it off at the same time.

Its a shame really.



And i will leave you on the first post with a shot of my desk as it sits now in my room, with the case prepared for cutting...


Cheers

 

YAY! Watercooled AO5-B owners unite!

 

@mankz : Cheers mate, clearly an awesome case that should be in every home!


Right on with the next update, just a quicky this time...

... I wanted to create a seal in between the rad and the fan so that no air could escape thought the gaps and it was all being sucked through the radiator. I also wanted to isolate any noise that could come from the fan rattling against the rad.

I came up with a cheeky and very cheap solution, cutout a hole in the middle of an old yellow pages mousemat.


Trace around a convenient fangrill


Cut it out and hey presto one free fan shroud




Radiator mounted in the back of the case...




Thats it for now although there is alot more progress to come.

This wont be the only Radiator in the case, i have a Black Ice 240 GTX being mounted in the roof if it ever arrives from Chilled PC!!

 

The 240 GTX/BIX fits really nicely in the top



I like the anti- vibe mount

 

I like where this is going. Good work so far, I'll be watching.

 

Sub'd. Looking good for the start. Bring some good results!

 

Sweet! Looking forward to the rest of the build.

 

Pump Mounting and Bottom Plate Planning

@ HAFMaster : Cheers mate, so am I!

@ null_x86 : Thanks for the confidence, hopefully they are on there way!

@ The boy 4rm oz : Cheers buddy, hope you like the next couple of updates then.


Right on with the updates, I'm gonna cram a few more in tonight. First up is the pump mounting, the placement is key to both how the loop looks, plus I really wanted to show off EK's great looking Deralin top to the Liang pump.

But im putting a Acetel plate inside the bottom of the case to hide wiring and to just look perrty! so i need to make a template for the bottom plate to make sure i don't F**k up cutting it, as this stuff is expensive!

So here is v4.0 of the paper template for the Bottom Plate installed in the case with the pump in its little hole.






As this is the final version of the template (at least where pump location is concerned) i used the template to mark up where to drill the mounting holes.




Marked up using, that's right, sellotape !!


Pilot hole drilled.


First Hole.


Both Holes done!


I used a couple of rubber washers to mount underneath the pump to make sure i can tighten it up enough so vibrations shouldn't become an issue!


Pump Finally mounted, dont worry those bolts will be replaced in the end with a couple of allen button heads!




More coming up soon

 

I think, I would turn the bolts around and tighend from underneat if possible.

 

Res Mounting

@ Sphering : Those wont be the final bolts and orientation, in the end there should be a spring system, that hopefully should look good.


I got a nice package from scan,


The PSU for the project, Coolermaster Silent Pro 700W modular.








I'm quite impressed with the packaging actually, great quality PSU as far as I'm concerned (thanks for the advise Bindibadgi).

Right next up is the mounting of the MCRES micro reservoir, i choose this particular reservoir i can hide it behind the HDD bays and make it almost invisible.

Taping up the drive bay


After marking up for drilling i realized i have been a bit of a prat and it marked up for the wrong side


After going through the process on the other side of the Hard Drive Cage




Pilot hole drilled


All the holes drilled


Again I'm using rubber washers to clear the reservoir from the rivets of the HDD cage and to isolate from possible vibrations.


Res mounted in the cage, fits nicely in the space between the side panel and HDD cage.




How it looks from the other side of the case






That's it for now folks, I have more updates coming soon.

 

Looking good. Are those plexi waterblocks for northbridge and stuff i spot on a towel? They look nice. Self or bought? Again, Looking good . Cant wait to see whats next. Really on edge for the Pico, as they seem to be epic on Lian-Li mods (in references to Langer's Promethus CU). Keep up the great mod/work!

 

Nice mounting, everything is going in very well. Nice PSU, perfect for the mod.

 

Cutting top radiator hole

Back again, just one more update after this till I'm up to date on my progress. In order to fit in my Black Ice GTX 240 into the case i have to regrettably cut a large hole in the top of the case, but I'm going to attempt to make it look as good as i can so it fits in with the rest of the case. Here is a few pics of the unboxing.




Anyway on with the first of the actual modding....

I taped up the whole of the top of the case to protect it from my stupidity / mistakes when cutting and filling, and I'm very glad that I did in the end as it definitely helped!




I can understand it at least!

I used my freshly bought Dremel 300 to cut out the top, now i have never used a Dremel but even with this vast inexperience I ploughed ahead and this is my first cut ever.


Looks a little bit dodgey but i was impressed. Next cuts went well...




And i seemed to have created a large hole in my case! Good Idea or not?





I used a 1m long piece of rolled steel as a straight edge to file to, this worked incredibly well and i would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to get a straight edge!




As you can see i taped up like 9-11 pieces of masking tape on the bootom of the clamp to protect the the case.


Nice straight edges, im very proud!




Then using the dimension specs i marked up the holes for mounting the Rad and drilled pilot holes.


All 8 pilot holes done!


All drilling done (atleast for now)


Tape removed. (+ toe)


I whacked a couple of bolts in just to see what it looked like.






Thats it for now, the next part of the radiator mounting is coming up soon once i upload and re size the pictures.

Cheers

 

I've wanted this case forever, but I don't think i'll be getting one anytime soon. Love looking at a05b mods, and your work is very clean! Keep it up!

 

looking very nice rowin4kicks! I hope to see more! Its coming to toghether very nicely...

 

Wow, this looks very nice, I look forward to seeing more

Subscribed!

 

i love small cases.

clean mod. looking toward next update

 

Radiator Mounting and Loop Planning

Right then on with another update, and this one brings me up to date with my progress so far, as you can remember I left you with just a hole in the top of my case. On my last order from Chilled PC i whacked on some rubber edging as it was something like 97p a meter and I'm very glad I did as it looks great around the Rad Mounting.



I needed to cut down the black M4 bolts I had to mount the Rad, this is quite a tricky process...

Marked up for cutting


Clamped down


Cutting


Cut


All done waiting to be filled and sanded


And here are a couple of shots of the radiator mounted, what do you guys think without any mesh?






I also added a bit of rubber edging to the back 120 rad mount






Now that i have the last of my water cooling parts mounted i can start to plan my loop, so on with the fans...




Cutting of my cheap 1/2" ID tubing, does anyone know where to get any kind of Tygon in the UK btw?


Reservoir to Pump




The rest of the loop apart from the CPU block, still need to order the motherboard....






That's it for now folks, next update i should be sleeving wires/PSU and i should have got hold of my Pico Mobo.

Cheers for the comments guys ....

 

Mabey shorten the tube from the res to the pump, looks like its kinking a little

 

Wow, Love the rad mounting

I'm surprised at the way you are running the loop tbh, personally, I would go pump->120mm rad->BLOCKS?->Dual rad->Res->Pump..

Should keep things far far clearner...