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Case Mod - In Progress -----'PARVUM MATE'-----

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by imersa, 29 Nov 2014.

  1. imersa

    imersa Parvum Princess

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    Hi everyone. Time for another project. This is my second filler project before the next BIG thing. Now this is the first time I've EVER documented me working on a non-parvum case. That of course makes sense because.. why promote the competition. With that said I had just been itching for the last year to work on another case. As an avid and passionate modder it really sucks seeing another case you like and not being able to build in one.

    I decided to change my ways when the offer came up from Asrock to work on the M8. Now I know some people poo poo the motherboards but I've had nothing but great experience with the few I've used in the past. This case was a no brainier for me. Asrock teaming up with BMW Group AND very very SFF. I'd actually just seen modder Kier given the chance to mod the very case so this was even more reason to mod it. It'll be great for me to see two very different builds. Already Kier has increased the size of the case but I will be working within the constraints. The very tight constraints at that.

    Due to the nature of how busy we are with Parvum this will be kept a somewhat photo based project log. I'll be more than happy to answer all questions as we go but the text will be kept to a minimum in the project.

    This build is possible with the support of Intel, Hyper X, Nvidia and Asrock.

    Main Components:

    Case - Asrock M8
    CPU - Intel i5 4670k
    Motherboard - Z97-M8
    Memory - Hyper X Unknown
    GPU - Nvidia GTX 980
    SSD - Hyper X Unknown
    PSU - SFX PSU 600W

    Cooling:
    3 x Noiseblocker NB-BlacksilentPRO (80x80x15mm)
    1 x Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper 80mm Single
    1 x Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper 80mm Dual

    Miscellaneous:
     
  2. imersa

    imersa Parvum Princess

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    [​IMG]

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    First up was to gut the case. Literally so many manufactured parts to get this thing to use the layout it does. A pretty well put together and complex control system for all the case fans, front dial and slot loading drive etc. This of course had to all be stripped to see what space we had to work in:

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    All the parts removed:

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    I then wanted to see what intake fans and rad space we had to use. These are a set of very concealed 72mm fans. With the correct modding I can change these to 80mm fans and use a 160mm rad in the roof. As stated I don't want to make the case any bigger and also plan to use hard line tubing in this tight space so keeping rads to a safe minimum was essential. Personally I have no problems with 80mm fans. As long as the rig runs at medium to even higher temperaturs with the rads used I'll be more than happy. Looks over performance here. No overclocking:

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    The lovely 980 supplied by Nvidia. Much thanks:

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    Finally a look at the radiators and fans I plan to use. 1 x 160mm and 1 x 80mm. Sadly due to the location of the RAM I can only fit an 80mm rad in the base of the case:

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    I think someone at Alphacool was too drunk this day...:

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    Pretty poor quality considering that seems to be a painted finish rather than the copper stickers they provide of recent.

    A few photos of the fans on rads and a size reference to give you an idea how small they are. I also opted for 10mm thick 80mm fans here to buy even more space. That considered; they actually pack a good bit of power with the following spec: 52 m³/h / 30.6 CFM

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  3. Guest-56605

    Guest-56605 Guest

    A case I've had my eye on since the Z87 version was released, I love it's design :thumb:

    The AsRock kit is HUGELY underated (wrongly so).
     
  4. B NEGATIVE

    B NEGATIVE All Hail Kim Jong Magoo!

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    ASRock have produced some of the best OC'ing boards of recent times,the poor mans ASUS tag has long been a myth.

    Looks good,I wouldnt mind cracking on one of those setups either.
     
  5. MODZERO

    MODZERO Minimodder

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    It's all set for another exciting build! subbed and looking forward to what comes next.

    J.
     
  6. Maki role

    Maki role Dale you're on a roll... Lover of bit-tech

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    Gr8 I r8 dat m8 8/8.
     
  7. Nutman

    Nutman Never stuck with stock

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    Oooook, let's follow this one. Subbed.
     
  8. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    Adding another 10 pounds of mud to the already full 5 pound bag? I'm in.:D
    Off logo: "Meh, it's an 80mm. No one will buy it anyway."
     
  9. Parge

    Parge the worst Super Moderator

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    Shockingly bad from Alphacool.

    Can't wait to see the watercooling on this puppy.
     
  10. Hukkel

    Hukkel James' minion

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    How did I miss the start of this?
     
  11. imersa

    imersa Parvum Princess

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    GO ASROCK GO :rock:

    Welcome welcome!

    LOL U WOT M8?

    Welcome <3

    Haha did someone say 80mm! Personally I love me some 80mm and if you don't? Coal for Christmas for you m8s

    You tell me bro! :D it's just important that you are now here.

    Yeah i think its very much a desktop WOW factor case with average or under average cooling tbh. That said I will do my best to make it look even better and possibly improve the cooling. We've moved from 4 x 72mm fans to 3 x 80mm and 2 x 72mm fans so progress at least? lol
     
  12. imersa

    imersa Parvum Princess

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    First up a big welcome to EKWB. They've been on board for a number of our projects now and it's nice to see them here once again. Sticking to the classic CSQ with all frosted and nickle here. I want to use a lot of frosted light within the build here.

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    Tiny mod to the rubber gasket to make the waterblock fit. No biggy just keep it in mind if you end up with this motherboard or case:

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    So then for the loose test fit. Now we had the main components making it all fit and aesthetically look great was the hard part. I wanted to make sure we could still make easy and hidden cable runs for most of the cables, including what will be a floppy PCIe extender. After many hours I came up with a layout I was happy with:

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    Trying something EXTREMELY tight with the CPU block & pump. Theoretically with the exact fittings squeezed in it'll work exactly how I want. It also looks kinda funky :)

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    Radiators have been moved from where initially planned. Both pulling air in. The smaller of the two rads in what used to be the GPU port out space:

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    Will need to mod the section mentioned above to fit a fan but its also one of the few parts of the case that already has possible intake venting:

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    A shot from above. What was vital here was to buy a black space within the case. This space will be for a custom milled reservoir and possibly a pass through channel. It was very hard to find a layout that would allow this and also keep it higher in the case than the pump. I'm very happy with this large space considering the size of the case and what's already inside:

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    To give you an idea of the size of the case, we grabbed a real life Poro....

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    :D

    Very happy we got an update in before Christmas. Best wishes to you all!
     
  13. Hukkel

    Hukkel James' minion

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    One gets a kind of "odd" sense of the size of this build. Because I personally automatically think you are using 120mm rads and fans the case comes off as nog too small at all. But reading that you are using 80mm fans and rads it puts it way more into perspective. I really wonder if this will also reach decent temps when both cpu and gpu are in use.

    I really like how you use the entire case though.
     
  14. Mrhunter

    Mrhunter What's a Dremel?

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    Looks good :) loving the Poro!
     
  15. imersa

    imersa Parvum Princess

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    HI ALL!

    Little bit of an unusual but nevertheless amazing turn of events for the Parvum MATE. As you may have noticed the build has got very slow here. This was due to a number of reasons. Time at Parvum being very slim, the old classic too many jobs & not enough time, sponsors and getting hold of specific things for this build all slow. With a build so small you do really need everything in hand.

    Moving forward here actually came by luck. To get this project moving and moving fast we decided to get another modder involved. For this project it was an easy choice! We had been lucky enough to meet Joe in person ([@]JR23[/@]) recently at an LSUCS LAN event. What came to this meeting was a series of epic builds by Joe. His S2.0 Parvum build (JR2.0) first got are attention, clean, simple and powerful. After seeing this build we contacted him to see if he would be interested in working on our X1.0 ITX case. Thankfully he was and it went just as well as his previous: (Chocolate Box).

    I asked Joe if he could help with this project for a number of reasons. First being the time to actually update and present the project in a full and nice enough way on the forums. Second what basically is now a combination of two great modding minds (if you can consider mine also great) yet presented by Joe. It's pretty cool and we have an amazing array of combined skills. His 3D CAD efforts mixed with our acrylic CNC goodness make a great team.

    Without having to say much more this is a small introduction to Joe who will continue the project log on behalf of our team. Make no mistake this is not me simply saying.. 'Joe do all this work for me' but an awesome way for two modders who are now great friends to work together on a system.

    JR PARVUM GOODNESS:

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    I will also be in the thread answering questions and getting involved just not making the thread updates. Joe's first update has been prepared and will follow imminently.
     
  16. JR23

    JR23 Minimodder

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    Hello bit-tech, I know I haven't made many posts here yet but I think Imersa has given me enough hype already :D

    It's great to be involved with this project, I can see already it's going to get very exciting over the coming weeks. I have commandeered the M8 along with some other epic goodies. They needed a good clean and a little love but the potential is shining through now.

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    After quite a lot of brainstorming and discussion with imersa we decided to change direction slightly particularly with respect to the layout of the case. As you might know from previous work I like to be very clean and logical with my mods and bringing that to the table fed into some epic ideas that embrace both of our styles.

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    So some new hardware has been added into the mix, a much bigger 240mm rad, a pair of Parvum F1.0's and a baby modular Silverstone PSU. Lets just say we won't be requiring as many rotaries now ;)

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    It's quite easy to visualize the layout in two layers on bottom, or towards the rear, is the PSU and motherboard with a comfortable amount of room for the radiator.

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    Toward the top we now have the pump o_O and of course the GPU which due to it's immense size relative to the other components makes for quite a feature. The big difference from before is the GPU has been rotated through 90 degrees to it's normal position. This means the case can retain more of it's original exterior features.

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    The main difference is the card sits the upside down compared with a standard M8 but the outputs still align neatly. All of the power connectors now border on to the PSU so this should allow us to be extremely tight with the cables.

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    Now I should say at this point my natural tendency to be restrained and conservative pretty much ends as me and imersa spiraled into full outrageous acrylic pr0n. To turn that into a reality much delicate measuring and CAD were needed...

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    I'll just leave that here. Me and Imersa are insanely hyped to see some acrylic meet its fate.

    JR​
     
  17. imersa

    imersa Parvum Princess

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    15mm acrylic on route, lovely update due in the next few days. Hopefully before the weekend!
     
  18. JR23

    JR23 Minimodder

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    In order to make our mono-block design as clean as possible and to actually fit it neatly inside the case, while at the same time making room for the 240mm radiator a little modification was in order.

    Consequently the DVI connector had to go, having consulted with my electronics tutor he advised the safest and simplest way to go would be to simply investigate how the connector was assembled. To see if any de-soldering or cutting was actually needed to get it apart. Popping off two little tabs allowed the cover to be folded over, after bending it a few times it broke away.

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    That revealed all of the pins entering the connector itself, these simply pulled out from the top making them easy to trim off.

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    That left just the plastic insulation against the surface of the card and the body of the connector attached to 3 small soldered tabs. Using the insulation to lever against the body pulled out of it's securing tabs and we were home and dry.

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    After a little prying and crumbling away the plastic came off so all of the pins could be neatly trimmed back. Definitely not the most sophisticated approach to removing a DVI connector, however it avoided the risks of heating the PCB or showering it with tiny pieces of metal. We are still left with a beautifully sleek single slot 980 ready for some mono-block action...

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    Apologies the update got delayed, I rather hastily left for Parvum HQ and didn't upload the pictures, but on the plus side we got all of the drawings finalized for cutting the test block AND we haz pizza.

    JR​
     
  19. shindead

    shindead What's a Dremel?

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    Great looking case! Never seen that one before
     
  20. Hukkel

    Hukkel James' minion

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    How did no one react to this? :jawdrop:
     

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