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

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by Top Nurse, 23 Sep 2005.

  1. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Well I like the new format so I will be moving my project log for Feeding Frenzy here. The new comments thread is located here. (Appears that this is also an oldie :lol: )

    The old project log is located here.

    Okay I guess after all the pushing and prodding I should start a project log for my latest creation. :lol: So I have decided to call my project "Feeding Frenzy" and if you can't figure out why you will by the end of the finishing touches.

    So what I am doing started out with a hybrid DIY/Koolance design in a Lian-Li PC-601B case. You can see what I was originally doing at my home page. Got a little crowded so I then went to a V1200 case, which I became unhappy with. So now I am doing a Lian-Li V2000 black case and mostly Aqua Computer parts. I don't have any stock photos of what it originally looked like so visit the Lian-Li site if that interests ya. I also was originally going to do one loop, but it seemed more fun to do 2 loops. Now I am going with three loops :jawdrop:

    So here are a couple of pics to tantalize your taste buds:


    This was the initial AC order I received back in April 05. Since then I went hog wild.
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    Forgot to mention what I'm doing in the way of computer components :blush:

    Asus A8N-SLI
    Winchester OEM 3500
    Two sticks of matched 512 MB of Corsair XMS 3200XL Pro (with the LED lights)
    Two Asus 6600GT's
    Promise FastTrak S150 SX4 Raid 5 controller
    Sound Blaster Audigy
    Three 74Gb and two 36Gb WD Raptor drives
    Pioneer DVR-109 DVD-RW
    Lite-On DVD ROM
    Lian-Li card drive
    PCP&C 510 SLI

    Hey I just found this way to make some $$ with this money sink ahh...project :lol:

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    Last edited: 11 Nov 2009
  2. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Well the first thing that changed for me was that I ditched the Aqua Computer Evo 240 radiator. It's a nice radiator and if I had the room I might have used it. So I decided that some BI pro's were in order. You will see as I go that my main emphasis is on using the geometry of the case to my best abilities. IOW I don't just start cutting stuff, but think about how I can do the most with the case and retain the natural lines of the V series cases.

    So the first radiator to go in was in the front bottom of the case. This was a natural as there was already a 120mm fan sitting there. But would it fit without taking the front HD rack out? I am not sure how many HD's I am going to put in so I was determined to do what I could to make it fit.

    It is always a good idea when doing these kinds of projects to put the motherboard in to get the proper perspective:

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    So here was my first go at getting the radiator into the stock fan mount:

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    I drilled all the way through the radiator core and this fan is mounted to the radiator by use of some 6-32 x 2" round head machine screws. The fan is then mounted to the stock fan mount with 6-32 x 1/2" button head socket cap stainless steel screws, washers, and nuts. I also put in a Vantec 120mm fan gasket for vibration issues and better air flow. Here you can see it in the case:

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    Here are a couple of close up pics of the mounting details:

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    Yeah it is definitely a close fit and it does bow the front HD rack a tiny bit, but the HD's can still be put in without to much trouble. If I can mount with some flat head machine screws I might be able to clear everything. While it may seem that there won't be good air flow I should note that the airflow is from the front of the case going to the HD area. The HD racks have lots of holes in them and it doesn't seem to be a problem. However, there was one problem that you will see in the next pic. :(

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    The Acoustifan logo does not fit my motif and it sticks out enough that it does not allow the fan to be laid flat against another surface. So being the intrepid soul that I am I decided to blow the warranty away and take off the metal plate, which you can see here:

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    Well this was a bit better, it wasn't quite what I had in mind. So off I went to my favorite computer modding store: Staples Office Supply :D After roaming the isles a while I finally found what I needed. Some large black vinyl lettering sets. The middle of the # 6 was perfect for my purposes of having a nice basic black with a little trimming with an X-acto blade:

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    So things are shaping up, but those red, black, and white wires got to go as well. Still thinking about what I will do here because they kind of glued them into the channel :(
     
  3. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Well I have decided to put off the fixing of the wiring on the fans till I get further into the project and do all the cable sleeving and custom wiring.

    So I guess it is time to do some more case drilling. I have never been to enthused about putting my computer on it's back to fill a horizontally mounted Aquatube. So the perfect solution seems to be a Danger Den Fillport that allows me to bleed and fill the GPU loop from a normal position outside the case.

    :idea:
    BTW, did I mention that there are three BI Pro's going in to this case? I suppose some are wondering why I would put three (3) 120's in when I obviously have the room for one 360, correct? The reason is that I wanted to maximize the use of all my PCI slots and 5 1/4" slots as well. The way the top mounted grill is set in it does a lot of important things. It allows me to use all my 5 1/4" slots AND I have full use of all my PCI slots as well. Due to the case design it also makes it really simple to hide a great deal of the wiring and plumbing in the top of the case to boot. :D

    So here is a pic of the hole for the Fillport and the hole I cut for the top mounted BI Pro rad:

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    You can see a couple of holes I also drilled in the middle case partition. Now I wonder what those could be for? Here is the AC Evo grill in and the Fillport:

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    The brass Fillport plug will eventually have a satin nickel plate applied to it.
     
  4. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Okay here is the reason for that big ole hole you saw in the above pic. This is an Aqua Computer Aquatube. I decided on using the silver tube with a black mounting plate as it gave a nice distinctive flair to the install. As you probably notice there is no AC logo on this plate. I did that because I wanted the fittings to be pointing to the side of the case that won't have a window and I really don't want AC's name all over my case as I have something special planned with the AC logo down the line.

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    Well it is off to the store to get some more button head sockets. You can also see the hard drives below and a trial fit of the AC Cuplex XT. The PSU wire is just for show as it makes a major disappearance down the line. :worried:

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    Here you can see the trial fit of the Asus 6600 GT's with the AC TwinPlex GPU cooler.

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    Just a few more pics of the bottom of the Aquatube mounted in the middle case partition. I can see that my Dremel cut-off saw is going to have to put in another star performance in cutting those screws down to size.

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    Another view of the Aquatube looking towards the back of the case, which brings us to the installation of the rear mounted radiator.
     
  5. Top Nurse

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    Well decided to take some time out from doing case work. You can only breathe in so much aluminum dust at a time. ;) So I decided to do some work on my front mounted Aquatube in an AquaBay AT:

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    The center mounted fitting is for the return line and the one to the left is for the Danger Den Fillport. On the right side I put in a LED mount. Not positive what I am going to do with that one yet, but it is difficult to put it in after you fill with H20. :duh:

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    As you can tell this one is all black because the whole front of the case is black. So no contrasting look is possible here. Looks like another trip to McMaster Carr for some more metric buttonhead socket screws. :sigh:

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    You can see that my Dremel tool cut-off saw has been busy again cutting screws on the Aquastream mount.

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    Top view of the GPU cooling sub-assembly. The two LED mounts on the left side will be for the Aquaero Vario-LED assembly. Color of coolant will be green at start-up, yellow at normal temps, and red if it gets to hot. I was thinking of using the back LED mount for a flashing white strobe LED in case I get critical temps. The reason I side mounted the Vario-LED assembly was so that I got a nice subdued coolant color and no bright lights pointing out the front of the case.

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    The clear tube goes to the DD Fillport. Will probably change that to black as well once my Mazzer PUR tubing arrives. The screws you see on the back pump mount will be cut off later on, like the front ones already are.

    The top mounted loop consists of the front mounted Aquatube in an AquaBay AT and the Aquastream is mounted to the back of the AquaBay. I also have a temp sensor in the return line. The top mounted BI Pro feeds the two GPU's cooled by a pair of AC TwinPlex's.

    The middle loop cools the CPU and NB with a Cuplex XT and another TwinPlex respectively. This loop uses the back mounted BI Pro and the Aquatube mounted in the middle case partition as seen in the pics. The pump has not been decided on as yet as I am wavering between another Aquastream or a Laing DDC with a Watercool plexi top.

    The front mounted BI pro is used to cool all the WD Raptor drives I am putting in and will use an Aquastream and one of the clear plexi AC add-on reservoir tanks. More pics today of the top mounted loop :D
     
  6. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    All right for today we are back to working on my Alzheimer's program of breathing aluminum dust. ;) All kidding aside I wear a mouth/nose respirator whenever I am cutting aluminum and safety glasses over my reading glasses.

    So after getting some experience with the top and front mounted radiators I decided to do it a bit different. First change was getting away from the cut-off saw and cut with a jig saw. This was a lot faster, but I still had to do some detail work with the Dremel.

    Here we are looking forward and I also decided that reaching around with my fingers to install the grill was a major PITA. So I drilled and tapped for 8-32 threads in the four corners.

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    This pic is looking down towards the case partition. Hey what is that crazy woman doing now with that blue thingy? Not another hole :hehe:

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    Bottom's up :D Here you can see the grill I put in top of the case and the DD Fillport.

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    Now what could that hole be possibly for? And what the heck is that blue thing over on the left?
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    Here is the back of the grill installed. This fan got the vinyl patch as well and the wires will be worked on later as I red, white, and black don't make it IMHO. :p Hmmm....looks like I need another application of SS polish.
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  7. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Well forgot to mention that if you have one of these cases and were thinking about using an Evo 120 griil on the back that there are a few problems. A picture is worth a thousand words, so:

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    As you can see above the grill does not fit exactly. However, one of the things about getting older is that you start to know a lot more people. :D So this is not a problem as I have a couple of friends who are machinists and it only needs about .100" off the top, left, and right sides.

    Okay now I have the back rad in and you can see below why that little hole was there a few pics back. This gives me a much better look with a rubber grommet and I won't be having any vibration problems here. The other fitting is a 45* and goes over to the Cuplex XT which will also have a 45* fitting as well.
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    Here is a closeup pic of the fitting going through the middle partition.
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    A side view of the fitting that will attach to the Aquastream and Aquatube below.
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    Looking at the fitting from the bottom up.

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  8. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Okay the top mounted BI Pro is in and this pic shows just how tight things are in this case. The 90* elbow goes to the pump output and the 45* elbow goes to GPU 1.

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    This pic shows the front of the BI Pro in the top and you can also see the GPU Aquastream/Aquatube/Fillport sub-assembly. The unconnected fitting is the pump output connector that goes to the radiator.

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    What you are seeing here is a look straight up between the MB mounting tray and the BI Pro. Just a little better perspective about how much room there is to hook-up any of the MB/Case connectors. There really is enough room...really! :worried: See that black thingy at the top of the case? More about that later :p

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    Okay here is a pic of the room available between the top PCI slot and GPU 2. One of my initial design goals was to utilize the case geometry wherever possible to make lines sleek and keep the business away from the inherrent beauty of the case. So with the Audigy2 ZS sound board in the top PCI slot all wires coming off the MB are almost completely hidden as they all go to the front of the case along the top between the radiator and the case side. The GPU cooling loop return line is also hidden up there as well. Actually the only wires you should see up top are the HD cables and then you will only see about 2 1/2". :hip:

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    Here you see some of the tubing hooking up to the GPU's from the top BI Pro. Slight problem here as the AC tubing will not make a sharp bend without kinking between GPU 1 and GPU 2. :waah: So when the Mazzer PUR black tubing gets here there will be a total revamp of my tubing.

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    Okay last, but not least here is another pic of my Aquatube in the center partition. 3 points if you know what that thingy is to the left of it? :lol:

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    Thought I would put up another pic of the Asus 6600 GT's that shows a little more clarity. When my new fittings get here the top GPU block will get one of the 45 degree fittings so it will be less stress on the cooler from making the bend up to the top of the case.


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  9. Top Nurse

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    Well I thought while I was waiting for some more $$ to get more parts I would add my birthday mess I made over the weekend. Here is a shot of my computer desk. That's my PC-75 Exos cooled current rig at the end of the table.

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    This is where I do my best thinking. ;) When I get stuck in a thought I flip on some old Sci-Fi movies for some inspiration. My favorite is Forbidden Planet. Jeez...now I gotta clean up this mess. :(
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    More of the same...
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  10. Top Nurse

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    Okay todqy I have a few new things that showed up this week. The first is my PCP&C Turbo 510 SLI PSU. With all the things I have heard about the noise this thing makes I'm ready to do whatever it takes to quiet it down.

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    Here is what they look like inside. Yes they do know how to pack the circuitry in there don't they?

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    Here is another shot of the business part of the supply after I took the fan out.

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    And here you can really see why this fan is so noisy. They put a boat prop inside the box!

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    So anyway the plan was to use a low noise fan and control it via my Aquaero (more about that later this week) and using a temp sensor on the PSU heatsink. So I got on the phone with PCP&C down in Oceanside, CA for a little chit chat and ended up having a 30 minute conversation with one of their engineer's. BTW, the reason I like buying from these guys is I can pickup the phone and talk with the person who designed it. Trust me that these guys really know what they are talking about! (shameless plug for PC Power & Cooling)

    Anyway the long and short of it was that what I wanted to do wasn't going to work with all the hardware I am putting into Feeding Frenzy. The bottom line is that it really does need like 50-60 CFM off air to keep the thing cooled enough that it will run 24/7 without any hiccups. So scratch that idea. I also had originally planned to use an Amptron circular bulkhead connector to run power to my MB and that also got shot down to unacceptable loss of current on each pin. So I guess I got to go back to the old idea of taking the pins out of the molex and see about routing them in a less conspicuous way. More case work it seems...

    Well while I was doing all this I disassembled everything so I could do some more case work. I wanted to be able to run the SATA cables through a little hole up in the top of the case, but it just wasn't big enough. So I got out my Dremel tool and opened it up and then added some moulding to the case so there wouldn't be any problems with cut wires.

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    While I was doing this I decided to drill some more holes. If you are a water cooler then you will know why these holes are here behind the MB. ;)

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    Can't figure it out? They are so you don't have to remove the MB to take the water blocks on and off. The holes give you easy access to the screws that hold the water blocks on.


    More new toys have arrived ! I would have liked to use Aqua Computer Aquadrive Micro's to cool my HD's, but they would only allow me to put 3 HD's in each rack. Since I might take out the front rack later on I wanted something that would let me utilize the full capacity of my racks. The other problem was that the AC Micro coolers only come in butt-ugly blue :( So here is what I am using to cool off my three 74 Gb WD Raptors.

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    There are several reasons I decided on these coolers. They allow for a vey low profile so I can use them right next to each other. The connectors are 6mm ID so they will easily adapt to my 6mm Aqua Computer system. The new Hydra-Pak technology allows for the electronics and spindle heat to be easily absorbed and removed and you don't have to use a thermal conductive pad if you want really good thermal transference like you do with other designs. And last, but not least, it looks a lot nicer with my black and silver color coordination.

    Well that is it for tonight folks. I will show you tomorrow the pump sub-assembly that will be used to cool the HD loop off. I also will be done with the NB block that I have been lapping. That is a sight to behold :p
     
  11. Top Nurse

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    Okay a little tiny update today. Decided to do a little work on my Aqua Computer TwinPlex cooler for my NB. Can't run tubes and drill more holes :baby: without having the NB attached to the board. So the first few pics show what it was like when I got it.

    Okay here is the bottom of the block. As you can see this part was cut with a facemill due to the characteristic circular cut marks.


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    Here you can see that the lined paper shows some squiggly lines. Definite sign of a not so flat block. However keep in ming that when I checked with a gage block and leaf gauges it was less than about 0.001 from being flat. This appears to be within industry standards and within the capability of Artic Silver to provide a good thermal transference. Not fantastic but good in flatness and so so in finish.

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    Here is a pic of the side of the TwinPlex. Also reasonably flat but the side shows evidence of chatter from the end mill. Usually this is caused by to high a feedrate, to big a bite, or an unstable setup though it looks to me like to high a feedrate.

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    And another view of the side before lapping.

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    Okay enough of what it was like and what Aqua Computer could improve upon. :eyebrow: This pic is after lapping with 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit wet and dry sandpaper. I used a new piece of glass and used the kitchen marble countertop to sit the glass on as I think it is reasonably flat. As you can see I was able to remove all the facemilling marks and get a much better degree of flatness as there are no squiggly lines anymore. I suppose I could have gone for the mirror finish, but I was looking for flatness.

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    After doing the bottom I decided to also do the sides as well. This does nothing for thermal transference and is pure bling on my part. I did it just because I liked the look and it got rid of that nasty looking chatter. Obviously I didn't spend the time on the sides that I did on the bottom, but it definitely improved in the looks department. :D

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    BTW, what do you do with a brand new PSU? In the next update I will show you what I did that most people would be hesitant to do. :dremel:
     
  12. Top Nurse

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    Well I have had a lull in the boxes I was building for a friend due to a bad PSU so I have some free time to play around. I have been looking around for some long black SATA cables, but alas this was not to be. Found red, blue, and green. Why no basic black? So here is a pic of what I started out with. Nice translucent candy apple red color :D

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    Unfortunately this wasn't going to make it so it was time to go scrounging the local electronic shops to get some nice basic black sleeving material and heatshrink. Here is with the sleeving put on. Yes I did them two at a time to cut down on the case clutter.


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    Here is one of the completed assemblies. Notice the evil red glint?

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    Well as you know I am also working on lapping all my waterblocks. So the next set of pic's is a work in progress. Here is my Silver Cuplex XT block. Came with a super finish, but it wasn't as flat as I wanted. Here is the way it came to me.


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    Here is a pic of the inside showing the internal pin array.

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    Here is a pic showing the condition after about 20 laps with 800 grit wet and dry sandpaper. You can see that the sandpaper is only touching the outside of the block. The center was concave about .002 of an inch. I was kind of bummed about this till I also saw a post on another forum from someone with the same problem on a Littler River G5. So grin and sand it. :lol:


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    So what do you do with a $265 PCP&C Turbo 510 SLI PSU when you get it? Some people use it, but I decided to mod it seeing how it wasn't exactly what I wanted. So the first thing to do was to ditch all the molex conncectors.


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    Oh yeah I also decided I didn't need the SATA power connectors. snip snip :eeek:

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    The other molex connectors need to go as well and what could you possibly need a floppy drive connector for?


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    So now that I had fun with my dikes it is time to catch some zzzz's. So do you think I just voided my warranty? Think again as when you get a PCP&C supply they expect you to make a lot of custom mods and don't get excited about it so long as you do a good job. Now that everything is cut off I can get busy doing all the custom wiring. Every piece of wire on Feeding Frenzy is totally custom. I either snip snip to size, solder, or make up my own custom cable assemblies. :p
     
  13. Top Nurse

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    Well it was late last night and in retrospect it seems I did forget one little itsy bitsy thing. I recently acquired some unusual fan grills in both 80mm and 120mm size.



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    Wait to you see what I plan to do with them. Even I am amazed at myself sometimes. :naughty: :worried:
     
  14. Top Nurse

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    Decided to try a little painting what with everything apart for a while. Used a Dykem product called Mark and Code. It comes in a lot of different colors and is in a pen format. Paints metal or plastic with good coverage.

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    Since this turned out pretty good I have decided to paint some of the MB connectors as well. :worried:
     
  15. Top Nurse

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    Well here is the SATA cable I made the other day trial fitted to my case.

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    Bottoms Up :D

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    Here you see the cable coming into the top of the case.


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    This is pretty much all you will see when the radiator is installed. However you won't see where the cable comes in as the radiator covers up that part of the cable. In fact the only thing you will see is that black cable coming down to the SATA connector. Nice and clean is the way I like it.

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  16. Top Nurse

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    All right I got some of those PC's out the door so now I thought about doing some more modding. Then I got a couple more boxes to fix, but there almost done so... :sigh:

    Today we are drilling holes again. In the V series case it really pays to have the proper tools to work with as many times you are working inside the case. The Li-Ion cordless Dremel is my favorite and it is fantastic with the 90 degree attachment.

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    For the more heavy duty jobs I got a right angle attachment for my 3/8" drill.

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    Well the first hole I drilled today was for the wires going through the case for the 4 pin power connector, SLI power connector, and for the back fan wires. Drilled a 5/8" hole so I could use a rubber grommet.


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    Here's another pic with the grommet installed.

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    Here is looking from the front of the case. As you can see these wires are not going to be seen.

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    And here is lookin at it with the radiator installed and looking through the MB bezel.

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    Decided that the front HD rack was cramping my style and I don't think I will need more than 6 HD's anyway. So I got out my Dremel and started drilling. A 1/8" drill bit is just about perfect for getting these rivets out. The hole in the rivet acts as a guide hole so it's pretty much a snap. There is one rivet that you can't reach because it is under a metal plate. I lucked out and didn't have to mangle the case and with a little elbow grease it just popped off.


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    Here's what I took out of the case.

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    And here is the big picture. :dremel:

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    Looks like plenty of room for that Aquastream pump and an Aquainlet reservoir. :baby: :baby:
     
  17. Top Nurse

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    Well since it is time to start doing the wiring I figured you might want to see what the front panel is looking like. The Aquabay is at the top and an Aquaero below it. Below that is a blank spot that is reserved for a Multi-Switch (come on AC hurry up and ship me one). Below that are the two DVD rewritables and beneath that is the Lian-Li memory card drives. The stock Lian-Li switch and system LED's is going bye-bye as well. Hmmm...need to call McMaster Carr and get some more metric buttonhead socket cap screws. :dremel:

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    Since I figure people might be interested in the insides of the Aquaero here are some pic's of the Noritake VFD display they use.

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    The stock Aquaero comes with the provision to mount an Aquastream pump controller to the back of it. This is quite handy as then you don't have to be running the ribbon cable all around and just looks neater. However, when you have two Aquastreams it is problematic as you then have to figure out where to put the other controller and run the ribbon cable to it as well.

    So I decided to mod the Aquaero so I could attach both Aquastream controllers to the back of the Aquaero. Please keep in mind that to do this mod you will have to completely dis-assemble the Aquaero so if you aren't handy with electronics it would be best if you found someone else to do this for you though it was pretty simple to do. This first pic shows the basic parts you need to do the mod.


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    This pic is the original mod with the parts shown above.


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    I have made some changes to my original idea to mount two Aquastream controllers onto one Aquaero. Essentially I added a 1" female stand-off between the 1st and second controllers instead of using the 3/4" length I previously used. This was done so I could easily get the 10 pin ribbon cable in and out without disassembling the assembly. I also added some # 6 nylon washers where I though there might be an electrical issue on the 3.5 controller. Another solution to fix this would be by using just a 6-32 binder head nylon screw. Here are the pics of the completed assembly:


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    So now it is time to put the PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 510 SLI in and start wiring in the loom. See ya in a few days with some more pic's. :cooldude:
     
  18. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Okay did a little wiring work today. With the Aquastream using the G 1/4 fittings it sticks out a tad farther than when using the standard G 1/8 fittings. This turned out to cause a slight problem because I wanted to run the Aquastream power cable forward and down to the Aquaero below it. Essentially I had a fairly sharp surface on the Aquabay that the cable was rubbing on and I could see it eventually cutting though the insulation. So I thought about what I could do and while rounding that part would have worked or putting a plastic cover over that metal edge it seemed a little overkill and might look unslightly.:eyebrow:


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    So what I decided to do is to add a piece of heatshrink over that area and eliminate the problem. ;)


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    In the next pic you will see that my Aquastream cable is a little shorter than normal. Some people have been known to just use a cable tie and try and hide it somewhere. I decided that would look tacky so I cut it just long enough to drop down to the Aquaero below it.


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    And here it is finished and ready to have the plug connector put on the wire.


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    As I mentioned the other day I have started laying out the wiring and here are a couple of teaser pic's. What I did was to drill holes in the bottom of the case and thread them with a 6-32 hand tap. Now I have a nice way to hold down the power wires going to the front of the case for attachment to the Aquaero and the optical drives. I used the same looking stainless steel button head socket cap screws that I have been using elsewhere in this project. :cooldude:


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    More to come soon. :hehe:
     
  19. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Well lets see what we have for today...more custom wiring solutions, what else?

    So what bugs most people about a PSU? One size wiring loom does not fit all, right? The loom is either too long or too short and usually looks half-assed to boot IMHO. So today I have decided to fix my HD power wiring so I get a nice looking extremely clean install. After all I want it my way. :hip:

    So the first thing to do is to gather up all the tools you will probably need. So what do we got here? heat shrink; heat shrink gun; red, yellow, and black wire; extra power assemblies, wire cutters; molex female pins; needle nose pliers; phillips screwdriver; molex pin remover tool; and a molex crimping tool.

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    So the first thing you have to do is either decide if you want to make the wires up from scratch or use some of those old molex extensions you got hanging around. I did a combination of both if the wires I salvaged weren't up to my specs. It helps to look over the metal pins with a Optivisor to make sure they aren't damaged before you procede. Here are the ones I harvested and made up for one 4 pin molex.


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    The first thing you will want to do is to get out the heatshrink tubing and put about 2" on each wire and shrink it down.

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    Then you attach the pins to the molex connector. If you don't know how to do this you can usually get the right info from the manufacturer of your PSU as to what color goes where. Since I was making up a cable for three hard drives I made three of these complete sub-assemblies. As you have probably noticed they are three different lengths. The longest one should be about 6" long, the second about 5", and the third one should be about 4" long for my finished cable. If you have wider separation of drives then you may need to fudge a bit on the sizes. :dremel:


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    The next thing to do is to mark the black wires so you can identify them later on in the mod. What I did was to use a silver color Dykem Mark & Code pen and marked each black wire that was next to the red wire. This is important so don't forget to do it!


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    Now you need to cut off a piece of sleeving about 12" long or so. Cut each end with a hot tool of your choice so the ends don't fray why you are working on the cable assembly. Take your cut off piece and slide it down the longest wire assembly you have. Please pick a sleeve size much bigger than you would normally use for your power cables as you are going to have a total of twelve (12) wires in this assembly eventually. If you use to small it will not look good unless you like to see colored wire through the sleeving. :duh:


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    The next thing I did was to put a small piece of heatshrink near the plastic molex connector so the heatshrink would not move.


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    Okay now the fun starts. What you need to do is to put the completed assembly in the top mounted drive. Then you need to guesstimate where the next cable assembly will get inserted into the sleeving. I did this by taking the second connector assembly and plugged it into the HD below the top one. Then you can easily see where you will want the assembly to go. Once you decide where it will go you take the phillips screwdriver and open a small hole in the side of the sleeving. It helps if you gather up a bit of sleeving so it is looser where you want to insert the screwdriver.


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    At this point in the mod you should get something that looks kind of like this.


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    The completed mod will look like the following two pics.


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    And of course what you get out of all this is a power cable your way. :D


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    Tomorrow I will solder up all these wires so that the one set of cables coming off the PSU will attach to my HD cable assembly.
     
  20. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Thanks for the extra star Modsquad :thumb:

    Just a little update today as I picked up a bunch of stainless buttonhead socket cap screws Friday from McMaster Carr. Never did like those low profile screws they use as they seem to blocky to me. :eyebrow:

    Here is what I used to have to look at before. I had used some inch standard buttonheads when I originally bolted the Aquabay together, which you see in the 4 corners.


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    Here is what I get to see now. :baby:


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    And I also decided to change a lot of the other screws to buttonheads as well.


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