1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Project: Sli 'n Shinymaster - 22 September

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by coolmiester, 22 Sep 2005.

  1. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    Sli 'n Shiny

    This is going to be a bit of a trial and error project and not sure how its going to turn out so decided to make a bit of a log.

    The plan is to adapt a couple of Danger Den NV-68 blocks to fit 2 Gainward 6600 GT's onto an MSI K8N SLi Platinum nForce4 SLi (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard.

    The problem is that the Sli slots are only 40mm apart on the m/board which means the 2 upward facing barbs on the bottom block are able to be accessed once the top block is in place.

    A couple of 90 elbow barbs would have done the trick but that's far to easy in my opinion.

    So anyway, i started of with a couple of sketches which show the initial plans a bit better.

    Not the best sketch up in the world but it give an idea......hopefully:)
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Anyway, enough of my poor drawing skills and on with trying to beat these two blocks into submission starting with dismantling them and marking where to start drilling.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The new Danger Den Hi-Flow Barbs have a 9/16" UNF thread but as drilling Lucite with that size drill would probably result in tears, i made a couple of pilot holes with a 3mm drill bit followed by a 7mm and then onto the big one!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    That seemed to go pretty well though i had to run the drill at quite a slow speed with the lager drill bit as it kept on catching and i think it was more good luck than good management that i didn't bust something...

    /..... then it was just a case of running a 9/16" Tap through the holes and putting thread on them.........two turns in and one turn back and so on!

    [​IMG]

    And with the barb screwed in...
    [​IMG]

    OK this is where it ends for today as i'm still waiting on a Tap to turn up so i can Tap the Plug holes properly as they are a different thread size to the Danger Den ones and i'm also waiting on the 2mm threaded bar to link the 2 blocks together so i'll leave with a couple of pictures of how they are starting to look.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Oh.......one last thing...........the space between the two Sli slots is a lot less than what i first thought so the link hose will be a lot shorter, in fact i'm going to have to shorten both the left hand side barbs and maybe even braze them together to make a kind of threaded on each end link pipe..........i'll see.

    [​IMG]

    By the way its all going into the shiny Wavemaster :cool:
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: 22 Sep 2005
  2. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    Anyhoo, bit of an update today...

    Managed to get my hands on the correct size Tap to thread the 2 little bits of Lucite for the plugs which incidentally are Polarflo ones as i couldn't get my hands on Danger Den ones.

    Also got some 2.5mm threaded brass bars...........i'm using little black nuts for the mock-up as i'll also have to re-thread the DD brass knurled thumb screws to the same thread as the rods....more taps and dies:(

    Anyway here's a few pictures of the whole thing starting to take shape. Adding the brass bars had made the 2 blocks really sturdy but i'm starting to get a bit concerned about the weight.

    The two GFX cards have still not turned up so things will come to a bit of a standstill as i'll need them to mount the blocks plus cards into the m/board to get the final measurement between the two left hand side barbs as they are going to need cutting.

    Oh well........here's a few pictures of how they are looking now!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  3. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    Well seeing as how these Sli cards are taking so long to turn up, I thought I’d give a quick breakdown of how the “Shiny Wavemaster” came to be as its gone through quite a few changes and never been prod logged as such!

    Hahaa…..don’t know where to start now!

    I guess the shiny theme came from a D-Tek White Water that I had sand blasted and polished
    [​IMG]

    After that I was hooked on shiny…..so it was straight off to get my hands on a Globalwin 520watt Super Silent (22dBA) Chrome PSU which I immediately cables sleeved in UV Green.

    [​IMG]

    /……..and all installed. Note: to keep things looking tight, I ran the 2 CPU outlets to GPU and NB
    [​IMG]

    I think I started to polish the front of the case at this point which came up great and I always planed on either chroming the rest or polishing it but it’s a really time consuming job so it was much longer before the whole case got done.

    This picture was taken 22/03/04 so it took almost a year to polish it fully……..eeek where did that go???
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I was then lucky enough to get may hands on one of Cathers Solid Silver Cascade Blocks which also look good lit up…
    [​IMG]

    I also polished a Maze4-1 and mounted an 80pelt on the Hercules 9800XT
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Quite a while passed and other projects took up most of the time but I always planed to eventually finish this one.

    I polished an Innovatek Fass-O-Matic and added a Chrome BIX which kicked things back into action.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I’d also just cut a window in the Ventmaster which I was quite pleased with so decided to use the same shape and mirrored finish……….guess it was that that spurned me on to get the whole thing polished…

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Then came a little bit of time off over Xmas so I decided to make a start…

    I knew this wouldn’t be easy so I invested in a sander/polisher
    [​IMG]

    I decided to sacrifice the window and leave it in while I sanded and polished as it would give the panel much more strength and it would be easy enough to make another when it was all over.

    Started off very cautious with some very fine grit and it wasn’t long before the anodising was coming off……………..it’s a lengthy job but the more time spent on sanding the easier polishing would be.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  4. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    I'm going to wait till the cards turn up and see how they actually mount onto the board before making any decisions but i think some sort of bracket will be needed.

    Anyway.....Sli cards still not arrived so decided to do some of the stuff i usually leave till the last minute.

    Got a 3.5" Nexus fan controller with bl00 leds and decided to change them over to green to keep in with the theme.

    Quite an easy mod really that's been seen a thousand time before but i'll post a series of pic's anyway :lol:

    Started off with a standard bl00 3.5" controller
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Carefully bend the legs of the LED to 90 degree right angle
    [​IMG]

    /.....so it ended up like this
    [​IMG]

    From the back, already soldered into place
    [​IMG]

    1 down.......just another 4 to do
    [​IMG]

    ...and with all 5 changed to green
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And the sanded bezel which will be polished later back in place
    [​IMG]
     
  5. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    I've also had to scrap the MSI board as the slots are just to close together at 40mm and fallen in line with the Asus A8N which are a much more feasible 61mm.

    I've had to cut off the / \ bits on the barbs which is going to leave enough room to add a very short piece of hose.

    Apparently all eyes are on this and Gainward UK has sourced me 2x Sli 6800 Ultra Golden Samples from Germany to play with so a big thanks to them...just waiting for them to get here now :)

    This is how the block looks with the barbs cut down and the blocks set at 61mm apart...

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  6. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    Ended up getting another Enermax 600watt Noisetaker with 2x PCI-E power connectors (same model as before but this one has 2 :confused: ) Plus it has the intake fan on the base which won't get restricted when the dual 120 BIX goes in.

    Anyway.....got the cards fitted to the blocks (which is quite a job in itself) and then a dry run at seeing how the pipe work is going to fit best.

    Think i've got it just about right as there is quite a bit of hose to get into a Wavemaster - the loop will go...

    Pump>>>NV-68(1)>>>NV-68(2)>>>CPU>>>Chipset>>>Radiator>>>Res>>>Pump

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  7. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    Little bit of an update....

    got my hands on a Coolermaster front bezel to hide the beige CD Rom and polished it which turned out quite well.

    I've also got the 2 Sli cards up and running but no benchmark as yet as i'm still trying different drivers and mainly concentrating on getting the case finished.

    I'm using and un-modded DDC pump and even with the 2 Sli blocks and also a chipset and CPU block it is still pushing out 3 PSI (not had a problem with this pump not starting yet bit it is one of the older versions and keeping a close eye on it)

    BTW....cards are running at 39 and 40 degrees

    A few pictures anyway...

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  8. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    Yeah the knobs needed to be shortened a little so the door can close properly so i eventually got some new aluminium ones from Maplins and was able to shorten them by about 3mm which is just enough providing i take a about 1mm off the inside of the door as well.

    .....and of coarse polished them along with the other 3 bezels so that's the front pretty much finished so the rest can be fitted at long last.

    I'll have a bit search around for drivers once i get a bit of spare time though it seems to be running great even though i can't overclock the cards

    before
    [​IMG]

    after
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  9. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    I think green looks OK for the over all effect..........should it be a different colour you think??

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    OK..........just to get those little knobs on the fan controller to fit properly i had to resculpture the inside of the door which took an age (by hand) until i got a lend of a Black & Decker power file.............seriously i nearly went through the whole door :duh:

    Anyway it looked a bit distressed there on the inside especially when the door was open as the reflection of the drive bays was pointing straight at the inside of the door so i thought it would be best to paint it..........6 coats of primer and 6 coats of aluminium paint later and it looks pretty much like this...

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  10. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    Anyone that’s thinking of polishing a case like this……be warned it is a horrible filthy job that takes ages but if you can put up with that then the results are well worth it.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  11. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
  12. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    Eventually started marking out for a custom flame grill for this case.

    Its going to be hand cut from 3mm aluminium plate which will obviously be polished once its all cut out so should look quite good providing all goes well.

    I first marked out the edge using the BIX shroud for a guide and then added some flames using one of mnpctechs flame stencils for reference.

    It'll do nothing for air flow but that was never the priority.......look good function second :)

    It will take quite a while so don't expect it finished tonight :eek:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    Managed to get all the cutting done using a fret saw with the tiniest little 18tpi blades which was good fun so its just a case of filing the corners round and polishing the whole thing to match the shiny case.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  13. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    Managed to get the grill polished using Peek and my trusty DA Polisher and then fitted so loads of pictures :cool:

    All im waiting for now is the release of the NV-78 blocks to plumb in the GFX cards

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  14. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    I couldn't wait any longer for the new Danger Den NV-78 blocks to arrive so took it upon myself to have a go at modding an NV-68 block and just thought i would share my new creation with everyone.

    The main problem was the Lucite back plate on the NV-68 which covered some of the memory chips on the new 7800 cards and i've seen a few people hacking the Lucite to fit always looks a bit getto for my liking so decided to make one from scratch.

    Got myself a bit of 6mm aluminium and using the original Lucite top marked out the four holes to get a reference then basically measured where the chips were and laid it all out on paper so i could sketch the basic shape.

    Tried to keep all the lines nice and flowing so it looked nice......obviously:)

    Once i was happy with the shape i cut it out so i had a template to lay on top of the card lining it up with the holes to make sure it all fitted nice, then stuck the template onto the aluminium.

    [​IMG]

    Then out with trusty fret saw and cut round the paper template
    [​IMG]

    and ended up with this nice little object which when placed underneath the original Lucite plate you can see its basically the same but with the curves much more exaggerated.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Quick bit of lapping to the top and sides
    [​IMG]

    and then onto the polishing wheel :cool:
    [​IMG]

    Then clamped the Lucite top to it to get the holes lined up and exactly and went ahead and drilled the 4 holes followed by cutting the neoprene to size
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The next bit has been seen a few times before but i may as well run through it incase anyone wants to see how its done.

    On the 7800 cards there are also a few resistors that protrude higher than the actual memory preventing the block to come in contact with the bits its supposed to.

    I've circled in red the ones on this particular card which is a Gainward 7800Ultra GTX Golden Sample but there may be variations between different cards so it may be worth checking.
    [​IMG]

    Basically what you need to do is identify the protruding resistors and put a small dab of Arctic Ceramique on each one then lay the block on its back and then carefully offer the card down into position. Take the card away and you will be left with a little blob of Arctic Ceramique on the block form the offending resistors..
    [​IMG]

    You will find you only need to dig out about 1mm of copper using a Dremmel with the small grinding bit so it looks something like this...
    [​IMG]

    Obviously brush away all the copper filings and offer the card to the block once more just to make sure you don't get any Arctic Ceramique which providing you ground out the correct area to the correct depth will indicate that the resistors no longer interfere and the card will lay flush onto the block.
    You can then follow the NV-68 Mounting Instructions

    Anyway, i'll leave you of a few pictures of the finished bracket which show the memory chips can now take ram sinks which in this case are shiny Tweakmonster ones.

    I've now got to make another one for the other card and get them put back into the Shinymaster :cool:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  15. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    And then there were two :)

    [​IMG]

    Well i'm not to sure if anyone else has had a go at cooling Sli 7800's with NV-68 blocks so here you go :smile:

    Took a bit longer than i would have liked but the polished aluminium brackets fit in good with the shiny case and at last its all back together and being leak tested so should get a comparison temp wise over the stock air cooled later.

    Fingers X'd :eek:

    [​IMG]

    Well i'm sure your sick of seeing this one so i'm pleased to say its eventually finished.

    It kinda sat around in limbo land waiting for a grill which i've just recently completed and then the Sli 7800 GTX were begging to go in hence the 2 shiny brackets so it's all finally back together now and that's the way its staying :)

    GPU1 - 43c
    GPU2 - 42c

    Anyway, here's a few pictures (in no particular order) and i promise that's the last ;)

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  16. bloodcar

    bloodcar Minimodder

    Joined:
    1 Sep 2002
    Posts:
    2,191
    Likes Received:
    6
    I've been waiting for you to make this discussion thread since I saw you first porting over your logs. And just because I wanted to say...

    You have a huge crease in your case!!!! :hehe:

    Great to see the entire family of cases ported over. It made them so much easier to follow this way. I stopper following this one in particular because it was just becoming a pain to wade through all the praise! Anyways man, nice work and can't wait to see another addition to the family.
     
    Last edited: 22 Sep 2005
  17. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    Yeah much easier..............i was struggling to find my own posts TBH :D

    Strange, that crease has gone since i moved it lol

    Cheers for the feedback :thumb:
     
  18. Leeum

    Leeum What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    16 Feb 2004
    Posts:
    2,494
    Likes Received:
    1
    This has got to be one of my favourite projects of all time, you never cease to amaze me :thumb:
     
  19. coolmiester

    coolmiester Coolermaster Legend

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2002
    Posts:
    2,087
    Likes Received:
    59
    We certainly had a bit of success lately what with Leeums Mondust mod so not one to miss a photo opportunity here is my recent claim to fame :D

    Clickable
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  20. Leeum

    Leeum What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    16 Feb 2004
    Posts:
    2,494
    Likes Received:
    1
    Nice work on the CPC article, turned out great!

    I sure hope it isn't the last one from you we'll see in there :)
     

Share This Page