Case Mod - In Progress My Cosmos build

Is this the right spot for this?

I finished a build about a month ago and thought I'd share a few pics if it might prove useful to anyone.

It's a CM Cosmos 1000. Only real modding was the bottom of the chassis to fit in the two '86 chevette HCs, and of course the black paint. I know it seems restrictive having the rads sucking from the bottom but there's some nice cool air down there and they actually have 2" of clearance off the floor so no issues with air flow. Still working out the last details, i.e. placement and number of additional case fans and such. I plan to replace the stock CM fans with some noctuas.

There are two individual loops. The CPU loop has a HC, DD-CPX1 pump, swiftech MC-RES, and a D-tek fuzion with nozzle kit and pro mount. The GPU loop has a HC, DD-CPX1 pump, swiftech MC-RES, and a DD Maze5 block with Enzotech ramsinks taking care of the vram.

BTW, I called this project "Gettin' out of the Ghetto" because here is where I was moving from.




And here's a few of the build in progress and the final (or semi-final) product.























My intent was to have a computer that had good cooling and was quiet too, and also have a rig that looked somewhat presentable. I also wanted to leave the top open in the event I wanted to put a 120.3 rad or a couple smaller ones for additional loops in the future should the need arise.

This was my first build like this so if you have any constructive criticism I'd like to hear it.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

Nicely done. I think you achieved what you wanted, it's super clean

 

Sweet looking I have a question though. Is that a window on the side or is the case just open? Also are you going to put any lights in it?

 

Just open for the pics, but I think I've decided I do want a window. I might put lights in it, I dont want to make it too cheezy it though. Ill probably do something subtle.

 

Well I personally like the liquid neon’s.

 

For a moment I thought, "damn, to bad all the power and hd cables are gonna mess the clean look up"... that was until I saw how well you've managed to hide the cables.
Great, great work!

If you plan on having a case window i think led's would look nicer than ccfl's. the light will be a bit more focuse and subtle.. that's my two cents any way.

 

Did you route the P8 connector directly underneath the motherboard?

 

I am absolutely LOVING that.

Nice job.

 

How do the heatercores compare with other rads?

 

Nice job! Very clean work.

Are those CoolingWorks shrouds on the cores? And what happened to CoolingWorks?! Their rads were really good and cheap too, but they've dropped off the face of the planet.

Edit:
Realized the pumps you're running. Quiet, eh? I have one of those in an older build. Absolutely no flow though, but they're great for single-block low-restriction loops like what you're running.

 

That's a good idea! I can individually control brightness and leave them clear for a more focused light or frost them for a more dispersed lighting. Thanks!

All of the cables are hidden behind the mobo tray. There are a few slots cut around the perimeter of the mobo to allow the wires to come through. The hole for the 4 conductor power connector at the top is just under the mobo since I had to clear some stuff at the back.

Very well but they do need some additional work, i.e. barbs soldered on, shrouds, paint. As for cooling they are 6" square by 2" thick so you get a lot of surface area in a compact shape. Consider an average 120.3 rad, the core is ~4.75" wide by 14.25" long and 1" thick, that gives approximately 68 cu. inches of core. My HC has a volume of 72 cu. inches. Of course this comparison completely excludes such factors like fin profiles, fin densities, blah blah blah, but it does give a good idea of potential. The large shroud helps a lot too. I've never seen a documented comparison, maybe I'll do one someday.

I can't remember who makes them. I thought I saw them available the other day from an unlikely source, Thermochill or DD maybe? I wasn't impressed with the pumps at first, very rattly. They have since quieted down nicely. Last night I actually had to look at the res' for water movement to tell they were even running. Every now ant then they let out a little rattle but now my PSU is now the major noise offender.

Thanks a lot for all the compliments everyone!

 

Looks beautiful!!!

Did you use a gun or can for the paint?

 

Very nice! Clean too!

 

I used Tremclad flat black spray paint.

 

Although I kind of tired of seeing case after case with black interiors (heh, I hope I don't offend a lot of ppl now), this actually looks _very_ good!!! Very clean, I like it!!!