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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. Gateway

    Gateway ...

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    Idiot thing to say.
     
  2. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Okay got some work done last night and managed to pop a couple of pics before the sun went down. As I mentioned before, Javerh, led me in the right direction. Here you can see what I was able to do with needle nose pliers, a Buck knife, and a Dremel sanding band. The way you use the needle nose pliers is by grabbing the fins and rolling the pliers so you don't exert undue force on the water jacket.

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    :idea:
    One of the things you need to remember about a mod like this is typified by a common saying: When your up to your ass in alligators it is hard to remember that you are there just to drain the swamp. It is really easy to get too involved with modding the radiator when the point is to make some room and paint it. Therefore, the finish is not too important at this stage of the game. If you get too involved in making it look pretty you may be visiting the radiator repair shop. :lol:

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    Here you can see just how much material was taken off.

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    I also did some prep work on the strip of aluminum I took out yesterday. Went to Pep Boys and got some putty epoxy and can of satin black epoxy spray paint that matches the original painted finish. Tonight the aluminum strip goes in and painting tomorrow. Pics up probably tomorrow night.

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  3. jhanlon303

    jhanlon303 The Keeper of History

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    Not for anyone who cares about their country and has an abiding sense of loss for the travesty perpetrated on the US on that day. I lost IBM co-workers. Wait in the truck!

    john

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    Validus likes this.
  4. Javerh

    Javerh Topiary Golem

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    Nice job with the fins!
     
  5. Validus

    Validus What's a Dremel?

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    I definitely find myself getting bogged down in details sometimes. For me, it's usually in the design process. At some point I have to take a step back and be like "Ok, that's as far as I'm going to take it for the time being and actually begin something."

    Pretty nice work thus far. Have you tested the radiator (For leaks or anything) or is that not really necessary?
     
  6. Gateway

    Gateway ...

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    It was because that line of thought ("kill em , because they have killed ours too) that this tragedy happened and is still happening.
     
  7. The boy 4rm oz

    The boy 4rm oz Project: Elegant-Li

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    My friends Grandma was on the first plane :(.
     
  8. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Sorry to hear about your friends grandma and others who died that day. The woman who lives next to me was on the 52nd floor of the second tower when the airliner hit the first tower. 95% of the people she worked with died that day and her life was devastated. This terrorist tragedy affects a lot of people and I don't take back anything I said about this.

    So anyway I had a chance to get out the steel epoxy and do some more work. Here you can see what I had planned with the strip of aluminum I cut off the other day. It was a bit to hot to paint today so tomorrow it is after I take the cut-off saw to the overhang.

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    As I mentioned the Koolance fittings showed up Friday and just as soon as the painting is done I'm going to be stringing tubing. :D

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  9. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Thanks! Check out this pic after a little Dremel saw action. All ready to paint when I wake up tomorrow. :D


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    Last edited: 13 Sep 2009
  10. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Details and perfectionism are what caused this project to stretch from 6 months to 4 1/2 years. :sigh:

    I'm pretty sure I didn't get into the water jacket, but that is what a leak test is all about before you put the pedal to the metal. :D
     
  11. The boy 4rm oz

    The boy 4rm oz Project: Elegant-Li

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    Very nice work on the rad, very nice work indeed.
     
  12. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Just shot 4 coats of epoxy satin black so we shall see what's up in about 4 hours.

    While I'm waiting I thought I would post a few other pics of what else I have been up to. Here is my video card with the Aquacomputer Cuplex XT and some Swiftech ram heatsinks.


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    I got the power cables up to the video card. Thinking of whether to do some more sleeving and how to get the wiring situated to the chassis.


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    I was considering running the CPU water line straight down, but decided it would be difficult to make the bend into the Aquatube. So the PSU loom was small and it fits just nice there next to the power wires. :lol:

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    I got to start working on the front of the case as the back is getting so heavy it wants to do wheelies when I push it across the floor. :jawdrop:


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    I think for the time being I will let my Raptor's sizzle in the air while I order up some more parts from AC.

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  13. disturbed13

    disturbed13 What's a Dremel?

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    it was you that had the idiot thing to say
    did you ever consider where he is?
    Southern California
    if my geography and military knowledge wake up
    i believe that there is a military base in Southern California
    further more if it happend to your country you would be saying the same thing that we are
    i for one stand beside his words
     
  14. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    As you have probably noticed my camera has not been working like a Nikon. Just found out that my problem is being fixed by Nikon for free, but I will be out of camera for a week or two. :waah:

    :idea:
    Got to call Nikon and see if I can hand deliver it as repair depot is only about 15 miles away.

    Here is the stuff I used to mod my radiator. The stuff works fast and really is hard as steel. Paints well to. Get it at an auto supply house.

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    Here are the pics of my finished radiator. Going back in tonight and hopefully the last time. :sigh:

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    Here you can also see the Koolance fittings I got the other day.

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  15. The boy 4rm oz

    The boy 4rm oz Project: Elegant-Li

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    I would suggest running the power cables up behind the mobo tray but it is too late anyway as you have already cut the cable holes in the floor.
     
  16. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Thanks for the suggestion. :)

    I thought about that a few years back, but there just isn't a lot of room back there without some major Dremel cutting action. Besides, I like looking at cables. Wait till you see the Aquaero wiring. :naughty:

    Reminds me of cruising through military surplus communications gear from the 50's. :D
     
  17. The boy 4rm oz

    The boy 4rm oz Project: Elegant-Li

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    Yeah I like to see some cable also but I just think that those GPU power cables are a tad to exposed, binding them together or making a buide of sorts could help with their appearance.
     
  18. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Your making me work harder. :lol:

    Actually I was planning on redoing the factory sleeving down the line, but got to get busy doing some USB sleeving and making a few custom USB double cables.
     
  19. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Got all the right tools out for the wiring mods: solder gun; electrical tape; multi-meter; forceps; automatic wire stripper; various crimping tools.

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    I need to get a 5+ volt line up to the Aquaero. I think what I am going to do is to use the Aquaero relay to turn the computer on. When I get done all I will have to do is to hit an Aquaero button and no need for a power button anymore. :thumb:

    So there are only three places to get the power I need. I considered opening up the PSU and soldering a wire to the board, but that seemed like too big a hassle. Another thought was to remove the purple wire from the main power plug that connects to the motherboard and repin it for two wires. That one also seemed to be a bit of a hassle and might have some aesthetic issues. So what I decided to do was to operate on the main wiring loom.

    The trick here is to open up the sleeving without damaging it and reach in and grab the purple wire. You can get into the sleeving by pushing into it with a ball point pen. Once it is open you can then reach in with a forceps and gently work it out.


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    Next thing to do is to access the wire itself. While some might cut I decided to soften/burn the insulation with my soldering gun so that I had an open wire and no chances of cut wire.

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    Now I suppose you could use any wire at hand, but I decided to go get some purple 24 ga stranded hookup wire. That way I keep the PSU color codes straight. So I soldered in the wire and covered with a bit of electrical tape. The junction is sticking out a bit, but it will stay that way until I sleeve it later this week.

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    Now that was done I could get busy doing the Aquaero power connectors. As you recall I sleeved the main power in such a way that it comes out to the side. I didn't have a two pin polarized pin connector so I used a connector like the ones you hook up to the motherboard control pins. Just to see how it would look I trial fitted it with the black wires that were already attached to it.

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    :idea:
    That looks good, but since the connector wasn't polarized I decided to repin it with 24 Ga stranded purple and black wire. Now no misteaks in hooking up the hot line to the ground. :D

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    Hopefully I won't have to take the Aquaero out again. The fans are hooked up and later this week I will be putting in the flow meter, water temp sensor, USB cable, and Aquatube LED's.

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    Here is the back (inside) of the Aquaero in the case.

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    And here is where the power wires exit to the side of the case. No I didn't find a rectangle rubber mount. I squeezed in a round rubber grommet so the cable wouldn't chaff.

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    Here's the wires coming out. Trying to figure out whether to just hard wire (soldering) these wires to the main loom or use a six (6) pin polarized connector.

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    I got the tubing in that connects to the Koolance barb and goes to the GPU cooler. What a PITA! The tubing connects on the GPU with a push-fit so the tubing has to be fairly hard or you don't get a good seal. I finally had to unscrew the 90 degree fitting off the GPU and then keep adjusting the tubing length till it wouldn't kink. Then with the tubing all connected I then screwed back the fitting into the GPU cooler. A lot of the problem is that the Koolance radiator doesn't allow the fittings to go straight down. :wallbash:

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    I also put in the tubing going from the radiator to the CPU cooler.

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  20. The boy 4rm oz

    The boy 4rm oz Project: Elegant-Li

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    Really coming together very well :thumb:.
     

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