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Case Mod - In Progress Gaming in tight spaces - MAX11Lv3 ***COMPLETE! (11/11/11)***

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by miahallen, 2 Oct 2011.

  1. jeckulz

    jeckulz What's a Dremel?

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    Awesome man. Plain awesome. Hope your temps are nice after all this hard graft!
     
  2. Mataten

    Mataten What's a Dremel?

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    This is close to what engineers in every case manufacturer want to build,but doesn't pull it off because they can´t think "outside the box".
    I´m impressed how everything fits so perfect in your case.It looks like magic. I will follow this beautiful project.
     
  3. L1U

    L1U Minimodder

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    absolutely impressive space management. great great work
     
  4. Just Jon

    Just Jon User title provided by Skimtitles

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    This is fantastic so far, keep it up :)
     
  5. coolamasta

    coolamasta Folding@Home CC Captain 2010/11/12

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    What an awesome little build, well done :thumb:
     
  6. miahallen

    miahallen Team IRONMODS - World Champions!

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    OK, I've got another update for you all. This build is getting very close to finished now...In fact, I'm planning to finish it this week. Cross your fingers that I don't run into any problems :D

    Back when I started the project, I took some very careful measurements and created a Sketchup model of the intended rear panel for the new case layout.

    [​IMG]

    Then I looked around for someone who could precision cut the panel for me. I found two guys in the "Artisian" section at OCN...Pedgette and Frozen-Q. I sent both guys the 3D model and requested a quote. After receiving the quote, I paid both of them for two pieces each. Pedgette is the first who has responded and here is one of the two panels he sent me:

    [​IMG]

    Fits almost perfect! Now I just need longer screws with which to attach it :p

    MNPCtech carries some high quality faux carbon fiber these days, and I ordered some to clean up the rough areas exposed by all the cutting. I started with the optical drive tray, just as a practice run to get a feel for working with the material.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Then I continued with the front panel.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I also wanted to do the bottom of the case.

    [​IMG]

    The first piece I cut was backwards (mirrored) from how I needed it :(

    [​IMG]

    But luckly I'd ordered a bit more than I needed, so I had enough to redo the attempt, and the 2nd time went much better.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I also received the SSD/HDD mount today, and that plus the back panels were the only pieces still missing. So like I said before, I should be able to wrap up this build by the end of this week!
     
  7. jeckulz

    jeckulz What's a Dremel?

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    Slicker than a freshly shaved page 3 girl in the Castrol factory :D
     
  8. phinix

    phinix RIP Waynio...

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    Looking at the structure right now, looks like you want this dual radiator to take all the heat from the i7 2600 CPU and GTX580, using single fan and a fan from PSU. That single fan will suck hot air through the radiator inside the case, straight into the small empty space around CPU block, motherboard mosfets and the rear of the GPU chipset area is that correct?
    What kind of temps are you expecting/ foreseeing?
     
  9. miahallen

    miahallen Team IRONMODS - World Champions!

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    ^^^ Better than air cooling ;)
     
  10. imersa

    imersa Parvum Princess

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    ^^^

    also this now makes me dislike my mATX plans :(
     
  11. miahallen

    miahallen Team IRONMODS - World Champions!

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    It has that effect on many :p
     
  12. L1U

    L1U Minimodder

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  13. Combatus

    Combatus Bit-tech Modding + hardware reviews Lover of bit-tech Super Moderator

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    Looks great! A lot of stuff packed in there! What's the ASRock board like for overclocking the 2600K? We managed to get ours to about 4.6/4/7 with the Zotax ITX board.
     
  14. miahallen

    miahallen Team IRONMODS - World Champions!

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    I only played with it briefly before beginning the build....but I'm thinking I'll only be able to reach around the same speeds, OCing options are pretty limited. :(
     
  15. peteski

    peteski long live the pc

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    looking very good miahallen this is proberly one of my favorite builds . well done and keep up the good work :rock: :rock: :rock:
     
  16. Zet

    Zet What's a Dremel?

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    The ultimate gaming pc for the LAN-gamers without a car: you could apply straps so you can use it as a backpack :D
     
  17. miahallen

    miahallen Team IRONMODS - World Champions!

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    Well sorry guys, I was planning to post more pictures yesterday, but I got a bit discouraged. There is a small leak in the front end....I have not identified the exact source, but I'm thinking its the hose-to-barb seal on the lower rad connection....its dripping once a minute or so. The other problem I ran into is upon my 1st attempt to power on the system, nothing happened....nothing at all! :( The PSU was pre-tested, but I neglected to test it after I finished rewiring it....but looks like I'll have to break everything down again to locate the problem.
     
  18. miahallen

    miahallen Team IRONMODS - World Champions!

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    double post, sry
     
    Last edited: 6 Nov 2011
  19. Cuzza

    Cuzza What's a Dremel?

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    Mate... no log on Losias this time?! Gutted.

    Suppose I should get off my butt and mod one myself. But this is quality project my friend, I will take inspiration!
     
  20. miahallen

    miahallen Team IRONMODS - World Champions!

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    So, these are the pictures I neglected to post yesterday. Its late now, so I'll have to fill in descriptions tomorrow.

    These are the brackets I made for the reservoir and the pump.
    [​IMG]

    Reservoir mounted.
    [​IMG]

    The bracket attaches to the case with the clips originally intended for the front fan filter.
    [​IMG]

    The pump mounts to the back side of the bracket.
    [​IMG]

    The SSD was screwed directly into the motherboard tray.
    [​IMG]

    And I made some custom brackets to keep the HDD clinging onto the mounted SSD.
    [​IMG]

    Like this:
    [​IMG]

    I had to rewire this connector to power both drives...and I also tapped into the 12V and ground lines to power the optical drive, the LEDs on the bottom, and the pump.
    [​IMG]

    Here's how it looks with the SSD & HDD mounted.
    [​IMG]

    Added in the reservoir & pump bracket.
    [​IMG]

    This is probably a better angle.
    [​IMG]

    One more for good measure.
    [​IMG]

    With the optical drive mounted, things fit fine except for the fill port...the SSD & HDD stuck out just a hair too far, so the fill port had to go. I'm going to mount a toggle switch there instead which will control the LEDs on the bottom, so they can be turned off when not wanted.
    [​IMG]

    "Its almost hard to believe I got it all to fit!!! :D
    Leak testing commences!
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: 7 Nov 2011

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