Scratch Build – In Progress Epic PC X Series 20.10.2010 Its over, finished, complete. Come one come all :)

Quick update before I head off to do more cuts.


This is the motherboard backplate. The rectangle thing on the right is a water path so the amount of visible tubing becomes substantially reduced. Who wants to see tubing anyway right?



The main part of the computer. Removable motherboard rails....ooooh


Oh and the res seems watertight.

 

how much coffee do u drink a day man?? anyways looking good cant wait to see more updates

 

No-doz and red bull, plenty of.

There will be an update up tonight, big update!

 

go-go no-doz!

 

If anyone has a template or some information regarding PSU hole placement then hit me up, I cannot seem to find anything relating to it, not even on formfactors.

 

I think it will be hard for you to top your first one but this one will definately be alot neater now your using a lazer cutter great work!

 

Check your PM for psu spacing goodies

 

The above is an example of why I hang around bit-tech.

I now have a ready to cut DXF file, thanks Editor!

 

no worries mate, glad to keep the project moving along swiftly

PS. just be sure to check it first as I used it for a template with hand tools so cant verify the accuracy 100% for machining

 

You're off to a really nice start, I'm anxious to see how the case will turn out

 

You and me both mate, the motherboard IO plate is starting to become guess work though....


Really anxious to see how that works out haha

 

Your parts so far are looking very slick. That MB tray is sweet. Nice work.

One note regarding the res. Weld-on will hold better than any silicone could ever hope to. I usually pressure test the reservoirs I make at about 30psi, and as long as I've done things right and have good joints, they don't leak. I do make it a point however to use only 1/4" cast acrylic as it is so much better to work with and so much more durable than extruded.

 

Which weldon is this though? not 16 yeah? 16 was a pain in my ass for sooo long, it developed bubbles, got all stringy, RUINED MY LIFE! ILL NEVER BE THE SAME!

Massive update coming, huge.

 

Its been two days since my last update....

But Im making up for that, with this update.



I pulled an all night cutting session and I even amazed myself how much I could get done in only a few hours.





I started with the cutting of the HDD tray. Let me tell you that this HDD tray is positioned in the holy grail of HDD tray positioning spots. It has a 240mm radiator blowing air from below and a 240mm front air intake cooling it as well. Cooling win.


Got the IO plate done, more on that later.



Side panels, more on that later......




Started cutting out the main part of the case, looking good so far. If you are a super detail whore, there is a fill hole at the top and a bleed hole in the bottom.


Mmmmmm


Moving along now to the front, This is not what this thing will finish looking like. Its plain and its ugly I know. To solve this problem, ive comissioned a designer friend of mine to give me a design to put ontop of it!


This here, let me explain.

I wanted to reduce tubing so water comes up that right side, into the full mobo watercooling plate (havent made that yet) and then to the cpu and up to the top radiator. Minimal tubing, awesome visuals.

Going to get started on the waterblock design, I will leave you with this.

 

subscribed

 

Its Monday and that means that multicam will be coming down to teach me how to cut copper, which means I have to design that waterblock.....which means I have to take my current computer apart.

Which means two things. One, ill be offline. Two, when I come back there should be a full motherboard waterblock ready for everyone to see! Oh and its monday so my bitspower fittings should be arriving. Oh joy!


I'm really getting the hang of this syringe glueing Self praise is no praise but cmon, check this seam out!





Im happy at how the HDD tray has turned out, I figured that I might want 6 HDD's in the future. It may never happen but at least I have that option now.



I like these big screws that come with antec cases. However, they dont thread directly through 3mm acrylic but a little depth can fix that.



I realise that this photo doesnt quite explain what is going on. Basically the motherboard fits ontop of this piece and can thus slide out of the case when needed.

In an attempt to reduce the amount of tubing in the case, I decided to do some internal routing of the water. I for one, am not a fan of absolutely awesome looking cases that have been seemingly rushed in the watercooling department. Watercooling is an artform that needs to be integrated into the case. Shoving tubing all over the inside of your case, IMO is poor integration.





When working with acrylic you can never have too much internal and external support. You can achieve this support by using thicker materials or placing 45 degree holders. I havent cut it out yet, but I have a "spine" to put into the case that I have yet to cut. More on that later.







I guess im erecting the side panels. I've always wanted to use that word without being sus.




The motherboard runs along these rails.



More ERECTING


Tomorrow will be interesting, I have alot of content for a new youtube vid aswell and I will be compiling it all....lets say Tuesday Or Wednesday. The full motherboard block will really test me out as I only have one piece of copper so I must get it right first time. Copper is kinda expensive as well so lets hope I dont screw up.

Also, one more question. With o-ring's, do you just solder it back together if it comes in a spool?

 

Making a case from scratch is quite difficult, I am not even at a stage where most modders begin their work. I make this point because I have had a few of my friends look at my progress so far and tell me that its great that I am nearly finished.

The truth is, I have barely even started on this project. I have a designer helping me do the artwork for the front panel and there are so many, too many ways to do the water flow path that my brain almost exploded.


I started sanding down a clear piece for the backplate of the motherboard IO tray and I wasn't quite going for the frost look, more so a scratchy cross look.


You can sorta tell what I am talking about. Like cross sanded, uni-directional sanding. My vocab isnt working today.


Stuck the middle of the E's back in and kept going.




Turned out well, like a nice soft glow. Uni-directional glow





I am sure we have all seen enough of the HDD tray.





I got a whole heap of bitspower fittings!


The case has more room than I imagined, quite spacious.

 

These bitspower fittings are works of art, if only my photography skills were up to this!

 

Just took apart my old computer and found that my PSU fan had died, probably long ago. Cudos to corsair for making a psu that could run without a fan but at the same time, why the hell put in a cheap fan for a psu?

Pics soon

 

Update!


I started taking apart my old case and draining it all out.


Having taken everything apart, I took all the measurements to make the custom waterblocks but unfortunately the NB, SB and mosfets are all mounted at different heights which makes for an uncomfortable margin of error. I will instead be making my own NB, SB and a dual mosfet block from 2mm thick copper.



A little isopropyl and a heat gun...


Alcohol cures all...


The stock thermalpaste is really stubborn, took alot of heat gunning to get it off!


Packed like sardines!


Sigh, corsair make a good unit but my two previous units and my current 1000W have suffered at the hands of fan failures within a year.

I refuse to send off another PSU to Singapore just because it would void my warranty to remove a screw and put in another fan. Seriously...




Corsair should also refrain from chewing gum when making psu units


My new setup, at least now there is no rush in finishing the rest of the case, I have a huge amount of ideas to implement from watercooling guages to milling painters tape and doing my own custom paint jobs.

If it works, I will also be spray painting letters onto the tygon itself. I think I have found a primer that will stick to tygon.


Case Pics








I will be designing and milling the waterblocks soon, stay tuned.