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Case Mod - In Progress HP Blackbird 002

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by MrBean, 28 Sep 2008.

  1. Tulatin

    Tulatin The Froggy Poster

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    That dualpumbayreshead looks pretty spectacular, but just do us one big favor when it comes in - find out how much vibration it induces. I've always had bad experiences with DDCs causing far too much vibration in situations like this.

    \/ Rahul probably spends most of his days wondering why he didn't fight the acquisition harder. After all, the only thing HP did for Voodoo was plow it into the ground.
     
    Last edited: 10 Jun 2011
  2. docodine

    docodine killed a guy once

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    Wonder if Rahul Sood has seen this, I'm sure he'd have something to say!
     
  3. MrBean

    MrBean Minimodder

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    Will do Mate, no worries. It should arrive mid next week, and I will mount it on Friday/Saturday.

    Had it up at 'TheNextBench' forums, which used to be home to all things Voodoo et al, but it seems all those guys were interested in was fitting stock OEM water to their HP BB's.

    Sad really, as these cases offer an unique challenge to watercooling - but I luv every moment of it :)

    Rahul Sood or not, rofl.
     
  4. The boy 4rm oz

    The boy 4rm oz Project: Elegant-Li

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    Holy thread revival batman! I can't wait to see if all et up with the new res.
     
  5. MrBean

    MrBean Minimodder

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    Next week I will post plenty new pics :) Promiss!
     
  6. MrBean

    MrBean Minimodder

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    Hello Boyz,
    A small update, as promised.

    Way back in the first post, I had a few shots up of the case, when I received it from Alex at ComputerChoppers in the USA. It was in great condition, but, no side-panels, and no front-panel to house the switches et al.

    Or, to be more precise, it did come with the button-panel plastics, albeit in a pretty bad condition - at least the PCS was in good shape.

    And here's a shot of the front-panel electronics, minus the rather nice HP frontpanel assembly:

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    The original assembly was modified, but it did not come out well, and will not fit this mod particularly well -
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    and the backside:

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    Then followed the AutoCAD design - by me of course :)

    An isometric of the back of the original power buttons:
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    and one of the front:
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    Well, herewith a few photos of an unit machined by a Pal in the USA - this is not the final version, but a very good specimen none-the-less. The final version will come with some machinining on the fron surface. This unit is machined from a solid bar of aluminium, and exactly as per the AutoCAD drawings.....what you guys reckon? good, or?

    Please ignore the HP Logo, this is only temporary....

    [​IMG]

    and

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    and a last one

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    Last edited: 11 Jun 2011
  7. MrBean

    MrBean Minimodder

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    Then, I was never happy with the rear bracket where the tubing passed from the lower GFX-card area, through the 'floor' to the CPU-area.....this was the original bracket, which I modified to accommodate the BP-fittings:

    [​IMG]

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    and here it is mounted after modding:

    [​IMG]

    I decided to manufacture a new bracket out of aluminium, and use BP pass-through connectors to do a better overall job, and it came rather nice. I do not have a photo of making the bracket, but it is a simple piece of angled aluminium, drilled/brushed/finished and fitted.

    You can clearly see the new layout in these shots:

    [​IMG]

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    and from below

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  8. MrBean

    MrBean Minimodder

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    As mentioned a couple days ago, I am awaiting the arrival of the new Koolance Bay Reservoir, which will allow me to mount 2x DDC pumps, as well as the Res, in a single 5.25" drive-bay. The Blackbird sports only one of these bays, and this new Koolance setup will be a nice addition to my setup.

    Here is where the current BP bay-res resides, this will be replaced by the Koolance with pumps.....
    the little bay-door is open in this shot....

    [​IMG]

    and here is a shot from the inside of the case, showing part of the reservoir, as well as the pumps in a cavity immediately underneath the Reservoir....

    [​IMG]

    and the next one, more clear -> the pumps are actually sitting right n top of the SAS drive-cage, and I am not very happy with this arrangement - hence me forking out for the new Koolance RP-401X2 setup -> it will simplify tubing, and optimise the layout in this case - trust me, there is not much space of you strive to 'retain' the original BB layout....

    [​IMG]

    So, I will update this are with new pics next week - will look much better
     
  9. MrBean

    MrBean Minimodder

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    A last one for tonight, herewith a close-up shot of the cards-area -> please pay no attention to the tardiness, once I receive the new Koolance TMS-200 controller with Daughterboard next week, I will remove the PCI slot-cooler, and SCSI card in the bottom-most slot, then sleeve all the cables, route temperature sensors/fan-cables and pump-control cables to the new controller, and tidy things up.

    [​IMG]

    And then, previously I mentioned I populated all the drive-bays, the SAS cage now sports 8x 146GB drives - looking good. I will brush this drive-bezel, and anodize it, as well as engrave some details on it. This will be done in the next few weeks though, need to sort the most important issues out first. Same goes for the radiator-brackets, they will be anodized too.

    [​IMG]

    and another one

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    and then, a last side-shot - will give you an idea of the current status of the rig, and the configuration the past year - the fill-tube will also disappear, once I fit the new Koolance res.....

    [​IMG]

    Your feedback and opinions are appreciated, look forward to your replies :)

    Tomorrow, I will post a few pictures of the backside, so you can see where the mCubed bigNG is mounted - of course, this will be relegated to the Wife's PC, in anticipation for the new Koolance TMS-200, which will be PCI-slot mounted.
     
  10. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    Thank you for keeping your promise.:D

    as for feedback... You pretty much pointed out and plan to fix everything I saw, so... :thumb:Thanks for the eye candy.
     
  11. dhicks001

    dhicks001 What's a Dremel?

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    It's a fantastic looking mod. What happened between 2009 and 2011 where there were no posts?
    No 140.2 rad installed yet or did I miss that somewhere?
     
  12. MrBean

    MrBean Minimodder

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    Ah Mate, you're welcome -> you know, the more eyes, the better :rofl:
     
  13. transparentK

    transparentK What's a Dremel?

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    :clap: WOW I'm so glad this thread came back, just in time because I'm trying to mod my case but I cant take it apart all the way and now I've finally found someone who can help! Ive removed all the doors, and the other easy stuff, but I cant figure out a way to take off the top cover of the case, im pretty sure ive removed every screw in sight, but only the back end of the piece comes up a couple centimeters, and the front end is still held in place by something. I've pulled pretty hard in every direction and still cant get it, i just dont want to break it. Could you help me please it would make my day. Thanks!

    Btw, your modding skills are awesome. :rock:
     
  14. MrBean

    MrBean Minimodder

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    Another update -> Several people have asked for the wiring code on the power-plug used on the SAS cage - please note I have used ATX color-coding:

    Orange=3.3V
    Red=5V
    Yellow=12V
    Black=Gnd/Negative

    Plug was salvaged of an old Server with a SAS cage, but you can find the Molex connector from Molex I would guess.

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    Fear my MS Paint skilzzz...this should make it real simple:
    [​IMG]

    edit: Yes, I know the plug is not fully inserted, this is just for the sake of these photos..... :)
     
    Last edited: 13 Jun 2011
  15. MrBean

    MrBean Minimodder

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    Ok, awaiting my new watercool components, so decided to post a few miscellaneous pics of the internals and exterior.....

    As always, the wiring will be super-tidy once I am done with this setup, so ignore this for now!

    Below a shot showing where I am measuring the temperature on the FB-Dimms, these boys get toasty, nominal operating temp for them around 80 deg C, but, automatically controlling a 120mm fan, via the mCube bigNG, that is mounted (temporarily) close to the memory and NB, the temps are consistently around 58-63 deg C.

    All these temp probes will be connected to the Koolance TMS-200 once it arrives, which will be mounted in an empty PCI slot - will simplify wiring et al.

    [​IMG]

    Here a shot showing dual CPU coolers, and motherboard in general

    [​IMG]


    The currently untidy card area, which is isolated from the rest of the case by a baffleplate imediately above the GFX card - this baffle is a standard Blackbird item, creating an airflow zone in the card area - there is a similar zone for the PSU area in the bottom of the case.

    Anyway, the bottom-most card, a SCSI controller, connecting to an external Tape-drive, wil be removed. Same goes for the PCI cooler-fan mounted directly beow the SAS P800 controller. These 2x slots is where the new TMS-200 controller with Daughterboard will be located.

    [​IMG]

    A picture of the 'new' 5990 Ati GFX card, I have long ago discarded the ATi 4870X2. The new card is fitted with EK full-cover block (nickel unfortunately) and a nickel ram cover-plate on the other side....

    [​IMG]

    A close-up of the cavity above the SAS drive-cage where I squeezed the dual DDC 3.2 pumps in - nice utilization of space.....

    [​IMG]

    and this is where the reservoir, mounted in the vertical 5.25" drive-slot, output goes to the dual pumps imediately below it....
    [​IMG]
     
  16. MrBean

    MrBean Minimodder

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    Just a shot from tha radiator-area, showing how tight things are with the motherboard power-connectors et al - I will replace all this cabling with individually sleeved wiring/plugs......

    [​IMG]

    A more clear shot of the new rear bulkhead connector plate, with BP bulkhead connectors

    [​IMG]

    And a close-up of the same - I have used spring-mounted screws to allow some flexing if required....

    [​IMG]

    A few shots of the baffles/doors fitted, showcasing therather neat design

    [​IMG]

    Another one

    [​IMG]
     
  17. MrBean

    MrBean Minimodder

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    One neat feature I luv of the BB is the integrated Flash-media adapter - very neat, and just push on it to stow it away - nice....

    [​IMG]

    A last few, of the exterior-> now you can finally see how nice she looks with the Dedication Edition side-panels - I got these new of a member at TheNextBench forums about 18 months ago, a real pity it is not the standard default side-panels, which I like more, but, these will have to do.

    More updates to follow next weekend, once I start fitting the new watercooling components, and controller unit.

    Enjoy.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: 13 Jun 2011
  18. transparentK

    transparentK What's a Dremel?

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    hey man did you see the post i made earlier? I need help! oh and if you want normal side panels badly then we could trade. mine are mint.
     
  19. The boy 4rm oz

    The boy 4rm oz Project: Elegant-Li

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    Plumbing is really tidy mate, looks great :D.
     
  20. MrBean

    MrBean Minimodder

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    Heya Guys,
    Thanx for the feedback, much appreciated :)

    @ Dhicks001: Got extremely busy at work, my Boss was sacked, and I had to fill dual-roles. Much more settled in this semi-new and very demanding environment now, so I can slowly start playing with moddding again :) Should be ok from hereon forward - life just sometimes happens, and we have to prioritise.....

    @transparentK: Don't force the top-cover, you need to remove the pop-up flash-card reader - flip the case upside down, and remove the little black plastic cover directly underneath the flash-reader - there is also a circlip and a small shaft to remove, which will allow you to remove the flash-media card-reader device from the top...once it's out, there are 2x larger screws in the now-empty flash-bay you need to remove.....which will release the main top-cover

    Let us know how it goes....work slowly, and if unsure, don't force anything, rather check with me.....I will help where I can....

    @ The boy 4rm oz: Ah Mate, ta, but lots more to be done here - will look really tidy after this weekend's efforts, at least the tubing side of tings - also awaiting delivery from MDPC-X, sleeving et al. I will put a fair focus on the wiring over the next 2 weeks. Should be done with everything latest mid-end July, but I will post regular updates!
     
    Last edited: 14 Jun 2011
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