Case Mod - In Progress Project Black Copper: Lian Li P80 & PA140.3

Hi

My name is Kirill and I am not new on modding related forums, but first time posting here. Hope you will be enjoying this log

Note: some work is already done that is why I will keep related parts of the work together and do not follow chronological order sometimes.


This project has been going for 6 months (OMG) already, it moves slower than I would like to have it but anyway here is the little introduction:

Summer 2008 I bought Tt Kandalf LCS with built-in WC so it was my first water experience and since then I am addicted, forever But that case and WC was literally piece of crap and after a year with it I sold it to start from the very beginning.

Aim of this project is to build clean-looking and dead silent case. Also I'll try to push my CPU as far as possible.

Hardware list:
CPU: E8500
MB: Asus Maximus Extreme
RAM: 2x 1Gb OCZ Platinum 1600Mhz
GPU: Gainward 4870x2
PSU: Antec Signature 850W
Case: Lian-Li PC-P80
HDD: Seagate Barracuda LP 2TB
SSD: Kingston SNM225 80Gb

WC parts list:
CPU block: Aquacomputer Cuplex HD - changed to Watercool Heatkiller Rev. 3
GPU block: Watercool HEATKILLER GPU-X² 4870-X2 LT
Pump: Swiftech MCP350
Radiator: Thermochill PA140.3 with Yate Loons D14SM-12 and Noiseblockers PK3
Reservoir: EK Multioption Res 150 Rev. 2
BP barbs, Primochill Pro LRT tubing

I've started with sleeving:
MB 24-pin

^^Here you can see old CPU block

8-pin power


Yate Loons


Ok, then here is early layout of the case (it didn't significantly change though )

As you can see there is only one free 5.25 slot, that is why I had to change 2 my WD HDDs I initially planned to SSD mounted somewhere else

Next some dremel work.
First of all marked the holes

Do not forget to use protective gear

A hole for 24-pin power cables


Bottom hole for GPU power and all other cables like Buttons, LEDs etc.


After dremelling I rounded the edges with handfile so that they were smooth, no cable fraying here



Next step is preparing case internals for powdercoating, I've drilled out most of the rivets and removed metal struts inside of the drive bay because they didn't allow to fit radiator normally.

started with handfile, finished with 180, 600 and 1200 sandpaper

later removed second pair too

Drilles new holes in Lian Li rad brackets to fit 140mm radiator


Some other parts prepd
UN pump bracket

OCZ XTC RAM cooler


And finally heap of hardware waiting to be powdercoated


Turned out nice!



I decided to change CPU block, ordered in chilledpc and asked them to powdercoat it

now it blends in perfectly with GPU block


That's not the end for today, I'll put the rest of the work a bit later.

And I am very sorry for thumbnails, it is not so convenient to click everytime you wanna see the picture, but I already have all my pictures uploaded in 1024x768 (that's too much here, right?)

Thanks for reading, any thoughts, comments and advices are highly appreciated

 

Ok, moving further

Took some nice countersunk and dome headed rivets


Some tape onto the tool to not scratch the rivets


Assembled the case back




and mounted aluminum casters



Then to drives mount
There was a plate in the box of the accessories for the case, as I remember it calls Xeon mounting something, don't really know what is it for


I am gonna use it like that


First of all mounting holes




Minor tweaks with handfile to align perfectly




This piece has to be cutted


Done!


Polished the edge and rounded the corners


And shortened standoffs a bit


This how it looked like before painting






Slightly sanded and primed (screws are to protect the threads)




And after million rounds of priming sanding repriming resanding painting sanding repainting etc. it is finally done. I am a noob in painting, ya know


HDD I will use for storage, low rpm Seagate Barracuda LP 2TB



SSD will simply be mounted on MB standoffs (spare from case package)




Something like that



Some watercooling stuff in the next post.

 

Your pictures are great and that sleeving is PERFECT! How did you get the heatchrink to line up like that? Just lots of careful cutting/measuring?

 

Well, now some watercooling.
First in the line, Koolance controller (and additional temp sensor)

aluminum bracket asks for some matt black paint

here you go




It doesn't sit perfectly in the drive bay - need to fix this




Adjusted mounting holes


Much better now


There is some tight cabling though



Then black bitspower connections I am going to use


Some more (got new blue o-rings to match my colors)


o-rings fun


Ok, next part is Koolance splitter (they call it Koolance brass body) and flow meter



^^Shiny parts? Not in this build.

Temperature sensor


Painted and sleeved



Splitter


Sanded and thread protected



Same with flowmeter



And finished!







oh, forgot to mention tubing I will use, Primochill Pro LRT ID 3/8" OD 5/8"

 

Copper blocks tend to oxidate with time




eww


Find a good solution to clean them




Assembled test loop




and did some overclocking, hit 4.5GHz with nice temps, that really was my goal


Then stripped GPU down, removed all paste and thermal pads


Applied new ones, leak tested, installed and checked the temps



As you can see on test loop picture, there are Medium speed Yate Loons as a rad fans, but I decided to change them to Noiseblockers PK3



Next I received some new things to play with, it is Mayhem dyes.


Small review is coming soon, for now just one picture from my homemade $20 DIY lightbox Probably I'll use this color in my loop.



Well, that's it for now, I am waiting for cooling gear for motherboard and some acrylic to make a window.
Once again thanks for reading, comments are welcome

 

Really really nice and clean job my friend!! Mod on brother! I cant wait for my next build, less art, straight details!!!

 

Thanks. Well yeah lots of measuring and cutting, but I use kind of template made of packaging foam to cut equal pieces.
And while it is on the wire I shrink bit by bit adjusting its position according to one already made model wire.
Love your userpic

Thanks dude

 

Nice and clean work so far, keep it up! Black is the new black, the old black, and the future black for times to come, can't go wrong with that

 

Cool idea.

Haha, a lot of us have this picture around here. It's a joke that spilled over from the Demots thread

What did you use to clean the block? My HK blocks are both beginning to get that copper crud on them, so any help would be appreciated.

 

Great build i love the details. Looks like it will turn out really well for you good OC too

 

Jipa, Seeks
thanks a lot

Dunno how to navigate you, this thing is being produced locally and is not exported. Called "Solution for metal surfaces cleaning", it's pretty cheap (like $1 for 300ml bottle) and work better than CILIT for example.

Probably you can just try different solutions like tomato paste or cola (I heard they work well but not sure) as well as different chemical things for metal that can be found in nearby supermarkets

 

Cant believe I havent come across this project till now, very clean work!

 

Nice and clean work, keep it up

 

Djayness, Beast thanks!

More updates very soon, I hope.

 

Lovely work, Such attention to detail - Even braided the ethernet?!?!?

Also quality pictures. Nice work mate!

 

hello, aka_gk!
love your idea with the home made softbox

 

love the work mate.

Do bitspower supply those additional colours of o-rings, or did you find them else where?

 

lol i didn't notice the braided ethernet cable until you pointed it out. I really like how it looks. Cable braiding is awesome.. it's just so dang expensive if you need a lot of it. I sort of go for any old crap i can find laying around.
I've never seen the motherboard power cable braided like that (each individual wire), but I suppose with a water-cooling system nobody really needs to worry about airflow too much anymore so it's all for the looks now. Btw, it looks great so far! Keep up the good work and welcome to Bit-Tech!

 

Nice work. I'm gonna follow this one

 

Thanks mate

LOL yeah, I just did not like the look of ugly grey cable sticking out of my laptop blah blah... actually I was bored

Hey dude

it is dead simple but works nice. And cheap for sure, you know much about cheap homemade things, right?

probably you've already seen, but anyway here it is

Thank you.

Nope, they are sold separately, about $2 per 10 pcs. I got mine in perfomance pcs

Thanks, glad to be here

cheers, hope the final result will not disappoint you
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Have some new things arrived today in a huge box, but I'll show it once installed