Case Mod - In Progress Project Bright Panel: 800D, Liquid, Illuminated Mid Panel =Completed=

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I have been a lurker on Bit-Tech for a while now, and have seen some really amazing builds over the years. I recently took a stab a doing some modding on my Corsair 800D, and decided to share what I have done with the Bit-Tech community.

It will be a liquid cooled PC with one giant loop, using 2 pumps in series. As mentioned before, I am using the Corsair Obsidian 800D, and this case is a monster. I love the all black look, inside and out. I had to make a few minor modifications for the two loop system to work, but the mod went great, and I am pleased with the results.

I am also adding some cool upgrades like enhanced case lighting via an illuminated mid-panel, an AquaComputer monitoring / control system, custom sleeving, etc. Here is an early design of what I am shooting for, built in Google SketchUp.

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Here is the Parts List. I did change a few components mid-build, so some early pictures may show components that I didn't end up using. Changes are noted below.

* Case: Corsair Obsidian 800D Full ATX
* Power Supply: Silverstone ST1000-P Corsair AX1200
* Motherbord: EVGA X58 Classified 3
* CPU: Intel i7 Core 970
* RAM: 12GB Corsair Dominator @ 1600MHz
* GPU: 1 EVGA GTX 580 Hydro Copper 2
* GPU: 2 EVGA GTX 580 Hydro Copper 2
* GPU: 3 EVGA 9800GT (Dedicated PhysX, and to power side LCD monitors when SLI in enabled)
* Sound Card: Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Edition
* Hard Drive 1: Intel X-25m 160GB SSD (Operating System & Programs)
* Hard Drive 2: WD Black 1TB (Game/Steam Installs)
* Hard Drive 3: Seagate 500GB (User Files)
* Hard Drive 4: Seagate 2TB (Storage)
* Optical Drive: Asus Blu-Ray / DVD+R
* Fan Pump Controller: Corsair Link + Lighting Kit AquaComputer Aquaero 5 LT
* Pump Controller: AquaComputer Power Adjust Ultimate x2

Section 01
* Tubing: PrimoFlex Pro LRT UV Blue Durelene Tubing, 3/8in. ID X 5/8in. OD
* Coolant: Distilled Water w/ Kill Coil & PT Nuke Mayhem Pastel liquid and Blue Berry dye
* Reservoir: XSPC Acrylic Dual 5.25in. Reservoir Koolance RP-401X2
* Pump: Swiftech MCP350 12 VDC Pump
* Radiator: HardWare Labs X-Flow Extreme III
* CPU Block: Swiftech APOGEE HD
* MoBo Block: EK-EVGA X58 Classified Full Board Waterblock
* Fittings: Bitspower Matte Black... and lots of them
* Fans: Cooler Master R4 120mm Corsair Air Series SP120 (x3)

Section 02
* Tubing: PrimoFlex Pro LRT UV Blue Durelene Tubing, 3/8in. ID X 5/8in. OD
* Coolant: Distilled Water w/ Kill Coil & PT Nuke Mayhem Pastel liquid and Blue Berry dye
* Reservoir: XSPC Acrylic Dual 5.25in. Reservoir Koolance RP-401X2
* Pump: Swiftech MCP350 12 VDC Pump
* Radiator: HardWare Labs GTX240
* GPU Block: The EVGA GTX 580 Hydro Coppers come with a custom Swiftech WB pre-installed
* Fittings: Bitspower Matte Black... and lots of them
* Fans: Cooler Master R4 120mm Corsair Air Series SP120 (x4 - Push/Pull)
I have a bunch of pictures from the work I have completed, so stay tuned

 

Build Log Index

Build Log Index

01) Project Into & Build Components
02) My Workspace, Case Cutting, Illuminated Vandal Switches
03) Illuminated Mid-Panel Construction
04) Sleeving Materials have Arrived
05) Sleeving Tools
06) My "Helper"
07) Component P0rn
08) Component P0rn Continued...
09) Illuminated Mid-Panel "Cut Away" View
10) Illuminated Mid-Panel "Exploded" 3D View
11) PSU Cable Sleeving
12) SATA Cable Sleeving
13) SATA Cable Sleeving Continued...
14) New Components Have Arrived
15) Corsair Sleeved Cables Mini-Review, and More Sleeving…
16) Sleeving... COMPLETED!
17) AquaComputer PowerAdjust 2
18) Homead Oak Longbow (reason for project delays)
19) New Corsair "Air Series" Fans
20) New Fans are INSTALLED!
21) Corsair Fans Performance Data
22) Switch to Mayhem Pastel liquid and Blue Berry dye
23) New Durelene Tubing
24) New Tubing & Liquid
25) PowerAdjust 2 / Pump Setup
26) I Spring a Leak & Fan Extensions
27) New Reservoir
28) Fan Controller Review / Walkthrough - Corsair Link
29) Fan Controller Review / Walkthrough - AquaComputer Aquaero 5 LT
30) New Primary Display
31) Final Build Pics
32) Final Build Pics 01 - Angled Side Shots
33) Final Build Pics 02 - Side Shots
34) Final Build Pics 03 - Side Shots w/ Window
35) Final Build Pics 04 - Cable Management
36) Final Build Pics 05 - Close Up Shots
37) Final Build Pics 06 - Completed Workstation

 

My Workspace, Case Cutting, Vandal Switches

My Workspace

Got the workspace all set up and ready to go. Our storage room was a mess, so we spent the weekend cleaning and organizing everything. Added a pegboard wall for my tools. All my larger "Power Tools" stay out in the garage. I wanted this stuff in the storage room so I could work on my electronics (and clean my guns) in a semi dust free environment.

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*The purple tools on the right are my wife's. That side of the workbench is her sewing area.

Case Cuts / Holes

I decided to remove all of the rubber grommets from the case, and enlarge a few of the cable management holes. Also drilled a few additional holes for cable management clamps. Here is everything before I took the Dremel Tool to it. I also modified the bottom of the case to accept a 2x120 Radiator. I had previously made some cuts down there, but wasn't too happy with the end result, so started over.

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With this big hole on the bottom of the case now, I decided I needed a good solution for dust management. I made using acrylic and Silverston fan filters a custom dust filter to go on the bottom of the case. It secures to the case with magnets, and works great. It only shows 1 filter, but there are now 2 installed.
Also showing a diagram here outlining what types of fasteners I used to secure the fans to the radiators, and radiators to the case. I found it strange that my top 120.3 Radiator uses SAE (6-32), but the bottom 120.2 Radiator uses Metric (M4-.7).

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Here is a shot of my radiators with the fans installed. I did some minor sleeving, but didn't want to go through the hassle of actually disassembling the fans. The parts that are not black are hidden from view, so I am OK with how it turned out.

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Here we have the opening on the bottom of the case for the 120.2 rad. I used a fan grill to help secure everything to the case, since some of the fastening holes were on the honeycomb grid of the case, and didn't tighten down as much as I would have liked. Picture to the left shows the magnetic fan filter installed over the opening. It is really easy to take off and put back on, and hopefully keeps my case dust bunny free.

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Illuminated Vandal Switches

I decided to use some Illuminated Vandal Switches (Latching, 16mm), to toggle on/off both the LED Strip on the interior of the case, and the illuminated mid-panel. Here is a pic during the soldering process. Vandal switch in the death grip of my Octo Helping Hands setup. To the right is the completed switch, along with the resistor so I don't burn out the LED (470 Ohm, .3w, 5% tolerance), and my custom "Quick Disconnect" power connectors. I did end up sleeving it, but forgot to take a picture before I installed them.

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And here they are installed on the top of the case. The one to the left (Blue Ring), is the switch for the LED Strip along the outer edges of the case. The one to the right (Blue Dot), is the switch for the illuminated mid-panel. They turned out really well and work great. Only downside is my 2yr old is a button freak, and now tries to toggle them on/off every chance he gets.

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Next set of pics... Illuminated Mid-Panel construction.

 

Illuminated Mid-Panel Construction

Illuminated Mid-Panel

I have always been envious of the lighting methods used on the MurderMods and Million Dollar PC. Most of the guides explaining how to build one used Electroluminescent panels, which I could not find in the right size (or for a reasonable price) here in the US. So I set out to build my own using acrylic panels and a white LED light strip. Just like my initial case layout, I built my "mock-up" in SketchUp.

Here we have my 3 panels I will be using. I used 1x Mirrored Acrylic, 1x Clear Acrylic, and 1x White Acrylic. They will be constructed in that order, with an LED strip on the sides "shooting" light inwards. The housing will be a box made of Black Acrylic. The hole will be where some of my tubing will pass through. Once the whole was drilled, I polished the sides to allow for better light transmission on the clear and white panels.

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On the left is a pic of the completed box, with the bottom mirrored layer installed. To the right is the light strip I used for my build. Purchased it off of Amazon for a really good price. It is very bright, and easy to work with.

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Just an idea of how the light strip will adhere to the box, on top of the mirrored acrylic. Also shown is the end of the light strip, where I cut it, and soldered on the contact points. It can be powered by any 12v source, and requires only 25w to light the entire strip. So I am able to power both the internal case strip and my mid panel with just one 4-pin molex connection.

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Here is the completed mid panel box. The clear layer sits between the mirrored and white acrylic panels. I did a bunch of tests and found that this "sandwich" combo provided the best light transmission. I first tried laing the white layer directly on top of the mirrored, but the light transmission was too weak. By using the clear in the middle, the light passes farther through the top panel, giving a brighter look.
On the right is a circuit I am using that allows me to alter the brightness levels of both the LED Strip around the case perimeter, and the mid panel. It has 3 settings (High, Mid, Low), and works very well. Only downside is that in order to adjust it, I have to remove my case panel, but once I find my preferred brightness level, I probably won't touch it again. I installed it on the back of the CPU plate for easy access to the wiring for the Vandal switches.

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Here we have the lighting install and running, with a comparison of brightness with the different parts turned on. I used my phone camera for these pics, so it looks much brigher and washed out than it does in person. Time to bust out the DSLR for some better quality pics, but I may wait until the final gallery pics once everything else is installed. Here we have both parts lit up, along with the lights in the room turned on.

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And here we have the room lights turned off. One pic shows illumination with just the mid panel, the other combines the light from the LED strip that lines the interior of the case.

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Next up... sleeving and component p0rn

 

That is the best workshop i've seen in a while! Love the shadowboard!

 

Sleeving Materials

Thanks! I like it set up that way, so when someone... cough *wife* cough... uses my tools and doesn't put them back, I know exactly what is missing.

All my sleeving materials finally arrived from Nils over at MDPC-X. It arrived in 3 different packages, and it looks like very good quality stuff!

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I am going with primarily Black sleeve with a few Royal Blue highlights. Also making all custom power cables so the lengths with be perfect, and allow for better cable management.

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Sleeving is going to take a bit to complete, so I will post some other pics of components and such during the process.

 

Sleeving Tools

Spent a bit of time getting my fittings and sleeving materials organized for easier access. I am waiting on one more component to arrive, then I will hammer down on sleeving some custom sized PSU cables.

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Also set up all the tools I will need to complete my cables. I was a bit hesitant on buying the crimping tool from MDPC since it was more expensive than what I can find locally. But after actually crimping a few terminals, it runs circles around my old crimping tool. Very glad I went with this one, as it will probably help the sleeving process go faster.

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I plan on mounting the Motherboad tonight so that I can get exact measurements on cable length, allowing me to finally start the sleeving process. I have never attempted to sleeve anything with the quality of materials provided from MDPC-X, so I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out.

 

My "Helper"

My 2yr old is a button freak. I caught him red handed last nigh turning my mid panel on and off over, and over again. Those illuminated vandal switches are just too much temptation for him. I'm glad his older sister doesn't share his love of button pressing.

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Looks like I need to put the case up high until this build is done, at which time I can move it into the office (which has a locked door).

 

Following this with interest, looking great so far. Im just waitin on parts to finish a build in a 700D....nowhere near as cool as yours, but gives me some ideas on how i could improve for next time. Keep up the good work, and thanks for sharing.

 

Wow looks very nice, subbed this one

 

Component P0rn

Thanks. Glad I could help fuel a few ideas for your next build.

He he. Yep, that workbench is dual purpose. Tinkering with electronics, and firearm cleaning happen frequently there.

Thank you!


Component P0rn

I started making my custom length PSU cables. Cables and sleeving will take a while, so in the mean time, here are some nice shots of most of the components going into this build.

EVGA GTX580 HydroCopper 2 - 2X for SLI

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Some of the Bitspower Black fittings I will be using, and the Primoflex Blue tubing.

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Here are the AquaComputer USB PowerAdjust 2 Ultras that I will be using to control pump speed. The Ultra version can control speed based off of liquid temps, so it should be a nice addition, and keep pump noise to a minimum until faster speeds are needed.

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Here we have the AquaComputer Aquaero 5 LT. Pretty powerful monitoring and fan control too. I may end up using something different to control all of the fans in my system, but as of right now, this guy is it. The USB PowerAdjusts operate independently from the Aquaero, so you can kind of mix and match to fit your exact needs.

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Component P0rn Continued...

Component P0rn Continued...

More Hardware Shots
Here is my Primary OS SSD, and Intel X-25m 160GB. Not the fastest on the block anymore, but still a really good and reliable SSD. I have 3 other HDDs in this build, but didn't deem it necessary to take pics of them. Also have my Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Edition. I use the Optical Output to power my Logitech Z-5500 speaker setup. Sounds great.

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Here are some EK Waterblocks that I will be using. One of the left is for my X58 motherboard Chipset and VREGs. The other is a RAM block for my Corsair Dominator sets.

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Before and After shots of the RAM block. Noting too special, but I like Before / After shots

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And here is my motherboard with blocks installed, along with the Swiftech Apogee HD that I will be using. Really nice looking block, and I am glad it comes all black. Saves me from having to paint it like I have done with previous blocks.

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Am loving the iluminated midplate. keep up the good work. +rep
Rippy

 

Looks amazing, loving the illumination plate.

 

Looks great, loving the case so far

 

I keep meaning to make a mod called "Childproof" ... mostly, it involves stealthing the important buttons (pwr, reset, optical drive) and leaving an illuminated vandal switch connected to some sort of LCD that provides lots of visual stimuli. That way, the kid can press that button to his heart's content, and never mess with a running system.

_j

 

Sub'd.... very nice man. Great bench setup as well.

 

Going to be a beast

 

Thanks everyone! Things are coming together nicely.

Really like Jon's idea for a "Childproof" mod. Keep'em busy playing with the lights so they have no interest in the actual expensive components