Case Mod - In Progress Project: Endorphin (Update 23/01)

Okay guys, small update here. I have a few things to update about. First of all, i managed to get my hands on a 3500+, a Venice I also played a bit with it, and got it to run GAME STABLE at 2.75Ghz (250x11) at 1.5V:



I couldn't go any further because the motherboard doesn't allow more than 250FSB So i'll flash the BIOS, maybe i can get more that way. (Happy about my Mushkin doing 275Mhz though 8) )

So now the specs of the PC are finalized:

Shuttle SN26P
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice
2x 1GB Team Extreme DDR500
2x Legend 7600GT SLI
1x Seagate 160GB SATA2
1x Seagate 250GB SATA2

Not too shabby

I'm still waiting for my reservoir that i posted about a few posts back. It should be arriving from the US very very soon.

I received the Vantec card reader that i posted above about. Nice little reader this. Should be perfect for the project.

Last, but not least, i'd like to thank one of my sponsors again, IceVision. They've offered to send me two Legend 7600GTs. The one arrived today. They didn't have stock, so i'll get the second one next week.














Lol, look at this one:




Very funny. That sticker will have to come off since i'll be watercooling these cards.

So, big big thanks to Mario from IceVision, he's made another big contribution to this mod.

Ooh man i can't WAIT to start this mod. I've go SO many cool ideas. To give you an idea, the case will be black and i'll be using ORANGE plexi. I'll be fabricating an entire new face for the mod, and i'll be making a motherboard cover as well. I also plan on doing some pretty intense work with plexi in this mod. Even more intense than in Epiphany. I plan on doing plexi FORMING, like molding and so on.

In case you were wondering about the watercooling, i'll be using Koolance goodies. I have already obtained all of the stuff i need for the watercooling, except for the reservoir, which, as i said above, is on it's way to me from the US. I'll be watercooling the CPU, Chipset, and both Video cards.

Modding F.T.W. guys, seriously.

 

That's the first time I see a warranty void-sticker on a graphic card :O Identical PCB with a Palit here http://metku.net/reviews/7600gt/palitkortti_p.jpg I know that's common as that's the reference PCB, but even the colors are the same And actually the installation guide as well.. Brands are silly.

 

dude this mod is uber cool.. im loving the reservoir and the 3d images uve made, theyre awesome.. keep up the g00d work mate.

 

Thanks Guys

 

nice looking hardware

looking good.
going to be nice when its done.

 

i also have 7600gt rock on!

 

Update time. Small update though.

I'm STILL sourcing goodies for this mod. I ordered a handful of stuff from Synapsys, but all that was really relevant to this mod was two LCD

temperature sensors. They dont LOOK very red in the pics, but in real life they're very very red. Perfect












My stuff from the US also arrived a few days ago. I ordered one Cape Cool 10 reservoir and some power connectors. I only ordered one Cape Cool 10

because i first wanted to see if it'll be ok for this mod. Here it is:










Compared to one of the Coolwave reservoirs that are being used in Epiphany:




It's PERFECT. So i'll order another one

And the power connectors:




The regular molexes:




The ATX connectors:




And these are the cool ones. Molexes that have caps, end caps:








Very cool!

I also got a Vandal Resistant Switch from electronics123 to see if i like it:








I think i like it.

It needs some polish, but otherwise it's cool.

Now i'm gonna go work on Epiphany. w00t!

 

I like the first project

 

Update time

This is more stuff for the mod. Please excuse the quality of the pics, i took them at night with crappy lighting

First of all, here's the NEW radiator i got for the mod. It's a Swiftech dual 120mm raddy:







And here it is compared to the raddy i was planning on using. It's a Koolance singe 120mm raddy:









I decided to get a bigger raddy because i'll be using SLI, and i'll feel a bit more comfy with a dual 120mm raddy...

The next hurdle was barbs. The waterblocks that will be used throughout the mod are Koolance blocks, and therefore the tubing is small - 6mm. However, the barbs that i got with the raddy are 1/2" barbs:





Compared to the tubing that will be used:





So i had to source new barbs. First thing that came to mind was Hydroline. They hook me up with all the barbs i need. If they don't have the barbs i need, they MAKE the barbs for me. In this case they quoted me something like R130 for the two barbs, which is a bit rough IMO. So i hit Builders' Warehouse. I was pleasantly surprised to find that i could compile my own barbs out of barbs that are meant for Air Compressors. For each barb i had to buy two parts:

 

They fit into each other to make the perfect barb:









Perfect fit!





Another packet of goodies arrived tonight from the USA (thanks Wik!):





Some nice red cable sleeving:







And some red heatshrink:







I don't know if i like the heatshrink though.... Also, it's too big for this sleeving, so i'll have to import some smaller heatshrink...

And then also some more connectors:





First two are just two more Molexes:







Man they're cool.

And the other two connectors are quite interesting actually. Motherboards generally have a 20 or 24 pin connector, but this Shuttle's motherboard is different. It has TWO connectors - a 6 pin, and an 8 pin. So i bought some new ones:







Some more news. I have decided to go against what i said when i started planning this mod - "I'm not gonna start it until epiphany is done". I have decided to start the mod because my sponsors, Prophecy and IceVision, have sent me all this stuff for the mod but the mod has yet to start. So i really have to get going with this mod. Epiphany is almost done anyway. So expect some updates more often here

That's it guys

 

K, i've spent the entire morning modelling this case and motherboard out.

I started with the board:





Added the CPU socket, RAM slots, and PCI-E ports:





And also the rear I/O ports:





That's all i really need to add, the rest isn't necessary. So then i imported the board into the simple model i made for the case (the case model isn't complete ):





I then chopped off the to half of the case so that i can start modelling the motherboard cover. That's right, the motherboard cover . I'll be making a motherboard cover out of clear red plexi. Here's the first shot:





And here's a rough final. Space for the Video cards and RAM cut out:







Now guys, i need your opinion. I can actually do this mod in such a way that the tubing from the CPU and chipset blocks all stays UNDER the motherboard cover, thus being almost invisible. I think that'll look REALLY cool, but your opinions would be greatly appreciated, so let me know!

God Bless

Ettienne

 

Mini-BTX?

Either that, or you've done a Mini-ITX a-like board with everything on the wrong side...

 

It's Shuttle. It's a custom form factor.

That said, keeping all the hose under the motherboard cover would look really cool. I say go for it.

 

I've never seen a shuttle like that though. I vote for being under the cover and even sending the tubing from the videocard straight down and underneath the cover.

 

What's the point of running USB HDD's

 

Cool stuff. Thanks man

You're kidding, right?


Update time

I've still only been doing the design. The design will probably still take a long while. Anyway, I modeled a 7600GT. Step 1: the PCB:





Added the core and RAM sinks:





Added the SLI bridge section and the contacts at the bottom:





Added some caps for detail:





Textured:





That's all i need for the card.

I also modeled my pump. This was a HELL of a mission. If you look closely, you'll see it's not just straight edges, it has curves all over the place:







Okay, so then i added the pump and one 7600GT to the main case:





And then chucked in the second 7600GT:







If you look closely, you'll see the CPU waterblock in there too

That's it guys, let me know what you think

 

Well, I hate the name but this looks like it's going to be a fine mod.

 

i'm sorry for the poor quality of the screenshots. I'm using Vista's snipping tool and it saves the images in such crap quality. Sorry guys.

Okay update time. Been working my butt off with the model.

First off, i needed to model the Koolance waterblocks that i'm gonna use on the 7600GT cards. Here's what the block originally looks like:





And here's the model i made:







On the Cards:





I then modeled the PSU and fitted it:





I also modeled my radiator:







Here's where it's gonna go:





So that panel needs some modding. I made two 120mm holes and two holes for the barbs:





Fitted:







Yes, i am aware of the fact that airflow will be somewhat restricted by the two 7600GTs, but i have NO other place to put the raddy. This will have to do. And it's no issue really, this isn't gonna be an ub3r 1337 gam1ng r1gz0r, so it's cool

Then i made a red plexi cover for the top of the case:





This is where it's going:







And then i also fitted the top HDD:





The bottom one is slightly hardy to fit. I'll have to make a mounting for it, like this:





And fit it somewhere around here:





I haven't yet decided the final position of that HDD, i'll still have a look

And lastly, the side panel:





Fitted:





So this is how far i am now:







I still need to model the top panel along with the reservoirs, and need to work on the front of the case.

Let me know what you guys think

 

wow looking great, my next build is going to be a SFF, so this is neat to check out.

 

... I think I want to have your SketchUp-Skills
Man, this project is nice so far. Keep an eye of u