Project "Extreme Cool" -Stacker Case Mod - MrBean - (Update 27 Feb 05)

Hello Guys,
Ok, Some of you will remember me from Project VapoLi, which is still ongoing, waiting for some hardware to finalize that Project. Will update it soon.

Anyway, in that log I posted some pics of my Stacker case, and promised some modding action. After some deliberation, I decided to turn this into a Project Log, as there will be quite a few things to do.

Things I have and stuff I still need to get:

I have the following:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hardware:
Stacker case.
Aquacomputer Airplex Evo 360mm (3X 120mm) radiator
Aquacomputer Reservoir
Aquacomputer 3X 120mm Fangrill
Antarctica cpu block
Asetek NB Block
2X Asetek Harddrive Waterblocks
Innovatek Cool-Matic Waterblock for the 6800U card.
Eheim 1260 (2200lph) Pump
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Components:
6800U Gainward card
Fan-O-Matic Intelligent Controller from Innovatek
2X Raptor 74Gig Drives
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To Get:
Awaiting arrival of a 3500+ and Gigabyte K8N-939 mobo
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Main aim is to have a silent, powerful watercooled setup, which will act as my main gaming rig, Internet surfer etc.....you get the idea?

Basically I will have 3 different loops from the pump discharge, the pump being a monster it will handle it easily. One loop will feed the Antarctica block, another the 6800U Waterblock and the 3rd will run to the 2 harddrive coolers.

These seperate loops will then feedback to the Aquacomputer reservoir.

Some prelim pictures - do not worry about the mess, I hastily set this rig up to do some gaming, surfing, etc, and installed a temp watercooling solution, just testing out my 6800U with watercooling

Things will change soon, I promise.

Case stock, with not much done - yet!



Shot showing the insdies etc.



Close up of exsisting test setup



a Shot showing the top drive bays, where some action will happen


And a last stock side shot


to be continued into 2nd post......

 

Ok, been doing some work today, this being a Public Holiday in South Africa Best of all, my leave starts today, 2 weeks of bliss.

Anyway, back to modding:
Firstly, some of my Power Toolz...mostly 10-15 years old, but good quality, and still works like new.

Bosch Drill



Bosch Jigsaw



and the Twins



The Die-grinder is Ryobi, and the Dremel, around 1 year old, well is a Dremel

I use the die-grinder for heavy grinding work, and do the finishing touches with the Dremel.

 

Ok, some work to be done to the top lid, where my main aim is to fit both the huge 3X 120mm Airplex Evo radiator, and the Aquacomputer reservoir. This means the PSU will relocate to the floor of the Case, which is fine, as the Coolermaster Stacker is configured for that arrangement - lucky me.

I use masking tape to catch any shavings etc, as I am still using this rig to browse the net, and make posts to this Log for example.....so, I do not want any metal shavings on the mobo etc.....

Here, busy removing the pop-rivets:



and the back



and the mobo side



Here is some mock-up of where the rad and reservoir needs to go

 

a Few shots exposing the sturdy construction of the Stacker



and



Masking off the area to avoid scratches etc.....saves yourself from headaches later



and it is important to clamp your workpiece to a steady desk....



and then Action Time...the 1st cut, and point of no return...we would not have it any other way...lol...

 

Well, I finished the radiator cutout, smoothed it with a fine file, and proceeded with the dremel to cut out the reservoir fill hole....



a Close up of that action



Used the die-grinder with carbide cutter to get cutout more or less circular...



and some sanding action with the Dremel to finish it off......

 

Next mounted the reservoir, and the grill to see how it would look...and fit.....just take a look at the size of that big mofo radiator:



Pity about the screwholes in the top lid, where Coolermaster drilled them to secure lid to top of case



Trying out an idea......



some more...



Removing a little glass from the kitchen without the Wife seeing me...lol...and continue with some modding action....



to end up with these 2 pieces....

 

Mmm...one piece of the glass gets glued to the top like so.....



But somehow I don't like it that much, I am considering dumping the complete plastic bezel and replace it with some nice Lisa-stained perspex......I have a 1.9mX1.6m of this blue UV reactive perspex.....just waiting for the jigsaw

Will use quite a bit of it in this project, yeah, I know blue is boring, but it should look good....for what I have in mind.....

Anyway, to finish of todays work:



bottom view



Fitting it to the case to see what it looks like....I am curious, you know....



and



Some reservoir action....



and the radiator didn't wanna feel left out....



Let me know what you guys think of the top section so far. There is a lot to come, but I need some ideas from you a mounting plate for the reservoir, and something to replace the stock Stacker black/silver bezel on the top of the case. I could bondo the intake duct into place, smooth it off and paint the bezel, and it should come out nice, but somehow it seems a bit...tacky? What you guys reckon?

Your feedback would be appreciated.

Br,
MrBean.

 

Looks awesome, keep it up! Lots more updates wanted!

Did you just drill pop rivets out? (how you going to reattach?)

 

Very cool, the top of Stacker rocks!

 

Hey Guys,
Thanx for the replies

Anyway, I can use a pop-rivet gun and soma small rivets to re-attach, or some small screws with threaded inserts.....have both these at home, will still decide which it is going to be....but easy enough anyway.

In the last picture you can see that the plastic bezel overlaps the Fangrill slightly, I notched the bezel in that area with a fine file to move over the grill.....

You guys like the modified bezel, or not? I think it looks shitty, still quite a bit needed to finish it, but I don't wanna spend time on it if it won't be used....

 

I agree with you, I don't like it. Make something custom out of your plexi instead! Use multiple layers to give it some dimension, building it up around the res would look cool.

 

Hi Greywolf, thanx.......just what I needed to dump that shitty bezel....hehe...will think of something nice, the front of the case is slightly curved, will have to take that in consideration, but yeah, plexi will look much better than that puffed-up overweight bezel....

If you guys can think of some ideas, put them in the open...Grewolf has already done so

 

Finally, MrBean returns, i see your standards haven't slip at all I just love the look of the small bore Aqua Computer systems with the Aquatube Any plans on PSU placement? Subscribed

 

Hi Leeum,
Great to see you too!

I was very fortunate to attend a Certified Profibus Training Course in Switzerland recently, and managed to purchase a few Aquacomputer goodies from Pc-Hai. I cannot get these in South Africa, so I am smiling all the way.... You should have seen the Customs Peoples faces when they asked me what are these things, and told them watercooling gear for my computer

I have to redo the G1 1/8" small-bore threads to std 1/4" that will accept either 10 or 12mm tubing. I have a large Eheim1260 that I am going to use in this project......don't want to starve the suction side of the pump.

I thought about the PSU, and I will relocate it to the floor of the case.....this is a BTX compatible case, and thus Coolermaster provided a mounting location for this in the bottom of the case as well.....lucky me

Geez, there is so much to do, tomorrow I will take the system apart, as I friend purchased my old Max3 mobo and 3.2 Northwood cpu...these used to be in the VapoLi, which has since been upgraded to 3.4EE @ 41gig and 6800U

I will keep you posted, and will value your feedback as always.

Cheers Leeum, talk again later.

 

I've always wanted that case so i want to see what you do with it. It looks great at this point.

~Dark

 

Ok, here is 1 or 2 more pictures of the top with rad fitted (temporary only)....



and a 2nd one.....



Those 2 LCD's were purchased a while back specifically for this Project, they are 19" HP1925's Quite nice, and ok for gaming.

Back to the rad: Something special I will do here, most guys will not bother, but I did it on the VapoLi as well.....I will mount the radiator directly to the top lid with countersunk screws (hex-head). Then the fangrill will be mounted to the lid, with four screws only, one on each corner of the grill.

There will be threaded inserts in the top lid in those 4 positions, and when I want to change a filter, I can remove those 4 screws, take of the grill and replace.

That way the radiator will stay mounted permanently, and filter changes can be done with ease. To make things look clean, I will take12 hex head bolts, and cut the shafts short, and glue them in place in the holes in the fan grill....that way it will look if they are securing the rad to the grill, but it will be for aesthetics only.

Let me know what you guys think. If my explanantion sux, I will post some pics ove the weekend when I am ready with this.

Br,
MrBean.

 

i'm following this very closely because i'm also planning to mod a stacker

nice work till now

 

really nice work so far! i like the cleanness you are adding to this case! do you have a hole drill? or do you just juse a dremel and a very steady hand to make those perfect holes?

don't you think it's a bit overkill to have a evo 360 to only cool cpu, video card and hdds? I think that setup could easily cool a peltier on the cpu (and maybe on the video card as well).

keep us updated I'm gonna keep an eye on this project. Think it might turn out even cooler (as in tougher) than your last one! !

 

looking gooooood. Nice cutting

 

Hi Acid Burn,

mmm...I am turning 38, so I should be a little shaky by now...but truth to be told, I am doing it with a steady hand and Dremel/Die-grinder....and a little patience No wonder it takes me 4-6 hours just for the top lid...lol....

Anyway, I will try my best not to disappoint you guys with this mod, it surely is challenging, but, then again, I luv a challenge. I will do some overclocking on this rig, but nothing crazy, that is reserved for the VapoLi, but yes, I guess the 3x 120 rad is a overkill.....

But then gain, it adds to the appeal of the case......big case, big rad.....you see where I am going with this.

Somehow wire management is going to be a lot easier, much more space to hide things, etc.....hey, G-gnome, Modsquad, all the other guys do it....so can I then...lol.... But, I am planning 1 or 2 nice surprises this time around, quite in contrast to my previuos mod

Thanx for the comments, will log-on again tomorrow (Friday) evening GMT+2.

Cheers then, until tomorrow.