Case Mod - In Progress Project ZillaPC = Completed

Thanks guys!

@BigBazz: Eh, I don't know if I will get the interior powercoated or not. I kinda like the bare aluminum with the black tubing contrast. We'll see.

I've decided to ditch all my 1/2 - 3/4 fittings and 1/2 tubing. I'm going for 7/16 - 5/8 fittings and tubing. Trying to route the Feser 1/2 - 3/4 tubing was a really big hassle and nearly impossible to do cleanly. So, it'll be here this week, and I will continue on with the mod.

 

Small update...

Meet... um... I don't have a name for him yet, but he is my new mascot!

Just some pics of new products. I'll try getting some photos of the rad installed tomorrow morning, but I can't do much else in concern to watercooling until the new tubing arrives.

Pile o' fitting:



The overseer...





EK Rad and UN brackets:



What do these cryptic markings mean?



Follow the leader!





Ok, back to seriousness one last time...



I found that my choice of fans does not work well with these rad brackets, as the brackets have nothing to push against when the are bolted into the chassis, causing the rad to sit funny. I'll see what I can come up with, but I might need to go back to the Lian-Li brackets.

Until next time...

-TadZilla

 

Hey man nice update and nice mascot too!!! Call it Amazilla!! From Amazon and ZillaPC!!
I never saw those brackets before they could come handy with my mod, I was breaking my mind to find how I was going to install my rad so I did something out of acrylic, I dunno if its going to work for u but stay tuned to my worklog as in my next update I ll show what I did!

 

Man! the hardware in your build is really beautiful. Your sleeving is excellent done by a true professional. I can't wait to see the end result of the truly remarkable awesome mod.

 

Amazilla it is!!!

Thanks for the kind words on my build!

@AnG3L: I'll keep updated on your worklog. It is coming along great! Are you going to get the rad brackets?

Some more pics:

Oh noes!!!!!!!!111oneone He's gonna jump:



Into a pile of sleeved cables:



"I feel small..."





"Welcome!"



"A little to the left..."



"PEEKABOO!!!"



Tis all I had time for this morning. I should be getting my new tubing and a few other things this week. Thanks all for following my work log!

-TadZilla

 

Moar pics! It seems that the last several photos I have taken have this nice, red pixel near the bottom center of the pictures. I think I may have fixed it this morning after I took all the photos I wanted to this morning. Could a red pixel be dust on the sensor or mirror? I cleaned the mirror, and both sides of my lens to see if this would clear it up, and it appears to have done the job. However, I won't officially know until I take many more pictures. Hopefully the local camera shop can fix it for me if it is more then just dust. Man, I hope it was just dust :|

Anyways, please ignore the red pixel

"So, this is the key to all your rad-mounting-slot-panel-fitting issues, eh?"



"Hmm, something about this does not look right..." (Tadbo is always critizing my work... should've stuck with the monkey)



Tadbo that is not a playground!



"But you said you wanted a monkey..."



Pay day!



"Watcha doin?"



Placing the pump where I want...



"Hey, I'm up here!"



"Behold!"



I think this looks much better than trying to have the res directly attached to the pump.



Scaling the res...



Thats all for now. Hopefully you enjoy the pics even with the fricken red pixel. I really hope I fixed it...

-TadZilla

 

Update yet again! I believe I fixed the red pixel issue, but if it is still there and I didn't see it, let me know if you do.

Anyways, Tadbo and I received our (hopefully) final package for this build:

Tubing!



"Tad, I think the tube from RAM to chipset needs to be longer..."



"Yeah, this one..."



Well, we'll look at it later. We have enough tubing to try some things...



Wow, actually had some glare come into the picture... didn't expect that. Anyways, Tadbo is pointing to something not right about the GPU D-Plugs...



"Come closer..."



"A little closer.... STOP!" Yep, the d-plugs are the same size, but what seems longer than the other. Could just be the way the cards are installed. I'll mess with it a little.



"Umm... what is that?" It is part of my draining technique. Malik displayed an excellent way of draining a system in is ongoing worklog...



Looking good Tadbo?



"Yep, for playing!"







That's all for now. I'm going to get the pump mounted tomorrow morning hopefully. I really hope I haven't broken anything yet. Watercooling components are so hard to get installed sometimes. I hope all this works.

-TadZilla

 

After getting ready for work, I walked down to the computer room to start working on the pump mounting. When I walked in I was scared half-to-death by this!



"Its just me! I installed the pump for you!"



Woah! Thanks Tadbo! You did a great job! However, I believe two more 45 degree fittings are in order to better connect tubing.



Man, that scratch on the PSU really bugs me! Perhaps I'll remove the stickers since the warranty is already void, and paint the thing.



Installed the side panel locking rails and the side panels... Oh noes Tadbo is trapped!!!!!!111111one







The heaviest computer I've ever built! I can barely lift the thing. Adding water will just make it much worse. And yes, that is my reflection in the window... you caught me!

I need to free Tadbo and go to work.

-TadZilla

 

Wonderful project, your attention to detail is mind blowing.
Been enjoying the photos of Danbo a lot brought a few smiles to my face.

 

Wonderful project, your attention to detail is mind blowing.
Been enjoying the photos of Danbo a lot brought a few smiles to my face.

 

Absolutely fantastic, keep up the brilliant work

Very inspiring!!

 

That's just the kind of build I like - stunning, and retains the 'stock' look while still being very evidently customized.

Great work!

 

Have you planned any internal lighting to highlight your excellent sleeving and tubing?

 

Thanks everyone for the great feedback!

@BigBazz: I'm thinking about it... maybe white cold cathodes. In his project, Nutman took the cathode out of the acrylic tube, then sleeved the cathode to dim it a bit. I might due the same. Or I'll get some LEDs. We shall see! I'm first going to complete the build itself and get the system going. Adding some lighting should be easy... SHOULD be easy.

Small update: kill coil of DOOM, and trying to sleeve some fans...

"We have a Killcoil in captivity..."


(insert crazy circumstances that lead to dangerous horror film animal's escape here)

"IT HAS MY ARM!!!"


Now for a complete change in subject matter, as the Killcoil has been recaptured and installed... SLEEVING OF FANS!!!

"I'm glad these things are unplugged..."


"We will be replacing the white connectors..."


"with these!"


I didn't have time to finish the sleeving of the first fan this morning. I haven't sleeved in awhile, so I need some practice.

-TadZilla

 

I checked out nutman's mod besides probably being one of the longest running mods the sleeved cathodes looked absolutely sick. I think some blue cathodes would look good for yours just to help bring out the accents in the sleeving. I think the black has overpowered it a little bit.

(Still looks awesome though )

 

I think Bazz has a point. Be careful though not to get too powerfull cathodes, or it will really mess up the look of your case (basically making everything look blue and not in a good way). Maybe you could also add a white light, to prevent it from looking too blue?

 

@Bazz and Alexandros: Thanks for the suggestions! I'll look into the blue lighting. Nutman sleeved the cathodes in order to dim the lighting, so if I go with cathodes I'll have to steal his idea (Thanks Nutman!) The lighting will come after the build is "complete".

Very small update... Tadbo and I sleeved the fans. I decided to add some more grand bleu into the mix by sleeving the rad fans with it. I really need to get this lighting thing figured out on my camera. The LCD preview makes the pictures look darker than they are, so when I put them on the computer they are too bright. Anyways, bring them out Tadbo!

Tada!



Eh, thought it would be a good picture...



After not including him in the last pic, Tadbo needed some attention...



I'm working on a better way of mounting the pump. I might just use some rubber standoffs and mount it to the case. I love UN brackets, but it was just too crowded mounting the pump with them.

-TadZilla

 

hey, everything looks fantastic so far, can't wait for another update

 

Looks very slick, can't wait to see more. Sub'ed.

 

I like it......