[Build Log] Watercooled Case Labs M8, i7 2600K, Dual GTX580 SLi - Page 4

Thanks for the compliment - here are some new pics (sleeving)


Detail of the sleeved cables coming from a D5/MCP655 type pump



The pump with tacho signal & EK D5 block - the cable has a 3-pin fan connector style termination to plug straight into the aquaero.

NOTE: Since I took these I have decided on a dual serial pump setup for slightly higher flower and higher pressure. I have an EK dual D5 "serial" pump top and a new pump with tacho ready and waiting to be sleeved and assembled later.



A sleeved aquacomputer in-line temp sensor - I will have two of these in the system placed before and after rads (yeah - I know the water temps in a system will even out over time, but hey if I have the ability with the aquaero to monitor lots of temps, I may as well use some of it - it can always be configure not to show in the Aquaero software and it may show me things when I make any loop changes)



Air temp sensors - I have a few of these and will monitor ambient, and a few other air temps such as radiator in and out air temps



Reservoir temp sensor - probably not needed


Custom made and individually sleeved PCI-E cable

Every cable in the system is being custom made to a length - So I am not simply taking the AX1200 supplied cables and re-sleeving them, every cable is being hand made from scratch "to measure" - this should mean a neater cabling job overall, but oh my does it take a looooong time to make these cables, especially with so many other things like work, gaming, sport and family stuff going on.

Coming back from even a short break to a half made cable takes a good while to understand where I have got to, and to check over previous work etc..


Close-up shot of the PCI-E cable.



Cable routing from PSU - this is mostly showing graphics PCI connectors. It should give a general idea of what it will be like round the back/PSU side. Its from a profile view so you cant quite see the routing, but its visible in some of the previous shots in this build log.


My sleeving skills are not up to those of the real sleeving pros like Lutr0o but I am improving slowly and it feels like I am getting slightly better results now, and having to do less re-work as time goes on - I am currently working on the 24 pin ATX cable - all the 6 and 8 pin PCI graphics cables for both cards are already done. I have still to do cables for a flow-meter, an internal USB for the aquaero, and the power and SATA cables for the SSD and HDD.

I am unsure whether I need to make use of the Ez-Plug facility on the ASUS Maximus extereme-Z motherboard to supply the two SLI'd GTX 580's with a little more power. If i do need to use that then I will need a new cable for that too. < Would appreciate any informed opinions on this

Once that is done I will then have to neatly route all the cables - I have something I hope will be nice for that - more on that in future!
Edited by alstorm - 4/11/12 at 9:26am

Good question - I assume your question to be about running the SLi setup in parallel rather than the old single vs dual loop thing?

I don't have a really good answer - Is there much difference between serial and parallel for dual 580's?

More updates on the build: Its moving forward very slowly since I am using just a few hours a week to do this - I hope to pick up the pace pretty soon and finish it off.

I am at least nearing the very end of the mammoth job of making custom length cables for a build of this size and sleeving everything.

The latest sleeving stuff is shown below

Sleeving Part II


I finished off the main Power supply cable and spent a while re-doing some of the heatshrink to get it all a bit more even. The result is pretty nice, but could still be better - If I am feeling masochistic at a later time I might revisit some of the sleeving and redo a few of the heatshrinks.


Anyone that's done an AX1200 sleeving job will know the 24 pin ATX is a pain, one of the cables splits (effectively a Y) - I solved this problem by joining the two cables in the middle and making a little Y - Of course it was just my luck that to fit with the colour scheme I had to had some different colours on the split. However the join works nicely and is strong - the join will also be hidden on the PSU side of the case too, so its not a big deal.


PSU side


CPU side - The ends are pretty neat, but as I said I could probably do better - but I guess i'll get diminishing returns from the time spent on this bit from now on


I also took the time to neaten up the PCI-E cables for the graphics cards


6 pin PCI-E


8 Pin PCI-E

NOTE - The PCI-E cable pairs are treated as one cable for the purposes of the sleeving colour scheme. The colour scheme can be seen best on the 24 pin ATX - basically a red strip approx 1/4 of the cable wide


I also checked and tidied up the CPU 8 pin cable

The cables I have left to do now are:
Internal USB cable for Aquareo (In progress)
Flow meter Cable (In progress)
A power cable for the SSD and HDD's < This might have to be done once the drives are in situ
I am not sure if I really need an EZ-plug cable for the ASUS MB so i'll leave that one until its actually needed,

Finally a bit of a teaser...


I love the MDPC P-clips, but they only go up to a certain size. This is fine for some cases but I wanted to use P-Clips for some of the bigger looms - I found a source for black nylon clips here in the UK and bought a few packs of 10 in assorted sizes - This should enable me to get a good cable routing solution, that should hopefully be easy to maintain.

I had a bunch of things that needed painting

Latest pics -  enjoy!  

Metalwork Painting


GTX 580 normal backplate - metallic (chrome or stainless)



Backplate and some sanding sponges (various grit) - I used each in sequence and ensured the surface was very smooth.
Before beginning spraying it was rubbed down with a solvent based cleaner.



Ready to begin painting process - first step is 2 coats Acid etch spray
(using my bathroom as a paint room again - this time with an aspirator!)


I also decided to paint the fittings for the GTX580 (left) and a set of M3 nuts I have (right)



2 coats of Primer done - next job is to spray black


Matt black GTX 580 backplate
I am really happy with how the backplate came out - I have one more of these to do at the weekend


GTX 580 bolts and standoffs (matt black)


M3 nuts before and after (I know which I like best!)


M3 nuts in matt black - I will be using these for stealthing the P-clips
Edited by alstorm - 5/10/12 at 5:27am

I have lots of updates for this build to come over next few days - got a whole load of photos

Metalwork Painting II - Wheels

The castor wheels for the caselabs cases are really well made, but the mounting pillar that joins the castor to the case is brass. Obviously that needed looking at


I masked off the castors so the castors could be painted - very awkward shape to mask, and took a bit of patience


In this paint run I am also doing the second graphics card backplate


The final result of painting the wheels matt black (done using the same process as before - sanding with various grit paper, clean with solvent based cleaner, acid etch primer, normal primer and matt black spray)


The wheels got attached to the case using the supplied screws and some rubber washers to provide a bit of vibration isolation - In this shot you can see also the masking I was doing for drilling some holes for the P-clips a few posts back
Edited by alstorm - 6/3/12 at 1:05am