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Moving my old thread here. Going to be converting this old Dell Poweredge 4200 Cube Server into a modern, liquid cooled and aesthetically pleasing beast.
Credits at the end
Component list:
CPU: Intel I7 4770k
Mobo: ASRock H97 Pro4 LGA 1150 Intel H97
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133
DVD: SAMSUNG DVD Burner SH-224DB/BEBE
HDD: 3x Western Digital 1 TB RE3
Fans: 3x Aerocool Shark Blue Edition 120mm x 25mm High Pressure - Blue
Fans: 2x Scythe Slip Stream 120mm x 12mm Slim
Update: 11/1/13
Dell's proprietary form factors are nothing my Dremel and enough cutting wheels can't handle. Think I burned through...2-3 of them cutting the back off. Project is sort of on hold until I get my check on the 15th though. Will likely be adding a 400W-500W PSU. Still not sure about the processor/mobo, but I have some DDR3 lying around I think. It's also not going to look near as badass until I finish the water cooling loop, which will be the very last thing. (Due to cost).
Edit: It was also about | | close to being thrown away. The other thing I can't decide on, is what to do with all those LEDs on the front...
Update: 11/6/13
Overdue update. I've given up on drilling the holes myself, as some of the pre-drilled holes make this nearly impossible. I gutted an aluminum or tin one out of the same case I got the back panel from. Though unfortunately the Dremel is at my GF's house, I will not be finishing this phase tonight.
My biggest fear at this point is going to be the aesthetics of it. I can make it work, but the back panel might look like a honeycomb on the other side. (Where the HDDs live).
Update: 11/8/13
Side panel created, but unfortunately I cracked it while drilling. Will be buying another piece, making the edges a bit straighter, and using some smaller/rounder screws to make it look decent. I also thought I bought Acrylic...but it feels a LOT like plexi glass. Very upset at Home Depot. Might see if I can buy some blue Acrylic to match the theme.
Edit: didn't work out so well, honestly it was more of a test, and to get the holes drilled in the metal.
Update: 11/15/13
Update. Waiting on a PSU from the egg to arrive, will be putting it on the left side (facing from the back) on the very top and cutting holes for airflow. This frees up the 2 compartments below that, and the massive area under the motherboard that I don't know what to do with. Thoughts?
The idea was a massive cooling system, but that would require roughly 4 months to acquire funds.
Update: 11/29/13
PSU has arrived and been mounted, also I finally pained the side panels. They are looking much better than I expected. In keeping with the theme, The inside will be silver and the outside metallic black. Will be painting icicles coming from the top, which will be metallic black with blue and wait painted over it. The LEDs will be mostly blue, maybe a few white.
Also the HDD cages have been cut to hold the new HDDs, will be buying bulk blue cables for them.
Update: 12/30/13
It's been too long. The CPU (I7 4770k) is shipped, the painting is mostly done, and I'll be finishing a few metal plates soon. All I really need to order is the motherboard, 5 fans, and a few electric bits for the LEDs. I'd like to get a custom motherboard tray made, but don't know anyone locally and no artisans on here do that.
Update: 3/13/14
3 months down the road, it's still on the bench and with life being busy I do what I can when I have time. Still trying to gather ideas/inspiration on the water cooling. The fans have arrived, and the radiator is on it's way. At this point I just need: Motherboard, RAM, Motherboard tray, 4 more fans, and a RAID controller.
Update: 6/28/14
It's been a long 3 months, and have not had the time or motivation to work on this with other things coming up. It's nearly finished, as all I need now are the PSU, fan grills, 1 fan back from RMA, and some (albeit extremely hard to find) front bay covers/rails for this thing. The painting is finished, and as soon as the PSU arrives I will be hooking it up and pressing the power button.
In case you were wondering, those are dual Pentium IIs at 300Mhz. I also believe it had a RAID5 array or 5 4.65 GB SCSI drives.
It isn't the best looking job, but I didn't have a ton of spare metal lying around that I was capable of working with.
The dimensions of this beast are 22" deep, 15" wide, and 21.5" tall.
Will be updating this from now on, as I have most of the bugs worked out. Will also have a "Thanks to" section at the end of it, because without these forums and it's users it wouldn't have happened.
Special thanks to
bombastinator
My dad; electrician and carpenter
My lovely girlfriend Rachel, the art major.
Credits at the end
Component list:
CPU: Intel I7 4770k
Mobo: ASRock H97 Pro4 LGA 1150 Intel H97
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133
DVD: SAMSUNG DVD Burner SH-224DB/BEBE
HDD: 3x Western Digital 1 TB RE3
Fans: 3x Aerocool Shark Blue Edition 120mm x 25mm High Pressure - Blue
Fans: 2x Scythe Slip Stream 120mm x 12mm Slim
Update: 11/1/13
Dell's proprietary form factors are nothing my Dremel and enough cutting wheels can't handle. Think I burned through...2-3 of them cutting the back off. Project is sort of on hold until I get my check on the 15th though. Will likely be adding a 400W-500W PSU. Still not sure about the processor/mobo, but I have some DDR3 lying around I think. It's also not going to look near as badass until I finish the water cooling loop, which will be the very last thing. (Due to cost).
Edit: It was also about | | close to being thrown away. The other thing I can't decide on, is what to do with all those LEDs on the front...
Update: 11/6/13
Overdue update. I've given up on drilling the holes myself, as some of the pre-drilled holes make this nearly impossible. I gutted an aluminum or tin one out of the same case I got the back panel from. Though unfortunately the Dremel is at my GF's house, I will not be finishing this phase tonight.
My biggest fear at this point is going to be the aesthetics of it. I can make it work, but the back panel might look like a honeycomb on the other side. (Where the HDDs live).
Update: 11/8/13
Side panel created, but unfortunately I cracked it while drilling. Will be buying another piece, making the edges a bit straighter, and using some smaller/rounder screws to make it look decent. I also thought I bought Acrylic...but it feels a LOT like plexi glass. Very upset at Home Depot. Might see if I can buy some blue Acrylic to match the theme.
Edit: didn't work out so well, honestly it was more of a test, and to get the holes drilled in the metal.
Update: 11/15/13
Update. Waiting on a PSU from the egg to arrive, will be putting it on the left side (facing from the back) on the very top and cutting holes for airflow. This frees up the 2 compartments below that, and the massive area under the motherboard that I don't know what to do with. Thoughts?
The idea was a massive cooling system, but that would require roughly 4 months to acquire funds.
Update: 11/29/13
PSU has arrived and been mounted, also I finally pained the side panels. They are looking much better than I expected. In keeping with the theme, The inside will be silver and the outside metallic black. Will be painting icicles coming from the top, which will be metallic black with blue and wait painted over it. The LEDs will be mostly blue, maybe a few white.
Also the HDD cages have been cut to hold the new HDDs, will be buying bulk blue cables for them.
Update: 12/30/13
It's been too long. The CPU (I7 4770k) is shipped, the painting is mostly done, and I'll be finishing a few metal plates soon. All I really need to order is the motherboard, 5 fans, and a few electric bits for the LEDs. I'd like to get a custom motherboard tray made, but don't know anyone locally and no artisans on here do that.
Update: 3/13/14
3 months down the road, it's still on the bench and with life being busy I do what I can when I have time. Still trying to gather ideas/inspiration on the water cooling. The fans have arrived, and the radiator is on it's way. At this point I just need: Motherboard, RAM, Motherboard tray, 4 more fans, and a RAID controller.
Update: 6/28/14
It's been a long 3 months, and have not had the time or motivation to work on this with other things coming up. It's nearly finished, as all I need now are the PSU, fan grills, 1 fan back from RMA, and some (albeit extremely hard to find) front bay covers/rails for this thing. The painting is finished, and as soon as the PSU arrives I will be hooking it up and pressing the power button.
In case you were wondering, those are dual Pentium IIs at 300Mhz. I also believe it had a RAID5 array or 5 4.65 GB SCSI drives.
It isn't the best looking job, but I didn't have a ton of spare metal lying around that I was capable of working with.


Mounted and holes are cut out to allow airflow. Unsure if a fan will be going there or not


Radiator fans, will be used just for airflow until watercooling is done.
The painting, thanks to my art major GF
Not finished but I've been distracted lately.
The holes in the top are going to be for the 11mm fans, very little clearance.
And I'd feel like I was cheating you all if I didn't include a picture of my modding-assistants.

The painting, thanks to my art major GF



The holes in the top are going to be for the 11mm fans, very little clearance.

And I'd feel like I was cheating you all if I didn't include a picture of my modding-assistants.

Will be ordering custom grills for the tops fans, blue acrylic when it's done.
The inside in all it's shiny glory. Waiting on 1 fan back on RMA from AeroCool.

The inside in all it's shiny glory. Waiting on 1 fan back on RMA from AeroCool.

The dimensions of this beast are 22" deep, 15" wide, and 21.5" tall.
Will be updating this from now on, as I have most of the bugs worked out. Will also have a "Thanks to" section at the end of it, because without these forums and it's users it wouldn't have happened.
Special thanks to
bombastinator
My dad; electrician and carpenter
My lovely girlfriend Rachel, the art major.