[stingerjg]

Artwork By Dom_sufc/edited by stingerjg
MOST UP TO DATE PIC

Project name: ***Seeing Red Again***

Thought i would start a work log for this project. Im looking at a time frame for completion in the next 3 months.

Im currently planning on a fully water cooled setup in a Lian Li A05. As some of you know this is a fairly small case to begin w/.

PC Components
Mobo: mAtx 1155 P67 when/if it supports SLI
CPU: i7-2600K Sandy Bridge
RAM: 8Gb of something new for sandy bridge
GPU: EVGA GTX 560 (Fermi) Superclocked EE 1GB, SLI(unless something better comes along)
PSU: CORSAIR Professional Series AX850 850W
HDD: (2)Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB Sata 6.0(RAID 0), (2) WD VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS(RAID 0)
DVD: Slot load drive using a Lian Li EX-553B bay converter

Water Cooling Components
CPU Block: Swiftech Apogee GTZ
GPU's: full coverage block,
Rads: Black Ice Stealth 360, Black Ice Stealth 240 or 120(still thinking on this one)
Pump: Swiftech MCP655 w/ Bitspower D5 Mod top V2
Res: EK-D5 X-RES TOP 100
Tubing: Feser UV red (haven't decided on 3/8" or 1/2")
Fans: Yate Loon Medium speed

Case Mods
-Cut top of case for 360 radDONE
-Cut bottom of case for 240 radDONE
-Cut bottom of case for PSU intakeDONE
-Cut mobo tray for cpu back plate
-Install red ring 22mm Bulgin and red dot 16mm Bulgin switches to front panelDONE
-Single wire sleeve psu and shorten most of the cables
-Fabricate an alum psu cover and back panel to hide cables

Some questions that i have for all of you watercooling pro's.
1. Would it be ok to use 3/8" tubing w/ this many blocks? Im just worried about tight bends.
2. Im planning on going res>pump>cpu>chipset>120 or 240 rad>gpu's>360 rad> then back to the res. Would a 120 rad be enough to go in between the cpu/chipset and the gpu's ? The cpu will be overclocked, but the gpu's prob wont be much over their stock setting. A 120 rad fit a lot better than a 240 in a case this small.

First off a side view of the inside of the case. I have removed the hard drive cage from the front, wont be needing it. The SSD's will be mounted in the drive bay adapter w/ the optical drive and the storage drive will be in the 3.5" bay.

This is some layout on the bottom of the case. Trying to figure out if a 240 rad will fit. If i use a 240 rad, i will most likely have to remove the rear fan. The 240 rad is nearly 11" long

Here is the drive bay area. The 360 rad will use up most of the top bay. Im planning on putting a fan controller in the front of the top bay. Idk if ill be able to keep the I/O ports where they are now. i may have to mod the front bezel for them. The other 5.25 bay will house a slim optical drive and 2 SSD's. The 3.5" bay will have a WD 640GbAAKS.

I dropped in a spare psu cause its the same dimensions of the Corsair. Wanted to get an idea of where i could mount the pump. Keep in mind that im planning on using a Bitspower Mod top. So Mounting it under the drive bay wont be an issue w/ tube routing.

Another view of the pump mount. Its placement will block the fan, but i would keep it near the 'dead zone' of the fan.

Once i figure out the bottom rad issue, ill be ordering rads this week along w/ the bulgin switches.

 

[stingerjg]

Got some goodies in guy in the big brown truck earlier today.(3 days early too) Did some test fits of some of the parts to see how it would look put together a bit more.

This is the bottom rad. I originally had it sitting in the center but realized it will intefear w/ the I/O of the mobo.

The rad has to be almost right up to the edge of the case to clear the mobo. also you notice that the rad covers one of the feet locations. have to do some more research on how thats going to work w/ my MNPCTech feet.

I think having any sort of rear fan is out at this point. Ill have to wait till i buy fittings to see if i can fit a fan there.

Here is the clearance that i have between the psu and the lower rad. Routing cables is gonna be a challenge.

At this point i took apart the top to test fit the 360 rad. I was also trying to see if i could possibly save the I/O in the stock location. No luck on that one.

This is w/ the rad at the most rearward position. I think i will just center the rad on the top panel to make it look uniform.

The fans I am using are Yate Loon medium speed, red LED. I plugged one into a test psu and its super quiet. They are rated at 70.5cfm. Im not sure at this point if ill need to get the high speed ones to improve cooling or not. But the mediums will not need a fan controller at all. Here one is, pictured w/ the 16mm red dot bulgin switch that i will be using for a reset button.

This is the final pic. layout of both rads w/ fans sitting on them. Sexy.

 

[ShortySmalls]

lookin good

 

[LokSupguller]

nice sleeving job for the fans.

 

[LokSupguller]

Also, nice powersupply (not kidding).
It's nice to know some people are acknowledging thermaltake's tough power supplies.

 

[stingerjg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigfatwilly Also, nice powersupply (not kidding). It's nice to know some people are acknowledging thermaltake's tough power supplies.

I currently have 3 thermaltake psu's. but that wont be the one im using in the build. it just happens to have the same dimensions as the Corsair im planning on getting. But yes, i have been very pleased w/ my thermaltak'e

 

[ryanrenolds08]

Looks fantastic man! I too did a build last year with this case and 2 rads and it was a cramped internal! I didn't cool the GFX though, only the CPU and NB. Good luck man:thumb:

 

[ttoadd.nz]

Subbed, looking forward to the completed project!

 

[Greg121986]

Geez. Did someone get a new job?

 

[Lyfskills]

Lets get a update!

 

[stingerjg]

I get paid today, ill be ordering some more modding items sometime this week. look for updates the beginning of next week.

 

[stingerjg]

Not a huge update, but an update nontheless.

Mounted the 2 yate's on my rad and set it in for a test fit. Also the front fan has been installed.

Short clip of what they look like in action. they are a bit louder because the rad is sitting on the bare metal of the case bottom. Once i get it cut it should quiet down quite a bit.
[ame="[URL=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX5RE15gHqw&hd=1]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX5RE15gHqw&hd=1"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX5RE15gHqw&hd=1[/ame[/URL]]

I made an order today. once i get these parts i can cut the top and bottom for the rads. Also im going to experiment w/ the I/O mod.

 

[CudaBoy71]

Looks great man...

 

[stingerjg]

Received my order from Performance-PCs late yesterday. Lots of new pics in this update.

First off the Bitspower Radiator/Fan Grill Triple (360) Honeycomb Acrylic Black.
Got my lines drawn in for the cut. Ill make that cut later today or tomorrow.

Since the rad on the top will nix the I/O I've decided to mod the 3.5" bay cover to use the OEM cover. I also purchased a Lian Li Multi-Media I/O Port USB3.0 x 2 / HD Audio.

First was to create a template from the original cut on the top panel.

I ordered this switch for turning the cathodes on and off. I plan on mounting it to the bottom right side of the case. It will be underneath, so it will be somewhat stealth.

After cutting it out, i put the OEM cover in for a test fit.

Here is the drive bay cover for the I/O all layed out to be cut. Ill drill the screw holes once i have the hole fitting correctly.

I put the drive cage back in, I was originally planning on using this area to mount my pump. But i came up w/ another option so now i have room to put it back in.

I ordered some red cathode tubes, a 15" and a 12". The 12" gets really bright but the 15" does not. I may see about returning it for another 12". I don't know yet. The cost of returning it(shipping) may be more than just ordering another 12"

I installed a set of MNPCTech Billet Machined Aluminum Case Feet to give some added height for the intake for the lower rad. They add about 1" under the case.

But there is a catch to the case feet. The rear right will also be used as one of the screws to attach the rad. This will be a fun cut to make and get right the first time. Drive bay covers, side panels and the top can be ordered if i screw up. Cutting the case body is a whole different story.

Mock up pics in next post.

 

[stingerjg]

I did a mock up w/ both rads, fans and cathodes. I used blue tape and pencils as supports.

Lights on, flash on, no cathodes

Lights off, flash off, no cathodes

Lights off, flash off, cathodes on

This is the reason i'm planning on using a mATX mobo. One expansion slot filled by the rad, another one will be filled once i get fittings.

I'll add more updates as i get some cutting done.

 

[stingerjg]

Finished cutting for the drive bay cover I/O. Had a few oops' on the cutting. I have another drive bay cover to do a second try. I can live w/ the way it is for now.

 

[BlankThis]

One of my favorite cases ever

Good luck with the rest of your project!

 

[stingerjg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlankThis;11973171
One of my favorite cases ever

Good luck with the rest of your project!

thanks

ooh small update:
Got some layout done on the bottom of the case for the rad cut. I find it annoying to have to re-drill the holes cause **** dont fit. it took about 5 trips to the garage to get the 4 corners lined up. It really complicated the matter by having one of the corners attach via one of the case feet. Ill get the hole cut out tomorrow. (The grill will be re-painted b4 final assembly)

notice case foot through the grill

Cut pattern

More tomorrow or later today.

 

[RonindeBeatrice]

Very well done using the foot as one of the attachment points for the radiator. Killing two birds with one bolt is a great trick. Don't forget though, that you'll need washers on the other 3 feet to avoid having your case wobble to and fro.

 

[stingerjg]

Update:

last night i completed the cuts on the bottom of the case for the rad and psu intake. turned out pretty well. The grill over the rad will be painted black b4 the case is done.

After cutting the psu intake hole i moved the oem support farther fwd so it will still support the psu. its kinda curked but no one will see after i install a psu.

Detail shot of the case foot retaining one corner of the rad.

I used 2 washers per foot to get close to the height difference of the rad grill, they arnt perfectly matched. But i think the case will be level once i get all the hardware installed.

Before i make the rad cut to the top panel i want to finish out the main case body. First up, i need to move the power cord adapter at the rear over. The rad currently blocks the current hole. There should be plenty of room under the I/O shield.

Also by moving the power cord over im gonna move the pass through slot at the front of the case to the other side of the psu opening. I will be also cutting hole in the front for the switches and front i/o to pass through.

ill also be mounting my cathode switch to the bottom of the case. it will be concealed from view.

Stay tuned to more updates tomorrow.