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GorgTech

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Everything posted by GorgTech

  1. It´s been a while since the last update but now I have some extra achievements to show you I couldn´t get the idea of including the GPU and the RAM into the Water Cooling Loop out of my head. Aquatuning sent me a "Upgrade Kit" in order to help me out with the idea. Thanks again for the kind support. These are the components included in the package: Alphacool NexXxoS GPX - ATI RX 580 M01 - incl. backplate - Black Alphacool D-RAM module (for Alphacool D-RAM cooler) - Black Alphacool D-RAM Cooler X4 Universal - Plexi Black Nickel Alphacool HF 14 Smart Motion Cooling Plate - Nickel And don´t forget the extra accessories needed: Alphacool HF L-connector G1/4 outer thread rotatable to G1/4 inner thread - Chrome Alphacool Eiszapfen 13/10mm compression fitting 90° rotatable G1/4 - Chrome Thermal Pad Ultra 5W/mk (120x20x1.5mm) Thermal pad Ultra 5W/mk (100x100x3mm) Some of you might wonder why I need eg. some Mainboard Cooler for? The answer is simple, I have to use this part in order to build a "custom" GPU Cooler. Unfortunately you cannot purchase a Water Cooler for each graphics card available on the market. Why not give it a try to achieve my goal by building something which suits my needs? Let´s start. This Full Cover Block was intended to be used with another graphics card and is not "Plug & Play". This is not a huge problem if you´re willing to do something about it. If it doesn´t fit, mod it! Here you can see the difference between the graphics card and the Full Cover Block. Let´s shorten it first. A Dremel Clone is not really useful for this task and I didn´t had a Angle Grinder yet. A simple saw might work with some effort. It´s a lot lighter too;) Repeat with the other side but unfortunately I wasn´t able to make a perfect looking cut this time. It´s not that bad though. This "Light Cover Block" can be adjusted in order to cover the GPU and the RAM but what will I do about the voltage regulators and the resistors next to them? I´ll have to improvise and this is where the Mainboard Cooler seems to be useful. Having adjusted the "Light Cover Block" to have a 100% contact with the GPU, I mounted it and it fits. The GPU will be cooled with liquid metal for best cooling results. Just make sure to use some extra insulation since this stuff is dangerous to use. Doesn´t look that bad, eh? Now let´s have a look at the special Mainboard Cooler. Adjust the lenght of the metal first. The resistors need some cooling too. I had to use some scrap copper material in order to extend the surface of the Cooler. Solder it! That´s more like it. I had grinded and cleaned both sides after. This is how the second Cooler looks like in the end. Does it work like intended? It does, though the looks of this construction might not win a beauty contest. I used the 1.5mm Thermal Pads for this purpose. What about the RAM? I´m not sure if using a Water Cooling is really required but I wanted to try some special looks. The new Heatspreaders are easy to mount and everything is self explanatory. A suitable Water Block will be attached later with thermal paste. I´m sure this nice Cooler will look great when lightened by the Power LEDs Several hours later I was able to finish what I planed. The modified graphics card doesn´t look that bad, eh? I had to combine some parts of the Air Cooler like eg. the Backplate. Why not use the RGB AORUS Logo? Said and done, just attach the modified part with some 2K epoxy glue. How´s the Cooling, is this computer still alive? The Water Cooling is still powerful enough to cool the CPU + RAM + GPU without any trouble. The GPU stays cool and reaches a max. temperature of 41°C under load which is really awesome. And the voltage regulators? You can touch the custom Cooler without burning your finger. I guess that everything is alright. Now let´s have a look at some details of the final Water Cooling. Looks good in red. Or green. And don´t forget blue? Ladies and Gentlemen, it´s been a blast to work on this Project and to share my results with you. I want to thank again all Sponsors who helped me through this journey and made this Project possible, the way it is right now. Thanks to everyone who followed this Build Log and hopefully you had as much fun reading it like I had performing the modifications required in order to build what I had in mind. What will happen to this Project now that it´s finished? Don´t worry, I won´t recycle it for future Projects or simply abandon it. It´s a fully functional PC and not only a "Show Object". It will be used on a daily basis. That´s it, feel free to comment or ask any questions.
  2. The DCMM which took place during the Gamescom in Cologne was great. There were many nice Modders and Projects. It was nice as usual to talk about this hobby which keeps us together. Here are a few pictures: These are my 2 latest Projects. Some of you might recognize The Skull of Gul'dan. The DCMM area had many visitors and it was really crowded. Many Projects had to share the space available. I´m happy that the jury liked my other Project and rewarded it with the 2. price in the category of CE-Mods.
  3. Well this is the last update before the DCMM. I had this microphone laying around in a box and checked the datasheet again. The smaller microphone was removed and replaced by the bigger one. This is the result and the final modification for this headset. I didn´t really like the SATA cables and had to remove them. Some black Sleeves look a lot better on them. Not bad, eh? These cables look more elegant too. Do you remember the Power Supply Mod? The cooling provided by the modified RGB Fan was OK but I was not sure if it would be enough for very high loads too. The former Fan was a special version of the Silencio Fan with a max. of 2500 RPM. How about using a Fan which can at least achieve similar results while still remaining silent during lower loads? Noctua was so nice to send me another Noctua NF-F12 PWM Fan. I used the rear Fan in order to modify the Power Supply one more time. Thanks again for the kind support. The other RGB Fan will be used in another Project. Drill 4 holes without damaging the Blades. I used some nice silver paint without removing the Blades since I didn´t want to damage the bearing. The DIY RGB lightning was also added. This Fan has its own port. The Fan speed depends on the CPU Temperature. I had to build a extra long extension for the Fan by modifying one of the Noctua cables. It´s barely visible. Does everything work as expected? I present you the "Noctua NF-F12 LED Edition". Let´s start with blue. Or red. And green. I might build some further RGB stuff later and need some RGB ports, directly accessible from the outside. 2 Ports are enough for me. Not too bad? And now I needed a suitable spot for it, right below the daughter board of the Sound Card. Did I mention that the Power Supply lightning is very bright? And the reservoir also got a extra feature. A DIY RGB LED Spot. And does this LED Spot perform well? It´s easier to see the cooling fluid. That´s it for now, I will provide you with more pictures after the DCMM.
  4. And the Headset is done and still works like a charm. Just ignore the cabling. Clean looks without any cables attached. The cable I need in order to use the Headset like it was intended by the manufacturer. Don´t worry, the connection is solid and can withstand the weight of the cable. And now with a regular 3.5mm plug attached, just in case you want to use it as a replacement for Headphones.
  5. It´s time for some updates. I had to change the plug for something more elegant. I purchased a Alphacool Eiszapfen screw plug. What´s this switch used for? It´s your turn to guess. Cooler Master was kind enough to send me some further Goodies to play with. Thanks again for the kind support. What´s inside? A Cooler Master Masterpulse Pro Headset. I like the dark looks of it as well as the RGB lightning. This Headset will be modified in order to fit the Project. 1) It can be used like it was intended by the manufacturer. 2) It can be used as regular Headphones with every Sound Card etc. I´ll use connectors in order to achieve my idea. The package also contained a Cooler Master Xornet II Mouse. This Mouse is rather small and also offers RGB lightning options. I wanted to modify this Mouse in a decent way and started right away. Let´s open the case and have a look at the guts. These parts would look great with some silver paint on them. And it´s done. It´s not easy to paint very small parts and I´m not really 100% happy with the results but it looks good enough in the end. Quite a nice contrast. But wait, that´s not everything. The Cooler Master V550 Power Supply is great, silent and stable. I´m not a huge fan of "RGB Power Supplies" since you barely see the RGB Fans anyway, at least in most cases. But not in this case, why not give it some "DIY RGB Upgrade Kit"? Cooler Master liked the idea, this is why I removed the Power Supply in order to modify it. This kind of operation is dangerous and should only be performed by people with experience when it comes to dealing with electronics. You don´t want to burn your home or kill yourself by getting a electrical shock? Say goodbye to your warranty too. The Silencio Fan would be replaced by a Cooler Master MasterFan Pro 120 Air Pressure RGB Fan which was also included in the package. This RGB Fan can be connected with suitable Motherboards but I have other intentions with it. I want to be able to use my own RGB Controler too if I´m in the mood. Several hours later I finished my DIY RGB lightning Kit and all the other stuff I needed. The LEDs have been shortened too. Let´s drill some holes without touching the Blade. And how do you like the modified Fan? Let´s try the built in lightning first. Nice, isn´t it? And now the RGB lightning. These are a lot brighter. I had to modify the Power Supply case too in order to remove the Fan Grill and add some openings for the connectors and cables. The slots in the side panel are enough and you can see more of the Fan later. The modified Fan is quite big and barely fits inside the Power Supply case. In order to prevent short circuits, I added proper insulation to the RGB circuit. That´s it again, next I´ll try the Power Supply and take care of the Headset.
  6. Don´t worry, this Project is not finished yet! I´ll adjust one thing or two until the DCMM. I built another circuit which has to fit in such a small case later. And well, it does! It looks a lot better this way. Just finish the rest and also recycle some stuff like eg. FAN extension cables. What will I use the connectors for and which purpose does this device serve?
  7. And another update! My Project has won the 2. price during the Modding Masters Competition in the category of Casemods! I´m really happy about this accomplishment. It´s been a great weekend with interesting discussions and nice people. I can show you some further pictures and extra links if you´re interested.
  8. It´s nearly done guys! I received this package which contains the last missing puzzle piece. I want to thank Aorus for the kind support and for the trust. Now it´s time for the last unboxing session. A nice AORUS Radeon™ RX580 8G GPU. Features: Graphics Processing: Radeon RX580 Core Clock: OC mode: 1380 Mhz Gaming mode: 1365 Mhz (Reference card: 1340 Mhz) Process Technology: 14 nm Memory Clock: 8000 Mhz Memory Size: 8 GB Memory Type: GDDR5 Memory Bus: 256 bit Digital max resolution: 7680x4320 Multi-view: 5 Card size: H=36 L=232 W=121 mm PCB Form: ATX DirectX: 12 OpenGL: 4.5 Recommended PSU: 500W Power Connectors: 8 pin*1 I/O Dual-link DVI-D *1 HDMI *1 Display Port *3 Package Content Graphics card quick guide AORUS metal sticker Driver CD A black box. The content is what I´m looking for. The usual stuff and a nice Case Badge made of metal. This GPU is small enough to fit inside the case without any problems. Let´s see if the Fans are quiet and check the temperature later. And a nice and sturdy Backplate. The Aorus emblem is lightened with RGB LEDs. The same goes for the Fan status display. More RGB for my Project. Let´s adjust the Backplate of the Sound Card one more time. The bullets are attached mechanical and also fixed with 2K glue in some points. There won´t be any audible rattling or other noise for sure. Do I have to mention that these bullets are harmless and cannot be used as ammunition? They fit the Punisher Theme very well. I´ve also attached some plotted lettering. The 120 Fan got a new DIY Fan Grill. And another look at the main chamber. I like the new Backplate a lot better. And another one. Is there a better way to attach a flat cable without it looking too chaotic? And another closer look. I have to pack my stuff because of the Modding Masters this weekend. Stay tuned for more pictures later!
  9. And here´s another update since I have to be ready soon for the "Modding Masters" competition. Let´s recycle some spare Aluminum first. Cut a suitable piece. What will I use it for? Use some sanding paper and drill some holes. And add a layer of clear coat. Just make sure to improve some areas. Here´s the result. It´s a DIY Backplate for the Sound Card. And another one for the smaller board. These Backplates also improve the shielding. Looks great with LED lightning too. I also got another "goodie package" from Aquatuning Germany. Thanks a lot again for the great support. It´s some sort of "Upgrade Kit" for the Water Cooling in order to measure the water temperature. This is what I needed: 1x Alphacool Eiszapfen temperature sensor G1/4 IG/IG with AG adapter - Chrome, 1x temperature sensor G1/4 with Display (blue) and 1x Alphacool Eiszapfen double nippel rotatable G1/4 outer thread to G1/4 outer thread - Chrome . Why would I want a extra temperature sensor if the Display has one? I don´t have much space left between the reservoir and the power supply. The premium sensor looks better too and seems to be the more elegant solution. Let´s void some warranty and modifiy the temperature sensor with Display. Remove the old sensor, add a connector. Both sensors have the same resistance according to the specs listed by the manufacturers. The results should be precise enough. I´ve shortened the cables for the power supply and added some nice sleeves. This cable was too long for my taste, just do the same. And this is where I´m going to attach the premium sensor. Does this stuff work like intended? It does and the displayed temperature is realistic. The Display is attached to a DIY mount which is connected with the circuit board of my RGB Controller. Just in case I have to remove the Display, I don´t have any problems. Everything is built in such a way that it is easy to repair. That´s it again, now all I need are the plotted emblems and some other details.
  10. Ok, it´s been a while since the last update. These forums have been broken anyway. I need to be ready just before the Modding Masters in Germany. I´m still lacking a GPU but at least I could assemble the other components. The integrated GPU of the CPU is better than nothing but still suitable for first tests. Let´s start with something tiny. A DIY Y-RGB adapter for the Mainboard connector. This PCB is really tiny and will be barely visible. What will I also use it for? We´ll see later. The displayed GPU is a old ATI HD2900XT which is defective. I just mounted it for a test in order to see how the system looks like without a missing GPU. Let´s connect the Water Cooling. I had a few problems first because of the position of the radiators. The short connection with the 120 radiator is problematic if you have to remove the CPU Cooler. Using a combination of 2 different fittings doesn´t look that good either, though it´s slightly easier to remove the CPU Cooler. Everything looked quite chaotic. Not even the nice RGB Lightning can make you forget about it. And does the Water Cooling work as expected? The temperatures are OK but once you overclock the CPU too much and also use Prime95 (Version 28.1 with AVX), you get 74°C pretty fast. I had to try some settings and different voltages first until I found a solution. The 120 radiator doesn´t work as expected because I made one mistake. The heat inside the case has to pass through it and this can be problematic. The heated air from the 240 and 280 radiator is too much for the 120 Fan to handle. You add extra heat to the Water Cooling which could be even worse once you use a GPU. I had to remove the 120 radiator and the temperatures dropped slightly. At least the Water Cooling looks a lot more defined and less chaotic. The 120 radiator will be used with another Project. What if you want to release the Cooling Fluid? The old position of the ball valve was not ideal in order to remove as much Fluid as possible without having to rotate the case a lot. The new position is a lot more friendly to you back and works way better. Strange looking but at least practical. And now for something else. Let´s have a look at some LED lightning pictures. Red. Green. Blue. Red + Green + Blue = White. Not 100% white but with a slight pink touch. No problem, I still have the extra white Power LEDs Let´s have a look at the main chamber. First without the glass panel attached. Red. Green. Blue. White with a slight pink touch. The white Power LEDs are better again. And now with the glass panel attached. Red. Green. Blue. The lightning is slightly darker but still very bright. Some more white Power LEDs. That´s my favorite setting at the moment. Are you interested in some videos which show the RGB lightning in action? And what about the RGB lightning for the CPU Cooler? Don´t worry, I´m going to clean the glass panel and the window later. They won´t remain dirty and with dust on them. I´ll need to prepare some plotted texts later and some other details.
  11. I will show you a little update, just in time for the week end. Let´s start with another nice package. I want to thank notebooksbilliger.de for the kind support and for the trust. I wonder what´s inside? Every PC needs a brain or in this case, a suitable CPU. I got a Intel Core I7 7700K CPU. This is the boxed version which doesn´t include a heatsink. If you want to mount such a CPU in your PC, I´m pretty sure that you won´t care about a simple heatsink which is included with some specific models. In order to get the best performance you would use some heavy metal Air Cooling or a strong Water Cooling. I´m sure that I don´t have to explain why the K-Series is nice to have? This Intel Core I7 7700K CPU is the Flagship for S.1151 systems and a ideal partner for this Project. It won´t sweat too much. The Water Cooling will take care of the heat and hopefully will also be silent enough for my taste. Do I have to mention that I´ll try some Overclocking too? I´m going to mount the CPU later, test the Water Cooling for leakage and fire up the PC for the first time. I´m still lacking a real graphics card but this is not a huge problem for now. I´ll test the whole system with the integrated GPU of the CPU. You´ll get a big update in the next days if you´re patient.
  12. This week I have a smaller update for you. The Asrock Logo was pretty rough to handle and I needed several tries with different types of sanding paper and some Aceton in order to smoothen the surface. Obtaining a 100% smooth surface out of a middle resolution 3D Print is not easy to achieve. If you don´t grind enough you end up with a rough surface. If you use too much sanding paper you end up with visible gaps which are filled with air. Well, not too bad after several tries? I went on with further tries and used some more Aceton in order to get the best possible results. After a while I was ready to use a few layers of clearcoat. Now this is starting to look more interesting. The "AS" part needed some extra adjustments since I had to include a gap between these 2 letters. This Logo is pretty done the way it is. It is attached with transparent silicone adhesive to the glass panel of the main chamber. I´ll have to create other Logos too but first I need to create the suitable files required for them. I think that this Logo looks pretty good and has a shiny touch. I´ve spent quite some effort on it. Similar Logos require a higher resolution, better material and a lot of Try & Error. Don´t expect a 3D Printer to deliver 100% perfect results. Expect the material to be rough and to need extra adjustments, sanding and some layers of paint. How do you like the results so far?
  13. Here´s another update. The transparent CPU Cooler has 4x holes which are meant to be used by 5mm LEDs. Why not try something out? Since I still have some 5mm RGB LEDs left, why not build something suitable out of them? I made these 2x RGB modules which will be connected later with the RGB Header of the Mainboard. The heads of the LEDs are shortened. These LEDs fit into the 4x holes as expected. Let´s take care of the cabling. I had to use one of the Noctua extensions for the longer cable. Also recycle some of that sleeving material. Next I tried my RGB modules with my DIY power supply. First some Red. Next is Green. What about Blue? Or you could also mix some Pink. Or Turquoise. Yellow might also look nice. And White. The lightning is really bright.
  14. It´s time for another update! I received a nice surprise package from Aquatuning There was another CPU Cooler inside: Alphacool Eisblock XPX CPU - Intel/AMD - polished clear version This is the newest version of the Eisblock XPX which is new on the market. Let´s have a look at it. 100% transparent Plexiglas, it looks a lot different than the Eisblock XPX I´ve chosen for this Project. Clear vs Solid looks: I´m pretty sure that the clear version will look awesome in combination with my LED lightning. Which one of these CPU Coolers will be used in the end? I´ll use the clear version now. The other Cooler will be reserved for another Project. And here´s another picture of this Eisblock XPX I also received this Phobya LED PSU 100-240V AC to 12V DC - plastic case. This power supply will be adjusted in order to make a nice tool out of it. I had this small plastic case laying around for a while and some other components. Let´s add some openings first. Not too bad, eh? This sort of "adapter" will be connected with the power supply in order to fill the cooling fluid into the Water Cooling. You don´t have to remove the plug of the power supply. No warranty void of the power supply this time. It can also be used for other purposes too This adapter can also be adjusted to use eg. other connectors for other devices. And another perspective. I also made a suitable cable for the adapter. The DIN plug + socket can withstand the max. current of 4A without any problems since many pins are connected in parallel. The pump used in this Project only draws about 1A. That´s how this ensemble looks like. Just imagine that you have eg. to transport the Project to the DCMM 2017 with the cooling fluid removed. This tool will come in handy for future Water Cooling Projects too. Soon I´m going to work on other details like eg. this logo. I´ve created a proper STL file out of a graphic found on the internet and had a friend of mine print this logo with a 3D printer. This logo looks pretty rough and is not smooth and shiny yet. I will try to smoothen the surface and also use some clearcoat later. I´m still lacking a CPU and GPU in order to finish the Project. That´s it for now!
  15. Update time again! I´ve removed the integrated Fan Controller a while ago and nearly forgotten about it. I don´t really need to use it since most Fans are connected to the Mainboard. Well, all except the 80mm Fan which is optional for the second chamber. I´ve adjusted the Fan Controller. The 80mm Fan can be supplied by a voltage of 5V, 12V or turned off. 5V is already enough for a quiet operation but I´m sure that I can adjust the voltage even lower. The resistor drops the voltage by about 0.5V. Not too nice but functional. I have less cables to hide too The 80mm Fan is only there to prevent the SSD of heating up too much during a hot summer. Aquatuning sent me some extra Goodies since I´ve forgotten to add some parts needed for the Water Cooling to fit inside this case. Such a small case can be tricky and requires some extra thinkering around. I´ve forgotten to shoot some group pictures of the gear I got but nevertheless I´m going to show you the extra stuff. I´m not sure if I´m going to use UV fluid or not and I wanted to have a suitable alternative. Just use some distilled water? Well, this might work but Phobya ZuperZero Clear 1000ml sounds like a better idea to me. I also got some Alphacool HF L-connector G1/4 outer thread rotatable to G1/4 inner thread - Chrome which helped me to solve my problem with the reservoir. Since the second chamber is pretty stuffed, I had a harder time to figure out how to mount the ball valve while avoiding the cables etc. And this is how the second chamber looks right now. Now here´s the deal, the SSD issue with the text and emblem which would have been displayed the wrong way, rotated by 180° had to be modified one more time. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel by eg. trying to create a plotted Text which would look strange since I don´t know which font was used by the manufacturer, why not try to restore the original looks again? I made a label with the right dimensions by using a high resolution picture of the product as a basis, printed it on high quality photographic paper and attached it to the SSD. In conclusion I think that it looks better this way too. The reservoir is dark, the power supply too and now the SSD again. The flow indicator is mounted before the input port of the reservoir. I had to use a Alphacool Eiszapfen L-connector G1/4 inner thread to G1/4 inner thread - Chrome for this purpose. The yellow side is better in the end since it´s easier to spot and also fits the color of the PCBs used for my RGB Controller pretty well. The ball valve also fits inside the second chamber. I used a Alphacool Eiszapfen screw plug G1/4 - deep black as a safety measure since I´ll have to transport this project later. This way I´m pretty sure that the fluid will stay inside the system and the ball valve won´t play any tricks on me Did I mention that there´s barely a distance of a few mm between the Plexiglas and the screw plug left? This is why I couldn´t use a regular L-connector. Barely any space left, just have a look at how close the stuff is mounted next to my RGB Controller. Last but not least I also got some Alphacool tubing AlphaTube HF 13/10 (3/8"ID) - clear. I wasn´t sure if I want to use glossy looking tubing or something else. The other tubing looks a bit more elegant. Just a matter of taste. And now attach the side panel. The reservoir got a small and shiny emblem which looks like polished copper. It´s better than having to stare at a large and dark block? Let´s connect some tubing in the other chamber too. Quite a tight fit. I´m not sure if I´m going to use some L-connectors in the end. For now I tried one Alphacool Eiszapfen L-connector G1/4 inner thread to G1/4 inner thread - Chrome which looks nice. Let´s attach the 240 Radiator. The 120mm Fans could easily hurt your fingers, this is why I decided to use 2x regular 120mm Fan Grills. I also got 2 of these: Fan Grill for axial fans for 120mm - Chrome These regular Fan Grills are still better than the original Fan Grill which I had to remove with the Dremel Clone. Let´s use some more of these nice M5 Torx Screws, even if you don´t see the Fans That´s it for now.
  16. And I got another nice package. I want to thank GOODRAM for the kind support and for the trust. Let´s unbox this thing GOODRAM? Looks more like "Good-Yumm" A nice treat is great in order to perform the remaining modifications. Wait, there´s more! One 16GB GOODRAM IRDM DDR4 RAM KIT. These modules have a frequency of 2400Mhz and 15-15-15 Timings. The RAM Coolers are white and look great in combination with the Mainboard. 16GB of RAM is plenty for this project. Let´s build these puppies in. And there´s another Goodie inside. A nice 240GB GOODRAM Iridium Pro SSD. Just have a look at the Specifications. Let´s unbox this SSD. The design is clean and simple. I won´t need the adapter because this SSD is not mounted into a Notebook. Now here´s a tricky part which triggered my OCD: I cannot mount the SSD the way it is because the Text will be rotated by 180° which looks irritating. I´ve already shortened the SATA power supply cables and cannot stretch them too much. The SATA cables for the SSD are also too short and this is why I had to figure something out, how to fix this problem. Let´s use some force and sanding paper in order to remove the coating. Brushed metal and shiny enough. Attach one of the included emblems. I will have a "Iridium Pro" Text plotted at a later time and attach it below the emblem. I use 1x 3,5" to 2x 2,5" adapter because I wanted to adjust the position of the SSD to my taste. The adapter prevents the SSD from being mounted too far on the right which would have destroyed my window design. This adapter also allows me to use a extra SSD at a later time. You want to keep this Project upgradeable, don´t you? Since the threads of cheap adapters tend to break easily, I´ve expanded the holes and used M5 Torx screws and nuts. This method looks awesome too There are no vibrations at all. The M3 screws used by the SSD have also been replaced by shortened M3 Torx screws. Maybe one small detail to other people but I want everything to look as uniform as possible. The silver SSD is easy to spot and attracts the eyes. Btw, did I mention that Iridium looks somewhat silver too? Silver + Black is a great combination. I cannot repeat this often enough.
  17. It´s time for another big update. Let´s start with this nice package. I want to thank Asrock for the kind support and for the trust. There should be some awesome stuff inside A nice Asrock Z270 Taichi Mainboard. Let´s have a quick look at the most important features since the full Specifications are too much for this worklog. Features: ASRock Super Alloy Supports 7th and 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i7/i5/i3/Pentium/Celeron® Processors (Socket 1151) Supports DDR4 3733+(OC) 4 PCIe 3.0 x16, 1 PCIe 3.0 x1 AMD 3-Way CrossFireX™, NVIDIA® Quad SLI™ Graphics Output Options: HDMI, Display Port 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec), Supports Purity Sound™ 4 & DTS Connect 10 SATA3, 3 Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3) 2 USB 3.1 10Gb/s (1 Type-A + 1 Type-C), 9 USB 3.0 (4 Front, 4 Rear, 1 Vertical Type-A) Dual Intel® Gigabit LAN Intel® 802.11ac WiFi ASRock AURA RGB LED Nice Specifications, high quality components and I´m sure that overclocking with this Mainboard will deliver great results. Just check the contents. Quite a lot of stuff inside. I like the 4x SATA cables which should be enough for most users. Some Mainboards only contain 2x SATA cables. And the usual device drivers, instruction manuals which are needed in order to connect eg. the Power and Reset Buttons and some stickers. That´s a strong packaging for the Mainboard. Black & White design. The color scheme used is great inside the black case. White elements like eg. the gears look awesome. Too bad that this design will be covered by PCIe devices later. One last look before I mount the Mainboard in the case. Not much to say. Next I had to figure out, how to connect the cables with the Mainboard. I had to shorten nearly all cables because I don´t have much space left in the second chamber. I need 3x Molex connectors for the pump, white LEDs, the RGB controller and the RGB LEDs. That´s one example. All other cables look similar after the modification. The same goes for the cable extensions used with the Fans. Here´s just one example. The shorter cable is the modified one and looks exactly like the stock cable. Several hours later. The second chamber is stuffed and it would have looked a lot worse with longer cables. Let´s mount the 120 radiator and the Sound Card. The 240 radiator will be mounted later when I connect the Water Cooling Loop. Barely visible cables. The shiny Fan Guard looks awesome the way it is. This case will also include one Slim Bluray Drive with a 5,25" adapter. I had to modify the rubber grommets in order to prevent the hoses from kinking . Just cut some parts and glue them together. Still not convinced that there´s barely any space available? Finally I got the ordered glass. Well, it´s slightly shorter but I´ll improvise a little. And this is how the glass is supposed to look like in order to fit inside the case. The result. Does it look industrial enough? And here´s a picture of the case, the way it looks right now
  18. I received another package. I want to thank Creative Labs for the kind support and for the trust. Let´s have a look at what´s inside. A nice Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR Sound Card. Having used a simple Realtek Onboard HD Audio Codec for the past years, I have high expectations. That´s the flagship of the ultra high-performance Sound Blaster Z-Series and it looks awesome too. I´m sure that it fits well together with my project. From a technical point of view it´s nice to use with my DIY Valve Amplifiers;) I could show you some pictures of these too if you´re interested. Specifications: Audio Technology: Sound Core3D Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR): 124dB Max. Channel Output: 5.1 Channels Platform: PC - PCIe x1 Connectivity Options (Main): Headphone: 1 x Amplified 1/4" jack Speaker Out: 2 x RCA (L/R) 2 x 3.5mm jacks (Rear,C/Sub) Microphone In: 1 x 1/4" jack Connectivity Options (Accessory) DBPro Daughter Board: Line In: 2 x RCA (L / R) Optical Out: 1 x TOSLINK Optical In: 1 x TOSLINK Audio Technologies: SBX Pro Studio, CrystalVoice, Scout Mode, Dolby Digital Technology, DTS Connect Encoding Microphone: Microphone Type: Dual-array Noise Canceling Condenser Beamforming: Yes (Built into Audio Control Module) Frequency Response: 100Hz to 20kHz Sensitivity: -37dB Sound Performance: Audio Fidelity: Up to 24-bit / 192kHz Studio Attributes: ASIO: ASIO 2.0 Included Accessories: Audio Control Module (with Beamforming Microphone Built-in) Recommended Usage: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Pro Audio, Recording Supported Operating Systems: Windows® 10, Windows® 8, Windows® 7 The components are packed in separate boxes. There are also suitable cables included. The Sound Card has a nice EMI shielding and features golden connectors. The DBPro Daughter Board looks similar and shares the same design. Both Sound Processors have a small cooler attached to them. And here´s a simple envelope. What´s inside? 1x optical Toslink cable, 1x instruction manual and a CD with Software and Device Drivers. This Audio Control Module can come in handy. It´s nice to use it in order to swap through the In- and Outputs without having to fiddle around behind the case and also to adjust the volume. It also includes a built in microphone. 3.5mm plugs with extra 6.3mm adapters. The golden coating looks nice. I´m going to test the items later as soon as the PC is finished. The Sound Card includes high grade Opamps which can be swapped for other models if you feel the need to experiment. That´s a nice feature for audio enthusiasts. Just remove the EMI shielding and use a antistatic mat in order to prevent electrostatic discharges which could damage the sensitive hardware. You need to be patient and careful in order to remove the Opamps from the sockets. The built in New Japan Radio NJM2114D Opamps are very good, however I had some LME49720NA Opamps from older projects laying around. Having compared the datasheets of these ICs, I decided to use the LME49720NA since these have slightly better specs, at least in theory. It´s not really necessary to change the Opamps but since I have these slightly better ICs, why not give them a try? And it´s done. I´m going to store the other Opamps in case I have to insert them again. Here´s another picture. I like the looks and I sure hope that the sound experience will be awesome too. There´s still a lot to do until I can finish this project.
  19. It´s time for another update. I received this nice package these days. I want to thank Cooler Master for the kind support and for the trust. What´s inside? Let´s perform some Unboxing. Plenty of Cooler Master MasterGel Maker elite thermal grease. I like this thermal grease since this one is considered to be the best you can get these days, like many reviews can confirm. This amount of thermal grease will be more than enough for many other projects too. I´ve used this thermal grease for other purposes too. The package also included some nice bonus items like eg. a Cooler Master keychain, some nice emblems and some Cooler Master blankets. The most important component was a Cooler Master V550 Power Supply. Features: - Fully modular cable design - Powerful and small at the same time - Silent Silencio FP 120mm Fan - 80+ Gold certified - Up to 92% high efficiency - 100% japanese capacitors for a extended lifetime and minimal power fluctuations Specs: Model: RS550-AFBAG1-EU Type: Intel Form Factor ATX 12V V2.31 Dimension: (W x L x H) 150 x 140 x 86mm Input Voltage: 100-240Vac (Auto Range) Input Current: 10 - 5A Input Frequency Range: 63 - 47Hz PFC: Active PFC (>0.9 typical) Power Good Signal: 100-500ms Hold Up Time: >16ms Efficiency: 90% Typically MTBF: >100,000 Hours Protection: OVP/UVP/OPP/OTP/OCP/SCP Output Capacity: 550W Operation Temperature: 0~40°C Regulatory: CE/FCC/UL/TUV/RCM/BSMI/CCC/EAC Fan: 120mm Silencio FP Certifications: 80 Plus Gold Connector: M/B 20+4 Pin Connector x 1 CPU 4+4 Pin x 1 PCI-e 6+2 Pin x 2 SATA x 6 4 Pin Peripheral x 3 4 Pin Floppy x 1 This small Power Supply is perfect for this project and looks nice too. Some more Unboxing. I´ve used a Cooler Master V1000 Power Supply before which is still built in my Modified Desktop PC. Let´s have a closer look. This small Power Supply is available in 550W, 650W and 750W. 550W should be OK for this project though. The Power Supply and the cables are packed separately. A cloth bag protects the Power Supply from scratches. The cables are stuffed into the bag next to it. You also get some cable ties and 4 screws. There´s not much to say about the cables. I like the idea that these are black and I don´t have to use sleeves on them A small Power Supply which will hopefully do the job as expected. 100% modular designs are a must have in this case in order to save as much space as possible. The built in Fan is silent. I guess the cooling will be awesome since the Power Supply gets fresh air from outside of the case. And here´s a look at the Specs and efficiency again. This is just a short description of the Power Supply and not a full review since this one would be too much for a worklog. From the looks of it, it´s a nice Power Supply which also looks great inside this case. Let´s mount this Power Supply inside the case. Now you can see that this case is not as big as it might seem without any hardware inside? In fact it´s a small case which requires some thinkering around. There is a gap of about 3cm between the reservoir and the Power Supply. It´s just enough to insert the cables and to bend them a little. Quite a nice back. And how would this Power Supply look behind bars? That´s it again. I´m still waiting for the ordered glass in order to finish the second side panel.
  20. Here´s another update. My plan was at first to glue the glass together with the Aluminum side panel but I had my doubts if this was a good idea. You need a strong mechanical tension to attach the side panel to the case which would have stressed the glued parts. I´m going to use scratch resistant Plexiglas but I didn´t receive the ordered material yet. Let´s use screws instead of glue, 37x M3 screws will do the job just fine. I´ve also improved the edges with sanding paper and now these are 100% smooth. Since I need to consider the space used by the Plexiglas itself, I had to cut some parts out of the frame. There is no other solution since the old position of the USB Ports made me cut that far on the left side in order to remove the holes. I´m also stuck with 3mm thick Plexiglas in order not to touch the reservoir. Inbus screws might look odd because of their height. Let´s use some nice Torx screws made of V2A instead which are shorter. These Torx screws look better and it´s good not to mix multiple types of screws in the visible areas. I´m going to keep the longer black M3 screws used for the USB Ports and for the CMOS Reset Button. Not too bad, eh? Just don´t forget to change the remaining Inbus screws too. I might paint other parts of the case too but for now I gave the 120mm Fan Grill a nice silver coating. Black + Silver is a good mix. There´s still a lot to do and I lack many hardware components. That´s it for now.
  21. I took care of the side panel this week. I smoothened the edges and made sure to make the edges visible, the same way I did with the Aluminum front. The new slots look similar too. Now I need to grab myself some glass to play with. I´m not sure if I´ll use regular glass or makrolon. I really like the covering for the toggle switch and the potentiometer. You can still see plenty of the RGB stuff and the circuits itself. That´s it again, soon I need to continue with the hardware components which are going to be used in this project. I still need many parts I don´t have yet.
  22. Time to work on some serious details. Let´s have a look if the 120 Radiator fits. I don´t want to alter the shape of the case too much. Well, to be honest I´m not a huge fan of external Radiators, that´s the reason why I want everything to fit inside the case. The black Fan guard looks great on the Radiator as well and also offers some protection. The black screws are awesome too. I swapped the screws of the 140mm and 80mm Fans for bulkier M5 Inbus screws and suitable lock washers. These little details improve the looks of the visible Fans through the Aluminum front. It´s a nice industrial touch as well. Quite a nice combination. I had to adjust the Aluminum front again. The cabling looks great and I had to cut some openings in order to prevent the Aluminum front from touching the screws. The cables won´t touch the lower 140mm Fan. My philosophy is strict: all projects should be designed in such a way that they are easy to repair. What would happen if eg. the pump fails? I would have to remove the mainboard in oder to release the screws of the reservoir and to take it out. This is a worst case scenario but I don´t want to risk it at any times. There is a more intelligent way to solve this problem without having to remove too many components. I decided to cut some sort of door in order to release the screws which hold the pump attached to the reservoir. Cut the opening with a Dremel Clone. Just use some scrap material I had laying around and build a few parts needed. This door should not vibrate at any times. This requires a good and simple lock mechanism. 2x M5 domed cap nuts are great for this purpose and also easy to attach and to remove. Quite a strong contrast but I don´t care. This door is practical and that´s the main reason I made it. Next was the second side panel again. I started with 2 openings for the SSD or HDD I will use later and the reservoir. That´s not the final look of this panel and I spent further time to draw the remaining openings. Having spent quite some effort on the second side panel, it started to look really awesome. Just have a look at the shapes which fit great the shape of the side panel. Modern with many angles and edges, just the way I like it. The openings for the power supply Fan are great but not 100% up to my taste. Just remove some extra parts. I guess you know where this is going. These slots look a lot better to me. This is how the power supply Fan could look like through these slots. This looks promising enough in order to see enough of the stuff used in the second compartment. I will grind the edges later with a file and sanding paper. Just a short test. I won´t use the old HDD visible in this picture in the final build. There is still some space left between the slots and the SSD or HDD window. Maybe I´ll cut another window or a nice logo inside. That´s it again for this week!
  23. Time for another update. I had these 2 Aluminum knobs laying around for a while. 1 of these was shortened with the Dremel Clone. What will I use one of these for? I had to modify my RGB control unit again since I purchased another RGB Power LED and had to adjust the circuit for higher current again in order to prevent it from burning. This unit now supports some extra modes for adjusting the speed of the colors too. The toggle switch lets you choose 2 extra speed modes which allow you to set every desired frequency of the colors. The circuit board found a nice space in the second chamber. I´ve adjusted the cabling of the RGB LEDs once again since I had to add another LED. In case you´re wondering, what happened to the joist in the lid, I had to modify it in order for the 120 Radiator to fit inside the case. 2 RGB LEDs are better than 1 The second chamber gets some extra light too. Let´s sleeve some of the cables with some black sleeving material I had laying around for a while. Not bad, eh? I don´t care about the other cables which were used for the LEDs and are not black. It´s OK this way in case I have to repair the lightning. You never know if these LEDs don´t fail after a while. I had to adjust the second side panel by drilling holes for the Aluminum #### and the toggle switch. Not smooth enough? Not a big deal since I´ll cut some windows later and take care of the rest. In order to fill the reservoir without twisting your fingers too much, I made myself a little helper and a proper hold for it out of some spare Aluminum material. A old drawer handle turned into a DIY M5 knurled head screw. This little screwdriver can come in handy Since this tool was made for this Project only, it´s only fair to find a suitable spot for it inside the case. Here´s another RGB V2 Video for your viewing pleasure. Now hit me with comments! That´s it for now.
  24. What happened to the RGB LED lightning? Here is a update for you. Everything started with this bunch of 5mm RGB LEDs. Several hours later I´ve built these nice component boards. There was still plenty of stuff missing like eg. the resistors and some connections. 74 RGB LEDs require 3x 74 resistors which are not easy to obtain if you need some specific values. Still a lot of trouble ahead but in the end I had to change my plans. How could I mount these LED boards without them being visible in the end? Long story short, I will use them for other purposes later. Let´s use some Power LEDs again. These LEDs are quite expensive if purchased in small amounts. 4 Euro for 1 LED is not a good value in my opinion. Hopefully they are worth the effort. 5 pieces should be enough for this project. There´s not much left of the Phobya Thermal Paste The same procedure as usual. I´ve removed the other LED mount. The RGB LEDs are glued again with DIY thermal conductive glue. And the last RGB LED in the other compartment. I went on with the switches in the bottom of the case. These are used in order to turn single colors on and off and to switch through other modes of operation as well. These switches are easy to access but still hidden enough. I´ve made a CMOS Reset Button. Where should I attach this one? With all hardware components and the Radiators installed it would be troublesome to clear the CMOS settings if you need to do so. This Button could come in handy. I changed the position of the switch for the white LEDs. This one has joined the other switches in the bottom of the case. The CMOS Reset Button is attached in such a way that it cannot be pressed by accident if you remove the Aluminum front. The cable connections of the new RGB LEDs. The cables are attached with glue in some points in order to remain as flat as possible. I want the cabling to be next to invisible. No more space left now Just have a look at the space needed for the cables and the tubing. Some DIY connectors. The whole system should be modular and easy to repair. These parts can come in handy The first part of the control unit for the RGB LEDs took me several hours. And here´s a small "SLI Bridge" required for the next circuit board. This whole ensemble could look like this. Not bad, eh? Nice quality and truly unique Let´s have a look if everything works out and hook this thing up. These RGB LEDs are pretty bright too but see for yourself Green looks interesting. Blue too. What about Red? And here´s a nice RGB Test Video for you That´s it for now. I had to change some parts of my concept again but that´s something not unusual in Casemodding.
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