RAIJIN v2 Halo (Sponsored Case Mod) - Core P5

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The Original CyberMods Halo RAIJIN Build:

 

 

After finishing our CyberMods Competition build called RAIJIN we wanted to do a new build using the hardware and other parts we had. Clockwerk Industries and I both felt RAIJIN had some really cool hardware and watercooling. It  was also my first time using Thermaltake gear in a long time. I liked it so much I wanted to give another build a shot using all Thermaltake Parts and watercooling. Once the rest of the gear arrives I will assemble everything and decide which direction the build should go. I do know there will be some awesome mods, sick hardware and some amazing Thermaltake goodness. Currently we are planning on continuing the RAIJIN case mod in the Thermaltake Core P5 instead of the Core P3 we used during the competition. You'll be able to see some of the mods we didn't have time for as well as some new ones. To make things easy to reference we will call this build RAIJIN V2.

 

 

 

CPU: Intel Kaby Lake i7 7700k
Motherboard: Colorful IGAME z270
GPUs: Colorful IGAME GTX 1080
Memory: HyperX

Storage: HyperX Savage
PSU: Thermaltake 850watt RGB Ring
Cables: Modular custom sleeved Thermaltake  (black and white)

Cables Combs: Thermaltake slip on combs (black)
Fans: Thermaltake Premium Plus 4 X 120mm Ring Fans
 

 

 

CPU Block: Thermaltake Pacific W4 RGB
GPU Blocks: Colorful Full Cover aluminum and plexi (un-released)
Pump: Thermaltake P1 D5
Radiator: Thermaltake deep 360mm radiator
Reservoir: Thermaltake 250mm tube reservoir
Tubing: Thermaltake 16mm PETg hardline
Coolant: Thermaltake custom mixed color
Fittings: Thermaltake 16mm chrome fittings

(Possibly Thermaltake RGB fittings)

 

* I will be doing a full custom watercooling loop using primarily all Thermaltake Parts. It will cool the GPU and CPU in a single loop.

 

 

PWM Cables

LEDs: Thermaltake Lumicolor

Fan Controller:

 

Custom Mods:

• Injection molded and acrylic psu shroud with custom paint.

• Custom Vinyl work

• Etched acrylic

• Pacific W4 waterblock mods

• Custom watercooling loop

• Thermaltake Core P5 mods

• 3D Printed Thermaltake accessories

• Hand made acrylic work

• 90 degree radiator flip

• Metal radiator mount

• Scratch built pump mount for the radiator

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I will start off with the arrival of some parts needed from Thermaltake. I was amazed at the speed in which they arrived. As mentioned we decided to go with the Thermaltake Core P5. I started out by assembling the case and it went really quick. This is only the 2nd Thermaltake case I've put together so I was surprised to have it come together so quick.

 

Mocking Up Everything:

The last time we discussed the RAIJIN build we didn't get a chance to get our hands on any hardware until we arrived in Taipei. I usually start with everything assembled so that I can start moving stuff around and figure out why I want to mod. I decided to flip the D5 pump so that it hung upside down. I will be modding the now upside down thermaltake logo so it doesn't look weird. I think this will let me do some neat stuff when it comes to bending the 16mm PETg tubing. I still haven't decided if I will rotate the radiator 90 degrees like we had it in the original RAIJIN build. I'll try it out both ways before determining which way looks best.

 

 

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Making Cover Plate (Under Radiator):

I wanted to make a cover for the open slot underneath the radiators. I could have just done something simple and painted it black but instead I decided to use it as an opportunity to do something neat that went with the Halo theme. I took some time and mash together a few different designs to come up with something I was happy with. I used my vinyl cutter to cut 3 mil silver Chrome vinyl. The 3 mil vinyl is a little more expensive but it's also thicker and made a lot better. It definitely gives it more dimension which is well worth the amount of extra money invested into it.

 

 

 

Building The Top Mount For The Halo Logo:

I made this piece by sandwiching three different types of acrylic together. This allowed me to make one cut and make three matching pieces. Once I had them all rough cut I taped them together and started hand filing and sanding until they were just right. As pictured I used my bandsaw to cut them and since it was much thicker than what I usually cut I had to swap on a blade with larger teeth.  it has taken a ridiculous amount of hours in filing and sanding the mount in order to make it perfect. Now that I can see it almost finished it's definitely worth the effort and it's nice to see what I originally designed the top mount to be.

 

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Thermaltake Drain & Fill Ports Added:

I decided to add to drain ports to this build just because of the way it's arranged. This allows you to fully drain the radiator as well as drain the entire system from the lowest point. The lowest point in this Loop is the pump and it also sits below the reservoir so you'll be able to drain the entire system completely. And most Loops you can drain the majority of it but there's always some left in the radiator. This setup will allow you to get even the last bits out of the radiator without having to tip or tilt it. I'm using the new rotatable vowels that thermaltake came out with and I really like the design of them.

 

 

 

Installing The 850watt Thermaltake ToughPower RGB Grand:

Installing the thermaltake power supply in the core P5 is extremely easy to do. I found that you can just unbolt one of the right side straps slide in the power supply and then rebuilt it back to the case. I will be putting a shroud over part of the power supply to keep it looking clean but I'm also planning to cut part of the Shroud out so that you can see the glow from the RGB ring fan on top of the power supply. I think this will give it a really neat-looking effect and is a mod that isn't too complicated to do. I will use a combination of sheet metal and 3 mm acrylic to give it the desired look. I will post more on this during a future update.

 

 

Partial PSU Shroud:

I wanted to make some sort of shroud to cover the wiring coming from the power supply but I also wanted people to be able to see the cool ring fan in the power supply. So I decided to marry the best of both of those ideas. I created a custom bent metal shroud added acrylic accents and cut part of it out so that you could not only see the fan but it get extra air flow.

 

 

 

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Acrylic SSD Mount:

Originally I was just going to vote the solid state drive above the pump to the flat piece of acrylic. After looking at it a few times I decided it needed to be angled. There's a few different ways I could have gone about doing that but I decided to try bending acrylic instead. It was pretty straightforward I just cut the shape and then you just a heat gun and a homemade Bend table. Once I had it all rough cut it was a matter of drilling the holes and doing final filing, sanding and polishing.

 

 

 

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Mounting Thermaltake RGB Plus Ring Fans:

Mounting these fans to a radiator is extremely easy. I felt it helps to pre-plan where the wiring will go in order to keep everything neat and clean. I chose two different paths depending on where the wiring was located. Once I had them bolted on the radiator it was only a matter of mounting the controller and plugging everything in. I still have to program the fans with the sequence and color I want for the build but that will have to wait until I post the system.

 

 

Custom Vinyl Work:

The Shroud that I built for the power supply looked pretty bland. I've been debating on doing something throughout the build that gives it a little more Style and brings it all together. I decided to try a new technique I've been playing with that requires each piece of vinyl to be cut by hand. I started by making it for the PSU shroud before doing the other pieces. This method takes a ton of time to do but after seeing the first few pieces done I realized it was well worth the effort. It carries over the angular theme found throughout the build that ties directly to Halo the game.

 

 

TT Logo:

I wanted to add a custom thermaltake logo that really carried over the theme. I decided to start by making a thin acrylic backplate that used 45 degree angles and the corners. This is a design aesthetic that's carried over throughout the build in multiple places. It's one of those things you never really noticed but when you look at the build as a whole they all work together. I made the thermaltake logo out of 3 mil Vvivid Chrome silver vinyl. Vivid vinyl is a little bit more expensive but well worth it as it lasts a lot longer and looks a lot better than cheaper vinyls. The three mil is thicker and gives it more dimension. Once I painted the backing plate black I was able to mount the vinyl and then mount the plate above the reservoir.

 

 

Running 16mm Thermaltake PETG Hardline Tubing:

The tubing arrived and I decided to start playing around with different ways to connect the loop I have designed for this build. As mentioned I know what I want to connect to what but I want to do something different with the tubing and the bends. I found the best way to accomplish something new is to start bending tubing and try out different ideas. The reservoir to pump connection has been planned for quite a while as I know I want to do to 90 degree Bend. From the pump to the graphics card I know I want to do a single 90 degree Bend. Since I had these set in stone I went ahead and bent them first. The shape is perfect but I need to pull the tubing in a little bit by making it shorter so that it doesn't stick out quite as far. After fine tuning all the lengths and angles I'm extremely happy with how it looks. It's going to look amazing once it's 100% complete.

 

 

 

 

 

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Custom Mixed Coolant Color:

In order to give this build another Custom Touch and a pop of color I decided to custom mix my own coolant color using thermal takes new concentrates. I will be using a combination of their acid green and blue concentrates to come up with a aquamarine Halo themed color. I decided to try and mix a little bit to see what it might look like. I also had to take him to consideration that I am using LED fittings throughout the build which will affect the final color when they are on.

 

 

Leak Testing:

Even though I still have some more wiring another work to do I wanted to leak test the system since I had all the tubing run. That way if I have any issues I can address them while working on the other pieces. Leak testing was pretty straightforward the only snag I ran into was the pump being on low and that was easily fixed by turning it up. On the thermaltake D5 pumps there's a rotary switch on the back side that's red. Rotating It One Direction turns at the high the other direction turns it too low. I am glad that I put two separate drain ports on this PC as it makes it extremely easy to get almost all the water out. When I put it the low part of the radiator and the other drain Port is right under the pump which is the lowest part of the build. The reason I put one on the radiator is because the in and out or upside down from typical way of doing it which leaves water inside the radiator. With a strain port at the bottom of the radiator I can easily get all the water out.

 

 

 

 

 

Custom Halo Fan Decals:

I decided I wanted to make custom vinyl Center decals for the three thermaltake ring plus fans on the radiator. Alright I got inspiration from the theme Halo. For the top and bottom I went with a glyph symbolizing the Mantle of Responsibility from the game. For the center I chose the Halo logo itself. Due to the size it took a while to make these. I also used black chrome for the background which helped make it pop.

 

 

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Halo Styled Vinyl Added:

I put together a bunch of Halo styled designs that could be cut and vinyl and applied to the PSU shroud and acrylic plates on the front of the build. I also added it to the matching top piece that says Halo. These pieces kind of bring the whole thing together. Did took a lot of time to decide each piece weed it and then transfer it to the build but all the work was well worth it once I got to sit back and look.

 

 

 

Installing Cables:

Now that I have all the leak testing done I decided to finish up wiring the rest of the case. There is a ton of wiring in this build but I wanted the inside of it to be as clean as possible. I took a good deal of time organizing and routing all the cables so that they could be easily accessed when needed and looked tidy. I also managed to get the sleeve cables routed and mounted. A grey white and silver matches the build really well and definitely has a Halo theme to it.

 

 

Manually Milled PCIE Cover Lock:

 

A friend of mine has a shop where he does a lot of machining and manufacturing. Every once in awhile he will call me up to see if I will help him and in payment he teaches me how to do new things. I wanted to mill a piece of aluminum that used 2 bolts to lock all of the pcie covers and GPU in place. There's a step on the piece that is needed to fit perfectly flush on the Thermaltake Core p5. He thought me how to manually mill this piece and it turned out great. It looks more aesthetically appealing and it makes it much easier to mess with components.

 

Thermaltake Ring Plus Fans Configured:

Now that the raijin build is almost finished I decided it was time to configure the thermaltake ring plus fans. It's pretty straightforward as you connect one cable to a USB pin header on the motherboard and the other connects to the control box. Once you fire up the application it has several different settings and effects that can be used. I went with an effect that uses a single color and sweeps around the outside of the Ring. I decided to go with blue for the top and bottom fans and white in the middle to give it a better look. Another nice feature especially for final pictures is that the controller will remember your settings even if it's not connected anymore.

• Coming up soon will be the final pics of the RAIJIN v2 case mod

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I would like to first give a thanks to Thermaltake for supplying the watercooling and other gear for the RAIJIN v2 case mod. Working in the Core P5 was a blast and I look forward to working on future builds using Thermaltake products. I'd also like to thank all of you who have supported and followed along with the RAIJIN v2 build as it progressed. Below I've added some of the final photos taken of the build. More photos will be posted soon!