# Blanc - TJ07 Black White and Blue



## Aidan

NOTE:

>> Most recent and relevant progress <<

This worklog was started a long time ago so a lot of the earlier work has either been scrapped or remade. Feel free to read from the start to see the journey if you want to, but keep in mind that some earlier stuff is out of date









Got this worklog on some other forums and I've not been too active on OCN for a while so thought I'd share it here too. I'll put all the main updates into these first posts









Some key changes since the start though:

1. I blew my system when I plugged my aquaero in using the wrong connector and so my system is now a gigabyte UD7 with dominator ram and soon I'm getting my new CPU which will be an i7 930 probably. Got a new PSU too (exactly the same as my old one)

2. I'm using barbs not compressions now.

3. Having no fans in the back any more (getting a new back plate)

Right here's what the log looks like so far...

UPDATE 1

I've decided to give my components a new home in the form of a TJ07.

My PC currently resides inside an Antec 900 which, over the years, has had many a rushed mod done to it and basically I'm fed up with all this compromise so I'm starting again with something new that I will give much more love :blush:

As for colours I'm pretty set on matt black inside and gloss white outside. This will be a powdercoat.

For design and lighting details I think I'll be getting a design laser cut into the front plate and the midplate then a sheet of acrylic will be placed behind those and lit with white LEDs. Still thinking about designs for that.

All actual PC components will be carried over from my current build.

My current PC:










Pics of what new goodies I have so far:



















I will be replacing the PSU and back plate with new ones that have no squares.










I put some fractal fans in. These will hopefully be enough to get the heat my chipset produces out of the case. Will probably make some plain black stickers for them too.










I'm almost definitely putting a window in place of this mesh.










AGHR! I really don't like the new motherboard tray! Anyone know where I can get hold of the old blank one?










I'll be putting in a new midplate which will have 2 pass through fittings in.










I'll be making covers for the side of the drive bays and the one on this side will probably have a cutout for my SSD to kind of display it a bit.










A window will be cut in the side panel.










I also found these for half their usual price on eBay so I bought all three that the seller had. They are 1/2" ID 3/4" OD and should go nicely with the white tubing I'm planning on getting.



















Seeing as I'm on the topic of watercooling. My loop will take the pump, res and blocks from my current build and will include new fittings and a new 480 rad.

I planned out my loop and started looking around the worklogs on here for more inspiration and came across the Paradyse build by Cyril and it was almost the same as the loop I'd planned myself lol. There's a few differences but in general my loop will follow the same sort of layout.

That's all I've got for now. Will be ordering some 2mm alu sheet soon and also some pre-cut panels some time this week.

I'll be getting new stuff out of what I can spare from my wages each month









UPDATE 2

Just ordered a few more bits. Some pre cut panels, a pump vibration killing foam thing and a hammond box to cover the green PCB in this shot of the front panel sleeving I've just finished:










UPDATE 3

After a bit of a lie in this morning I sleeved the fractal fans







These will be plugged directly into my motherboard rather than onto the fan controller as they are dead silent anyway.

I also just ordered a 1000mm x 500mm x 2mm sheet of aluminium. It's probably more than I need but I'm sure to make mistakes lol.

Anyway, to the pics! ...


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## Aidan

UPDATE 4

Ok peeps, some more stuff arrived today and I took some pics. A TJ07 side panel makes a rather nice background I've found









There's some grime on some of the parts but I didn't have time to clean them before taking pics. Busy busy









To the pics!!

New back panel:



















New midplate, ready for a bit of cutting action:










New PSU plate, nice and unsquarified:










A little hammond box for covering the nasty green front panel PCB:










PUMP FOAM!! It's about 12cm x 12cm x 3cm i think, maybe bigger. Enough for several pumps lol:










Still waiting on my aluminium sheet. If that arrives before the weekend when I have free time then hopefully I should be able to put up some pics of actual work being done









UPDATE 5

I put the new panels in to see what it will look like:










I like the midplate a lot







It just sits on top of the existing one at the moment but the two pass-through fittings I'm putting in should secure it.










UPDATE 6

My aluminium arrived


















And so did the stickers i bought for the fans:










My lighting switch also arrived but silly me bought a momentary rocker switch







Ah well, I've ordered an on/off one now


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## Aidan

UPDATE 7

About to start my first bit of fabrication. It will be my front cover to replace the bezels:










I got around halfway through with the stanley knife but it was taking ages and my wrist hurts







So I figured i could use the deep score I've got now to guide a hacksaw perfectly and complete the cuts.

Here's what I've got so far:










I'll update with the finished pics later









UPDATE 8

Right, I had some time today to work on the front on my case.

So I had my scoring from the other day...










...but I had two perpendicular score lines so in order to bend and snap the longer edge I had to cut the smaller one with a hacksaw










Then I could bend and snap along the long score line...










...and the front was free










Then after lots of filing...










...it fits




































Then I had to make the brackets.

I cut and filed 4 strips...










...drilled and scored them...










...and bent them by 90 degrees.










This is how I left it this evening ... just before the camera battery died.










Since that pic I used duct tape to stick the brackets and panel temporarily into the case and everything lines up very nicely indeed.

I'll take photos of that tomorrow









UPDATE 9

Here's the pics of my brackets' temporary high tech mounting system:




























Pics aren't great as I was in a rush to get started on my bay covers which I shall do now


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## Aidan

UPDATE 10

Right, onto today's efforts:

Firstly I needed a coffee to start me off and I so happen to have this awesome Smartcafe mug that is also a coffee press. The baddie in avatar (the one with the scars on his face) has one in the film









Let it brew...










..and ta da! Press coffee in a mug!










In other news, I drilled some rivets.










Motherboard tray now disassembled:










I also made my drive bay covers, for some reason I forgot to take pics during fabrication. Must have got too wrapped up in my filing









Anyway, here's the result.




























I then went on to do the second one for the other side which turned out good too. I'll take nicer pics of the case with both of them in tomorrow when the light is back. I haven't yet made a mounting system for them but it will probably involve some spacers that stick onto the cover and maybe screw into drive bay screw holes. I'll work something out. I would ideally want it to be removable from the inside via screws.

p.s. Aluminium dust makes your hands look old










UPDATE 11

Some better pics of what I did yesterday.




























Things that need tidying:

This rather deep scratch/dent here:










Lots of little scratches like these need moar sanding


















There is a gap like this one with the other cover too so the folds on both of them need beating flat.










UPDATE 12

Postman brought me something from ebay today:














































I've never owned a DDC before so could someone tell me what the blue wire is for, RPM sensor or something? I'm guessing the 3pin is power like my current pump. It also came with what look like O rings attached to the blue wire, any ideas what they are for?










Also I bought this pump mainly coz it's an 18W DDC for cheaps but it also came with an alphacool plexi top which I was intending to replace with an acetal EK top so it matches my blocks. But with it sitting here in front of me now the plexi is really nice so I kind of want to keep it. Opinions on this would be greatly appreciated









EDIT:

Little addition - pic with fittings


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## Aidan

UPDATE 13

Well I've tested the pump just now to see if it works and it runs great with just the 3pin so the blue cable must be some form of sensor. Still unsure what the O rings are for though.

Anyway here's a pic from testing...










UPDATE 14

Spent a bit of time tonight perfecting my drive bay covers.

First off, I needed a bottle of polish lager.










Then I set up my vice and clamps










Here you can see the curve I'm going to beat out










Basically I placed a small piece of MDF over the exposed aluminium and hit that with a mallet, causing the metal to conform to the straight edge of the wood without the mallet damaging the metal's surface. I also sanded out the deeper marks that were there in my last pics.

Here's the result:
































































UPDATE 15

Spent some time sorting out my pump's power cable that had been ruined by the last owner.

I cut off the corroded pins and soldered on new ones as I don't have a crimper.

Then I put the rpm sensor wire that previously had it's own connector into the 3rd hole in the power 3pin plug. It was a lot longer than the power cables though so I had to cut and resolder to the right length.

Seeing as the blue rpm wire was originally separate from the power wires I thought I'd keep it that way and sleeved the power wires in black and the rpm wire in grand bleu then wrapped the blue wire around the black one.

Here's the result:


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## Aidan

UPDATE 16

I tried out some lighting of the pump seeing as it has a 5mm LED hole pre drilled.

What do people think?




























Oh and this is how I'm powering them for the photos. My really handy wall plug to molex adapter


















UPDATE 17

Fitted my hammond box to cover the green PCB in the front of the case.



















UPDATE 18

Firstly I tidied up the front panel sleeve so less heatshrink was exposed outside of the hammond box. This was the best I could get without making new lengths of sleeve that were 2-3mm longer as I've ran out of black sleeve  Still a bit of heatshrink exposed but much better than before. When I do my next order from Nils I'll maybe redo them.










Then I started on making the hole in the back panel for my lighting switch.

I measured the switch at 20mm plus a bit extra for 'lip' around the edge and drew up my guides such that the very edges of the switch would line up with the mobo I/O shield plate hole and the top edge of the top fan hole. Like so:










I then punched a small dent to guide my drill










Then I went to try this new step drill set I got off ebay for cheaps



















The aluminium of the back panel however must be some really strong aluminium as my step drill failed to cut through :facepalm:

After slowly enlarging the hole with several ordinary drill bits (which also struggled to get through) I used a jigsaw to get the right sized hole










And after a lot of filing, my switch fits







!


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## Aidan

UPDATE 19

A teeny tiny update.

Been thinking of designs for the front and decided I wanted it really clean so went with the idea of build name.










Chose 'blanc' as obviously it means white and my exterior will be powdercoated white but also because if pronounced 'blank' it describes all the clean blank panels in my build like the drive bay covers etc.

And I chose a typeface that can be cut out without the middle of the letters needing to be supported e.g the middle of an 'a' or a 'b'.

The word 'blanc' will be backlit by an acrylic panel lit with LEDs, mostly likely white ones.

What do people think?

The slot at the top is for my slot drive .. that I'm yet to buy lol.

UPDATE 20

Not much of an update but I bought a right angle rotary fitting off ebay for cheapss and thought I'd share some pics



























Bigger updates will come once I have more moneys









UPDATE 21

Today many things arrived.

An aquaero 4 LT that I got off ebay for a very good price of £25




































Some 3mm and 5mm super bright white LEDs (20 of each)



















25m of black 24awg wire for the LEDs and also for possibly extending fan wires if needed.










And some 2pin plugs and crimps for the LEDs and rear panel lighting switch. These will plug onto an LED control board.










Aluminium oxide cutting discs (for a Dremel I'm yet to buy. So far I've been borrowing a friends)










And finally a rivet gun for reassembling my motherboard tray


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## Aidan

UPDATE 22 (Shortly after I blew my system)

my new strider arrived.










A little game: Guess which one is the new one


















Something very weird though. My old strider works in another PC but not in mine yet my new one works in both. And neither work when I use one particular sata power cable. Anyway I definately needed the new one as obviously I want it to work with MY pc. Not sure what to do with my old one though as it's obviously semi functional, hmmm..

Also the guy I bought the ram from is having trouble with his laptop so can't send me the ram from his pc yet as he needs to use the pc. What an idiot! If you want to sell something then make sure you don't still need it!

He obviously doesn't realise how much stress he is putting me through lol, I must know if I need a new CPU and/or GPU soon or I will go insane!!

UPDATE 23

Thanks









Getting the 930 from the guy who sold me the aquaero haha. So the same guy will have sold me the thing that broke me system (albeit through my own misuse of it) and the thing that will fix my system









Did some work on the perspex. Cut it to size and drilled holes for the LEDs, there will be 7 on each side.

It will be like a sandwich of metal then a gap for wires then the perspex, all will hopefully become a bit clearer later when I've done more work on it. So far just done the one side of holes.

Excuse the not so good pics, taken with my phone as my camera is out of juice




































The LEDs are 3mm and the perspex is 6mm. LEDs have that little lip around the bottom of the bulb bit so to get the LEDs to sit all the way inside the holes I needed to widen the 3mm holes to 4mm for the first 2mm of the hole.

To allow the legs to bend around and underneath I made little channels for them.

UPDATE 24

For now though I thought people might want to see what state the guts of my PC are in at the moment...


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## Aidan

UPDATE 25

My LED base station/control board finally arrived!! You can see in some of the pics that the pins for the 2pin headers are not all aligned. Hopefully once they are all populated with headers you won't be able to tell.





































and my fav pic...










UPDATE 26

Some slightly better pics of the stand and luminous panel.

Right now I have everything I need to start wiring it up and testing how it looks.

..will look crap though as I haven't frosted the surface of the perspex yet. Haven't even taken off the protective layer!

Anyways, to the pics!...



















And underneath:










This is the gap where wires from the LEDs will come from. I will make a hole in the flat bit on top for the wires to come out from underneath the LED board mounted there and loop over and into their sockets







Will probably make a lovely heart shape as they loop over, awwwwwww...lol










In that pic you can also see the akasa 2.5" drive mount. I'll get rid of the logo on that with some acetone.

Last pic of the stand that I quite like:










On to pics of the luminous panel perspex...

Gap in the supports for wires










The holes for LEDs










Some close ups of both side of one of those holes



















some bits I had to chop to make it fit round some bits of the case that stuck out










Hopefully I'll have some pics of my wiring by the end of the week









UPDATE 27

Wired up a couple of LEDs to see how my luminous panel looks. The light is more localised to the area around each LED than I'd like really but saying that I still have the protective cover on the perspex. I intend to experiment with frosting spray and sanding to achieve a more frosted look. And also that's only 2 out of the 13 LEDs that will go into it and it's not in the darkness of the case interior.














































The light is actually a bit more spread out in real life. Still not very consistent across the panel though :/ Hopefully once all the LEDs are in and I've perfected the surface coating it will look better


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## Aidan

UPDATE 28

All LEDs are in. Just need to mount the circuit board properly so I can route the wires properly and also sleeve the wires. Not got enough black sleeve left though so that will have to wait until my next mdpc-x order


















UPDATE 29

Dremel cometh




























UPDATE 30

New rad arrived


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## Aidan

UPDATE 31

Stickers off! Ram is !BLACK!




























UPDATE 32

Little drawing of a plan I had for mounting the pump and a drain:

(front of the case is on the left)










UPDATE 33

Today some stuff arrived for my bottom compartment. Still waiting on the rest of the stuff that's coming from another shop.

3 passthroughs:










A male to male snake fitting. Shown here with 2 passthroughs on the ends.










2m of tygon black 7/16" 5/8"










EDIT:

Here's a tubing comparison:

Koolance:










Tygon:


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## Aidan

UPDATE 34

I decided I should find out if my 580 still lives. So I put it in another PC with a little test loop made out of all my old bits of tubing:










aaaaand ... IT WORKS!







:thumbsup:xD:yesss:










UPDATE 35

Right, a bigger update finally









Been working on the mid section of the case.

Drilled a hole for the passthrough below the res



















Decided to remake my aquaero and LED PCB stand as there were a few wonky edges etc.
Not included holes for the buttons this time.
































































But oh noes! What is this? The midplate below the cover gets in the way of the passthrough!










This will not do! So I cut out that middle bit


















Filed it smooth:










Also made a raised plexi stand for the LED PCB



















Cables will come out underneath it via this hole










Drilled a matching hole for the passthrough in my plexi panel










Fits perfect!










However, I'm going to remake the plexi panel as it's not quite how I want it. Going to make my next one with lots of LEDs down only one side (the side nearest the window side panel). And I will make a better job of it this time too.

I also made a slot in the midplate for cables to run up behind the mobo tray










And also removed some of the 'lip' near the front to allow me to slide my drive bay covers out easily



















I think one of the only bit of fabrication left is to make the supports for the drive bay covers to hold them tightly in place.

And finally some slightly better pics of today's progress all assembled:



















UPDATE 36

Ran vodka in my loop yesterday and my DDC got a bit too drunk and decided to take all his clothes off :facepalm:




























He ended up getting absolutely legless.. (chortle)



















I'm sure he'll feel better this morning when I show him his newly painted pants though


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## Aidan

UPDATE 37

New pump top on!










And the fittings for the drain too










But first I needed to drill the hole for the drain.
I drew around the passthrough when it was in position then marked the centre










Then drilled a small pilot hole










Then it was the step drill's turn to play and he played well


















Pass through in










Stop fitting in










Then I had a beer while my tube cooked


















Still got one more bit of tubing to do in the bottom but I'm missing a fitting that I need for it. But for now here's what I've got so far..

Water will come down from the res and into the 'floating' pump..










Then around into the rad then out of the rad, past the temp sensor and then back up into the top (that's the bit of tubing I have left to do)



















UPDATE 38

Pics of progress on luminous panel v2

First I cut out the little bits in the corner to make it fit which was easy










Then I drilled out out 12 LED holes down the side which took forever but wasn't too hard










Then I had to drill out passthrough holes in the plexi that perfectly matched the ones below it in the aluminium panel. That was a ball ache.

Had to match these holes...










Had to measure and reposition the drill bit so many times! But I managed it and this is what it looks like at the moment:




























And in this pic you can see how my loop will start in the mobo area, midplate (from rad) into GPU. Will be silver fittings though (need to buy those still).


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## Aidan

UPDATE 39

Right, little update









Made holes for cables in my mobo tray.

And if you're wondering why the photos are a bit dark and gloomy it's because my garage is dark and gloomy. I like it that way. Helps me to relax as I suck the moisture from the brickwork and eat spiders.

First was front panel. Marked off where to drill










Pilot holes to guide the step drill










Then widened the holes to 12mm using the step drill










Dremel time










Filing time










and finally smooth


















Then I chose a victim to be widened to 26mm for the 8pin CPU power (26mm because that was a step on the step drill that seemed a good size). The pencil line to the right in the photo marks the edge of the motherboard and the lines across it mark the placement of the connector on the motherboard.










After drilling and smoothing










And a shot of the whole tray in all its new holey glory










Now installed inside the case with the motherboard and the cables in




























Tomorrow some little bits should be arriving for me, I'll upload pics when they arrive









UPDATE 40

Little delivery today




































And here it is in my case










Also a couple of other things like a bitspower 7.5mm extender fitting that I needed and an EK easy mount kit for the CPU block in black.

I did have on order a rotary right angle fitting which I desperately need for the bottom compartment but it became out of stock after I placed the order so I had to cancel that item









UPDATE 41 (Latest)

Today I went to Poundworld and got some little sleeving helpers


















Right, that's the log so far. I hope there's not too many errors in my copying and pasting (tried to remove quotes and conversation only relevant to the other forum







)


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## DaXxJaPxX

nice so far man. actually helped me out as i was goin to cut up my case to put a 280 rad on top, but will now just use passthroughs for a cleaner look. Good luck with the rest of your build, im in


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DaXxJaPxX;14600763*
> nice so far man. actually helped me out as i was goin to cut up my case to put a 280 rad on top, but will now just use passthroughs for a cleaner look. Good luck with the rest of your build, im in


Cheers







Passthroughs are an epic invention!

If anyone finds anything they don't quite understand in what I've uploaded so far just ask me coz I've probably just copied and pasted something a bit wrong


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## fr0st.

Urgh, I need to get my worklog moving, I want my TJ07 to look like this ^-^

I just need like a full week to sit down and pound it all out, find all my tools and get it all done.

Anyways, great work so far, super jelly, looks awesome. Keep up the good work.

I subbed too ;D


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *fr0st.;14600786*
> Urgh, I need to get my worklog moving, I want my TJ07 to look like this ^-^
> 
> I just need like a full week to sit down and pound it all out, find all my tools and get it all done.
> 
> Anyways, great work so far, super jelly, looks awesome. Keep up the good work.
> 
> I subbed too ;D


Thanks a lot









The build ended up moving a lot slower than I first intended but there's loads of ideas that I wouldn't have thought of if I hadn't have had lots of time to think about stuff


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## 161029

Nice job. Now if only I could have a system like this.








Edit: Is that a hard drive heatsink? Looks nice. I want.

I'm not a fan of Corsair's RAM since some have low speeds with loose timings. The dominator heatsink are killing me though.


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## Aidan

Yea it's a heatsink and noise reducer called a scythe himuro. Some reviews say it only cools a bit better (but still better than nothing yea?) but that it also changes the pitch of the noise rather than making it silent. I'm yet to run my HDD in it though so i don't know but I don't care if it's not great anyway coz it looks AMAZING!

Going to be putting a mips ram block on the dominator so you won't be able to see the heatsinks anymore


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## andrewmchugh

Brutal, nothing less than perfection.

5* and sub'd


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## 161029

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14601010*
> Yea it's a heatsink and noise reducer called a scythe himuro. Some reviews say it only cools a bit better (but still better than nothing yea?) but that it also changes the pitch of the noise rather than making it silent. I'm yet to run my HDD in it though so i don't know but I don't care if it's not great anyway coz it looks AMAZING!
> 
> Going to be putting a mips ram block on the dominator so you won't be able to see the heatsinks anymore


I want those heatsinks to put on some mushkins. Then I would have the ultimate mushkins (well, in terms of looks).







I do have to congratulate corsair on the heatsink's appearance. The ADATA XPG Gaming Series heatsinks look great too.







I need to stop getting off topic.

I agree, I want that hard drive heatsink. It looks so amazing. It's a must have!!!!









Edit: nevermind, my grudge against corsair RAM was the high price. Lol.


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## Lu(ky

Very nice Aidan you are giving me allot of ideas for my TJ07 build.. Subscribed


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *andrewmchugh;14601024*
> Brutal, nothing less than perfection.
> 
> 5* and sub'd


Sweet, cheers









btw I was in darlo yesterday, that's where I got all those lighters for sleeving from. Poundworld ftw!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;14601053*
> I want those heatsinks to put on some mushkins. Then I would have the ultimate mushkins (well, in terms of looks).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I do have to congratulate corsair on the heatsink design. The ADATA XPG Gaming Series heatsinks look great too.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I need to stop getting off topic.
> 
> I agree, I want that hard drive heatsink. It looks so amazing. It's a must have!!!!


The PCB is different to work with the heatsink, won't work on any other ram







The heatsink actually directly cools the PCB :O
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Lu(ky;14601056*
> Very nice Aidan you are giving me allot of ideas for my TJ07 build.. Subscribed


Thanks muchly


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## lightsout

Man this is awesome. Insane craftsmanship I wish I had the skills and tools to do something like this.


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## 161029

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lightsout;14601241*
> Man this is awesome. Insane craftsmanship I wish I had the skills and tools to do something like this.


Dremel. Your problems are solved.









Edit: I found the HDD heatsink. Heatsink + 5.25" adapter? Awesome. I see why you got it.


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lightsout;14601241*
> Man this is awesome. Insane craftsmanship I wish I had the skills and tools to do something like this.


Thanks







I used to do fabrication stuff like this years ago at school (It was the only subject I actually enjoyed







) so this build has been great being able to make things again.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;14601260*
> Dremel. Your problems are solved.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Edit: I found the HDD heatsink. Heatsink + 5.25" adapter? Awesome. I see why you got it.


Dremel rules!

The adapters on it slide up and down on the fins on the sides and you can move them onto different fins too:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufzt6X9Haus[/ame]


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## 161029

awesome! I can't find a retailer in the states that sells them though. FrozenCPU has one but it's the Himuro in a 2.5" form.

I need to get myself a Dremel. The new Dremel 3000 looks interesting. Looks like the 300's replacement. I'm not going to need all of the capabilities of the 4000 so it should be fine. Just some basic cutting, routing, and possibly sanding. Should I get a 3000?


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## Aidan

No idea, I have the 300 and it's great! Cost me £30 new for the tool only. I bought aluminium oxide cutting discs and the mandrel separately as the cutting discs it comes with if you buy the whole kit are rubbish, they wear down so fast. I've not even gone through 2 of the oxide ones yet after everything I've done so far!

I Keep the worn down ones to use for tighter areas where I need a small disc









You can't get the 2.5" one in the UK and I wanted one to make my SSD look cool too









I think I can get them from an american ebay shop though that does international delivery for not as much $$ as you'd think


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## 161029

I don't really trust eBay or Craigslist but a lot of people here have scored quite a lot of good deals like BNIB monitors at a lower price.


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;14609326*
> I don't really trust eBay or Craigslist but a lot of people here have scored quite a lot of good deals like BNIB monitors at a lower price.


I've had some good deals on ebay but I also got sold a leaking rad. Had a crack on one of the holes









A small delivery came today. All the connectors for the cables I'll be making


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## trippinonprozac

Love this build!


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## CRosko42

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14616565*


That sleeving...


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## andrewmchugh

Can you soldier the rad? or send it back.


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## 161029

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14616565*
> I've had some good deals on ebay but I also got sold a leaking rad. Had a crack on one of the holes
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> A small delivery came today. All the connectors for the cables I'll be making
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> *snip*


Nice. Like how you did the pictures.


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## ttoadd.nz

Easy to sub to this build, Awesome craftsmanship Aidan! You can tell your making sure every part fabricated is made to perfection.


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *trippinonprozac;14620167*
> Love this build!












Quote:


> Originally Posted by *CRosko42;14620402*
> That sleeving...


Pure MDPC-X grand bleu







For my new cabling that I'm making I was thinking of changing to multiple colours but pure grand bleu you don't see very often so I think I'll stick with it.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *andrewmchugh;14620474*
> Can you soldier the rad? or send it back.


Can't send it back but can probably fix it. It was a 240 rad I bought for my antec build and I just bought another replacement one brand new. I don't need it for this build as I have an SR1 480








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;14622372*
> Nice. Like how you did the pictures.


Cheers







It's taken on the side panels of the tj07 lol. And with natural light from the window in my bedroom.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ttoadd.nz;14623497*
> Easy to sub to this build, Awesome craftsmanship Aidan! You can tell your making sure every part fabricated is made to perfection.


Glad you noticed







I'm going to remake the drive bay covers coz they aren't quite how I want them. Hopefully I have enough aluminium left


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## andrewmchugh

Quote:


> Can't send it back but can probably fix it. It was a 240 rad I bought for my antec build and I just bought another replacement one brand new. I don't need it for this build as I have an SR1 480


I thought u ment the new 480 rad i was panicing.


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *andrewmchugh;14627542*
> I thought u ment the new 480 rad i was panicing.


Haha nooo, if it was I'd be panicking too! Actually I haven't ran it in a loop yet so it may well have a leak lol. I doubt it though, the quality of it feels good.


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## Aidan

Made a small bracket that fits in the 3.5" bay behind the little flappy door thing.

I'm going to be mounting an on/off one of those vandal resistant switches in the middle of it to use as my lighting switch. Oh and does anyone know what makes those switches 'vandal resistant'? Coz I can't work it out


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## Shadow_Foxx

I get really tired of TJ07 builds, but this one is pure awesomeness!







I love that solid blue sleeving!


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## Aidan

Cheers









Btw I should have pics tomorrow of the window I cut into the side panel today









Sent from my HTC Desire HD using Tapatalk


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## Furball Zen

Nice.


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Furball Zen;14647067*
> Nice.












Finally got round to cutting my window after putting it off for aaages.

Here's the template I drew. It's 280mm x 280mm with 16mm radius corners and equidistant from the mesh, the back and the top (55mm)










I drilled to 32mm (max) with my biggest step drill on the crosses to make the rounded corners then joined them up with the dremel. Then filed forever..










And here's how it turned out. I'm really pleased with how it looks, much better than silverstone's window imo (which is why I bought the windowless version







)




























You can see a few scuffs on the edges from where the dremel snagged a bit but they won't be visible after powdercoating









Oh and I'll be double sided taping plexi to the inside of the panel and maybe at a later date I'll get an inlay window made.


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## Smo

Stunning work here mate - absolutely love your attention to detail. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this. Glad you're in the UK too, nice to know there's some talent this side of the water!


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## 161029

Curves match the mesh on the bottom!


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Smo;14651856*
> Stunning work here mate - absolutely love your attention to detail. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this. Glad you're in the UK too, nice to know there's some talent this side of the water!


Thanks a lot








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;14652292*
> Curves match the mesh on the bottom!


Wow you noticed


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## 161029

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14652598*
> Wow you noticed


Good thing I learned how to read and look!


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## Aidan

Haha, I didn't realise I'd mentioned making them the same radius on purpose, just thought you were very observant









Sent from my HTC Desire HD using Tapatalk


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## ironcobra220

subbed, awesome metal work


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## ironcobra220

how did you bend the aluminium so neatly? i really wanted drive bay covers like yours but i dont think i have the 'know how' or the tools to make some. have you thought about making some more to sell?


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## Aidan

Cheers







I bend by dremeling a groove into the metal then bending against it.

My first covers I made before I'd figured out that method of bending so the bends suck a bit and were super hard to do.

I'm going to remake the covers using my new bending method and if it's a lot easier (which it should be) then I may consider making some to sell as they are a simple enough shape really









Sent from my HTC Desire HD using Tapatalk


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## ironcobra220

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14654808*
> 
> I'm going to remake the covers using my new bending method and if it's a lot easier (which it should be) then I may consider making some to sell as they are a simple enough shape really
> 
> 
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> Sent from my HTC Desire HD using Tapatalk


how do you screw them to the case? i cant see any screws on the outside also how thick were the sheets? i planned on buying some panels but they are only 1mm, seems abit flimsy.


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## tannersimms

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14600636*
> UPDATE 25
> 
> My LED base station/control board finally arrived!! You can see in some of the pics that the pins for the 2pin headers are not all aligned. Hopefully once they are all populated with headers you won't be able to tell.
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> UPDATE 26
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> Some slightly better pics of the stand and luminous panel.
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> Right now I have everything I need to start wiring it up and testing how it looks.
> 
> ..will look crap though as I haven't frosted the surface of the perspex yet. Haven't even taken off the protective layer!
> 
> Anyways, to the pics!...
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> UPDATE 27
> 
> Wired up a couple of LEDs to see how my luminous panel looks. The light is more localised to the area around each LED than I'd like really but saying that I still have the protective cover on the perspex. I intend to experiment with frosting spray and sanding to achieve a more frosted look. And also that's only 2 out of the 13 LEDs that will go into it and it's not in the darkness of the case interior.
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What is that led thing for?


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## nzftw

Quote every picture to say 5 words
















....i even made a post just to say that....and i dont know the answer!







Probs just to light it up and make it look nice.


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tannersimms;14660646*
> What is that led thing for?


Wow epic quote lol.

My luminous panel works using leds going into holes I drilled in the side of the plexi and that little circuit board is what they all plug into to get power.

A few other things are being lit by leds that will also get power from that board









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ironcobra220;14656806*
> how do you screw them to the case? i cant see any screws on the outside also how thick were the sheets? i planned on buying some panels but they are only 1mm, seems abit flimsy.


Still working on how they will attach







Will probably use holes in the outer frame where the sidepanels slide if you get what I mean?

And yea 1mm is flimsy. All the aluminium used for the interior of the case is 2mm so everything I've made for it I've made using 2mm to match all the existing stuff









Sent from my HTC Desire HD using Tapatalk


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## SgtMunky

Looking epic mate, I really want a TJ07 and this is a brilliant example of why. Looking forward to seeing that perspex light up


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## Lu(ky

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14660822*
> Wow epic quote lol.
> 
> My luminous panel works using leds going into holes I drilled in the side of the plexi and that little circuit board is what they all plug into to get power.
> 
> A few other things are being lit by leds that will also get power from that board


Which side will you be using on this board 20 PIN X2 For LED Only or 20 PIN X2 For LED With Resistor?
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14660822*
> Still working on how they will attach
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Will probably use holes in the outer frame where the sidepanels slide if you get what I mean?
> 
> And yea 1mm is flimsy. All the aluminium used for the interior of the case is 2mm so everything I've made for it I've made using 2mm to match all the existing stuff
> 
> 
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> 
> Sent from my HTC Desire HD using Tapatalk


Awesome yeah I was planning on asking you this question myself.. Also what was the acrylic size did you use for the midplate? I been wanting to make a midplate that is a reservoir at this spot, but I am sure it will be a ton of work for me to do..

And last question are you planning on leaving the case BLACK or changing the color?


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SgtMunky;14660914*
> Looking epic mate, I really want a TJ07 and this is a brilliant example of why. Looking forward to seeing that perspex light up


Cheers







I'm looking forward to seeing this new one lit up too haha









The led station supplies the correct voltage to the leds so no resistors needed.

Off the top of my head the acrylic was 388mm x 178mm and I have a premade aluminium midplate cover underneath the acrylic.

The exterior will be powdercoated gloss white and interior matte black.

Sent from my HTC Desire HD using Tapatalk


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## 161029

I want to see "blanc" lit up.


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;14661660*
> I want to see "blanc" lit up.


Ok then...

Test fitted my luminous panel today. It's not turned out too badly









There is also a new hole in it, that little rectangle. That's where I'll be mounting the pci-e connectors


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## tannersimms

Where did you buy your sleeving?


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tannersimms;14663864*
> Where did you buy your sleeving?


MDPC of course









Next month I'm going to do another order from Nils. Crimping stuff and 100m of black sleeve haha.


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## trippinonprozac

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14663654*
> Ok then...
> 
> Test fitted my luminous panel today. It's not turned out too badly
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> There is also a new hole in it, that little rectangle. That's where I'll be mounting the pci-e connectors


Looks brilliant mate!


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## 161029

Oh my god.


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## tannersimms

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14663927*
> MDPC of course
> 
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> 
> 
> Next month I'm going to do another order from Nils. Crimping stuff and 100m of black sleeve haha.


How much did you buy? And what size?


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *trippinonprozac;14668120*
> Looks brilliant mate!


Cheers








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;14669173*
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> Oh my god.


Lol thanks, need a bib?
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tannersimms;14670716*
> How much did you buy? And what size?


mdpcx small sleeve is what you want for all your main power cables. Then there's the slightly bigger usb sleeve that's for sleeving the thicker internal usb cables like from your front panel. Then there's sata sleeve that's for sleeving sata data cables but can also be used to sleeve 3 power cables at once. For example a 6pin pcie cables can be sleeved with sata sleeve in 2 groups of 3, looks quite slick







. Then there's the big sleeve and jumbo sleeve. These are for if you only partialy single sleeve the PSU and want to bundle the rest up together near to the PSU.

And each size has an associated heatshrink.

As for amount, I'm getting 100m of black coz I'm wiring up my PSU to various connection points in the case and sleeving these black. Then I'll make small extensions with coloured sleeve that go from these connection points to the components. And all my molex and sata powers will be black too. So I need lots of black sleeve hence buying 100m







It's probably overkill but black sleeve is useful for loads of stuff


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## tannersimms

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14671304*
> Cheers
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Lol thanks, need a bib?
> 
> mdpcx small sleeve is what you want for all your main power cables. Then there's the slightly bigger usb sleeve that's for sleeving the thicker internal usb cables like from your front panel. Then there's sata sleeve that's for sleeving sata data cables but can also be used to sleeve 3 power cables at once. For example a 6pin pcie cables can be sleeved with sata sleeve in 2 groups of 3, looks quite slick
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> . Then there's the big sleeve and jumbo sleeve. These are for if you only partialy single sleeve the PSU and want to bundle the rest up together near to the PSU.
> 
> And each size has an associated heatshrink.
> 
> As for amount, I'm getting 100m of black coz I'm wiring up my PSU to various connection points in the case and sleeving these black. Then I'll make small extensions with coloured sleeve that go from these connection points to the components. And all my molex and sata powers will be black too. So I need lots of black sleeve hence buying 100m
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's probably overkill but black sleeve is useful for loads of stuff


Do you sleeve all the way back to your psu?


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## Born4TheSky

Great Job!


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Born4TheSky;14675130*
> Great Job!


Cheers









I've mounted pci-e connectors into the midplate now. They are held in by a bracket beneath the midplate and will be wired to the PSU. Then I make short extensions to go from these connectors to the GPU. The idea being that it's super easy to change colour scheme and also it's really cool having power coming up out of a glowing panel









I'll be doing something similar for the 24pin.

Anyways, picsss...




























Also kind of looks like a face and I've now given the face some teeth haha









EDIT:

In the last pic you can see clearly the imperfections in the vinyl underneath the plexi. That's why I'm going to be spray painting the bottom white instead


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## t-ramp

Fantastic stuff here.


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## JaRi




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## Rogy56

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi;14677333*


I second that


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi;14677333*


Lol, we need to get some moar bibs up in here!

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


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## tannersimms

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14671304*
> Cheers
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Lol thanks, need a bib?
> 
> mdpcx small sleeve is what you want for all your main power cables. Then there's the slightly bigger usb sleeve that's for sleeving the thicker internal usb cables like from your front panel. Then there's sata sleeve that's for sleeving sata data cables but can also be used to sleeve 3 power cables at once. For example a 6pin pcie cables can be sleeved with sata sleeve in 2 groups of 3, looks quite slick
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> . Then there's the big sleeve and jumbo sleeve. These are for if you only partialy single sleeve the PSU and want to bundle the rest up together near to the PSU.
> 
> And each size has an associated heatshrink.
> 
> As for amount, I'm getting 100m of black coz I'm wiring up my PSU to various connection points in the case and sleeving these black. Then I'll make small extensions with coloured sleeve that go from these connection points to the components. And all my molex and sata powers will be black too. So I need lots of black sleeve hence buying 100m
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's probably overkill but black sleeve is useful for loads of stuff


Do you sleeve all the back to where the wires come out of your psu? Cuz I just bought some sleeving and I was wondering what you did

Thanks


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## 161029

Got any more bibs left?


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## xXSebaSXx

I just now stumbled onto this thread and I have to say... WOW. The level of attention put into every detail is amazing.

I do have one small suggestion though... It has to do with the mid-panel and how you're illuminating it.

I read that you're using 12 LEDs on the side of the panel near the window; and from the sample pics you showed of the panel with the LEDs on; you can tell that there is light coming from only one side.

Have you considered sanding the LEDs so that the light disperses off of them more evenly? How about adding the same amount of LEDs to the far side of the panel?

I bet that if you sanded the LEDs and lit both long sides of the panel the whole thing would glow nice and evenly...


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tannersimms;14678827*
> Do you sleeve all the back to where the wires come out of your psu? Cuz I just bought some sleeving and I was wondering what you did
> 
> Thanks


My PSU is full modular so I sleeve into the connectors like this:

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z305/aidanz2007/tj07%20Build/P1050976.jpg

Although I'll get my shrinks much more even than that this time.

If you don't have a modular PSU then you'll have to open the PSU casing and heatshrink the sleeve in place inside the PSU. Then coz sleeving adds more mass to the cables you will most likely have to enlarge the hole that they come out of. It's very doable though even though it sounds complicated, lots of people do it that way as it's the best looking method for non modular.

The alternative being having the sleeving end and heatshrinked outside of the hole then a piece of big heatshrink shrunk over the whole lot when every cable has been done. This works well but doesn't look as nice.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;14679483*
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> Got any more bibs left?


lol, we need a bib dispenser








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *xXSebaSXx;14680316*
> I just now stumbled onto this thread and I have to say... WOW. The level of attention put into every detail is amazing.
> 
> I do have one small suggestion though... It has to do with the mid-panel and how you're illuminating it.
> 
> I read that you're using 12 LEDs on the side of the panel near the window; and from the sample pics you showed of the panel with the LEDs on; you can tell that there is light coming from only one side.
> 
> Have you considered sanding the LEDs so that the light disperses off of them more evenly? How about adding the same amount of LEDs to the far side of the panel?
> 
> I bet that if you sanded the LEDs and lit both long sides of the panel the whole thing would glow nice and evenly...


I was looking into LEDs yesterday and found I can get ones that are twice as bright (supposedly, 20,000mcd instead of 10,000mcd) and I was also looking at flat headed ones. My worry with the flat heads is that they don't cast enough light forwards and so I wouldn't get as good a spread across the panel. I get good even light at the moment but like you say it doesn't seem to go all the way across. Tbh though the camera exaggerates this A LOT and in real life it's not as noticeable. But the 20,000mcd LEDs should sort this out









My first attempt at the panel did use LEDs on both sides And I just didn't like the look of being able to see the LEDs. Imo it's better when they are hidden behind the bottom of the window and you just see the glow they create.

If you look from above you can see what I mean:

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z305/aidanz2007/random/IMG_20110823_085018.jpg


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## Skoobs

simply phenomenal work so far. i am astounded at the quality of every cut, every custom piece, etc.

looks like sponsorship material.


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Skoobs;14682642*
> simply phenomenal work so far. i am astounded at the quality of every cut, every custom piece, etc.
> 
> looks like sponsorship material.


Wow, thanks







! I don't know how to get sponsorship though haha :/


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## tannersimms

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14682498*
> My PSU is full modular so I sleeve into the connectors like this:
> 
> http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z305/aidanz2007/tj07%20Build/P1050976.jpg
> 
> Although I'll get my shrinks much more even than that this time.
> 
> If you don't have a modular PSU then you'll have to open the PSU casing and heatshrink the sleeve in place inside the PSU. Then coz sleeving adds more mass to the cables you will most likely have to enlarge the hole that they come out of. It's very doable though even though it sounds complicated, lots of people do it that way as it's the best looking method for non modular.
> 
> The alternative being having the sleeving end and heatshrinked outside of the hole then a piece of big heatshrink shrunk over the whole lot when every cable has been done. This works well but doesn't look as nice.
> 
> lol, we need a bib dispenser
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I was looking into LEDs yesterday and found I can get ones that are twice as bright (supposedly, 20,000mcd instead of 10,000mcd) and I was also looking at flat headed ones. My worry with the flat heads is that they don't cast enough light forwards and so I wouldn't get as good a spread across the panel. I get good even light at the moment but like you say it doesn't seem to go all the way across. Tbh though the camera exaggerates this A LOT and in real life it's not as noticeable. But the 20,000mcd LEDs should sort this out
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My first attempt at the panel did use LEDs on both sides And I just didn't like the look of being able to see the LEDs. Imo it's better when they are hidden behind the bottom of the window and you just see the glow they create.
> 
> If you look from above you can see what I mean:
> 
> http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z305/aidanz2007/random/IMG_20110823_085018.jpg


I have a question I just bought 5mm LEDs (purple ones to be exact) to switch out for my blue ones, do you think this will work?


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## xXSebaSXx

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14682498*
> e the glow they create.
> 
> If you look from above you can see what I mean:
> 
> http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z305/aidanz2007/random/IMG_20110823_085018.jpg


That's where sanding the LEDs comes into place... It will make the light disperse out wider. If you don't want to commit to doing the entire change; just try it on one spare LED and place it under the acrylic instead of drilling a hole for it.


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## CloudCR

Sub'd for awesomeness Keep'em pics coming!!!














care to give me a bib?

PS: When Blanc is finished send some pics to Nils I bet He'll put you on million-dollar-pc.com


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## ZealotKi11er

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14682763*
> Wow, thanks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ! I don't know how to get sponsorship though haha :/


email companies and show them ur work.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tannersimms;14686373*
> I have a question I just bought 5mm LEDs (purple ones to be exact) to switch out for my blue ones, do you think this will work?


Yea it will. I'm assuming you're talking about the front panel ones yea? I'm going to do the same but with white








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *xXSebaSXx;14687286*
> That's where sanding the LEDs comes into place... It will make the light disperse out wider. If you don't want to commit to doing the entire change; just try it on one spare LED and place it under the acrylic instead of drilling a hole for it.


Ill give it a go but I'm sure with higher power leds everything will be fine








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *CloudCR;14687523*
> Sub'd for awesomeness Keep'em pics coming!!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> care to give me a bib?
> 
> PS: When Blanc is finished send some pics to Nils I bet He'll put you on million-dollar-pc.com


Haha I'm running out!!

Thanks for the compliment but to get on mdpc these days is hard. Need to do something properly unique whereas mine is just a nicer than average tj07 build lol.

Nils has already commented on this work log on another forum anyway








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ZealotKi11er;14687546*
> email companies and show them ur work.


I might give that a go actually. Ill try get some waterblocks sponsored to me










Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Furball Zen

I dont buy that for one minute, there is one system that has a mess of a PSU in it, and its not even sleeved! Dont get me wrong, i dont think yours is quite up to snuff, but with some clever pics like Lutro0 got, any 'imperfections' would be hidden.


----------



## tannersimms

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aidan*


Yea it will. I'm assuming you're talking about the front panel ones yea? I'm going to do the same but with white









Ill give it a go but I'm sure with higher power leds everything will be fine









Haha I'm running out!!

Thanks for the compliment but to get on mdpc these days is hard. Need to do something properly unique whereas mine is just a nicer than average tj07 build lol.

Nils has already commented on this work log on another forum anyway









I might give that a go actually. Ill try get some waterblocks sponsored to me









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos










Nice







I put them in and they look beautiful







but with my new case I'm putting white to


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Furball Zen;14692190*
> I dont buy that for one minute, there is one system that has a mess of a PSU in it, and its not even sleeved! Dont get me wrong, i dont think yours is quite up to snuff, but with some clever pics like Lutro0 got, any 'imperfections' would be hidden.


Yea but that build without the sleeved psu is from ages ago, it wouldn't make it onto the site these days I'm sure. It needs to be something unique these days which mine isn't tbh








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tannersimms;14693059*
> Nice I put them in and they look beautiful but with my new case I'm putting white to


Sweet









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Aidan

I'm off to Leeds festival today so don't expect many updates until next week lol









If you do see updates then be very worried as I doubt it will be me 

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## superhead91

Good Lord this is amazing. Sub'd


----------



## Furball Zen

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aidan*


Yea but that build without the sleeved psu is from ages ago, it wouldn't make it onto the site these days I'm sure. It needs to be something unique these days which mine isn't tbh










Wow i wasnt even talking about this one, i forgot how horrid it looks.

http://www.million-dollar-pc.com/sys...bra/lumina.htm


----------



## tannersimms

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14694463*
> Yea but that build without the sleeved psu is from ages ago, it wouldn't make it onto the site these days I'm sure. It needs to be something unique these days which mine isn't tbh
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sweet
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


Did you ever use insulation tape? So the wires don't show through?


----------



## SgtMunky

I'd like to make an illuminating mid-section to put on top of the one that's already in my Lian Li, although I will try using two white CCFL's and run them underneath the acrylic, I don't know how that will turn out but I will let you know


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Furball Zen;14701068*
> Wow i wasnt even talking about this one, i forgot how horrid it looks.
> 
> http://www.million-dollar-pc.com/systems-2008/special/luciano-cezimbra/lumina.htm


I was on about this one:
http://www.million-dollar-pc.com/systems-2008/silverstone/tj07-blackpitty/silverstone-tj07.htm

Before did you mean this one?:
http://www.million-dollar-pc.com/systems-2009/murderbox/008/murderbox.htm

The pci-e cables specifically. Coz they are sleeved, just not singly. They've just used MDPC sata sleeve to group them much better than stock PSU sleeving whcih works for that build as it stops the top area from being too 'busy'

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tannersimms;14705843*
> Did you ever use insulation tape? So the wires don't show through?


I've not had to do that as with MDPC sleeve you stretch it so the weave closes up and no wire shows through. The wire does still alter the colour a bit in some instances like black wire under red sleeve will make a deeper red than red wire.

To get around this you can make your own cables using wire that is the same colour as the sleeve









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SgtMunky;14711290*
> I'd like to make an illuminating mid-section to put on top of the one that's already in my Lian Li, although I will try using two white CCFL's and run them underneath the acrylic, I don't know how that will turn out but I will let you know


Don't use cathodes coz they are really bulky.

Follow this method:

http://www.hardwareluxx.de/community/f141/rund-um-das-slight-701766.html

It's a german forum but the photos say it all really.

Use a strip of smd LEDs down the side of thick plexi sandwiched between thin white acrylic









I'm getting some higher power LEDs for my panel that should make mine as bright as the ones in that link but I wish I'd found that thread before I'd committed so much design work to my method of illumination


----------



## trippinonprozac

the above listed method is what I am using for my illuminated panel.

ill post results.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *trippinonprozac;14754905*
> the above listed method is what I am using for my illuminated panel.
> 
> ill post results.


Sweet! Really interested to see how it turns out


----------



## SgtMunky

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aidan*


Don't use cathodes coz they are really bulky.


Thanks for the pointer, +REP

Edit: Actually, that doesn't explain that much


----------



## Aidan

If you put cathodes underneath they'll make the panel too high up. Ideally you want light going into the panel from the sides and to have big cathodes at the sides of the panel IMO will take up too much space compared to a thin led strip which produces better light anyway









Oh and btw I should have lots of new parts coming this week and next. One part is one of three in the world and another is totally unique









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Foolsmasher

Nothing quite like a well done TJ. Kudos to you!

Also I have a white cold cathode in mine and IMO it looks like crap. Good choice on the LED's.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Foolsmasher;14763933*
> Nothing quite like a well done TJ. Kudos to you!
> 
> Also I have a white cold cathode in mine and IMO it looks like crap. Good choice on the LED's.


Cheers









I have something unique being made for this build and something that will be one of three in the world







When they arrive ill put up pics, Idk when they will be ready yet though









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## SgtMunky

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14763658*
> If you put cathodes underneath they'll make the panel too high up. Ideally you want light going into the panel from the sides and to have big cathodes at the sides of the panel IMO will take up too much space compared to a thin led strip which produces better light anyway
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *snip*


Well tbh, my floor is already about 25mm lower than the bottom edge of the window. Also, the blue cathodes I have now do I large chunky cubes at the end, like a dice size

What I was thinking is fixing the white acrylic to these cube ends and use the cathode itself as the stand









I'll try both and compare for the sake of everyone in the future, if it works ok it saves a job


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SgtMunky;14765026*
> Well tbh, my floor is already about 25mm lower than the bottom edge of the window. Also, the blue cathodes I have now do I large chunky cubes at the end, like a dice size
> 
> What I was thinking is fixing the white acrylic to these cube ends and use the cathode itself as the stand
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'll try both and compare for the sake of everyone in the future, if it works ok it saves a job


You won't have much light going into the sides of the plexi which is how you get the light to spread inside it. Try it out though but I also think the panel will end up being too high unless you use really thin plexi which will suck a bit







Also with cathodes you need that stupid inverter box hanging around in your system grrr

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## trippinonprozac

my acrylic is being cut as we speak. I already have the LED strip so I will post results at the end of this week when I have a chance to test. I am using the following parts -

1 sheets of 3mm opal (white 25% transparent) acrylic for top.
1 sheet of 10mm clear acrylic for the middle sandwich.
1 sheet of Mirror acrylic for the bottom sheet to fully reflect all light upwards. (this stuff looks awesome)
1 bitfenix LED strip.

I have the top and bottom sheets cut around 20mm wider to house the LED strip down the side.


----------



## SgtMunky

Hmm Good call on the mirrored acrylic underneath, I was thinking the same thing. Interested to see how you actually fix them all together


----------



## Aidan

People don't fix them together. You house the layers in a frame









And that sounds good btw









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## trippinonprozac

I was speaking to the guy at the plastics fabricator about what I wanted to achieve with the original idea of having white acrylic as the bottom layer. He was like "wait here a second" and came back with this 3mm acrylic that is dead set like a mirror on 1 side.

He has done some work with LED's previously in acrylic projects and he thinks that it will create the effect quite easily.

I am not even going to enclose the acrylic at first to see how it goes just using the sides of the case as a border. If the light is too dull then he has some metalic vinyl wrap that I will put along the sides.

He is happy to pump out a bunch of kits if it all works so I can ship them if people are interested.


----------



## trippinonprozac

Got the panel in just to test. This is with no border at all, just using the mid plate to contain the light.

I am pretty pleased with the results!


----------



## JaRi

O M F G that looks amazing!!


----------



## Aidan

Nice panel!

I got my new LEDs, just waiting for my crimping tool so I can wire them up and test my panel out again too









And while you wait here's some photos of my new block and fittings that arrived today:


----------



## SgtMunky

Sweeet nice awesome !


----------



## Aidan

Think I'm going to install it later tonight









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Aidan

Typical how I can find every Allen key except the one I need to remove my back plate. Ffs

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Aidan

Found it eventually









Crappy phone pics of the completed swap over:



















EDIT:

Another crappy phone pic, this time of the first bit of tube to go in


















Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## trippinonprozac

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14803103*
> Found it eventually
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Crappy phone pics of the completed swap over:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> EDIT:
> 
> Another crappy phone pic, this time of the first bit of tube to go in
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


Looks great mate!

I am thinking of putting my tube routing through my mid plate as it looks so neat!

Props on the finish, looks pro!


----------



## eVGAX58

Nice build,, remindin me my wifes' build


































http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/941216-my-new-build.html


----------



## CloudCR

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *eVGAX58;14812819*
> Nice build,, remindin me my wifes' build
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/941216-my-new-build.html


Will you marry me?


----------



## trippinonprozac

Hey Aidan,

What method did you use for the pass through your mid plate for your bards? I ask because you would be in a similar situation to me (quite a thick mid plate) and the BP pass through wouldnt be thick enough.


----------



## Furball Zen

If its solid (not layered) you can just tap with threads and screw in two fittings.


----------



## trippinonprozac

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Furball Zen;14825628*
> If its solid (not layered) you can just tap with threads and screw in two fittings.


I believe his is layered like mine.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *eVGAX58;14812819*
> Nice build,, remindin me my wifes' build


Looks cool. I love the sleeving combo








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *trippinonprozac;14824646*
> Hey Aidan,
> 
> What method did you use for the pass through your mid plate for your bards? I ask because you would be in a similar situation to me (quite a thick mid plate) and the BP pass through wouldnt be thick enough.


You're right, it's layered. An aluminium cover with some 5mm spacers screwed on then the plexi sits on the spacers.

The passthroughs are fitted upside down into the aluminium cover then the bottoms of them poke up through the matching holes in the plexi. Then when the barbs screw into them they are covered up and you can't tell they are there









EDIT:

Oooo floating res .. I jest, it's got a clip at the top


----------



## tannersimms

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tannersimms;14686373*
> I have a question I just bought 5mm LEDs (purple ones to be exact) to switch out for my blue ones, do you think this will work?


What psu do you have?


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tannersimms;14827310*
> What psu do you have?


Silverstone Strider 750W

I don't understand how the quote links to your question though


----------



## Aidan

Finally my order from EK arrived and Blanc gets his first bit of blanc









First the CPU block. Look how much crap was in there!










But all clean now after a soak in lemon juice and a scrub










And with its new top




























Then the GPU block














































And everything in the case


----------



## Smo

Looks gorgeous dude, but may I make a suggestion? It may be an idea to rotate the CPU block 90 degrees anticlockwise. I've read that it's a more efficient way to remove air bubbles from the loop.

Either way, beautiful machine mate - love the choice of cooling parts too.


----------



## Aidan

Cheers









Says in the manual not to mount it sideways and also I want to keep the logo the right way up. But I'm sure the amd mount for this block mounts it sideways so it can't be anything major.

In the last loop I had this block in I had it this way but upside down and had no issue with bubbles









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Smo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14833214*
> Cheers
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Says in the manual not to mount it sideways and also I want to keep the logo the right way up. But I'm sure the amd mount for this block mounts it sideways so it can't be anything major.
> 
> In the last loop I had this block in I had it this way but upside down and had no issue with bubbles
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


Fair enough mate, just thought I'd throw it out there!


----------



## Aidan

Np









I still don't get why EK put in the instructions not to mount it sideways then force amd users to mount the block sideways. I've never had an amd system so can't test it









I think just mount it whichever way is best for tubing and in my case upright is best









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## andrewmchugh

Those white tops look AMAZING. and the white false floor with the pass through....aaaaaaaaaaaaWWWW

REP+

Are you dyeing the loop in the end?


----------



## Aidan

Thanks









Yea I'm putting blue dye in. Ill keep an eye out for it messing stuff up like gunging or staining but I think it will look cool enough to be worth the possible extra hassle lol.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## andrewmchugh

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14833619*
> Thanks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yea I'm putting blue dye in. Ill keep an eye out for it messing stuff up like gunging or staining but I think it will look cool enough to be worth the possible extra hassle lol.
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


The blue will look great ageast(******* spelling) the white, and it will accent the mobo too.

Mayhem dye - Darlo ftw


----------



## Aidan

Mayhems deep blue is what I had planned







I didn't know the Mayhems guy was from darlo?

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Ellis

I've read up to the bit in the second page where you copied it from another forum and it looks awesome, any chance of linking the updates after that point into one of the first posts?


----------



## trippinonprozac

Love your work mate!

Gives me all my inspiration for my build!


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;14833930*
> I've read up to the bit in the second page where you copied it from another forum and it looks awesome, any chance of linking the updates after that point into one of the first posts?


If I get time I'll have a go









When the build is finally done I'll at least put a link in the first post to the final pics.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *trippinonprozac;14834175*
> Love your work mate!
> 
> Gives me all my inspiration for my build!


Wow thanks







Really good to see how well your luminous panel turned out!


----------



## Aidan

First set of custom cables done. They just need some sleeving love now









Apologies for the crappy phone pics yet again :/



















Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## JaRi

awesome :O !!


----------



## spiderm0nkey

This build is amazing. I just picked up a TJ07 dirt cheap so this build is VERY inspiring. Can't wait to see how it progresses!!


----------



## Aidan

Thanks loads Jari and Krissy







Loving the recent progress on Viper btw, can't wait to see what you do with a tj07









Oh and I couldn't leave ALL of those cables naked before I went to sleep so a couple of them got some sleeve love:










Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## JaRi

just amazing!









love your sleeving! done it many times before ?


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi;14845822*
> just amazing!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> love your sleeving! done it many times before ?


A few times yea









My reply to your pm wont send btw









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## JaRi

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14845881*
> A few times yea
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My reply to your pm wont send btw
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


100% full inbox


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi;14845903*
> 100% full inbox


Lol! Same as me this morning then.

In answer to the question in your pm though, no, I have not received any links from you









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## JaRi

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14845979*
> Lol! Same as me this morning then.
> 
> In answer to the question in your pm though, no, I have not received any links from you
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


now yours full xD

ill send the link when i can PM you


----------



## Aidan

Lol w t f







G+ it me?

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## JaRi

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14846027*
> Lol ***
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> G+ it me?
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


sure xD

done


----------



## Ellis

I had to work out what on Earth you were talking about then before I remembered what G+ was. It doesn't quite have the same ring to it as Facebook.









Anyway, it looks great, although I'm missing a large chunk of what's gone on because I can't be bothered to go through all the pages and find the updates. Actually, there's only 15 pages, I might as well do that now.


----------



## JaRi

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;14846054*
> I had to work out what on Earth you were talking about then before I remembered what G+ was. It doesn't quite have the same ring to it as Facebook.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Anyway, it looks great, although I'm missing a large chunk of what's gone on because I can't be bothered to go through all the pages and find the updates. Actually, there's only 15 pages, I might as well do that now.


its a funny worklog, with a lot of good things to inspire!


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;14846054*
> I had to work out what on Earth you were talking about then before I remembered what G+ was. It doesn't quite have the same ring to it as Facebook.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Anyway, it looks great, although I'm missing a large chunk of what's gone on because I can't be bothered to go through all the pages and find the updates. Actually, there's only 15 pages, I might as well do that now.


Haha be glad you aren't reading it on aria forum where it's pages and pages of me and another member chatting. It has hence been named my 'conversationlog' on that forum lol









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## JaRi

likee what this is on the too ?? ^^


----------



## Aidan

It's turning into a conversationlog yea haha









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Ellis

Finished.









I kinda skimmed the bits that weren't updates, because I was desperate to see the next update.










Having the power cables kinda of plugging into the glowing panel looks awesome though, I don't think I've seen anything like that before.

You can rest assured that I'll be following this build through to the end.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;14846217*
> Finished.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I kinda skimmed the bits that weren't updates, because I was desperate to see the next update.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Having the power cables kinda of plugging into the glowing panel looks awesome though, I don't think I've seen anything like that before.
> 
> You can rest assured that I'll be following this build through to the end.


Wow thanks









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## trippinonprozac

awesome work mate

I unfortunately am going to have a big weekend ahead of me as my temps werent acceptable with my rads stacked in the bottom.

Sr1 240 is going in the drive bay and a 240 on the roof


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14845812*
> Thanks loads Jari and Krissy
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Loving the recent progress on Viper btw, can't wait to see what you do with a tj07


Ahh awkward, you know my name and I can't remember if we've crossed paths previously or not lol. Sexy cables too! They look so fluid and gorgeous!


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;14846891*
> Ahh awkward, you know my name and I can't remember if we've crossed paths previously or not lol. Sexy cables too! They look so fluid and gorgeous!


I know your name, and I don't think I've ever spoken to you before.









Okay that sounded really stalkerish, I just mean that I've seen people calling you Krissy around the forums lol


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;14847336*
> I know your name, and I don't think I've ever spoken to you before.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Okay that sounded really stalkerish, I just mean that I've seen people calling you Krissy around the forums lol


Haha I suppose that is true


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *trippinonprozac;14846543*
> awesome work mate
> 
> I unfortunately am going to have a big weekend ahead of me as my temps werent acceptable with my rads stacked in the bottom.
> 
> Sr1 240 is going in the drive bay and a 240 on the roof


I'm going to be cooling CPU, gpu, mobo and ram on the one 480 in the bottom so I hope I don't get similar problems :/
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;14846891*
> Ahh awkward, you know my name and I can't remember if we've crossed paths previously or not lol. Sexy cables too! They look so fluid and gorgeous!


Haha sorry







Erm from 'family' business









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## trippinonprozac

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14850367*
> I'm going to be cooling CPU, gpu, mobo and ram on the one 480 in the bottom so I hope I don't get similar problems :/
> 
> Haha sorry
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Erm from 'family' business
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


You wont mate. I actually had fairly good results with a single 480 at the bottom cooling 3 gpu's + CPU but adding the 240 had a negative effect as too much hot air gets cooped up at the bottom and not moved efficiently enough.

I have some 3000rpm GT's imbound along with some 1850's so I am expecting big things from the new config.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *trippinonprozac;14850764*
> You wont mate. I actually had fairly good results with a single 480 at the bottom cooling 3 gpu's + CPU but adding the 240 had a negative effect as too much hot air gets cooped up at the bottom and not moved efficiently enough.
> 
> I have some 3000rpm GT's imbound along with some 1850's so I am expecting big things from the new config.


Sounds awesome









I personally prefer the look of having just one big rad in the bottom but then I guess I'm going more for looks than performance









Found just enough heatshrink to do two more cables













































Grand bleu sleeve + black + white acetal =









Oh and the capacitors are gradually all getting cleaned, no more ugly writing just nice smooth silver metal!







The ones on the GPU are proving harder to get off though


----------



## trippinonprozac

Your attention to detail is mind blowing!


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *trippinonprozac;14851746*
> Your attention to detail is mind blowing!


Cheers









Having no CPU for most of this build has made me not rush it I think as there's no point coz without the CPU it won't work anyway. So yea I guess that has given me lots of time to think over everything lots.

If I'd had all the money I needed from the beginning and done the build in a few weeks then half of my ideas that I've put in so far would never have been thought up.


----------



## Wiremaster

Holycrapsubbed.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wiremaster;14851981*
> Holycrapsubbed.


----------



## fr0st.

Do you just use acetone to clean off the caps? I'm gonna do it for my motherboard too, but I don't want to do it wrong and break it :3


----------



## Aidan

Yea acetone. Pure is best but nail polish (which also contains water and other stuff) also works. I'm using nail polish, never tried pure acetone but I will need to get some for the GPU caps which my nail polish wont work on.

I also find that the nail polish stops working after a few caps and I need to put some fresh stuff on and that it works best if put onto dry kitchen roll rather than putting more onto the same bit of tissue each time.

Use Q tips to get the hard to reach ones.

It does take a bit of rubbing though, doesn't come straight off.

First the colour begins to fade then the kind of plasticy layer that it's printed on starts to peel off too.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Some caps won't clean at all no matter how long you rub







Depends on the mobo manufacturer and the caps they use, but I've found that it's pretty much impossible to clean the colour off the tall thin capacitors.


----------



## Aidan

Ill probably sand the gpu ones then









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Aidan

Last night I went and soldered new power wires onto the pump and connected them directly to the PSU. To be able to fit it to that power connector I had to use the 18awg power wire so the pump housing had to be modified slightly to allow the thicker wires through.




























Unfortunately while trying to unsolder the rpm wire it came off .. along with the metal contact from the PCB. So I have no way of soldering on a new rpm wire.










So a tip for anyone who wants to solder on new wires to their DDC, keep a little bit of the old wire attached and solder the new wires onto those


----------



## zoidbergslo

WOW really nice work there.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zoidbergslo;14864649*
> WOW really nice work there.


Cheers









Btw peeps I've decided to buy an aquacomputer flow meter next month seeing as my slip up with the rpm wire means I can't monitor the pump through that anymore.


----------



## Ellis

Nice









I love the Gentle Typhoons. In fact, I ordered a couple of AP-13s today.


----------



## JaRi

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;14865022*
> Nice
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I love the Gentle Typhoons. In fact, I ordered a couple of AP-13s today.


ap-13 <3 i love the silent from em







my 200mm coolermaster megaflow is more loud than the ap-13


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi;14865114*
> ap-13 <3 i love the silent from em
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> my 200mm coolermaster megaflow is more loud than the ap-13


Yep









The AP-14s were actually cheaper, but I wanted completely silent fans.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

You know, I think this is my favourite build log atm.

Lol and I just read your sig Ellis... Ah ollie. I miss that guy haha.


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;14869425*
> You know, I think this is my favourite build log atm.
> 
> Lol and I just read your sig Ellis... Ah ollie. I miss that guy haha.


So do I, I wish he could post more.









But I think instead he's out having an awesome life, although hopefully he doesn't let Steam steal too much of his honey.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ellis*


So do I, I wish he could post more.









But I think instead he's out having an awesome life, although hopefully he doesn't let Steam steal too much of his honey.










Yeah







I think he's on Steam more often than OCN. Tbh I wish I had the same self control as he does! I spend too much time on here when I should be studying haha.


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;14870177*
> Yeah
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think he's on Steam more often than OCN. Tbh I wish I had the same self control as he does! I spend too much time on here when I should be studying haha.


I think we all do that.









And yeah, I see him on Steam quite a lot, although I don't talk to him that much.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:



Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey*


You know, I think this is my favourite build log atm.












I did some more crimping before I went to the pub tonight. Made the other bit of the 8pin that goes from under the midplate to the psu.

Cabling is probably the only thing I can do atm until Mips get round to making my blocks and until next pay day









Will hopefully have enough progress with the cables soon to take some pics









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Ellis

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aidan*











I did some more crimping before I went to the pub tonight. Made the other bit of the 8pin that goes from under the midplate to the psu.

Cabling is probably the only thing I can do atm until Mips get round to making my blocks and until next pay day









Will hopefully have enough progress with the cables soon to take some pics









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos










You're supposed to say "before I went to t'pub" with the implied "the" that doesn't actually get spoken.


----------



## Aidan

Lol I'm not actually from Yorkshire, moved here like 10 years ago.

I'm a manc really







sort of

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## trippinonprozac

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14864705*
> Cheers
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Btw peeps I've decided to buy an aquacomputer flow meter next month seeing as my slip up with the rpm wire means I can't monitor the pump through that anymore.


Make sure you get the Aquacomputer Aquareos XT or Pro if you havent already. Awesome bit of kit and will work seamlessly with the flow meter for monitoring.

I purchased on just recently and have never looked back!


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14870795*
> Lol I'm not actually from Yorkshire, moved here like 10 years ago.
> 
> I'm a manc really
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> sort of
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos












I would just adopt the accent because it sounds awesome.


----------



## Aidan

I got an aquaero 4 LT from eBay for cheaps a while back. There's some pics if it early in the log









I think I've taken on the accent a bit but still sound different to my mates.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## andrewmchugh

Aidan you need to do a content page on the OP, list every major post you make.


----------



## Avathar77

Great Build!
Did I see you having your Res upside down? You know, the side with the single top hole as the outlet?
Do you not get the "cyclone effect"


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *andrewmchugh;14871895*
> Aidan you need to do a content page on the OP, list every major post you make.


I'll have a go when I get time but most of my updates are just small ones really :/
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Avathar77;14872821*
> Great Build!
> Did I see you having your Res upside down? You know, the side with the single top hole as the outlet?
> Do you not get the "cyclone effect"


Yea it's upside down I guess. Not ran the loop yet so idk if I get a cyclone. Water will come in the top through the side opening and go down an extension tube so I doubt I'll get any issues.

Made the other part of the 8pin that goes from under the midplate to the PSU




























So basically the blue sleeved cables come from the GPU and plug into the female connectors in the midplate then magic happens in that little black box and the cables come out of it sideways into the PSU







The underneath ones will be sleeved black.










p.s. I'm aware that one of my passthroughs isn't fully tightened


----------



## Ellis

I know I've said it before, but I LOVE the bit where the cables all plug into the midplate and are sorted out underneath, it makes it look so tidy and awesome.


----------



## Aidan

Thanks









Also means if I change colour scheme, like for instance if I bought a rampage III board or something, I won't have to re sleeve the whole PSU, just the little extensions for 6pin, 8pin and 24pin (8pin EPS will be black as there's no way of doing a similar extension thing).


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14876034*
> Thanks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also means if I change colour scheme, like for instance if I bought a rampage III board or something, I won't have to re sleeve the whole PSU, just the little extensions for 6pin, 8pin and 24pin (8pin EPS will be black as there's no way of doing a similar extension thing).


Ah, this is a good point, I hadn't though of that.


----------



## fventura03

wow this is amazing!

how'd you hide all the wires for the LED's?


----------



## Avathar77

By doing the Res upside down and using one of the side ports on the top as an inlet,do you have to fillup the Res all the way up-covering the inlet hole? Or is it just ok to have the water level below the inlet port?


----------



## Aidan

Because I'm using the extension tube I don't have to fill right to the top.

When the pump stops after a shutdown and gravity causes some water to partially flow backwards through the loop the tube stays below the water level so 'sucks' up some water in the res.

If I didn't use the extension tube on that port then a big bubble would form in one of the bits of tubing in the top of my loop as the water flows backwards and takes air with it from the top of the res and not water.


----------



## Avathar77

oh ok. My res cant have an extension tube from the side, it can only have from the 2 ends.
Thank you.


----------



## Aidan

The tube doesn't screw into the side. It screws into the top but the side port is also connected to it coz of how the end caps are made.

Do you have an EK res?

Here's a crappy phone pic that you can see the extension tube in:

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z305/aidanz2007/tj07%20Build/IMG_20110906_225030.jpg

See it comes down from the top? The end cap I have at the top has one side fitting and two top fittings. The side fitting flows into the same threaded hole that the top fitting nearest to it does. So screwing the tube into that top fitting also means that water from the side fitting flows into it.


----------



## Avathar77

I do have a EK res but it is an old modle with 2 side ports and a top port at one side and just one top port at the other side.
So I am doing it upside down as well.
This is a pic of the multi port side cap.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/avathar77pics/6130076326/

If you can see non of the side ports are connected to the top port in my res








So I have to use some other way.


----------



## Aidan

Ah I see







You have that thing in the middle though. That looks like it will absorb some of the energy from water coming into the side and prevent excessive cycloning?


----------



## Avathar77

Yep, so my plan is to use the top hole as the inlet and attach an extension to it inside the res. That way I may not have to fill up all the way to the top. Not sure, have to try and see.
but that means I have to use the dreaded 90 degree fitting!


----------



## Aidan

Yea extension tube will solve everything









What do you mean 'dreaded'?


----------



## Avathar77

hik hik hik I am trying to avoid using 90 deg fittings as much as possible!
I have a MCP355 pump to use with CPU block, VGA block, 240mm & 480mm RAD and a Res.
So trying not to reduce the flow.


----------



## Aidan

I thought that's what you meant but really it's a non-issue. The effect of a 90 degree fitting on flow compared to your block(s) is negligible. One cpu block causes as much restriction as 10+ elbow fittings so having one or two in there will make no difference at all.

In my loop there will be 5 blocks and I'm using 1x 18W DDC.


----------



## Avathar77

Yes I noticed your Blocks! I was reading the whole thread till 3.30am








How is your temps @ load?


----------



## Aidan

Not got a new CPU yet or the mobo and ram blocks so not tested it







It will be fine though coz the rad is an awesome one and I've seen someone running similar stuff to me on a 280 rad and get good temps.

Don't get me wrong though, I won't get AMAZING temps like people with 4x 360 rads in a caselasbs case lol but that's not really my aim for the build is. I want something that looks awesome, is silent, and also cools well (but not extremely well)









In my last build i ran the gtx580 and i7 920 (1.375v) on a 240 rad and 120 rad. The 120 rad was naff and did nothing so basically i was cooling with the 240. Now I have double that rad space and a rad that is better for my fans and the mobo and ram won't add much more heat compared to the gpu and cpu.


----------



## Aidan

24pin, 8pin EPS and 6pin are wired up now.

For that female 24pin connector I'm going to get another little project box to hold it in place like I did with the pci-e powers.

Oh and the little thin wires coming down vertically near the edge of the mobo tray are from the LEDs in the top of my res.


----------



## 161029

Hooooooooooooolllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyy crap. I missed a lot. I clean my subscriptions out once in a while and accidentally deleted mine for this. I just realised it when I saw it on the most recent activity threads list. Make a "how to make your own cables" thread please.









Subbed again.


----------



## Aidan

Haha cheers









I'll have a see about making a cable making thread







Sure there isn't one already? Its usually known as crimping.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

^ I know that part. I think I saw it somewhere. Just forgot what type of cables I should use. I didn't really know if the ones you could get at Radioshack were fine since I don't want to fry anything.


----------



## Furball Zen

Choice of wire doesnt matter in anything other than current transfer.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Furball Zen;14890819*
> Choice of wire doesnt matter in anything other than current transfer.


Yes it does. More than 2.3mm outer diameter wont fit properly into most crimping tools.

You need 18awg wire for psu power cables with max od of 2.3mm and 24awg for things like fan cables.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Furball Zen

Not what i meant (brand), and some PSU's like mine use 16ga wire.


----------



## 161029

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aidan*


Yes it does. More than 2.3mm outer diameter wont fit properly into most crimping tools.

You need 18awg wire for psu power cables with max od of 2.3mm and 24awg for things like fan cables.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos










Ah, good info.


----------



## Aidan

Today I crimped custom length wires for the fans. Soldered directly to the PCB and with MDPC black connectors









Each set of wires is long enough to go along under all the fans on the rad then up into the aquaero. So each set of wires is 120mm longer the further down the rad the fan is plus an extra 10mm to account for the spacing of the connectors on the aquaero




































And my fav pic from today..










Desperate for more sleeve and heatshrink now! But need to wait until next month


----------



## Avathar77

Are those AP15s ?


----------



## Aidan

Yep









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Ellis

Nice


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;14900649*
> Nice












Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

Custom cables look awesome. I can't take my eyes off of them. So you're not going to sleeve them?


----------



## Aidan

I am going to sleeve them yea, in black. I just dont have any black sleeve left, or heatshrink lol









24pin extension from the connector on the back of the mobo tray will be grand bleu like the pcie powers obviously







Still looking for a project box that is the right size to hold the female 24pin connector in place.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Out of curiosity, what's your lighting setup for the photos? Looks great.


----------



## Samurai Batgirl

Aidan. This. This is fantastic.
This is....


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;14906697*
> Out of curiosity, what's your lighting setup for the photos? Looks great.


Light from my window that is just next to my bed. I usually underexpose to get more detail from my subjects which are dark colours 90% of the time







But coz I take pictures of stuff on the side panel of the tj07 it kind of limits the angles I can use as it's relatively small







For the final pics of this build I'm going to try and get hold of something bigger for a background and also some lights so I can take pictures in other places, not just on my bed using the window









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Samurai Batgirl;14906789*
> Aidan. This. This is fantastic.
> This is....


Haha Cheers


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Sweet thanks for sharing that







I used to do the same and use the CM 690 panel until I cut the window in it.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;14912373*
> Sweet thanks for sharing that
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I used to do the same and use the CM 690 panel until I cut the window in it.


Omg same! Now I've cut the window in the other panel I can't prop that up against the wall to make a backdrop







Sucks.

Oh and a little update on the build. Tonight I've been making yet another aquaero stand as I wasn't happy with the previous one. This one screws into the drive bays rather than the midplate so is more easily removable and its also not as tall. It wont have the led PCB on top like the other one did either, that will now be underneath to keep things cleaner.

I'll post pics when it's done but I've ran out of the dremel discs that I use to make the scores I fold on. Only had two more folds to do aswell! Grrr

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Onions

absolutly amazing the customness that is you.... i want to learn XD what would you recommend for my 3 pumps and 24 fans in my loop???


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Onions;14912702*
> absolutly amazing the customness that is you.... i want to learn XD what would you recommend for my 3 pumps and 24 fans in my loop???


Do you mean what would i recommend in terms of managing the tubing and wires?

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Onions

lol no i meant controllers as i can see you clearly know your stuff lol im thinking about putting an itx system in and using that to controll automaticlly i mean thats a lot of stuff but your solution is better lol


----------



## Aidan

Aquaeros are great for controlling fans. Just put a temp probe in your water and let it change your fan speed automatically







You wont be able to connect all your pumps to it though and Idk if it would handle 24 fans, maybe the new one would though Idk?

For your pumps you could use a manual controller. I had a lamptron fc4 once which was a bit crap as one channel was a bit dodgy. I've heard good things about the fc5 though.

So yea, get your fans on an aquaero if you can for auto control and then your pumps on a manual one as they handle more watts and you don't really need pumps on auto control really.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Ellis

I hear great things about Lamptron fan controllers, but their reliability seems to be awful.


----------



## Aidan

Yea the fourth channel on my fc4 would cut out at certain points on its rotation









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Ellis

I've also heard of FC5s failing, and sometimes exploding.


----------



## Aidan

I think the new version of it might have fixed that aswell as the screen issues







Although I've never owned one so Idk haha

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

Never heard of any Lamptron issues. A little scared to get one now so it looks like I'm getting the Scythe Kaze Master Pro.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

I wish they still made floppy bay sized fan controllers... I don't like how huge the 5.25" ones are. You have no choice but to have them in the front


----------



## Furball Zen

When did they do that? http://www.xoxide.com/3fanco.html


----------



## ironcobra220

Hey thanks for your advice on the drive bay side cover thingy, i made my own like you did and saved alotta time and a few bucks







check it out on my case mod work log!

when can we get some more pics by the way? really liking how this build is turning out.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Furball Zen;14925708*
> When did they do that? http://www.xoxide.com/3fanco.html


oh god... allow me to have your children.


----------



## Furball Zen

Sure, i have 7. Roughly 200lbs of dogs and 60lbs of cats. Let me know when you want to pick them up


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ironcobra220;14926730*
> Hey thanks for your advice on the drive bay side cover thingy, i made my own like you did and saved alotta time and a few bucks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> check it out on my case mod work log!
> 
> when can we get some more pics by the way? really liking how this build is turning out.


Your covers are awesome! Oh and more pics from me either tonight or tomorrow, waiting on new dremel discs to complete my new aquaero stand.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Furball Zen;14930836*
> Sure, i have 7. Roughly 200lbs of dogs and 60lbs of cats. Let me know when you want to pick them up


LOL!


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Furball Zen;14930836*
> Sure, i have 7. Roughly 200lbs of dogs and 60lbs of cats. Let me know when you want to pick them up


Tomorrow night okay with you?


----------



## Ellis




----------



## Aidan

Here's v1 and v2 of the aquaero stand. Can you guess which is which?










And here is the new one, still not quite done as I'll explain.

This bottom edge hovers slightly above the midplate but below the upper edge of the plexi panel so wires coming from the LEDs mounted in the plexi can get through.










Those side bits screw into the drive bays.










And the aquaero installed.










As you can see there is plenty of excess metal left at one end (the bit still with blue protective film still on it). This will mostly be cut away but some will remain to mount the plexi I'm using to backlit the logo in the front plate (another thing on my to buy list). But until I have the front plate in front of me I won't know for sure how much can be cut away. So for now it will stay looking weird with a crap tonne of metal sticking out the front of my case









Aaaanyway, I also made my 24pin extension




























As I've said before, these connectors on the back will be held in place by another project box.


----------



## Ellis




----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ellis;14944221*


:d

EDIT:

^ is that showing up as a smily to anyone? Coz for me it's changing the D to a d and just showing a :d ... very odd


----------



## JaRi

looks really awesome dude! really, great job done there!


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi;14944245*
> looks really awesome dude! really, great job done there!


Cheers







I'll try and get a pic of the aquaero stand installed in a bit


----------



## FalloutBoy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14944234*
> :d
> 
> EDIT:
> 
> ^ is that showing up as a smily to anyone? Coz for me it's changing the D to a d and just showing a :d ... very odd


Its working for me.

Loving the build too. I was so excited when I found it for the first time!


----------



## Aidan

Really weird that the smily isn't showing up, never happened before 

Anyways, cheers







Recent changes to dark april are looking sweeet


----------



## JaRi

i cant see the smiley, i just see : d (without space ofc..)


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi;14944373*
> i cant see the smiley, i just see : d (without space ofc..)


Yea I typed : D (without the space







) and when it posted it changed to a 'd' and I don't see the smily. I tried editing twice and it did the same thing! Maybe my reply was too short or something so it spakked out?


----------



## JaRi

:d

i dont know, just tryed too, and it did that too :S


----------



## CattleCorn

Epic.


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14944234*
> :d
> 
> EDIT:
> 
> ^ is that showing up as a smily to anyone? Coz for me it's changing the D to a d and just showing a :d ... very odd


It's a caps filter - it thinks your whole message is written in caps so it converts them to lower case. But :d doesn't get parsed into a smiley, whereas  does.

(I used [noparse] tags there)


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi;14944461*
> :d
> 
> i dont know, just tryed too, and it did that too :S


Very odd









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *CattleCorn;14944468*
> Epic.


Cheers









More pics of the stand..



















You can see how it's much lower than the last one which i think looks much nicer. Also means there's more space above it for the HDD and SSD wiring so that won't look as cramped









EDIT:

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;14944486*
> It's a caps filter - it thinks your whole message is written in caps so it converts them to lower case. But :d doesn't get parsed into a smiley, whereas  does.
> 
> (I used [noparse] tags there)


Ahhhhhh, I see now


----------



## Aidan

Just had an email from Mips saying my special order is now ready for shipping


----------



## JaRi

awesome!


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Eee I love this build


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi;14945080*
> awesome!


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;14948185*
> Eee I love this build


Cheers peeps
















Some more cable action..




























The loose connector will be connected to my ssd which will be mounted vertically behind the hdd. Also thinking of getting a mini himuro for the ssd to match the hdd but I have to import one as they don't sell them in the UK.

Oh yea and I've looped the data cable around the res, what do people think? The one from the SSD will loop in the same way but slightly higher up









EDIT:

A crappy photo that demonstrates how the cable will be routed and where the SSD will go. Was holding the SSD with my other hand so had to put the camera on AF .. it failed hard.


----------



## 161029

I like it.


----------



## Aidan

Thanks









I tried applying the same double crimping technique to my molex powers too and failed hard. I had the exact number of pins I need as well so now I need to buy more to replace the failed ones haha.

Think I'm going to have each molex power on separate cables instead but Idk if I have enough wire :/

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Fuuu.... This log will be the one that makes me shell out the money for a crimper...

I love your cable work!!


----------



## 161029

@Spidermonkey: You were really lucky that you got that TJ07. Screwwwwwwwwwwww.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

I know







I'm going to love and cherish it forever


----------



## Aidan

New way of mounting the led pcb seems to be working well..


----------



## SgtMunky

Looking good man, keep it up

Did you get your acrylic online by any chance?


----------



## Aidan

I got the main rectangle cut to size by an eBay shop but the holes and slots in it I cut myself.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## ScytheNoire

Have you came up with a mounting system yet for the side covers over the drive bays?


----------



## Aidan

I think so but it's kind of hard to explain. I'll have more metal next month to make the new panels and mount them so pics will explain it then









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Aidan

Been on a capacitor cleaning rampage and now pretty much just have the ones in the top left quarter of the board to do.

Tools of the trade..










Naked caps!










More naked caps!!










MOAR!!!










Some are quite hard to get at like this one..










And some I can't get at at all until I take the cooler off the mobo .. which should be happening some time this week anyway







But I shall get on with doing as many as I can before then


----------



## ScytheNoire

Now if you could only do something about Gigabytes horrible fetish for an ugly blue plastic


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ScytheNoire;14987551*
> Now if you could only do something about Gigabytes horrible fetish for an ugly blue plastic


I wish I could









Fortunately I CAN do something about their ugly old design heatsink...

By replacing it with a one of a kind white acetal Mips UD7 block!




























Oh and the ram block is one of 3 in the world that is white. Oliver has one of the other 2 in his Polarity build.

Can't wait to get these installed!!


----------



## JaRi

how much for your computer when your done ?


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi;14987886*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> how much for your computer when your done ?


Hahaha! The amount of blood, sweat and tears gone into this build makes it priceless, no deal! lol


----------



## darthjoe229

Fantastic looking build, subbed!


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *darthjoe229;14988012*
> Fantastic looking build, subbed!


Cheers


----------



## FalloutBoy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;14987907*
> Hahaha! The amount of blood, sweat and tears gone into this build makes it priceless, no deal! lol


Did a good job of polishing those out eh?...


----------



## Aidan

Haha, sure did! Although there's probably a few sweaty finger prints on some things







But yea, all the blood and tears have been cleaning off everything


----------



## Furball Zen

I understand _WHY_ you did it, but youre defeating the purpose of those little grounding pads by putting those washers under the mobo mounting screws....


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Furball Zen;14988704*
> I understand _WHY_ you did it, but youre defeating the purpose of those little grounding pads by putting those washers under the mobo mounting screws....


Hmm, I'm not sure on that one actually. It's not something I'd thought of.

Is the grounding really necessary? Coz I'm sure I've seen some older/cheaper cases with plastic standoffs.

If it's a big issue then of course I'll remove them. Having the black screws is nice enough, the brainwashers just add a little extra


----------



## ScytheNoire

I know back in my day (ha, I sound old) motherboard screws and standoffs would come with little paper cardboard washers to put between the metal mounts and the board. Somewhere along the line though they disappeared and you never see them any more.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ScytheNoire;14989104*
> I know back in my day (ha, I sound old) motherboard screws and standoffs would come with little paper cardboard washers to put between the metal mounts and the board. Somewhere along the line though they disappeared and you never see them any more.


Oh yea I used those on my 775 build but when I moved to 1366 I left them out. With the paper washers on the 775 system I was fine, had no problems. So surely plastic is just the same in terms of being an insulator as paper so I won't have problems?


----------



## ScytheNoire

I did a little looking online and the reason for the paper washers was the mounts that don't have the metal ring around them.

Here's a link to the article from way back in 2005.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/145/2

So basically, the metal rings are for letting the screws touch them and to ground it to the board. So you shouldn't use anything that comes between those metal rings and the screws.


----------



## Furball Zen

However, if the mobo has those on the backside, i would think it would be less of an issue, but personally i would feel safer without them. Or... put a metal washer underneath the plastic washers and problem solved


----------



## macca_dj

Awesome looking build so far Aidan I hope you are proud of your self and this build







&


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ScytheNoire;14990554*
> I did a little looking online and the reason for the paper washers was the mounts that don't have the metal ring around them.
> 
> Here's a link to the article from way back in 2005.
> http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/145/2
> 
> So basically, the metal rings are for letting the screws touch them and to ground it to the board. So you shouldn't use anything that comes between those metal rings and the screws.


When I finally come to booting the system I'll remove my washers first then









Not great pics coz my camera sucks in low light but here's the blocks installed plus a bit of tubing



























Oh and a bonus pic from when there was actually some daylight of what has been replaced haha


----------



## Ellis

Looks awesome.


----------



## Smo

Great work bud!


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Furball Zen;14991167*
> However, if the mobo has those on the backside, i would think it would be less of an issue, but personally i would feel safer without them. Or... put a metal washer underneath the plastic washers and problem solved


I might try that actually








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *macca_dj;14991683*
> Awesome looking build so far Aidan I hope you are proud of your self and this build
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> &


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;14992094*
> Looks awesome.


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Smo;14998022*
> Great work bud!


Cheers guys









More pics for you, this time using actual daylight so they're a bit better than the last few, woo!

p.s. I'm aware my 90 degree rotary isn't fully screwed in. I'll most likely be taking things in and out again soon so it's pointless tightening everything up

















































































Also I used some acetone to clean off the Tygon writing on the tube so they are now extra clean and shiny


----------



## te0o

Do you plan sleeving those unsleeved black wires?


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *te0o;14999933*
> Do you plan sleeving those unsleeved black wires?


Loads of people ask that haha. Yea of course I am







I just ran out of heatshrink







.. another one of next month's purchases perhaps


----------



## ironcobra220

that graphics card back plate would look really good painted white


----------



## 161029

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...I'm jealous.


----------



## Sassanou

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;15003450*
> Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...I'm jealous.


+1









Very beautiful !!!!!

I want the same TJ 07


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Beautiful! Those blocks make the board bearable for me to look at! I start feeling nauseous if I look at the blue Gigabyte boards for very long. There's something about the horrible colour combination that actually makes me feel ill. Maybe I'm taking my designer training too seriously


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;15004162*
> Beautiful! Those blocks make the board bearable for me to look at! I start feeling nauseous if I look at the blue Gigabyte boards for very long. There's something about the horrible colour combination that actually makes me feel ill. Maybe I'm taking my designer training too seriously


You really think that? I quite like the colour combination.

Having said that, there was a motherboard cheaper than mine with all the same features and a blue colour scheme and I decided to pay extra and get this one.


----------



## Aidan

Cheers peeps









I was thinking about getting the backplate powdercoated white but I really like the combo of white, black and nickel on the card and I want to keep the colours balanced and having another big slab of white in there might start to get overpowering









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Aidan

A little bit more tubing done


----------



## Ellis

I like it. What kind of coolant will you be using though? Coloured or anything?


----------



## 161029

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...again.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;15011848*
> I like it. What kind of coolant will you be using though? Coloured or anything?


Distilled water with mayhems deep blue dye and either my current kill coil or mayhems biocide or even a combo of the two haha.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;15011952*
> Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...again.


Hehehe


----------



## Onions

dont put dye in there it iwll ruin your beautiful blocks and res


----------



## Aidan

Nah it won't










I used to be against using dye too but there really is no comparison visually between blue water + clear tube and blue tube + clear water, blue water just looks so much better.

Mayhems doesn't stain stuff and the acrylic res tube doesn't stain anyway.

If the dye clogs my blocks (which mayhems doesn't) then I can just clean them







and my flow meter will tell me if flow is starting to reduce due to clogging so I can fix it before something breaks


----------



## Ellis

This thread makes me want watercooling.

I've just spent all this money upgrading to Sandy Bridge though, and then I impulse bought an SSD, so I think I should stick with how my PC is for a while.









Plus, I have a pretty good overclock anyway on a £20 air cooler.


----------



## Aidan

You should do it!

I didn't watercool for overclocks, just for epicness


----------



## ttaylor0024

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;15012478*
> You should do it!
> 
> I didn't watercool for overclocks, just for epicness


I have soooooo many more ideas now for my build









Awesome mods! Teach me!


----------



## Indulgence

i love this build! just one thing in mind though, i dont think that kind of cables without sleeving will go well with the overall looks, its just that it feels so thin and empty.. thats just me though.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ttaylor0024;15012982*
> I have soooooo many more ideas now for my build
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Awesome mods! Teach me!


Hehe skype modding classes








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Indulgence;15013112*
> i love this build! just one thing in mind though, i dont think that kind of cables without sleeving will go well with the overall looks, its just that it feels so thin and empty.. thats just me though.


OMG, how many times lol! I ran out of heatshrink









The 6pin, 8pin and 24pin will all be sleeved in grand bleu like the 4 wires I've already done so far (then I ran out of heatshrink) and the ones behind the mobo tray and under the midplate will be sleeved in black.

I must get some heatshrink soon though so people stop thinking I'm leaving them as they are haha!


----------



## Onions

^what your leaving them as they are gasp... jkjk but man this just great XD


----------



## Aidan

Haha don't you start!

I'll try my best to get more heatshrink and sleeving done soon but like I said earlier (I think?) next months spend will be a CPU and flow meter to get my system up and running, so sleeving might need to wait another month :/

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;15012478*
> You should do it!
> 
> I didn't watercool for overclocks, just for epicness


It's a lot of money considering I'd gain nothing but a bigger epeen.


----------



## Aidan

It's worth it though, loads of fun doing it









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;15016401*
> It's worth it though, loads of fun doing it
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


I guess so, it's probably something I'll do at some point regardless of the "need" for it, just not right now.


----------



## Indulgence

haha sorry bout that, wasnt reading all through 31 pages, just looking for those epic pictures you got there


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;15004280*
> You really think that? I quite like the colour combination.
> 
> Having said that, there was a motherboard cheaper than mine with all the same features and a blue colour scheme and I decided to pay extra and get this one.


I wish I did like them, but I can't deny the nausea I feel every time I look at them







I'm glad they made the switch to black with the 990FXA boards. I always wanted a Gigabyte board but literally couldn't stomach the colour scheme


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Indulgence;15016934*
> haha sorry bout that, wasnt reading all through 31 pages, just looking for those epic pictures you got there


Haha no problem







I'm a worklog flicker too, usually just look at the pictures








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;15016990*
> I wish I did like them, but I can't deny the nausea I feel every time I look at them
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm glad they made the switch to black with the 990FXA boards. I always wanted a Gigabyte board but literally couldn't stomach the colour scheme


Yea I'm not much of a fan of the colours but I wanted to go with blue and it's the best blue x58 board I think, other than the ud9 but that wouldn't fit in my case afaik.

I guess I could've gone to sandy but I've always felt x58 is still the 'enthusiast' platform and the ram cooler I have looks much better on 3 or 6 dimms







Plus there aren't many sandy boards that have water blocks for them and I wanted everything under water.

I think I've made the board look as good as it can anyway so I'm happy









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;15016990*
> I wish I did like them, but I can't deny the nausea I feel every time I look at them
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm glad they made the switch to black with the 990FXA boards. I always wanted a Gigabyte board but literally couldn't stomach the colour scheme










Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;15017761*
> Haha no problem
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm a worklog flicker too, usually just look at the pictures
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yea I'm not much of a fan of the colours but I wanted to go with blue and it's the best blue x58 board I think, other than the ud9 but that wouldn't fit in my case afaik.
> 
> I guess I could've gone to sandy but I've always felt x58 is still the 'enthusiast' platform and the ram cooler I have looks much better on 3 or 6 dimms
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Plus there aren't many sandy boards that have water blocks for them and I wanted everything under water.
> 
> I think I've made the board look as good as it can anyway so I'm happy
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


This is where I wish I would say "Sandy Bridge-E will replace X58 as that platform pretty soon", only the benchmarks that got released didn't seem that way. Also, most of the functionality that was like "whoa never seen this before" (aside from quad channel memory) has been scrapped by Intel.


----------



## Aidan

Yea I will be fine with x58 for a while yet. Runs Photoshop fine and its not like games are advancing very much at the moment anyway









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

@spiderm0nkey: Did you see the 990FXA-UD3 1.2?


----------



## spiderm0nkey

I haven't seen it just yet, but I've read about a couple of changes. They don't seem all that exciting.

X58 is going to be more than enough for people for years to come. I can still run Photoshop nicely off a Pentium T7400 and 2GB of RAM! (I was surprised at how smoothly it ran.) Large files not so much but any photo editing and basic design work is fine.


----------



## Jolting

Have you thought of adding something like a sheet of that illuminating plexi stuff to the back on the video card block in the EK logo slot? I think that with some white leds would give an amazing effect. Even if it wasn't very bright, just the back light effect on it.


----------



## 161029

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;15028486*
> I haven't seen it just yet, but I've read about a couple of changes. They don't seem all that exciting.
> 
> X58 is going to be more than enough for people for years to come. I can still run Photoshop nicely off a Pentium T7400 and 2GB of RAM! (I was surprised at how smoothly it ran.) Large files not so much but any photo editing and basic design work is fine.


Yeah. It's a great board though. It has the 8+2 power phase of the UD5, UD7, and CHV at a lower price.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;15029398*
> Yeah. It's a great board though. It has the 8+2 power phase of the UD5, UD7, and CHV at a lower price.


We don't seem to have a differentiation between the different versions over here just yet so can't see what prices are on my end. Ah well. I'm happy with this board anyway


----------



## Aidan

Made 2x 4pin molex cables for the aquaero and led distribution board.










That's the last of the PSU cables done. Only wiring left to do is the remaining LEDs and the switch for the lighting









p.s. The aquaero stand isn't actually mounted at that angle. I just lifted it up to let more light in for the photo


----------



## Lutro0

Aidan, I love the white wc blocks and the attention to your color scheme. Keep up to good work.


----------



## Aidan

Cheers







Good to hear that from another detail obsessive like yourself


----------



## Lutro0

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;15035832*
> Cheers
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Good to hear that from another detail obsessive like yourself


LOL, oh great, now I have gone and given myself a bad reputation... haha!









IMO, a good color scheme and how much you adhere to it can make or break a mod. There is nothing that beats the look of it when you know everything just flows and nothing is out of place.

And you sir, look to be doing it right.


----------



## 161029

Anybody here know where to get PSU cable wiring? I need to make my own cables.


----------



## Aidan

Google hookup wire or equipment wire. You need 18awg no more than 2.3mm outer diameter.

Oh and you want PVC insulation as the crimps grip it better.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;15036002*
> Google hookup wire or equipment wire. You need 18awg no more than 2.3mm outer diameter.
> 
> Oh and you want PVC insulation as the crimps grip it better.
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


Are the standard PSU cables that come with the power supplies 18awg with a 2.3mm OD? Just curious.


----------



## Aidan

They are usually 18awg yea. OD differs but 2.3mm is the max most crimping tools take and what I prefer









If you're sleeving get black for every colour apart from white. For white you want white wire.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;15036033*
> They are usually 18awg yea. OD differs but 2.3mm is the max most crimping tools take and what I prefer
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If you're sleeving get black for every colour apart from white. For white you want white wire.
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


Ah, thanks. So 18awg is standard. I don't mind the cable being wider since it's probably a little stronger (don't need it to be flexible).

Off topic:I think white cabling might actually make sleeving brighter just like what FTW PC did with the white heatshrink all over the wire.


----------



## Aidan

Yea that's the idea with doing white cable with white sleeve but with colours like red it makes it pinkish.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Ellis

I'd love to sleeve a PSU and/or make custom cables. I know it's supposed to be pretty tedious but I guess it's worth it and not so bad if you do it over a space of time.

I'd want a 100% modular PSU first, though.


----------



## Aidan

Yea full modular helps a ton.

And I personally don't find it too tedious. Crimping especially as it's so easy yet the end result is great. Sleeving is a bit harder with a lot more variables and things to get right. Have to get shrinks all the same length and in the same place on each wire etc. That's the hard part. But with a bit of practice (and MDPC-X pre cut shrinks







) it comes easily and is also very satisfying.

I like sitting on my bed at night sleeving coz it's the only time really that I get without having other stuff to do. It's relaxing I guess.


----------



## 161029

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;15038098*
> Yea full modular helps a ton.
> 
> And I personally don't find it too tedious. Crimping especially as it's so easy yet the end result is great. Sleeving is a bit harder with a lot more variables and things to get right. Have to get shrinks all the same length and in the same place on each wire etc. That's the hard part. But with a bit of practice (and MDPC-X pre cut shrinks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ) it comes easily and is also very satisfying.
> 
> I like sitting on my bed at night sleeving coz it's the only time really that I get without having other stuff to do. It's relaxing I guess.


Well, anything's good to pass time.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Pre-cut heatshrink helps SO much. I've gone from being appalling to being alright at sleeving thanks to that stuff!


----------



## ScytheNoire

You can also just set up a cutting pattern. MDPC-X recommends, and sells, cutting to 15mm. You get more heatshrink and save money cutting it yourself, but pre-cut does save time and work.


----------



## Furball Zen

Then theres this


----------



## 161029

Should I get the Himuro from Pudget Systems? I've never heard of anybody buying from them before.


----------



## trippinonprozac

Great progress Aiden!

I am finally getting round to finishing a few things on mine now too!


----------



## andrewmchugh

Quote:


>


Gotta say mate would liked 90s rather than the loop. It looks like a slight kink in the pics too. :/


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *trippinonprozac;15077353*
> Great progress Aiden!
> 
> I am finally getting round to finishing a few things on mine now too!


Cheers







I'm keeping an eye on your log









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *andrewmchugh;15078261*
> Gotta say mate would liked 90s rather than the loop. It looks like a slight kink in the pics too. :/


I went for the loops coz everything else in the build is kind of curvy like the power cables and stuff so it fitted well.

Also I'm taking a lot of my inspiration from this build which I really like:

http://www.abload.de/img/img_0587suvv.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1235yu4d.jpg

The tube you are on about is very slightly flattened yea but no where near kinked. Done a few other bits since though and one is worse.

What I plan to do is buy some really thin tube to insert inside the clear tube I'm currently using and then bend it over, secure it and cook it in hot water then blast it under a cold tap. Makes it retain its shape really well and the small tube inside should prevent flattening


----------



## Lutro0

Love everything so far, keep up the good work bud. =)


----------



## Ellis

Re: Lamptron Fan Controllers:
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *[Adz];15099099*
> Remind me to never buy a Lamptron fan controller again.
> The first FC6 I bought had an LCD failure. Lamptron replaced it no problem, but by the time I came to using the replacement, the original started working so I used that instead.
> I sold the replacement that they sent to me.
> Now the person I sold it to on eBay is saying that the LCD doesn't work on it.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Lutro0;15085418*
> Love everything so far, keep up the good work bud. =)


Woo








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;15099510*
> Re: Lamptron Fan Controllers:


HAHAHAHA!!


----------



## 161029

I like the look of coolant/dye in clear tubes for some reason but I don't want to have it damaging my blocks (if I WC in the future).


----------



## SgtMunky

I've heard of mayhems to be good for not damaging blocks, but others would know better than me


----------



## Aidan

It doesn't damage blocks. Just crap dye can seperate from the water and collect in tight spaces like the jet plates in blocks.

You see a gradual temp increase/flow decrease over time and realise what's happening, then drain the loop and clean the blocks and switch to a different dye for next time.

Some dyes stain tubes but tube isn't very expensive, just replace it.

I dont see what the fuss is about. Nothing disasterous happens, just some dyes can cause a bit of easily fixable inconvenience. IMO that's worth it for how much better it looks. And lets face it, most people watercool for looks









EDIT:

And yea, Mayhems is what I intend using. Mayhems deep blue dye and Mayhems biocide in distilled water









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;15104359*
> It doesn't damage blocks. Just crap dye can seperate from the water and collect in tight spaces like the jet plates in blocks.
> 
> You see a gradual temp increase/flow decrease over time and realise what's happening, then drain the loop and clean the blocks and switch to a different dye for next time.
> 
> Some dyes stain tubes but tube isn't very expensive, just replace it.
> 
> I dont see what the fuss is about. Nothing disasterous happens, just some dyes can cause a bit of easily fixable inconvenience. IMO that's worth it for how much better it looks. And lets face it, most people watercool for looks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> EDIT:
> 
> And yea, Mayhems is what I intend using. Mayhems deep blue dye and Mayhems biocide in distilled water
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


Well, yeah, I meant that. I don't want to have to empty my loop every month, clean the block, and then refill it again.


----------



## Onions

i find that the dye i used stianed all my plexy so the res got messed lol


----------



## Aidan

If you pick a good dye then you wont have to drain any more than usual.

I don't have plexi so staining the tops of my blocks isn't an issue







My res cylinder is plexi though I guess..

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Aidan

Thought I'd show some pics of the slightly updated pump mounting. Now uses an anti-twist rotary adapter to stop issues with the res being screwed into the other side of the midplate passthrough (if you've ever screwed in two fixed bits of tube to opposite sides of a passthrough you'll know what I mean). And also there's a little extender fitting before the drain port now that raises the pump up a bit more. That should help with cooling it as DDCs do sometimes get toasty



























p.s. Again, not everything is tightened, it doesn't need to be atm. Also in the second pic you can see the T section doesnt seem straight/level. That's just the tube to the left not being attached to anything and pushing against the T.


----------



## pale_neon

wowza!

you should make a video of every photo start to finish as a time lapse.


----------



## Aidan

That's a nice idea actually







The photos won't kind of 'flow' from one to the other much as I took photos of different things at different times but there will be a clear progression.

When the build is done I will give the pics to my sister as she likes making videos haha


----------



## FalloutBoy

You know I love that floating pump idea so much, I'm thinking of mounting my pumps the same way. +rep for that one my friend.


----------



## Aidan

Haha cheers mate







Would be interesting to see how you implement it with two pumps









I've yet to test whether vibrations transfer through the rotary fittings though. Could be loud as hell, who knows









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Furball Zen

I have mine bolted to the acrylic floor of my case (well, case is acrylic) and i cant hear anything... you guys must be REALLY paranoid about hearing ANYTHING. And i can her a mouse walking on carpet 3 blocks away. LOL


----------



## Aidan

Sweet, that's good to know









I didn't make the pump float in an all out attempt to get rid of all noise btw, just looked cool







I'm not THAT obsessed .. just.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## JaRi

you'r sure you'r not ?







with all the perfections you'r making


----------



## Aidan

Haha I mean in terms of noise. In all other aspects yes, I admit, I have acute ocd









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## SoMBrA

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;15110081*
> Thought I'd show some pics of the slightly updated pump mounting. Now uses an anti-twist rotary adapter to stop issues with the res being screwed into the other side of the midplate passthrough (if you've ever screwed in two fixed bits of tube to opposite sides of a passthrough you'll know what I mean). And also there's a little extender fitting before the drain port now that raises the pump up a bit more. That should help with cooling it as DDCs do sometimes get toasty
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> p.s. Again, not everything is tightened, it doesn't need to be atm. Also in the second pic you can see the T section doesnt seem straight/level. That's just the tube to the left not being attached to anything and pushing against the T.


Hello Aidan, keep up the good work!
I'd like to ask what is that "anti-twist" rotary adapter you are talking about? I think I will need some of those aswell just didn't know that exists...

Could you explain how does work? Thanks


----------



## Aidan

Hiya









They are just like an extension fitting so have a male thread at one end and a female at another. In the middle though there is a rotation point so the barb can twist around. Just so assembling/disassembling the loop is easier. I've tried to plan out my loop so that I have rotaries at key points that enable me to take it apart without cutting tubing. The only places I can't do this are on some of the fittings on the mobo area, once I've put tubing on those barbs I can't unscrew them. If I put these anti twist things on then I could but I think it would look weird









You can also get them with a barb pre fitted onto it but I chose to have them separate.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

No, you seem obsessed.


----------



## Aidan

Ok, you got me









Monies soon







new parts to continue the obsession inbound!


----------



## Aidan

Right, tiny update.

Made a small cutout into the edge of the mobo tray ..










.. to allow the 24pin to pass around more easily like so ..










I chose to drill out my temporary rivets holding the mobo tray and pci support bracket together to make things easier so I now had to rivet the two back together for me to be able to mount the hardware properly during future testing.



















And a bonus pic ..
.. DECAPITATED!










Some more bigger updates should come next week when my latest order of new parts arrives


----------



## Ellis

That cut-out for the 24-pin cable defines "attention to detail".

Ellis likes this.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;15127758*
> Ellis likes this.


L M F A O!

Cheers mate


----------



## 161029

I would have never thought of the cutout for the 24 pin. You are a genius my fellow friend.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

It's beautiful! I want to get a pump just like that and suspend it with my next build too.

As for the dye thing, I've have seen systems with dye in the loops run for years no troubles. My own system had dye in it previously and I only had issues with gunk in one block, but it was known for being one of the most restrictive blocks back in its day anyway.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;15128285*
> I would have never thought of the cutout for the 24 pin. You are a genius my fellow friend.


Cheers man









Someone must not like my worklog as it's rating has gone down to 4 lol. Ah well, I only noticed it had any ratings at all yesterday anyway







(I'm so unobservant).

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;15128503*
> It's beautiful! I want to get a pump just like that and suspend it with my next build too.
> 
> As for the dye thing, I've have seen systems with dye in the loops run for years no troubles. My own system had dye in it previously and I only had issues with gunk in one block, but it was known for being one of the most restrictive blocks back in its day anyway.


Thanks







Glad to have inspired in some way!

I've been reading into the gunk thing and apparently it happens sometimes because of copper sulphate destabilising the solution. The guy who makes Mayhems stuff did the test and said he's had cases of separation when people buy his premix (that already has biocide in) and put in dye as well as more copper sulphate biocide.

So I'm going to use his premix and his dye with no extra biocide (adding biocide to a solution that already contains biocide is just stupid anyway?) so I'm hoping I will be ok.


----------



## 161029

Nobody cares about ratings.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;15128613*
> Nobody cares about ratings.


Haha I know, they are interesting though









I'll try and get more updates out to keep people interested though


----------



## Lutro0

Looken good bud, Love the pics.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Lutro0;15133225*
> Looken good bud, Love the pics.


Cheers mate!









Naked caps!


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Somebody should put an R18 rating on this thread for nudity!









Looks great Aidan!!


----------



## Ellis




----------



## Aidan

Haha you peeps make me laugh









Thanks!

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;15138497*
> Somebody should put an R18 rating on this thread for nudity!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Looks great Aidan!!


Don't! Then I won't be able to see this.


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;15139249*
> Don't! Then I won't be able to see this.


Hahaha, this!


----------



## CloudCR

Those are the Sexiest looking Waterblocks I've ever seen since nickel plating!!!1







Aidan will you marry me?


----------



## ph10m

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *CloudCR;15142386*
> Those are the Sexiest looking Waterblocks I've ever seen since nickel plating!!!1
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Aidan will you marry me?


I second this!


----------



## Aidan

Hahaha! Unfortunately I'm unavailable for marriage I'm afraid









Thanks anyway though







lol

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;15149871*
> Hahaha! Unfortunately I'm unavailable for marriage I'm afraid
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks anyway though
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> lol
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Aidan

Yesterday I finished the bracket for the lighting switch that fits behind the little door on the case.










I also got another one of those magic boxes and mounted my female 24pin connector right into that gap I'd cut in the mobo tray. I just plug my extension into that and I have POWER!

It needs a bit of a clean up though as it has accumulated a few scratches



























I also discovered that somehow I'd made the PSU side of the 24pin cable too short and I will have to re make it







Well some of the wires at least. Because of how it's wired some wires need to be longer than others and I'd made them all the same length


















I have an order coming today that should enable me to complete my loop (apart from the last bit of tubing to the CPU block as I need access to that to put a CPU in







).

Once I have the CPU though I should finally be able to test my system. However, as I've not tested out my custom cables with a PSU tester yet I'm not risking it and I'll be wiring the system temporarily with the old cables from my last system.

So it will be a mess with a PSU outside the case and stuff but if it works it will be a glorious mess


----------



## JaRi

what did you decide with the screws in the blocks? silver or black ? IMO it looks better with silver-colored, cause you have silver-colored fittings


----------



## Aidan

Think I'm going with black coz I like the way they look on the EK blocks, I think the contrast is nice. And also the black screws on the cpu block match the black mounting bracket and the black screws on the GPU block match the black backplate.

Saying that though, the silver screws on the mobo blocks match their silver bases and also blend in a lot better with the white so it almost looks like there are no screws from some angles.

Hmm, I may just leave all the screws as they are haha


----------



## JaRi

if you can afford, you can try buy both set of screws and see what looks best ?


----------



## Aidan

Yea I'll do that









But next month when I can afford some haha


----------



## JaRi

ofc







get a CPU this month


----------



## CH4PZ

Such a sexy build everytime i check back!!


----------



## Aidan

Quote:



Originally Posted by *JaRi*


ofc







get a CPU this month










Yes! Haha, I have maybe sourced one but not quite sure yet









Quote:



Originally Posted by *CH4PZ*


Such a sexy build everytime i check back!!










Thanks man









Hopefully more stuff to post soon!


----------



## Ellis

Are you going for another 920?


----------



## Aidan

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ellis*


Are you going for another 920?


Yep







The one I might be getting does 4.4GHz at 1.3v









Dye is awesome.

1 drop..










2 drops..



















Oh go on, one more drop!










Ooo, glowy..














































Ooo, even more glowy!


----------



## Ellis




----------



## 161029

It makes me want to use dye more and more but I'm lazy and I don't want to clean my blocks every once in a while.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;15176783*
> It makes me want to use dye more and more but I'm lazy and I don't want to clean my blocks every once in a while.


Mayhem's is the way to go then. He researched why using dye gunked up/ people's blocks and has spent the last few years researching, testing and perfecting his own dyes to not do the same. As well as staining too. http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/1124687-mayhems-dye-experience.html


----------



## 161029

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;15179031*
> Mayhem's is the way to go then. He researched why using dye gunked up/ people's blocks and has spent the last few years researching, testing and perfecting his own dyes to not do the same. As well as staining too. http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/1124687-mayhems-dye-experience.html


Thank you! +rep


----------



## spiderm0nkey

No worries! I'll be buying Mayhem's for my next build too.


----------



## 161029

Yes, and make a Chewbacca costume. The fuzzy pants was awesome.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;15190355*
> Yes, and make a Chewbacca costume. The fuzzy pants was awesome.


Haha, believe me, that's definitely on the to-do list


----------



## 161029

Yuss!


----------



## trippinonprozac

I was just about to ask what colour the Dye would be! I also need to get my hands on those LEDs that screw into your res! They looks sweet with the colour and bubbles.


----------



## 161029

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *trippinonprozac;15192457*
> I was just about to ask what colour the Dye would be! I also need to get my hands on those LEDs that screw into your res! They looks sweet with the colour and bubbles.


Yes. Yes it does. I wish I had the money to go WC on my first build.


----------



## Lutro0

Great photos bud. Keep it up.


----------



## CloudCR

I'm thinking about changing all my tubing and gettin some dye for my loop when my new system is ready







Great pics btw I really want your photograph skills


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Lutro0;15198842*
> Great photos bud. Keep it up.


Thanks mate








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *CloudCR;15201342*
> I'm thinking about changing all my tubing and gettin some dye for my loop when my new system is ready
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Great pics btw I really want your photograph skills


Haha do it







The tygon clear I have is super clear, like glass







And apparently it stays that way too!

Glad you like the photos too. In January I'm actually going to be getting a proper camera which I'm really excited about! Going to be getting a nikon d7000 I think, with a 35mm f/1.8 prime lens and possibly a tamron 17-50mm zoom too







So if my PC still isn't finished by then you will see you even nicer pics hopefully.

Ok, update time. I've finished my tubing in the bottom now that my extra snake fitting and flow meter are here. Oh and I've flushed that rad too. Some little green bits came out but nothing much. Hardware Labs obviously make nice clean ones









Apologies for the dark and yellow photos btw. That would be coz my room by night is dark and erm .. yellow


















This upper section going out of the rad is: male to male extension > T block with temp sensor > snake positioned at 90 degrees > flow meter










Flow meter










To GPU through the midplate










And finally this is what it looks like from the other side.



















Notice I haven't centred my rad vertically within the space. This is because I need the room above the rad for that little box that contains the connectors for the GPU power that comes up through the midplate


----------



## 161029

Really? I was recommended PrimoChill over Tygon.


----------



## Ellis

You should get in the BoC and talk cameras with the photography peeps in there, I know at least one of them has a D7000 as well.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;15203551*
> Really? I was recommended PrimoChill over Tygon.


Not tried primochill but heard it's good. I only know that my experiences with tygon have been really good








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;15203584*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You should get in the BoC and talk cameras with the photography peeps in there, I know at least one of them has a D7000 as well.


When I get a camera worth talking about I shall defo go there


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;15203860*
> Not tried primochill but heard it's good. I only know that my experiences with tygon have been really good
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> When I get a camera worth talking about I shall defo go there


You should just come in anyway, we don't bite.









Well, most of us.


----------



## Aidan

Cool







I'll check it out


----------



## CloudCR

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;15203523*
> Haha do it
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The tygon clear I have is super clear, like glass
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And apparently it stays that way too!
> 
> Glad you like the photos too. In January I'm actually going to be getting a proper camera which I'm really excited about! Going to be getting a nikon d7000 I think, with a 35mm f/1.8 prime lens and possibly a tamron 17-50mm zoom too
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So if my PC still isn't finished by then you will see you even nicer pics hopefully.


Mental note taken







I don't have a real camera tho







I need to save for one so I can do a real build log when everything arives


----------



## Aidan

Went out to an actual real life shop today (Wut, not internetz? ) and bought a tripod.

Its a SLIK 400DX if anyone is interested. Cost me £80 from the good old Darlington photo centre, which unfortunately didn't have the D7000 in for me to look at







So I went to Jessops and had a really good look at one there, definately decided it's the one I want now









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

What is an actual real life shop?

lol


----------



## 161029

Double post.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Real life shop!! Woo! I hardly remember what they are myself these days. I bought a Velbon Sherpa 750R tripod in the last real shop I went to


----------



## Ellis

I pretty much only buy food and clothes in real life shops.


----------



## Aidan

I don't even buy clothes at real shops









Anyway, tiny update. Been cooking some tubes into arcs that are less flattened


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Tube cooking ftw! Looks great Aidan!


----------



## Avathar77

Very Nice!
What about the tube from GPU to mobo block?
Instead of 45 degree connection wouldn't it be better trying to bend it?
Or have you already tried that?


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey;15236516*
> Tube cooking ftw! Looks great Aidan!


Cheers







At first on one of them the heat turned it cloudy and slightly blue so I was really disappointed. Then I woke up the next morning and it had gone clear again








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Avathar77;15236529*
> Very Nice!
> What about the tube from GPU to mobo block?
> Instead of 45 degree connection wouldn't it be better trying to bend it?
> Or have you already tried that?


Thanks







The GPU one is too close to get a bend in, the 45 is a must. I like it though, matches the rotary on the other side of the block too.


----------



## Avathar77

I had to unsub from that other thread of yours(Aria) because of too much chatter. So please update this thread as well as the other one!


----------



## Aidan

Hahaha! Yea that's now almost just a chit chat thread for everyone who has migrated from the ocuk forum lol. I don't mind it too much as I have the worklog here and somewhere else too









I always make sure to put the updates up everywhere though


----------



## 161029

Well the chit chat keeps on bumping the thread so others can see it, hence the 5 star rating and the epic awesomeness contained in this thread.


----------



## Ellis

Cooking tubes? I'm guessing this is something to do with heating them to make them a tad more malleable?


----------



## Envadzer

looks awesome man great job

i wish i could afford water cooling and this case too this case has to be the best looking case ever created


----------



## 161029

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Envadzer;15237023*
> looks awesome man great job
> 
> i wish i could afford water cooling and this case too this case has to be the best looking case ever created


See?


----------



## Envadzer

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;15237049*
> See?


i don't care if it's outdated though it's still the watercooler wit dream


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;15236883*
> Well the chit chat keeps on bumping the thread so others can see it, hence the 5 star rating and the epic awesomeness contained in this thread.


We were talking about another forum where this worklog is as well. Believe me the chat in this thread is nothing compared to the same thread in the other forum. I wake up in the morning and there's 3 new pages of conversation between people lol.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;15236914*
> Cooking tubes? I'm guessing this is something to do with heating them to make them a tad more malleable?


You heat and cool it to make it set into a new shape. Works really well








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Envadzer;15237023*
> looks awesome man great job
> 
> i wish i could afford water cooling and this case too this case has to be the best looking case ever created


Cheers







I love this case too, its just simple and well made









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## AMC

Wow.
Clean and amazing build

I prefer Zywiec


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AMC;15237219*
> Wow.
> Clean and amazing build
> 
> I prefer Zywiec


Thanks! I get zywiec sometimes but it seems to be harder to find here :/

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Avathar77

Whats zywiec ?
and that chit chat in the other thread is just between 2 ppl







I have asked them to get a room so many times!


----------



## Aidan

Haha yea its funny







On that forum I will make a new thread for final pics just coz no one will ever find them otherwise haha. I wont need to on OCN though









Oh and it's a lager btw









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Avathar77

So when you update all your threads in multiple forums do just copy and paste the same thing or use some kind of a program?


----------



## Aidan

Sometimes copy and paste but usually I'll add text that is specific to whatever forum it is, like stuff I've discussed with other members on the thread before









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## andrewmchugh

Looking really fly mate, that black tube in the basement looks really good.

Bet it feels good to know that the dye was only born a few miles from the rig. xD


----------



## Aidan

Hahaha, basement! I'm so going to call the mobo area the 'master bedroom' now and the drive bays are the 'en suite'









It does indeed feel good that someone nearby makes these little bottles of awesomeness








As well as the big bottles of course (pre-mix)


----------



## Aidan

Thought I'd take some pics with a carbon background to keep you peeps moderately entertained while progress with the build is slow. Unfortunately my camera decided to produce an absolutely unreal amount of noise and practically ruined the photos imo







But nvm, here they are anyway:




























The noise was because I turned the ISO up a bit (to 400) for the lower light to get my shutter speeds up on the photos where using a tripod wasn't possible (the subject was in the middle of my bed). Big mistake, this crappy Panasonic likes to pack my photos full of noise at anything other than ISO 100. Really annoyed actually, the light coming through the window was really nice tonight and probably won't be the same tomorrow, so no reruns!









Anyway I'm ranting coz I'm peeved, Ill shut it now


----------



## Avathar77

are you on a x58 platform? I thought you were looking for a new CPU? or did I get things confused between forums?


----------



## Aidan

I am looking for a new CPU yea. Coz the 920 under that block in the photos is fried. Hence not putting in that last tubing arc, coz I need access to the CPU socket for when I get a new one


----------



## Avathar77

Oh ok so it is still gona be on x58 or going z68/p67? (Or bulldozer after tomorrow - hopefully!)


----------



## Aidan

Yea I love x58, way more fun than sandy







Plus I have the only white mips block set for this mobo in the world so I'm not ditching it any time soon haha. I reckon a decent x58 CPU will keep me sorted for years yet









Looking for a 920/930 that does 4.4GHz at around 1.3v ish. That will keep me entertained for a while


----------



## 161029

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Avathar77*


Oh ok so it is still gona be on x58 or going z68/p67? (Or bulldozer after tomorrow - hopefully!)


I really hope those leaked benchmarks are all fake. I'm not trusting anything until it's out. If it really is a faildozer, then I'm going with SB.

Off Topic: I'm sure there's going to be some big problems with X79 boards since the CPU's in the middle and coolers like the D14 or SA are going to block 1-2 RAM slots on each side.


----------



## Lutro0

Ahhhhhhhhhhh the camera noise.... I CANT TAKE IT -passes out and dies-

They still look nice buddy. =)


----------



## Aidan

Haha, I was so annoyed! I've done a bit of processing to them (which has made them slightly better) and uploaded them, overwriting the others but for some reason in forums the old versions still show, yet in my photobucket album it shows the new versions  weird!


----------



## Lutro0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aidan*


Haha, I was so annoyed! I've done a bit of processing to them (which has made them slightly better) and uploaded them, overwriting the others but for some reason in forums the old versions still show, yet in my photobucket album it shows the new versions  weird!


Are they the same file names? Might be using the stored ones in your temp internet files. You can clear them out and it should take care of it.


----------



## Aidan

Yea they are. I Googled it and apparently it takes a while for new ones to show when they are the same name. I think they are there now. They have less of a green tint, a bit more contrast on some and a little more noise reduction. Probably only stuff I will notice anyway lol as it's minor stuff really, to me they look a bit better though









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## xxlawman87xx

Okay after 45 minutes of reading and a now numb right index finger...lol The only suggestion/question I have is: How about replace that 90 and the straigt fitting with two 45's to get a straight run of tubing from the graphics card to the floor. Pic below.


----------



## Aidan

Cheers









I made it that way coz if you look at all the other tubing and even the way the wires curve there are no straight lines so it would look out of place.

I much prefer to have nice arcs than straight lines, just seems to have more of a sense of flow







.. as arty farty as that may sound haha









Also I would only do that if the tube would indeed be perfectly straight but coz of the positions of the hole in the midplate and the port in the block I don't think it would be. Would probably make a slight S shape due to the misalignment of the 45s.

Picky I know







haha

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## xxlawman87xx

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aidan*


Cheers









I made it that way coz if you look at all the other tubing and even the way the wires curve there are no straight lines so it would look out of place.

I much prefer to have nice arcs than straight lines, just seems to have more of a sense of flow







.. as arty farty as that may sound haha









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos










That explains it! You "arty farty" types like your flowy things. lol. Not hattin though. I LOVE Clean straight lines. Nice build so far! How long till we get to see a spread on the finished rig?

My rig is currently this:









I am gonna move to sandy soon and since I want a challenge I am gonna cram it all in lian-li V352. I am also gonna do it cause I want more power but in a smaller package. It will require some serious modding and an slit capable micro atx mobo. everything will be WC as it is now. The only thing is I will have to put 2 360 rads mounted on top of the case. I can handle that and I know from building v351 air cooled rig for my brother, 2 360 rads fit quite nicely on top of that case....but mostly i do for the challenge.


----------



## Aidan

I think I'm going to go down the smaller build route next time too







I'm planning a mini itx build lol.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## xxlawman87xx

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aidan*


I think I'm going to go down the smaller build route next time too







I'm planning a mini itx build lol.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos










Thats epic small. I dont mind it being heavy but big AND heavy sucks. My 800D weighs nearly 80 pounds!


----------



## 161029

WC that too. That would be epic.


----------



## Aidan

That's the plan yea









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeee yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111


----------



## Aidan

Original plan was a Lian Li q11 but now I'm also thinking maybe a scratch build. An open air water sculptury thing is what's in my head haha.

Either way I want some kind of custom made res to be the main feature









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

Okay, I was told that all wires (even fan) are 18AWG by Seasonic customer support. Here's how the conversation went...
Quote:


> *Hello! I'm looking to make my own cables for my first build. I was wondering if you guys knew what AWG wires are used in power supply cables. I believe I was recommended 18AWG for power (24-pin, 8-pin, etc.) and 22AWG for things such as fan and 4 pin molex cables.*
> 
> Dear customer,
> 
> Thanks for contacting Seasonic - Customer Service Dept.
> Please let me know which psu model you've purchased?
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Kevin Han
> 
> *I haven't purchased one yet but I'm planning on purchasing a 860W Platinum Series PSU. Possibly a 1000W.*
> 
> Dear customer,
> 
> Thanks for your prompt response.
> Well, ou don't need to make one, becuz we can send you the power cable for free.
> You just need to tell me with your mailing addres and phone#, and what kind of cable you needed.
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Kevin Han
> 
> *Well, I kind of want to since it's the complete custom thing. I'm not part of overclock.net for no reason.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Anyways, can you give me the standards for power (24-pin cables, 8 pin, etc) and accessory(fan, 4 pin molex)?*
> 
> Dear customer,
> 
> Thanks for your prompt response.
> I see, all cables are 18AWG rated, and you can make your own cables now.
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Kevin Han
> 
> *So, same with fan cables (3-pin and 4-pin fan connectors and molex accessory connectors) or just mobo/gpu power cables? Sorry. I just wanted to confirm that. Thanks.*
> 
> Dear customer,
> 
> Thanks for your prompt response.
> Yes, they're all the same AWG.
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Kevin Han


Edit: forgot you said 24, not 22.

And this is the only 18AWG wire I could find.

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Cable-18-100-11-18-Gauge-100-Feet/dp/B000HAB7ZU/ref=sr_1_2?s=lamps-light&ie=UTF8&qid=1319226642&sr=1-2]Amazon.com: Coleman Cable 18-100-11 Primary Wire, 18-Gauge 100-Feet Bulk Spool, Black: Lamps & Light Fixtures[/URL]


----------



## Aidan

Lol what a noob they must be. It even says 24awg on the side of fan wires









Finding good wire for a good price is so hard. The only clearly described, well priced and correct sized wire I found in the UK was from chilledpc.co.uk. they sell 18 and 24 in a few colours.

P.s. with regards to the build, I will hopefully have more to show you all soon. Working on something atm and when I get this months pay I'll be buying matt white vinyl to cover my exterior in









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

Okay, just making sure. Thanks.

Edit: oh, are SATA cables 24 or 18?

ATX/EPS/PCIe > 18 AWG
Peripheral (4-pin Molex) > ?
Fan > 24 AWG
SATA > ?


----------



## Aidan

Every cable that comes out of the psu is 18awg









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

Okay, now I'm lost.


----------



## Aidan

24pin, 8pin, pci-e, molex, sata power -- all 18awg

Fans, front panel cables, led cables, anything else small -- 24awg

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

Okay.

24/8/6/4-pin, molex, and SATA power are 18 AWG.

3/4-pin fan and everything else are 24 AWG.

SATA data transfer cables you can't make.

Got it.


----------



## Aidan

Yep









Sata datas you can't make but its handy to bear in mind that it's possible to shorten them to the exact required length if you need to. It's slightly more complicated/fiddly than making psu cables though, and you need to then sleeve them to hide the bit where you've cut and spliced.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan;15398236*
> Yep
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sata datas you can't make but its handy to bear in mind that it's possible to shorten them to the exact required length if you need to. It's slightly more complicated/fiddly than making psu cables though, and you need to then sleeve them to hide the bit where you've cut and spliced.
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


Yeah. Are the monoprice cables good? I know they're good for things like RCA, CAT, USB, Displayport, DVI, etc. but are their SATA cables good? Thinking about getting some 24-inch 90 degree SATA III (6GB/s) cables from them.

Edit: and maybe a link to the same brand of 18 and 24 AWG wire on Amazon or another international distributor. I lost the last link you gave me.


----------



## Aidan

Idk what cables you mean









Here's the link to the wire I buy:

http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/index.php?cPath=60_157&osCsid=65ae90ccb9dee8a374b8dd6b2d469f52

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

Didn't know they shipped world wide. Thanks.

You know monoprice.com? That company.


----------



## Aidan

Neither did I! :O that's cool









Is it an electrical component shop? I'll have a look now.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

Makes some of the best inexpensive cables ever.


----------



## Aidan

Sorry about the lack of updates recently, more when I get this months pay









While I have no money though I thought I'd make use of some of the aluminium I have left. I was going to wait until I'd finished this but it could be a while yet, it's fiddly, so here's what I've got so far. Should be obvious what it is


----------



## 161029

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aidan*


Sorry about the lack of updates recently, more when I get this months pay









While I have no money though I thought I'd make use of some of the aluminium I have left. I was going to wait until I'd finished this but it could be a while yet, it's fiddly, so here's what I've got so far. Should be obvious what it is



















I must be some idiot since I can't figure out what it is.


----------



## Aidan

Cover for the back of the case that covers the pci brackets and mobo I/O. So because it covers those I need to cut out the holes for all the ports. Those are the holes I've done so far, need to do the rest of the mobo ones and then the gpu ones









Should end up looking a lot cleaner than lots of individual covers









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## 161029

I see it now.


----------



## watterrbottle

Oh man, I love this build so much. The color scheme is awesome!

I really like the grand blue sleeving however I never see it used often. If at all possible can you post more pics of your sleeving when you're done? Also, can you tell me where you got those white EK tops, those are gorgeous. Keep up the good work!


----------



## Aidan

Thanks









I will ofc post sleeving pics when I've done it all









The white tops for the gpu and cpu blocks I bought from ek directly and the other blocks are Mips and are custom made









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Aidan

Made a little bit more progress on the back panel (two more ports made...woo!), it's taking a while and I don't have much time atm









Crappy phone pic again:


----------



## andrewmchugh

Where you getting the powder coating done, Im really thinking of getting a TJ07. But I think paint will cost a BOMB.


----------



## Aidan

Not sure yet but I found a company near Ripon that I'm going to get a quote from when I have everything ready coz I can drive the stuff to them easily. If they do it for a good price and it turns out good I'll let you know









And with regards to the build I've ordered everything I need to wrap the exterior in matte white vinyl, i.e I bought the vinyl







.. and a squeegee and blades









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## cayennemist

This log makes me feel like a noob... just AMAZING!


----------



## Aidan

Thanks man! Tbh I'm pretty noob too. Just a patient noob









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Furball Zen

Patience will get you everywhere.


----------



## CloudCR

I think this build log deserves it at this point. Mine will start next year


----------



## Aidan

Cheers for your patience everyone









If all deliveries arrive next week I should have a proper update to show









This coming month I can also get the rest of the metalwork done and have everything ready for powdercoat.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Aidan

Side panels are blanc..




























Better pics tomorrow, when there is daylight lol.

I also covered the little flappy door bit on the front and the only bits left to do are the unibody (the hardest bit I imagine) and the custom front plate which is yet to be made.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Onions

i love it so simple and elegant


----------



## Aidan

Cheers







I can't wait to do the main part and see what it looks like, also coz the vinyl is so much fun to use









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## go4life

Wow great build so far! Love it









+love (well deserved!)


----------



## Ellis

Looks sweet









I'll be honest though, I've kind of forgotten - is the exterior colour scheme going to be black and white only? It looks really awesome so far, although it is quite hard to tell with those pics.


----------



## Aidan

Cheers guys









The whole exterior will be white, just not done the unibody yet.

I've just had a go at it now and it's gone slightly off part way through so I think I'll have to redo it.

I started from the bottom and worked it up onto the front and its started veering off to the left. I think what I need to do is get the front done first then work it over the top and bottom..if any of that makes sense lol









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Xinc

Looks phenomenal Aidan! keep up the great work!! also please do keep the updates rolling


----------



## 161029

Yuss!


----------



## Aidan

Thanks peeps









Bonus vinyl update!

Didn't manage to get quite as many pics of the process as I'd like coz it was a pretty full on task but ah well.

Here's a few of the process and some at the end I took this morning of the finished doors:

Cutting from the roll










Cleaning the panel. Good old Mr. Sheen there


















Vinyl laid and stretched around the edges using heat from the hair drier.










Heating with the hair drier again to stretch to vinyl into the recess for the mesh. Bubbles are where there are holes for the mesh to latch in.










Cut slots for the mesh's latches and of course cut out the middle bit.



















Heated the window area to make it sink in. Then I cut away most of the middle bit, leaving around 1-2cm left and stretched that bit using the heat again around onto the inside of the door and trimmed on the inside.










And here are the finished doors:





































Currently working on the unibody but my first attempt at that went wrong. I have a new plan that should work though


----------



## NorthWoodPecker

This is awesome Aidan!
+Props, and sub'ed









/NwP


----------



## Aidan

Thanks man!


----------



## Ellis

Awesome


----------



## HothBase

Stunning work. Perhaps my favourite build of all time.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Ellis*


Awesome










Cheers







But do I not get another 'Ellis likes this' haha? That made me lol when you said that









Quote:



Originally Posted by *HothBase*


Stunning work. Perhaps my favourite build of all time.










Wow thanks! Hopefully I can maintain this in future updates


----------



## Ellis

Ellis does indeed like this.


----------



## Aidan

Yay! hahaha


----------



## Aidan

Updated the thread title slightly as Blanc is becoming blanc


----------



## superhead91

This is awesome! I love how you used white vinyl instead of painting it. It's such a cool idea.


----------



## Aidan

Thanks









The unibody is proving to be incredibly hard to wrap. On attempt 3 now, the last attempt before I run out









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Ellis

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aidan*


Thanks









The unibody is proving to be incredibly hard to wrap. On attempt 3 now, the last attempt before I run out









Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos










God, I can imagine. Good luck though.

Sent from my HTC HD2


----------



## jeffries7

Great looking build, so clean and elegant. Wish my rig looked like that instead of a dusty mess


----------



## shotwax

nice


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *jeffries7;15555341*
> Great looking build, so clean and elegant. Wish my rig looked like that instead of a dusty mess


Thanks man! Exactly what I was going for








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *shotwax;15556649*
> nice


Cheers









Momentous occasion.










Fully Functional WOOOYEAH!!










As you can see, everything is pretty ghetto atm. Using my old cables and drives are located outside of the case (only got the one side of the drive bays installed to make the frame secure).

The aquaero installation is also a bit ghetto..










..but is brilliant, most useful bit of kit in the system probably









The blue dye looks epic too













































Oh and also my new CPU seems to be very good. Using the same clocks as before atm but at 0.1v + less than before









Also the temps on everything are brilliant on this rad


----------



## Avathar77

Nice work Aidan.
I am interested on seeing the load temps!
Are you still using single 480 RAD and a MCP355 pump?


----------



## Aidan

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Avathar77*


Nice work Aidan.
I am interested on seeing the load temps!
Are you still using single 480 RAD and a MCP355 pump?


I am yes.

Load temp on gpu is 40, on CPU it's around 55 and the mobo never goes above 40

Pump is doing great. A bit noisy atm though, I think maybe something isnt seated right when I replaced the top or maybe just some air left inside, idk. I'll check it next time I drain, which will be for powdercoating.


----------



## Lutro0

Aidan, good job as always buddy. Keep it up.


----------



## 161029

Damn.


----------



## Ellis




----------



## Smo

Well done dude - she's looking fantastic. Almost there


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Lutro0;15591409*
> Aidan, good job as always buddy. Keep it up.


Cheers mate








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HybridCore;15591485*
> Damn.


Hehe, thanks








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis;15591689*











Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Smo;15601439*
> Well done dude - she's looking fantastic. Almost there


Thanks







There's some metalwork to be done then powdercoat, then a new midplate is going to be made and also the vinyl covering of the unibody. Off the top of my head I think that's it









EDIT:

Oh yea and a bit more cable making and of course the sleeving


----------



## JaRi

im looking forward to see it!!


----------



## andrewmchugh

Looks great mate, Is it me or can you see the coolent under the white tops.


----------



## JaRi

its not just you, i can see it easily on the MB block, and a bit on the RAM too.


----------



## Aidan

Yea you can see it on all the mips blocks where the paths are cut into the acetal in places as well as the metal base. Most obvious on the main mobo block. It's coz white acetal is kind of translucent.

I think it looks really cool







You could see them with just clear water too but the dye makes them stand out more which I like.


----------



## trippinonprozac

Hey Aiden,

Did you ever get this finished?


----------



## Wiremaster

Wow, I'd forgotten this existed.


----------



## JaRi

if i remember correct what he said, he didn't get it finish, but would when he got more cash.. which i hope he do in the next couple of days


----------



## Aidan

Hi Guys!!

It's not yet finished no and as Jari said it's coz of me saving my cash.

Once xmas is over I'll have more cash for some more parts like aluminium and some custom bits.

Sorry to keep you all waiting









General plan is to get the remaining metalwork done so I can send everything to the powdercoater. When that's happening I'll have another go at vinyl wrapping the unibody. Then there's a custom front plate and new midplate that I'm going to have cut and some more wiring and also the sleeving.

Oh and I need to get another pump (probably a D5 Vario) as the DDC is being really noisy


----------



## Lutro0

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Hi Guys!!
> It's not yet finished no and as Jari said it's coz of me saving my cash.
> Once xmas is over I'll have more cash for some more parts like aluminium and some custom bits.
> Sorry to keep you all waiting
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> General plan is to get the remaining metalwork done so I can send everything to the powdercoater. When that's happening I'll have another go at vinyl wrapping the unibody. Then there's a custom front plate and new midplate that I'm going to have cut and some more wiring and also the sleeving.
> Oh and I need to get another pump (probably a D5 Vario) as the DDC is being really noisy


Take your time buddy, that way it will be what you have envisioned.


----------



## Furball Zen

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Hi Guys!!
> 
> It's not yet finished no and as Jari said it's coz of me saving my cash.
> 
> Once xmas is over I'll have more cash for some more parts like aluminium and some custom bits.
> 
> Sorry to keep you all waiting
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> General plan is to get the remaining metalwork done so I can send everything to the powdercoater. When that's happening I'll have another go at vinyl wrapping the unibody. Then there's a custom front plate and new midplate that I'm going to have cut and some more wiring and also the sleeving.
> 
> Oh and I need to get another pump (probably a D5 Vario) as the DDC is being really noisy


Noisy how? I cant hear mine at all? Sure you got all the air out of the loop?


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Lutro0*
> 
> Take your time buddy, that way it will be what you have envisioned.


Cheers mate







I can't wait until I can get back to work on it!
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Furball Zen*
> 
> Noisy how? I cant hear mine at all? Sure you got all the air out of the loop?


Partly noise coming from the pump itself and also a bit of vibration noise. I think it might be struggling a little. I'm sure there's no air in it.

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## SgtMunky

DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNNN


----------



## Darr3n

You did a very excellent job! I could never do something like that!


----------



## skaboy607

Just read through all 53 pages! Really nice build with amazing attention to detail on the custom parts! Plus your in the UK. Looking forward to seeing the final result.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Can't wait until you're able to make more progress! Love this build


----------



## 161029

I'm hating myself for cleaning out this again for the third time by accident with my random subscription cleaning. I'm confused how I did it with the new platform. The title and remove option are close together on this platform.

Same with Viper.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Lol







I haven't used OCN much since the format change. Took me a while to figure it out tbh


----------



## Aidan

Cheers for the support peeps









More progress hopefully in the second half of January, once my bank account recovers after a 5D mark II drains it in a couple of weeks


----------



## 161029

Oh yeah, happy New Years Eve!


----------



## Aidan

Hope everyone had a great xmas and new year









Not much progress as I've been saving for the new camera, but seeing as I now have the camera I thought I'd take some photos of the build in its current state.


----------



## Furball Zen

Woah, that first pic is really sweet


----------



## Aidan

Thanks man







Really enjoying using my new cam


----------



## skaboy607

Beautiful. Must be a good camera because those pictures are very nice.


----------



## ironcobra220

really like this build, really good pictures too. wish i had somthing better than an iphone camera lol.
i was going to say, the race is on! my builds coming along well too... but my ram died last night -.-


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *skaboy607*
> 
> Beautiful. Must be a good camera because those pictures are very nice.


Yea it's really great







It just allows me to get the kind of shot I want really easily whereas I had to struggle with my old one to work around its shortcomings. Also means if the photo is crap I can only blame mee!








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ironcobra220*
> 
> really like this build, really good pictures too. wish i had somthing better than an iphone camera lol.
> i was going to say, the race is on! my builds coming along well too... but my ram died last night -.-


I've seen some awesome photos come out of iphones though. That being said, those were in ideal lighting, not exactly what the corner of a room where a PC usually sits is like though









You should look at getting an older camera like a 30d or 40d (or nikon equivalent) off ebay and a cheap prime lens like a 50mm and you can get some awesome pics for not much money.

Bad times with the ram







I nearly had a fail of my graphics, it kept crashing. I went to remount the block and found some vregs weren't even touching the block!! Fixed now though


----------



## Ellis

What camera is it you got again?

My dad's looking to get a DSLR later this year. So that means a new toy for me.


----------



## Aidan

I got a 5d mkII coz I wanted the full size sensor







What camera is your dad looking at getting?

Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


----------



## Ellis

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> I got a 5d mkII coz I wanted the full size sensor
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What camera is your dad looking at getting?
> 
> Sent via Tapatalk - excuse typos


Ha, looks awesome. My dad's currently thinking about getting a Pentax since he's owned his Pentax MX for so long (like 30 years or something







) and has always been really impressed with it, but I dunno, he's probably open to other makes as well. I know that his budget won't stretch nearly as far as the 5D MkII though, I think he's looking at spending £500 or less, roughly.


----------



## nvidiaftw12

Which post did you change camera's? 531? And what is your old camera? And what are you going to do with it? Love the build. +Beautifulness.


----------



## ZombieAttack27

Hey since you're so far along with this build, I'm not sure if this will help, but As I was reading this I was reminded of a build I had seen awhile ago where the OP used special plexi designed for signs to create his luminous panels:

http://www.overclock.net/t/760168/madmaxx-s-v2000-ftw-little-update/100#post_14060165

IIRC, he used that gridded piece under a frosted piece for perfectly uniform lighting.

Just want to let you know as well that this is the best TJ07 mod that I've seen.... including murdermod's TJ07


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis*
> 
> Ha, looks awesome. My dad's currently thinking about getting a Pentax since he's owned his Pentax MX for so long (like 30 years or something
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ) and has always been really impressed with it, but I dunno, he's probably open to other makes as well. I know that his budget won't stretch nearly as far as the 5D MkII though, I think he's looking at spending £500 or less, roughly.


I had a pentax ME once









I went for canon coz of their lenses and also coz the 5D mkII was the cheapest full frame camera that was fairly modern.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *nvidiaftw12*
> 
> Which post did you change camera's? 531? And what is your old camera? And what are you going to do with it? Love the build. +Beautifulness.


Yea, post 531.

My old camera was a panasonic superzoom, a DMC FZ750. It's now been returned back to the family and my girlfriend occasionally uses it









Oh and thanks, for the kind comment on the build









p.s. new lens







...


----------



## Ellis

My dad used to have a Pentax ME, but he preferred the MX because of the fact that it was fully manual.

Also, nice lens









I like the background and stuff too.


----------



## nvidiaftw12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> It's now been returned back to the family\


Darn. So close.


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Ohhhhh Aidan I can tell you are LOVING that prime lens







Isn't the full frame sensor and 50mm prime a beautiful combo?! I can't wait for the day that I can afford to replace my D80 with a full frame... For now I'll have to settle with borrowing my sisters 5D when she's in a good mood haha.

The build is looking sensational so far! Those white acetal blocks look soooooo good







Can't wait to see what you have planned next


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ZombieAttack27*
> 
> Hey since you're so far along with this build, I'm not sure if this will help, but As I was reading this I was reminded of a build I had seen awhile ago where the OP used special plexi designed for signs to create his luminous panels:
> http://www.overclock.net/t/760168/madmaxx-s-v2000-ftw-little-update/100#post_14060165
> IIRC, he used that gridded piece under a frosted piece for perfectly uniform lighting.
> Just want to let you know as well that this is the best TJ07 mod that I've seen.... including murdermod's TJ07


That's my plan







Although idk about the grid piece. I'm defo using layers of plexi and an led strip though for my luminous panel mkIII
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ellis*
> 
> My dad used to have a Pentax ME, but he preferred the MX because of the fact that it was fully manual.
> Also, nice lens
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I like the background and stuff too.


Background is my 1m long razer mouse mat that I lay across my desk then up the side of the pc








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *nvidiaftw12*
> 
> Darn. So close.


Hehe
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey*
> 
> Ohhhhh Aidan I can tell you are LOVING that prime lens
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Isn't the full frame sensor and 50mm prime a beautiful combo?! I can't wait for the day that I can afford to replace my D80 with a full frame... For now I'll have to settle with borrowing my sisters 5D when she's in a good mood haha.
> The build is looking sensational so far! Those white acetal blocks look soooooo good
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Can't wait to see what you have planned next


I am loving it indeed







Full frame is also awesome, I can leave ISO in auto most of the time, in confidence that even if it chooses 3200 i will still get usable files









I think I may start on my luminous panel mkIII next..


----------



## Birdyz

Wow. It looks amazing! So neat and tidy.


----------



## Aidan

Thanks very much









With regards to the build in general, I have no big progress upcoming as I need my PC lots for uni work that I'm doing over the next few months :/

Smaller things like swapping in a new pump I can do though, so I will do an update on that once I've planned that out







The noisy DDC I have atm is really doing my nut in!


----------



## DerComissar

Like so many others, I'm enjoying this fantastic build log. The excellent photos, and the sense of humor really help to keep it flowing smoothly.
A well-deserved Rep+








The TJ07 has been an obsession with me since they came out back in '06. I've yet to buy one, but I know that I'm going to eventually.
Even though it's going to be an ongoing project that will take a long time, and consume massive amounts of cash

I wanted to comment on the luminous panel, which became extremely popular, and has been duplicated in one form or another by many over the years.
In the original Murderbox 008 build for Daniel by Charles, see post #205 on page 9 for the original prototype of the luminous panel:
www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?213395-Daniel-s-murderbox-with-a-sLight-twist/page9

Apparently, they were going to sell this panel for the TJ07, but as far as I know it was never marketed by MDPC.
That was back in '09.
They are still using a luminous panel in this current build, MDPC 042 which is the Murderbox MKII:
www.million-dollar-pc.com/systems-2011/murderbox-mk2/murderbox-mk2.htm

I like the panel that you have made, it looks good and works well. But it's still an ongoing work, and there are several ways to do it.
It's a shame that no one has offered a pre-made luminous panel for the TJ07.
One of the better shops I've seen that has custom pieces for the TJ07:
HTTP://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/index.php?cPath=196
doesn't offer a luminous panel, although they do have a lot of modded parts for those who are unable to mod them this extensively.

Your build log is chock full of innovations, and has really helped to give me an idea of what kind of insanity I'll be getting into when I make the plunge


----------



## ironcobra220

have you done any work on a front panel at all?
ive failed twice trying to make one i cant seem to cut a decent strait rectangle!
making a hole for the disc tray is going to be a nightmare too D:


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DerComissar*
> 
> Like so many others, I'm enjoying this fantastic build log. The excellent photos, and the sense of humor really help to keep it flowing smoothly.
> A well-deserved Rep+
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The TJ07 has been an obsession with me since they came out back in '06. I've yet to buy one, but I know that I'm going to eventually.
> Even though it's going to be an ongoing project that will take a long time, and consume massive amounts of cash
> I wanted to comment on the luminous panel, which became extremely popular, and has been duplicated in one form or another by many over the years.
> In the original Murderbox 008 build for Daniel by Charles, see post #205 on page 9 for the original prototype of the luminous panel:
> www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?213395-Daniel-s-murderbox-with-a-sLight-twist/page9
> Apparently, they were going to sell this panel for the TJ07, but as far as I know it was never marketed by MDPC.
> That was back in '09.
> They are still using a luminous panel in this current build, MDPC 042 which is the Murderbox MKII:
> www.million-dollar-pc.com/systems-2011/murderbox-mk2/murderbox-mk2.htm
> I like the panel that you have made, it looks good and works well. But it's still an ongoing work, and there are several ways to do it.
> It's a shame that no one has offered a pre-made luminous panel for the TJ07.
> One of the better shops I've seen that has custom pieces for the TJ07:
> HTTP://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/index.php?cPath=196
> doesn't offer a luminous panel, although they do have a lot of modded parts for those who are unable to mod them this extensively.
> Your build log is chock full of innovations, and has really helped to give me an idea of what kind of insanity I'll be getting into when I make the plunge


Cheers







A ready made luminous panel would be handy!

I might be getting a top window for the case from chilledPC
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ironcobra220*
> 
> have you done any work on a front panel at all?
> ive failed twice trying to make one i cant seem to cut a decent strait rectangle!
> making a hole for the disc tray is going to be a nightmare too D:


Use a craft knife and a ruler (preferably clamp the ruler in place) to make a deep score in the metal, then you can break the metal in a straight line by bending against that edge. Works really well but with 2mm aluminium it can be a bit of a struggle. For my prototype front piece I used the very corner of a fresh sheet of aluminium so that was two sides straight already, then used the craft knife breaking method, then filing to get it just right.

For my actual front plate I think I'm getting one machined as I want a Blanc logo in it.


----------



## ohcysp67

After 2 hours of drooling while going through this thread I've gotta say this makes my desire for a tj07 even more unbearable! Awesome work so far!!


----------



## Lu(ky

I love Canon Lens porn.. I highly recommend 2 lenses by Canon the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM, and my favorite is Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS great close ups... Very nice so far on your rig build, I will be right behind you on mine soon.. Just trying to do a fit test on all parts then I will have to spray paint myself which will take a while because of the paint I selected. Anyways great job


----------



## ironcobra220

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Use a craft knife and a ruler (preferably clamp the ruler in place) to make a deep score in the metal, then you can break the metal in a straight line by bending against that edge. Works really well but with 2mm aluminium it can be a bit of a struggle. For my prototype front piece I used the very corner of a fresh sheet of aluminium so that was two sides straight already, then used the craft knife breaking method, then filing to get it just right.
> 
> For my actual front plate I think I'm getting one machined as I want a Blanc logo in it.


hmm ive had alot of trouble bending mine let alone getting parts to snap, but ill try a sharper blade to score it first
sounds like a really useful tip if i can get it to work!
can you let me know where your getting yours made? i want my gamer tag "Drunjk" written on mine


----------



## pahoran

any new updates o this master piece?









P0w


----------



## Aidan

This weekend









I'm really sorry for my absence everyone, work took over for a while









Everything for this year of uni gets handed in on Friday though, I have a new pump and top arriving, got a big sheet of aluminium at the ready and some new ideas, so work can begin again soon!


----------



## Aidan

Ok, it's another 4-5 days until I can start work on Saturday! So here's a few teasers and pics of the slight progress I made over the last few months..

Yea, he got dusty


















But I cleaned him up and finished the mounts for the front plate..




























And a quick refresher of the hardware used. I'm going to be using some different fittings on the motherboard I think. It's annoying having to cook the tubes into tight bends


















Oh yea, and erm, Blanc is blanc


















Buuuut, I'm not too happy with the vinyl on the unibody, I can't get it just right. So I'll be going for a powdercoat after all, matte white hopefully


----------



## MAdion

How much would that cost to powder coat the case?


----------



## SPARC_PWR

Powder-coating prices will depend on your area, but I had my entire TJ07 powder-coated matte black (inside and out) for $75, which was the minimum order price. If your metal is already painted or has a hard finish they will charge you to remove it or you can remove it before bringing everything in. I would expect to pay between $75 - $200 for a full case though.


----------



## Aidan

Yea I'm expecting between £100 and £200, especially considering all of the extra bits I'm getting coated too. I guess an advantage is that it's all unpainted and also that it nearly all disassembles with screws








I'm getting two colours though, black and white









I need to make all my parts though first haha







The task for Saturday is some pump mounting brackets as I'm doing something a bit different with my pump now


----------



## pahoran

geezuz thats gorgeous!

So from an artisan to a uber noob, what do you think would be the best way to reproduce the white light panel from the murderbox mkII?
Your method is awesome! do you think ill be able to get away with using 3-4 white cold cathode lights under a white piece of plexiglass/acrylic?

P0w


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *pahoran*
> 
> geezuz thats gorgeous!
> So from an artisan to a uber noob, what do you think would be the best way to reproduce the white light panel from the murderbox mkII?
> Your method is awesome! do you think ill be able to get away with using 3-4 white cold cathode lights under a white piece of plexiglass/acrylic?
> P0w


Thanks!









Well I'm actually going to be remaking that part as individual leds into a single bit of thin plexi isn't really cutting it for me. I'm instead going to layer different plexis together with an LED strip down one side.

A thin 3mm layer of mirror plexi on the bottom to reflect upwards, followed by a thick 8mm clear layer which is slightly narrower as it will have the led strip shining into it from the side, then a final thin 3mm frosted layer to diffuse the light. I've discussed this with other people on the forum before and some have used this technique in their builds too, it works well









Tonight my Deathadder got the Blanc treatment..


----------



## dmanstasiu

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Tonight my Deathadder got the Blanc treatment..


Oh ... my ...









I don't know what to say. But they say actions speak louder than words








+1


----------



## MAdion

How do you do that to a mouse? you guys be crazy with your modding


----------



## dmanstasiu

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MAdion*
> 
> How do you do that to a mouse? you guys be crazy with your modding


Take it apart

Take plastic covers

Sand them down

2 lights self-etching/self-adhesive primer

4-5 light coats of gloss white spray paint with drying time in between

1-2 top coats of clear gloss


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MAdion*
> 
> How do you do that to a mouse? you guys be crazy with your modding


The rubberised top cover of the Deathadder just pops off. I used some of my matte white vinyl on it, the same stuff that's currently on the tj07 itself









Took a fair bit of reheating and stretching to fit but overall an easy mod







I did it to my old Deathadder too lol.


----------



## nvidiaftw12

My god. Dat camera and phography skills. I could never make any photo look that good. Let alone the modding... You could take a picture of sewage and make it look good.


----------



## Blaze0303

Dear god, this is just amazing.


----------



## JaRi

As said before Aidan you are ******* crazy! And that photo Skills are insane too!!

Sendt fra min GT-I9100 med Tapatalk2


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *nvidiaftw12*
> 
> My god. Dat camera and phography skills. I could never make any photo look that good. Let alone the modding... You could take a picture of sewage and make it look good.


Thanks very much! I guess I started with photography because of modding so I've kind of worked on the two together, glad to hear you think it's been worth it









p.s. this is the secret to many photos







: http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z305/aidanz2007/5dMKII/_MG_1058.jpg A massive softbox for the flash









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Blaze0303*
> 
> Dear god, this is just amazing.


Cheers!







Many of the things done earlier will be remade better or changed though









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi*
> 
> As said before Aidan you are ******* crazy! And that photo Skills are insane too!!
> Sendt fra min GT-I9100 med Tapatalk2


Thanks Jari







Crazy is fun


----------



## Aidan

Another little bit of vinyl work..


----------



## Aidan

Top for my D5 arrived, D5 has still yet to arrive









You can get an idea of my mounting plan for the pump as the fittings on the D5 top are the male ends of some D Plugs


















Here's a size comparison with my DDC and flowmeter..


----------



## Aidan

Some actual progress!









Made the bracket for the other part of my pump mounting..























































Going to build a subtle bracket that will hold the pump firm once it's slotted in, so don't worry about it flying out under pressure hehe









EDIT:

Btw, these photos are of under the midplate









EDIT2:

This is an older picture from when I was intending to use the DDC pump, but it shows how the tube will go from the bracket.


----------



## pahoran

those pics are TOO EPIC!
i cant even describe it








I was gonna pick a gtx 680 but instead i picked up a t3i with a 18-55mm lens, what do you personally recommend as my next upgrade lens? Really want to learn how to take EPIC pics similar to yours, thou I am years away.


----------



## Aidan

Thanks!









I've only been into photography for about as long as this build has been going, well maybe add 6 months to that







So you won't be YEARS away










The lens I'd recommend you get is Canon's 50mm 1.8. You can learn so much from using prime lenses and they are really sharp too. That and of course the 1.8 aperture means you can blur out backgrounds super easy and shoot in four times lower light than the kit lens. Closest focus is 45cm on it though so if you need to get super close and do macro you can use some extension tubes. Oh and it's CHEAP!









I guess more important than lens choice is knowing your light though. I usually use a big softbox on a remote flash to get a more natural looking light, but you can get the same results by using the light coming in through a window so long as the sun isn't super harsh. Outside on a cloudy day works well too.

The key thing is to find light sources that are of a relatively large area. So for example a bare flash is a tiny rectangle of light compared to a PC so will make harsh looking light, but a big softbox or large window is a large area compared to the PC so makes soft light that looks good









In general though when taking photos I tend to move back a bit and use a longer focal length (so zoom in with your 18-55 to 55mm), it gives more natural looking proportions to things. Unless of course I'm going for an extreme perspective, in which case I'll get close with an ultra wide angle to distort things.

Oh and shoot in RAW mode, always!







RAW + post processing in Lightroom changed everything for me


----------



## nvidiaftw12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *I've only been into photography for about as long as this build has been going, well maybe add 6 months to that*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So you won't be YEARS away
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The lens I'd recommend you get is Canon's 50mm 1.8. You can learn so much from using prime lenses and they are really sharp too. That and of course the 1.8 aperture means you can blur out backgrounds super easy and shoot in four times lower light than the kit lens. Closest focus is 45cm on it though so if you need to get super close and do macro you can use some extension tubes. Oh and it's CHEAP!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I guess more important than lens choice is knowing your light though. I usually use a big softbox on a remote flash to get a more natural looking light, but you can get the same results by using the light coming in through a window so long as the sun isn't super harsh. Outside on a cloudy day works well too.
> The key thing is to find light sources that are of a relatively large area. So for example a bare flash is a tiny rectangle of light compared to a PC so will make harsh looking light, but a big softbox or large window is a large area compared to the PC so makes soft light that looks good
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> In general though when taking photos I tend to move back a bit and use a longer focal length (so zoom in with your 18-55 to 55mm), it gives more natural looking proportions to things. Unless of course I'm going for an extreme perspective, in which case I'll get close with an ultra wide angle to distort things.
> Oh and shoot in RAW mode, always!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> RAW + post processing in Lightroom changed everything for me


Vut? I thought you were like a 20 year professional....


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *nvidiaftw12*
> 
> Vut? I thought you were like a 20 year professional....


Ok, you caught me, I've been shooting since I was 1 years old









But seriously, I just read, watch and practice A LOT. Plus it's not that hard once you understand the basics of how your camera and light work


----------



## Jeffinslaw

WOW! Just read through all 58 pages, and let me say, it looks great! I have a question though, can you explain how you did the GPU wiring box thing? I need to do something like that for my build but I'm confused as to how I should do it.

Thanks a bunch!

Jeffinslaw


----------



## Aidan

Thanks!









I buzzed out the side of each cable hole in the female pci-e connectors with a dremel to allow the wires to come out of them sideways. That way the little box thing pushed right up against the bottom of the connectors holding them firm in the gap in the midplate.

I think I'm going to redo this as a PCB though, with the connectors soldered on and wires coming off the PCB to the PSU. I'll also be wiring them as 4x pci-e 8pin connectors, to allow me to use any combination of 8pin and 6pin for up to 2 gpus in the future


----------



## Jeffinslaw

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I buzzed out the side of each cable hole in the female pci-e connectors with a dremel to allow the wires to come out of them sideways. That way the little box thing pushed right up against the bottom of the connectors holding them firm in the gap in the midplate.


Ahh! Makes sense now!
Quote:


> I think I'm going to redo this as a PCB though, with the connectors soldered on and wires coming off the PCB to the PSU. I'll also be wiring them as 4x pci-e 8pin connectors, to allow me to use any combination of 8pin and 6pin for up to 2 gpus in the future


I would love to get my hands on some of those! I wish someone made some but with a 24 pin, four 8 pins, and a few molex connectors to make it sort of like a PSU power hub. Thanks again for explaining!

Jeffinslaw


----------



## MAdion

What wrap are you using?


----------



## JaRi

something like this







:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120766043631?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_9401wt_1172


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MAdion*
> 
> What wrap are you using?


Yep, what Jari linked to is what I have.

It's meant for car wrapping so it's nice and thick and easy to work with.


----------



## Jackeduphard

brovo my friend ... i am jelly


----------



## MAdion

Could you use that stuff on mobo heatsinks?


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jackeduphard*
> 
> brovo my friend ... i am jelly


Cheers









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MAdion*
> 
> Could you use that stuff on mobo heatsinks?


Perhaps, depends how hot it gets. You use heat to help it form and stretch around edges and reheating it causes it to revert back to a flat form.

If you use it on something flat and don't stretch it around edges then it should be fine


----------



## MAdion

Thanks sexy


----------



## Reista

Aidan you were using a proper respirator with all of that aluminum cutting yes? I dearly hope so- as a powder it's highly dangerous, even on your hands. That being said, You have amazing work







I'm currently doing a cheap-ass b/w computer and this is quite inspiring ^^


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MAdion*
> 
> Thanks sexy


Haha, np









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Reista*
> 
> Aidan you were using a proper respirator with all of that aluminum cutting yes? I dearly hope so- as a powder it's highly dangerous, even on your hands. That being said, You have amazing work
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm currently doing a cheap-ass b/w computer and this is quite inspiring ^^


Yea I wear a mask as well as protective glasses but I do tend to get lots on my hands :/ maybe I should start wearing latex gloves too?

Oh and good luck with your build


----------



## Reista

Glad to hear you wear at least basic protection ^^ I would recommend gloves as you do absorb aluminum through your skin, which then greatly increases your chances of Alzheimer syndrome. That's why Axe Dry deodorant was under fire a while back because they use aluminum to swell your pores up so that you don't sweat. Just a fun fact. Be safe! (As for my own project, thanks! I'll likely have the case build log started soon. Project Tux if you want to comment on the prebuild XD)


----------



## Aidan

Took me three attempts but I finally made a bracket to secure the pump once it is slotted into the D plug fittings










Ignore the silly looking dual snake fittings connecting the res to the midplate, they are kindly standing in for some tubing









Finally got my new pump too. Very happy with it as even without any form of vibration isolation it is silent at speed setting 1 (probably where I'll set it if it can handle it)


----------



## nvidiaftw12

You should take photo's of anything, hell everything, and post it on your build log. :drool:


----------



## mironccr345

I love this build log. Just when I think it's complete, you pull the rabbit out of the hat and add new ideas to the table. Great work and Love the Pics!


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *nvidiaftw12*
> 
> You should take photo's of anything, hell everything, and post it on your build log.


Hehe thanks







I do, but I post on google plus









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mironccr345*
> 
> I love this build log. Just when I think it's complete, you pull the rabbit out of the hat and add new ideas to the table. Great work and Love the Pics!


Cheers







Yea it has taken so long that I keep having to redo stuff with new ideas lol









I got my block back on the 580 now. It was back on air for testing after it started crashing. Some bad contact on VRMs seemed to be the issue. Hoping it is fine now :/


----------



## Aidan

Started work on my new drive bay covers, the old ones were rubbish, like laughably bad bending skills I had 1 year ago













































This little screw holds the whole thing in place perfectly







:










And it screws into this threaded insert:










Oh and a random GPU pic that I didn't post earlier haha


----------



## dmanstasiu

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*


Came for the parts, stayed for the pics

Seriously your pictures are amazing







reminds me of ... oh no I don't remember his name. Guys help me out...


----------



## Aidan

Cheers!







But I don't know who you mean







Hopefully someone else will coz I'm curious haha. Any particular build of theirs I;d know of?


----------



## dmanstasiu

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> But I don't know who you mean
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hopefully someone else will coz I'm curious haha. Any particular build of theirs I;d know of?


LAINE.


Spoiler: Laine's builds



Red Wine:

















Purple Haze:

















Simplicity:]


----------



## Aidan

Oh yea I know Laine. Yea I guess the dark style photos are like his







Cool!


----------



## ne0h

Aidan,

Just saw this build log a few days ago for the first time and have spent the weekend gradually going through and looking at all the photos. Seriously, seriously impressive. I love when people who have the attention to detail find ways to improve their skills and settle for nothing less then the best. You've put that to the test and have produced awesome results. A job well done.

Subscribed to the thread and +Rep for some of the best production and documentation I've seen on here since Syrillian.

Congrats on picking up the camera and lens as well. It's interesting to see your photography skills develop over about three hours of reading.

-ne0h


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ne0h*
> 
> Aidan,
> Just saw this build log a few days ago for the first time and have spent the weekend gradually going through and looking at all the photos. Seriously, seriously impressive. I love when people who have the attention to detail find ways to improve their skills and settle for nothing less then the best. You've put that to the test and have produced awesome results. A job well done.
> Subscribed to the thread and +Rep for some of the best production and documentation I've seen on here since Syrillian.
> Congrats on picking up the camera and lens as well. It's interesting to see your photography skills develop over about three hours of reading.
> -ne0h


Thanks very much! Your comments mean a lot, and to be compared to Syrillian is an honour indeed









Hopefully I can continue to improve and show more work that you like over the coming months when the build hopefully will begin to come together









..and it really does NEED to come together soon, this laptop I've been using while this build is being worked on is doing my head in, lol!

Upcoming progress should be getting those drive covers finished and also some exciting stuff to do with the midplate


----------



## mironccr345

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!



Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Started work on my new drive bay covers, the old ones were rubbish, like laughably bad bending skills I had 1 year ago
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This little screw holds the whole thing in place perfectly
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> :
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And it screws into this threaded insert:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Oh and a random GPU pic that I didn't post earlier haha





I was comparing your older bay cover to the new one you just made, and It looks really clean. Not saying the your older bay cover was bad looking by any measure. I just notice the little changes you made and it looks like you're skills have matured since your last attempt.....which was almost a year ago!







I've been following this thread since then.


----------



## Aidan

Haha don't worry about dissing the old covers, they were crap to be quite frank about it lol. IIRC I did the bend with a mallet after doing only a shallow score in the metal









You're right about the drive bay covers showing the difference a year makes. More than anything those have shown me it has been worth the time spent learning to do stuff properly over the course of this build. Definitely learnt a lot









With the next cover I'll try to show pics of the whole process


----------



## Aidan

Finally got my second cover done, and this time I've shown a bit more of my cutting/bending process









Noting down measurements.










Drawing up the guides.










Safety first


















After dremeling along the outside of the lines (it's the outside because otherwise I'd be cutting into the bit I want to use







) I use the short line as a guide for the hack saw.










The longer line is cut deeper to be bent along and broken off.



















Then filing until smooth.










This is the line I want to bend along. I do a score with the dremel around 1.2mm deep and 2.5mm wide (to allow for a full 90 degree bend) along the line on the same side that the arrow is drawn on.










The pen keeps drying up on this plastic coating so I kept drawing on the glove to get the ink flowing. Then I realised I'd accidently drawn a face


















Score made.










Bend made.










Corner cut off in the exact same angle as the existing drive bays. I could've chosen to make the corners rounded and fit the inside corners of the case but I wanted to retain that little aspect of the original case design and kind of get a more 'stock' feel.










And here's the finished drive bay assembly







...










The larger cut out is to allow the tabs on the side panels to slide into place. The rails on the case body completely hide these cut outs. The smaller notch in the corner is to slip past some threaded inserts in the case.



















These small notches are to clear the fold where the drive bays fix to the midplate.










And here's both covers on and the aquaero stand/front palate holder mounted..


----------



## Aidan

Bonus pics


----------



## Aidan

MOAR bonus pics









Was testing my pump out with my rad. Clear water went in, blue water came out







lol! Needs some more flushing me thinks. At least it makes for cool photos


----------



## dmanstasiu

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> MOAR bonus pics
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Was testing my pump out with my rad. Clear water went in, blue water came out
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> lol! Needs some more flushing me thinks. At least it makes for cool photos
> 
> 
> Spoiler: rad pics


Oh my goodness these pictures are absolutely BEAUTIFUL


----------



## spiderm0nkey

Wow yes, I completely agree! These photos are AMAZING Aidan. You were great at getting the most out of your point and shoot but now.. just wow!!














More bonus pics please!!


----------



## s0up2up

I very much agree with the two posts above, very sick pictures of the res!

On a side note, you are using 2mm aluminium right for the bay covers/ rest of the build right?


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dmanstasiu*
> 
> Oh my goodness these pictures are absolutely BEAUTIFUL


Thanks







I have to admit I was surprised myself by those two photos, must've got lucky with the placement of the flash and I had no idea all the bubbles would show up like that









I'm confused as to what the crossing over lines all over the res are though. Machining perhaps? I can't see them with my eyes though, just the camera









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *spiderm0nkey*
> 
> Wow yes, I completely agree! These photos are AMAZING Aidan. You were great at getting the most out of your point and shoot but now.. just wow!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> More bonus pics please!!


Cheers







I might have a go with that old camera again actually, see if it works with my flashes and stuff. Could be interesting







I never did try RAW with that camera so that's something I'd like to try too. Thanks for reminding me!









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *s0up2up*
> 
> I very much agree with the two posts above, very sick pictures of the res!
> On a side note, you are using 2mm aluminium right for the bay covers/ rest of the build right?


Yep, 2mm all round







Seems a good general purpose thickness. Anything thinner would probably flex more and there's no way I'd be able to work with anything thicker without proper bending tools








Oh and thanks









Btw, does anyone have any tips for getting the rest of the dye residue out of my rad? Only thing I can think of is to keep filling, cycling then draining this test loop until the water runs clear









It's not a massive issue coz I'll be using that same dye again. Would just be nice to start off with something clean again


----------



## AtomTM

Its a real AWESOME build, Aidan.












































Keep up the gr8 work!


----------



## dmanstasiu

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Thanks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I have to admit I was surprised myself by those two photos, must've got lucky with the placement of the flash and I had no idea all the bubbles would show up like that
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm confused as to what the crossing over lines all over the res are though. Machining perhaps? I can't see them with my eyes though, just the camera


Yeah, same thing with the little cross-stitch pattern you can see in the little circles reflected off the sides of the res. Just the plastic (or is it glass?








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Btw, does anyone have any tips for getting the rest of the dye residue out of my rad? Only thing I can think of is to keep filling, cycling then draining this test loop until the water runs clear
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's not a massive issue coz I'll be using that same dye again. Would just be nice to start off with something clean again


What are you filling with? If you can, run steaming hot water from your tap and have it go straight through the rad, that way you get the temperature and the pressure. Ideally though just do that for a few minutes, then keep cycling with boiling hot water with 10-30% vinegar. Tap water has nasty things inside that distilled doesn't


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *XeoN786*
> 
> Its a real AWESOME build, Aidan.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Keep up the gr8 work!


Cheers man!







And hopefully I will







Should be an exciting update this week if a delivery arrives









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dmanstasiu*
> 
> Yeah, same thing with the little cross-stitch pattern you can see in the little circles reflected off the sides of the res. Just the plastic (or is it glass?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What are you filling with? If you can, run steaming hot water from your tap and have it go straight through the rad, that way you get the temperature and the pressure. Ideally though just do that for a few minutes, then keep cycling with boiling hot water with 10-30% vinegar. Tap water has nasty things inside that distilled doesn't


It's the same plexi as EK's blocks as far as I know. Weird that the camera shows the lines up yet I can't see them









Previously I'd been running distilled + mayhems dye with the intention of using mayhems premix + dye for the final build. For testing at the moment I've been using filtered tap water.

The idea with the tap is good. I'll see if I can find a way of getting a good seal around the tap and some tube to allow decent pressure running through the rad and hopefully 10mins of that will clear it









Someone I know tapped a G1/4" thread into their sink's tap so they can use fittings in it for testing







Not sure any of my taps will let me do that


----------



## dmanstasiu

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> It's the same plexi as EK's blocks as far as I know. Weird that the camera shows the lines up yet I can't see them


Camera's shutter > human eye
One can detect more light








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Previously I'd been running distilled + mayhems dye with the intention of using mayhems premix + dye for the final build. For testing at the moment I've been using filtered tap water.
> The idea with the tap is good. I'll see if I can find a way of getting a good seal around the tap and some tube to allow decent pressure running through the rad and hopefully 10mins of that will clear it
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Someone I know tapped a G1/4" thread into their sink's tap so they can use fittings in it for testing
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Not sure any of my taps will let me do that


Yup I recall that. They just had a lucky perfect fit with their tap + rad and it worked. Hopefully you can find something that works.

And yeah hopefully the pressure will clear it. And then keep rinsing to get the silly gunk out, and all should be good!

Looking forward to more pics, good night


----------



## Aidan

Here's the guy I mean:

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss6/evocarlos1/600t%20build/140320121357.jpg

Looks so funny seeing a compression fitting screwed into a sink tap







All sinks should be watercooling friendly and come with standard fitting threads!!


----------



## shadowhero18

i love the photography on this build! its crazy!


----------



## nvidiaftw12

Bahahaha. Build is epic, everyone is more impressed with the photography.


----------



## ironcobra220

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*


You've made these better than i ever could, even if i was a robot. if you had metal left over would you make more to sell?


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *shadowhero18*
> 
> i love the photography on this build! its crazy!


Haha thanks







I love doing it









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *nvidiaftw12*
> 
> Bahahaha. Build is epic, everyone is more impressed with the photography.


Cheers! And that's probably true. Maybe my next project should be a Dell







Actually, no amount of photography skill could make THAT interesting









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ironcobra220*
> 
> You've made these better than i ever could, even if i was a robot. if you had metal left over would you make more to sell?


I don't see how mine are any better than yours







You even cut out a section for drives







Are you a robot too?









If I got a proper bending brake (which i do plan on getting) then I'd think about selling them







But part of the midplate needed to be modded to slide them in when the drive bays are already installed. And with an illuminated midplate installed, one of them will be irremovable :/ So I don't see who would want them


----------



## nvidiaftw12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Cheers! And that's probably true. Maybe my next project should be a Dell
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Actually, no amount of photography skill could make THAT interesting


Bahaha. Destroy the Dell, and take pictures of the destruction.


----------



## AtomTM

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *nvidiaftw12*
> 
> Bahahaha. Build is epic, everyone is more impressed with the photography.


+1 on that!


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *nvidiaftw12*
> 
> Bahaha. Destroy the Dell, and take pictures of the destruction.


That's a plan and a half


----------



## deafboy

I have nooooo idea how I didn't see this thread earlier. You have done a lot of the things I have been thinking of for my own project. Amazing work and gorgeous photos.

Love it!


----------



## conntick

Return with updates! I need a TJ07 log to follow!


----------



## mironccr345

What he ^ said!


----------



## pahoran

we neet more photography!


----------



## Lutro0

Not that I have any room to talk, but any more progress on this buddy?


----------



## theseekeroffun

Very nice build all around, just don't forget to remove the Silverstone Logo on the case.


----------



## Teejay187

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Buuuut, I'm not too happy with the vinyl on the unibody, I can't get it just right. So I'll be going for a powdercoat after all, matte white hopefully


Tried using a heatgun to smooth this out? I have worked some with vinyl wrapping and applying heat to the corners and bends really does the trick.

And the case is just awesome. Your way of being practical, yet getting it to look good. Its the perfect combination!


----------



## SgtMunky

This is one of the builds that inspired me to finally get the TJ07 I always wanted deep down. Rock on TJ07!!


----------



## v1ral

Any updates.

This has just been an epic ride!!


----------



## ironcobra220

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Reista*
> 
> Aidan you were using a proper respirator with all of that aluminum cutting yes? I dearly hope so- as a powder it's highly dangerous, even on your hands. That being said, You have amazing work
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm currently doing a cheap-ass b/w computer and this is quite inspiring ^^


Wish I read this earlier. I scratched my eyes up from using a dremel on aluminium sheet with no mask or goggles. Stupid I know... I'm fine now (a year later) do you recommend seeing a doctor or something? You got me paranoid lol.


----------



## modnoob

what no update in a few weeks bummer......... love the pics been reading this one for a while read all the pages


----------



## JottaD

Subbing

Good work


----------



## cursedprophet

hey dude nice carftman ship AND dedication there









btw anyone ever tell you maybe you should do like a photography course or something







your pics are almost as brilliant as your build







)) ...no joke crazy awesome angles of different parts just brilliant


----------



## Gurt11

This is awesome. Blew my mind. I want ally now too








Going to have to pay more attention to detail on my build now


----------



## 298703

Been a long time sub. Any word on this?
Also, (sorry if its been mentioned somehow) but mind doing a photography tutorial or something? You have amazing photographic skills!


----------



## JaRi

the word is that he needs money before he continues on this project :/ and he have a lot of trouble with his car right now, so the future isn't bright


----------



## 298703

Oh of course, completely understand, was just wondering what his situation was. I'm in the same boat as well. Funds are coming in slow.
Do you know anything on his photographic skills or his secrets?


----------



## JaRi

lightning is the secret







and good equipment ofc


----------



## 298703

Oh of course! But his shoots look just beautiful. I'm thinking maybe a bit of editing in PS or Lightroom went on?


----------



## Gardnerphotos

bit late but subbed


----------



## JaRi

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *WuMyster*
> 
> Oh of course! But his shoots look just beautiful. I'm thinking maybe a bit of editing in PS or Lightroom went on?


yes ofc







he uses lightroom if i remember correctly


----------



## Aidan

Sorry it has been so long


----------



## deafboy

Can't wait


----------



## HothBase

A pleasant surprise!


----------



## Jeffinslaw

Yay!!!!!! He's back!

Jeffinslaw


----------



## Aidan

Been working on it a lot the last 2 weeks, really want to get it all done this time









There are a few new parts on the case, lots of bits gone blaaack and a few mods.

Waiting on some plexi pieces and there are a few parts I'm making out of acrylic for the bottom compartment and drive bay area. Might get a bit of cabling done soon too.

Getting a few more bits done then I'll get some more pics up


----------



## JaRi

Its good to see you are back with some updates!









you are lucky that you have someone to tell you : " YOU NEED TO FINISH THAT PC FASTER! I WANT UPDATES! "









but damn that teaser looks great, love it!


----------



## Aidan

Haha yea every week Jari you were on gtalk to me like 'when's the next update!' lol. Happy now?









Right, it's been so long since this PC last ran that I felt it was a good idea to test the hardware. To do this I set up a quick test loop. It's a bit messy for my tastes but meh, it's for testing after all!



Big Bang Theory box set under my pump there proving it is actually useful after watching it!

Poured clear Brita filtered water into the res and it turns blue, magic! (*mayhems residue)











Majority of the air out now



Close ups of what looks like some sort of lab experiment













EEESH, what are this?!



A weeping Bitspower! Damn







Also double damn, coz I only spotted that upon importing the photos and zooming in









Ah well, the system worked anyway, just glad I turned it off when I did or that could have got nasty











FF stands for Fully Functional in case you didn't know. Winning!









p.s. in some of the photos you can spot some of the recent additions/changes to the case







That's if you can remember what stage it was at about 2 millennia ago when the last big update was


----------



## fakeblood

Subbed! As said above, that teaser photo looks amazing!


----------



## 298703

Brilliant photography!


----------



## Aidan

Cheers peeps









I'm working on parts for the next update now. Safety first


----------



## Aidan

While I'm still working on some new bits I'll show you the little bits I've been doing the rest of the week.

Painted stuff last week and it looks good but scratches quite easily. Not all the way down to metal but enough to leave a permanent mark in the finish. Want to improve on that but for now you can at least see what bits look like black.





I also changes the blue LEDs to white ones on the front panel PCB

















I also painted my drive bay covers but found the side panels scratched them as they slid on. I ended up respraying one of the covers, this is after sanding back the scratches



My fix was to modify the tabs on the front of the side panels as well as spacing the covers further away from where the side panels lock in place. Here you can see the tabs kind of flick up at the end, I filed those flicks off.







Aluminium filings!



One of the drive bay covers needed a few slots cut into it to route power cables and sata cables. You can see the corner cut for power cables in this first pic, and in the others I'm cutting the slot of sata data cables. I'll show it installed in the case later













Moar filingss!



Also had to modify my aquaero stand a little to fit my new front plate, will show more of that soon but here the stand was before repainting



Now back to work and hopefully have pics of that tonight


----------



## deafboy

Love the photos...


----------



## Aidan

Cheers! Have some more photos then









Been making a new back plate for my case. Used my old one as a template to make a new one without the fan holes as they aren't needed anymore.



At first I tried clamping the two bits together but then decided riveting would hold them most securely so I drilled a few of the mounting holes out to put rivets through.



Then I started cutting out the shape with my dremel







Then after loads of filing...





...followed by some bending (after separating the two pieces)...



...it was finished!



Time to paint it now


----------



## JaRi

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Haha yea every week Jari you were on gtalk to me like 'when's the next update!' lol. Happy now?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> Right, it's been so long since this PC last ran that I felt it was a good idea to test the hardware. To do this I set up a quick test loop. It's a bit messy for my tastes but meh, it's for testing after all!
> 
> 
> 
> Big Bang Theory box set under my pump there proving it is actually useful after watching it!
> 
> Poured clear Brita filtered water into the res and it turns blue, magic! (*mayhems residue)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Majority of the air out now
> 
> 
> 
> Close ups of what looks like some sort of lab experiment
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> EEESH, what are this?!
> 
> 
> 
> A weeping Bitspower! Damn
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also double damn, coz I only spotted that upon importing the photos and zooming in
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ah well, the system worked anyway, just glad I turned it off when I did or that could have got nasty
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> FF stands for Fully Functional in case you didn't know. Winning!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> p.s. in some of the photos you can spot some of the recent additions/changes to the case
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That's if you can remember what stage it was at about 2 millennia ago when the last big update was


Yes, but not entirely







its not fast enough


----------



## 298703

Where do you live?! GIve me photography lessons!


----------



## JaRi

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *WuMyster*
> 
> Where do you live?! GIve me photography lessons!


he live in the UK batcave


----------



## Aidan

Yep, UK







Says under my avatar


----------



## 298703

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Yep, UK
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Says under my avatar


DERP! My god. Address and time youll be available please








Seriously though. Keep up the good work. Can't wait to see some more of this!


----------



## DaveLT

Mad craftmanship skills. Subbed








BTW, in your first picture it's a X58A-UD5 how did it morph into a UD7 eventually?







You had both? Or is it a UD5 with a UD7 heatsink


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *WuMyster*
> 
> DERP! My god. Address and time youll be available please
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Seriously though. Keep up the good work. Can't wait to see some more of this!


Cheers mate







I'm hoping some more stuff will arrive and be ordered this coming week, so more pics then









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DaveLT*
> 
> Mad craftmanship skills. Subbed
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> BTW, in your first picture it's a X58A-UD5 how did it morph into a UD7 eventually?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You had both? Or is it a UD5 with a UD7 heatsink


Thanks









Oh yea, I blew up the UD5 and bought a UD7 as a replacement







Plugged my aquaero in wrong


----------



## DaveLT

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Oh yea, I blew up the UD5 and bought a UD7 as a replacement
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Plugged my aquaero in wrong


What the hell








But i recommend you should take the UD5 heatsink and put it on the UD7, it looks much nicer that way








*Cough my EX58-UD5 northbridge heatsink has deep paint scratches


----------



## trippinonprozac

Heeeesss Backkkkkkkk


----------



## RussianC

Jesus your picture taking skills.







God damn phenomenal.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DaveLT*
> 
> What the hell
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> But i recommend you should take the UD5 heatsink and put it on the UD7, it looks much nicer that way
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Cough my EX58-UD5 northbridge heatsink has deep paint scratches


I still have my UD5 in a box somewhere, was never totally sure it died along with the CPU (that I also had to replace







), so you can have the heatsink off it if you wanted?

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *trippinonprozac*
> 
> Heeeesss Backkkkkkkk


Yup







And this time to finish, I hope!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *RussianC*
> 
> Jesus your picture taking skills.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> God damn phenomenal.


Cheers!


----------



## DaveLT

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> I still have my UD5 in a box somewhere, was never totally sure it died along with the CPU (that I also had to replace
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ), so you can have the heatsink off it if you wanted?


But it won't fit on my mobo


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DaveLT*
> 
> But it won't fit on my mobo


It will, I have the UD5 heatsink as well as the UD7 heatsink







It's the one for the EX58-UD5 you needed right? I can take it off the board and send it to you if you want


----------



## Aidan

Good news, my plexi pieces arrived for my luminous panel









Bad news is two were too wide to fit so I had to trim 1mm off the top and bottom layers.



While they were taped together I cut and filed the notches needed to clear several sticky out bits in one corner of the case



And the same for the fat middle layer



Then I needed to make a scored pattern on the bottom of this layer to effectively scatter the light. Doing this makes a huge difference to the brightness of the panel over just plain un-scored plexi. I did the longitudinal scores first, 4mm apart so I can easily double up to 2mm apart if needed





I got my little soldering friend to hold the light at the right angle for me to see the marks I'd made





All done











Here's what they look like lit up (minus the top frost layer)



With the top layer on I can sort of make out the lines so I think I definitely need to double them to 2mm as well as doing the lateral scores. I'll get those done tonight and have pictures of an evenly lit panel to show (hopefully







)


----------



## Aidan

Following on from yesterday's work on the luminous panel I made more scores in the underside of the middle plexi, this time the lateral ones to try and make the light as even as possible



This 4mm crosshatch pattern still wasn't producing an even enough light so I went down to a 2mm crosshatch



This is now just where I want it in terms of brightness and evenness, so tomorrow I'll get it all assembled and show you pics of the final product


----------



## s0up2up

So did you do the crosshatching on both sides?


----------



## Aidan

Nope, just the bottom. They catch the light and scatter it upwards. I think if it was on the top too it would make the pattern visible through the top layer. Not 100% sure though, I'm just copying how the murdermod one works


----------



## Aidan

Worked on making a cutout in the back of the panel for front panel cables.

Marked up where I wanted it to go and drilled centering holes



The hole making beast



Holes turned out just right











Ugly cuts between nice neat rounded corners needed some file love





After that I applied a strip of matt black vinyl to cover the dark strip before the LED strip and also to cover the bright spot in front of each LED. Here's what it looks like installed in the case





Where my fingers are is where cables will go











That's pretty much it done. Will need to make some holes in it at some point for fittings but will do those once I'm totally sure of their location


----------



## s0up2up

Looking awesome Aidan! Loving how iniform that can out!
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> After that I applied a strip of matt black vinyl to cover the dark strip before the LED strip and also to cover the bright spot in front of each LED. Here's what it looks like installed in the case.


How do you mean this, if you don't mind me asking? What dark strip before the LED strip?


----------



## Aidan

In order to get space to put cables through on the back edge had to put the led strip further into the panel rather than tucked right up against the side, so behind it the surface of the panel was dark and you could see it transition from being really bright to just dull. So I stuck the vinyl on there to make it more of a crisp edge from lit panel to just flat black









Hope I'm making sense haha


----------



## Aidan

Front panel cables coming through the gap


----------



## s0up2up

Ah I got you know. That makes heaps of sense!


----------



## 298703

Mind doing a more indepth tutorial on your custom sLight panel? Looks amazing!


----------



## Aidan

Cheers









Yea ok, I'll do some photos of all the pieces tonight and those along with what I've shown so far should explain it pretty well









Basic principle is a 3 layer construction, a bottom layer to reflect up, a middle light scatter/transmission layer and a top diffusion layer - LED strip shines into the middle layer.


----------



## NinjaSushi2

Sexy. Subbed.


----------



## WorldExclusive

Scroll Wheel +


----------



## DaveLT




----------



## Aidan

Haha, cheers guys









Been making plans for my motherboard tray on how I can clean it up and make it easier to use too. Previously I'd used P clips to secure cables to the back of the tray but this meant it was really difficult to slide the tray out when I wanted to. So I've come up with a split design where a main section slides out and a smaller section that cables route through remains in place.

I decided to make it out of 8mm thick white acetal, the same stuff my blocks are made from, just coz I could













Also started making my cables and shrinklessly sleeving them in MDPC-X shade 19











Here's the tray installed in the case



And here it is performing its party piece











More stuff to come on this that will show exactly how the cables will go through the smaller piece and how they mount behind the tray without preventing it sliding


----------



## Aidan

New drill to help with the tray


----------



## s0up2up

Woah such beauty... love that mobo tray!


----------



## Aidan

Cheers









Hopefully I won't screw up one of the many holes I need to drill in it


----------



## Aidan

Seeing as my hardware had been sat around for ages collecting a thick layer of dust ... I washed it































GPU's turn















They're left to dry for a long time now with occasional hot air blasts to promote evapouration



In the meantime I opened up the Mips RAM block as I always want to see what's inside



Should all still work


----------



## Jeffinslaw

Can we some more detailed shots on how you assembled your sLight? Thanks!

Jeffinslaw


----------



## JohnnyEars

Crikey! but hey, I'm sure you know what your doing


----------



## iBored

You can wash your motherboard and gpu?!


----------



## NinjaSushi2

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *iBored*
> 
> You can wash your motherboard and gpu?!


Yeah. You just have to left it dry in a very hot and dry area for a few days. Imagine a sauna without the moister. lol

Nice pictures man. I wish I could take them as good as you.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jeffinslaw*
> 
> Can we some more detailed shots on how you assembled your sLight? Thanks!
> 
> Jeffinslaw


Oh yea I was supposed to do that a while back, I'll do that next time I'm taking pictures









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JohnnyEars*
> 
> Crikey! but hey, I'm sure you know what your doing


I hope I do









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *iBored*
> 
> You can wash your motherboard and gpu?!


We'll see about that when I go to power it on









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NinjaSushi2*
> 
> Yeah. You just have to left it dry in a very hot and dry area for a few days. Imagine a sauna without the moister. lol
> 
> Nice pictures man. I wish I could take them as good as you.


Yea I think like you say it's ok to wash electrical stuff so long as you dry it thoroughly before putting electricity back through it.

Glad you like the pics







The last ones were just a hotshoe flash pointed at the bathroom ceiling and a wide aperture lens to blur out the showgel in the background


----------



## NinjaSushi2

You're speaking gibberish to me now. Me thinks I need to take a few classes on photography as a hobby.


----------



## cargo

Hey.

This is my first post in this forum, and it couldn't be in a better worklog!

I have to admit that it is probably the best i've ever seen!
I absolutly love your metal work, espacially the bending.
I love your photos too, they are really stunning!
As I am searching a photo light at the moment, could you tell which you are using?

Looking forward to much more of your great work.


----------



## NinjaSushi2

Good first post and enjoy OCN!


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cargo*
> 
> Hey.
> 
> This is my first post in this forum, and it couldn't be in a better worklog!
> 
> I have to admit that it is probably the best i've ever seen!
> I absolutly love your metal work, espacially the bending.
> I love your photos too, they are really stunning!
> As I am searching a photo light at the moment, could you tell which you are using?
> 
> Looking forward to much more of your great work.


Thanks so much







Glad to hear you're enjoying it, although I must say because it has been going on so long, some of the earlier work isn't relevant anymore btw









As for photo lights I use a couple of speedlight/flashguns/whatever you want to call them, the type that go on top of your camera, except I don't always use them there. In a lot of the photos I use them off camera and fire them with wireless triggers. I use them with a big 80x80cm softbox usually. Sometimes I use one of my flashes on the camera but face it at the ceiling or wall to get a big area of light reflecting back at my subject, I did this in the bathroom for the washing photos.

Hope that helps a bit









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jeffinslaw*
> 
> Can we some more detailed shots on how you assembled your sLight? Thanks!
> 
> Jeffinslaw


Speaking of lighting then, here's a bit more info on how my lightbox works.

It's fairly simple really, not an enclosed solution as some people make, just 3 layers of acrylic held in place by the midplate itself.

My bottom mirror layer has a piece glued down one side that holds the led strip pressed up against the middle plexi





This bottom layer and the middle layer are slightly thinner than the width of the midplate to allow cable routing through here



The top diffusing layer goes on to complete it





Now onto some progress with the motherboard tray. I made my grid and drilled out some cable holes



















Then it was time to work on the other part of the tray and get the motherboard actually mounted on it







I used the original motherboard tray as a template to drill through









Now that I had the board mounted I could plan my cable routes and begin the wiring. So plenty of these were flying all over my room...



...from stripping wire to make these...



...to make this...



Then some spooky gingerbread and sleeving



And 6 wires later I had this before it was time to sleep...


----------



## JaRi

i've said this before, but i just keep thinking it.. OH MY GOD THIS BUILD IS SO RIDICULIUS AWESOME!







damn these details! and your skills in photography does not make it any worse at all!


----------



## JohnnyEars

Having the wiring coming through individual holes is pure win


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi*
> 
> i've said this before, but i just keep thinking it.. OH MY GOD THIS BUILD IS SO RIDICULIUS AWESOME!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> damn these details! and your skills in photography does not make it any worse at all!


Cheers Jari







I mentioned in my last post about this log taking so long and tbh I may have just left it if it weren't for your daily nagging on gtalk







I'm so glad I came back to this though









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JohnnyEars*
> 
> Having the wiring coming through individual holes is pure win


Thanks









Inspiration came from Egami's Silen Flux build and it seemed like it would work so well with my split tray design that had to give it a try


----------



## DaveLT

There was a red TJ07 build that had those bnc-ish jacks for power


----------



## Jeffinslaw

Ahhh okay, so it is basically an exact replica of the murderBox version of the sLight. Nice









Jeffinslaw


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DaveLT*
> 
> There was a red TJ07 build that had those bnc-ish jacks for power


I think I know which one you're on about. Maybe I saw it in the tj07 owners thread...

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jeffinslaw*
> 
> Ahhh okay, so it is basically an exact replica of the murderBox version of the sLight. Nice
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Jeffinslaw


Yea it's sort of like a basic version of it. The murderBox one is self enclosed rather than 3 free layers, it has side pieces which, along with the floor, stick it all together. I've got one here too but didn't use it coz it had tubing holes in the wrong place







I dismantled it to learn its secrets instead


----------



## DerComissar

I admire the fact that you chose to make your own pieces, such as the motherboard tray, slight, front plate, etc. rather than simply buying them from CZ or Martma, or using your existing MurderBox slight. The white acetal of the tray also blends in perfectly with the Mips blocks on the motherboard. A lot of hard work involved, but so well worth it. Feeding those MDPC - sleeved cables through holes in the motherboard extension is brilliant.

This has continued to be entertaining, I've yet to see anyone else giving their motherboard and gpu a shower in their build log!

Rep+


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DerComissar*
> 
> I admire the fact that you chose to make your own pieces, such as the motherboard tray, slight, front plate, etc. rather than simply buying them from CZ or Martma, or using your existing MurderBox slight. The white acetal of the tray also blends in perfectly with the Mips blocks on the motherboard. A lot of hard work involved, but so well worth it. Feeding those MDPC - sleeved cables through holes in the motherboard extension is brilliant.
> 
> This has continued to be entertaining, I've yet to see anyone else giving their motherboard and gpu a shower in their build log!
> 
> Rep+


Thanks very much, I appreciate it









I must admit though, for a couple of areas where true precision is required for a perfect finish, the front plate and top window, I got CZ parts







It was either that or make them on sketchup and get them CNC'd but CZ's matte black plexi seems difficult to find anywhere









Made more cables to poke through the holes tonight but ran out of sleeve for them after 15 wires of the 24pin! More is on order though









Pretty sure all my stuff is dry again now so I might do a test once I've built my new loop. Going with rigid tubing, as the fittings that have crept into my recent photos may have given away


----------



## NinjaSushi2

Pure sex my friend. Too much pron for one night.


----------



## JaRi

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Thanks very much, I appreciate it
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *I must admit though, for a couple of areas where true precision is required for a perfect finish*, the front plate and top window, I got CZ parts
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It was either that or make them on sketchup and get them CNC'd but CZ's matte black plexi seems difficult to find anywhere
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Made more cables to poke through the holes tonight but ran out of sleeve for them after 15 wires of the 24pin! More is on order though
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pretty sure all my stuff is dry again now so I might do a test once I've built my new loop. Going with rigid tubing, as the fittings that have crept into my recent photos may have given away


like the naked caps, i really love the naked caps! i feel we known each other for many years..!


----------



## djwood

I just read through this entire build log and your attention to detail is amazing. Keep up the good work, hope to see some updates soon.


----------



## PCModderMike

I want to see more...subbed.


----------



## mironccr345

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Seeing as my hardware had been sat around for ages collecting a thick layer of dust ... I washed it
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> GPU's turn
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> They're left to dry for a long time now with occasional hot air blasts to promote evapouration
> 
> 
> 
> In the meantime I opened up the Mips RAM block as I always want to see what's inside
> 
> 
> 
> Should all still work



Going to have to catch up on this thread when I get home.


----------



## Twinnuke

Nvidia just posted your thread on Facebook


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi*
> 
> like the naked caps, i really love the naked caps! i feel we known each other for many years..!


I think we have actually









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *djwood*
> 
> I just read through this entire build log and your attention to detail is amazing. Keep up the good work, hope to see some updates soon.


Thanks very much, reading all 60+ pages is a big time commitment haha! Some of the early stuff isn't as relevant but it shows the whole journey









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *PCModderMike*
> 
> I want to see more...subbed.


More sleeving and some tubing soon I think









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mironccr345*
> 
> 
> Going to have to catch up on this thread when I get home.


Cheers, how you like









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Twinnuke*
> 
> Nvidia just posted your thread on Facebook


I know, how mad is that









The fame has really gone to my shower's head though..


----------



## TheTechAdmin

After nVidia posted this on Facebook... I literally stayed here for a good 2 hours scrolling through every single 1 of the 72 pages and have finally reached the end!!!

Just wanted to say, GREAT WORK MAN!!!









This caught my eye because anytime someone asks what my favorite color is, my answer is a series of three ( Blue, Black and white ). Something about the combo that I love.

Keep up the great work, you're the only one I"m subscribed to!


----------



## Kickimanjaro

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheTechAdmin*
> 
> After nVidia posted this on Facebook... I literally stayed here for a good 2 hours scrolling through every single 1 of the 72 pages and have finally reached the end!!!
> 
> Just wanted to say, GREAT WORK MAN!!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This caught my eye because anytime someone asks what my favorite color is, my answer is a series of three ( Blue, Black and white ). Something about the combo that I love.
> 
> Keep up the great work, you're the only one I"m subscribed to!


Ditto.

This is art, and it is beautiful.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheTechAdmin*
> 
> After nVidia posted this on Facebook... I literally stayed here for a good 2 hours scrolling through every single 1 of the 72 pages and have finally reached the end!!!
> 
> Just wanted to say, GREAT WORK MAN!!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This caught my eye because anytime someone asks what my favorite color is, my answer is a series of three ( Blue, Black and white ). Something about the combo that I love.
> 
> Keep up the great work, you're the only one I"m subscribed to!


Thanks man







Glad you like the colours and thanks for the read









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kickimanjaro*
> 
> Ditto.
> 
> This is art, and it is beautiful.


Cheers







it means a lot


----------



## Korpsicle

I don't think I've ever had the patience to sit through a 72 page build log, and actually enjoy it's entirety.

A+ work man, this is driving me to do a custom WC build, instead of my Antec I have now.


----------



## mironccr345

Finally caught up with the thread and I was already subbed.







Love the details and the craftsmanship. Keep the updates coming.


----------



## Karnat

So I thought about this new name for this rig.. "***********"?
Just kidding. This is AWESOME. The reason I registered on oc.net! Must be a pain to have the progress going so slow.. It has been what? two years now?


----------



## NinjaSushi2

Great build man. I know how those long build logs go as mine in over 1 1/2 years old. Keep the motivation and momentum going.


----------



## Jakewat

Why the hell am I not subbed? I've been missing all the fun


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Korpsicle*
> 
> I don't think I've ever had the patience to sit through a 72 page build log, and actually enjoy it's entirety.
> 
> A+ work man, this is driving me to do a custom WC build, instead of my Antec I have now.


Cheers







My first WC build was in an Antec 900







That's on the first page so you will have seen that given you had the epic patience to read the whole log









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mironccr345*
> 
> Finally caught up with the thread and I was already subbed.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Love the details and the craftsmanship. Keep the updates coming.


Thanks







Hopefully I can keep them coming although recently work has taken priority









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Karnat*
> 
> So I thought about this new name for this rig.. "***********"?
> Just kidding. This is AWESOME. The reason I registered on oc.net! Must be a pain to have the progress going so slow.. It has been what? two years now?


I think it's coming on 3 years







And yea, it's painfully slow. I can't wait for the moment where I put it on my desk in one piece and push the button









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *NinjaSushi2*
> 
> Great build man. I know how those long build logs go as mine in over 1 1/2 years old. Keep the motivation and momentum going.


Yea the momentum is hard to keep going at times but it always draws me back to do more somehow









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jakewat*
> 
> Why the hell am I not subbed? I've been missing all the fun


Hahaha
















Ok so it's been a while since I last updated but in that time I've got 95% of the wiring/sleeving done and I'm slowly making progress with my tubing



















I've routed my EPS cable across the top of the tray instead of through it so that I only have to unplug connectors in order to slide the tray out











Got a plan for managing these dreadlocks, don't worry











You may have noticed I'm short of 1 wire on the EPS atm. That's because I ran out of sleeve!! Forgot to take into account how much extra sleeve the long route would require


----------



## fakeblood

Holy moly! Looking drooltastic!


----------



## DerComissar

Beautiful!








The cable sleeving looks great, and the routing through the white tray extension really turned out fantastic. That's a good idea for the 8-pin cable, still easy to slide the tray out.
I like the bends in the solid tubing, looking forward to seeing the rest of them when they're done. That will be a lot of work forming them though!

Are you planning any cutouts, or design in the front panel? It's very slick and fits well now, but I wondered if you plan on leaving it as a solid piece.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DerComissar*
> 
> Beautiful!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The cable sleeving looks great, and the routing through the white tray extension really turned out fantastic. That's a good idea for the 8-pin cable, still easy to slide the tray out.
> I like the bends in the solid tubing, looking forward to seeing the rest of them when they're done. That will be a lot of work forming them though!
> 
> Are you planning any cutouts, or design in the front panel? It's very slick and fits well now, but I wondered if you plan on leaving it as a solid piece.


Cheers







Keeping the tray sliding is a priority for me or Rodney Reynolds will be angry..



The front will stay blank I think as I'm not entirely sure what I'd put there lol. I kind of like the stealth look too


----------



## DerComissar

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Cheers
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Keeping the tray sliding is a priority for me or Rodney Reynolds will be angry..
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The front will stay blank I think as I'm not entirely sure what I'd put there lol. I kind of like the stealth look too


Lol!








That's been a complaint for so many years now from reviewers! No such issues here though!

The stealth look is cool, as you don't need the ventilation, or dvd slots, etc.
I'm certainly in favor of eliminating the flip-down door as you have, the front panel covers that cutout nicely too.

It gives a modern look to this old case.


----------



## Karnat

Wow.. That tubing is really nice. Do you think it will stay that way or will it eventually bend back in shape...


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DerComissar*
> 
> Lol!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That's been a complaint for so many years now from reviewers! No such issues here though!
> 
> The stealth look is cool, as you don't need the ventilation, or dvd slots, etc.
> I'm certainly in favor of eliminating the flip-down door as you have, the front panel covers that cutout nicely too.
> 
> It gives a modern look to this old case.


Yep no ventilation in the top at all, dust free









The front panel is a Cold Zero part







No way I'd get something to fit perfectly by hand, and I chose the option to include the little flap area too coz I had nothing to put behind the flap anyway







That and the Cold Zero top window are the only 2 machine made parts so far









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Karnat*
> 
> Wow.. That tubing is really nice. Do you think it will stay that way or will it eventually bend back in shape...


Cheers









It's acrylic pipe that you heat up to bend then it sets in place when cooled so it's not going to bend back







It's rigid tube as opposed to flexible tube.


----------



## MlbrottarN

Quote:


>


What kind of fittings are those?

This entire build looks so magnificent, can't wait to get started with my own build!


----------



## Aidan

Cheers







What's your build going to be?

They're bitspower ones, not sure what they're called but they're designed for joining multiple graphics cards really but you can use them with any 12mm OD rigid tube







Went with the bitspower ones instead of the more purpose built ones like Primochill's just because they're really small


----------



## MlbrottarN

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Cheers
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What's your build going to be?
> 
> They're bitspower ones, not sure what they're called but they're designed for joining multiple graphics cards really but you can use them with any 12mm OD rigid tube
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Went with the bitspower ones instead of the more purpose built ones like Primochill's just because they're really small


Ah so the Multi-link-thingy









I'm gonna do a watercooled Bitfenix Prodigy, with a 200mm radiator in the front and a dual 120mm in the top, cooling both the CPU/Mobo with a fullcover block aswell as the GPU ^^


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MlbrottarN*
> 
> Ah so the Multi-link-thingy
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm gonna do a watercooled Bitfenix Prodigy, with a 200mm radiator in the front and a dual 120mm in the top, cooling both the CPU/Mobo with a fullcover block aswell as the GPU ^^


Ohhh yea, I think I know which board you mean. I'd buy that just to be able to use that crazy block


----------



## MlbrottarN

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Ohhh yea, I think I know which board you mean. I'd buy that just to be able to use that crazy block


The ASUS P8Z77-i Deluxe ^^

It's going to be a real interesting build to say the least!


Spoiler: Slightly of-topic


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MlbrottarN*
> 
> The ASUS P8Z77-i Deluxe ^^
> 
> It's going to be a real interesting build to say the least!
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Slightly of-topic










it looks so cool. Good luck with the build









Last night I finished off my motherboard tray by tapping some threads in the back edge of the acetal that joins to the back plate so everything is all secure now.



It even balances on its corner











I also modded the pump a bit. shortened and sleeved the cables right up into the housing and also made the red speed dial black. It's wired up to a 6pin connector that plugs straight into the Silverstone PSU.


----------



## alpenwasser

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> It even balances on its corner


Haha, that is so cool.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *alpenwasser*
> 
> Haha, that is so cool.


Cool, but lies! Lol, I was holding it up with wire. Originally just so it would catch the light right and get that sheen across the black but then it looked kind of cool all balanced and stuff so I edited the wire off that top corner


----------



## alpenwasser

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Cool, but lies! Lol, I was holding it up with wire. Originally just so it would catch the light right and get that sheen across the black but then it looked kind of cool all balanced and stuff so I edited the wire off that top corner


Hehe, nice work! But yes, obviously it couldn't stand like that, you'd need to have it at a different
angle (and even then it would be tricky and a bit risky if it falls over and breaks some delicate part).
However, I thought you'd propped it up from behind instead of using a wire.


----------



## JaRi

The fittings are called C47 from bitspower


----------



## Kokin

Connecting the pump directly to the PSU's modular plug-in is a pretty neat idea.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *alpenwasser*
> 
> Hehe, nice work! But yes, obviously it couldn't stand like that, you'd need to have it at a different
> angle (and even then it would be tricky and a bit risky if it falls over and breaks some delicate part).
> However, I thought you'd propped it up from behind instead of using a wire.


On the wire it was spinning around on that corner, had to time the shots with spinning to get it right haha









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi*
> 
> The fittings are called C47 from bitspower


Sweet, that should help in my search to find a UK with a decent amount in stock! lol

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kokin*
> 
> Connecting the pump directly to the PSU's modular plug-in is a pretty neat idea.


Thanks









I did it with my old DDC pump too but I sold that when I got the D5, the buyer wanted it converted to a molex though


----------



## alpenwasser

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> On the wire it was spinning around on that corner, had to time the shots with spinning to get it right haha


Ah, the challenges of making good hardware pr0n.


----------



## Karnat

I always wondered if there are any watercooled power supplies, that would be so awesome for this build..


----------



## DaveLT

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Karnat*
> 
> I always wondered if there are any watercooled power supplies, that would be so awesome for this build..


There was actually but that was a pretty mediocre power supply


----------



## Karnat

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DaveLT*
> 
> There was actually but that was a pretty mediocre power supply


Ah. Well an other solution would be a power supply that does not bring a fan in default.. Like one that you can mount your own fan on or something. Its kinda ridiculous that you are stuck to a could be awesome power supply that has a fan that sounds like a lawn mower..


----------



## JaRi

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Karnat*
> 
> Ah. Well an other solution would be a power supply that does not bring a fan in default.. Like one that you can mount your own fan on or something. Its kinda ridiculous that you are stuck to a could be awesome power supply that has a fan that sounds like a lawn mower..


seasonic makes some fanless PSU ?


----------



## Aidan

Hi again









Sorry I've been away for a while again, been busy with work and things but managed to get some stuff done on this build. Only just got my camera back from my friend to do some photos .. and this time a video too









I've finished off my motherboard tray sliding thingy now. Last time I showed you it all of the cables were sprouting out the side like dreadlocks and needed to be tamed. So here's my solution that still doesn't stop the tray from being removable (Rodney Reynolds, I'm thinking of you again







).









You can see in that last photo that the acrylic sheet fixes onto the smaller piece of acetal but what you can't see is that the other side of the acrylic fixes onto the back of the case and holds the whole thing rigid.

Here's a video of the tray in action









https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20CjCLVYYIw

In other news, I managed to make a whopping ONE more section of tube! Go me.


----------



## JaRi

as said on g+, you are crazy and this is really amazing!

keep on working - on this, not your job!


----------



## deafboy

Absolutely love your work. All the little details. Keep it up!


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi*
> 
> as said on g+, you are crazy and this is really amazing!
> 
> keep on working - on this, not your job!


Cheers! Haha, I'll see what I can do









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *deafboy*
> 
> Absolutely love your work. All the little details. Keep it up!


Thanks







Hopefully building a hot wire bender tonight for the next steps in the build, the finishing steps actually I think :O


----------



## Aidan

Well it's been a week and I've finally built my hot wire bender...

...and it works!!!



















Ignore the crappy acrylic piece, it's my testing piece that has been drilled, sanded, painted, flame polished, etc. All in the name of science.

For more pics of the build of this bender here's the photobucket album.

To hint at something I'll be making with this, I made it to have a working area bigger than 480mm









Will probably be making stuff with it after xmas though as everywhere seems to be shutting for the holidays!


----------



## failwheeldrive

Any updates Aidan? I know I've said this before (over at the family of course), but I love this build. The motherboard tray is flat out brilliant, makes me want to come steal it from you lol. I just went through the whole thread for the first time in ages, and it's really fun to see it progress through so many stages. Your fab skills are epic, so many of your parts look straight up laser cut to me. Hope you've been making progress!


----------



## DaveLT

And a very nice guy as well


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *failwheeldrive*
> 
> Any updates Aidan? I know I've said this before (over at the family of course), but I love this build. The motherboard tray is flat out brilliant, makes me want to come steal it from you lol. I just went through the whole thread for the first time in ages, and it's really fun to see it progress through so many stages. Your fab skills are epic, so many of your parts look straight up laser cut to me. Hope you've been making progress!


Thanks very much







I wish did have a laser cutter or CNC or something ha

















I've been making a little bit of progress









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DaveLT*
> 
> And a very nice guy as well


Why thank you very much









Ok so while I've been hard at work finishing of my last year of uni I've managed to slip a bit of work in on the build. Not that much, some minor mods and tubing.

My PSU was all beat up from the number of times I've taken this build apart so I destickered and resprayed it.







And I'm also going commando on the grille too











Done all the tubing for the top compartment now, just the little tube in the top left is a PITA to make and it's a bit lumpy and weird so I'll be doing that again.



You may notice my new res in there too. That's made up of an EK medium tube and two single port white acetal end caps. You may also notice the plexi holder that I made for it









You'll maybe remember a while ago I showered all of my components. Well I finally got round to testing them and it seems that they came through unscathed, the FF means fully functional











I've also managed to pick up a second gtx580 so I'll be going SLI for the first time since my 2x 8800GT setup years ago







Only problem is that I can't find a white top and black backplate for the second block I'll need







I've asked EK and got a no from them both about stock levels and a custom order, so it looks like I'll have to have a go making my own matching tops and backplates then


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## hyp36rmax

impressive work great job!


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## failwheeldrive

So excited to see updates lol. The rig is looking great, the tubing runs really came together nicely.The new res is a nice touch as well. Looking forward to see what you come up with for the second 580 too. Are you planning on going completely custom for the new blocks?


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *hyp36rmax*
> 
> impressive work great job!


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *failwheeldrive*
> 
> So excited to see updates lol. The rig is looking great, the tubing runs really came together nicely.The new res is a nice touch as well. Looking forward to see what you come up with for the second 580 too. Are you planning on going completely custom for the new blocks?


Cheers guys







Tbh I'm amazed people are still interested in the build with it having taken so long, feel mega guilty for keeping people waiting









Blocks won't be totally custom, picking up a matching nickel and acetal block. Just the black acetal top will have to be remade in white to match the other. But it will be mega hard to get it to match without CNC so I'll make new tops for both in a simpler style, more rectangular like the newer EK blocks


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## failwheeldrive

No worries, great builds line this take time. Really interested to see how the new tops turn out. You'll likely be the only person to ever successfully do it without cnc









I'm tempted to just send you my HOFs, you would really do them justice lol


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## Kokin

I still follow old builds since I never had the chance to make my TJ07 shine for the small period of time that I had one and I like to see what things people do with them. This has been one of my favorite TJ07 builds since the overall work done has been very inspiring to see unfold.

Anyway, keep it up with school! I've got a year left to go and I'm just dying to finish and go out there to make some impact in the world (the $$$ sounds good too







).


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *failwheeldrive*
> 
> No worries, great builds line this take time. Really interested to see how the new tops turn out. You'll likely be the only person to ever successfully do it without cnc
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm tempted to just send you my HOFs, you would really do them justice lol


It should be fairly simple, the tops of these blocks are just a flat piece really, just with holes drilled in all the right places







I'll probably stack two blanks with an existing top and drill through them all in one go on the pillar drill, with the EK one being the template. Then it's a case of trimming/shaping where required to clear things like the SLI connectors and a few capacitors.

Saying that though, stuff always finds a way to go wrong









p.s. what are HOFs?









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kokin*
> 
> I still follow old builds since I never had the chance to make my TJ07 shine for the small period of time that I had one and I like to see what things people do with them. This has been one of my favorite TJ07 builds since the overall work done has been very inspiring to see unfold.
> 
> Anyway, keep it up with school! I've got a year left to go and I'm just dying to finish and go out there to make some impact in the world (the $$$ sounds good too
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ).


Hehe I like that I'm one of the 'old builds', such an old timer. I'll stick a grey beard on the front for the final pics







New deadline is the end of May, which is about when my first deadline was .. in 2011







Wonder if I'll make it this time


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## MetallicAcid

Love this build!! Thank you sir!

/MA


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## Jeffinslaw

This was one of my first subs here on OCN. Still love every picture









Jeffinslaw


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## DaveLT

Finally decided to get moving? LOL


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## deafboy

Sexy...


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## failwheeldrive

HOF=Galaxy 780 HOF. EK makes really clean white blocks for them


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## wthenshaw

Subbed!

Hope I'm not too late to the party?


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## Jakewat

Hahaha, you are lucky this build still hasn't finished in the three years it's been going. But great things take time and this build is exceptional, the amount of detail is amazing, i just wish we could see more. I understand how busy studies can keep aiden though.

keep it up


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## SebLev

subbed! This should be good.


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## Aidan

Thanks everyone for your comments, subs and patience, it really pushes me to get work done on this









Hoping to get measured up for my last plastics order this weekend







That will include acrylic for a rad stand and other bits for the bottom compartment, as well as some more white acetal for the new block tops


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## Aidan

Unfortunately this update is only phone pics, I've been too busy finishing uni to get the camera out, plus it has been with a friend for a while too







I promise I'll take some of the usual quality pics of the things I've made soon









So as you might remember I had no luck finding another white acetal top for my second GTX580's block. I even tried asking EK if they had any or if they could make me one and they said they couldn't.

So I made two of my own white acetal tops instead









Using one of my black tops as a template I drilled out the mounting holes and fitting holes with 4.5mm and 12mm drill bits, before thread tapping the fitting holes to G1/4".







At that time I went to countersink the mounting holes with the only thing I had of the correct size at the time, an 8mm drill bit. However, that decided to randomly chew nearly all the way through one of the holes on both pieces, so I had to start over. Those pieces of acetal had an odd texture to them too which was annoying.



The new pieces I ordered were nice and smooth like my other acetal though and with the correct countersinking bit I got them to where I left off last time.





After that I needed to drill out a small hollow to clear a capacitor on the cards, making sure not to go all the way through.



And they mounted up nicely







Notice I still need to find another backplate, although I'll make some if it takes much longer to find













I liked the rectangular look but it didn't really match my other blocks which have more angles to them, especially the ram and motherboard blocks, so I shaped them a bit.









I also made acrylic shrouds to wrap around the front of the cards.













I've not finished shaping the second top yet and unfortunately my first shroud got messed up when bending so I need to order another piece of acrylic.

Looking forward to seeing how two of these look together









I'm also planning a further layer made from aluminium that joins the block top to the IO bracket to prevent sag, they're really fat now lol


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## JaRi

wow.. all i can say is... wow..


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## DerComissar

I've seen simple home-made acetal backplates, but never anything like this.
Excellent job!
Rep+


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## MetallicAcid

OH BRAVO SIR, BRAVO!!

/MA


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## DaveLT

That is undeniably epic work there aidan. Been long since you updated! Your "new" TJ07 worklog is now very old







But who am I to speak


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi*
> 
> wow.. all i can say is... wow..


Thanks Jari









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DerComissar*
> 
> I've seen simple home-made acetal backplates, but never anything like this.
> Excellent job!
> Rep+


Cheers for the rep, glad you like the new tops









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MetallicAcid*
> 
> OH BRAVO SIR, BRAVO!!
> 
> /MA


Thanks









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DaveLT*
> 
> That is undeniably epic work there aidan. Been long since you updated! Your "new" TJ07 worklog is now very old
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> But who am I to speak


Thanks







Yea I should update that signature lol, my 'everlasting' worklog perhaps. Should be finished soon though (I hope







).

Is there some sort of record for the longest running active(ish) worklog that eventually gets finished? Hopefully I won't achieve that lol


----------



## DaveLT

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Thanks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yea I should update that signature lol, my 'everlasting' worklog perhaps. Should be finished soon though (I hope
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ).
> 
> Is there some sort of record for the longest running active(ish) worklog that eventually gets finished? Hopefully I won't achieve that lol


OCN Record


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## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DaveLT*
> 
> OCN Record


Such accolade. Very award.


----------



## DaveLT

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Such accolade. Very award.


Much amazed


----------



## modnoob

Still subbed for a good reason


----------



## mironccr345

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> Unfortunately this update is only phone pics, I've been too busy finishing uni to get the camera out, plus it has been with a friend for a while too
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I promise I'll take some of the usual quality pics of the things I've made soon
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So as you might remember I had no luck finding another white acetal top for my second GTX580's block. I even tried asking EK if they had any or if they could make me one and they said they couldn't.
> 
> So I made two of my own white acetal tops instead
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Using one of my black tops as a template I drilled out the mounting holes and fitting holes with 4.5mm and 12mm drill bits, before thread tapping the fitting holes to G1/4".
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> At that time I went to countersink the mounting holes with the only thing I had of the correct size at the time, an 8mm drill bit. However, that decided to randomly chew nearly all the way through one of the holes on both pieces, so I had to start over. Those pieces of acetal had an odd texture to them too which was annoying.
> 
> 
> 
> The new pieces I ordered were nice and smooth like my other acetal though and with the correct countersinking bit I got them to where I left off last time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> After that I needed to drill out a small hollow to clear a capacitor on the cards, making sure not to go all the way through.
> 
> 
> 
> And they mounted up nicely
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Notice I still need to find another backplate, although I'll make some if it takes much longer to find
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I liked the rectangular look but it didn't really match my other blocks which have more angles to them, especially the ram and motherboard blocks, so I shaped them a bit.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I also made acrylic shrouds to wrap around the front of the cards.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I've not finished shaping the second top yet and unfortunately my first shroud got messed up when bending so I need to order another piece of acrylic.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing how two of these look together
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm also planning a further layer made from aluminium that joins the block top to the IO bracket to prevent sag, they're really fat now lol



I can't even.....


----------



## DaveLT




----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *modnoob*
> 
> Still subbed for a good reason


Cheers







Your patience is much appreciated









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mironccr345*
> 
> 
> I can't even.....


You literally can't even?









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DaveLT*


Hahaha, thanks


----------



## Kokin

Amazing work with the acrylic!


----------



## repo_man

Dusting off my shoes around these modding parts (used to be the Editor here) and am poking through threads. I dropped in because the TJ07 is still, to this day, my favorite case ever (and somehow I've never managed to mod one yet...). I really don't have anything to say. I'm speechless! Your attention to details, your eye for photography, your acrylic skills, just - wow.







Absolutely stunning mod so far. Putting holes in the mobo tray to run wires would have killed me. 1) I'd never get them straight or where I wanted them 2) If I did, I'd probably break the acrylic in the process and 3) I'd wire them backwards and kill every component in the case. Seriously impressive work! And...
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*


OMG, I've never seen anyone make their own tops, let alone an additional cover for it. Without doubt, one of the most rad things I've seen around here in a while. Stunning man!


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kokin*
> 
> Amazing work with the acrylic!


Thanks!









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *repo_man*
> 
> Dusting off my shoes around these modding parts (used to be the Editor here) and am poking through threads. I dropped in because the TJ07 is still, to this day, my favorite case ever (and somehow I've never managed to mod one yet...). I really don't have anything to say. I'm speechless! Your attention to details, your eye for photography, your acrylic skills, just - wow.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Absolutely stunning mod so far. Putting holes in the mobo tray to run wires would have killed me. 1) I'd never get them straight or where I wanted them 2) If I did, I'd probably break the acrylic in the process and 3) I'd wire them backwards and kill every component in the case. Seriously impressive work! And...
> OMG, I've never seen anyone make their own tops, let alone an additional cover for it. Without doubt, one of the most rad things I've seen around here in a while. Stunning man!


Cheers! It means a lot







A pillar drill helps a lot with those motherboard tray holes btw







Threading all the wires through and plugging them in correctly the other side is a bit of nightmare though.

Both the wiring and the new block top actually work though









I've got the system running, with a single card at the moment as I'm yet to finish off the second card and also the ssd needs a mounting system and custom power cable made. But for now here is the ~95% complete build. Sorry, phone pics again, but I did use some ok lighting though so they're not too bad. Proper photos will come once everything's ready for final assembly. I'll show more on what's going on in the bottom compartment then too.

















Here's the SSD that currently hangs out the front lol. Need to make a mount for it in the drive bays and make it a nice power cable.



So the todo list is:
- finish the second card
- mount the ssd properly and give it a nice cable
- final assembly and photos
- enjoy it ... finally

The i7 920 in it is at 4.2GHz and the gtx580 is at 900MHz core and 2100MHz memory. Runs everything I've got great still and should be a great space heater in the winter







Looking forward to seeing what it's like with the second 580 in







I know it's old tech now and all but it's doing great for what I need


----------



## JaRi

dont the other card need to be completely dry first ? ^^ LOL!


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JaRi*
> 
> dont the other card need to be completely dry first ? ^^ LOL!


Haha oh yea!

I had a bit of a mishap with my first filling attempt. Missed out a tube and the card got a hosing when I turned the pump on.

Jari enjoyed ripping me about that on gtalk


----------



## DaveLT

It's going to be done?


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DaveLT*
> 
> It's going to be done?


Lol!

I can barely believe it myself


----------



## DaveLT

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aidan*
> 
> Lol!
> 
> I can barely believe it myself


----------



## Wibble360

I've been checking in on this build every so often - very very impressed, such a nice clean look.

I like the cyan/turquoise look of the coolant - I take it you only put a few drops in to give it that pale hue?


----------



## nvidiaftw12

Other than that molex, looks great!


----------



## Jakewat

Really amazing work, can't wait to see that 2nd card in there and the final finished project after it has almost been three years that this build log has been going on! That really seems like a long time for one build haha, but I know how hard it can be with studies getting in the way. I began my build a few months out from exams and took me 8ish months to finish.


----------



## Aidan

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wibble360*
> 
> I've been checking in on this build every so often - very very impressed, such a nice clean look.
> 
> I like the cyan/turquoise look of the coolant - I take it you only put a few drops in to give it that pale hue?


Thanks







the coolant I put in was actually just clear mayhems premix, the blue is just residue from inside the rad lol. Looks quite nice but I'm thinking of getting the mayhems berry blue pastel coolant for when I do the final assembly and filling









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *nvidiaftw12*
> 
> Other than that molex, looks great!


Cheers, that pesky stock cable is doing my nut in. Need to design my ssd mount first so I can see how long I need to make the new power cable for it









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jakewat*
> 
> Really amazing work, can't wait to see that 2nd card in there and the final finished project after it has almost been three years that this build log has been going on! That really seems like a long time for one build haha, but I know how hard it can be with studies getting in the way. I began my build a few months out from exams and took me 8ish months to finish.


I'm really looking forward to it, but it's making me wonder what I should try next. I'm wanting to get a small cnc machine to play with some time so maybe I'll try and design a small case


----------



## Jakewat

I would love to have a CNC machine and do all my own custom acrylic pieces! the possibilities of that are endless.


----------



## ckoons1

any of you guys looking for powder coating let me know i have a guy that does great work at decent prices


----------



## NorthWoodPecker

Just catched up on over a year of your worklog.

Your work is ever so amazing Aidan









I'm getting some work done on my own TJ07 build aswell again after a long break, and yours is inspiring!

Thanks.


----------



## hypergon

really nice








I'm so jelly now


----------



## omnia

Wow! Impress level 100!
Super awesome work man!


----------



## Bart

Damn I'm late. I accidentally stumbled onto this thread during a Google search for info on light panels. It's now 3AM here and I just read every page. Damn fine work Aidan!! Now finish this sexy thing!


----------



## Listerino

So just like everyone else on this thread I don't think I can explain the amount of awe I am in for this build. Then to find out that you are from the UK and live in Yorkshire, again, just shows that we do have some talent hiding away over here xD

I don't think I could have stumbled upon this build at a better time though, as I will be beginning the Mod treatment on my TJ07 and this has inspired me a lot, I've even thrown out the idea of implementing the Inverted ATX mod, because this looks better than any of those builds!

Good luck in the future, both your workmanship and photography skills should set you up for any troubles a PC build might throw at you!


----------



## }SkOrPn--'

Wow, and I thought my 3 month long TJ07 build took a long time. Lol, this is utterly epic and just can't figure out how I missed this thread with all the research I did on my own TJ07 build.

I'd kill Jihadi John just to have a mobo tray like that, oh heck who am I kidding Id just kill him anyway... The one thing I do not like about my build is the 5.25" towers and the mobo tray not going all the way to the front of the case. I hate having having the optical drive in mine. I also dislike having the original midplate still being used.

My next build will omit the two towers, and the mid plate and somehow I will need to build my own tray eventually. Nice work Aidan


----------



## mironccr345

Once again, great build. I might have missed it, but what kind of liquid/dye are you running in the loop?


----------

