Project: Indigo

[Greecean]

This is a log about a project i have been thinking about since December 2011

I have always wanted to try a watercooling build and my sponsor at Phobya twisted my arm when he agreed to help out with a few small bits a pieces

Anyway, the original plan was to use the endless 690-2 Coolermaster Chassis i had around the place from previous builds

I also wanted to incorperate the Bitfenix Fans that i won (review is on here: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18301235&page=6) so i chose a 140mm size radiator - a Phobya G-changer 420mm rad

Anyway, i really wanted to do this properly as i have always had reservations about electronics and liquids and really did NOT want this to be an unplanned exploration

So since December ive been hoovering up all the credible information on the net and been in talks with a few people on the interwebs

I'd like to thank the people that helped me with this project - with advice, inspiration, etc: Cleeecooo, KiiYzOo and hughythomas

The first thing i would like to do is add a screenie of what i am *hoping* to achieve

Intro:

The Project started out as a Coolermaster 692 lite that i was going to use with an external radiator

I would dremel out the centre of the roof and sit the rad ontop

I mocked up the design in Autocad to work out dimesnsions etc.

A screenshot can be seen below:

Then, one day, someone offered me a TJ07 and 480mm rad for a minimal amount of money as they were in poor condition and would need alot of time and effort to restore them

So i thought to myself: "Why not?"

The 692 build would have look silly, and childish imho - the TJ07 has a real classy look and ive always wanted to try a Silverstone case as everyone always goes on about them

Anyway, i set about designing this new build on Google Sketchup as there is a repository of components online that are REALLY useful!

BTW, Google Sketchup has NOTHING on Autocad, not even Sketchup PRO

Naming:

With this build i want to build upon the black/blue theme that i was doing with my "Home" computer - so this will be black and blue too

A friend of mine, when asked for a naming suggestion for a black and blue build, said: "Project: Bruises"

But i thought that lacked a certain sofistication the TJ07 demanded so i chose: "Project: Indigo"

Whilst away from home (im only home for April), i was ordering and test fitting every item i thought i would require

So there are a jumble on images of me when i was doing testing with sleeving/paracord colours, flushing rads, takinig pics of fittings, etc

And after all the prep work, of which i have a two page word document laying it all out, i will get to the actual build pics

BTW, the stage i am at right now can be seen on the screenshhot below.

I will be adding photos as i go, i have ALOT to share with you guys

 

[Greecean]

The fiirst thiing to arrive were the fittings

I ordered a selection as ii diidnt really know what id be neediing







Really beautifully made these are. I also have some Bitspower fittings (too small for this tubing) and the manufacturing quality is very similar





















A few extension pieces just in case i need them

testing out my new light tent

(and getting used to my new mechanical keyboard

)





























A box from the gods has fallen upon to me

Sneak peak

SO heavy - really good build quality with these blocks

more bits and pieces lying around (PTFE tape FTW

)





This is a series of images for when i was measuring up for the 692 build - dont worry - the TJ07 makes its appearance below

Flushing the 420mm rad in the flat (im using the 480mm in the actual build)



Zoom you to present day - and this was yesterday!





This is the flushing rig i have set up:

res -> pump -> component -> filter

This is a pond/aquarium/water filter pump that i was some vid on youtube of a guy flushing like this and i like this as i can leave it and go and work for a bit and come back and it will be clean











more bits and pieces lying around (PTFE tape FTW

)



























And this is the tired old girl





I KNOW this looks rubbish, it was the best i could do to make it look acceptable



The case has had a few previous owners and i am trying to source some brand new pieces to fix her up properly





I am using the shop camera which is rubbish and the flash makes it look horrid - but the case is well cleaned and polished

The situation with the TJ07 is that it has had a few previous owners, in general it is in good condition, just needs a bit of a clean and polish

The problem is the motherboard tray: a previous owner has pretty much ruiinied iit and i need to try to finid a replacement mobo tray

I will try to fix up the old girl as best i can as i want this project to looks awesome

anyway - ill post images later of spraying the gentle typhoons

(and this keyboard is really annoying!)

 

[Greecean]

This is a series of images of me preparing fans for spraying, reassembling fans, and other bits and pieces





























































































This is the important bit about Gentle Typhoons:

You know that small black clip that holds the shaft in?

The one that gets all twisted (and lost

) when you try to disassemble the fan?

Circlip External E D1500 4.5mm Shaft Pk100 Stainless

I found the correct size replacement circlip, it isnt a 100% match, but with a SMALL crimp with some pliers - it works beautifully!

(when i say SMALL, you need to push the ends together so slightly that if you can see the clip deforming - youve over done it and it wont go onto the shaft)

 

[TheOneHalf]

Very nice job, digging the fans they look great

 

[Stevo]

Nice work man, looks like its gonna be a good journy !

 

[Greecean]

Right then,

I have a TONNE of images that all need resizing and uploading for you, but i thought i'd leave these here as a little teaser

Everything was done at stock just to check temps and that it was still working properly, ill overclock later

 

[TMaksimov]

How cold is your room, mate! Also that is one bloody monstrous rad to be fitting in that poor little case. Good luck!

 

[Ru5ty_t00l]

looks cool!

may I ask u sth.. where did you find those little rings that lock the fan blades back in? and how do they call it?

 

[tharionos]

very interesting read m8

my eyes where glued to the screen evry damm second !

u are quite the skilled person , impressed at ur level of handyness and imagination

keep up the brilliant work !

 

[Solidarity]

I love TJ07 builds. I look forward to progress with this one.

 

[jackjack]

nice build... looking forward to see it finish

 

[potatis]

The fans looks sticky, or gooey D:

Camerafault or paint?

 

[yassarikhan786]

Wow, so many photos. Look's very interesting so far, but you need to get rid of some of the duplicate images you have. I know the hardware looks good, you don't need to show the same thing multiple times

 

[Greecean]

These are the pics taken after the preparation (flushing, fan spraying, etc)



test fitting the stuff before making it permanent in the case





The TJ07 power, reset, led stuff - i only connected the power button as that all i need (mobo has power,

reset, etc buttons on it)





Just testing the flans to see if they survived their spraying and werent hitting the rad or anything







I know the fittings are all different, but this area is hidden so i went for cheaper fittings



This is the pump mounted in its anti-vibration housing





That blue block you see is a little foam that i sprayed blue so that the rad would sit properly in the

lower compartment and it also reduces vibrations





The old rig to strip down, clean, and fit blocks to







The 6970 2gb that will be fitted with waterblock















I was shocked when removing this cooler - it is only attached with 4 screws around the GPU!



You can see that only 4 out of the 8 ram chips had ANY contact with the cooler!





I think ive worked out that this is a VTX3D 1gb generic cooler that only screws around the gpu so that it

can fit multiple cards and only cools 4 vram chips (i.e. 1gb version of this card)



well, you can really see where budget cards cut back on - good thing all this is being replaced with a

waterblock!











Alphacool waterblock fitted - and what a handsome beast!

I was dissapointed with the fact that the "backplate" doesnt cover the whole card - the point was

to cover up the red pcb

anyway - now need to strip the rest of the components





I really love these msi mobos - the colour scheme, system stability and features are just incredible for

the price

you really notice how much the d-14 hides when you take it off

The EK Supreme HF waterblock mounted



Considering that EK is meant to be a market leader, i was pretty shocked with the quality of the machining

withing the block - it is very rough

Test fit when put into the case

I just love the way waterblocks look

I think the colours go quite well together





Mounting the hardware in the case - starting to get butterflys











OMG - is this really going to happen? my own watercooled rig? *weep*



at first i thought this bend was too tight but upon further testing - its fine





a small overfill of the res - but my heart stopped when i saw the fluid dripping into the system



I rocked the back on its back side to remove all the air from the cpu area





start of leak testing *heart racing*







got bored of sitting there so tried to take some artsy shots





Leak testing went for 12 hours before i was confident that there wasnt going to be any leaks





never noticed that switch before...



These guys make some great accessories for this case











Leak testing a bit more with one fan on to stop the pump over-heating

I was a little dissapointed with the mayhems as it looked like a dark blue online... and in real life it is

more like a violet













That is how the rig currently stands at the moment

I still need to do:

- LED light strip (thanks Tealc for your advice)

- fit perspex on doors

- work out how to cable manage all this mess (no cable routing TJ07!?)

and i am really annoyed at a competitor - i ordered a tj07 acrylic door panel and

that was on easter weekend and they STILL have not delivered!!! i cant believe i actually paid for 3-5

working day delivery!!!

In other news: i am SO happy with the rig as it is:

- the colours work really well

- the temps (24 idle, 33 load)

- so quiet as i have the AP-15's at ~9V and the PWM fans at min speed

When the other stuff is done, ill be back with some good pics (not with the shop camera

)

 

[Greecean]

Very nice job, digging the fans they look great

thanks

Nice work man, looks like its gonna be a good journy !

thanks

How cold is your room, mate! Also that is one bloody monstrous rad to be fitting in that poor little case. Good luck!

hehe, thank you

looks cool!

may I ask u sth.. where did you find those little rings that lock the fan blades back in? and how do they call it?

bought them from an online auction place

very interesting read m8

my eyes where glued to the screen evry damm second !

u are quite the skilled person , impressed at ur level of handyness and imagination

keep up the brilliant work !

thank you!

I love TJ07 builds. I look forward to progress with this one.

thanks again

nice build... looking forward to see it finish

thanks

The fans looks sticky, or gooey D:

Camerafault or paint?

the fans have a opalescent finish which only shows up on flash photos - they are dry though - believe me

 

[Solidarity]

I like the colour of the coolant you're using. I also like how this is taking a lot of shape now.

 

[Greecean]

I have a nice update for you today.

I must say a MASSIVE thank you to Annie Leung of Kingston Technology who has provided some Hyper X SSD's

So, lets have a look at them then!





The first thing that is evident is the superb presentation - they are card boxes with nice vivid print and a really solid feel









When you open the box you are immediately greeted by a very handsome brushed aluminium drive - it really is fantastically crafted!



Even the foam padding the drive sits in is cut with the HyperX logo, Kingston have made this feel like a really premium product - and it is!







This SSD is the "Bundle" version and includes: Blue Sata cable, CD, Screwdriver Pen and a 2.5" Usb 2 Enclosure with the same brushed aluminium feel



The Enclosure is very simple to use, simply flip the slider to "unlock", slide off the back of the housing, slide in your HyperX ssd, and close it all back up

A little peak into the enclosure



The Pen Screwdriver really is a cute novelty, it is a metal Kingston-branded "pen" that houses three screwdriver bits which hold in the end of the pen





You know that black foam i was telling you about earlier? well they have cleverly housed the 3.5" adapter in there too!









The drive feels very well built - almost tank-like which is poles apart from the OCZ Vertex's

that these are replacing in this project (and are both currently in RMA

)





The 3.5" adapter is also made of anodized aluminium and really fits in well with the theme of the drive









Pros:

- Really well built

- very useful accessories

- Fantastic warranty

- good customer service

- backed by a quality brand

The only "con" i can think of at the moment is only very insignificant and really has nothing to do with the actual drive: considering the drive is well over 500MBps in both read and writes, i think a USB 3.0 enclosure should have been bundled rather than a USB 2.0 one

One point that came up with these Kingston HyperX SSD's is what is the difference with the normal one and the 3K version? Well, from what i understand, the "normal" HyperX uses cells that can be rewritten 5,000 times, where as the 3K version uses cells that can be rewritten 3,000 times.

Before you think that the 3K version is worse, the performance of the drive is exactly the same; the only significance the 3000 cycles has is that it reduces the drives life from about 11 years to about 8 years - so really the point is moot. I think it is good that they have released an updated version at a lower cost with the same incredible performance

As someone who has used OCZ, Crucial and now Kingston drives, I can really see the difference in how Kingston excels in: Packaging, Bundled Accessories, Warranty, After-sales Care and firmware updates - a truly premium product!

I have been asked by Annie to post up some shots of the SSD in the computer, and i want to ask you guys where you think the best place to mount it is

 

[epeets]

on the side of your cd drive bays hidden would be nice. The whole build looks great. I got Mayhem's Gigabyte Orange coolant going in my new build I'm working on now.

 

[Greecean]

This is a few pics of some other cool bits a pieces that ive been doing with my time lately (project related)

1) Variable LED Lighting Strip

I wanted lighting in the case but i wanted it so that i could turn it up and down depending on what im doing:

gaming - bright

late night - down

movie - off

I dont really like getting software to do my stuff as i regularly reinstall windows and would rather get it done in the bios or some hardware way

Anyway, i wondered if i could connect up the LED strip to one of the spare ports on my fan controller... and that lead me to contact Tealc

Mr Tealc then advised me to get a generic strip of LED's (similar to those used in Project: Othello) and solder a spare fan cable to it which i could then connect to the fan controller and vary the voltage.

So i went on me merry way and these are some of the pics of when i was putting it all together...

These first two are pics of the damage on the LED strip when they arrived

Me stripping with my stripping tool (you have such a dirty mind

)









I just twisted the ends together to see if it actually worked, then i would make it more permenant









I kept the RPM fan cable for another little project that i may show you at a later date



This is it all heatshrunk and sleeved and ready to go into the case!



A BIG thank you to Tealc - without his help this would have never come into fruition

 

[MaXiMiZe]

Amazing work mate