Project Othello

[Greecean]

specs are:

- i7 2600

- MSI H67 E45

- 4GB OCZ Platinum

- TX650

- CM 690 lite

- 5850 Extreme

- H50

- Sharkoon white ccfl

- E700 tv card

- two sata dvd drives

I bought the components AGES ago, but due to family commitments, am starting the build today!

Right then, ive printed off the guide, got the cat out of the room and here are the pics so far:

I had a PITA replacing the 120mm coolermaster fan with the 140mm Xigmatel because the screws were of such poor quality that the teeth were gone in seconds - i need to see where i can get more of these

 

[Greecean]

right then, ive relocated and finished the first half of building

i had to really think about the order of installation because of the h50 with push/pull

i ended up doing it like this:

1) screw rad into case with standard case fan

2) ram, and backplate onto mobo

3) install mobo into case

4) install cpu and h50 retention plate

5) connect h50 pump block and screw down

6) connect other fan for push/pull

it was quite hairy at times with such a small board, but here are the pics so far

i think it is looking good now, but one thing i dont like is the h50 backplate - why is it wonky with 1155/1156!?

also, i bought a spare set of h50 screws from the bay for the push/pull config

the h50 isnt set an an intake, still as an exhaust, but from my readings, it will make little difference, especially with pushpull

 

[Greecean]

i have put in the hard drives

ill be contacting coolermaster about the drive bays though as the rubber grommets have started to disintegrate already

i had a few thoughts about the ssd:

1) stick it under the mobo so that it could be seen - but becuase of where the leads go, it would have to updise-down.... nope

2) stick it on the psu somewhere - trailing leads aroung?... nope

3) stick it on the hdd cage - the nobules were in the way... nope

4) no 2.5/3.5 bay adapter so just used double-sided tape - result below

the reason for the backup OS drive is that this will my uni machine and i really need stability so if the ssd starts to BSOD or whatever, i can just swap the cables to the backup drive and get back to work

 

[Greecean]

right then, what i did was to install everything i wanted onto the ssd, then use clonezilla to clone the ssd onto the backup OS drive

Clonezilla took about 15mins to copy ~30GB which i think is pretty decent

after, i unplugged the backup OS drive and connected my two 2tb storage drives

ive since attached the white sharkoon ccfl with the same take, but they kept falling down, so i cable-tied them to holes in the case

i have also bought a dremel and am practicing cutting with it as i intend to cut a window out - i know i could have bought a windowed sidepanel, but i wanted to do it myself - if i was going to go down the easy route, i would have bought a pre-built pc

anyway, this is the machine as it is currently (minus the ccfl's)



i will post a FINAL final picture when i have cut the window and i can show you the lights as well

 

[Greecean]

since the last time, i have gotten a proper ssd bracket, removed the double sided tape - i no lenger recommend it beucase it took off the warranty sticker as i was taking it off

anyway, i have used cable ties to secure all the ccfl's and the inverter and that is all nice

I finally got delivery of the masking tape - i ordered it on the 15th of august!

That is the last time i buy from that "powerseller"

i am mid-way cutting the panel for the acrylic, ill update with pictures tomorrow

Tools for cutting:

- Dremel 300 - £40

- Dremel Speedclic mandrel - £8

- Dremel Metal 38mm cutting discs - £12

- 3M Scotch 4010 masking tape for car respraying - £6.50

- 3M Double sided tape (cant remember code) - £4.50

- U-Channel piping to go around window edge - £3

- Perspex Acrylic whatever its called

- £9

Total cost: ~£80 when a windowed panel is under £20

i am doing this for the experience and the tools, not the window - i already have a windows side panel and i dont like the acrylic they use

The BIG problem with the window was that the fan vents are very high at the top of the panel so it is very difficult to cut enough so that it will but a strip of double sided tape in there

anyway, im trying the lest i can and if i bodge it up - never mind - its my first time doing something like this!

I have left 1.5cm from the perspex edge to the window edge for the double sided tape, if the tape doesnt hold, ill use rivets - but im hoping that is avoidable

What i have done is draw the four straight edges and then use a compass to draw the rounded corners, i am cutting the straight edges first so that i can get my eye in and also so that the disc wears down so that it is smaller and easier to cut the corners - a tip i gleaned from many youtube videos

also, the BIG tip is to but from the back and do small touches with the dremel along the length of the line and then go back over doing deeper touches, if you try to force it down, you can shatter the disc, chip the paintwork, etc etc

it is better to do it bit by bit than rush and try to do it all at once - i frequently stop to have a drink and stretch my back - it is very tiresome using the dremel as it is ALOT of concentration and alot of vibrations going through your hands - not to mention your holding it at an odd angle for prolonged periods of time!

Remember to hold the dremel at the grip points and hold it like a pencil, with both hands, and apply pressure very gently with the tips of your fingers for the best finish

I practiced on an old dell side panel before going ahead with this

I WAS using the unbranded B&Q fibre-glass cutting discs and i went through 4 of them cutting a window on the dell practice panel - the Dremel ones are 1000x better! they cut cleaner and i have dont four straight edges and it looks unworn - practically new!

Right then, when i finish the corners, sand it down and stick the perspex ill be doing some updated photos

 

[Greecean]

this is just a quick update to drop off some more photos of what i have been working on this week

everywhere i applied for project sponsorship had been denied - but i am hoping that i can get some for my next build

i am awaiting some PWM fans for spraying and sleeving

I am also awaiting some heatshrink as the stuff i have doesnt shrink tight enough

EDIT: BTW, iv i havent mentioned before, i am doing a black and white build

 

[Greecean]

i recieved my first sponsorship delivery today - this is just something so salivate over

i will be taking temps before and after the GT installation BTW

 

[Greecean]

the fan has dried, ive reassembled it and thank god i didnt lose that small retention ring!

anyway, here are the pics

i will need to open her up again to incrorperate the Phobya Extension cables so i thought i would also remove the mesh panels on the front and back and spray them white

 

[Greecean]

i reassembled the gentle typhoon, working lovely - what fantastic quality fans!

the way you can tell they are so good is that then they lose power (turn your computer off) they keep rotating for AGES - really top quality bearings - all from my sponsors!

anyway, i also removed and sprayed the front panel section of my CM 690 - i think it looks AWESOME

it actually really reminds me of something from my childhood

ill leave you to make up your own mind though

before the extension cables from Phobya

shaky hands

stock fans

one of the sata power cables

these are fantastic quality

pcie extensions in

huge PITA trying to get these all parallel

4-pin cpu cable as well

the BIG BOYS in as well

after i closed her up

temp sheet

from my temps - stock h50 and case fans

30.0 degrees average idle, 55.5 degrees average load -> 25.5 degree difference

with the GT 1450rpm at 12V

27.5 degrees average idle, 50.0 degrees average load -> 22.5 degree difference

Conclusion about GT:

- make alot less vibrations

- make alot less noise

- move alot more air

- have reduced temps by a fair amount

- but do have a SLIGHT pitch whine

all in all i an VERY happy - thank you to my sponsor Phobya

 

[Greecean]

right then, today i thought i would do a number of things:

1) remove the faulty H50 and replace it with my spare D-14 (which would also lower temps)

2) replace the rear exhaust 120mm with a white LED 140mm roof exhaust (which would allow me to use my custom side panel)

so i got to work, this is her when i first started



remove the TV card (which doesnt pick up BBC channels) and the gfx card



leaving a nice void



unplugging everything



ALOT of dust considering it was only built for 2/3 weeks!



removing everything



starting to remove the faulty H50



out of the case



Mrs Mobo after the cooler was removed



taking off the H50 backplate was a PITA! i resorted to gouging it off with scissors VERY carefully

all cleaned up



starting to assemble the D-14, first with the backplate



almost finished with the mounting



ready to put her back into the case



can you see what ive done wrong?



see it now?

yep - i mounted the cooler the wrong way around!

back off -> cleaned with IPA -> fresh bit of MX4 -> reseated the correct way round

can you see the MAJOR issue now?

guess what?! the graphics card doesnt fit under the D-14!

i had two options:

1) buy a cheaper, worse performing cooler, refit the 5850 and then replace with the GTX 580 when it comes

2) keep with the D-14, but a proper ATX mobo, which will fit the D-14 and the GTX 580 and it even does SLI and Gen 3 PCIe

i went with option 2, more expensive, but better in my view

 

[Greecean]

my motherboard was meant to come yesterday when i booked a whole day free and whatcha know - City-Link did there usually performance of delivering it today when i had a very full day!

yeah, i know, DHD is ALOT better

right then, lets get to the nitty-gritty of it becuase i know all you like to look at is the pictures and scroll over me blabbing on about nonsense

when i unwrapped her

WOO! PCI 3 - might come in useful with the 580 that will be coming later this month

more box art

the good stuff

close ups for you

new type of socket protector - very useful actually

OH YEAH!

starting to disassemble the old mobo, starting with the cooler

side by side comparison: z68-gd65-z3 and h67-e45

the d-14 backplate was rather close to the msi heatsink screw

i fitted the custom window as well

her all finished up

 

[Greecean]

i know ive been jabbering on about rubbish so i thought i;d put up some pictures

 

[Greecean]

i know i have not updated in a while, but i was having a think the other day about the tidiest loop to watercool

im not sure about what computer i would so it to, my home or uni one

I have very limited knowledge of watercooling, but i like to dabble into different things

I got the idea as i really like external radiators, but i dont like how really long pipes look - i think it starts to look cheap with very long pipes

this is the first idea with a bay res/pump



but i have heard that the bay res/pump are not that strong, reliable, etc etc

so the second idea was to remove the bottom hard drive ass there are no drives in there and put one of those standalone pump/res things

this also gets rid of the difficult pipe bend at the bottom of the graphics card



tell me what you think, add any other suggestions, etc

 

[Greecean]

just to keep you updated, the 5850's have been crossfired - that darn bridge finally arrived!

anyway, ill post some pics tomorrow, but here is the GPUZ log's made into pretty graphs to look over

thoughts/comments/suggestions are welcome

 

[Greecean]

here is a pic off the crossfired cards:

since then i have added a second fan on the hdd cage, pushing air into the graphics cards to cool them

i have removed the perspex from the side panel, took off all that foamed double-sided tape and put carbon fibre around the panel (and crossfire bridge

)

here are a few photos of that process:

and the final finished panel

the way i did it was:

1) mark the panel on the vinyl and cut an inch round that

2) cut out the vinyl

3) put the vinyl on the panel with a squeegee to make sure their are no air bubbles or wrinkles

4) cut and flap over each edge piece and be careful not to cover the panel locking bits

5) use the paper from the back of the vinyl and cut out a window-shaped piece and put it on the back of the vinyl so that you can then draw your template on the paper

6) cut 1.5 inches within the window section so you can flap it around the edge

7) for the rounded corners cut it like segments of an orange and push up from below to fan it all out - then stretch it and stick it down for a nice smooth rounded edge

8) stick on the perspex with gaffa tape or something (make sure its clean before you do this

)

ill upload some pics of the carbon-fibred crossfire bridge and the overall nice pic

also, ive tried uploading the pics with flickr, but i cant see an easy way to make forum image code for the whole upload - its a PITA

 

[yassarikhan786]

Awesome project log mate. You did a mighty fine job with cutting that side panel as the lines look really straight and smooth. You've got to love that carbon fiber film as well

.

 

[Solidarity]

Side panel looks good. I like the carbon fibre effect.

 

[fcb]

This is a great project. Got to love the carbon fibre film.

 

[Greecean]

^Thanks guys, that means alot - please continue to tell me your suggestions/ comments/ ideas

this is where the project is at the moment

 

[fcb]

Looks pretty cool. What happened with all the sleeved extensions? Will you be putting those back?