Watercooled Desk Project

Every time i see this thread pop up i have to admit i make a little squee noise lol.

Just looks so good matey :) One thing, I would avoid the 'fill and blow' technique with the Mayhems pastel... it's got some narsty shit in there... definitely not something you want in your mouth.

Also, I had to dye mine quite a bit to get it 'orange' and not 'pinky orange', do hollah if you don't fancy the colour from the bottle as I've got plenty of dye left if you need some. (yellow (makes it a deeper 'richer' orange ), orange and red)
 
This is quality, truly great work

Does it come in a flat packed form :)

I have been talking with a mate which we are considering mass producing some desks. Which will be in a packed form so all you would have to do is screw it together yourself.
There is a lot of stuff that can happen before that though! I will be making another desk after this project that will be the king to this one. Since doing the current desk I have outlined flaws and other things that if making another desk I could make it 10x more awesome :D


Every time i see this thread pop up i have to admit i make a little squee noise lol.

Just looks so good matey :) One thing, I would avoid the 'fill and blow' technique with the Mayhems pastel... it's got some narsty shit in there... definitely not something you want in your mouth.

Also, I had to dye mine quite a bit to get it 'orange' and not 'pinky orange', do hollah if you don't fancy the colour from the bottle as I've got plenty of dye left if you need some. (yellow (makes it a deeper 'richer' orange ), orange and red)

unfortunately there really isn't an easy way to do it :(
However, I have a cunning plan ;)
use crystal tube A) to poor 1L of mayhems Concentrate in the loop without blowing or anything.
Replace Crystal link A) with crystal link B) and fill the loop with water and blow. This means that the tube I blow on will have 0% mayhems residue on it :)

Hmmm, thanks for the tip! I need to get some more Mayhems Concentrate so I will just get a small yellow dye bottle but thanks man :)


anywho;

I probably won't be able to get another huuuge update out till next week as I have had a lot of work lately!

However, will just let you know what i've been up to on this;
I have finished wiring the GPU cables,
I took the loop apart and gave it a final flush out to get rid of any internal flakes that came from the radiator.
I got some Black SATA Data cables to replace the red ones
Time to start sleeving everything which will be a painstakingly long process but "perfection takes time", and with sleeving. I don't settle for anything that isn't perfect.

here is a quick snap that I took with my HTC One, the DSLR has been kidnapped by my mother for a few days :P

I have made the decision to only use ONE CPU cable, this is to reduce cable clutter and I think it looks much more aesthetically pleasing. I will only be overclocking my 3770k to a 24/7 clock of 4.5 @ 1.28v so no need for the second CPU cable.

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Right, So a little update. Been super busy with work and with study so haven't had much time to do the desk. Even though the updates are getting smaller, the desk is nearly finished!

to do-
*Fan wiring from rad 1 to rad 2
*Keyboard tray
*Cable Management

First things first, www.computerlounge.co.nz sponsored me some replacement Black SATA Data cables to replace my red ones and also an NZXT 2m White LED Kit so thank you very much for this!
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Anyways! I started with wiring up my GPU cables. measuring every wire, and not one being the same length. A long process however well worth it
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Since double cables are the such a pain in the arse I soldered them in just for extra security as the "wings" do not bite into the top wire because of the 2-wire thickness
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A long while later the cable was done! Just to make sure the measurements were accurate I put some rubber bands on them. This also helps "train" the wires so that they stay like that.
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Both wires done, took me about 3 hours...
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Time to sleeve! When sleeving double wires you lose the general sense of where the sleeve has to end up, and you can't really use a sleeving tool to line it up either as 16awg and 18awg would need different spacings etc *blah blah blah* TL;DR: I mark some lines to where the sleeve needs to go to with a sharpie, meaning an accurate result every time!
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I then use a "dummy" connector to put the pin in while it is still hot. This comes in really handy when you have done the bottom row of double cables. Instead of trying to push ANOTHER double set on the bottom row, it is good to have the dummy connector. It lets the shrink cool down, and set with the "box" shape so that it will be easy to slide into the proper connector without deforming it.
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Finished cable
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Don't think I need to elaborate too much on a basic Sleeving FAQ. For any help look at Lutro0 on YouTube. You will never need to watch another tutorial after watching his :)
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Midway through the 24-pin
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Done! 3.5 hours of sleeving results in one 24-pin... lol
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Cables in and doing a test fit. Very happy with how it's looking!
NOTE: I will probably be using the Modsmart cable clips for about 2 months. Then take them off. This should allow time for the cables to be trained and need no supports. It will be super tidy, was considering cable lacing them but personally I think it doesn't look THAT great. Trained cables needing no support will look much better
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That is all for now, will have the build done by 1st of September I promise!

Phil
 
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Absolutely stunning sleeving work dude, as usual the squee continues :) SO looking forward to seeing this finished :)
 
As SuB says , " Absolutely Stunning " . Your cabling and sleeving looks great.
The time took to measure each wire was well worth it .
I can't wait to see the finished product .
 
As SuB says , " Absolutely Stunning " . Your cabling and sleeving looks great.
The time took to measure each wire was well worth it .
I can't wait to see the finished product .

Thanks mate!

A very long and tedious process measuring each cable, but like you I think they look great too :)

It's the little things in custom builds that make the difference!
 
a quick update.

Have been waiting for a few weeks for my order from PPCS containing my mod/smart clips and also my extra Mayhems Orange Concentrate, as well as some yellow dye (To make the orange a more richer orange)

I started playing around with them with my GPU Cables. They aren't as nice of clips as I thought they would be. They leave the cables quite loose where as I would rather them be tight so it would leave the cables how i'd like them.
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I went off to the shed and grabbed a spare trash sheet of 3mm Perspex that I will use for my compression clamp for the cable management. I forgot to take pics, but It is pretty basic. Measure, drill holes. Give edges a sand with 400 grit sandpaper. Simple ;)
It works great, clamps the cables down perfectly!
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I forgot to think about the GPU cables while doing the 24-pin.. hehe.
I just screwed another motherboard stand-off so that allowed me room to put the GPU cables underneath
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Since my SSD's are in an awkward place, this is how I routed my Sata Data cables. Had to tape them on to make things super easy as it's near impossible to try wiggle them into the right place when the board is sitting on the standoffs.
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After being happy with how the cables were it was time to chuck the loop back together
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Eugh, yuck. It's a shame that the cables at the PSU end look so bunched up. There isn't a way around it, it's the tidiest I can achieve with how I have laid the desk out. With the next desk I build I will certainly have the cables route under the desk so no bunchyness can be seen. Mind due I don't think the cables look as horrible as they could have been!
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Took some clips off of the CPU cable to tidy things up a little
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Really happy with this end of the cabling!
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There is an extra Sata cable, and a USB 2.0 Cable that comes out of the Akasa media box thing (can't remember what they're called... oopsie) that I will not be needing at the moment, though will be adding them in the future so just cleanly hiding them under it for now
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Right, the last picture for this update. That I will explain in the next update, see you next time ;)
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Very nice.
I agree that routing the cables under the desk would look better but i think it still looks amazing.
Excellently braided cables
 
I have to say I really don't like those black plastic clips all over the cables because it breaks the orange up.

Apart from that it's a really good use of space.
 
I dunno, I kinda like seeing the cabling like that. Also makes it easier to perform maintenance/upgrades in the future without it being any more of a hassle than it needs to be.
 
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