I'm not sure if this thread will be ok on here, but thought it might be interesting to some to follow the build of my first dedicated gaming PC and see how it goes right through to me OC'ing the final setup, it is on another board already so i can just post a link if moderators prefer?

The Build:

After much reading, deliberating and planning, the build has started, slowly but surely it’s coming together, still the issue about Memory and CPU to sort, but there not required just yet, the planned spec can be found here, though memory and CPU have and will change as time passes:

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18260

Thermaltake Armor V8000 CASE, DFI LANPARTY UT NF4 SLI-D Motherboard and Enermax 600W PSU



Starting with the Case, PSU and Motherboard, first part of the project is to make sure that as many wires are out of sight as possible and any that would be seen, were all bound together well. So I fitted some Carbon TechFlex sleeving and heat wrapped the ends. Some of the connectors where a pain to remove, but got there in the end.

PSU Before:



PSU After:



Then came fitting the PSU into the case, it’s a tight fit, but fitted nice snug. I'll leave the PSU in place for now so I can measure up the cables to the right places. As I’m going water cooled with this case, I want all the wires out of site as much as possible, so I placed the motherboard into the case and sorted all the mounts first. Then I marked up where the cables would need to plug into it ready to make some holes for the cables to come out from behind the motherboard.

The holes were drilled out and rubber grommets fitted:



I've feed through some of the power cables and some IDE cables for the Floppy and DVD, these will be replaced with braided cables shortly, just measuring everything up






Doesn’t look much now, but once all the proper cables are in place and cabled tied down to the motherboard tray and the others ran along the sides of the case it should be pretty bare inside. Here’s one of the back of the tray, again this will all be tided up once I’ve put in pump, etc and got all the other cables sleeved and ran around the case (Including some hidden UV Cathodes)



The DangerDen pump and Tank-O-Matic Reservoir, should be here this week so i can sort out the cabling for that, the Danger Den cooling parts and hose will be on there way from the US in a couple of weeks, hopefully the tripple radiator will fit in the front of the Case with the 3 120mm fans in front of it and allow just enough room for the controler slot and a DVD writer.

More soon, i'm off to sleeve up the fan cables and internal case wires.....

Andy

lookin good man...I really want an Armor case (I have a CM Stacker already)

have you thought about just using a fillport instead of a resevoir? (since you've already drilled here and there, you should easily be able to add a fillport to the top...ever since I put a fillport on my Stacker case, I have never went back to a resevoir)

damn to bad i don't have a dremel. i have the same/simiilar case. which is called the kandalf. the only difference is the front of the case. but basically the same. i need couple holes so i can find a place to hide thos stupid filthy wires!

I love that case man!!! how much did you shell out for it??

A_G I bought the Armor and hate it... We are going to raffle it off at the PDXlan.. you should get some tickets...

See ya in a couple days!!

very impressive Andy. Nice thread.

keep up the great work.

nice post cant wait to see how it all ends up, since im getting that case for the rig im gonna be building in a few months *see sig* just wondered how many fans you get with it?
also i read somewhere the gfx card overlaps the chipset fan have you encounted this if so how big of a problem ?

one more question people have been moaning about the way you open the panel is it realy that tricky to open?

Hope4Sun.. Good job on the sleeving...

GL with your build.. looking foward to your progress.. !!

Absolute: The case side open fine, you need to have hold of them at the rear and swing them out like there hinged at the front, be prepared to pull them off as you pass about 30 degree's and that its. The case comes with 3 fans fitted, one 80mm and 1 120mm at the rear and another 120mm mounted on the iCAGE where the HDD mount. Also another fan comes in the box to fit to the top of the case if you want.

I'm binning them all as i've just ordered aload of Red LED fans for the case, i'll have 3 120mm in the front on the raditor. As for the chipset block, i'm planning on buying one of these :

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Mips/DFIFreezer

And then modding the top with perspex and an led also adding 1/2 connectors to it, but i may not bother water cooling the Northbridge at all, but i guess its a good idea

Thanks for the replys guys, i'll hopefully add some more updates tonight, i'm just modding my D5 pump with the alloy kit from PolarFLO at the moment. Also had to order 24" rounded floppy and IDE cables (http://www.svc.com/ttc-f24-ek-19.html, http://www.svc.com/ttc-a24-es-19.html) from the USA as no one in the UK has any it seems and though the cables will be mostly hidden, it will be nice to have them all sleeved properly.


Other issues i'm having to resolve is the USB cable in the floppy drive for the built in card readers is to short to reach the MOBO, so cutting and soldering an extension in that tonight too, oh the joys!!

Andy

Well only mange time to get the DD 12V-D5 Pump upgraded with the Polarflo chrome kit, I wanted black and silver, but could only get the red and silver when ordering, but looks quite nice .

Basic kits:





One of the main reasons I went for the upgrade other than looks, is the pump I was sent only had 1 1/2" barb fitment and 1 screw fitment; the pump should come with 2 barb fitments like this :



But the Polarflo will soon fix that, a few screws and untwist the body later...



Then put the new O ring on and fasten it all up with the hex bolts provided and fit the 1/2" barbs...



Then what you will see when it’s in the case...



I still need to cut a new foam rubber base for it though as the Polarflo holder is a different size to the LAING one. Also I’ve got to sleeve up the cable and drill some fixing holes in the bottom of the case, I’ve had to remove the speaker at this time, it will be relocated.

Andy

Cant wait to see more! Always love rigs in progress. I especially like how you are hiding your cables. I cant stand the how cluttered my PSU makes my rig look, even with sleeving. Hmmm, I think I will go take out the motherboard and break out the drill.

Well as I’m still awaiting my friends return from the US with my DD water-cooling parts, my 2x1Gb Ballistix Tracer, Internal USB extension cable (for the floopy/card reader) and the 24" Cooler Master braided IDE and Floppy cables arrived.




I've decided to light my mobo from behind with 2 sets of laser LED's, so to add to there effect I wanted a reflective surface, but not to silver, so I layed up the inside of the case with black chrome. Just got to make all the holes in it for the cables and run them all through it again.






The next update should show the mobo mounted temporally so I can test out the back lights and cable management, then hopefully I can start getting the water cooling parts measured up.


Andy

ohhh Black Chrome is for de win

Sorry de win??

Very nice man .... !!! :nod:

"de win" Idiom verb = To have, or own an item that will gaurntee prestige in a future competition.

See the following for further reference : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet

:sweat:

Lol, well you learn something new everyday, i figured it was something along the lines, thanks for the link mate


Well, I mounted the mobo to see how the back lights came out, the room was not very dark so the red back light does not show very well, i thinking of going for 4" red cold cathodes instead, do you think they will heat the mother board at all? as the UV ones on the case sides seem to get a little warm?



The floppy cable and IDE cable for the DVD drive can been seen, i may loose the pull tabs to clean it up a little. The main power cable has not be connected in this picture and the molex that is hanging will supply the mobo with the the 2 connectors.

Andy

I dont think COLD Cathodes make any heat but those UV lights make the board really stand out and look badass, good job so far!

where did you position your uv lights? I have the same case and I can't mine to light up right.

I place the cathodes along the bottom fron edge and the middle strut, i did put reflective coated card behind them though to keep the light inwards and i filled the hole at the fan end of the middle strut with black card to stop light leaking out the window.



Hope this helps


Andy

I've fitted the 2 Samsung Spinpoints to the rear hard disk mount, because the triple radiator is going in the front of the case, there’s not much room to use the cases iCage. I managed to squeeze some rubber 'O' rings between the hard disks and the chassis and then screwed through some more 'O' rings to help dampen any vibrations, though I picked these drives because they should be quiet.



Then lots of goodies arrived, including the red LED fans



And all my DangerDen water cooling parts from the USA :

12 feet of Tygon, TDX CPU Block, Triple Radiator, DFI Freezer cooler, 2 x Low profile Maze 4's, 16 Ram heat sinks and assorted fittings and some AS5.



Also managed to get all the cabling sorted on the motherboard, this is all you will see of the cables , I’m happy with the results after much planning, I’ll take a picture of the other side once I’ve finished pluming in the fans and pump.





A busy week ahead flatting the DFI freezer water block as its not finished quite as well as the DD blocks, then fit all the fans and run the cables and start measuring up the pipe work and test fitting all the parts.


Andy

Great job of planning and engineering so far!

WIP threads are fun - keep us informed!

Well found a little more time to start sorting out the water cooling layout, starting with the radiator, I fitted the 1/2" barbs with PTFE tape wrapped around the thread and tightened them up onto the 'O' rings.



Then I modded a ThermoChill Performance Shroud (PS120.3) to fit the Black Ice XtremeIII Radiator, which is slightly shorter than the ThermoChill and not as thick. I just cut the four corners and then bent out the long sides slightly, this clamped straight on the radiator.



I added the Neoprene Gasket to seal the fans onto the shroud too and sealed the joins with electrical tape, I would like a nicer finish, and so might retape the whole thing with wider tape, but you get the idea





Then test fitted the shroud, radiator and fans to see how it all looked, the front of the case will need to go on obviously, should look nice with the dark red fans behind the grills. The angle of the camera makes the bottom fan look out of line, but its just perspective.



Andy

That is nice 3 120's where are the HD'(s)

Due to the Radiator and Fans taking up all the slots for the iCages, I used the secondary mounting unit, this picture shows it with the hard disks mounted but its upside down.





You can see where it goes in the case above (in the top left), handy as the PSU fan is side on to the HDD and draws air out and behind the disks on the back of the case is a 90mm fan too, so they should keep cool.

Andy

Sorry this has been a while coming and things have progressed quite a bit too, I missed some photos along the way as I lent someone the camera. I got the graphics cards and tested the board out of the case first. One of the cards was DOA so is on its way back

It was a little scary stripping down the card, but I know that motherboards, etc are pretty study really with the right treatment, here’s the card half way through having the OCZ ram sinks applied.



Once I was happy with the card being stripped and the heat sinks in place, I put the water cooling together and leak tested it, I managed some snaps of the system just before I started fitting the components to the coolers ready for the next leak test.



The wiring still needs to be plugged in and the pull tabs removed from the IDE and Floppy cables.





I wouldn’t use the clamps I used here again, they seem pretty permanent and a pain to tighten up once there on, as I found with the first few leaks. Also though the Tygon hose is very good quality, its quite limiting to how much you can route and bend it, even with the boiling it first.

More pictures to come of it once I’ve got the last of the cables out of the way and the UV in place. I need to run the power to the CPU DD block to as I added a red LED mod to it also. Then I need to sort out the bits of case that can be seen through the window, nothing that some carbon fibre film shouldn’t sort out.

At least it’s up and running now as far as windows, I just need to run all the tests to make sure it’s all stable before I start my path down the dark side of overclocking

Andy

Sexy rig man, have fun.

You have to give us a pic of that Crucial Balistix Tracer, I was so mesmerizing when my friend bought some of that beautiful RAM. :drool:

It must look great on that UT board.

That is very sweet! Thanks for the pics,

I would love to see a pic of your Red LED cpu block mod, ive only seen close ups of this mod never whole case in dark pics :nod:

I'm hoping to nab a few pics this week, i just need to solder the LED an Resistor to some wires and run them, a little more tiding up in the case and then i take some really high res pictures and some in the dark too

Andy

how about i send you my case over to your house for you to mod for me. it's the same thing except it's called the kandalf! lol nice mod
what are you going to do with the 3x120 without filters? isn't it gonna bring in some major dust storm

Would be happy to mod it for you, but a bit of a long haul lol , as for dust getting in, the case has filters fitted to the front panels that i have now reffited since putting the water cooling in place, I'll have some pics of the outside up soon too.



Andy

Andy,

I gotta say it bud,

It's a sweet job you've done matey.

Care to put a price tag on it all?

And man hours count?


- Cam

Thanks, the man hours must be a few working days at least, i'll post a price total when i have been through all my e-mail recipts.

Andy

how about a nice trade for the system. mine for yours. lol

I have to ask, the "Black Chrome", what is it?, where did you get it? From the pics all I can think of is aquarium backing? Don't really want to steal your look, but I might have to, it looks that good.

Great look. I have gotta get myself some UV for my DFI. It looks shit hot!

WOW thats a new one ... Shit hot.... LOL never heard it before.. Thats great keep up the good work soldier!!!! :nod:

very nicely done!

wow cant wait to get my rig up..same case..watercooling ...all uv reactive (no black chrome..and im not doin the wire management...as im buying uv reactive cables...) but good job so far...lol keeps me in line waiting for my system

Looks good

Looks great man! Quick question though, what did you use to cut holes in the case? Just a hole saw of some sort? I'm going to be doing similar watercooling on a Lian Li V2000 soon, and I'm not really sure how to cut that thick aluminum.

Can't wait to see the finished product in all it glory!

I just bought a couple of whole saws for the drill, they were not that much really, and got through the steel ok . Id take a large square out behind the motherboard next time to give a little more room and it would make attaching the water blocks easier as the Chipset block was a real pain.

Here’s a few snaps of the system in the dark, still some cables to tidy in the main area and run out of the way. Also the cables in the top of the case need sorting too.






Then just got to adjust the UV's and put the LEDs into the water block on the CPU, a little carbon fibre to cover some of the exposed metal and get the sides on. I've been running the system in also and screens with temps and OC to follow.

Andy

Where do the tubes heading to the upper right (of the pictures) go? Another reservoir? Or is that where it connects to the radiator?

I'm going to try to integrate a Black Ice Extreme 3 into the top of my case, hopefully on the inside if I can, I've got a mini Black Ice 2 for no real reason except I've got a pair of 80 mm holes for exhaust just above the PSU at the bottom, figured I'd use them for sumthin. Maybe I'll start up a thread of my own once I get started...Certainly could use some ideas for the project...

But anyways definitely looking good, look forward to see what oc you can get on the 3800!

The tubes go to the top of the radiator, i've got it mounted in the front of the case , i'll be adding some pictures of the that light up soon too. If you got some holes already mayber you could go dual rad, the twin in the bottom and a single or another dual in the top.

I look forward to seeing your thread on your build, i've built a lot of PC's and servers over the years, but this has been a whole new experince and made it fun again

Andy

After a little bit of tweaking and running superPi and 2 instances of Prime95, i added a fan to ahe Ram mainly becasue the air seems to hit the PWMIC nicely and bring the temps down from around 50 to 41-43 with my current OC testing.

Heres where the PWMIC chip is as far as i can tell from the threads on here with a OCZ ram sink i fitted to it as you can see in the pic.



Once a fan is added to the ram, it cools the ram and the air out the side takes some of the PWMIC



Andy

Sorry for the lack of update guys, been so busy with work and visting the girl friend. I seem to have reached the limit of my CPU OC with the heat and volts at a limit i'm happy with, running SuperPI anyway.

Its peaking at 39-42 CPU, 45 PWMIC and 36-80 Chipset when running SuperPi, heres a shot so far, shows the heat starting to drop off, straight after SuperPi completed. I'm now tweaking the volts and OC to get dual Prime95 stable.

PIC HERE

Still a little sorting of the wires to do, as well as fitting a cutsom built fan controller to balance the cooling with the noise levels (more pictures of the completed case to come)

Andy

looks awesome.

Hi i must say i love your rig , i also have armor chassi and going to go for WC and the black ice extreme III rad , was it hard mounting it in the front ?

can you post some more pics of the whole rig i would be happy i would love to se the front with the red leds.

//MyZkO.