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Project Sestren Worklog - World's First Back/Outside Mounted Tri Loop Cube!

pc1x1

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Joined
Sep 12, 2009
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- a PC1X1 project -

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History:

Computing in general has been a hobby ever since I was young. I started back in Dos/Windows95 era at the tender age of 8 years old. Since then I have always been trying to evolve and exceed my previous work. Computing to me is a journey, so I am not worried about the end result. This build has been in the making for a little while now. I figured it was about time to see how far I can currently go. The computer is named after Sestren, the main computer/entity in the Panzer Dragoon Universe.

Theme:

Performance and Elegance, and Pioneering the World's First Outside Mounted Triple Radiator Cube!

Phases:
Phase 1: Computer Case Modifications, pre-planning, and 70% parts acquisition. [Complete]
Phase 2: Computer Case painting and assembly, test run on previous hardware [In Progress]
Phase 3: Rebuild with next generation hardware, ala i7 etc.
Phase 4: Multi-monitor Display Expansion to Hex Monitors

Parts List:

-Sestren’s Core-

  • Optical Removable Media:
[1] Pioneer DVD-RW​
  • Solid State Removable Media:
[1] Koutech Floppy/Media Reader​
  • Processor:
[1] TBA​
  • Motherboard:
[1] TBA​
  • Solid State Drives:
[4] TBA Raid 0​
[4] Icy Dock 2.5 to 3.5​
  • Hardrives:
[1] 1 TB External Hardrive​
[1] 250 GB External Hardrive​
[2] 300 GB Velociraptor Hardrives Raid 0​
[2] 640 GB Internal Hardrives Raid 0​
[1] 1 TB Internal Hardrive​
[1] 500 GB Internal Hardrive​
  • Raid Controller:
[1] Areca 1680IX Raid Controller​
  • Hot Swappable 3.5 Drive Bays:
[2] Athena Power Backplane​
  • Memory:
[2] TBA 12 gigs of DDR3 Ram​
  • Monitors:
[6] Dell 3007WFP-HC 30in Monitor​
  • Monitor Stand:
[1] Custom Hexa Monitor Stand​
  • Video Cards:
[2] Multi Card GPU X2 Series​
[1] Single Slot GPU​
  • Power Supply:
[2] Enermax Revolution85+ 1050w​
  • Computer Case:
[1] Lian Li PC-343B​
.......Removable Motherboard Tray​
.......Window​
.......Side Panel​
.......Top Panel​
.......Top Radiator Mounting​
.......Front Panel​
.......Lian Li Black Universal Bezel​
  • Cooling:
[3] Swiftech Pumps with Reservoir Tops​
[1] Hardware Labs 360mm GTX Radiator​
[1] Swiftech 360mm Radiator​
[1] Swiftech 240mm Radiator​
[2] Swiftech Rad Boxes​
[1] GTZ CPU Waterblock​
[2] TBA GPU Waterblocks​
[1] TBA Single Slot GPU Waterblock​
[60 Ft] Clear 7/16” ID (5/8” OD) Tubing​
[1] Kama Bay​
[X] Various Fittings, Rotaries, Clamps, Multi Card Water Links​
[X] Heatsinks
-Accessories-

  • Fan Controllers:
[4] Zalman Black Fan Controllers​
[1] Lian Li Black Fan Controller​
  • Fans:
[12] 120mm Yate-Loons Fans​
[6] 120mm Scythe Ultra-Kazes​
[3] 80mm Coolermaster Riffle Fans​
[2] 80mm Silverstone Fans​
  • Fan Grills:
  • HTPC/Visual Display Units:
[1] Antec Multi Station Premier Pro​
  • Cables:
[1] Rounded Red Floppy Cable​
[1] Sata Cable​
[3] 4x Sata Octopus Cables​
  • Cable Organizers and Accessories:
[X] Red/Black Male-Female Connectors​
[X] Red/Black 3 Pin Fan Connectors​
[X] Red/Black Various Wire Loops​
[X] Blue/Black Velcro Ties​
[X] Zip Ties​
  • Lighting and Misc:
[500 Ft] Sleeving/Heatshrink​
[1] Logisys 12v Relay​
[2] 15in White CCFL​
[1] Bubble Blue CCFL​
[X] Velcro Strips​
[2] 7-Port Hubs​
[2] UPS 850 Watts
  • Operating System:
[1] Windows 7 Ultimate x64​
Notes:
* Must keep HT
* Target 4.0 ghz on all 4 cores
* Temperatures under 50'C Idle
* Ram @ 1600 mhz

Front Bay Configuration:

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1. Pioneer DVD-RW.................... 10. Koutech Floppy/Media Reader
2. Zalman Fan Controller............. 11. Zalman Fan Controller
3. Athena Bay........................... 12. Athena Bay
4. "" ....................................... 13. ""
5. "" ....................................... 14. ""
6. Kama Bay ............................ 15. Antec Premier
7. "" ....................................... 16. ""
8. "" ....................................... 17. Lian Li TR-5B
9. Zalman Fan Controller ............ 18. Zalman Fan Controller


Slot Array: (Subject to change, due to motherboard availability)
[1. PCIE 1x
[2. PCIE 16x - Graphics Card
[3. Blank
[4. PCIE 16x Graphics Card
[5. PCI
[6. PCIE 16x Graphics Card
[7. PCIE Areca Raid

Sponsors:
My Nuclear Family, Mom and Dad

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Petra's Tech Shop - www.petrastechshop.com/ Thanks to: Alex Venz, Quoc

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Enermax USA - www.enermaxusa.com Thanks to: Wei Yang, Tom

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MNPCTECH - www.mnpctech.com/ Thanks to: Bill Owen


Thanks!

Danny Bui [H]
silent-circuit [H]
enginurd [H]
Zero82z [H]
PradaG [H][XS]

Special Thanks to!
My Parents, for believing in me and helping fund this wonderful project.

My Aunt Marly for driving me around to get the Cube painted.

Built in the USA

Copyright Information:
I am not affiliated nor work with neither this forum, nor any on the sponsors directly in any way. I am an Enthusiast, and thus want to share my passion through this build log. Sponsored, and donated items are courtesy on the sponsors. Logo's and other copyrighted information belongs to each respective owners! My opinion and build is my own. Thanks!

Please feel free to suggest changes, ideas, etc! Criticism welcomed, also feel free to help shape/change the layout etc.

Sincerely,
PC1X1
 
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Update 1:

This is the first part, basic building conceptualization and mods.

Shout out to Petra's Water Tech Shop, for great customer service.

This is a work in progress, and I am on a strict deadline, and thus this is a temporary build. Also due to cost of this build, it will take a while. This is merely phase one. I presume it will be worked on / finished within 3 months. So far theres only one radiator mounted, but more are coming. Work will resume in early May. Please keep in mind theres finger prints, reflections, case wasn't cleaned etc, etc, since I know this is temporary, so it will look much better in the end, I promise :).

Current Temperatures are great, OC'ed CPU at 39'C idle, and mid 40's on Load. Radiator with 5x 120 H CFM Fans.

Many more parts, including i7 920, 12 gigs of ram, Geforce 280 GTX's, etc coming at a later date.
This is the front for now. Still pending 2 more Zalman Controllers, an Antec Premier, and a Kama Bay, and another Athena Power Swap Bay. Also note the little mod I made to cover up the gap the Zalman and Athena Power bay, its on the later pictures.

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Here's is the beginning of the actual CPU Water Loop, there will be 3 water loops total eventually. I am thinking of modding a second floor in this space and putting more pumps there or perhaps mounting them vertically. When the pumps arrive I will make my decision. The pump has to be a bit forward from the actual bay so theres space for fan controllers in my drive bays. One of the things I was adamant about was keeping all 18 drive bays relatively free. With some form of function, i.e something installed be it a fan controller a drive, etc. One side is all Hardware, other side is all Water. No mix, I want to be as clean as possible.

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No UV or Water Addictives except Biocide. Theme is clean.

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Above is the first test run to see where possible kinks, if any appeared. Even without Smart Coils flow was really good.

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Above is the modded Backside where the radiators tubes go in. They are measured and spaced to match the radiator.

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Quick view of the inside, its starting to shape up (This is my current and temporary motherboard)

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Radiator is mounted and I am checking for clearance on the wires. One fan has to be removed for wires to fit, otherwise its perfect. They make a shape that I will lock into place eventually.

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Where the pump will live, this is prior to being bolted down. And DAMN!! Is this tough aluminum to drill.

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Pump is drilled in and mounted, notice how clean It looks, you can barely see the screw on the underside.

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Loop is starting to take shape. Of course will be calibrated and will use some form of hooks to hold it, but even on its own its looking pretty good.

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Front side, again theme is elegance and cleanliness, so I only want 2 tubes per loop coming in. No hodgepodge, and even though this is overkill in terms of dissipation, I am not using fancy fittings, etc. No waste on aesthetics, but a bit of waste in the amount of loops, but thats in the name of keeping things seperate and clean. Also for ultimate performance.

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Starting to guide the wires.

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And the plugging begins.

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Sorry for being blurry, this is a LED Bubble light, it simulates ocean currents using light, with the lights off, the back (Where all the water cooling is) shines through the Wire Hole and looks like theres around sloshing around, I dunno I thought it looked pretty cool :).

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White Cold Cathodes are go.

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This is my own creation/idea. To dissipate Heat faster, I have this little mod of 80mm white fans shooting air up.

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Two mighty Silverstone 80'smm

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Time to start routing, however I changed my mind, and to forgo having to buy a CCFL extension, I simply reversed it and plugged its converter box near it, you will see it in the upcoming pictures.

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More wire routing, although these are now sleeved, however I think I sleeved to much because now its harder to fit them, so that may have been a mistake, still working on this part of the project. Also I am terrible at sleeving, if your awesome feel free to come over, I shall buy you a beer.

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I made a cool little track of wire organizers so I could tuck and pull the lengths I needed, in a spiral fashion.

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Visualization

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Tada sleeving!

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Was running out and in trying to save the planet and being cheap, I only sleeved most of what is visible hehehe.

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Sleeving that CCFL, its a 15incher btw.

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Final routing for now, made a cage with Modders mesh to protect CCFL cables.

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How its shaping up in its current form, This was just a test run, to make sure all components work, and I need the computer for school etc. So I am stopping here for now.

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Here's a sideway view. Keep in mind, since I still need to get alot of extensions, alot of things will be routed. Also I think I just may route all my Power cables, through the top of the motherboard. The opening port is to small for everything. It should look better as well.

Anyhow please let me know suggestions, nothing is set in stone, I have no deadline for this build, so feel free to suggest anything :). I also made two more holes for all the wires to come through they are on the right of each radiator mount (aka the back 120mm fans), Came out pretty cool. Minor scratches on the back when the drill came off my hand, the damn thing is a pain to drill through, but overall I think its pretty cool.

I am short on time, and Ill format this thread much better later :).

Thanks for checking out Phase 1. There will be around 5 phases total.

My only current problems is that its to loud, and I am not sure which fan is causing it, I will look when I have time.

Also this is super strange, but my Smart Coils, just broke off by themselves. I am not sure if they were stored for to long prior to coming to me, but they cracked in lots of pieces simply by touch. Very strange. Heres a pic of whats left XD.

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RIP Smart Coils.

Please Feel free to criticize, just keep in mind its a work in progress. I can always use new ideas. Thanks again! This is my first build log, so pardon my newbness at this, Ill work on making it better as I go along.

Computer powers several monitors including my main 30'. More Monitors one day :), but thats for another build log ;)
 
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So what does 290 ft of sleeving look like ?

See below :).

Had a bit of a hard time making sure it was all correct though as the pictures on MurderMods do not match the description, theres more sleeving in the photos than actually comes with it, or at least looks that way. However it came in as described in text and thanks to Kirk for great customer service for checking with me. Had the poor guy on the phone with me for a while, last time I had him for 37 minutes, this time he ran away at 16 ;).

Poor Alex from Petra's is also a victim, I had him for 40 minutes before as well, heh!

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I am working on getting the parts for the other 2 loops, will keep ya posted!
 
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Nice build! Really looking forward to more progress!

Thanks! A major update is coming in a few days, right now I am working on the logistics for migrating to Windows , so around the 16ish or possibly sooner, I should start working on the cube again.

Meanwhile more parts came in :)

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Here's a small teaser update:

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Here's the water cooling stuff, and sleeving tool, inside the green box, is lots of surprisingly expensive crap

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Closer looks at the Kazes and their fan grills, and radiators, ok time to unpack this stuff

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But first, lets sidetrack into fan sleeving, these Yate Loons, have a unnecessary 4 pin molex attached, time to remove it

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Another picture of how I am going to sleeve the wires, I also broke one, which set me back a few bucks to buy replacement tips :(

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Testing fitting, and its starting to look like a computer now. At least this is what you get when you cross a SERVER + HTPC + GAMING PC

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This is only the beginning of what I have to organize X_X

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Expensive Crap(It really adds up!) The $600 GeForces are cheap, when you factor in cumulative accessories cost!

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More Crap

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It never ends! At this point I am trying to figure out, how the heck can I organize this properly, I am also banned to my room only, hah so no wide open spaces anymore

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Yup more crap

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Say hi to the server, its the silver Lian Li in the back, just running a podcast while working on this long and tedious build

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Heres the cut aluminum top plate of what I call the PSU Garage

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Here you can see how think it is, it also has anti vibration material applied to it, since a pump is going to be on top of it, although I am going to use a Gel on the pump as well, so hopefully little to no vibration

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Heres the mock up, ie unbolted PSU Garage, it stands on 4 alluminium rods, to avoid and chemical reactions, so those took a while to find. Overall looks pretty good I think, its simple but works, thats the idea inside, simple but usefull

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Another view of the front, the hole will have a kama bay in it, I still need to make dividers since these damn accessories have gaps in them sometimes.

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Cables and my Radeon 3870x2, ram

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Organized crap, say hi to server again

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Ok No more organizing the crap, now it just needs to magically get inside the cube

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Heres the garage in all its glory, I am going to go file it now

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More organized crap, so I can actually store it better

And that's it for now, more stuff coming soon!
 
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Here's a quick update on the sleeving.

The computer parts for now is actually done. Instead of the Areca 1222, I opted higher and went with the 1680ix + battery back up. So I can hook up to 128 hardrives, which isn't happening, but at least I can plug in all my 10 :). And I should have good performance whenever I run 4x SSD's in Raid 0. Plus I can run Raid 6, 5, combos, etc,etc.

Also my original motherboard the Asus P5WD2-E Premium, unfortunately decided to die, when I sent it in for Asus for RMA, they couldn't fix it, and instead sent me a P5WDH Deluxe, theres some trade offs, and I miss my old board, but this board opened up a cheaper upgrade path for me. So instead of getting an I7 for now, I am going to wait a little longer. I spent a bit to much on this upgrade as it is, and it will be cost beneficial to wait on the following, until prices drop.

This is what's left to get, which I'll get at a later date.

CPU: i7 or better, whatever is available.

Motherboard: EVGA X58 Classified or whatever is best OC'er period at the time.

Ram: 12 gigs of Corsair Dominator GT or better.

Graphics Card:
GeForce 295 GTX x2 Quad SLI or Whatever Quad Fire, or Quad SLI gives the best performance.
GeForce 260 216 PhysX If I go Nvidia, I'd like to add Physics support.

Power Supply #2:
Enermax Rev 85+ *This I want to buy ASAP, whenever I can afford to.

Water Blocks
295 GTX x2 or whatever GPU's I end up with.
260 GTX

Basically I need CPU, GPU, Motherboard, Waterblocks, and PSU #2

For now, I'll be running a Q9550, clocked at whatever I can get it to clock, most likely around 2.66-3.0 ghz overclocked (i975x Limitations) and my 3870X2, and 4 gigs of ram, and one 1050w PSU, which honestly for work, runs great, so I am set for now :), and if I happen to be lucky and run into disposable income, then Upgrades happen :).

Everything else is A-OK, guess I can't complain, Ill be with a pretty decent system noneless, not top of the line, but should run mainstream (I hope)

Heres the quick update.

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Here's the back of the computer, looks cool when everything is mounted.

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Radiator #3, 240mm all mounted up and ready to go, note that all my radiators are using high CFM fans, on both sides, ie the 240 has 4 fans, and the 360's have 6 each, 2x swiftech radiators are running all on yate loons, while the HW Rads, are running 6 Ultra Kazes Fat

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The insides before, Now its all sleeved, Ill show pics in the next update :)

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The tools are ready to go! Let the Sleeving begin!

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The Swiftech Radiator single pass, I double insulated everything, so this is the first step, it has the sleeving applied but I went a step further and added another layer of heat shrink as a finishing touch, you will see it in the next picture, looks nice imo

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Heres an upclose shot, all grills are proportionally aligned.

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Another Angle

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Heres the single Dual PSU Boot cable, looked decent, but I went ahead and tore apart that sleeving and am individually sleeving it now

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Just so you notice, I changed all the fans Internal connectors, they were an uglyish brown before, and are now black and or red. However sometimes the pins would break, so I had to actually remake the cables, ie cut, strip, crimp/sodder etc. I am going to have to do that ALOT, because I changed all connectors to black, etc

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The pumps are sleeved, notice, the molex, and fan connectors are now black as well :), its the small details, comon MDPC!

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Upclose shot of the double insulation, this isn't the best one I did, nor the worst, but I think it looks good overall

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The 240 Radiator, sleeved

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How the sleeving magic is done

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Internal connectors, Firewire, USB, and Sound, I put 3 heatshrinks on firewire, to differentiate, and also help hold it, the reason the cables are fat, is because Lian Li, includes headers and extra single strands, I want to keep the headers, since its standard, but in case one day, I get a mobo thats not Standardize, I kept the single pins as well

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Heres the power, Reset, HDD light, etc sleeved

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The Insides of the Power, Reset, etc, etc

And thats it for now!
 
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Update: Sleeving!

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Let the Sleeving begin.... again..

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Better shot, time to pull

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Doesn't come off, seems stuck, don't want to try my luck, time to improvise

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Messing with the Lian Li Fan Controller, heres the first tips

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Man that was alot of work, starting to look good though

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Upclose look at craftmanship

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Better shot

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Took a detour and decided to mess with the USB plugs, they look better this way imo

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Trying to take a picture of the jacket

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Still trying....

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Good enough -_-

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Back to the Veris thingy

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The Veris's USB plug

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Closer shot, Looks good, time to add finishing touches, I used like 5 heatshrinks to reach that effect

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Back to the fan controller

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looks good

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Comparison before and after

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Little better shot, I even made new stickers for Fan 1, etc :)

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Resemblance is uncanny :)

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And heres another one

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Time to work on the Power cable for the Fan Controller

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Remove those Molex Pins

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Heh its naked, err whats the pin out order again ;)

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To get here was a nightmare!

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Looks awesome though, one side is double insulated the other is not, but not for long

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Up close look at the connectors
 
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Update:

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Sleeved Speaker, looks uniform and sleek, as it has dual insulation

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Up close shot of the speaker

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Speaker Tail

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Water Pump LEDs

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USB Before

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All Sleeving is preplanned and set aside like this, this is all the heatshrink that went in the REVISED Octopus Sata cable, I wanted for it to have a better finish, and I sleeved its Sideband, looks kewl in my opinion

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Heres the Sata Cable finished, in all its glory, as well as the Sleeved USB connectors, its for the Veris, and for the Floppy

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Up Close of the Sata Connector

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Upclose of the legs of the Sata Connector

And that's it for today.
 
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Update: Basically now finishing the extensions, ie Fan, PSU, the actual PSU + cables, then the Sata Cables, the build it, and they will come.

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Preparing the Cold Cathode Tube, its too bluish, and hence converted!

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Unfortunately the heatshrink does not wrap around it , so I had to be creative and create two jackets for it

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Time to put it inside its condom

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Side View

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Working on the fan extensions

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Here's the Bubble Cold Cathode

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The Bubble Cold Cathode power

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Better Pic of the above

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I am not using any brackets, I want my entire 7 Case slots free for gear, so I dismantled and will reroute everything internally, I will be using a Logisys RM01 to remotely turn it on and off

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Time for surgery, because this CCFL uses a Y Cable, and its not to proportion, time to cut

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Cuts in place

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Time to put it back together

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Complete Y Cable

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Just as a finishing touch, I also heatshrunk the contact points, all of them individually for extra protection

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Time to work on the Fan Controller Power Connectors

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Tada! If only it were this fast in real life

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Time to work on cold cathode extensions, unfortunately because they are both white, I am using a multimeter, to make sure the right ends come out, because when you sleeving they may go sideways etc.

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Tested each individually mutiple times, then tested all of them together, worked great, PASSED

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Each individually

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Heres a fan Extension, the way it comes, its actually very well made, but I can make it better, so I shed tears while tearing it apart

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Tearing it

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Go figure to save money, they only heatshrink the middle contact point, heh! Very Chinese, cheap but works, I will heatshrink all of them : /

And working on that tomorrow, Take Care!
 
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Update: Well I felt bad for the poor 2 people that are subscribed to this, so I formatted the pictures anyhow, so you can follow my fun. Although I am pretty weary of sleeving hehe... only thing left to arrive is the 165 ft of sleeving.

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This was my red sleeving and more heatshrink I needed, note the drawings Nils is famous for, as per request thats me working on my PC-343 cube ;)

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That's me everyday.... Sleeving....

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That was that order, that's both packages

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Here's one type of fan extension, its like always a before and after shot, since theres like 20+, maybe 30? fans in this computer, I have alot of these to do heh

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This is the CCFL relay, partially sleeved and my coconut, not sleeved

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Another shot, and coconut again, it was pretty good, but over priced not to much water in there : /

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More work on it

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Almost there, and also you can see why I take so long, I sleeve everything individually, then I sleeve as a whole etc, etc, many steps : /

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Heres a close up of it completed, its alot more work, but I believe the results speak for themselves

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Here's input and output labeled

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Here's a stock shot of a standard sleeved 3 pin fan cable extension

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Took a break to reflect on whats sleeved and what needs to be sleeved, theres more sleeved stuff inside the cube, so many wires!!!

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After killing the previously seen cable, here it is reborn, and also with a red tip, to keep in theme, ( Watch me end up with a Blue motherboard or something, lol)

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Tada! Here's the New and Improved, I mean its both new and improved, thats pretty amazing

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Another shot, now 36 more of these to go XD

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Heres a shot of heatshrink, no one will ever see EVArrr! However To keep my mind at ease, and for quality, I individually heat shrank each contact point, previously they came with 1, I did all 3, which imho is more complete, not needed per say, but this whole build has not needed parts, heh!

CIMG2028.jpg

Taking a break from 3 Pin fans, Those pins love to break and make me start over :(, and did all the Molex extensions cables, here is a before and after

CIMG2029.jpg

And Tada! there's also 5 that look the same but are smaller, for things that don't need to go through the entire case

That's it for now, and onward to 3 pin fans extensions, then finally psu extensions, then PSU itself, and I am done with sleeving for PHASE 1 of this project.

This is a 2 part project, and I hope to get part 1 done by this weekend, not likely but trying.

Be back later!
 
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Quick Update:

Nothing to terribly new, I finished all the extensions, and now just need the 2 Power Supply Extensions, and all the Power Supply and its cables to be sleeved, and then I start on the actual build.

CIMG0001.jpg

The reason the extensions take so long, is I want them to 1) quality, 2) they are opposite reversals, ie, if laid flat, there are no kinks, and the top and bottom are reversed so when I arch them, or circle them, they connect into themselves, you be surprised how much harder this makes, all customs extensions are done :). Was quite challenging, but once in a groove I was able to knock alot out, the main problems is when something goes wrong, and I have to redo the entire thing, multiple times

CIMG0002.jpg

Here's what's left the PSU extensions

CIMG0003.jpg

Here's whats sleeved, the other stuff is inside the cube already

CIMG0004.jpg

Here's the psu cables that need sleeving

I am hoping to have enough energy and determination to finish them today - tomorrow, and start the build by latest tomorrow night. And Monday finish building, and Tuesday be on Windows 7.

And that completes Phase 1 of the project.

Phase 2, is new hardware, also I could use some suggestions on Phase 2.

I am thinking of adding accent LED's, and using Metal Polish and making the inside reflective, need ideas! I can't powder coat it myself, so need ideas I can do at home. Also not to keen on painting the insides with normal paint.

Alright Talk to you later.
 
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Anyone have any suggestions on opening the male pins of the sleeves, the female ones I opened, albeit it was really difficult, but the male do not want to come out.

Also in case one of the pins break, anyone know where I could pick up replacements? Thanks!

Pics!

CIMG0001-1.jpg


CIMG0002-1.jpg


CIMG0003-1.jpg


CIMG0004-1.jpg


CIMG0005.jpg
 
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Quick Update:

Thanks for Enermax for helping me out with some cabling!

Nothing terribly exciting, and keep in mind this is a test cabling run, I am going to remove everything and tidy, but man theres alot of wires haha.

Also I got a new camera, so next update will feature pictures from it :), and Ill attempt to take better pictures haha.

CIMG0006.jpg

This is the Veris FVD, cable it runs on 24 pins to the mobo, so I can remotely boot the computer, its just acts like a relay

CIMG0007.jpg

Dual power supply cable, this and veris are all that needs to be sleeved

CIMG0008.jpg

Another full shot, funny story while a bit angry, I melted this cable, heh! Couldn't get the pins out and thus yea...... bad idea, but it works heh!

CIMG0009.jpg

Top Radiator, with fan wires attached to the side

CIMG0010.jpg

Back Fans wired and routed

CIMG0011.jpg

Better shot at the routing

CIMG0012.jpg

Back side and adding fan extensions

CIMG0013.jpg

Everything is routed through the middle

CIMG0014.jpg

To many cables, though in a practical sense you can't see them

CIMG0015.jpg

Side where Motherboard stays, this is basically what will be visible, and with window you can't see any of the cabling period

CIMG0016.jpg

See what I mean ;p, everything is routed so I can pull and tug it a little, so I have some leway

CIMG0017.jpg

This part needs to be redone, so its more feasible, working on that as we speak, or read, you know what I mean ;)

CIMG0018.jpg

Back of cube

CIMG0019.jpg

Welcome to my nightmare ;)
 
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Update: Preparing for the rebuild: Meanwhile I am reorganizing again, and will start sleeving the psu extensions, so I won't be idle. I still want to wrap up Phase 1, by latest Next Sunday. Wish me luck.

Also hopefully the pictures are better :).

IMG_0011.jpg

Preparing the PSU

IMG_0012.jpg

Finally both Radiators are mounted! (that didn't last long)

IMG_0013.jpg

Organize wiring, had all the wiring passed, and despite space, came out pretty good, but I wasn't satisfied, and that motherboard tray was really ticking me off

IMG_0014.jpg

Shot of the inside

IMG_0015.jpg

Took off the roof to work better (why didn't I think of this before beats me, Live and Learn!)

IMG_0016.jpg

The Idea here is good, but execution is so so, this is the area I wan't to improve the most, now that the case is naked, I have better access and ideas

IMG_0017.jpg

Top view of the dual 360's on the back, its a long case, no lan parties for this guy : /

IMG_0018.jpg

Neatly wired back, this part will basically remain the same, I like how it came out

IMG_0019.jpg

Quick Picture of the back, my table is blocking the light

IMG_0020.jpg

Better picture of the above

IMG_0021.jpg

Making the Power Supply Cables pretty, up to this part, I had not decided to powerder coat it yet...

IMG_0022.jpg

Quick picture of the front as I am looking where can I drill the rivets, I am uber annoyed at this point ;)

IMG_0023.jpg

Yea this isn't going to work, on the right side, wheres theres all the wire organizers, theres horrid but useable space to tighten the screws, but on the left side, its hopeless, at this point I knew I had to do something, and at least I proved my proof of concept, unfortunately now I have to tear everything apart and start over.

IMG_0024.jpg

Meanwhile my army of PSU pins have arrived, just in case I get angry ;)

IMG_0025.jpg

My naked cube!

IMG_0026.jpg

All that is left to remove is the plastic wire organizers, I am pretty tired at this point

IMG_0027.jpg

Top view of the bare aluminum

IMG_0028.jpg

It was a huge pain to remove those wheels, I gave it all I got, and at least it was enough, but doesn't change the fact that it was uber hard.

And thats it, hopefully monday or tuesday Ill get it coated, and continue the madness, be back soon!
 
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Alrighty, Hows it going Tech Power Up!

Its been long time coming, due to the spam filter, the log was blocked temporary, but Its not spam, or is it?

Anyhow I will be aggresively working on it, and be ready for new updates in the coming days, feel free to field any questions, comments, critiques,

I am working on better pictures, and a few surprises are in store, be back soon!
 
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- Thread Updated,

Thanks to SneekyPeet! and Wiz!

More updates coming soon!
 
Alrighty, Hows it going Tech Power Up!

Its been long time coming, due to the spam filter, the log was blocked temporary, but Its not spam, or is it?

Anyhow I will be aggresively working on it, and be ready for new updates in the coming days, feel free to field any questions, comments, critiques,

I am working on better pictures, and a few surprises are in store, be back soon!

Looking forward to watching what you come up with. One suggestion is on ur grills, normal perforated grills block quite a bit of airflow but adding another grill on top blocks even more. Since your blue radiation grills are so simple why not mask the design off on your case and paint the radiation symbol on the case instead of using a second grill on each fan.
 
Photo's are dead...WTF?
 
I know what you went through with the wheels, Have you thought about putting nicer wheels on.
 
Looking forward to watching what you come up with. One suggestion is on ur grills, normal perforated grills block quite a bit of airflow but adding another grill on top blocks even more. Since your blue radiation grills are so simple why not mask the design off on your case and paint the radiation symbol on the case instead of using a second grill on each fan.
The grills are only on the Facades, Mark can you clarify exactly what you mean? Also they will all possibly be changed, I am looking into that, since there was some negative feedback on how they came out.
This is uber shweet! Hmmm...ideas.
http://www.flexiglow.com/products/LazerLED.htm

Put those behind drive bays!

IDK of anything else...lol, ure too good.
Cool idea, I thought of something similar myself, I want to add leds everything, under the GPU water blocks etc! Ill be keeping this mind, though, we would add this part, a bit later on the cycle, I need to get the foundation up first heh!
Photo's are dead...WTF?
They are, are they back yet? Did you clear your cache? Let me know if theres any problems, I am paying for them to be hosted heehehe!
I know what you went through with the wheels, Have you thought about putting nicer wheels on.
Yea it was a nightmare, good thing I was working out, because jeez, took everything I had to take them off. I did think about it, I would much rather have stainless steel or something nice, I went to lowes, and home depot, searching online, but didn't find anything really compatible, if you have better luck than me, let me know, I am definitely open to making any thing in this project better :)
 
Nice work! Glad to see you got this sorted out.
 
Nice work! Glad to see you got this sorted out.

Thanks, I owe you, and I did mention how you helped me alot to Wiz :toast:. Really appreciate it! Although now if I need assistance, I'll prob come bug you heheh!
 
You are a cable sleeving GOD :respect:

Looking forward to the final product! ... BTW: get a tripod!

-----------------------------------------------
"anything worth killing is worth overkilling"...
 
You are a cable sleeving GOD :respect:

Looking forward to the final product! ... BTW: get a tripod!

-----------------------------------------------
"anything worth killing is worth overkilling"...

Thanks! It was alot of work, and I have a tripod, I just failed to use it :roll:. Rest assured, next set of pictures will be as pro as possible. I mean I am still a scrubby photographer, but will attempt more heh!

Sleeving thus far about 400 ft, quite a bit more to finish. :D
 
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