# RedChrome gets updated..



## markkleb (May 11, 2006)

*Finally Done...*

I figured it has been a couple of months now and I figured it was time to rebuild my comp. Using a budget of $1200,,
Here is the before    http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/221

So its compleatly gutted and getting the Water Cooling thing as well as Hidden wiring(most of it)

I am going to try to make it very quiet and at the same time VERY OC friendly. I was going to use TECs but I figured they waste a LOT of power so I am using a Hydor Seltz L35 pump, Swiftech Apogee for cpu and Swiftech MCW30 on the chipset too (NForce4 chipsets are pretty warm).I have a Coolrad 22T for a Rad (its a 1/2" thicker than the Swiftech) and using 1/2 Tygon tubing.

Since im using a X850XT with AC silencer5 to help move air in the case and I am not a major gamer I didnt need WC for the GPU.

For now I will be using my 3700+(minus the IHS) that has been running up to 2910mhz so far. Il be trying Liquid Pro instead of AS-5 as well,     EDIT:Liquid Pro sucks! gone back to AS-5

Now the funny part, I am using a Jetway GT4 mobo, Jetway?? well I gave Poge my DFI and I read the Jetway OCs Very good. It better, it cost $50. Yep $50 refurbished at Newegg. It has 4 Sata2, Skt 939, and has 3 PCI 16 slots. 3? The middle one is if you use 1 VC (like me) and the outer 2 are for SLI, no jumpers no nothing just plug the cards in and go. And its red like the case...

I am going to be using 4 Hitachi Sata2 HDDs in a Raid0 array and a Gig of insane memory Geil ONE.

Did I mention im using a 400 watt PS, many will say get a 520 or 600.. But you just watch I bet it works fine..

Well Im waiting for UPS and tomorrow the rest of the stuff will show up and I get some picts showing the wiring and case mods if ur interested..


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## izybeth (May 12, 2006)

I wish I knew how to do that, are you going to show pictures?


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## markkleb (May 12, 2006)

the rest of my parts will be here Fri (damn thats today) and i will start taking picts. I spent most of today cutting up the case to hide the Waterpump and trying to figure the best place for the RAD.


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## markkleb (May 13, 2006)

Here is the Before wiring. 4 HDDs is 4X the wires. 

I have shortened the 2-4pin power connectors to the mobo (thet were about 2' long each)
Next I will cut the holes to hide the wires...
(where is the water pump gonna fit?)


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## markkleb (May 14, 2006)

Ok had a day off (kind of) so I thought I would mess around with wires.

I bought a couple of terminal blocks (only $2.50 ea). I like this european style because its all plastic (less chance of a short) and you dont need to put terminals on the ends of the wires.

Make sure if you pass wires through sheet metal you use rubber grommets to protect the wires from shorts.

I solder the end 3/16" of each wire (because it gives the screw something more solid to grab). This will be so cool as I am constantly changing stuff. All I have to do is loosen the screws and change the wiring.

Basically the Yellow wires are 12V, the Red wires are 5V, the Orange wires are 3.3V and the Black wires are grounds. I lucked out with this Silverstone Strider 400 PS because it comes with 4 Sata Connectors (usually you have to get 550 or 600 watt PS to get 4 connections)

The top 5 are for Sata 1,2 the next 5 are sata 3,4.

The bottom block is top 4 are CDRW, Floppy, Fans etc. And the bottom 4 are the same.

It sure cleans up the mobo.


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## drade (May 14, 2006)

so far its looking good! Nice block to should be fun ^^


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## wtf8269 (May 14, 2006)

Damn. Just when I thought my wiring looked really good. That's by far the best wiring I've ever seen in my life. Awesome, awesome, awesome job!


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## markkleb (May 14, 2006)

Wait till you see whats next...
(n thanks for the kind words)


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## markkleb (May 14, 2006)

Ok now on to the HDDs.

I am putting them on top because I want to put the water pump where the HDDs usually go. I also painted the inside (and outside) Black as I think when I put on the Red Chrome panels it will look real nice.

I only use 1 CDRW so I have the space. I found this really nice fan that replaces 3 of the CD slots. (Scythe Kama Bay) It has a filter (lol, a filter. More like a piece of porus foam) and a 120mm fan that will blow across the HDDs. Notice the HDDs are backwards (so the wires are hidden)

I made a couple of brackets out of simple alum.

So far I have only used the basic hand tools, Screwdriver, file, tinsnips and a cordless drill. To make the holes for the wires I just drilled a hole and cut the rest out with the tin snips. Its not perfect but  hole saws are about  $20 each and I will probably only use it once or twice.

One thing, make sure you tape cardboard around where you are going to cut to protect the finish, (I messed up once before I covered it with cardboard)

Also you can see the Danger Den fill port reservoir, I will use this to fill the comp (there is a plug in the top) so i dont have to open the comp to fill and because it will be the highest point it will be easier to fill the system and the bubbles should rise there.

Tomorrow I will fix the X850 XT because it hits on the chipset cooler, and the heatsink is not too good (compared to the AC silencer5) The only prob is the silencer wont fit with the chipset cooler (it will if I go SLI) so I will have to modify a AC silencer5 if the stock cooler sucks.

One other thing I have done is to use http://www.svc.com/coolab.html instead of AS-5. Its supposed to be better but its a pain to use. Its very liquid and the surface has to be PERFECT clean with alcohol or it just runs off. (It looks like mercury). We will see if it works. EDIT: ITS A MESS!
Speaking about working I also have taken off the IHS so I hope this thing fires up....(note to self "dont hit the CPU with a hammer")


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## drade (May 14, 2006)

OOO I like.


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## gR3iF (May 14, 2006)

which case is that? and which psu?^^

so far nice


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## markkleb (May 14, 2006)

In my first post there is the link to the case. It comes in Red, Black and Blue Chrome. I got it from Tigerdirect. (its a Diablotek)

The power supply is a Silverstone Strider 400. Its very well built (heavy) and uses a 120mm Silverstone fan. Now Newegg says it has 1 12V rail but its website says 2 12V rails. I didnt care because it came with 4 Sata power connectors. (thats hard to find) Silverstone makes a really nice 500 watt PS ($97)but I wanted to keep the money down on this comp (my PS was only $44)


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## markkleb (May 14, 2006)

*Update*

I have been trying to use a new heat transfer paste.. DONT! use the Coollaboratory Liquid pro.

What a mess, you have to be so careful and even then it gets on everything. I dont know how but its on my desk, shirt, floor, ears dam this is hard to use. AS-5 im sorry for ever doubting you please forgive me, lol.

I am messing around with my VC today and noticed it hit my chipset cooler. There is NO WAY the AC silencer would fit unless I cut the fan and angled it away from the card. Than it hit me, "just get a swiftech MCW60B" no more problems with hitting chipset and its only $14 more than a ACsilencer.

Here is the heatsink on the X850XT. They must have been drunk when they made it. It has a burr around the whole edge so it NEVER would have seated correctly on the GPU. Look at the milling marks. My camera is not that good but it looks terrable in person. No wonder they run so much hotter than the ACsilencers.


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## drade (May 14, 2006)

thats terrible that, that can happen, damn LOL look at those marks ahaha


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## markkleb (May 14, 2006)

drade said:
			
		

> thats terrible that, that can happen, damn LOL look at those marks ahaha


Thats not the worst. If you look close you can see where they milled around the part that sits on the GPU. It raised a burr (wall) all around the edge that would not sit flat. Its one of the worst jobs I have ever seen on a heatsink.

I am just lucky I took it apart and saw that.


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## drade (May 14, 2006)

Then why do stupid engineers usaully get away with stuff like this? Arnt there actual people who complain the hell out of them so they could atleast make decent coolers. The newer the cards the shittier the life and stock cooling, I mean look at an fx-5900, those things run for years and years with one tiny fan..... And quiet, new cards perform so well, but seem to have heating issues (cause they are so fast), and less liftime...


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## markkleb (May 14, 2006)

I am not trying to talk bad about China but I miss when electronics were made in Japan.

I like getting stuff cheap (WalMart, China, ETC) but they take no pride in their work. Just "hurry up we have to ship a million more this week". I guess its up to all of us to find the mistakes and correct them.

Its kind of funny but I remember when you had to fix your stuff. We didnt just replace things we actually had to fix them ourselves. VCR's used to be $1200, and you would take it to a tech who would fix it up. But now stuff is so cheap that we just throw it away and get another.


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## wtf8269 (May 15, 2006)

Man, you're getting me in the modding mood now. Keep up the good work.


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## markkleb (May 15, 2006)

wtf8269 said:
			
		

> Man, you're getting me in the modding mood now. Keep up the good work.


Oh happy day!!! 

I thought I was gonna be real cool and remove the IHS on my 3700+. It must have been when I hit the CPU with the hammer but now it dosent work   

That 3700+ was like a good friend and I killed him... Thank god Newegg has 3000+ for $113.

Moral of the story, DONT HIT THE CPU WITH A HAMMER...lol


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## wtf8269 (May 15, 2006)

Thats too bad man, it's gonna be a lot harder to reach a similar OC with that 3000+. Good luck though.


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## Azn Tr14dZ (May 15, 2006)

hey markkleb,
Is it alright buying a refurbished MoBo, GFX, HD, and other accesories from newegg.com? i tust newegg and all but I've never bought anything refurbished before. Is the preformance the same and is it good if i need to save a few $?


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## markkleb (May 15, 2006)

Almost all my stuff is refurbished. My mobo was only $50. They still have a guarantee (but its 15 days). Just remember if you get a mobo sometimes it comes with everything and sometimes its just the bare mobo.

One time I bought a Soltek mobo(what a great mobo) from Newegg for $50 and it came with everything just like new. My last mobo was a DFI LP Ultra and it came with not one piece, no back plate no nothing. The mobo worked perfect (till POGE killed it). This Jetway GT4 mobo came with everything and looks pretty nice.

I only had 1 prob with Newegg and a refurbished mobo but they gave me a credit right away. Its pretty hard to beat Newegg.


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## zekrahminator (May 15, 2006)

And why did we flame Bikr for using a razor to remove his IHS?


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## markkleb (May 15, 2006)

zekrahminator said:
			
		

> And why did we flame Bikr for using a razor to remove his IHS?


I deserve to be nuked...


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## zekrahminator (May 15, 2006)

Meh it's alright, I suppose you learned your lesson . Just remember, as soon as you get that 3000+, do NOT remove your IHS lol. You can probably overclock that 3000+ to 3700+ levels or better anyways .


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## markkleb (May 15, 2006)

Lol there should be a law about working after 3am. You do stupid stuff.

I was gonna get a Opty170 but I thought I would wait till the Conroe and AM2 stuff comes out. The 3000+ was only $113 so it will be easy to sell it as part of a system.


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## Azn Tr14dZ (May 16, 2006)

markkleb said:
			
		

> Almost all my stuff is refurbished. My mobo was only $50. They still have a guarante (but its 15 days). Just remember if you get a mobo sometimes it comes with everything and sometimes its just the bare mobo.
> 
> One time I bought a Soltek mobo(what a great mobo) from Newegg for $50 and it came with everything just like new. My last mobo was a DFI LP Ultra and it came with not one piece, no back plate no nothing. The mobo worked perfect (till POGE killed it). This Jetway GT4 mobo came with everything and looks pretty nice.
> 
> I only had 1 prob with Newegg and a refurbished mobo but they gave me a credit right away. Its pretty hard to beat Newegg.


What was the problem?


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## markkleb (May 16, 2006)

I bought a Biostar Tforce and the 4 Sata2 would not Raid0. I could use 1 HDD on sata1 or ide but the 4 Sata 2's wouldnt work together. They said no prob and sold me the DFI instead.

They are really good about refunding the credit card (fast)


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## Azn Tr14dZ (May 16, 2006)

Hmm. I'm considering get a new Mobo (CrossFire) ATX by ECS. $68.99 NOT refurbished. Also maybe two X1800 GTO's or X1900 GT's in CF because they don't need CrossFire dongles.


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## markkleb (May 16, 2006)

Ok on to the Water cooling. I am using Swiftech for the CPU, VC and Chipset. The Apogee is pretty good and the 3 pieces match. I went with a Hydor L35 pump because it is 120V so it has nothing to do with my PS. (I dont think the 12V pumps draw too much current but I am going with a 400watt PS)

I moved my HDDs to the top so they were away from the water and it opened the bottom for the pump. I bought cheap hose and it was junk (if it says "just like Tygon" its not) So I have replaced it with Tygon 1/2 id- 3/4 od. Right now I am trying to see if its better to make custom Stainless steel tubing instead of the clear tubing. It would look a lot cleaner.

I found a cool fan that replaces 3 of the Cd slots but will cool the HDDs with a 120mm fan. I am keeping my original 80mm AC cooling fan to cool the pump and bottom of the case. I would like to use AN fittings and braided steel for the cooling but the adaptors are a pain to find. Tomorrow my Swiftech MCW 60B and copper RamSinks will get here and i will put in my X850 XT. 
I was thinking of using some pre moulded Car heater bypass hoses because they are moulded into sharp bends but arent restrictive. We will see tomorrow.

I am using the cheap tubing to mock it up so I dont waste the Tygon or the Steel line. Also I am making a 1/4" thick alum plate that will absorb some of the pumps vibration. Another idea I had is to take some alum flashing and build a shield around the pump, than line it with the sound deadning foam I have used on the case to further reduce the noise (the hydor pump is pretty quiet).

NOTE: using heavy tubing or braided steel line would be VERY hard as any side pressure on the blocks will make them not seat flat. Make sure if you use WC that the tubes fit nice and dont put sidways pressure on the system.


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## yogurt_21 (May 16, 2006)

I use the l35 for my pump works great, no problems, well. just watch when bleeding the pump will get air in it for a few seconds which makes you want to help it pass through, don't it'll get it out on it's own and then start pumping it's 450gph lol which can easily dump all the fluid out if you took off a conection for bleeding.


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## markkleb (May 16, 2006)

Its a great pump, first its only $45 second it pumps 450 gals(kind of), and its tough too.


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## drade (May 16, 2006)

Cool setup! Well so far, taht case looks very easy to mod, the material must cut great on it


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## markkleb (May 16, 2006)

Actually I just bought a new pair of tinsnips (very sharp). I wish it was alum but the case was only $79. I was not think about modding when I bought it, I saw Red and Shiney and I wanted it.

It does have a amazing design for hiding stuff though.

they make different Tin-snips for cutting straight and in curves..


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## markkleb (May 17, 2006)

I am so psyched... I found some Primoflex 1/2 id- 3/4" od in red UV. Now I dont need the dye.  (and it was only $1 per foot) Now just hurry up and wait for the package...

Im almost done, just need to find a cool place to put the Rad. 

Any Ideas?


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## drade (May 17, 2006)

I have been following up on your project from day one  I love the set up so far. The only issue I see is for your rad placing (yea you asked were it should be placed), your case seems a little limited of space..... I was thinking the top, but your resevoir is in the middle it looks like, cant be in the front because you have a pump, the only way I could see it is modding the door and putting it there, and putting a mesh screen over it, Or as everyone else mostly has one, in the back. Is it gonna be a dual?


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## FLY3R (May 17, 2006)

Dude, this is looking sweet, I would be spend time on hiding the wirs on my PSU, but i have accepted the fact that it is impossible to do that with the  SeaSonic 600W powersupply..

I really like this build, thumbs up.


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## wtf8269 (May 17, 2006)

It makes me sad that you still need to hook the sata connections up to the motherboard and power connection to the disc drive. Oh if only they made wireless PSUs. You're gonna need a hell of a radiator for an overclocked CPU, NB, and GPU all on the same circuit. I mean I don't know much about water cooling for me, but for wanting to do extreme overclocking for all three of those seems hard to do all on the same circuit. You should get some of these in-line radiators seen at the bottom of the page.


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## markkleb (May 17, 2006)

Thanks guys, about the rad. I am keeping it outside the case to kep temps lower. It will probably be below my desk. Its a CoolRad 22T. I got it because its about 1/2 thicker than the Swiftech.

From what I understand when you have a thicker Rad you need more airflow to cool it but it removes more heat than a thinner one.

Also Since I am using a AMD (cooler than Intel) as well as a X850(not even close to being as hot as a X1800/1900) Heat shouldnt be a prob.

My first Idea was to use a BIG rad (with 4 or 6 120mm fans) and mount it under my house with the hoses coming up through the floor. I would use a 700 to 1000GPH water pump (also under the house where its really cool and noise free)

But I have never done WC so I am testing stuff out now. Notice how I have moved the pump to the side so there is room for another if I need.

The airflow in this case is Very Nice. I have the 80mm fan in front blowing over the waterpump and straight over the VC and out the back. Above that I have the 120mm fan blowing over the HDDs and out the back with the 2 ACcooler fans from the origional RedChrome. The PS is only 400Watt so It wont make that much heat (and the Silverstone has HUGE heatsinks inside) So I am pretty sure the inside temps will be pretty low.

Today my fan controller and digital readout (for the floppy slot) will get here so that way i will be able to speed up or slow down the big fans. I went with Silverstone FMC3XW 120mm fans because they were sitting in the closet for 1 and they blow 103 cfm at max speed but can run at 1300rpm (very quiet) There is 4 of em, 1 in the PS, 2 on the Rad, and the last one cooling the HDDs.

I am going to the hardware store today to look for a tee. The plastic one is very restrictive. I have keept it pretty simple so flow should be pretty good. And I am trying to figure how to mount the Rad so there is a way to drain the water and I am so Psyched about the Red UV hose ( I cant wait till it gets here)

hey wtf8269 good idea, there is only 4 wires so today I will open the CDRW and try to hide the power wires. Notice how the tube that goes straight down from the filler covers most of the wiring. When the new hose gets here it will be bigger (3/4") and Red so it will hide the wires better. I thought about soldering the satas on the BACK of the mobo but cause there is 4 of em I figured I would see what it looks like first.

Do you think I should hide the sata wires? Should they be UV? You will only be able to see 4" of them before they go in a panel. I could make a smoke panel to hide them also.

And Drade here is a pict of what I am thinking about for the Rad. Notice the Rad will be below the desk (cooler and quiter)


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## drade (May 17, 2006)

So far so good, seems like one of your tubes are cresed, but I know your working on it..... I would do the under the house idea If I was you,  I like it so far!


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## wtf8269 (May 17, 2006)

That's the lucky thing for you guys, you can do under the house stuff like that. I have to keep my PC mobile for LAN parties. I personally like keeping everything contained in one unit though. Different strokes for different folks. Keep up the good work markkleb.


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## drade (May 17, 2006)

wtf8269 said:
			
		

> That's the lucky thing for you guys, you can do under the house stuff like that. I have to keep my PC mobile for LAN parties. I personally like keeping everything contained in one unit though. Different strokes for different folks. Keep up the good work markkleb.




Well when you live in maine, a lan comes once or twice a year (excluding friends houses).


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## wtf8269 (May 17, 2006)

drade said:
			
		

> Well when you live in maine, a lan comes once or twice a year (excluding friends houses).


Friends houses are the only LANs I go to, lucky for me I have about 4-5 friends that usually come and they're all good enough to play almost every game.


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## markkleb (May 17, 2006)

drade said:
			
		

> So far so good, seems like one of your tubes are cresed, but I know your working on it..... I would do the under the house idea If I was you,  I like it so far!


I am replacing all the hoses with better stuff, these are just to see what it will look like. Also I got some Pre-moulded heater bypass hoses for the really tight bends. They flow better and can take more heat and pressure.


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## wtf8269 (May 17, 2006)

What would be sweet is metal braded brake lines. I don't think you can get them as thick as you want it though.


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## markkleb (May 17, 2006)

wtf8269 said:
			
		

> What would be sweet is metal braded brake lines. I don't think you can get them as thick as you want it though.


hey wtf8269. That was my first idea. I am doing that for my next build. I am using #8 braided steel line (2000 lbs pressure, lol) with the AN fittings. Its .44" id. The only prob is getting them to fit the Swiftech threads. As the comp WC stuff is straight threads and the car stuff is tapered. I can probably build my own tops to the Cooling blocks and thread them to match the AN fittings.

PS here is a couple of picts of my LAN MONSTER...
(check out the intake scoop for the CPU and the alien vent for the 2 HDDs)


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## yogurt_21 (May 17, 2006)

i love the aspire x-qpac only micro atx case that will fit a full sized psu!


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## drade (May 17, 2006)

dang thats nice!


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## markkleb (May 17, 2006)

Its actually not a Qpack case. Its made by Chenming. A year ago when I built it Qpack cases were $30 more than the Chenming so because Im cheap I got the Chenming. The only diff is the Chenming ver. has a 300watt PS and only has 1 window. The front is my favorite part cause I used this special paint that changes colors when you look at it from different sides. From the front its green from the left its blue and from the right its purp.
The scoop was pretty nice cause it lowered the CPU temps a lot.


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## drade (May 17, 2006)

Chenming makes great cases though, I had one..


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## POGE (May 17, 2006)

Get an IDE to SATA converter for your cd drive.


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## markkleb (May 17, 2006)

Hi Poge, whats up? I am using all the Satas up. (4 Hitachi Satas in Raid0)


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## POGE (May 17, 2006)

Plug this into your motherboard IDE to convert it to Sata:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822998008

Plug this into your disk drive to convert it to Sata:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812206002


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## markkleb (May 17, 2006)

wtf8269 said:
			
		

> It makes me sad that you still need to hook the sata connections up to the motherboard and power connection to the disc drive. Oh if only they made wireless PSUs. You're gonna need a hell of a radiator for an overclocked CPU, NB, and GPU all on the same circuit. I mean I don't know much about water cooling for me, but for wanting to do extreme overclocking for all three of those seems hard to do all on the same circuit. You should get some of these in-line radiators seen at the bottom of the page.


Well wtf8269 check this out....
(hidden CDRW power wires) I will cover the ends with silicone (non Acid) in case 1 breaks off.


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## markkleb (May 17, 2006)

Thanks Poge but it adds too much mess. I have a Plexor DVD thats sata but the dumb DVD's take too long to load (I hate waiting)

Have u had any luck selling stuff?


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## wtf8269 (May 17, 2006)

markkleb said:
			
		

> Well wtf8269 check this out....
> (hidden CDRW power wires) I will cover the ends with silicone (non Acid) in case 1 breaks off.


Shit that's crazy. I don't have the balls to go in and solder on my hardware. Even if it is only a $20 or $30 disk drive.


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## markkleb (May 17, 2006)

Actually it was easy, just got to be careful and go slow. Thats the secret to most good work, take ur time and go slow.

And dont be afraid to listen to other peoples opinions, cause of your idea I did this...


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## drade (May 18, 2006)

Man thats some nice work!


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## wtf8269 (May 18, 2006)

markkleb said:
			
		

> Actually it was easy, just got to be careful and go slow. Thats the secret to most good work, take ur time and go slow.
> 
> And dont be afraid to listen to other peoples opinions, cause of your idea I did this...


Yeah, I'm half thinking about doing it now. The hard part would be finding a place to run the power cable out of the drive. I'm thinking I could take my face plates off and run them out the front since my drives are ghosted anyway. I'm going to reverse my hard drives here in an hour or two so I'll take a look then if I can do this with my disk drives. (Would have reversed them to begin with but the wires would have hit the front fans, but I found a way to do it by mounting them different.)


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## KennyT772 (May 18, 2006)

DAMN is all i can say..


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## Azn Tr14dZ (May 18, 2006)

WOW! I wish my case was that neat. Whenever I get a new PSU, I'll try to get 4 SATA's too and sleeved cables.


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## markkleb (May 18, 2006)

here I have covered the solder with silicone (make sure to use non acidic silicone)

And the new color to match the case. I filled in the Power plug with silicone too. (should have left it alone cause I could have used the socket to test stuff once the comp was done.


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## POGE (May 18, 2006)

Dude.. you should make custom cases and sell them.


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## Azn Tr14dZ (May 18, 2006)

Yeah...but wouldn't that be a lot of work? How long did it take you to do all of this mark?


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## markkleb (May 18, 2006)

45 years....
Honestly I get better as I go along so the next one will be better and so on.

I could probably build the same thing (a little cleaner) in a 4 or 5 days..

As long as I had the stuff.

wait till you see the front, it is so damn cool!!!!!!


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## POGE (May 18, 2006)

If I pay you will you mod me a case?  Your design is so clean and simple.


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## Azn Tr14dZ (May 18, 2006)

^I know. can you hide the wires like that with all cases or does it have to be certain cases?


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## markkleb (May 18, 2006)

Of course, let me know what ur interested in and how you would like your comp and exactly what you want to do with it.

Example: if ur going SLI now or in the future cooling and PS matters.(some mobos have the chipset cooler in the way)

Or if you want to take it to lans.

If noise is a prob.

Is ur room hot or is the comp in a cabinet?

How important is music to you?

do you like clean and simple or lots of color..

Do you have a theme?

Want a small one (like my Lego) or a midsize like My Qpack or full size or HUGE like a Thermaltake Armour?


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## markkleb (May 18, 2006)

Azn Tr14dZ said:
			
		

> ^I know. can you hide the wires like that with all cases or does it have to be certain cases?


It depends, some cases are more easy than others. This case (pure luck) was just so easy..

if you pick the case I can tell if its easy or not.


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## POGE (May 18, 2006)

Its kindof a waste of neatness if you dont put a window in your case.   Do you plan on doing so?


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## markkleb (May 18, 2006)

No window, I just leave the side off. Windows scratch and get dirty, and to be honest in a month or 2 I will probably rebuild it again...


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## Azn Tr14dZ (May 18, 2006)

What about this case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144026
For my friend here.

Where do you live BTW?


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## markkleb (May 18, 2006)

LOL, thats the one I just built for 2 kids that live next door.

http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/263

for the money its a good case. And has room for 2 80mm fans in front and a 120 in the back. plus you can fit 4 HDDs

i live In Sun Valley Nevada (about 2 min. north of Reno) but all my family is in Cali.


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## Azn Tr14dZ (May 18, 2006)

Wait... I just figured out something. my case is the exact same thing, but it doesn't have a blowhole on top, and it has a different rear and front panel, besides that, no difference at all.


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## Azn Tr14dZ (May 18, 2006)

I live in Chandler, Arizona, right next to Phoenix. I'm going to Vegas in a month.


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## markkleb (May 19, 2006)

I got bored today (had to work on the house) and desided to fix up the PS. Damn thats a BIG fan...
Whats amazing to me is the size of the heatsink (remember its a $45 PS)
Spray paint is my friend.


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## wtf8269 (May 19, 2006)

markkleb said:
			
		

> I am going to be using 4 Hitachi Sata2 HDDs in a Raid0 array


Just wondering, are you running RAID 0+1 (AKA RAID 10) or just two sets of RAID 0.

Also nice job on the PSU. Spray paint is a nice, cheap, good looking mod.


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## markkleb (May 19, 2006)

Raid0 with the 4 HDDS(in 1 array). In benchmarks its pretty fast, and you dont lose any space (4 80 gig HDDs = 320Gigs)
I am not too worried about backups as I usually rebuild (format)the comp every month or so...

Scroll down and look at my ATTO score..
http://acoolidea.blogspot.com/


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## markkleb (May 19, 2006)

*Hose Tips*

I have a pretty tight bend and didnt want to slow the water down so I found a Heater Bypass hose at AutoZone for $5. It fits under the VC and looks a lot nicer than 15" of other hose rapped around stuff.

Also I am using a Reservoir and a tee. I noticed the Plastic tee was small in the middle. That would slow down the water. The ID was a little less than 3/8". When I was wondering around at Lowes i noticed a new kind of tubing and fittings called PEX. The package says 3/4" but its really 5/8 with a ID of a little more than 1/2". Perfect, all I have to do is dip the hose in hot water for a minuite or 2 and it fits perfect with no loss of ID size.

IMPORTANT NOTE! when using stiffer hose or heavy brass parts make sure they put NO strain on the Water blocks or they may damage your mobo or not sit flat and overheat..


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## drade (May 19, 2006)

Hmmm, thats actually not that tight, ive seen worse, thats pretty good length and thickness of tubing, I think it will come out great. You build stuff like this for people?? If you do, on my next build Id love you to do it, of course Id pay you the reccomended price, I cant set stuff up like that, Im just use to asetek ware, and yea danger den


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## markkleb (May 19, 2006)

I would be happy to drade. For some reason I can see in my head what it will look like when its done so its easy to mod stuff..

Just think about what you kind of want it to look like and what you need it to do..

Check out the Alphacool Nexxxus stuff too. (my next build)
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...d=4522&zenid=3f712ee9341320dc9b96260276b39634


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## i_am_mustang_man (May 20, 2006)

this is prolly the one of, if not the, best and most informative mod in progress ever.  i love all the pics and ideas. i am going to maybe get a pair of tin snips and see what i can do on my carppy emac case, as far as putting the wires behind.  but there's no way it'll look this sick.

so much mad props


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## markkleb (May 20, 2006)

This may sound dumb but the reason I do this is because of guys like you. I love to build stuff and it seems a waste not to share my ideas.

One thing about this thread is I have used simple tools. Now you can get (or borrow) fancy tools like Dremels, hole saws or punches, Mills or lathes etc, but I have showed my ideas using very cheap simple tools that anyone can use.

As I go i will try to add more picts of the simple ideas. Again, thanks alot.


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## infrared (May 20, 2006)

markkleb said:
			
		

> Oh happy day!!!
> 
> I thought I was gonna be real cool and remove the IHS on my 3700+. It must have been when I hit the CPU with the hammer but now it dosent work
> 
> ...



We have another Bikr  

Kill a few more things, and you'll be set!!  

Sorry to hear about ur loss tho 

EDIT:

Me and Bikr were just discussing your lego rig  We both agree it's awsome, but...



> Cj says:
> markkleb is pretty cool tho
> Simon // InfraRed says:
> yeah
> ...


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## markkleb (May 20, 2006)

Thanks for the laugh...LOL
Obviously I have no kids.. And lucky for me all my friends kids are over 12..
I built it origionally for my brother. Even though he is 44 he is a LEGO NUT! He has thousands of dollars in Lego in his house. After I finished I was going to give it too him but he showed no interest. So I kept it and every month or so I would add something till finally it was done.
Now when friends come over EVERYONE goes nutts when they learn its a computer.
It gets a lot of attention, so its kind of fun for me.

Besides if it goes to pieces like unlike Humpty Dumpty its fun to put back together....


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## markkleb (May 20, 2006)

i_am_mustang_man said:
			
		

> this is prolly the one of, if not the, best and most informative mod in progress ever.  i love all the pics and ideas. i am going to maybe get a pair of tin snips and see what i can do on my carppy emac case, as far as putting the wires behind.  but there's no way it'll look this sick.
> 
> so much mad props


Cool thing about using a Used case or cheap one is if you mess up ,"Who Cares?"

Just follow my #1 rule..

Have Fun


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## markkleb (May 21, 2006)

*Got to stop this insanity..*

I keep messing around and I realised i was never gonna finish. So this is the last mod to the wires (its pretty cool though).

I have been looking at the mobo and you could probably do this to 90% of the wires.

BUT!!!! 
1- its a pain in the butt
2- it will definately void any warranty (thats why I used Refurbished mobos)
3- you really have to have a steady hand
4- could render your mobo worthless... 

that said it looks so nice. And I was thinking when people look at it finished they will say "you forgot those wires"..

OK if ur gonna try there should be a couple of rules. 
First-make sure the mobo works before you invest time in this.
Second-get a very fine point low wattage soldering iron (you dont want to melt the mobo)
Third- Check and recheck the wires to make sure they are soldered firmly to the mobo.
Fourth- use shrink tubing on the ends and to be extra safe a dab of non acidic silicone to protect against shorts.
Fifth- I left the plugs in front plugged in to make sure I put the back wires in the right place
Sixth- if you have a old mobo laying around try it on that first.

Now I probably dont have to say this but Please make sure NOTHING is plugged in while soldering or messing with wires..

Also double and triple check that the yellow goes with the yellow and red with red and so on...

Notice how much cleaner wires that exit the PS look now.


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## wtf8269 (May 21, 2006)

Only thing I'm wondering is what's the hole behind the CPU backing plate for? Also, you need to make sure the correct yellow is with the correct yellow. Same with the blacks. I don't think you can reverse the yellow with the other yellow.


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## markkleb (May 21, 2006)

wtf8269 said:
			
		

> Only thing I'm wondering is what's the hole behind the CPU backing plate for? Also, you need to make sure the correct yellow is with the correct yellow. Same with the blacks. I don't think you can reverse the yellow with the other yellow.


I knew someone would comment on that. If you use a single rail ps(all the 12V from 1 source) its no prob. 
But this PS is Dual Rail and i took it apart to check which went where. Thats why i connected the wires to a plastic rail (under the wires they are labled )

Another thing is to make sure you divide the power evenly to stuff, dont put 4 hdds and cdrw and video card on 1 line and lights on the other. Try and make the draw of the power even across the dual rails.

The power is divided between a bunch of smaller wires, if the output of 12V is 15 amps it would fry a single 20 ga. wire so its spread out over 4 or 5 of them. 

Thanks wtf8269 cause sometimes I forget people cant read my mind...

PS- the hole in the back is to cool the back of the cpu (it gets pretty hot too)


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## markkleb (May 21, 2006)

here is a pict of a PS, if your ps is a Dual Rail or triple or even 4 Rails make sure the wires go to the right rails.

Sorry but my camera sucks, but you can see where the wires are grouped together and soldered.


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## infrared (May 21, 2006)

Wow, soldiering the wires onto the back of the board is an awsome idea!!! I don't think i've seen anything like it!!! I must try this... thanks for the inspiration! 

This is without doubt one of the most intesting threads on the forum at the moment!!

Good work man!! 

EDIT:

You have earnt the cup of coolness!!!


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## KennyT772 (May 21, 2006)

daaang dude. thats fricking sweet. 

(one day when markkleb has computer literate people over)

dude nice computer - says friend
yeah well i modded it myself says markkleb
wait arnt you suposed to plug stuff in those? says friend
naw those plugs are for newbies....*points to backside of mobo tray*


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## infrared (May 21, 2006)

lmao!


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## markkleb (May 21, 2006)

In my RedChrome post one guy asked "wheres the friggin ram at?" to which satchmo replied-
hey buddy open ur eyes, its uh....... plugged into the "friggin" DIMM slots, those would be on the motherboard mmk?

I love this stuff....


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## drade (May 22, 2006)

markkleb, what you do is pretty popular actually, i saw other mods, seems like they do the same stuff as you, is it hard? People said you ahve to be careful.... I saw some case, I only saw a 4 pin connecter... thats all


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## zekrahminator (May 25, 2006)

markkleb said:
			
		

> Here is the heatsink on the X850XT. They must have been drunk when they made it. It has a burr around the whole edge so it NEVER would have seated correctly on the GPU. Look at the milling marks. My camera is not that good but it looks terrable in person. No wonder they run so much hotter than the ACsilencers.


I got lucky with my stock X850XT heatsink. Only thing that was wrong was they forgot to take the protective tape off the thermal pads, so...I think I'm lucky my RAM wasn't cooked . The relatively good quality job on my X850XT stock heatsink probably was the only reason I got temps around 60*C...lol.


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## markkleb (May 25, 2006)

I have been messing around with my X850 and just got some Arctic Silver epoxy yesterday. I lapped the GPU and the Swiftech and put them together with AS-5. But the heavy copper heatsinks kept falling off. I cleaned them with everything but had problems with tape.

So I used the Arctic Silver epoxy, what a difference. It will NEVER be coming off now..Just a very thin layer of epoxy and in a few min solid. I have to believe that a thinner layer (compared to thick tape) has to conduct heat much better. I cant wait till I get this thing running (hopefully this weekend) to see what the temps are.

I saw the AM2 at Newegg and was thinking to replace the mobo and CPU but than my head cleared and I realised my memory would spank the DDR2 stuff out now. We will see what happens in the next couple of months with the new stuff.


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## wtf8269 (May 25, 2006)

I myself am just going to stick with the stuff I have and not upgrade until Vista comes out. By that time AM3 will probably be around the corner, and if not Conroe will have been out for awhile and have good boards.


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## CjStaal (May 27, 2006)

I must say I am extreamly impressed with your work =)


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## markkleb (May 27, 2006)

bikr692002 said:
			
		

> I must say I am extreamly impressed with your work =)


First , thank you very much.
 Second, "The IHS fell off my CPU I didn't do anything."

I wish mine Had....


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## CjStaal (May 28, 2006)

lol, it didnt fall off, and the cpu broke... but I didn't hit it with a hammer lol


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## zekrahminator (May 28, 2006)

Speaking of hitting CPU's with hammers, there's a hilarious screenshot in Terminator 2 I should post .


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## POGE (May 28, 2006)

When you do your next mod project, you should sell redchrome with the  mobo and watercooling.  I bet it would go for $300+


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## markkleb (May 28, 2006)

I was just thinking about Watercooling a mini comp like my Lego for my next project.

The Red Chrome is almost done, probably in a few hours. Right now I am just making the Plate that lets the hoses pass through to the Rad.


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## pt (May 28, 2006)

You can make a lego water tank. From what i remember of the days i played with legos they didn't let water come out. do the test if you can and let us known


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## POGE (May 28, 2006)

pt said:
			
		

> You can make a lego water tank. From what i remember of the days i played with legos they didn't let water come out. do the test if you can and let us known


If you seal it with epoxy, sure.


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## markkleb (May 28, 2006)

You can fill it with oil and it will work without fans. Water will short but oil wont.

Looks dumb to me but someone had to do it...
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01/09/strip_out_the_fans/


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## POGE (May 28, 2006)

He meant just making a lego RES.  You could fill the whole thing with oil too though.


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## markkleb (May 28, 2006)

I just hooked up the Rad and added water and drip, drip,drip. The rad had a leak..

Ok now solder the Rad and fill up again. Dam WC is QUIET. This Hydor pump is quieter than the AC Cooling 80 mm fan.

I made a alum. sleeve for the pump and lined it with foam insulation to cushion it and keep vibration down.

I am gonna let it run overnight and in the morning if it is still full of water I will program it.

Cross ur fingers ......


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## Azn Tr14dZ (May 28, 2006)

Pics please...I would like to see your setup.


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## markkleb (May 29, 2006)

*Respect!*

I just wanted to say how I have gained a HUGE RESPECT to all those who have custom built a Watercooling rig.

What a Project this has been. I have it circulating to get rid of bubbles, check for leaks and so on. Il program it tonight if no more leaks.

In this project I have wrecked my 3700+, X850XT and a Rad. Mostly due to my negligence. Its a lot of work fitting hoses and not wrecking cores, caps and just general stuff. I have learned to be MUCH more careful in my assembly ( I thought I was good before).

So to those of you whos computers that I have seen and used as  inspiration, THANKS BIG TIME!!!!


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## CjStaal (May 29, 2006)

We should sticky this thread as "How a project log is suppose to look" lol but really nice build mark, you going to put it in the case gallery?


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## zekrahminator (May 29, 2006)

I found that hilarious Terminator 2 screenshot...again .


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## markkleb (May 29, 2006)

zekrahminator said:
			
		

> I found that hilarious Terminator 2 screenshot...again .


THATS ME WITH THE HAMMER!(without the breasts and add a few hundred lbs)


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## markkleb (May 29, 2006)

bikr692002 said:
			
		

> We should sticky this thread as "How a project log is suppose to look" lol but really nice build mark, you going to put it in the case gallery?


Hey biker, I am just finishing it up. It has been pumping for 2 days and no leaks so all I have to do is add the sound card (I forgot it needs power) and start it up. Il post finished picts in a couple of hours..


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## markkleb (May 29, 2006)

Getting closer. Ok now it boots up and the fan controller actually controls the fans. I installed the Audigy2 Plat (forgot it needed power).

I ran the hoses through a alum plate w/gromets

I put a 4" Blue light up top and a 12" UV in the bottom edge.Looks so nice in person (sorry for the lousey picts)

I had the fans installed on the rad but the wires were ugly so I am redoing them now.

I bolted the rad onto the bottom rear edge of the case. That way the cables were free from the rad and it sits below the desk (quieter)

I used Valvoline Racing Super Coolent (like Water wetter) because it mixes 5% to 95%water.
It stops foam and looks cool..lol ($4.50 is better than paying $18 for the other stuff premixed)

If you can see there is a 120mm fan that fits in the place of 3 CD Rom slots. It cools the HDDS (all 4 of em). Below that is a AC cooling 80mm fan that blows over the water pump and out the back to the 2 more ACcooling 80mm fans (you can barely hear them)

So basically air enters the front and exits the back. Very simple. The PS has a 120mm fan to cool the top so I expect this to be very quiet.

For the rad I chose Silverstone fans because they are more than 100 cfm each if I deside to OC I just crank them up. Otherwise they are fine on low cause the Rad is bigger than the avg one.(1 3/4" thick)

I still need to make the panel that covers the sata and mobo power wires, but I will do that tomorrow.

Also notice that I used a reg IDE cable on the CDRW (a black Asus one) but you can barely see it compared to a round cable.

About wires the back side is pretty crowded now. Once you add fans, controller, the sound card and on and on...The cool thing is its easy to change stuff just add or subtract wires and voila..

here are some picts.


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## POGE (May 29, 2006)

I want to buy that from you when your done.  That is the best mod I've ever seen.  Just needs a paintjob, it has those modding scars on it.


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## markkleb (May 29, 2006)

I am waiting till tomorrow to put the plastic panel and touch up the paint. To finally be done...


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## drade (May 30, 2006)

Looks good... I like it, im glad you did the soldering idea, My friend actually did that same thing (didn't know.... lol) But looking good, hopefully my next build of about a 1500$ budget will come out to look that clean. GREAT job!


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## PVTCaboose1337 (May 30, 2006)

I am loving how redchrome looks!  Also, where did you get that front fan filter that is in the 5 .1/4 drives, name of it?


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## markkleb (May 30, 2006)

PVTCaboose1337 said:
			
		

> I am loving how redchrome looks!  Also, where did you get that front fan filter that is in the 5 .1/4 drives, name of it?


Here u go..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835185020

It can go front to back and up or down too, great fan.


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## PVTCaboose1337 (May 30, 2006)

Thanks markkleb.


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## markkleb (May 30, 2006)

no prob


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## markkleb (May 30, 2006)

I was getting bored waiting for the plastic piece and came up with this idea.

(very simple and easy to do but it looks SO SICK!!!)

Now I know what its like to be a crack head, I cant stop modding......


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## PVTCaboose1337 (May 30, 2006)

Painted hds look great... but wait, is that what I am looking at, it does look badass tho.


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## Azn Tr14dZ (May 30, 2006)

That does look sick! I'll pay you to do stuff like that to my comp.


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## infrared (May 30, 2006)

Did you actually need to dissasemble the drives to get the cover off, or did you just mask around the sides?

looks awsome


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## markkleb (May 30, 2006)

infrared said:
			
		

> Did you actually need to dissasemble the drives to get the cover off, or did you just mask around the sides?
> 
> looks awsome


So simple just a piece of tape around the sides and tape the label. At first I was gonna remove the screws and put them on later for nicer effect but why take a chance of letting dust inside.

The paint is pretty nice, its called Metalcast. I bought it from the auto parts store for $4. To make it nice It has to be silver paint first (polished metal better). Its kind of like a candy apple Semi transparent so it alows the color underneth to come through. I think a gold base coat would look nice too.

Anyway the cool thing is anyone can do this stuff, you dont need a compressor or spray gun or even fancy paint. And the cost is minimal.


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## drade (May 30, 2006)

Nice job bro


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## markkleb (May 31, 2006)

*Finally...*

Ok here goes.. look Poge no scratches..

What do I do now ?
(the last pict just looked cool)


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## drade (May 31, 2006)

What do you do, give it to me for free, nah just kidding . Looks fantastic! Spotless, sexy! Jeese really I cant think of anything to do, 10/10 in my book..


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## markkleb (May 31, 2006)

Now I just have to figure what to do next. Mabye a Qpack WaterCooled Lan box....


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## Azn Tr14dZ (May 31, 2006)

WOW!! That's crazy. How much time do you have on your hands?


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## markkleb (May 31, 2006)

Some would say way too much...


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## Azn Tr14dZ (May 31, 2006)

Lol... if you lived near me, I would pay you to mod my case and components. But you don't live near Arizona do you?


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## markkleb (May 31, 2006)

Yep right next door in Nevada...


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## Azn Tr14dZ (May 31, 2006)

markkleb said:
			
		

> Yep right next door in Nevada...


Where in Nevada? I'm going to Las Vegas in less than a month.


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## markkleb (Jun 1, 2006)

I am in Reno but come from Cali.

Ok folks its done and I kept to the $1200 budget...It could be built for even less (I spent $160 on memory)
I hope you guys had as much fun as I did...


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## Azn Tr14dZ (Jun 1, 2006)

Yeah we had a lot of fun...you kept us hanging by not posting pics every second. Oh well, it was cool. Gives me some ideas.


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## i_am_mustang_man (Jun 1, 2006)

hands down

awesome


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## newmodder (Jun 8, 2006)

*wire terminals*

i see those wire terminals on the back of your case and see the wires going to the terminals but where do they go from there?
   just curious cause i want to do something like that.to get as much crap hidden.

and the harddrives i cant see the wires going the them...where are they?


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## markkleb (Jun 8, 2006)

invisable, ooooooohhhhhhh.
check out pages 9 and 12.
the hard drives are in backwards so the wires are in the front.


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## newmodder (Jun 8, 2006)

ahh ok..i see now niffty idea


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